The Last Dance – Episode 3
The Last Dance Episode 3
Today, I will be breaking down episode 3, in which we learn about Dennis Rodman’s journey to the NBA, the Bad Boy Pistons, and the Bulls journey to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Episode 3
The first two episodes were about Michael, Scottie and Bulls GM Jerry Krause. Episode 3 starts off with the Bulls biggest character, Dennis Rodman. Rodman starts the episode by saying, “You’ve got the great Michael Jordan, the great Scottie Pippen, the great Phil Jackson, but if you take me away from this team, do they still win a championship? I don’t think so.”
Rodman was the guy who did all the dirty work down low. He was a vicious rebounder, and he often got into fights with other players. He did the stuff that was needed to win games, even if it was not pretty.
With Pippen being out for the first months of the season, Jordan would need Rodman to step up and help lead the Bulls to wins. After one game where Rodman was thrown out, he game back to Michael’s hotel room and asked for a cigar. Michael said that was his way of saying sorry. So, after that point, Dennis was as straight as an arrow, and the Bulls started to win.
While Dennis never scored more than 5.7 points per game in his 3 seasons with the Bulls, he was a paint beast, averaging 15.3 rebounds per game. Dennis was also a great defender and was a master hustler.
We learn about Dennis’s childhood and his upbringing with the Bad Boy Pistons. Dennis was on the streets for two years of his life, living in his friends backyards. He played college ball at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and he was drafted by the Pistons.
Gary Payton said it best about Rodman when he said, “Dennis Rodman was the f*** up person; he just f***** everything up. He’s a pest, shutting down whoever he wanted to. It was always a challenge. He was one of them players that changed the game just by his presence.”
The Pistons got the persona of being a very physical team and they were harming lots of players in the NBA, or at least trying to. This earned them the name the Bad Bay Pistons, and they bought into it.
An interviewer asked Rod Thorn*, “Were they threatening the safety of the league’s top players?” “I don’t think they cared…” responded Thorn.
* Former NBA VP of Basketball Operations
John Salley, a member of those Bad Boy Pistons, said, “Rick Mahorn told me how to elbow and said, ‘If you hit somebody, do it on purpose. Don’t get a cheap foul, that’s stupid. If you’re going to hit him, hit him.”
As the Pistons had overtaken the Celtics for the top dog in the East, and the Bulls and Cavs started to rise as their challengers. The Bulls with all their new young pieces, brought in the young, eccentric coach in Doug Collins. Collins would be drenched in sweat after games, looking like he played in the game himself. With his personality and his offensive philosophy to get Michael the ball, Jordan and Collins formed a great relationship.
In the 1987-88 season, Jordan won regular season MVP, was an All-Star, won the Slam Dunk Content and earned the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
The following season in 1989, the Bulls faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1st round of the playoffs. Nobody picked the Bulls to win the series, everybody in the media believed that the Cavs were going to win. The Cavs had beaten the Bulls 6 times in the regular season, but the Bulls would not go away so easy. After 4 games, the best of 5 series was tied at 2-2, with the deciding game 5 in Cleveland.
There were 3 beat writers in the locker room before game 5. Lacy Banks, Kent McDill and Sam Smith. Banks had picked the Cavs to sweep the Bulls, McDill picked the Cavs to win 3-1, and Smith had picked the Cavs to win 3-2. Just before the game, Michael points at Lacy and says we took care of you. He points at McDill and says we took care of you. He pointed at Smith and said we’re going to take care of you.
Game 5 was a back and forth affair. With 6 seconds left, Michael Jordan scored to give the Bulls a 99-98 lead. On the following possession, Craig Ehlo scored with 3 seconds left to give the Cavs a 100-99 lead.
Jordan and the Bulls had one final chance to win the game. On this possession, Ehlo was guarding Jordan. Michael said that this was a mistake because Ron Harper played him the best. In the huddle before the play, Harper told Cavs Coach Lenny Wilkens that he had MJ. Wilkens put Ehlo on MJ for the final play, ignoring Harper.
The Bulls inbounded to Jordan who dribbled twice to the foul line and he double clutched, and the shot went in at the buzzer, giving the Bulls the game 5 and series win.
Doug Collins said that that shot enabled the Bulls to grow some confidence as a winning franchise, and that they were starting to become a winning franchise.
The Bulls went on to play in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Bad Boy Pistons, starting the intense rivalry between the two.
“How legitimate was the hatred between those Bulls teams and those Pistons,” asked the interviewer. MJ responded with, “Oh, I hated ’em. And that hate carries even to this day. They made it personal. They physically beat the s*** out of us.”
The Bulls started the series with a 94-88 victory. The Bulls lost game 2, and the series was tied 1-1 going back to Chicago. In Game 3, Jordan went off. With 10 seconds left, the game was tied at 97. Jordan blew by Dennis Rodman and scored to give the Bulls the 99-97 win. The Bulls now led 2-1 in the series.
Detroit had Jordan rules, specifically for Michael. James Worthy said, “I don’t know how he came out of that series alive.” The Pistons kept fouling Michael and being physical, trying to not let him dunk or go airborne.
The Pistons won Game 4 after shutting Jordan down with their defense.
Brendan Malone explains the Jordan Rules:
On the wings, you forced him to the elbows, not letting him drive baseline.
When he’s at the top, you have to force him to the left.
When he was in the low post, you trapped him from the top.
If he goes baseline, that’s when you foul and hit him.
The Pistons won game 5, and they won game 6, winning the series. The Bulls went home, but the future was very bright.
After leaving Detroit, Rodman became a Spur, and eventually came to the Bulls. Many were skeptical of the move, Rodman made an immediate impact. Rodman would become a key piece in the Bulls 2nd 3-peat, with his ability to hustle and play defense.
Flash forward in 1997-98, the Bulls started to win without Pippen, but the media were persistent is asking Jordan what he was going to do after this season. Jordan was getting tired off it, but there was no sight in end.
Lucky for the Bulls, Jordan would have his running mate back. Pippen was returning from injury. But, with his return, Rodman was again the 3rd wheel. So, after months of being the #2, Rodman said that we wanted a vacation. Dennis wanted some time off. So, the Bulls gave him 48 hours to do whatever he wanted to do. And, Rodman went to Vegas.
And with that, the episode ended.
What was your favorite part about this episode? What were you most surprised to learn about? Leave all of your comments down below.
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