Will Jazz Be Victim No. 5?
Congratulations are in order for the Utah Jazz. They won the only title that ever meant anything to them - the Western Conference championship and earned the right to become Bulls’ Victim No. 5.
At least that’s the conventional wisdom heading into the NBA Finals, which begin Sunday evening in Chicago.
Nobody, the thinking goes, is good enough to knock Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from their throne.
Not even the new MVP and his well-oiled machine of a team.
The Bulls have won four of the last six titles, and this is widely expected to be Jordan’s thumb year - his chance to win a fifth ring.
The Jazz will be the fifth different Western Conference team to face the Bulls in the finals this decade, and none of the first four - the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Phoenix, and Seattle - was able to make it to a seventh game.
One problem, though.
The Jazz say they’re NOT just happy to be here, they’re NOT pleased with merely winning the Western title that eluded them so many times before, they’re NOT going to roll over like past teams.
“What’s most important is to not be satisfied just being there,” said Karl Malone, who beat out Jordan for the NBA’s MVP award.
Utah’s 64-18 record was the second-best in the league, and the Jazz had a better record than the Bulls over the second half of the season. Malone even had a higher scoring average than Jordan after the All-Star break.
“They’ll represent the West well,” Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “They’re no fluke, they’re the real deal. They have a chance to win the championship, and I’ll root for those guys in the Finals.”
“The Bulls are awesome,” Charles Barkley said, “but the Jazz will show up. I’m sure of that.”
The teams played twice during the regular season, the Jazz winning the first matchup at home to end Chicago’s season-opening 12-game winning streak; the Bulls winning the rematch in January at the United Center.
A title could be MJ’s last
Michael Jordan can see the end.
It might not be this year, it might not be next. But for the first time in his career, he realizes that he might never again have the chance to play for the NBA title.
“I’m at the tail end of my career,” Jordan said. “I’m going to enjoy the moment.”
He has led the Chicago Bulls to the NBA Finals in each of his last five full seasons. The previous four times the Bulls won the championship and Jordan was series MVP.
“It means a lot to me, to live up to that expectation year after year,” he said Friday. “This is my fifth time, and it’s a sense of pride to make sure that it happens for the fifth time.”
However, there are question marks.
He’s 34. He’s still great, but just a little less great than he used to be - as evidenced by his 39 percent shooting against Miami in the Eastern Conference finals.
In addition, this could be the Bulls’ final stand. Coach Phil Jackson, whose contract expires after the playoffs, is being sought by other teams and Jordan has said he’ll retire again if Jackson goes.
“The difference is that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel in my career,” Jordan said. “Before I couldn’t. I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t even try to see it. Now, I can see it. And it’s always great to leave out on a good note.
“I’m not saying this year is a good note, before all of you jump to that. I’m not going to give up on what the future holds for this team. I’m going to speak positively. Yet I’m going to enjoy the moment.”
Pippen’s status unsure
Will Scottie Pippen play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals or will a foot injury keep one of the league’s best all-around players off the court?
Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson said Friday that he won’t make the decision until just before tip-off of Sunday night’s game.
If Pippen, who has what the team is calling “a soft tissue injury on the bottom of his left foot,” can’t go, Jackson probably will start Toni Kukoc.
But Kukoc has been struggling with his own foot problems and Jud Buechler, who usually plays very little, could get the majority of minutes at small forward for the defending champions.
“I’d just as soon not talk about what we’re going to be like without Scottie, but we … survived three quarters Wednesday (in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals) without him,” Jackson said.
Pippen didn’t practice Friday and probably won’t work out today. He is walking with a limp because he doesn’t want to put any pressure on the bottom of his foot.
xxxx Utah vs. Chicago Best-of-7. All games on NBC. Sunday: at Chicago, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday: at Chicago, 6 p.m. Friday: at Utah, 6 p.m. June 8: at Utah, 4:30 p.m. June 11: at Utah, 6 p.m.* June 13: at Chicago, 6 p.m.* June 15: at Chicago, 4:30 p.m.* *-if necessary