{"id":4337,"date":"2021-05-20T11:07:56","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T15:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=4337"},"modified":"2021-05-20T11:07:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T15:07:56","slug":"the-first-two-episodes-of-the-last-dance-establish-a-clear-villain-or-do-they","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=4337","title":{"rendered":"The First Two Episodes of \u201cThe Last Dance\u201d Establish a Clear Villain\u2026 Or Do They?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NOTE: This article originally appeared in The Fordham Ram in April 2020.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat wasn\u2019t Michael Jordan out there; that was God disguised as Michael Jordan.\u201d \u2014 Larry Bird<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the first two episodes of \u201cThe Last Dance,\u201d ESPN\u2019s 10-part documentary about the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, will set the tone for the rest of the series, the documentary\u2019s central theme will be winning \u2014 at any cost. Within that theme, there will be characters on both sides of the fence: Jordan, the player who was willing to do whatever was necessary to win and earned six championships in doing so, and Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who thought long and hard about breaking up the Bulls before ultimately bringing back head coach Phil Jackson and the team\u2019s core group of players for one last ride. Then, there was Scottie Pippen, the Robin to Jordan\u2019s Batman, who crossed that picket line a couple of times over the first two episodes on Sunday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first two hours of \u201cThe Last Dance\u201d establish the subtext for Chicago\u2019s most difficult title. But this isn\u2019t just a documentary about that season, it\u2019s about everything leading up to the Bulls\u2019 sixth and last championship. Like how an up-and-coming shooting guard from North Carolina went from Mike to Michael with one NCAA-title-winning shot in 1982. Or how Pippen went from an NAIA team manager at Central Arkansas University to one of the best players in the NBA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With each of the 10 episodes focusing on different aspects of the season, each one will also focus on a central character. Episode one focuses on Jordan and his attempts throughout his rookie year to change the Bulls\u2019 losing ways. Things get so bad that on one road trip, Jordan becomes familiar with something called the \u201cBulls Traveling Cocaine Circus,\u201d which needs to be printed on a shirt immediately. After winning just 27 games the year before, Chicago makes the playoffs in Jordan\u2019s first season, only to be quickly ousted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Episode two zeroes in on Pippen, who rises to stardom but at a drastically cheap rate, having accepted a seven-year, $18 million deal right before the NBA took off financially in the \u201990s. In a fast forward to the 1997-98 season, Pippen injures his foot and delays surgery until October to thumb his nose at management and, specifically, Krause, who had nearly dealt Pippen over the time. This led to the best quote of the night, with Pippen explaining that despite the injury, he wasn\u2019t going to \u201cf\u2014 (his) summer up\u201d by having foot surgery earlier. Pippen\u2019s actions draw rebuke from Jordan, Krause and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and the tension comes to a head on an early-season road trip to Seattle, where Pippen curses out Krause on a bus ride and later demands a trade, a wish that ultimately goes unrequited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bulls start out the season slowly, going 4-4 in their first eight games and needing double-overtime to defeat the Clippers, who would get the No. 1 pick in the next year\u2019s draft. Despite the bickering between teammates \u2014 Jordan is shown berating teammates in practice that season \u2014 the common enemy is Krause. Jordan and Pippen can be seen openly mocking Krause, with all of their jokes revolving around Krause being short and fat. He earned credit for building the Bulls\u2019 championship teams but was scorned for his handling of legendary head coach Phil Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was never more evident than in his noncommittal attitude towards bringing him back after the \u201996-\u201997 season. Krause was even openly courting Iowa State head coach Tim Floyd to fill the void Jackson hadn\u2019t yet left. Ultimately, Jackson and the Bulls agreed to a one-year deal, and Krause announced \u2014 before a single game had been played \u2014 that 1997-98 would be Jackson\u2019s last season as the team\u2019s coach. Jackson, perhaps the preeminent master motivator in sports history, called a team meeting and gave that season a theme: \u201cthe last dance.\u201d And here we are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of central characters will continue in parts three and four, set to air next Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPN. Episode three will focus on Dennis Rodman, while episode four will hone in on Jackson. However, as much as the supporting cast was key to the Bulls\u2019 success \u2014 Krause himself said that \u201corganizations, not players, win championships\u201d before the \u201997-\u201998 season \u2014 the story of the \u201990s Bulls will always center around Jordan, one of the two best players in NBA history. This documentary came about because NBA Entertainment, then headed by current commissioner Adam Silver, reached a deal with Jordan to let a film crew follow the team around for the entire season; the footage would only get out if both sides agreed to let it. Jordan only gave the okay in 2016, and production started two years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, with a year\u2019s worth of footage and over 100 interviews conducted, we were bound to get an inside look at Jordan\u2019s psyche, the likes of which we haven\u2019t seen before. One story in particular, towards the end of episode two, tells you much of what you need to know about Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1985, Jordan\u2019s second year in the league, he injured his foot in an early-season game. Further examinations revealed a broken foot, and this likely meant the end of his season before it really got going. Jordan convinced the organization to let him go back to North Carolina and soon enough, he was back on the court, unbeknownst to Krause and Reinsdorf, both of whom would have to sign off on Jordan\u2019s return. Jordan\u2019s doctors said that if he came back before season\u2019s end, he would have a 90% chance of not reinjuring his foot. If the 10% materialized, his career would be over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bulls, for obvious reasons, didn\u2019t want Jordan to play; they didn\u2019t have a good team and could use a bad year to get a high draft pick. Jordan, though, only knew how to do things one way: at the highest level. He didn\u2019t believe in tanking and desperately wanted to come back and lead his team to the playoffs. Eventually, Jordan returned and dropped a combined 112 points in two games against the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls lost both games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reinsdorf used this analogy to impress upon Jordan that he shouldn\u2019t play: \u201cIf you had a terrible headache, and I gave you a bottle of pills, and nine of the pills would cure you, and one of the pills would kill you, would you take a pill?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan: \u201cDepends on how bad the f\u2014\u2013\u2019 headache is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other things\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n