Dethroning the two-time defending champion Bulls will have to involve a better balancing act than the Charlotte Hornets presented Sunday afternoon.
Hornets coach Dave Cowens realized that long before his team stumbled to an 83-70 loss at the United Center.
Balanced scoring, rebounding and defense is at least part of the formula for upsetting the Bulls. The Hornets were on the right track in the first half when they ran up a 32-15 lead.
“Charlotte came in aggressive and physical,” Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. “We came in a little soft. The first game of a seven-game series is a feel-out kind of game. I was worried about our energy. We did increase our energy in the second half and got some steals. And our bench helped us out as the starters got off slow.”
Charlotte, which shot 36 percent from the field, quickly got derailed.
Glen Rice, who finished with 25 points, teamed with Bobby Phills and David Wesley to give the Hornets early hope.
“We got three guys in double figures; how many did they get?” Cowens asked. “I mean, we had more balance than they did. They just have more numbers. That’s how it is around (the Bulls) quite a bit, if I am not mistaken.”
The combination of Michael Jordan (35) and Scottie Pippen (25) usually trumps any opponents’ best card.
Attacking the basket more aggressivley, instead of depending solely on his jumper, Jordan keyed offensive spurts in the second and third quarters to give the Bulls control. He also held Phills scoreless after the opening period.
“We are going to see how we can give more (defensive) support,” Cowens said of his strategy for Wednesday night. “But I don’t think we are just going to double (team) on (Jordan) and let him pick us apart. Because that’s another thing that he does very well.”
Dennis Rodman pulled down 14 rebounds and virtually nullified Anthony Mason (six points, seven rebounds) as the Bulls remained unbeaten in the playoffs.
While Cowens would like to see a more balanced performance from his team, he realizes statistics are for losers. The only numbers that really count are on the scoreboard.
“I mean, I used to play against Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) a few times, and I would score a few points, and he would score a bunch (more),” Cowens said. “But we (the Boston Celtics) would still win ballgames. You can still do a pretty good job defensively and have a big game offensively. We’re just trying to win. Certainly, we pay a lot of attention to Scottie and to Michael. We also don’t like their role players to come in and hurt us too much, like Steve Kerr and Scott Burrell. What hurt us tonight were those 16 turnovers more than anything else.”
Jackson admonished his players to be wary of the Hornets’ adjustments in Game 2.
“They felt comfortable with what they got accomplished in the first quarter, actually the first 14 minutes of the game,” Jackson said. “And they have to feel they can build on that.”
