Thanksgiving break has afforded me the opportunity to watch some of the Chicago Bulls films from the championship years. What made those six championships to memorable was not simply Michael Jordan, but also cohesive the entire team was. Take the two stars, Scottie and Michael, for example. I can't recall a time where the two publicly feuded (at least to the extent that we see players today do so). This isn't necessarily meant to be a dig on Kobe and Shaq but I can't recall another modern basketball dynasty that involved two star players who were on the same page (though I was a big fan of the David Robinson/Tim Duncan duo for those couple years). Plus, I can't recall such a memorable set of role players. Take Dennis Rodman. Yeah, he had the colorful hair and tattoos and even kicked a cameraman in the groin but, dude, who else can say that they've crushed Bob Costas!
As for this season, when I haven't been gushing over Derrick Rose, I've been admiring the team effort of the San Antonio Spurs. I was able to watch a couple of their games when Ginobili and Parker were out and, though it was pretty vanilla in terms of offense, the team game was solid. Plus, they have managed to find another potential stud in guard George Hill (and Roger Mason) who could really be something special. Props to Coach Popovich for assembling what normally would seem to be a bunch of no-name players to surround the trio of stars. I've always been a fan of the Spurs brand of play, boring as it may seem to fans.
Some memorable Bulls moments:
Sharing the spotlight with the short, white, role-player. I was at a church retreat and there was a bunch of us huddled around the radio (since we had no TV) listening to this game.
The flu game 1997 Finals. Unforgettable image: Jordan collapsing into Pippen's arms after hitting a three-pointer to seal the Jazz's fate...serious brotherhood. This NBA 2k9 rendition is pretty much spot on.
The Last Shot/Shove/Game Winner
Whatever you want to call it, everything about this was pure art. Even the graceful shove of Bryan Russell (poor guy never had a chance!) simply becomes part of the final image along with Jordan holding and posing for the follow through. As far as I'm concerned, Jordan's career ends here and his stint with the Wizards never happened.
And who could forget this gem!
2 comments:
Parker is back, Manu make acrobatic lay up and Duncan does he things. What does that mean? Spurs are back and there are back for good.
My fav player, Ginobili in particular is looking like he had never left the court before. You just gotta love when he makes those drive to the basket. No one does it as good as him.
And don’t forget with the likes of Mason and Hill around, it seems like it is no longer the old Spurs anymore. They have a deep bench and perhaps the best in years.
Now the Western Conference will be alive once again. It was plain boring when the Lakers were dominating it.
Here is my take on the Spurs/Grizzlies game, which I would appreciate to hear some feedback from you.
http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/2008/11/nba-news-another-walter-show-in-palace.html
steve kerr is hilarious.
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