Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson

Author:Phil Jackson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Published: 2013-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

Michael wrote a short poem for the occasion. It was very moving. He praised everyone’s dedication and said he hoped that the bond we’d formed would last forever. Then he added: No one knows what the future holds, but let’s finish it right.

It was touching to hear a group of hardened NBA players revealing themselves to one another in this tender way. After each person spoke, I asked him to put his message in a coffee can. Then we turned the lights out, and I set fire to their words.

I’ll never forget that moment. The quiet aura in the room. The fire burning in the darkness. The intense intimacy we felt sitting silently together and watching the flames die down. I don’t think the bond among us had ever been stronger.

—

During the final week of the regular season, we lost two games, including a home game to the Pacers. That raised some questions in my mind as we entered the playoffs, even though we had locked up home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference. My main concern was fatigue. Michael and Scottie were playing big minutes, and I wasn’t sure our bench was strong enough to give them the breathing room they needed late in games. Our strategy at the outset was to play tough defense, conserve energy, and set Michael up to take over in the closing minutes. One bright spot was the reemergence of Kukoc, who had struggled the previous year with a bad case of plantar fasciitis but was playing so well now that Sam Smith suggested that the Bulls’ Big Three should now include Toni instead of Rodman. As for Dennis, I worried about his inconsistency and lack of focus, especially now that we no longer had Brian Williams to back him up. To strengthen our inside defense, we’d traded forward Jason Caffey and brought back Dickey Simpkins, a bigger, more aggressive player—and a former Bull—who we hoped would help Dennis and Luc clog the lane.

We swept the New Jersey Nets in the first round after a sluggish start in the first two games, which Chicago Tribune columnist Bernie Lincicome characterized as “dead men dribbling.” In the next series, the Charlotte Hornets gave us a surprise in game 2, beating us with a strong fourth-quarter push led by former teammate B.J. Armstrong. Being one-upped by B.J. inspired the team—and Michael in particular—to explode and finish off the Hornets in five games.

Our next opponent, the Pacers, would not go down so easily. They were a powerful contender, coached by Celtics great Larry Bird and featuring one of the best shooters in the league, Reggie Miller, along with a tough front line led by center Rik Smits. During one of their Breakfast Club sessions, Michael, Scottie, and Harp came up with a creative defensive strategy for neutralizing the Pacers’ backcourt. They suggested having Pippen cover point guard Mark Jackson because he had done so well against him in the past and putting Harper on Miller because he was good at breaking through screens.

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