Sure, Michael Jordan might have been referring to Saturday’s two-point playoff loss to the Pacers, but Jordan has to be plainly familiar with any of the more reputable tourist guides for the grandest town in Indiana.
“This is just a bump in the road,” Jordan said.
Maybe Jordan could be a little more generous considering that the Bulls are sharing a weekend and inadequate hotel space with the open-wheel-racing crowd, an honor much the same as putting the good silver in the same drawer as the auto parts.
Not just a bump, but a speed bump in the road. And a bald bump to boot.
To encourage their local heroes against the five-time world champion Bulls, many Hoosiers had shaved their heads in sort of a community clipoff, so that entire sections of Market Square Arena looked like open crates of eggs.
Ballboys and equipment gaffers were as smooth as doorknobs. Even the dancing girls, in one number, wore bald caps, not exactly the full commitment, but the sentiment of the gesture was noted.
One wonders if Monday they might all show up on crutches out of sympathy for the one-legged hero of the day, Reggie Miller.
Hairless and gimpy. Well, it worked once.
“It’s tender, it’s sore,” Miller said of his right ankle, sprained by stepping on Jordan’s foot.
Miller inspired a fourth-quarter survival of the Bulls by the Pacers, though his inspiration was not as significant as his three three-pointers.
“I could still lift on my threes,” Miller said. “That’s more leg than ankle.”
Apparently, in some of us, the ankle bone is not connected to the leg bone.
This is the sort of thing that Jordan usually does, of course: get hurt, come back and lift his team, though Jordan also has been known to play well when fully healthy.
This has not been the case with Miller. In fact, until he was injured, Miller was eraser dust, being clapped soundly by Ron Harper. “Reggie said he could gut it out,” coach Larry Bird said. “He was hobbling quite a bit, but he hit some big shots for us.”
If the key to Miller making a difference is infirmity, maybe next he might try stomach flu or Scottie Pippen’s fresh ailment, a bruised hip.
Pippen was knocked around to the great delight of the home crowd, who cheered his falls and booed his name. Pippen had earned this disfavor by eliminating Pacers point guard Mark Jackson in the first two games in Chicago, and by becoming the target of Bird’s annoyance.
This is the kind of shrill displeasure usually reserved for Jordan or for Dennis Rodman. Clearly, Pippen is the prime villain for the Pacers and their fans, and he earned the loudest bit of contempt when, almost in succession, he was leveled at midcourt by an uncalled lunging pick from Pacers lug Dale Davis and then, on a breakaway, slipped on his own sweat in a glorious pratfall.
“I got banged up pretty good,” Pippen admitted.
Jordan was, also, less than his considerable legend, not just shooting poorly but also being the defender of record on Miller after Miller’s working ankles were halved.
“I was surprised they didn’t come after me,” Miller said. “You see a wounded dog, you usually go after it.”
Usually, you call a vet. The Bulls called Jordan.
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“I’d rather have Jordan on me (than Harper),” Miller said. “It’s the competitiveness to take on the best. But Harper’s only job is to stop me on defense. It’s a different story if Mike has to guard me and still get off on the other end (offense).
“When he’s playing against Chris (Mullin), it’s a bit of a layoff for him. I have to cover Mike and play offense too.”
Miller on one leg does twice what Jordan does on two?
A fool and his convictions still must play Game 4 and Game 5.
“I like our chances,” Jordan said.
Bump. Bump.