1993 was the peak rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks. New York had the best record in the Eastern Conference while Chicago was ranked No.2. Michael Jordan and his team were looking to become the first team since the ’60s Celtics to win at least three straight NBA titles. The Knicks were out to deny their rivals and finally reach the NBA Finals.
New York seemed up to the task when it won the first two games at Madison Square Garden. But the Bulls went on to win the next four to advance to the 1993 NBA Finals, where they accomplished their mission.
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Looking back at that series, Knicks guard John Starks alleged that the NBA helped the Bulls beat them.
“We won Game 2 on Sunday, and we were supposed to play Chicago, I think on Tuesday,” said Starks on Stacey King’s podcast. “That game wasn’t played until Friday. That was the whole ordeal about Michael and Atlantic City and what have you. And for some reason, television scheduling problems gave them a chance to get their minds together, and obviously there was something to that, whatever.”
There was no change in the schedule
It’s unclear what Starks is talking about here because the NBA’s playoff series schedules, even the ‘if necessary games’, are announced before Game 1. In the 1993 ECF between the Bulls and Knicks, Game 2 was played on May 25, a Tuesday, while Game 3 was held on May 29, a Saturday, contrary to John’s claim.
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Also, the Suns vs Sonics WCF had their Game 2 on May 26 and Game 3 on May 28, so the Bulls couldn’t have played on those dates since the Conference Finals games are held alternately.
It’s worth noting, however, that the Bulls and Knicks had 3 days in between Games 2 and 3 while the Suns and Sonics only had one day between their Games 2 and 3. But still, that schedule was prepared beforehand, and there was no such thing as “We were supposed to play on Tuesday”, as Starks contended.
He was, however, correct when he said that the Bulls got their act together after Game 2. It was also true that Jordan famously gambled in Atlantic City before the second game, but although he shot 12-32 from the field, he still scored 36 points in a 91-96 loss for the Bulls. Even in Game 3, when Jordan did not come from AC, he still shot a miserable 3-18 from the floor, but the Bulls blew out the Knicks 103-83 to cut the series deficit to 1-2.
Starks also claimed the Bulls got help from the refs in Game 5
Jordan then recovered from two poor shooting games and delivered a monster 54-point performance in Game 4 that tied the series at 2-2. Chicago then pulled off a win in the nail-biting Game 5, but Starks continued to throw shade on the Bulls with another accusation.
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“They came out and played better in game three and game four, and game five was obviously a pivotal, physical game in the garden, which they pulled it out. I thought Charles Smith got fouled, but you had two Hall of Famers down there in Michael and Scottie reaching for the ball, so it is what it is,” added Starks.
Game 5 is, of course the infamous “Charles Smith Game” where the former No.3 overall pick of the 1988 NBA Draft missed four point blank shots in the closing seconds with the Knicks down by just one point at 94-95. That Game 5 loss broke the camel’s back and the Bulls proceeded to closing out the Knicks in Game 6.
1993 was Starks’ best chance to win an NBA title, and they had Chicago on the ropes. But it wasn’t because of the schedule or the referees that the Bulls won the last four games of that series. It was because they could not get the job done, and the Bulls were superior to the Knicks.