#exhibit a angel's shooting vs rebounding

[the-physicality]

i do think, aside from mercury bias, if bg had been in all season she would have been all wnba, first or at least second. i think people undervalue her because of the rebounding but she is 1000% the worst officiated player in the league, on both sides of the court. so the fact that she's been able to have the performance that she had is incredible, and that she didn't get the acknowledgment really just underscores how much people take what she does for granted.

[junker-town]

How Zion Williamson went from high school mixtape star to can’t-miss No. 1 pick

Williamson is far from an overnight sensation. This is how the new Pelicans No. 1 pick became the NBA’s next can’t-miss superstar.

The legend of Zion Williamson was born out of grainy footage shot on shaky cellphone cameras. It spread like a virus, infecting millions of social media users stupefied at what they were watching. Here was a 16-year-old whipping his body through the air for windmill dunks, 360 dunks, sometimes even 360 windmill dunks. He was a staple on SportsCenter by his junior year. Drake was wearing his high school jersey before he ever went to prom.

And now, he’s officially the new face of the New Orleans Pelicans after they selected him No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. With Anthony Davis now on Los Angeles, this is officially Williamson’s team, franchise, and city. New general manager David Griffin is now on the clock to build a winner around him.

Williamson was already a national sensation before he arrived at Duke, but he was no sure thing in the eyes of NBA scouts. Most recruiting services ranked him as the third-best incoming freshman on his own team.

That changed during his five months on campus in Durham, when Williamson pieced together the most thoroughly dominant season the modern era of college basketball has ever seen. Once Williamson actually stepped on the floor in college, there was no debate that he’d be the No. 1-overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Williamson is the first superstar of the social media era, a player who transformed from a mixtape legend to a can’t-miss NBA stud before our eyes. His presence not only overshadowed his talented Duke teammates, but often times the institution of college basketball itself.

As he takes the next step in his career, it’s time to look back at how Williamson became larger than life. This is the journey that took him from humble beginnings in South Carolina to the brink of becoming the NBA’s next phenom with the Pelicans.

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Williamson’s birthday is July 6, 2000

He was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, to a mother who ran track at nearby Livingstone College and a father who was recruited to play defensive line on the football field at NC State. He was named after Mount Zion in the bible.

Williamson and his mother would move to Spartanburg, South Carolina, when he was young, the town where he was raised. It was his mother who coached him early in his basketball career. When it was time for high school, he enrolled at Spartanburg Day School, a small private school known more for academics than athletics. This is where Williamson’s star would grow.

Williamson’s high school career began modestly

As a freshman, Williamson was reportedly a 6’3, 175-pound guard whose most prominent scholarship offer came from nearby Wofford College. As he entered high school, he played on a grassroots team with Ja Morant, the eventual Murray State superstar who the Grizzlies took No. 2-overall behind Williamson in the 2019 NBA Draft. At the time, no one realized the immense talent of either player.

As a high school sophomore, Williamson grew three inches and led Spartanburg Day School to a state championship. That’s when his profile started to blow up.

How Williamson became a high school star

Williamson’s ascent happened during spring grassroots (or “AAU”) sessions heading into his junior year. Playing in the Adidas league, he started to earn national acclaim after a breakout performance during a circuit stop in Atlanta, where he averaged 23.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in four games. He was suddenly considered a top-20 prospect in his class.

“My high school team, we don’t play a national schedule, so college coaches didn’t really come out, but after the second Adidas session in Atlanta, that’s when my college offers started to blow up,” Williamson told USA Today in 2016.

An early mixtape from spring 2016 shows just how under the radar Williamson was. The announcer couldn’t even pronounce his name correctly.

Williamson saw his stock hit a new level when he went to NBAPA Top 100 Camp a few months later. He was named MVP of the camp and emerged as top-five recruit in his class.

After a big spring & dominant NBPA @Top100Camp, Zion Williamson rises to #5 nationally! https://t.co/9JVIsFIamX pic.twitter.com/s97Aho2onh

— Future150.com (@Future150) June 22, 2016

Williamson closed his summer by winning MVP of the Under Armour Elite 24 national all-star game in New York. He also won the dunk contest there.

Williamson was a full blown phenom as a high school junior

Williamson’s junior season began with an offer from Duke and a visit from coach Mike Krzyzewski. At the time, Clemson — where his stepfather played basketball — was still considered the front-runner in his recruitment.

Thanks for coach K and Duke basketball for coming to visit pic.twitter.com/4PJD39Lp2L

— Zion Williamson (@ZionW32) September 23, 2016

Williamson made SportsCenter as the No. 1 play in the Top 10 in February 2016:

Zion Williamson threw down an NBA Dunk Contest-worthy slam. Oh, and he's in high school. pic.twitter.com/2fXtcP5V8W

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 14, 2017

Around the same time, Drake posted a photo on Instagram wearing his jersey:

View this post on Instagram

Drake rocking the very rare Zion Williamson jersey. (Via @champagnepapi)

A post shared by SLAM (@slamonline) on Jan 15, 2017 at 8:03am PST

At this point, Williamson had become a national sensation. He first appeared on SB Nation in July 2017 with this block:

Zion Williamson, you are AMAZING @ZionW32 pic.twitter.com/kDLtSmYwCu

— Overtime (@overtime) July 13, 2017

Later that month, we wrote that Williamson was the best dunker of his generation.

Williamson vs. LaMelo Ball was the craziest “AAU” game ever

At the height of both Ball family mania and Williamson’s high school hype, Williamson faced off against LaMelo Ball in a grassroots game in Las Vegas on July 27, 2017. The game created a chaotic atmosphere in the gym. With NBA stars like Damian Lillard and Andrew Wiggins sitting courtside, the building was so over capacity that LeBron James was turned away at the door.

Main gym at @adidasUprising 70 mins before LaMelo Ball vs. Zion WillIamson. pic.twitter.com/ZmubWRcxHr

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) July 27, 2017

Everyone from college coaches like Bill Self to recruiting analysts agreed there had never been anything like this before. It only helped raise Williamson’ star to another level. You can watch highlights of the Williamson vs. Ball game here:

We watched Williamson at USA Basketball camp in 2017

Read our feature on Williamson from October 2017 at USA Basketball camp. Surrounded by the best players in the country, Williamson showed that his incredible highlights weren’t simply a product of going against overmatched teenagers.

Williamson committed to Duke on Jan. 20, 2018

Duke had already landed two top-five recruits in Cam Reddish and R.J. Barrett (the consensus No. 1) plus another five-star prospect in Tre Jones when Williamson made his college decision. Clemson was considered the favorite as the hometown school and also because of the family connection with his stepfather. Duke did not have much buzz going into the announcement, though we wrote it would be the best on-court fit for Williamson at the time.

Williamson surprised the college basketball world by picking Duke.

Immediately, there was talk that Duke had the best recruiting class of the modern era.

Early 2019 NBA mock drafts didn’t have Williamson at No. 1

That was supposed to be Barrett.

Williamson was slotted anywhere from No. 2 to just outside the top five in most early mock drafts. But as soon as Duke went on its preseason exhibition trip to Canada, it became clear to anyone paying attention that Williamson was going to be as dominant as he was unique.

Williamson’s weight blew people’s minds

⚠️ DO NOT TRY TO TAKE THIS CHARGE. ⚠️ @ZionW32 pic.twitter.com/Z6aTB7xLVs

— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) July 25, 2018

Williamson weighed in at 285 pounds in the preseason, which would have made him the second-heaviest player in the NBA this past season behind 7’3 center Boban Marjanovic. Reminder that Williamson measured in at 6’7.

Williamson put on a show during Duke’s exhibition trip in Canada

It only took three preseason games for Williamson to show how special he was going to be at Duke. After the Blue Devils’ exhibition slate was over, we wrote that Williamson was going to be college basketball’s next mega-star.

Williamson’s Duke debut against Kentucky was legendary

Duke opened the season at No. 4 in the AP preseason poll before taking on No. 2 Kentucky in its first game at the Champions Classic on a neutral floor in Indianapolis. Duke was actually a one-point underdog in this game. It’s easy to forget that now after the Blue Devils beat Kentucky by 34 points, giving John Calipari the worst defeat of his coaching career at any level.

Williamson finished with 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting in the win. As Barrett and Reddish also delivered great performances, there was talk that Duke could go 40-0. That dream would only last two weeks.

Duke lost its first game to Gonzaga at the Maui Invitational

So much for 40-0. After winning their first five games of the season, including a victory over eventual Final Four team Auburn, the Blue Devils were upset by Gonzaga in the title game of the Maui Invitational. Williamson finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-17 shooting, which amounted to one of the least efficient games of his college career. It was Barrett took over the offense for Duke down the stretch, but missed his last five shots.

Little did anyone know at the time that Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke would end the season as college basketball’s second most productive player behind Williamson.

Williamson’s best blocks showed he was great on defense, too

The country quickly learned Williamson was so much more than just a dunker. He was a tremendous defensive player, racking up blocks and steals and helping Duke finish No. 6 overall in defensive efficiency.

So many of Williamson’s most impressive plays at Duke came on the defensive end. Who could forget this block against Virginia with LeBron James sitting in the front row?

There was also this tremendous block against Virginia Tech in the NCAA tournament.

LOOK AT THIS DAMN ZION BLOCK @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/m0XLMECDEV

— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 30, 2019

Williamson’s Duke highlights alone would have made him a star

From the 360 dunk against Clemson to his windmill in the Maui Invitational, Williamson’s top highlights were so incredible that he would have been a staple on social media timelines and SportsCenter’s Top 10 even if his game wasn’t so complete.

Instead, NBA scouts found a player whose stats were even more impressive than his highlights.

Williamson’s injury and broken shoe against North Carolina froze the sports world

Duke’s first meeting with North Carolina on Feb. 20 was the most anticipated game of the college regular season. With former President Barack Obama sitting courtside, Williamson suffered the knee sprain heard around the world just moments after the opening tip. Williamson’s foot busted through his Nike shoe as he made a cut to the basket, ending his night and leaving the entire basketball world wondering if he would shut it down for the season to remain healthy ahead of the NBA Draft.

Zion's shoe: destroyed pic.twitter.com/LqQ2te0Jay

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2019

Williamson returned from injury in the ACC tournament

And he was immediately great. After missing three weeks with the injury. Williamson made his return in the opening round of the ACC tournament against Syracuse and played a perfect game: 29 points, 14 rebounds, and five steals on 13-of-13 shooting from the field.

After beating North Carolina and Florida State, Duke would win the ACC tournament and head into the NCAA tournament as the No. 1-overall seed in the field.

Duke’s NCAA tournament run fell short in the Elite Eight

The Blue Devils won at the buzzer against UCF in the round of 32 and again vs. Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16, with Williamson leading the way. Krzyzewski’s squad would meet its match in the Elite Eight against Tom Izzo and Michigan State. Despite Williamson finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals, Duke lost, 68-67. With the game on the line, Krzyzewski drew up a play for Barrett, who was fouled but missed a free throw to tie.

Duke had championship-or-bust expectations ever since that opening game against Kentucky. Failing to make the Final Four with arguably the most dominant player of his career felt like a disappointment for Krzyzewski.

Williamson’s Duke stats showed how versatile he could be

Simply put, Williamson’s freshman season at Duke was the most statistically dominant campaign college basketball has seen in its modern era. Here is a small sampling:

Finished with the highest box score plus-minus — which essentially estimates the number of points contributed by a player vs. an average player, per 100 possessions — since sports-reference’s leaderboard began in 2010-2011. Williamson’s 20.0 clearly topped Anthony Davis at Kentucky, who finished at 18.67 during the 2011-12 season.

His win shares per-40 were second best in the country behind Gonzaga’s Clarke at .335.

Scored 1.246 points per possessions, which ranked in the 99th percentile in the country.

Had an impressive block rate (5.8) and steal rate (3.9).

Shot 74.7 percent on two-point field goals and finished No. 2 in the country in effective field goal percentage at 70.8.

Williamson is finally ready for the NBA

We can’t wait to watch him in New Orleans. Williamson has lived up the hype from the very moment he entered the public consciousness. Best of all? He’s just getting started.

[protierras]

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[raptorsschedule-blog]

Connection between Nick Nurse, Phil Jackson helped shape current Raptors

Nick Nurse and Phil Jackson share some common bonds.

They each travelled an unusual path to become NBA head coaches. They each won a championship very early in their careers — Nurse in his first season with the Toronto Raptors and Jackson in his second season with the Chicago Bulls in 1991.

And they each coached Dennis Rodman.

Jackson might have gotten the better of that deal. The former Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers bench boss had the Hall-of-Fame forward on his roster for Chicago’s second ‘three-peat,’ as has been documented during the Last Dance, the 10-part documentary of the last season of Michael Jordan’s Bulls dynasty which is approaching its conclusion.

Read Here: Toronto Raptors Schedule

Nurse had Rodman for three games with the Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League as part of a promotion when the former Bulls star was a 44-year-old cast member in the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother, but the Raptors head coach’s connection to Jackson and the Bulls runs much deeper than that and its reflected in the Raptors today.

Once of the first things Nurse did when he was made Raptors head coach in the summer of 2018 was reach out to Jackson through Raptors health and performance guru Alex McKechnie, who was on Jackson’s Lakers staff.

Nurse met Jackson near his summer retreat on Flathead Lake in northern Montana for coffee and ended up spending three days with one of his coaching idols.

“I get there, we go have a cup of coffee and he says ‘Hop in my truck’ and we drive around the lake for a couple hours,” says Nurse. “I’m just kind of sitting there with the windows down going, ‘Wow.’”

It was a case of a first-year NBA head coach not only leveraging his relationships to meet with one of the most respected minds in the sport, but a full-circle moment.

“I mean, really he was a guy I certainly looked up to and learned a lot from even though he didn’t know it,” says Nurse. “…I studied his substitutions, his timeouts, his late-game stuff, his demeanor, his belief in having a system, his ability to give players freedom, his belief in pressure defence. There’s a lot of things there.”

When Nurse was starting out as a head coach in the British Basketball League, Jordan, Jackson and the Bulls were ascendant. During that pre-digital age, Nurse signed up for a subscription service that would deliver week-old VHS tapes of NBA games — in this case, Bulls games — and Nurse would wear them out, watching and rewinding, stopping and starting.

Jackson was putting on a coaching clinic and Nurse never missed a class.

He took Jackson’s vaunted triangle offence apart, possession by possession, figured it out and eventually installed it with his BBL teams, informing his approach for the rest of his career.

“I think back about what my philosophy was and I would say I didn’t know what it was. I was 25, 26 years old and had maybe cobbled up a few set plays from here and there — we ran this offence in college, ran some stuff at Grand View [University, where Nurse as an assistant coach before heading to England], but I never had [a system].

“[But] I was in a unique situation. I was coaching a low level of professional basketball and was able to try a lot of stuff and I had a working lab or whatever, and I guess that when I watched [the triangle] it appealed to me,” he says. “I liked the beauty of it and I fully installed it as my offensive philosophy after studying it and we ran it all the time for, I dunno, eight or nine years.”

In some ways he’s never not run it.

Nurse says the Raptors have some sets now that have their roots in the offence perfected by longtime Jackson assistant Tex Winter that demands precise spacing and all five players making reads as one and moving the ball accordingly.

When the Raptors played an exhibition game in New Orleans on the eve of the 2018-19 season shortly after Winters passed away, the Raptors won 134-119, even with most of their starters at home in Toronto.

“We got basket after basket after basket out of it.”

The current emphasis on three-point shooting and attacks on the rim has made post-play secondary — in contrast with the triangle, where the first option was a low-post entry — but otherwise, Nurse says, a lot of the same principles apply with how the Raptors play now, with maximum spacing, off-ball player movement and constantly looking to flow into the next action rather than getting bogged down in one-on-one isolations against set defences.

“It certainly had much more beauty than what everybody else was doing [in the ’90s]: Coming down and throwing it into the centre and kind trying to muscle up a low-post shot and three guys standing on the other side of the floor,” says Nurse.

“Everybody is gonna touch the ball. I think that was the main thing, everybody got to touch the ball and it fed into my overall philosophy that it’s just a more fun way for guys to play and guys run better, cut harder and play better defence and rebound better because they are a part of the offence.

“And then you start getting into it and the mad scientist part [is fun]. It’s ‘Oh my God this is complicated,’ and there’s so many options [with the triangle] and that even kind of added to the allure or aura or whatever the word is you know?

“That you’re tackling this thing that everybody thinks is super mysterious and you know all that kind of stuff. So that was kind of interesting too.”

Running the triangle had a side benefit when Rodman arrived in the UK for his TV appearance. A connection was made and the then 44-year-old Rodman’s services were secured for a three-game run with Brighton in January of 2006.

“It was awesome, it really was. First of all, it’s probably hard to explain the phenomenon. There was like 185 [media] credentials vs. maybe two for a normal game, so it was a pretty big spectacle and again, we were running the triangle and he comes in and throws a backdoor pass our first possession for a layup then he takes a charge the very next one down the court and the place is going bonkers. It was just cool. He was really smart. It was neat.”

Getting to compare notes with Jackson a couple of summers ago even more so.

“It was, it was beyond my expectations, it really was,” says Nurse. “He was gracious, he was funny, he was thoughtful. Obviously the other stuff everybody knows, he’s super intelligent.

“I’d ask him a question and I’d get the answer like 90 minutes later and he’d go through a historical tract to get there, but after the first couple when I felt out the rhythm of the communication, I really liked it and appreciated that rhythm, you know? It was so interesting, almost like going through the history of basketball.”

Nurse sees other parallels as he looks back at the Bulls and Jackson through the prism of the Jordan documentary. Just as the Bulls were able to remain a championship contender in the season after Jordan retired to play baseball — Chicago won 55 games in 1993-94 — the Raptors have been able to thrive in their post-championship season even in the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who drew Jordan comparisons for his dominance in the 2019 playoffs.

A commitment to a team-oriented system — similar in philosophy to what was espoused by Jackson — has carried the day. The Raptors were on a 59-win pace when play was suspended, slightly ahead of the 58-24 record they achieved in the regular season a year ago.

“It’s eerily similar. Right? You could almost say Pascal’s Pippen, and I guess that the need to run it with a little better structure, a little better execution to keep the offence to where you’re accustomed to it being on the whole,” says Nurse. “You’ve heard a lot of those guys in the Last Dance talk about it, I think that, again, five guys being integral parts of the offence like we like to run it now — ours is less of a triangle and more of a big, spaced out square — but it got better over the year and then they’re in a situation where now there’s more opportunities for them.

“We may not have one guy like Kawhi that can go and get you a bucket but I will say we have so many more weapons now — even though they’re virtually the same guys — because they just had so many more reps and now they see more opportunities and they aren’t deferring, they aren’t saying ‘I better get this back to Michael [Or Leonard]’ they make their read and they go and make a play.”

It’s an approach that Jackson doubtless could only be impressed with.

The hope now is circumstances can evolve to the point that the NBA can return to action and Nurse can see how far this version of the Raptors can go.

[itsasif007-blog]

1957 be positive big left a first round

New Post has been published on https://www.highasduck.com/1957-be-positive-big-left-a-first-round/

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MJ vs Sir Charles & The Glide

Settling on my cushy chair on a hot summer day, the sun shining brilliantly in the clear blue sky I thought there isn’t a better time to stay indoors. Flipping on “Hardwood Classics” on ESPN Classic I did just that. Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals was on, Sir Charles and Clyde “The Glide” Drexler going up against their nemesis Michael Jeffery Jordan. MJ beat both when separate, Drexler shrank from the stage; Barkley rose to the occasion only to be smacked down in six-games when all signs pointed towards an epic Game 7 on the horizon before John Paxson’s left of center three-pointer hit nothing but net. Ending the best opponent Jordan ever faced since the “Bad Boy” Pistons. Charles and Clyde when separate Jordan ate them alive. Together: maybe they could beat him.

The 1996-97 Rockets did what the Lakers of 1969 did: took the most simplest approach to how to go about beating one team. How do you neutralize Dennis Rodman? Why just trade for the “Round Mound of Rebound” of course. Slot him next to the third greatest center of all-time and suddenly the Bulls are relying on Luc Longly more than anybody would want. The 1996-7 Rockets were the classic case of a team not giving a fuck about their future, maxing out all their assets for one-year for their franchise player before he moved on to another phase of his career. Olajuwon and Drexler were both 34, Barkley was 33, Mario Ellie was 33, backup center Kevin Willis was 34, backup wing Eddie Johnson was 37. Unlike the Jordan’s teammates - mostly referring to Pippin and Kukoc - neither of the players named had much in the take for future seasons. They did not have the demonic devotion to conditioning that Jordan did.

For Charles and Clyde their original situations fell apart. Hamstrung by crappy ownership Barkley kicked and screamed till the infamous twenty-five cents on the dollar deal that sent him to Phoenix happened. The Blazers, for all their brilliance on offense, missed their window once Jordan came of age after 1991. Phil Jackson affirmed the Blazers tendency to “self-destruct” late in games prior to the start of the ‘92 Finals. And low and behold in a do-or-die Game 6 in Chicago up fifteen heading into the fourth the Bulls outscored the Blazers by a margin of 33-14. Thus the last nail was put in the Drexler-Kersey-Porter era Blazers coffin. Never again to contend for a title until 1999 with a different cast all together. Ironically the same issues of unnecessary turnovers, poor decision-making among other cancerous mistakes cost them a chance at the NBA Title against the Phil Jackson coached Los Angeles Lakers; star small forward Scottie Pippen was in the same chase for a ring situation Barkley-Drexler-Olajuwon were a few years only with arguably a better supporting cast and a undeniably worse coach in Mike Dunleavey. Even more ironically, Pippen was supposed to PREVENT another meltdown.

It took the star-studded Rockets seven-games to end the Supersonics reign as Western Conference champions, and another seven to push back the ever so valiant Stockton & Malone Jazz, edging the duo out on a Barkley-led 7-0 run in the last minute-twelve seconds of the game by a score of 88-91. By the skin of their teeth the AARP Houston Rockets were back in the NBA Finals against the opponent they wanted all along. To silence all the doubters who devalued Olajuwon’s two championships in '94-'95 because Jordan wasn’t waiting in the wings. The last hurrah of late-80s, early-90s basketball to begin in June of 1997.

Never before had Jordan had so much on the line in an NBA Finals, gone against such a loaded team that forced his squad to rely on the likes of Steve Kerr and Luc Longly. Jordan-Pippen-Rodman were enough to win 141 games over the last two seasons, set a season record for victories in a season and breeze through two playoff runs seemingly without breaking a sweat. All of the NBA were ants compared to the Chicago Bulls, like the Celtics made the league feel in the days of Bill Russell. Every season beginning with a “why even bother” feeling, only proven true by season’s end. In 1968 the Lakers were sick of losing to the same guy over and over, they finally pulled the trigger to become the second team to get Chamberlin on a ten cents on the dollar trade for him. Thinking if Elgin and Jerry weren’t enough to beat Russell, perhaps his greatest foe could push them over the top?

Well, that didn’t happen. Despite Jerry West’s ballin’ for 37.9 points, off 49% shooting, and 7.4 assists in the greatest series of his storied career, Russell knew Wilt like the back of his hand. Even with the rehabilitation Wilt went under in 1967 in Philadelphia, utilizing his passing skills converting himself into an assist-whore, since earlier Wilt only cared about points and rebounds. He sprained his angle in Game 7, came out for a little while. The Lakers went on a little run and when Wilt asked coach Butch van Breda Kolff stubbornly replied “we’re doing better without you,” and his posturing cost them the title and his job. Can’t also underestimate the psychological edge Boston held over LA couldn't be matched to any one-sided rivalry in sports at the time.

Houston’s core battled their inner demons of past failures and the ghost of Michael Jordan’s success. His Airness subsumed all of what Charles, Clyde and Hakeem accomplished in their long careers. All that mattered in that time in basketball was the Bulls. The allure of the bright red and losing yourself in the dark as the night sky 23. When the time for talk ended and the tip-off proceeded as planned a wave washed over all those in Chicago, in Houston, those in the arena, on the floor and even the announcers. A cathartic resolution was to be brought in the coming weeks. Eight All-Stars in the NBA Finals, shattering all expectations when it didn’t seem possible.

Stealing Game 1 on the road behind Olajuwon and his 31 points, twenty rebounds and three blocks and emasculating Rodman for thirty-six minutes. Jordan and Pippen roared back for fifty-five points and sixteen rebounds combined in a 102-91 thrashing. More of the same followed in a game 3, ensuring the series wouldn’t end in the Lone Star State. Ellie and Penn State rookie Maloney hit nine 3s, the point guard posting fifteen assists, Barkley grabbed thirteen boards en route to the Rockets tying the series in a 95-99 squeaker.

Game 5 is usually when Jordan doesn’t play around. These things don’t last longer than six-games typically. Forty-six points, eleven rebounds and eight assists wasn’t enough from the GOAT, Barkley-Clyde-Hakeem combined for eighty-six of their team’s points, barley pushing the veteran Rockets over the defending champions 113-105, setting the stage for Game six.

Legacies are formed and broken in Game sevens, but Game sixes are almost always better for whatever reasons. Even with all the accolades Jordan could not stand losing. This is the guy who lost to a friend at ping-pong once at college, bought his own table me trained until he was the best player on the team. The time of experimentation was over, Phil decided to go with what he knew worked. Taking advantages of size matchups wherever he could find them.

Sporting three inches over Mario Ellie Pippen made a joke of Ellie guarding him in the first half, hitting six of his first nine, 15 points and 5 rebounds when the buzzer signaled a change of sides. Michael couldn’t fly like he did in the early 90s when he and Pip made Magic and Worthy look as if they regretted picking basketball for a career; they just kept attacking them like a pack of crazed dogs. But he could hit the fadeaway with such consistency your knees buckled just from watching. Mother of all Christ, how can you stop this guy? It didn’t matter Hakeem and Charles clogged the paint, Jordan found his spots. Drexler responded to this by doing his best impression of a watered up corpse.

Barkley and Rodman battled for every rebound, every put-back, for every positioning on defense. For the brute force Rodman exhibited under the basket, Barkley knew how to score. 12 points, 10 rebounds for Barkley to Rodman’s 0 points and 14 rebounds. For the entirety of the first half the juice in the building was palpable, Jordan’s veins pulsating through his wrist, even i could see it and we’re talking 1997 television graphics. Maloney came up big where Drexler shrank, posting six points and four assists to give Houston the slim lead of 49-52, Jordan leading the game in scoring (22) and steals (5) and confirmed kills. Half of those points coming from the charity stripe because Barkley was tossing him around like a rag doll at every opportunity. Olajuwon brought down twelve boards, three blocks and two steals, not even committing a single foul.

Second half, Rudy T decided enough is enough and moved Ellie on to Jordan, Maloney on Kerr, Barkley on Pippen, Hakeem on Rodman and try to Jedi Mind Trick Luc Longly into firing off twelve-footers. Chicago’s first three possessions are punctuated by the energy being seeped out of the building and Longly front rimming everything. A Super Mario three and a Barkley and-one gave Houston a 49-58 lead before Phil burns his first time out of the half.

Drexler walks out of the huddle and sinks a twenty-six footer and mugs right in front Jordan’s face. Bad move. MJ says “fuck this,” drives like a freight train to the basket for a bucket and foul, nails a three of his own, and a sixteen-footer. Time out Rockets, 57-61 Rockets. There isn’t an adjustment you can make for Michael Jordan having enough of your shit. Just hope he simmers down.

Rudy T comes out of the timeout with Randy Livingston in place of Matt Maloney who’s earned a rest chasing Jordan like Wile E. Coyote hunting the Road Runner on switches. Before the huddle breaks Rudy emphasizes to Randy Livingston not leave his defensive assignment - Steve Kerr - under any circumstances, and tells Drexler to take on MJ. After a short dribbling exhibition Jordan gives it to Pippen on the right elbow, Barkley picks him up, forcing him to throw it to a wide open Jordan beyond the arc, seeing this Livingston closes out and manages to get MJ to get rid of the ball…right to Steve Kerr for the twenty-seven foot triple. 60-61. Barkley looks like he’s about to body slam Randy through the announcer table.

For most part thus game couldn’t have gone better for Houston up till this point. Pippen hadn’t scored since the 3:29 mark of the second quarter. Rodman’s been relegated to the bench due to his four fouls and Barkley hasn’t launched any ill-advised threes.

Scratch that. Speak of the devil. Barkley from the right corner hits the side of the rim, leading to a Harper-Pippen fast break, Longly taps it in for the put-back, Bulls take their first lead of the second half. Since the Drexler poking of the bear the Bulls have enjoyed a 13-0 run. Jordan contributing eight points and a crucial assist and continued to lockdown Clyde. Houston needs to get this game back to the inside, goad Pippen and Jordan near the basket. Olajuwon hasn’t allowed a point by either of them in his territory.

On offense the Rockets do just that, Livingston floats a pass over Pippen’s head and into Barkley’s hands, count it and the foul on Longly, his third of the night. Barkley sinks the extra and the Rockets now lead by a full possession. Barkley and Pip jaw at each other, earning a technical for both parties. Michael wants a piece of Charles for that elbow he threw at him in the second, having to be restrained by MMA master Robert Parish, a man Jordan wouldn’t - or shouldn’t even think about fighting. Charles has played like a nasty SOB all night. He hit the back of Longly’s head, tossed Jordan around the parquet and somehow got away with a kick to Bill Wennington’s left knee. One foul was called on Charles prior to the tech. One. Good job, Ed, you earn that dough.

A hesitation dribble done by Harper, he pulls up for a nineteen-footer, hits the left side of the rim, Hakeem gets the rebound ripped from his hands by MJ, and is given a forearm to the cheek in return. Two shots for Jordan. Nice guy my ass. Jordan makes both free throws bringing his point total to 32, and tying to game at 64 a piece.

Halfway thru the third and Rudy brings back in Ellie after two-minutes and twelve seconds of play time passing. I must say, moving Ellie on to Jordan worked great. It couldn’t have been done without Rodman on the bench, Pippen ate Mario alive before the rotation change. Now with Barkley breathing down Scottie’s neck, the best duo in basketball suffered its worse stretch of the night. For the rest of the third quarter, Pippen and Jordan would go scoreless, Houston would enjoy a 10-3 run and lead 74-67 at period’s end. Kevin Willis scored 7 of those ten points and ripped two boards from Longly’s clammy hands.

I’m stunned Kukoc hasn’t seen the floor yet. Is he even alive?

The Rockets are unafraid and even celebratory, while the Bulls look as tight as an otters anus. Kerr and Jordan bark at one another, MJ wants the ball, Kerr tells Jordan to “shut the fuck up,” at least that’s how I read his lips. Kerr brings the ball up to the floor on the right side, bounce passes it to Pippen in the post draped by Barkley, jump hook goes in.

Ellie goes down the floor, passes up a contested layup to Maloney for three and sinks it. 77-69, Rockets. Second triple of the night for Matt, 14 total points, five assists. Timeout Chicago. The fans at the United Center are in desperate need of a B12 shot. Barkley’s slapping hands with the rookie Maloney. What’s eluded him all his career is just seventeen minutes away. By the end of the third Houston’s lead was 83-75, Maloney hit one more three for good measure, Pippen tried to respond by going inside and getting blocked by Barkley making sure he’d never again go under the basket.

Jordan on Drexler, MJ looked to have mentally scarred “The Glide”, eight points, 3 turnovers, and didn’t see much of the floor in the third. Rudy T is going to have to go back to him soon. Ellie and Maloney are going to wear down. The 4th period starts with Jordan getting to his spot at the free throw line on back-to-back possessions getting Chicago within four. Drexler tries to throw it to Olajuwon in the post, deflected by Jordan, throws it to a streaking Randy Brown for the clear path layup. Houston up by two, timeout Rudy T, 9:48 left.

Rodman’s back in, five fouls for him now and is relegated to just being the an enforcer at this point. He returns and barrels through Barkley for his first bucket of the night. Tie game. Barkley tries to get payback, Pippen and Rodman stuff him on the double-team in the pinch post, ball comes free and is scooped up by a Ron Harper and dunks. Bulls lead. That B12 shot finally made its way to the United Center. This crowd has become unglued and are smelling blood. This long from being over. Jordan is anything but complacent. Pippen wants to go to war against Barkley and settle the “who’s the best forward” argument.

Hakeem’s back in, Bulls go with Rodman at center and dare Barkley to shoot. All his points tonight came courtesy of his fat ass so this strategy makes sense. Barkley pumps fake at the elbow, dishes it to a cutting Ellie for the uncontested layup, Rockets tie the game at 85. Bulls come down the court, Pippen takes the pass from Kerr at the baseline and drains the corner three. Jordan’s singing Scottie’s praises as he gets the crowd to go from unglued to fucking ballistic. In the commotion Maloney heaves it over Olajuwon’s head out of bounce. Deer in the headlights look on Maloney.

Bulls waste no time taking advantage of the Rockets mistake, Pippen again takes a long-range shot from the corner this time it rims out, a bunch of “ooohs” and “ahhs” followed by collective groans from spectators, Rodman pulls the ball to his chest, Jordan open at the free throw line and drains it. Two possession lead for Chicago, 90-85. Jordan has 38 and leads the game in scoring. Timeout Houston, they only have two left and there’s four-in-half left in the ballgame. Just judging by the body language who do you think is up 3-2 in this series? Livingston has his shoulders slumped, Barkley looks gassed. On the other end MJ, Scottie and Harper look ready to run a marathon when this is over.

Jason Caffey is in for Rodman, don’t know how I feel about this substitution. I don’t think the Rockets know he has five fouls otherwise they wouldn’t have guarded him as poorly as they did. Houston trots out Willis-Johnson-Barkley-Ellie-Maloney, I think Rudy’s seen enough of Drexler tonight. 3/12, eight points in the biggest game of his career.

Barkley’s played thirty-six minutes, Hakeem thirty-three, you notice the two’s contrasting body characteristics. Sir Charles glued his hands on his knees, Hakeem stands tall with both hands square on his hips. Noticing this, Maloney uses Olajuwon for a pick & roll and drains a three from dead center. 90-88. I see big things for Matt Maloney. On the other end Pippen sees a physically used up Barkley and drives into him for a trip to the line. Charles’ fourth foul of the night. Pippen makes 1 of 2 from the stripe, 91-88 Chicago, 3:13 left to go.

Taking control of this game Maloney does what should’ve been done the moment Rodman stepped back on to the parquet: run into Rodman and get that damned sixth foul…and the bucket. Maloney clanks the game-tying free throw, its rebounded by Charles, the putback is stuffed, Ellie picks up the loose ball eleven-feet from the basket and sinks the jumper. 92-91 Houston, 2:20 left. Jackson calls for timeout and suddenly the United Center became quieter than a funeral parlor - again.

Phil’s trying to draw up a ATO, kinda pointless. These sorts of games dwindle down to one-on-one, how much your best players have left in the tank. Rewatch last year’s Game 7 of the Finals the Warriors moved the ball better than any team I’ve ever seen. But in the biggest moment of the season, a 73-win season on the line, Steph couldn’t get passed Love off the dribble. Suddenly all the ball movement stopped and Cleveland was gifted with the Warriors going scoreless in the final four-minutes.

Jordan takes the inbounds from Pippen, goes under the basket, Jordan holds the ball with Ellie showing respect by guarding him in-front of the free throw line. Kicks it into high gear and drives it through the basket like it was nothing. 93-92. Okay, that wasn’t the play Jackson drew up, but like I said: these things come down to who has the most talent and energy left…maybe a fluke here and there just for good measure.

Drexler is back in, Maloney is out. NO! Takes it out from half court, Rudy draws up a redundant ATO that is of course ignored. Hakeem calls for it, Wennington trying his damnedest to keep him as far as from the basket, Pippen is sagging off Barkley beyond the arc ready to be the help defender. Drexler manages to thread the needle to Olajuwon on a bounce-pass, takes to his left, Pippen closes in, Hakeem dumps it to a wide-open Barkley - NO!

“Barkley for the lead…YES!” He did it! He fucking did it! Pigs have been confirmed to be flying in Hell on a cold day! Twenty fucking years later and I still can’t believe it!

Remember 'Forget Paris’, Billy Crystal is an NBA ref, falls in love with a girl or whatever. The voice actors for Marge Simpson and “Fat” Tony are in it. Anyways, the movie starts with Sir Charles hitting a three-pointer against the Spurs to send the Suns back to the NBA Finals. It’s waived off, Charles barks at a stern Billy Crystal that his waiving off his game-winner was “Turrible” in his classic Sir Charles drawl, the e being converted to a u. I feel like the writers didn’t want to put that in there because Barkley and myself would shoot the same percentage if the NBA let me play.

But now here it is, happening right before my very eyes. Ellie doesn’t know what to do with himself so he calls back to the “Kiss of Death” he infamously became known for - ironically against Barkley’s Suns in '95. This time Mario makes a point to do it across the court to Michael Jordan and he sees it. Gulp. Timeout Chicago, 42.8 ticks left.

Was that by design? Did Rudy Tomjanovich (see, I know how to spell his name. I’m just too lazy to do it) ignore all logic and reason and scribbled a play where Hakeem draws a double-team on the high pinch post, Ellie and Clyde isolate their respective defenders into the corners, 'Keem gives Wennington a little “Dream Shake” before Pip comes for the help, leaving Barkley open to make the most improbable shot in NBA history???

Nah. He probably just told his team to give it to Olajuwon and get the hell outta the way. That’s what I would do. What’s the point in even telling basketball players what to do in the waning seconds of a close game. Pride and masculinity takes over, in Charles’ head he HAD to take that shot. To the rest of us sane people: he didn’t.

Quick question: how much did that shot do for Barkley’s legacy? Is that one spot alone the reason in Simmons’ book put Barkley above Kevin Garnett and Karl Malone in the Pyramid?

Clyde stays in, Maloney is still out. That’s good. Never rely on a rookie in these moments. Especially with Jordan on the floor who’s made it his mission to hunt down Maloney all night. Oh, look, Toni’ on the floor! Hello, Toni! Look at him, folks. The only person in the building that won’t need a shower when this is all over.

Kukoc inbounds it to Jordan, Harper calls for the ball but he isn’t going to get. Ellie is doing one of two things: either he’s trying to goad Jordan into a fifteen-footer, he’ll leave with the result of it. Or, he wants Jordan to go for the win, trusting the larger sample that suggest Jordan isn’t a good three-point shooter. (34% was his percentage after the '97 regular season. Below average, but this was before teams even noticed the three-point line. If Michael played today he’d make them with the consistency of Klay Thompson)

Barkley and Hakeem stand pat in the paint, Michael blows past Ellie and into Barkley’s somewhat flappy torso, the ref swallows his whistle and the ball grazes the rim, rebound Hakeem. As the seconds dwindle down the Bulls scramble to find the worst free throw shooter on the Rockets and settle on Barkley (69.4 ft%). Fifteen-seconds left, Houston’s up two, chance to make it four and do what Charles couldn’t do in Phoenix: beat Michael.

Seriously, though, how was that not a foul? Barkley is clearly out of the restricted area…I think I seen a shove. What was the thing I said before about these things being decided by fluke-like occurrences?

Marv Albert, Matt Guokas and Bill Walton are not on the same page. Marv is rambling about how much a title would mean to Charles, why he signed in Houston when the writing was on the wall that the Suns’ window was closed. How Clyde wanted so badly after '92 to get “another crack” at Jordan and the Bulls. Guokas is whining about the no-foul call. Bill is busy dissecting the feel in the building. “It’s about as smooth as a horror movie”, what does that even mean?

The first free throw rattled in after all of Houston and Chicago felt their hearts nearly leap outta their chest. Charles looks shocked that shitty attempt even found its way to the bottom of the net. The next one goes left, Pippen grabs it and wastes no time giving it to Harper on the fast-break, Drexler does his second useful thing all night and picks him up, Harper stumbles and the ball rolls out of bounce and suddenly: the Houston Rockets are your World Champions!

How about that. This team looked ready to cave to the Supersonics a couple of weeks ago after nearly blowing a 3-1 lead, Drexler didn’t show up and they needed the rookie to step up big when it was clear the Bulls figured out what to do against the Rockets best three players on offense.

Jordan briskly walks towards Barkley and Clyde hugging one another in a totally not gay way. Shakes their hands like he finished runner-up at the British Open and gets the fuck out of the arena. I could almost hear him saying “I’ll show them, I’ll stick around until I’ve proven my point to the world that this doesn’t mean anything. I’ll over stay my welcome and leave a bitter taste in fans’ mouths when I begrudgingly hang it up.”

Confetti doesn’t fly. The Chicago faithful remained stunned in their seats. Someone shoves a microphone in front of Charles’ sweaty face, he cries out “I’ve saved you, Chicago, you’re welcome!”