Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan collected wounds and bruises before he won his first NBA Championship in 1991. The Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boy employed a unique defensive tactic against the “Black Cat,” which involved throwing him to the ground whenever he got into the paint.
Understandably, Jordan vented out his frustrations on the Pistons’ rough defensive antics. He wanted basketball fans to see how the Bulls played the game versus how the Pistons did it. However, MJ clarified that he wasn’t dissing the champs. He still held them in high regard despite the cuts, gashes, and emotional pain.
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“You see two different styles with us and them,” Jordan said.” The dirty play and, the flagrant fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct. Hopefully, that will be eliminated from the game. I think we play clean basketball. We don’t go out and try to hurt people and dirty up the game.”
“You never lose respect for the champions. But I haven’t agreed with the methods they used. I think people are happy the game will get back to a clean game (with a Bulls triumph) and away from the ‘Bad Boy’ image,” he added.
“We’ve taken the Good Boy image and walked away,” MJ continued. “We may have complained about it and told the teacher or whatever, but we never tried to lower ourselves to that level. We didn’t lose our cool or our heads. We maintained our poise.”
Adjustments
Whenever the Pistons sent the Bulls home, Michael headed straight to the gym to polish his skills. His physical workouts came from studying film. “Mr. Air” devised a way to counter the dreaded Detroit defense.
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Since Bill Laimbeer, John Salley, and company clobbered him whenever he got to the paint, why not catch the ball closer to the ring and start his dribble early before the defense pummeled him? Former Bulls guard BJ Armstrong said this was the key to breaking the Jordan Rules.
“He figured out he had to catch the ball in a position to score,” Armstrong said. “So he learned to operate from the post and on the weak side and play the game with three dribbles or less. Now, when he caught it because his footwork was so good, he could score in many ways. He was skilled enough to adapt to any situation.”
No handshake needed
They say the third time’s a charm, but for the Bulls, it took them four attempts to finally oust the Pistons. In the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, the Phil Jackson-coached squad dominated the Chuck Daly-led crew, 4-0.
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“Zeke” and other Pistons members infamously walked off the court and didn’t bother to shake the hands of the victors. While tons of Bulls fans loathed the Pistons, Mike had no qualms. He was too busy enjoying the sweet taste of victory.
“Typical. We figured the ‘Bad Boys,’ their whole image,” said His Airness in 1997 via Slam Magazine. “You know, we just felt…well, they didn’t have to shake my hand to know we just whipped their ass. Oh, it didn’t bother me because it didn’t surprise us at all because of the camaraderie and the rivalry that we had against each other.”
Jordan and the Bulls had the last laugh, indeed. Thanks to sheer will and determination, the GOAT powered his team to a seemingly impossible task. There’s nothing better than finally beating the big boss after several tries.