The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 645 The Source
Mark Aguirre hit a three-pointer in the third quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

This was a corner three-pointer. In the past three minutes, Aguirre has scored 8 points in a row, helping the Pistons take the lead.

The Bulls and Pistons played an extremely intense first game, ending in a score of 59-58. Their series began before the Trail Blazers and Suns' series.

"Send someone to defend me! You should send another person to defend me!"

After sinking the three-pointer, Aguirre shouted that he was on fire tonight, having already scored 21 points before the third quarter was over.

During the regular season, this former scoring machine's average points per game has dropped to 14.

In this era, an athlete's performance begins to decline after the age of 30.

Physical health and competitive form are one aspect, but mindset is an even more important part.

For Aguirre, his ambition was lost from the moment he was traded to the Detroit Pistons and humbled himself to win a championship.

That's how it is in the NBA: ambitious people often can't integrate well into the team, while team players often become complacent and stagnant because they lack ambition.

You can't have both.

Aguirre is only 31 years old this year. In theory, if he is healthy and determined to compete, he can fully shoulder the responsibility of being the Pistons' offensive core this season.

Because Isaiah Thomas missed many games this season, and the elbow from Forrest Gump in the 1990 Finals caused Thomas's health to deteriorate—mainly his mental health.

Don't underestimate a person's mental state. If someone is always depressed and unhappy, their physical condition is likely to be poor as well.

Although Thomas continued to lead the team as a leader after returning to the team, it was obvious from his daily interviews that he smiled less and was always in a low mood.

He no longer makes outrageous statements in the media, but his temper on the court has become more volatile, lacking his former composure. This season, he has gotten into fights with others on the court multiple times, which has increased his chances of getting injured.

In this situation, Joe Dumars stepped up and became the team's new offensive and defensive core and leader.

Meanwhile, Thomas's good friend and fellow Chicago-growing friend, Mark Aguirre, joined his brother in tanking, content to be a supporting player, sitting on the bench and scoring points when needed.

As for attacking, Aguirre may have the ability, but he no longer has the heart for it.

However, tonight's situation is different. In their first game in Chicago, the Pistons are still full of confidence in defeating the Bulls again.

With both Thomas and Dumars struggling offensively, Aguirre stepped up and used his superb offensive skills to help the team turn the tide.

The entire stadium quieted down considerably; the Bulls had really lost to the Pistons far too many times.

In the final stages of the regular season, the Pistons defeated the Bulls by a large margin, giving the whole team confidence that they could beat the Bulls in the playoffs.

After the score was reversed, Phil Jackson called a timeout.

John Paxson looked dejected; he had just been guarding Aguirre in his matchup.

Because Pippen and Jordan had to guard Thomas and Dumars, Paxson had to occasionally mismatch guard Aguirre.

Paxson was completely unable to defend against Aguirre; the difference in size and skill between the two was too great.

On the bench, Phil Jackson told Paxson, "Don't be afraid, just shoot him when he's backing down."

"what?"

"Hit him! Hit him like Michael did!"

Jackson said it bluntly.

At the very beginning of tonight's game, Michael Jordan elbowed Joe Dumars to the ground.

Dumars collapsed in front of the Pistons' bench, and the Pistons were in a frenzy, but no one dared to step in.

Because if a fight breaks out, the entire bench will be sent off, and then they will be suspended for the next game.

The referee only called a regular foul on Jordan, not a flagrant foul.

At this point, Phil Jackson realized that the league was condoning the Bulls and allowing them to retaliate in a measured way.

Yes, the Bulls have been utterly humiliated by the Pistons in recent years, from being completely crushed at the beginning to gradually being able to put up a fight.

Now, the Bulls have finally matured. Although there were constant conflicts in the team's locker room and Jordan's constant disputes with the management throughout the season, the victories and strong opponents have united them.

Phil Jackson was different from his previous coach, Collins, who was always furious at the Pistons' dirty play and would fight with Chuck Daly.

But when the players see their coach lose control of his emotions, their own emotions won't be any better, which will only help the Pistons achieve their goal and cause the Bulls players to lose their composure.

Jackson never argued with Daly or the Pistons players, and you couldn't even see any change in his expression. He just sat steadily on the sidelines directing the game.

But during timeouts, he would tell the players not to be afraid of the Pistons and to take them on whenever they had the chance.

"Forrest Gump killed the Pistons, so why should we be afraid? The Pistons are just paper tigers, they're just bluffing." Jackson used Gan Guoyang as an example.

Indeed, Gan Guoyang has wreaked havoc on the Pistons on several occasions. If the Bulls still can't see through this, they really deserve to lose.

After the timeout ended and he returned to the court, John Paxson shoved Mark Aguirre during the offensive play. Aguirre looked at Paxson in disbelief, but Paxson showed no fear whatsoever.

There was nothing Aguirre could do but focus on defense. At that moment, Scottie Pippen received the ball in the middle, cut to the basket, and drove to the basket for a layup, not only scoring but also drawing a foul from Melvin Tppin.

Pippen made the free throw, and the Bulls regained the lead.

The Bulls adjusted their defensive strategy, with Pippen starting to guard Aguirre one-on-one.

From this moment on, Aguirre's firepower was shut down, and Pippen's defensive ability was absolutely top-notch.

Aguirre yelled at Pippen, "You're dead! Wait for me in the parking lot after the game, you're dead, kid. I'm going to smash your head in!"

Pippen, who was always tense last season, now showed a relaxed smile and laughed off Aguirre's provocation.

He wouldn't fight with Aguirre, nor would he exchange trash talk; he would simply offer a smile, an indifferent smile.

This smile was more powerful than any confrontation or profanity, which made Aguirre realize he was being inconsiderate and quickly shut up.

"Scottie has matured, which really surprised me," Phil Jackson commented on Pippen's performance tonight, saying it exceeded his expectations.

Previously, the media had criticized Pippen, saying that he was prone to breaking down under pressure.

The Bulls are under a lot of pressure in their first home game tonight.

Since the first game of the series is being played in Chicago, if the Pistons lose the first home game, the initiative in the series will be handed to them, and the Bulls will be in a very passive position.

The game was very close throughout the three quarters, but Pippen not only scored a three-pointer under pressure, but also remained calm in the face of provocation from the Pistons players, which is a significant improvement.

"Scottie watched the video before the game, the first time in his career," said assistant coach Bach.

"Really? He asked you for it?"

"Yes, before training."

Pippen never watched his own game tapes in the past, believing they would interfere with his performance.

Especially in those games where they lost, Pippen couldn't stand his poor performance.

But this time, when facing the Pistons, Pippen took the initiative to approach the assistant coach and asked to watch the video.

Bach edited together past footage, including a section focusing on the Bulls' poor performance against the Pistons.

Jackson originally intended to show this to the Bulls players to motivate them to unleash enough energy, just like Pat Riley had done to the Lakers players.

But at the last minute, Jackson canceled the plan, which showed the difference between Jackson and Riley.

Jackson believes that what the Bulls need most right now is confidence, not anger. Once they find their confidence, the Pistons will be no match for the Bulls.

Showing players those past tragedies might stir up some emotions, but those emotions are always short-lived. They might work in one game, but what about the next?

Confidence is different. With each victory, confidence accumulates until it reaches a critical point, breaking through past mental barriers, and the Bulls are reborn. This match against the Detroit Pistons is the Chicago Bulls' chance for rebirth.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bulls were still trailing the Pistons by 3 points.

Isaiah Thomas also hit a three-pointer in the final moments, helping the Pistons enter the fourth quarter with a lead.

The situation is not good for the Bulls. If they fall behind again at the start of the fourth quarter, they may lose tonight.

But at this moment, Phil Jackson once again demonstrated his strategic planning and ability to control the situation.

Jackson's control over player psychology and the situation on the court was top-notch in the entire league; no one could compare to him.

Even Bobby Bellman was no match for Jackson in this respect.

Berman's strengths lie off the field; his training and tactical planning, as well as his use of data, are ahead of their time.

In terms of on-field management, player control, and strategy, Berman is inferior to Jackson—though his profanity is two levels better than Jackson's.

Therefore, Jackson is a coach born for the playoffs and tournaments, but people have not yet realized his greatness.

He was not only the team's commander, but also the most outstanding political commissar.

Of course, the role of political commissar for the Trail Blazers will be played by Forrest Gump, and when the two teams face off, Jackson and Forrest Gump will also have confrontations and clashes.

"Michael, Scottie, rest. You don't need to play in the fourth quarter. Continue with the original rotation plan." During the break, Phil Jackson benched Jordan and Pippen.

"I think it's best to stay on the court; we're behind the Pistons," Jordan said.

According to the rotation plan, Jordan and Pippen were supposed to sit on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter, but they played the entire third quarter.

But with the team trailing, Jordan was really worried about letting the reserves compete with the ferocious Pistons for the lead in the fourth quarter.

This happened during the regular season. They were leading going into the fourth quarter, but the substitutes made a series of plays that put them down by seven or eight points. When Jordan came back in, it was too late to turn the tide.

But tonight, Phil Jackson insisted on keeping both players on the bench for three to five minutes at the start of the fourth quarter, and then bringing them back on during the first timeout.

Jackson predicted that the Detroit Pistons were already exhausted, and their starters were even more fatigued than the Chicago Bulls.

In the second round against the Celtics, even though the Celtics were getting old, the Pistons weren't much better off, and the two teams had a very tough time.

The Pistons' starting five have only scored 31 points so far tonight, less than half of their total points.

If it weren't for the outstanding performances of substitutes Aguirre and Rick Mahorn, the Pistons would never have been in the lead.

As bench players, Aguirre and Mahorn are unlikely to consistently provide enough output, and with the starters fatigued, the Pistons are unlikely to suddenly come back strong in the fourth quarter to take the lead.

Conversely, if the Pistons grit their teeth and don't properly rotate and rest their players in the fourth quarter, they will crumble as soon as Jordan and Pippen return to the court.

Although Jackson was confident, he still had a slight worry, because the bench players always performed poorly against the Pistons.

BJ Armstrong and Hodges both had disastrous performances in last year's Game 7.

Jackson still trusts his backups, especially this year with Horace Grant leading the bench.

Jackson also brought in Livingston, and when the fourth quarter actually started, Jordan was surprised to find that his teammates were playing very well.

The Bulls not only didn't fall behind, but also went on an 11-0 run, taking the lead!

Armstrong made a breakthrough and scored, Hodges hit two three-pointers, Pudu scored a basket, and Grant grabbed the rebound and scored on a second-chance opportunity.

Jackson's emphasis on building confidence among his bench players yielded fruitful results. The triangle offense provided valuable experience for every player, and his unwavering personnel strategy encouraged them to take shots and perform.

When Chuck Daly had to call a timeout, the Bulls' bench erupted in cheers, and Jordan began encouraging his teammates, saying they did a great job.

However, he did not receive a response from his teammates; they seemed unaccustomed to Jordan speaking in that way.

The Pistons completely lost their energy in the fourth quarter; they moved sluggishly and appeared exhausted.

Mark Aguirre was hot for three quarters, but his performance cooled off in the fourth.

Not every player is like Jordan or Gan Guoyang, possessing exceptional physical abilities that allow them to maintain full offensive power throughout the entire game.

Once the score gap widened, the game lost its suspense, especially after Pippen and Jordan entered the game, and the Bulls secured the victory.

Despite trailing for three quarters, the Bulls rallied in the fourth quarter to outpace the Pistons, winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals by 11 points.

Jordan's performance tonight was not outstanding. He was once again heavily guarded by the Pistons and only scored 22 points with a mediocre shooting percentage.

After returning to the locker room, Jordan said to his teammates, "Thank you, thank you guys for pulling me out of the mud."

Embarrassingly, no one spoke or responded; people were clearly still not used to Jordan acting this way.

It's really weird.

Jordan changed his clothes and went to attend the press conference.

Reporters are all waiting for Jordan; tonight could be a crucial step in his reunion with Forrest Gump in the Finals.

Jordan seemed a little too excited, saying in an interview, "Thanks to my supporting cast, my teammates, they brought the victory, and I didn't play well today, I played terribly."

Jordan used the term "supporting cast," which sounded somewhat uncomfortable.

What's even more unsettling is that when Jordan was commenting on his poor performance, he added, "I think I have a bit of a headache today."

This is clearly a dig at Pippen, who played poorly in Game 7 last year due to a headache, which annoyed Jordan.

Now, he wants to use this joke to put Pippen down after the victory press conference.

He didn't mean it, and he regretted saying those words afterwards, but that's just his personality. He controlled himself today, but he'll do it again next time.

After the press conference ended and they returned to the locker room, Jackson spoke to Jordan privately, asking him if he was in a bad mood that night.

Jordan not only elbowed Joe Dumars during the game, but also trash-talked Dennis Rodman relentlessly in the second quarter.

After the game, he seemed unhappy and verbally mocked Pippen, who had performed exceptionally well, saying that everyone else was just a supporting character.

"What's wrong with you today? I know you're desperate to beat the Pistons, but you're not like the person you used to be today."

"Really? Then who does he look like?"

"You know who it resembles. But I think it's great, keep it up."

"But I didn't mean to say some of those things."

"It's okay, as long as we win."

Jackson breathed a huge sigh of relief as he drove away from the arena.

Because of tonight's win, he knows that the Pistons can no longer stop the Bulls this year.

He sensed the weakness of the Detroit people; they were truly weak and could no longer be tough.

He opened the car window, and the Chicago night breeze blew in, making him feel incredibly comfortable.

But soon, Jackson felt a sense of unease as he thought about Jordan's performance.

That enormous, all-encompassing shadow was drawing ever closer to them, and, to be honest, Jackson didn't have enough confidence.

As he crossed the bridge, Jackson saw a bright, clear moon hanging in the sky. The moonlight was cool and enchanting, yet it also gave him a sense of danger and chill.

"If only Barkley could beat the Trail Blazers," Jackson suddenly thought.

This lack of self-confidence is precisely the source of danger.

(End of this chapter)