The Bulls are set to tip off the playoffs, the second time since the retirement of you-know-who that they have advanced to the second season. But unlike those days, these Bulls really have no chance. If they somehow defeat the Shaq and Wade Heat in round one, and they unbelievably get past Jay-Z's Nets, and defy all odd’s of beating the Motown Pistons, they still have a zero percent chance of beating whoever emerges from the Wild Wild Western Conference.
I only got to see Michael Jeffery Jordan play live in a Bulls uniform once. A 104-84 win over the first-year Vancouver Grizzlies on January 24, 1996 I saw him again in his second to last game at the UC, but by then he was wearing an ugly Wizards uniform, surrounded by bums named Laettner, Haywood, and Kwame. I don’t even know who won that game, nor do I care enough to research it. It was like a funuel that night on Madison Street. We had the statue, the people paying their respects to the man, thinking of better days, and the pictures all around to remind us of the great person he used to be.
As I was about to go to bed last night, I began thinking of a question. Of every game Michael Jordan ever played in the NBA (1,072 regular season, 179 playoffs, and 13 all-star games = 1,264 total), which would I like to see most? This is the equivalent of asking which Notorious B.I.G. song would you put on repeat if you were stranded on an island. I couldn’t answer this question without creating a list, so here goes.
#5---Game 1 of the 1992 Finals
Close your eyes and think of the McDonalds commercial where Michael and Larry Bird are playing H.O.R.S.E. MJ calls one off the scoreboard…Nothing but net. Larry Legend pulls up with the bank shot off the Sears Tower….Drains it. Now think of how often you saw #23 actually making three-pointers in a game. If it wasn’t at the buzzer, the answer is not too often. In fact, in the entire 1991-92 season, Jordan was 27 for 100 from behind the arc (27%). This is what made Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals versus Portland so remarkable. In this game, Jordan made six three-pointers, and even more amazing was that all of them were in the first half. After the sixth one, Jordan turns to Magic Johnson, who was doing color-commentary for NBC that night, and gives him this shrug, the look that even Michael is shocked by how well he’s shooting the basketball.
#4---Game 5 of the 1997 Finals
Lets come out and say it right now. Having the flu sucks. You are constantly tired, your stomach hurts, and if you ever leave your bed, its to go to the bathroom. It feels like you’re in a heavyweight fight, but can’t throw a punch. On June 11, 1997, Michael Jordan was in the unfortunate position of having the stomach flu. That day just happened to be the day if Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals versus the Utah Jazz. For most, that means it’s time to rest, and they’ll come back healthy for a possible Game 6 or 7. Not Michael. He trotted out there, dehydrated and feeling like crap, and did the impossible. He led the Bulls to a huge game five win with 38 points, including a three-pointer with less then a minute left to clinch it. Two nights later in Chicago, with MJ feeling much better, the Bulls won one for the thumb.
#3---Game 6 of the 1998 Finals
This should have been it. No more encores, no more sequels. The curtain closed and this should have been the last that we saw of Michael Jordan in an NBA uniform. The steal, the crossover (OK, he pushed off a bit), the jump shot from 15 feet. And then the pose. Bob Costas described it as an artist looking at their painting, making sure that every detail had been filled in. The game was the final nail-in-the coffin for the Stockton /Malone Jazz. It was for title number six. It would have been one hell of an exit.
#2---Game 2 of the 1986 Eastern Confrence Quarterfinals
It was exactly 20 years ago today. April 20, 1986. The lowly Bulls versus the mighty, powerfull Boston Celtics. And not just any Celtics team. The 1986 Celtics are considered one of the greatest NBA teams of all time. After they disposed of the Bulls, Hawks and Bucks in the East, they went on to thrash the Rockets for the NBA title. But on this day, they were no match for Michael Jordan. M.J. set the NBA Playoff scoring record, dropping 63 on the Celtics before the Bulls finally fell 135-131 in overtime. Whoever the Green and White sent over to stop his Airness, they were sent back to the bench with a disappointed look on their face. After the game, the media asked Larry Bird about Jordan’s performance. Larry’s response: “That wasn’t Michael Jordan. That was God disguised as Michael Jordan.”
And now, for number one, drum roll please….
#1---The Double Nickel vs. Spike’s Beloved Knicks
Yeah, you are seeing this correctly. The only non-playoff game on the list is number one. I can hear all the arguments as I type. “But he wasn’t #23 in this game. It wasn’t his highest scoring game. He didn’t even shoot the game-winning shot. “ It doesn’t matter. I would have given every dime, penny and of course nickel in my bank account to be in Madison Square Garden that night. In 39 minutes, #45 shot 21 for 37 from the field, 10 for 11 from the charity stripe, and was 3 for 4 from downtown. 55 points. And this was only Michael’s fifth game in almost 20 months. And to top it off, with four seconds left, Jordan has the game winning assist to Bill Wennington to give the Bulls 113-111 win.
If anybody has a game that’s not on the list that you feel should be, by all-means, please let me know. And props to the website http://www.basketball-reference.com/ for having box scores of almost every game in NBA history.
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3 comments:
You have a better memory of stuff like this than I do but I would like to have been at perhaps "the shot" game in 89 vs the Cavs. woulda been better at the Madhouse on Madison but still a classic moment...
I considered that game, as well as the classic Toon Squad-MonStars battle from Space Jam, but they couldn't crack this list
Dude, you called it, the Toon Squad vs. MonStars. Here's why: In the other games Jordan had Pippen, Grant, Harper, Rodman, Kukoc, or others to help him out. In the other games he was playing regular NBA teams. But in Space Jam, all he had was four tiny Looney Tune characters, and he was playing against monsters who stole the basketball skills of Barkley, Ewing, Bogues, Grandmama and Shawn Bradley. Granted, that team didn't really have anyone to play the two, but with their size advantage over the looney tunes it shouldn't have mattered. But Jordan still pretty much single-handily won the game. Plus, I know that his final shot was amazing, and "The shot" was awesome too, but for real, do either of them top his dunking from halfcourt while being held back by the MonStars by making his arm grow all the way to the hoop? I don't think so.
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