US basketball

LOOKBACK: Jordan’s triple-double run as Bulls’ point guard

JR Isaga

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LOOKBACK: Jordan’s triple-double run as Bulls’ point guard

AFP

For a stretch in 1989, Michael Jordan became one of the league’s best point guards just because he decided he wanted to be

 

 

MANILA, Philippines – Once The Last Dance documentary series airs starting on Sunday, April 19 (Monday, April 20, Philippine time), basketball fans young and old alike will again bear witness to why Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time.

In his 15 seasons in the NBA, “His Airness” did whatever he wanted on the court, whether it’s hitting tough fadeaway jumpers on everyone’s faces or showcasing an even tougher display of defensive prowess on his hapless opponents. 

Make no mistake, he really did whatever he wanted on the court, which brings about the story of the time he decided to play point guard instead of his natural shooting guard position. 

Spoiler alert: Michael Jordan, because he is Michael Jordan, became one of the league’s best point guards, just because he decided he wanted to be. 

The year was 1989. Jordan was known to the basketball world not yet as a multi-time champion, but as a spectacular, skywalking individual who always ran to brick walls in the postseason one way or another. (READ: His Airness: Things to know about Michael Jordan)

Before he was a playoff dream-killing machine with his Hall of Fame coach and crew, Jordan was nothing more than a regular season attraction with all the stats and individual honors in the world but no significant moments where it mattered most.

And on one fateful March 7th evening following a regular season loss to the mighty Boston Celtics, Jordan decided he had to shake things up.

The Bulls had a respectable 34-23 record by then, but were just 6th in the grueling Eastern Conference and could do much better, especially with a transcendent talent at their disposal.

And the answer came to Jordan in the most Jordan-esque way: more control.

 

PG experiment

It made so much more sense on paper. Why indeed waste time creating plays for the undisputed best player on the team when that player can just run the offense entirely instead? 

And on March 11, Jordan officially got the keys to the offense once held by role players Sam Vincent and John Paxson.

It was a rousing success. In 40 minutes on the floor, the new Chicago lead guard registered a season-low 18 points on just 13 attempts – one off a season-low – but with a staggering 15 assists to match in a 105-88 blowout win against the Seattle Supersonics. 

From there, the point guard experiment was off to the races.

In 15 games since the start of the position shift, Chicago posted an 11-4 record while Jordan averaged a near triple-double with 28.6 points, 11.9 assists and 9.7 rebounds on 50% shooting. 

This included a stunning run of 7 straight triple-double finishes for Jordan which resulted in 5 wins.

 

 

Prior to the shift, Jordan averaged 33.4 markers, 7.6 boards and 6.9 dimes, a line way more closer to his career norms. 

However, after a blazing start, the Bulls still messed up in the season’s crucial home stretch.

With Jordan still running the offense, the rest of the league finally caught up and sent the Bulls on a 2-8 skid to finish the season, including a 6-game losing streak that ultimately settled their record at 47-35 for the 6th seed in the playoffs.

 

 

 

All in all, Jordan’s forced deferral to his teammates did more harm than good, even though it got them deep into the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

The man was never a good teammate, and for good reason. He wasn’t some system player who played for the welfare of others. 

He was the system. 

His new strength soon became his new weakness, and the Detroit Pistons realized it before the Bulls did. 

“Let’s take a chance on the other guys beating us. The more you make [Jordan] think as a point guard, the more beneficial it is for us,” said Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that year. 

Indeed, the “other guys” were nowhere near as good as their best man, which meant that the scoring opportunities Jordan would have had were given away to way worse beneficiaries.

The Pistons used this knowledge to eventually eliminate the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, once again denying Jordan a shot at his first ring and claiming it for their own. 

Immediately the following year, Jordan dropped the point guard act as the Bulls selected BJ Armstrong in the 1990 NBA Draft while Paxson took Jordan’s spot at lead guard. 

Sure enough, Jordan the shooting guard finally got the first of his 6 championship rings in the 1991 NBA Finals, proving true the old adage: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” – Rappler.com

 

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