The NBA will announce Monday that Michael Jordan has been voted his fifth Most Valuable Player Award.
Jordan lost out to Utah’s Karl Malone last year in voting by writers and broadcasters who cover the league.
“He should have won it last year,” teammate Steve Kerr said. “He obviously deserves it again. He’s the best player by far. He’s so much better than even the other best players in the league.”
Jordan got a jump on his acceptance speech Sunday after the Bulls’ 85-79 victory over Indiana in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. He scored 25 of his game-high 31 points in the second half.
“It’s a great compliment,” Jordan said. “I go out there each and every night and try to do my job. I guess you guys notice that–you vote. I feel good about it. I think it’s a reflection on my productivity each and every night when I step on the basketball court. I feel proud of it.”
But a sixth NBA title would be more significant than a fifth MVP award.
“Individual accolades are great,” Jordan said, “but it puts more pressure on me and this team because now they expect you to win the championship. That’s part of the challenge.”
Dennis the Menace: Phil Jackson said he started Toni Kukoc over Dennis Rodman for offensive purposes and not because Rodman missed practice Friday, or because Rodman’s extended birthday celebration supposedly took him throughout the Midwest, with stops in St. Louis and Detroit. Yet Rodman had more points (11) than Kukoc (four points on 2-of-11 shooting).
Kukoc, who had seven rebounds and six assists, said his back is still stiff after he hurt it in Game 4 of the series against Charlotte.
“The last five or six days I was lying on the floor just trying to get my back straight,” Kukoc said. “But I thought I played well except for my shooting. I thought my defense was all right and my rebounding was all right. My shot was just off.”
Kerr-plunk: With Scottie Pippen matched up against point guard Mark Jackson, Kerr’s time dipped to a season-low 10 minutes. He had been averaging 23.6 minutes a game this postseason.
Kerr took just one shot, a fourth-quarter three-pointer, and didn’t score. Still, Jackson maintained that Kerr helped the Bulls.
“We struggled a little bit offensively at the end of the third quarter and Steve was instrumental in coming out and organizing us and keeping our offense running,” Jackson said.
Ouch: Late in the third quarter, Pippen took an elbow to his left eye and had to leave the game. He complained of blurred vision and took eye drops to alleviate the problem.
“The drops helped a great deal and he says he’s doing well,” Bulls trainer Chip Schaefer said. “It should be fine by Tuesday.”
Here we go again: The Bulls had another horrible shooting experience at the United Center. They shot just 36 percent (29 of 81), a low for them in nine playoff games.
What does it mean? More talk about how difficult it is to shoot on their home floor.
“It was the background and the slicker backboards,” Kerr said, getting a jump on the explanations.
Traffic alert: The Bulls were at their worst in the first quarter, shooting an abysmal 4 for 22 (18 percent) and falling behind by six points. But with a 2:30 p.m. Sunday start, traffic wasn’t available as an excuse.
“Nah, that had nothing to do with it,” Jackson conceded with a smile. “Lot of Sunday gawkers out there, though.”
