Jordan Rules: A Detroit Pistons Secret to Stopping MJ | Reaction

[@michaelwhite8119]

I want to start off by saying that the 88-91 Pistons were a very deep and talented team. The offense of Thomas, Dantley and eventually Aguirre as well as Johnson off the bench has actual offensive skill. Even Lambieer had a good outside to midrange jumper. Add in Rodman, Salley and Mahorn the defense was exceptionally talented. The thing though is that they made a choice as a team that in order to beat the all time Celtic and Lakers they had to rough them up. I’m not saying they were the only team that has bad blood with another team, it was just that they were willing to take people’s possible careers away from them. When I’m just another “old head” accused of glorifying the “glory days” of defense I’m not doing so saying it was a good thing. I’m saying it as a fact. In fact, I became a Bulls fan back then because I enjoyed watching the art and skill of basketball and the Pistons way was about junking the game up. One other thing I wanted to bring up is that those Pistons players like to tell themselves that a lot of the reasons the Bulls one was that “they were getting old.” In 91 Isaiah and Rodman were 29, Lambieer was 33, Dumars was 26. They were over all a bit of an older roster but definitely not aging. In the two years prior they got taken to 6 & 7 games by the Bulls. They were the better, deeper team but they didn’t suddenly lose because they got old. Really it was partially because the Bulls got better but also because in 91 they started getting injured.

[@Benayah-m5q]

That was a big problem for Jordan entering the league he was going to a team of benchwarmers and Detroit knew that so they tried to punished Jordan mentally and physically