The monotony set in some time ago.
”Like November,” jokes Horace Grant, coming close to the truth.
The Bulls have been waiting restlessly for this day-the last of their record-setting regular season-at least since April 1, when they clinched home- court advantage through the playoffs; possibly since March 6, when they secured a playoff spot; and arguably since defining their superiority as far back as, ”like November.”
”The last six games have been like forever,” says Michael Jordan. ”I`d rather see it go faster but that`s what happens when you don`t have a purpose or a major goal.”
After Sunday, when the Bulls clash with their long-time Eastern Conference rivals, the Detroit Pistons, before a national televison audience at the Stadium, their purpose suddenly becomes abundantly clear.
”I think now is when we really have to get our minds set and start realizing this is the playoffs,” says Scottie Pippen, his voice rising on every word. ”This is what we`ve been looking forward to and we have to really concentrate and get focused on winning every game we approach, take care of our bodies and keep basketball and the team as our main focus for this next month or so.”
Last year at this time, the Bulls were riding a three-game winning streak into their season finale with Detroit-which they won 108-100 at the Stadium. That set them in motion for a three-game sweep of the New York Knicks in Round 1 of the playoffs, just two losses overall among their 17 postseason games and the first world championship in franchise history.
Bulls coach Phil Jackson doesn`t hesitate when asked if this year`s team, whose first-round playoff opponent has yet to be determined, is better than last year`s.
”Last year, we were exhilarating in our successes,” he said. ”This year, we`ve expected it as a team. I think this team is better by far and yet without having to force it and be tested all the time, they`ve just been able to win games and go home.”
This current edition of the Bulls already has obliterated last year`s record of 61 victories in a regular season, and will finish with an astonishing average margin of victory of more than 10 points per game.
The `92 Bulls are a better team, says Jordan, for other reasons as well.
”There were a lot of expectations coming into this season and thus far, we have surpassed most of those,” he said. ”Repeating as divisional champs, having home-court advantage, showing a sense of dominance. A lot of people had some doubts we could do that and we`ve done it.
”Some people thought we`d take it easy and be complacent with what we`d accomplished last year and we`ve bounced back and shown we weren`t complacent. In that respect, yes, I think we`re a better team.”
Jackson says he is amazed, in retrospect, how his team has won games this season.
”This team is the kind that knows an opponent`s strengths and weaknesses and yet plays with a certain kind of abandonment until the time comes in a game when they really have to turn it on,” he says.
”It makes you realize how many games we`ve won on a roller coaster, just on a downhill slide without having to go into a grinding last minute to pull out the game in heroic fashion. Many teams end up playing the last two minutes in a frenzy or in chaotic moments.”
This team is rarely in a frenzy. The chaos is up for debate. But now, all thoughts turn to defending the championship that came so convincingly a year ago.
”I think the ballplayers feel, `Let`s get going already.` They can hardly wait,” says Jackson. ”This is like being in mud and spinning your tires.”
The Pistons, playoff opponents in each of the last four years-and conquerors in three of those four-are always good for an emotional gut-check. ”I think it`s going to have a playoff atmosphere,” Pippen says of Sunday`s game. ”The fans are going to be hyped up. It`s probably going to feel like we`re playing in the finals or something.”
Any celebration, of course, can and must wait. But satisfaction? Some of that can`t help but seep in.
”It`s been a very enjoyable season for me,” says Jackson. ”I won`t be able to reflect on it until it`s over and the playoffs are over and say this was really the best of all kinds of seasons that a coach can enjoy. If it`s a life that`s so hard and stressful, then there`s no better season to have than this one.”
