Thoughts On Episodes 9 and 10 of The Last Dance, and Lower Back Pain

What a ride this has been.  In episodes 9 and 10, we were able to see how the 1997 NBA Finals played out, and the Chicago Bulls' 1998 run to defeat the Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz to win their sixth NBA championship.  Big credit to director Jason Hehir for making such a riveting, emotional documentary that us viewers on the edge of our seats, and for telling these stories that will be inspirational for not only us, but for generations to come. 

Legendary basketball players, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen celebrated their
sixth championship together with the Chicago Bulls,
as they helped their team defeat the Utah  Jazz
in the 1998 NBA Finals.
(Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

We pick up right where we left off.  The Chicago Bulls squared off against the Indiana Pacers in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.  The Bulls won the first two at home, then the Pacers won the next game in their home building.  The Bulls were up 94-93 in Indiana in Game 4, but Scottie Pippen missed both free throws, and suddenly, we end up getting a surprise ending.....

Indiana Pacers' guard, Reggie Miller pushes off Chicago Bulls' guard, Michael Jordan
to make a game-winning three-pointer
in Game 4 to even the series in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.
(Photo: Vincent Laforet /Allsport)

The Bulls and Pacers then split 5 and 6, and then end up squaring off in a no holds barred, winner-take-all Game 7 in Chicago.  The Bulls had not been in many Game 7s, but they had the best player (Michael Jordan), second banana (Scottie Pippen), head coach (Phil Jackson), and rebounder in the game (Dennis Rodman), and they had won all of their home games in this series and would be playing at home once again for the deciding, pivotal game.  There was some reason to be nervous though, as this would be the last season for the quartet, and the 1998 Chicago Bulls would break up next season, with or without the championship that seemed to await them.

We get sent back to 1997, where the Chicago Bulls squared off against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals.  In game 1, Michael Jordan makes a game-winning shot over Bryon Russell to get Chicago a 1-0 lead.  The Bulls won the first 2 at home, but the Jazz ended up stealing the next two on their home turf to even the series.

Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals was the famous, Michael Jordan "Flu Game."  Really, what had most likely happened was that Michael Jordan suffered food poisoning after eating suspicious pizza served by 4 or 5 delivery people late at night.  His trainer Tim Grover told the story and advised him to not eat the pizza, for he was suspicious at the idea of pizza needing to be served by that many people.  But Jordan was hungry and it was late at night, and that was the only pizza place that was open at that hour.

In the morning afterwards, Jordan was throwing up, and he was ill, and couldn't hold any of the foods down.  The Utah Jazz got off to a big start early, and Michael Jordan looked famished and in bad shape early on.  As a Bulls fan, I was worried.

Michael Jordan scored 38 points as he put forth one of the greatest performances in NBA history
to lead Chicago Bulls to a mesmerizing Game 5 win over the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals.
(Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Then, head coach Phil Jackson called a timeout in the first quarter, and suddenly Michael Jordan put on a superhuman performance, as he played the grittiest game in NBA history.  He was making basket after basket despite having the stomach flu, and nothing could beat Michael Jordan that day.  Not the flu or the Utah Jazz.  Michael Jordan scored 38 points, as he helped lift the Chicago Bulls to a 90-88 victory, as they were able to get a meaningful and tough, road win to get his team a 3-2 lead in the series.  Jordan was incredible in this game, and he put forth one of the greatest performances in NBA history.  Utah Jazz's head coach Jerry Sloan was astonished to hear that Michael Jordan was sick and still performed as well as he did in this game.

Game 6 was a pretty hard fought game, and the Chicago Bulls had some trouble closing out the Utah Jazz in the fourth quarter.  It was then when Michael Jordan and the Bulls decided to turn to sharpshooting role player and backup point guard, Steve Kerr late in the game, as he would be open when the Jazz would double off of him to guard Jordan.

Steve Kerr's clutch shot that he made in Game 6 helped propel the Chicago Bulls to win
their 5th NBA championship in 1997.
(Photo: (Photo by John Biever /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Jordan drove into the paint, kicked it back out to Steve Kerr, and Kerr made the go-ahead basket from mid-range.  Scottie Pippen was able to jump a pass and tip it out to Toni Kukoc, who drove in to score on a dunk at the end of the game, and the Chicago Bulls won their 5th NBA championship in 1997.  Game 5 was Jordan's game, game 6 was Steve Kerr's game, as he finally had his defining moment as a player on the court, as he helped get his team to the series win over the Utah Jazz.

Steve Kerr talked about his upbringing, where he was not a heavily recruited player, and had to work really hard to get to where he was.  His dad, Malcolm Kerr was a professor at UCLA, and was heavily invested in his kids' lives.  Steve Kerr and his father were also great friends.  Kerr managed to get a scholarship from Arizona at basically the last minute, and his father ended up being a professor in Beirut, Lebanon.

Things took a turn for the worse unfortunately, and the violence in Lebanon resulted in tragedy.  His father was murdered in 1984, as Steve Kerr was still just in college basketball when this happened.  Like with Jordan, it was hard for Steve Kerr to talk about this difficult subject.  He focused more and more on basketball, and he ended up in the NBA.  He studied players such as John Paxson, and one day, they became teammates on the Chicago Bulls.  Paxson took Kerr under his wing to teach him the ways of being a member of the Bulls and how to be a teammate of Michael Jordan and how to earn his respect.  Kerr didn't back down from any of his challenges, and his journey helped pave the way for him to be a pivotal member of the Chicago Bulls' 2nd three-peat.

Also, we were able to see the bond between Michael Jordan and one of his closest confidantes and security guard, Gus Lett.  Lett was like a father figure to Jordan after MJ's dad died, and they shared a close bond.  Michael Jordan stayed close to Gus Lett all the way to the end, and Gus Lett was able to get a game ball after a playoff win from the Chicago Bulls in 1998.

The greatest of all time, Chicago Bulls' guard, Michael Jordan
in Game 7 of the 1998 Bulls-Pacers Eastern Conference Finals.
(Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Michael Jordan helped lead the Chicago Bulls to a decisive series win
to defeat the Indiana Pacers in 7 games of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.
(Photo: JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)

Back in 1998, the Chicago Bulls squared off against the Indiana Pacers for a decisive Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.  It went back and forth nearly the whole way.  The Pacers came charging out of the gates early on, as their strong presence inside helped give them the early lead.  The Chicago Bulls made a run of their own, due to strong perimeter play and defense.  Michael Jordan was on his game, Steve Kerr made some shots, but the Pacers kept hanging in it.

The Pacers had a narrow lead in the middle of the fourth quarter when Jordan drove the lane, and ended up getting tied up by Rik Smits, as both players would be called for a jump ball.  As Jordan and Smith leapt up to go for the basketball, Jordan won the tip over the 7-4 center, as the Bulls received the basketball, and the ball went out to an open Steve Kerr, who drilled the three to tie the game at 77 all.  The Bulls' crowd roared, and the Chicago Bulls would go on to win 88-83 over the Pacers and on to face off against the Utah Jazz later on.

In the 1998 NBA Finals, shockingly, the Utah Jazz pull off a game 1 win in their home building in OT, as they wore down the Chicago Bulls in overtime.  The Chicago Bulls won the second game to even the series.

In game 3, the Chicago Bulls blew the Utah Jazz out of the water, as they held their opponents down to just 54 points, and won by 42 points.  In game 4, the Chicago Bulls won again to get up to a 3-1 series lead, and there's some talk about the Bulls winning in Chicago in what could be Jordan's final game ever.  Only though, it seems as if no one was quite ready for the season to be over yet.

Game 5 turned out to be the Chicago Bulls' sloppiest performance, as they dropped this game to the Jazz at home, as they then went out on the road to play in Utah for Game 6.  It was a truly hard fought game in which the Bulls played with an injured Scottie Pippen, who was playing through back pain, and for periods at a time would go into the locker room to ease his lower back pain.

Chicago Bulls' legendary forward, Scottie Pippen scored early on with a dunk,
but dealt with back pain for the rest of the game in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Scottie Pippen had scored early on with a dunk, but that dunk unfortunately severely tightened his lower back, as he ended up having severe lower back pains.  But the Chicago Bulls were determined to have another legendary performance in NBA playoffs history.

Re-watching Scottie Pippen play through a lower back injury in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals was truly one of the grittiest performances I've seen in NBA history, along with the Michael Jordan "Flu Game" in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.  As someone who has played a fair share of pick-up basketball, I've had a couple of lower back injuries myself over the past several years, and it is definitely not easy playing through that pain.

The first time when I injured my lower back really caught me by surprise when it happened to me.  Back then, I injured my back was about 5 years ago, when I went up for a simple layup that I would normally make while I was just shooting around, but I extended myself a bit too far, and felt pain in my lower right back.  I couldn't play for the rest of that day, and didn't do any serious basketball-related activities for a month.

The second time that I experienced lower back pain happened about 20 years after the memorable 1998 NBA season, as this time actually happened in an outdoors, pick-up basketball game in the summer.  That day, I was shooting the ball really well, and I was making a lot of threes that day.*  (In 2018, I was a far different player than how I played in 1994.  During the 1990s Bulls years, I was an inside player that relied on energy and hustle to grab rebounds and to defend multiple positions, and I was an agile big man when I was a kid.  In 2018, I'm now much more of a perimeter player, and I'm now primarily a jump shooter and facilitator in basketball games.  I didn't shoot threes in the 1990s, now as an older player, I shoot mostly threes and mid-range jumpers nowadays.)

*My three-point shooting prowess that day had caught my friend by surprise, and I was somewhat surprised myself that I was making a lot of outside shots, plenty of which were contested.  This by far had to be one of my best basketball days in the summer at that point.  Then, on one play, I went for a loose ball with an opponent, and I reached out to go get it, and......POP!  I felt pain in my lower left back as I was bent over, and had missed out on the loose ball opportunity.   When I tried to straighten out my back, I knew I couldn't play for the rest of those games that day.  I sat down to hang out with my friend on the sidelines, and then after that, the pain was excruciating.

When I got up from the concrete, I really felt it.  I had a hard time walking without feeling pain in my lower back, I had to change my sleeping habits for a couple of weeks.  I didn't feel comfortable performing any serious basketball-related activities for a month after that.  The point is, lower back pain hurts and the pain can be tremendous.  Scottie Pippen showed great toughness and courage by playing through his lower back injury to help get the Bulls a pivotal and decisive series win in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.

Scottie Pippen had injured his back pretty badly after leaping up to score on a dunk early in the game.  Seeing him play through that pain was a really gritty, gutsy thing for me to see.  His mobility was severely hampered, but he was able to play for spurts at a time, especially in the second half, and he was able to make some shots in the low post, and he still made some good passes to help the Chicago Bulls.  Most importantly, his presence really helped the Bulls, as he gave his team the threat of having another dynamic, versatile player out on the floor, and he helped allow the Bulls get back into the flow of things, as Chicago was able to rally back in the fourth quarter.

Michael Jordan (to the right) and Scottie Pippen (to the left) having a discussion
in game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
(Photo: Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images)

Michael Jordan truly had another legendary performance as he was determined to help get his team the win, and seeing his final minute in the Chicago Bulls' uniform described by Bob Costas was truly an experience to watch.

Michael Jordan drove into the lane to score on a quick layup to cut Utah Jazz's lead to one, as the Bulls trailed 86-85.  The Jazz threw the ball down to Karl Malone, who was being defended by Dennis Rodman, and Jordan came in from the blind side to poke the ball away from Malone to get the steal.

The Chicago Bulls do not call a timeout, and Phil Jackson lets them play it out.  He decides that he doesn't want the Jazz to get their defense set, and he lets Jordan make the play call.  Everyone is at the edge of their seat to see what will happen next....

Tick....tick....tick.....

We're at the edge of our seats.  NBA fans everywhere are holding their collective breaths.  A young Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are out there, watching this very game, tuning in to see what happens next.  We sense that Jordan is going to take the final shot, yet as the clock has not stopped, we sense that we may not exactly know for sure if he will.  But if he does, this could be a career defining moment in not only Michael Jordan's history, but in the history of the NBA.

Michael Jordan dribbles the ball up the court, sizes up his defender, Bryon Russell, thinking about his next move as he scans the defense.  Jordan dribbles to his right, Bryon Russell stumbles over his feet while desperately trying to guard Jordan, Jordan creates the separation he wanted, Jordan crosses back over to his left, and......

The greatest shot made in NBA history!!!  Michael Jordan makes the game-winning
and series-winning shot to get the 1998 Chicago Bulls the NBA championship,
and the Bulls ended up winning their sixth championship.
(Photo: Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

Michael Jordan makes the game-winning jumper to get the Chicago Bulls a 87-86 lead!  After a timeout, John Stockton heaves up a three, but it falls short, and the Bulls win!  Game, series, match.  The Bulls win!  It is a nice feeling, and it is really sweet to see the Chicago Bulls win the sixth NBA championship.  All that hard work paid off, and the last dance officially has been well worth the journey.

Michael Jordan and Ahmad Rashad greet a young Leo DiCaprio at the end of Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals,
right after the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz to win their sixth NBA championship.
(Photo: Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images)

Re-watching the Chicago Bulls win their sixth championship was an amazing feeling.  They had a hard journey to get back to the top, and it was very satisfying to watch them to get the crowning achievement of winning the title in the 1997-98 NBA season that would be known as "The Last Dance."  Michael Jordan certainly enjoyed celebrating the Bulls' sixth title win, he got to hang out with Titanic star Leo DiCaprio, former NFL player, broadcaster, and his close friend Ahmad Rashad, and he also found time to play the piano!

The 1998 Chicago Bulls at the championship parade in Chicago.
(Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

It was a feel good ending to such a trying, emotional, and at times turbulent journey.  Executive Jerry Krause had helped put this team together, and then he and owner Jerry Reinsdort would proceed to dismantle it all just before the 1998-99 season to start a rebuild.  Michael Jordan headed off to the sunset into retirement, Scottie Pippen would cash in on his payday via sign-and-trade with the Houston Rockets, and other players would play on various NBA teams.

The Epilogue:

None of Jerry Krause's teams ever came close to what he helped build with the 1990s Chicago Bulls' teams, and I'd like to think that the Chicago Bulls may have been able to get a seventh championship if the Jerrys had decided to keep the team together.  Michael Jordan became an executive with the Washington Wizards, then suited up to play one more time with the Wizards, made an All-Star team, but the Wizards didn't make the playoffs with Jordan back one more time.  He couldn't quite recapture the magic he had in Chicago with Scottie, Phil, and the gang, and he could never quite get the team chemistry to that level in Washington D.C.  Rip Hamilton came the closest to being an MJ protege, Rip had one promising season as Jordan's teammate before being traded to Detroit, and he would end up being an All-Star and winning an NBA championship in 2004 with the Pistons, seasons after the infamous Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse trade.  

Dennis Rodman wasn't the same after 1998, and no NBA team appeared to trust him like Phil did in Chicago.  Scottie Pippen wasn't quite the same legendary player he was in Chicago after 1998 either, but after he didn't quite fit in with Houston, he ended up being a solid player on some good Portland teams that fell short to the Lakers in the early 2000s.  Toni Kukoc was the primary scorer of the 1999 Bulls' teams, but he felt uncomfortable in that role, as his shooting percentages dipped that year.  He ended up being an NBA journeyman in the 2000s.  Also, Steve Kerr ended up winning another championship as a member of the 1999 and 2003 San Antonio Spurs' teams, later became a TNT analyst, then a Phoenix Suns executive, went back to being a TNT analyst, and now is a legendary head coach with the Golden State Warriors.    

As for myself?  Let's save that for another day.  

The 1997-98 season was the last great season in Chicago's NBA history, if this was the note for Jordan to leave off in Chicago, this was a truly amazing way to go out.  Hats off to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and thanks for the memories, and for bringing forth unforgettable seasons in the NBA.  

Thanks for reading this article, and if you want, feel free to follow me on Twitter at @AlanLuSTL.