Clear your mind, and a victory will follow.
That could very well be the Bulls’ latest mantra. No thoughts of the past or the uncertainty of the future. No negative karma surrounding the potential end of the dynasty.
And certainly no dwelling on the disappointing loss to the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Friday at the United Center, a loss that left the Bulls in the position of having to win another game in Salt Lake City, either Game 6 on Sunday or, if necessary, Game 7 on Wednesday.
The Bulls still have a 3-2 lead in the series and have not lost three in a row with Michael Jordan in uniform since the first three games of the 1990-91 season. But they are back at the Delta Center, where the Jazz will no doubt feel more comfortable–Utah is 8-2 on its home floor in this postseason.
The Bulls have been in this position before. They dropped Game 5 of the Finals to Phoenix in the Chicago Stadium in 1993, but won their third championship by taking Game 6 in Phoenix.
“Unfortunately, we have to go back to Utah, and it’s a duplicate situation of 1993,” Jordan said. “So when you get on the plane headed to Utah, you have to be very positive, you have to be ready to play. It’s one loss, and you can’t let it eat at you to the point where it becomes two losses.”
This might be more than a mental thing. The Bulls simply did not play well in Game 5, and it could have been because they were thinking too much, getting caught up in all the talk of it possibly being the United Center finale for Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson together.
They played for all four quarters as if preoccupied and let the Jazz shift the series back to the mountains with an 83-81 victory. The Bulls shot just 39 percent, with Jordan (9 for 26) and Pippen (2 for 16) a combined 11 for 42. They were 7 for 20 on three-pointers. Take away Toni Kukoc’s 4 for 6 and the three-point figure is 3 for 14, including Pippen’s 0 for 7.
“That’s too many three-point shots for us,” Jackson fumed.
There were other problems. Jordan missed all but one of his seven fourth-quarter shots. If it weren’t for Kukoc, whose 30 points came on 11-of-13 shooting, the Bulls would not even have been in the game.
Defensively, Luc Longley and Dennis Rodman couldn’t stop Karl Malone, who lit up the Bulls for a series-high 39 points. Utah’s bench outscored the Bulls’ bench 22-8, led by Antoine Carr’s 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 21 minutes.
It all added up to a return to the Delta Center.
“We know what we have to do now,” Pippen said. “We have to go there and win a game on their court. Everything else sort of speaks for itself. We still have to go there and win a game.”
So the Bulls know what they have to do, which is do what they did in winning three straight from the Jazz after dropping the series opener in Utah.
Longley and Rodman have to play better defense on Malone, especially Longley, who is having a dreadful series. By the time Jackson made the move to Rodman, Malone was rolling along in rhythm and had his way for 48 minutes for the first time in the Finals.
“Malone took (Longley) outside and shot,” Jackson said. “But he shot on Dennis too. It was just one of those nights for him that everything he shot seemed to go down.”
The Bulls also need to get more people involved on offense. Kukoc provided a big lift, scoring 13 of their first 14 points and combining with Jordan for 58. But the rest of the starters scored just 15 points, and the only bench help came from Steve Kerr, who had six in the fourth quarter.
“When we got ourselves settled into the game, Toni was the one who got us going,” Jackson said. “Scottie had a night to forget from the field. Michael took a long time to get going.”
If the Bulls correct those problems, they’re looking at winning a sixth title in eight years. Ron Harper says they can do it, and soon.
“We’re not looking for a Game 7,” he said. “We have to concentrate on Game 6, and then we can talk about something else. They should be scared. They know we’re a good team and we’re going in there to get what we feel we deserve.”
Just clear your mind, and a victory could follow.
