Still Gotta Come Through Chicago
The time Michael Jordan scored 51 points on purpose; the Bears taking long look at Andy Dalton; Hawks and Bulls updates because someone's gotta do it
We got two newsletters this week, folks. Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, and some other fun stuff today and a Spring Training + other updates later in the week. Let’s go.
On January 21st, 1997, Michael Jordan scored 51 points against the New York Knicks. That, in a vacuum, is not all that big of a deal. He’d eclipsed 50 points in his career 35 times before.
What was special about this scoring performance? It was on purpose.
The Bulls had won 72 games and a championship in the 1995-1996 season. Nearing the end of January 1997, they were 34-5, and things were getting boring around Chicago. Jordan had won MVP again in 1996 (his fourth time winning the award), the Bulls had beaten the Sonics to reclaim the NBA throne, and he once again won the Finals MVP.
Had they not lost Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc to injuries that sidelined them for a good portion of the season near its end, they may have won 72 games again. Instead, they won a measly 69.
It was the dog days of ‘96-’97 NBA year and Jordan was looking for something to motivate him, which he often did, famously. So much so, in fact, that he sometimes fired himself up over things his teammates would later say he either misinterpreted or completely made up in his own head. This time, a day before the Bulls were about to play their rival from New York, he didn’t have to work as hard.
During a radio interview two weeks prior, Knicks Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy off-handedly suggested that Jordan used his friendships in the league to soften opponents up, and then crush them.
"I think everybody realizes he uses everything to his advantage, physically and psychologically," Van Gundy said. "His way is to befriend them, to soften them up, to try to make them feel he cares about them. Then he goes out there and physically tries to destroy them."
Van Gundy later insisted it was meant as a compliment, and not an insult. He was simply saying, he said, that everyone wanted to be friends with Jordan, and all Jordan wanted to do was dominate them on the court. Van Gundy’s mistake was using the term “con-man” to describe him, which made its way back to Jordan via Chicago reporters.
And that was that. Jordan went on to score 51 points, on a night where he had no help from his supporting cast, and the Bulls beat the Knicks, 88-87. The only other player in double digits was Scottie Pippen, who scored 15.
You’ve probably heard of the “con-man game,” but the unintentional comedy that came from it is largely forgotten. Jeff Van Gundy, a short misfit of an NBA coach, stood on the sideline the whole game looking helpless as Jordan thrashed his team and repeatedly glared over at him. He wasn’t even sure why Jordan was mad at him in the first place, and refused to take his — what he thought were — non-offensive comments back after the game.
Van Gundy was angered over a foul call that benefitted Jordan during the game, and threw a tantrum on the sideline. Jordan went right up to the Knicks sideline and screamed at him. When asked what he said after the game, Van Gundy said, “I think he called me a little hockey puck.” That would have been a hilarious insult in its own right, but it turns out Jordan had said “Calm down, you little fuck.”
Jordan said afterward that Van Gundy wouldn’t understand the relationships he had within the league because he never played the game himself, calling his con-man point “a crock.”
“He obviously doesn't know I scored in double figures my last year at Nazareth College,” Van Gundy said. “That hurts. He said I didn't play.”
New York had still not won in the United Center since its opening three years prior, despite being a contending team throughout that time period. Jordan also told Spike Lee, who was sitting court-side in Chicago that day, to tell his coach to shut the fuck up.
"I think," Phil Jackson said after the game, “it was a tactical mistake by the coach of the Knicks to attack Michael personally before the game."
Jackson and Van Gundy also despised each other, constantly jabbing at each other through the press over the years.
Jordan was 18-30 on the game, 5-8 from three, and had just 2 turnovers.
The Knicks would beat the Bulls a couple times later on in the year. When they edged one out at Madison Square Garden, Jordan complimented the Knicks. Then he spoke gospel.
“We know they’re not going to be a cake walk,” Jordan said about the Knicks. “They needed this game, to win at home. If you can’t win at home, you can’t win on the road.
“But we’re still in control of this boat. We have what everyone wants. Everyone in the league knows that to win a championship in 1997, you have to go through Chicago.”
STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO! Let’s have a good week.
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P.S. Here’s the first sentence of a game preview ahead of the Knicks next game vs. Indiana from Newsday in New York.
“Just a suggestion: If the Knicks are going to tick off another player tonight when they take on the Pacers, how about someone harmless, like Fred Hoiberg?”
One day, the United Center will roar like this again.
Don’t forget to leave a comment today by hitting the button on the right when you get to the end of the newsletter:
Trivia:
In the 11 full seasons Michael Jordan played for the Bulls — 1984-1985; 1986-1993; 1995-1998 — he only failed to average more than 30 points per game 3 times. (He missed 64 games in his sophomore season with a broken leg). Which years were they?
(Answer at end of the newsletter)
Quick note on the ass holes who yell at Jim Boylen when he goes into the tunnel. Listen buddy, I know you had 5 beers at the game and are excited about your fake ID working inside the United Center, but there’s no reason to yell at a guy who 1. can’t retaliate and 2. has really done nothing wrong besides take a job he was wildly unqualified for.
I make fun of Jim Boylen a lot on here, but it’s simply reacting to idiotic things he does. Disgrace to the city, though? Nah, he’s just a sign of the disgrace to the city, which is John Paxson. Perhaps the disgrace could be Jerry or Mike Reinsdorf, too, depending on how you choose to look at it.
If ESPN offered me my own morning show and $3 million, I’d probably take it. And when the show opened every day with all of LeBron’s miscues from the night before and a five-minute rant on Zach LaVine, it wouldn’t make sense for you to direct your anger at me. ESPN chose to hire an unhinged person with no experience. I didn’t hire myself.
(This reminds me that I once told my friend before we went out that I was given my own show on ESPN2 at 2am after college. He believed me, so I insisted he come on as a guest some time.)
Rule #1: If you wouldn’t say the same thing at an athlete/coach when walking to the bathroom at a bar — alone — don’t yell it at them in the stadium
Rule #2: When you’re mad at a problem, get angry at the root of it first, and then consider whether or not you should really have hatred in your heart for the weeds that grew from it.
I spent a lot of time around Jim Boylen last year. He’s a nice guy, simply put. He treats people well. As I’ve said before, he’d be a SGCTC subscriber in another lifetime. He’s about hustle, he’s about the grind. He loves the city, loves the franchise.
(Him saying he doesn’t care about his win-loss record, inadvertently suggesting he doesn’t care about the Bulls winning, is another story)
For his sake, I wish he never got this promotion. Boylen could’ve retired as a universally liked guy who held assistant roles on a lot of great teams. It sucks for him that the best opportunity in his life will likely produce some of his worst memories.
Leave Jimmy Boylen alone, alright? As for Pax, I WISH that arrogant son-of-a-bitch would show his face. And he better hope I didn’t just polish off another unnecessary vodka-Red Bull that’s going to have me sleep walking later on that night. I’d dead sprint at him — picking up speed steadily on the way — bring my hips with me, thrusting my whole weight violently into his soul-less frame, pick him up, drive him back down to the ground, then say “Tom Thibodeau sends his regards.” (As you can tell, I’ve thought about this a lot.)
Bears:
I’ve grown quite sick of deliberating over the Bulls and the Blackhawks failures to kick off the newsletter. Frankly, it’s not what I need in my life and it’s definitely not what you need in yours.
For now on, we’re starting with the positives. So why am I starting with the Bears?
The Bears, while in Indianapolis for the combine this past week, were reportedly talking to the Bengals about a potential Andy Dalton trade. For some of you, that’s good news. For some of you, that’s bad news. I’m not sure anyone thinks it’s great or terrible, however.
The above picture, at least, may give us insight to one thing. Whoever Dalton’s agent is, he clearly doesn’t have his guy’s best interest in mind — this could be of use for the Bears. The dude lands on the cover of ESPN magazine and you approve this picture? Forget magazine covers. Frankly, that may be the creepiest photo I have ever seen, period. I’m writing as many words as I can right now just to get him off my screen. Like, he’s still looking at me. I can’t stand it.
“What’s up buddy … you need a quuuuarterback? Wait, come back! I’ll be your best friend … ”
Jokes aside, I feel like this was a discussion that everyone saw coming. Just the fact that the Bears are talking to people and that the players they’re talking about are at least of a competent breed makes me feel good about this offseason.
Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, Teddy Bridgewater. That feels like about the right spot to be looking. If you snag someone from the lower tiers, you’re not really doing much to fix a major hole. In other words, not getting an average to slightly above average quarterback this offseason would be negligence on the Bears part.
Dalton has one year left on his deal at $17.7 million. Chances are, it wouldn’t take all that much to get him. Plus, him and Bill Lazor — the Bears new offensive coordinator — did enjoy some relatively successful quarterbacking seasons together while Lazor was in Cincy.
Dalton is one of those quarterbacks that gets made fun of because he’s never been top-tier. It’s a weird thing that happens in the NFL, and I didn’t even notice it was weird until I was put through this last year of Trubisky. Like, Matt Stafford. He gets made fun of too.
Do you know the things I’d do to have Matt Stafford on the Bears? Reprehensible things. Reprehensible.
Andy Dalton didn’t have a good year last year, but he needs to be graded on a curve. The Bengals were the worst team in the league and he was missing his best target, A.J. Green, for nearly half the season.
Is he great? Absolutely not. Is he a better option than Trubisky right now? Yes. And if he’s not, that will mean that Trubisky drastically improved. As long as we have a quarterback that’s competent next year, I’ll be over the moon.
It takes so little to make my Chicago sports fan-self happy these days.
We’ll take a look at the Bears linebacking core next week, and chat about what is next for Nick Kwiatkoski — who the Bears seem like they want to re-up — and Danny Trevathan.
As for the draft, it appears to me like it’s a pretty deep one offensive line wise. I’d love for the Bears to spend an early pick there, hopefully on USC’s Austin Jackson. The Bears desperately need to hit on an offensive lineman and a tight end early. Then, they can get creative in the back half (where Pace actually thrives), and draft a skill guy and maybe a quarterback, like Arizona’s Khalil Tate or Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke (I much prefer the Tate idea).
Bulls:
The Bulls, after losing to the Thunder on Tuesday, are now 1-22 against above .500 teams this year. The only team they’ve beaten above .500 is the Clippers, who were without three of their best players. The only team with a worse record against such teams is the Warriors, who the Bulls lost to, not once, but twice.
Do I regret making a pump-up video before the year urging all of my subscribers to bet the over on the Bulls season win total? A little bit, yes.
The Bulls most certainly are not going to win more than 31.5 or — god forbid — the 33.5 games that some of you got them at. They’ve got just 20 wins with 22 games left to play. If they do somehow end the season on a tear, that party I promised may be the best night of our lives.
Having said that, I’ve made an effort to highlight the positives recently, so here it goes:
If you thought Wendell Carter Jr. and Otto Porter Jr. were dead, I don’t blame you. Otto Porter may be, but WCJ returned on Saturday when the Bulls lost to their sister franchise, the New York Knicks. It won’t help the Bulls this season, but if you’re like me and still put yourself through full Bulls games, it will make the experience a tad better. He’ll still be on a minutes restriction for a few weeks.
Coby White has been on an absolute tear. Before his 22-point performance on Saturday, he had scored 33+ points in three straight games. The only other Bulls to do that? Derrick Rose, once. Bob Love, twice. Michael Jordan, 45 times. The idea that any Bulls player could be getting better under the team’s current structure is the biggest surprise out of all of this. White has only gained confidence since the beginning of the year, and has shown an ability to go to the basket, a welcome addition to his streaky outside shooting.
I got some heat for making fun of the Start-Coby-White band wagoners the other day. Here is my point: If Coby White is playing a lot of minutes and getting better, there is no reason to start him. Could they start him? Sure. Does it really matter, at all, in the grand scheme of things? Absolutely not. For the Bulls fans on this bandwagon, I get it. I appreciate you caring at all about something Bulls related. It just pisses me off when national media (Jay Williams) and Chicago media don’t pay close attention to the team and then just scream START COBY WHITE, as if they’re adding anything intelligent to the conversation.
Could the Bulls actually be developing a young player??
Ah, should’ve known better.
Blackhawks:
The Blackhawks and GM Stan Bowman, somehow, look even worse after the trade deadline than they did before. With playoff chances in the rearview, they could have sold off pieces, gotten a decent return, and made something of this seemingly lost season. They did the former. They failed at the latter.
The Hawks traded goalie Robin Lehner — a beloved character in locker room for his lone season with the team and a damn good goalie — and defenseman Erik Gustafsson at the deadline.
‘‘It’s all about asset management,’’ Bowman said. ‘‘When you have an expiring asset whose rights you don’t retain anymore, it’s not as much a financial decision as it is trying to recoup some value and draft picks and prospects … It was really to bring in some … assets that we can use to select young players and add them to our stable of prospects to make our team better in the coming years.’’
But the Hawks didn’t get much in return at all. As Ben Pope said in the Sun-Times, none of three assets the Hawks got back have even a 50% chance of becoming NHL players, according to probabilities based on hockey history.
They didn’t get a first round pick. They probably won’t earn a high pick themselves.
But at least there’s this:
Reminder: Another newsletter is coming later this week, jam-packed with the Cubs, Sox, and a lot more. Get ready, and post a comment below if you think anything needs to be covered that we’ve been missing.
This week in Chicago:
Bulls: Home vs. Dallas tonight, 7 p.m.; Wednesday at Minnesota, 7 p.m.; Friday vs. Indiana at home, 7 p.m.; Sunday at Brooklyn, 2 p.m.
Blackhawks: Tuesday at home vs. the Ducks, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday vs. the Oilers at home, 7:30 p.m; Friday at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.; Sunday at home vs. Blues, 6:30 p.m.
White Sox: Spring Training games every day this week
Cubs: Spring Training games every day this week
(Cubs and Sox play each other on Friday)
Trivia:
Jordan averaged a mere 28.2 points per game in his rookie season, 1984-1985. In his last two years with the Bulls, ‘96-’97 and ‘97-’98, he averaged 29.6 PPG and 28.7 PPG, respectively. He had a chance to average 30 PPG with monster efforts in his last two contests in ‘96-’97, but ultimately came up short.
In 1986-1987, Jordan averaged 37.1 PPG and scored 3,041 points in total. The only other player to eclipse 3,000 points in a single season is Wilt Chamberlain.
Betting Pick:
Record: 20-13
It’s been a tough go of it for the betting pick of late. No time to pout.
This week’s pick: San Antonio +1 at home vs. the Pacers
Thank you for reading, as always. Don’t forget to comment below (instructions up top), and tell a new friend to subscribe before the second newsletter later this week.
I agree with your take on backing off on destroying Boylen. Same exact situation as Mitch. I actually feel horrible for Mitch. He was a dumb ass inexperienced imbecile before Pace decided to draft him. Pace should be publicly stoned for not only drafting him, but also for putting Mitch through all of this. Hell, Mitch can join in on the stoning of Pace if he would like. Mitch may be dumber than a jar of prunes, but he's a good kid and didn't ask for any of this.
I read somewhere the the Hawks did have a first rounder on the table for Lehner but thought they could do better. Once they got the offer from Vegas they tried to go back to the team that offered a 1st and they had already traded that pick away. Stan Bowman at his finest.