It is possible that no coach in the history of basketball has had a feeling as warm and wonderful as Phil Jackson must have had with 8:36 to play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals: To watch your team, sucking wind and in terrible trouble when the quarter began, go on a 14-2 run.
To know that you now had the bonus of turning to a certain bench-warmer, and telling him to get back into the game.To know that he is only the greatest player in the world.
And to know that he would finish the job.
When the fourth quarter began, Chicago Stadium had been close to silent, which is close to impossible. There were two reasons for the roaring silence. One was that the Trail Blazers led the Bulls 79-64.
The other was that the Bulls started the period with this group on the court: B.J. Armstrong, Bobby Hansen, Stacey King, Scott Williams and Scottie Pippen. This is a lineup that the Timberwolves can play head-up. This is a lineup that Flip Saunders' CBA champion La Crosse Catbirds could play head-up.
Armstrong, who looks 12 years old, is ordinary. Hansen is past his prime, if he ever had one. King has a vertical leap similar to Randy Breuer and is the subject of a trade rumor every 22 seconds. Williams, an undrafted free agent, tries hard. Pippen is the only player in the lot and you never know whether he is going to be in the mood to prove it.
This is the lineup that killed the Portland No-Brainers. This is the lineup that went on a 14-2 run and then handed the baton off to Jordan and said: Win it, Mike. This is the lineup that turned Michael Jordan into the wealthiest cheerleader in history. "I tell you, that's probably the most I've cheered outside, where you guys could see the emotions," said Jordan. "I felt like a cheerleader, felt like Cliff Levingston."
Then Jordan returned, and he, with considerable help from Pippen, did what they asked him to do; he finished the job. The Bulls won 97-93.
Was there ever really a doubt? Was there ever really a doubt that in the end, the Bulls, no matter who they put on the floor, would do what they had to do to win, and that the No-Brainers would do what they had to do to whine?
For three quarters, the No-Brainers basically blew the Bulls off the court. In the fourth, they reverted to form. The No-Brainers started this series eager to improve their reputation. They failed.
They were a stupid team when the series began. They are still a stupid team.
They were a team of snivelers when the series began. They are still a team of snivelers.
"We didn't get any calls down the stretch, and that is the key,' " said Terry Porter. "They all went in their favor. I don't know why the champions should get all the close ones."
Let's explain something to Porter. The refs did not beat the No-Brainers in the fourth quarter or in this series. The Bulls did part of the time. The No-Brainers did most of it. And if you can't put away a team that includes Armstrong, King, Williams and Hansen, you deserve little sympathy from referees or anybody else.
"I think the Bulls have one great player," said Porter, "but I don't know about them being a great team."
If the Bulls, having won two consecutive titles, are not a great team, it is not entirely clear what this makes the No-Brainers, a team that has gone 1-5 at home in NBA Finals over the past three years.
"They really have a bunch of role players," said Porter.
Before Porter looks down his nose at role players, he should note that the No-Brainers could use some role players, too, players who could fill two roles, in particular: basketball intelligence and composure.
Look, basketball is not rocket science, and it's not war, either. But there is a calm intelligence with which champions (like the Bulls) play most of the time.
Get the Bulls in a halfcourt game, and they know how to run an offense. Get the Blazers in the same position and they are clueless.
Let's go to the play-by-play. At the start of the fourth quarter, Hansen hits a three-pointer to cut the lead to 79-67. Jerome Kersey gets stripped by Hansen and turns the ball over. Let's give that one to Hansen, who made an excellent defensive play.
But then Kersey hammers King and gets called for a flagrant foul, Kersey's second of this series.
With the score 81-72, Cliff Robinson finds himself open near the circle, doesn't know what to do with the ball, and hesitantly takes a shot he hasn't really measured. With the score 81-74, Clyde Drexler double-dribbles. With the score 81-76, Buck Williams sets a moving pick and gets called for an offensive foul. With the score 81-78, Porter dribbles right into pressure and out of bounds.
With the score 83-78, Drexler tries a ridiculous alley-oop pass to Robinson. With the score 83-80, Kersey turns the ball over. With the score 87- 87, Williams has the ball stolen by Jordan. With the Bulls ahead 91-89, Porter loses the ball out of bounds.
Throughout this stretch, the Blazers use most of their emotion arguing calls with the referees. The Blazers have nobody on the court or on the sidelines who can offer a steadying hand.
Danny Ainge: "We made bad decisions in the fourth quarter."
I finally figured out who should be coaching the Blazers. They ought to take the job away from Rick Adelman and give it to Guy V. Lewis. The Blazers are the pro incarnation of the Phi Slamma Jamma fraternity that played for Lewis and the University of Houston Cougars, a high-flying, gifted college team that should have won a pair of NCAA titles. Because of their self-destruct mechanism, they won none. Is it a coincidence that Clyde Drexler played for one team and now plays for the other?
I would call the Blazers' collapse total and complete self-destruction, except that the Bulls do play defense with a certain vengeance, and they certainly got the energy boost they needed from the bench at the start of the fourth quarter. The Bulls are champions again for three reasons:
Jordan. Defense. A basketball IQ that is not in the single digits.