It is that time in the NBA season that can get away from a team if it’s not careful. The NCAA tournament is on every television, April is just around the corner, and with only 19 games remaining in a grueling regular season, the playoffs beckon.
As Michael Jordan said recently, “I’m ready. Let’s skip the last 19 games and let’s go.”
But as Scottie Pippen reminds, “We’ve got a lot of business to take care of before that time comes.” And indeed the Bulls can take advantage of the next week in particular.
While they face Washington on Friday and Saturday, Minnesota on Tuesday and Philadelphia on Wednesday-three teams with a combined percentage of .291-the Eastern Conference-leading New York Knicks have a decidedly tougher road.
The Knicks responded to a big test Thursday by winning 115-95 at Cleveland. They have San Antonio at home next, then go on a four-game western swing against league-leading Phoenix, Utah, the Lakers and Golden State.
“They’re very capable of winning on the road,” Jordan said of the Knicks, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Bulls for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. “These are games we’re supposed to win, and in the past, when we’re supposed to win them, we win them, so this is a good run for us. If we win the next four games, we put ourselves in a good position to catch up.
“We know if we don’t win the homecourt advantage, we’ve won on the road, so that’s not a big emphasis right now. We’d love to have it, but we know we can win without it.”
Coach Phil Jackson might just be the most confident of all. “I can still see us going out of March leading this conference,” he said.
– Though the Bulls are 2-0 over Washington, Pippen says of the home-and-away set against the Bullets: “It’s tough to play a team twice in a row. And they’re a team that plays very well at home, at least against us. They’re one of the tougher teams we face back-to-back because of the motion offense. It’s a very tiring game, and it makes you play to their level.”
– John Paxson is likely to be activated from the injured list Friday, though a virus and strep throat hindered him this week and could cause a last-minute delay.
“I can’t foresee a problem,” Jackson said, “but if he’s sick, we’d just as soon wait until he’s healthy.”
Paxson practiced Thursday but was not feeling well. “I hope I can make it up and down the court,” he joked.
Joining Paxson and Trent Tucker (also with a virus and strep throat) in sick bay are B.J. Armstrong, Rodney McCray, Will Perdue and Ed Nealy.
– Jackson received a letter recently from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness asking if the Bulls would be interested in filming a promotional tape of the team doing a minute of situps, 1 1/2 minutes of pushups and 2 1/2 minutes of running in place.
The players declined. “I leave these things up to them because it really does put them on the spot,” Jackson said.
He got revenge of sorts Thursday by making the team do pushups-which he reasoned was easier on sore knees-in place of running as punishment for missed free throws.
The players were not overjoyed, looking a little like a high school gym class. “It’s very difficult to do one minute of pushups,” said Jackson.
– Armstrong said he appreciated Jordan’s suggestion that the Bulls pay him as a starter when it comes time to negotiate a contract-his old one runs out after next season-but he claims it doesn’t matter.
“When I came into this league, I thought it would be great to play and make money,” Armstrong said, “but I found out it’s not the money that makes you play, it’s the love for the game. To be honest, money doesn’t really mean anything. I love to play, and I could make all the money in the world, but it still wouldn’t make me as happy as when I go out and play well.”
As for Jordan’s support, Armstrong said: “Michael has been talking to me all year about the importance of being a team player and that sometimes you have to sacrifice. He’s been great with me, and even though some things came out in the paper (anonymous players complaining about Armstrong starting), he’s been in my corner since day one.”
