Chapter 868: Chapter 46 Spring_3
As bench players, Mark Aguirre and Ma Hong found it difficult to continuously provide enough output. With the starters fatigued, the Pistons couldn’t suddenly muster the energy to pull ahead in the fourth quarter.
On the contrary, if the Pistons grit their teeth and persist without proper rotations and rest in the fourth quarter, when Jordan and Pippen return to the court, they will collapse instantly.
Although Jackson felt confident internally, there was still a sliver of worry, as the substitute players’ performances were always poor whenever facing the Pistons.
BJ Armstrong and Hodges put up disastrous performances in last year’s Game 7.
Jackson still trusted his substitutes, especially with Horace Grant leading from the bench this year.
Jackson also brought in Levinston, and when the fourth quarter truly began, Jordan was surprised to find his teammates were playing very well.
The Bulls not only didn’t fall behind but launched an 11-0 offensive surge, overtaking the score!
Armstrong made a successful drive, Hodges hit two three-pointers, Purdue even scored a basket, and Grant grabbed a rebound for a second chance score.
Jackson’s focus on building the confidence of the substitute players paid off tremendously. The Triangle Offense gave every player a chance to improve, and his unwavering personnel strategy encouraged players to take shots.
When Chuck Daly had to call a timeout, the Bulls’ bench erupted in cheers, and Jordan began to cheer his teammates on, telling them they did a great job.
However, he didn’t receive any response from his teammates, who seemed unaccustomed to Jordan speaking this way.
In the fourth quarter, the Pistons completely lost their energy. They moved sluggishly and appeared exhausted.
Mark Aguirre, who had been hot for three quarters, finally cooled off in the fourth.
Not every player has the extraordinary stamina like Jordan or Guoyang, who can maintain all-out effort throughout the game.
Once the score widened, the game lost its suspense, especially with Pippen and Jordan on the court, the Bulls secured the victory.
After trailing for three quarters, the Bulls overpowered the Pistons in the fourth to win by an 11-point margin, claiming victory in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tonight, Jordan’s performance wasn’t outstanding. He was once again a key focus for the Pistons’ defense, scoring only 22 points with mediocre shooting accuracy.
After returning to the locker room, Jordan said to his teammates, "Thank you, thank you for pulling me out of the pit."
Awkwardly, no one spoke, no one responded; everyone was clearly still not used to this side of Jordan.
It was quite odd.
Jordan changed clothes and went to attend the press conference.
The reporters were all waiting for Jordan, as tonight might be an important step towards meeting Ah Gan in the Finals.
Jordan seemed a bit overly excited, and during the interview, he said, "Thanks to my supporting cast, my teammates, they brought the victory, while I played poorly, very badly today."
Jordan’s use of the term "supporting cast" sounded somewhat uncomfortable to people.
Even more uncomfortable was when Jordan added, "I think I had a bit of a headache today" while evaluating his poor performance.
This was clearly a jab at Pippen, who performed poorly in last year’s Game 7 due to a headache, which had greatly annoyed Jordan.
Now, he was making this joke at the post-victory press conference to knock Pippen down a notch.
He didn’t do it on purpose. In retrospect, he somewhat regretted saying it, but it’s in his nature; even if he controlled himself today, it would happen again next time.
When the press conference ended and he returned to the locker room, Jackson had a private talk with Jordan, asking if he felt a bit off emotionally tonight.
Not only did Jordan elbow Joe Dumars during the game, but he also frantically trash-talked Dennis Rodman in the second quarter.
After the game, he didn’t seem very happy, using words to mock the outstanding Pippen, calling everyone the supporting cast, etc.
"What was up with you today? I know, you want to beat the Pistons badly, but today wasn’t like the past you."
"Really? Then who was it like?"
"You know who it was like. But I think, this is great, keep it up."
"But some things I didn’t mean to say."
"No worries, winning is what matters."
As Jackson drove away from the arena, he breathed a big sigh of relief.
Because with tonight’s win, he knew the Pistons couldn’t stop the Bulls this year.
He sensed the weakness of the Detroiters, they were truly fragile and no longer resilient.
He opened the car window, letting the Chicago night breeze in, feeling incredibly pleasant.
But soon, Jackson felt a twinge of anxiety as he thought about Jordan’s behavior.
That enormous shadow engulfing everything was getting closer and closer, and upon introspection, Jackson didn’t possess sufficient confidence.
While crossing the bridge, Jackson saw a bright, clear moon suspended in the sky, its moonlight coldy beautiful yet somehow imbued with a sense of danger and chill.
"If only Barkley could take out the Trail Blazers." Jackson suddenly had such a thought.
Such lack of confidence is precisely the source of danger.
