Bulls coach Phil Jackson doesn’t expect Miami’s strategy against Dennis Rodman to change from the regular season. Jackson complained that Heat coach Pat Riley urged his players to be overly physical with Rodman in an attempt to make Rodman lose control.
It worked when the Heat defeated the Bulls 113-104 in Miami. Jackson kept Rodman on the bench for a good portion of that game to keep him from getting tossed. Rodman got a technical foul early in that game and ended up playing just 28 minutes.
On Friday, in the Bulls’ first-round opener against the Heat, the Bulls bench complained when Kurt Thomas was holding Rodman down by grabbing his shirt. The two were twice whistled for double-fouls in the first quarter.
Jackson has cautioned Rodman not to fall prey to the cheap shots.
“We featured (in the team film sessions) some of that play that they used against him–physically face-guarding him, wrapping him up and basically just tackling him on the weak side of the boards,” Jackson said.
Stiff competition: Michael Jordan said the Blackhawks, who swept their first-round series with the Calgary Flames, have made things hard on the Bulls. “They got through the first round so we have to catch up to them,” Jordan said. “They got off to a good start so I think the pressure is on us to get off to a good start.”
The ultimate goal: Pippen said the team has officially put the 72-win regular season behind them. The most important thing was getting home court through the playoffs. “We’ve had a lot of challenges all season but this is a special one,” Pippen said of the Bulls’ road to a possible fourth title. “We worked through training camp, the preseason and the regular season to get to this point. No matter what happened through the regular season it was always going to come down to us playing somebody on our home court.”
Bulls’ pressure: Luc Longley was asked if predictions of the Bulls going through the playoffs undefeated put any more pressure on the team.
“That’s something obviously that’s there,” Longley said, “but you couldn’t apply any more pressure than we have on ourselves. We expect nothing less than a championship out of ourselves. That’s where the pressure is really coming from–our own expectations.”
Staying healthy: Going into Friday night’s game, Phil Jackson said the Bulls were in good health. Well, reasonably good, anyway. “Luc went down and fell hard in practice (Friday morning), but it was nothing,” Jackson said. “Jack Haley wasn’t even around. He swore to me.”
On the road: New York, Atlanta and Houston all won on the road in the first games of their respective playoff series, something Jackson was happy to see for one reason.
“I was glad,” he said. “It sent a message to people. It’s something you fought for all year long, to have home court advantage and look at these three teams–they all had it dissolve, plus Utah had a 12-point deficit at the half.
“So these games are crucial and it’s critical you play well on a visiting court. It’s also critical you hold up your end of the home court advantage. We don’t anticipate it, and no one should anticipate going through the playoffs without being defeated at home. But by the same regard, this is what we’ve worked real hard for.”
That hurts: Former Bull Stacey King, perhaps remembered more for his dead-on impersonation of Bill Cartwright than his on-court exploits, is now a member of the Heat.
King, who spent much of this season on the injured list, won three rings while with the Bulls.
“Bill cursed me,” joked King. “I lost my tonsils (imitating) him. I had them taken out two summers ago.”
