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The end is near
Will the curtain finally fall on Bulls' dynasty?
Posted: Friday June 12, 1998 02:33 PM
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Game 5 might be the final showcase for Jordan (23), Rodman (middle) and Pippen together as Bulls (AP) |
CHICAGO (AP) -- Nobody was certain of the answer Thursday as the world
pondered the question: Will this be the final game for the dynasty known as
the Chicago Bulls?
"It's going to be hard not to think of it that way," Michael Jordan
said as the drama surrounding this strangest of sports success stories
moved toward what could be its most rousing chapter.
Holding a 3-1 lead over the Utah Jazz in the NBA
Finals, the Bulls will have a chance Friday night to win their sixth
championship this decade, extending a run of dominance not seen since the
days of Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics.
The Bulls yearned to finish the job on their own terms.
"We'd love to get this thing done here, in Chicago, in front of the
fans," Jordan said. "If this so happens to be the last dance, why not do it
in front of the fans."
If the Bulls win, there's no telling how long it will take for the
breakup question to be answered.
Jordan, Scottie
Pippen, Dennis Rodman,
Luc Longley
and Steve Kerr
are among the team's free agents, and coach Phil Jackson does not have a
contract for next season, either.
Owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause have been silent
on the issue during the finals.
"I think [Jordan] will know sometime in August or September when the
thirst or the hunger to come back is not there or is there," Jackson said.
"I'm the same as anybody else. It's going to take me a while to step back
and look at this and make a decision one way or the other about what's
going to happen."
Jackson's mood of reflection and reminiscence was typical of the
emotional state of mind at the United Center. Jud Buechler had
a distant look in his eyes as he spoke about the luxury of playing with
Jordan, saying he'll be thinking about the end of a era when he drives to
work Friday night.
Bill
Wennington used the sad analogy of the end of a family's life together.
Ron Harper
played his usual role of team jester, injecting a bit of humor into the mix
as he has done throughout this tumultuous season.
Pippen, meanwhile, flip-flopped again on his plans, backing off comments
from earlier in the week.
"I don't have any intention of coming back here next season -- even
though I stated a couple days ago that I would look to come back," Pippen
said. "I think this is the last run for this ballclub."
If so, it has been a run unmatched by any professional sports franchise
in decades. The Bulls' five championship seasons have included victories
over Magic Johnson's Lakers, Charles
Barkley's Suns, Clyde Drexler's
Trail Blazers and Gary Payton's
SuperSonics. And now it's looking like a second straight victory over Karl Malone and
John
Stockton's Utah Jazz.
The Bulls have shown themselves to be defensive geniuses in this series,
frustrating the best shooting team in the league. Chicago has turned the
Jazz into an inept shell of their former selves while finding ways to win
despite shooting around 40 percent.
"If we had executed in Game 1, this would have been a sweep," Jordan
said.
The Jazz, meanwhile, went about their business Thursday. After all, they
have their own problems.
The Jazz refused to complain about the officiating and vowed to stick
with their offensive schemes -- even if it leads to another no-show fourth
quarter for Malone.
Last year's MVP has failed to carry his team in this series, leading many
to dismiss him as a softie and a failure.
He said he would remind his younger teammates not to be quitters, that
gaining one more victory would send the series back to the Jazz's comfort
zone of Salt Lake City.
"Don't be making summer plans. This thing ain't over yet," Malone said.
Utah faces a daunting task in trying to win the series. No team has ever
come back from a 3-1 deficit in the finals, and the Bulls haven't lost
three straight games with Jordan on the team since the start of the 1990-91
season.
The Jazz also need to overcome Jordan's incomparable will on a night when
he'll want have one of his most memorable moments.
"We're finishing off the season, and from the beginning we wanted to win
our last game," Jordan said.
"What evolves over the summer will make me think about what this game
actually meant, [whether] the team's going to be broken up and Phil is
going to go his way and Scottie and I are going to go our separate ways.
And then you reminisce about the game.
"But at this moment I've got to treat it as though we're trying to finish
off the year, and if it so happens to be my last game, that has to be
something I think about later down the road," Jordan said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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