Isiah Thomas, in reacting to the showing of a Michael Jordan documentary series, express wonders to this day what could’ve been the reason why why many perceive the all-time great still harbors some kind of “hate” for him to this day.
His teammate Bill Laimbeer might have answered it in an interview in response to ESPN’s “the Last Dance” documentary.
Why “Bad Boys”
The former Detriot center was ask to paint the picture of what the Bad Boy Pistons were for today’s generation:
“Win. Win championships. That’s all that would matter to us.”, he said
“I was about winning basketball games, winning championships; do whatever I had to do to get the most of my ability and our team. And we did.”
It would have been a fine answer, had we not know the “Jordan rules”. His “do whatever I had to do” response have created the impression that him and his team might have been resorting to “non-basketball” tactics.
Laimbeer was also asked about the “Jordan rules”. Here’s what he had to say: “It was two-fold, we couldn’t let him dominate the game… so let him shot jumpshots. [If he] don’t wanna shot jumpshots, you wanna come to the paint, you pay the price. That was a given.”
“And he tried, he made some buckets but he hit the floor a lot… Wear him down with physical aspect but also force the action unto his teammates”, he continued.
Here’s where it gets sketchy: what kind of “price” would Jordan pay if he forces to do his acrobatics in the paint and what are the possible results of his “hitting the floor a lot?
The answer: too much unnecessary contact, some of which could end a career or could cause permanent damage to another player.
Part of the “Jordan rules” was whenever Jordan slips past his defender/s and attacks the paint, a swarm of defenders will cover him with physical defense.
If the defense hear a whistle, they would then hack, grab, and do whatever is necessary to prevent Jordan from making a three point play opportunity.
Of course, one foul could only be called and everyone stays on the floor as physical plays are liberally allowed back in those days,. It would take an outrageous hit for one to be ejected from a game.
It is usually the second, third, fourth hit that does damage. Not to mention that the first hit could do damage as well if it is mis-executed.
It’s not a surprising theory that Jordan wasn’t badly hurt during those Bulls-Pistons wars.
That’s the kind of play the Bad Boys employed. Intelligent play? Absolutely. That’s how basketball was played during those days. It was allowed by the rules and they did what they had to do. Wise play? This is where many could not come to agreement. I think not because it doesn’t conform with the spirit of sportsmanship and was precariously dangerous to one’s well-being.
For today’s fans who would say why not simply shoot threes and show them who’s the man, inside presence was an essential component of the game during those days. A game is won by the team who controls their own shaded lane and properly protects their opponent’s.
Incidentally, it is also why I held Jordan on a higher pedestal when it comes to the Greatest of All-Time discussion because he didn’t generally fight back with hits of his own.
He instead made his body capable of absorbing the hits and improved his game in response.
There are other human beings at the opposite side of the court
Both Laimbeer and Thomas are not budging from justifying how they played back then. They said it was and is until now about winning the championship at any cost.
The thing is, Laimbeer and Thomas are looking at this thing as if the Pistons are the only human beings involved in the game they played.
They must have forgotten that their opponents are also human beings at the opposite side of the court that would love to win championships as well.
And these human beings have feelings and reasoning, are not immune to injuries, could be sidelined, loss a career, or be deprived of some their physical abilities if the Pistons’ fouling tactics go haywire.
True, contact is part of basketball games and there is nothing wrong with fouling due to playing hardnosed defense.
But the common observation is those Pistons consistently overdo it, not only on Jordan and the Bulls, in those days and the act was surely unsavory to their opponents.
It is not surprising that many other teams and players were victimized by these rough tactics and might have felt their health could have been in jeopardy or their career might have flashed right before their eyes after receiving a hit.
And they virtually couldn’t do anything about it because it’s “damn me if I do, damn me if I don’t”.
If they answer with the same violent fouling, it will probably result to fights that will put or portray them in bad light. Of course, it will be bad for their personal brand, teams, organizations, and fan base if they just gave in to the Pistons defensive wishes.
It would also be no surprise if the Pistons’ resorting to these excessive physical fouling strategies that give them no reasonable choice in response made them felt lasting hatred towards the Pistons, particularly Thomas, the recognized leader of the team.
Jordan says he still hates some of those Pistons and their style of play up to this day.
Did Laimbeer or Thomas expect a different reaction from their co-players? They were kinda out of their mind if they did.
Their planning and resorting to this strategy should make them expect heavy resentment, and the scars would run very deep because that kind of play could be rightfully viewed by some as not part of the game.
It doesn’t help help that both still doesn’t regret or even acknowledge they could have possibly injured someone seriously. This serves as catalyst for the lingering of old wounds and not allowing them to completely heal.
Thomas did get two NBA titles with this style but might have really cost him hatred from Michael Jordan that doesn’t have an ending as of this moment.
I wonder what Isiah Thomas truly felt about the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson rivalry in relation to his and Jordan’s.
This rivalry runs deep then, could be a candidate for the most heated rivalry in all of sports all-time.They weren’t friendly back then. It also resulted to some fights and dangerous fouls. Yet, it wasn’t happening all the time.
Today, both say this rivalry was all about respect of each other’s abilities. Larry now sings the highest praises for his friend, Magic, and vice versa.
I also wonder what would it take today for Jordan to recognize Isiah’s talents instead of his style of play when talking about their own rivalry.
By: Armando M. Bolislis
Banner illustration by Don Ray Ramos