What’s going on here?
The Bulls were supposed to wind up with their picture on boxes of Wheaties, not on cartons of milk.
All of a sudden, the greatest team in the history of basketball got lost in Seattle. It’s not over ’til Game 6, maybe.
In many ways, Friday night’s 89-78 loss to the SuperSonics was more surprising than Wednesday night’s. This was the night the Bulls were going to make amends, separate the men from the children, and begin their summer vacation.
Instead, the Bulls are turning cold before our eyes. Or is it old? They were so jittery, even Michael Jordan couldn’t save them.
Poise and confidence have yielded to helter and skelter. If the Bulls were under no pressure after rolling to a 3-0 lead in this NBA Finals, they are now. One more torpid display, and this series could be tied. Two more, and the Bulls don’t have to worry about being compared with the 1972 Lakers. Maybe the 1969 Cubs.
Nobody thinks that will happen, probably not even the Sonics. But who expected this? Not even NBC. Friday night’s game was the one the Bulls wouldn’t let get away. Instead, they never had a handle on it.
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Is it the weather? The Bulls thought they would feel right at home in Seattle, where it rains 160 days a year. But it’s been almost tropical this week, and there is no resemblance whatsoever to Chicago, where it rains 360 days a year.
What about the format? The 2-3-2 system can be an injustice for the team with the home-court advantage, but the Bulls really should have been bulletproof after winning the first game in the Key Arena. Since then, they’ve become the gang that can’t shoot straight.
The Bulls were a dreadful 3 for 26 on three-pointers. Only if Hue Hollins were shooting for them would the conspiracy theory have applied. Jordan put together a highlight film on one solo effort late in the second quarter. He dribbled behind his back to escape Frank Brickowski, then bore in David Wingate and simply went over him for the jam to make it 39-39.
But the Sonics just blinked as if to pay brief homage, then kept on coming. The Sonics did not play that well in the first half, only well enough to hang in and forge a 43-42 lead.
The Bulls took only 34 shots, made 15, turned the ball over eight times. Ron Harper, who is hurting more than the Bulls would have us know, didn’t start and the rest of the bench was ineffective. Not a single field goal from the irregulars in the first half.
Jordan tried to revive the Bulls again when he brought them a 53-52 lead in the second half. But nobody was reading the cue cards this night. A lot of yelling and pointing, but not much action.
It is unclear why the Bulls have engaged themselves in this funk at this time. The Sonics cannot claim complete innocence. They really could have vanished after being drubbed in Sunday’s Game 3, but apparently the Bulls do not have the patent on this intangible we hail as character.
If the Bulls are staging a job action in sympathy with coach Phil Jackson, that doesn’t make much sense either. They look distracted and disjointed but if ever the front office needs film clips to support rebuilding plans, Friday night’s will work. So will Wednesday night’s.
George Karl, the Seattle coach who doesn’t look quite so ineffective anymore, said he wanted to force the Bulls to play a great game if they were to win this series. He didn’t have to worry about Game 5 anymore than Game 4.
More overtime pay for Chicago’s finest police officers, guarding against the victory celebration. By the time the Bulls win this title, the men in blue might be able to retire.