Larry Bird fervently wished for the Indiana Pacers to forget about Michael Jordan’s legendary status. “I want you to knock Michael Jordan flat on his butt.”
One of the most frustrating games of my short coaching career was when we played Chicago at the United Center during my first season. Every guy on my team was turning down shots. They were completely out of sync. It was a difficult game for me to watch because my guys kept hesitating. I didn’t know why they did that. I had never seen them do that before. Then I realized — it was Michael Jordan. My team was convinced they couldn’t beat the Bulls as long as Jordan was there,” Bird revealed in his 1999 book “Bird Watching.”
MJ acknowledged it
The Pacers may have failed to beat Jordan and the Bulls back then, but what Bird didn’t realize was that his players did exactly what he wanted them to do to MJ. But Jordan was just way ahead of his competition.
“Indiana was probably the toughest, outside of Detroit. They were tough. Every time I’d go in that f***ing game and come out, I got a new scratch. It became personal with me,” Jordan once admitted.
That first-season game against Chicago at the United Center was among the most disappointing of my brief coaching career. All the guys in my squad were declining shots. They were totally disconnected. My guys kept hesitate, so it was hard for me to follow the game. Why they did that eluded me. That was a new experience for me to witness. It dawned on me then that it was Michael Jordan. In his 1999 book “Bird Watching,” Bird said, “My team was convinced they couldn’t beat the Bulls as long as Jordan was there.”
MJ admitted to it.
Even though the Pacers were unable to defeat Jordan and the Bulls in that particular game, Bird was unaware that his guys had given MJ exactly what he wanted. Jordan, though, was simply miles ahead of his rivals.
“Aside from Detroit, Indiana was arguably the hardest. They were hardy. Upon exiting that f***ing game, I would always come out with a fresh scratch. For me, it got personal,” Jordan once said.
