ESPN Presents: The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary on 97-98 Chicago Bulls

[KG]

Quote: Originally Posted by ehh

Celebrity worship went off the rails. It's great when athletes use their fame to raise money and support various causes and speak out on issues that are close to them and that they're knowledgable about, but we've gotten to a point where some people expect celebrities to comment on things that are way over their head or that they simply don't know enough about. I don't think that being a celebrity means you're required to be "woke" about every issue in the world and have a thoughtful, prepared take on it. I don't believe that simply because you are famous you have a responsibility to be some worldly erudite person. Barkley had it right three decades ago when he said he's not a role model. Not everyone can be Ali or Russell or Jim Brown. I do not think any less of Barkley for that; he's being who he is. It's better that he's honest about it than trying to put up a facade and pretend to be someone like those three aforementioned men. On the flip side of this situation, MJ was asked out of the blue to be a political pawn. MJ was the most popular person in the world at this point and everyone was grabbing at him and wanted a piece of him. I think his response was about more than money; it was about telling yet another person/group who wanted to use him to pound sand. This was also 30 years ago when the political landscape in this country was far less contentious and nasty though I do understand how awful of a human being Jesse Helms was.

I think that's one thing that comes with age. The older you get the more you realize that thee guys are just extremely talented people within their profession. Some are better people than others but when it's all said and done, they're just a form of entertainment to distract us from our regular lives.

Besides, if I wanted to hear bad opinions I'd just log into Facebook.



Also, 100% on Draymond. JAG!

[jeebs9]

Quote: Originally Posted by J_Posse

Draymond is no where near peak Barkley's level. Green is in the camp with Rodman & Wallace, elite role players that need to be around one, two or three superior players to succeed. He is one of the most system dependent "stars" ever, yet has to audacity to insult better, more talented all-time greats like Barkley & Paul Pierce. I can't wait until the tail end of Green's career comes (it is already here, TBH) & the fawning over his defense and impact ends. Man, you forgot David Robinson amongst those 90's greats. Sent from my SM-G935V using Operation Sports mobile app

https://youtu.be/f1i8K-u0yFo

I was a huge David Robinson fan as a kid.
https://youtu.be/LrvH2ZUV_es


Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[Speedy]

Quote: Originally Posted by stlducks

Interesting article on ESPN'S website today about Rodman and Pippen. Pippen has been silent about the documentary since it was released, Rodman thinks the doc is showing Pippen in a bad light and underappreciated him. It does show Pippen as selfish (putting off the surgery, contact dispute, not entering the game when he didn't get the shot) and weaker than MJ (migraine game). Leaves Rodman's final question up for debate. Does Pippen like MJ today? Do they even get along anymore?

Reap what you sow.

Pippen signed a bad deal, acted selfish and frankly a jerk towards Krause when he didn't get his way, plus the snubbing incident with the team after the Kukoc game winner.

Cant really get around how bad it makes him look.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Operation Sports mobile app

[ProfessaPackMan]

I didn’t look at him negatively then and I don’t look at him negatively now. Just like I don’t blame him for putting off the surgery either.

[aloncho11]

I've always wondered what would have happened if they never traded Harper and kept him through 1993-94 and injury free (along with a healthy Daugherty and Price). Ron was more adept at guarding the shorter MJ or even Pippen than Ehlo or Wilkins. Magic's "team of the 90's".

[Jeffx]

Quote: Originally Posted by aloncho11

I've always wondered what would have happened if they never traded Harper and kept him through 1993-94 and injury free (along with a healthy Daugherty and Price). Ron was more adept at guarding the shorter MJ or even Pippen than Ehlo or Wilkins. Magic's "team of the 90's".

Makes you wonder why Lenny Wilkens, who coached the Sonics to back-to-back Finals appearances (and winning in '79), would put Ehlo on Jordan.

[The 24th Letter]

I've seen tonight's episodes, I think everyone will love them.

I'm glad Stock changed his mind.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbs...ctor-says/amp/

Quote:

"The Last Dance" fundamentally exists to tell Michael Jordan's story. Although that might be gratifying for him and his teammates, the players that they vanquished along the way have not been so eager to relive those memories. Patrick Ewing*revealed this*week that he hasn't even been watching the documentary. Reggie Miller resisted participating in it for quite some time.* Another name surfaced this week on the list of 1990s superstars who didn't initially want to take part in the documentary: John Stockton. As director Jason Hehir revealed on "The Dan Patrick Show," Stockton said that he did not want to be a part of a "Michael Jordan puff piece." "I finally got (Stockton) on the phone after like two years of chasing him," Hehir said. "(Stockton) said, 'I don't want to be a part of a Michael Jordan puff piece.'" The interview itself, as Hehir reveals, didn't take place until March 10, 2020. Only a day later, the NBA season ground to a halt after*Rudy Gobert*tested positive for coronavirus. They were able to conduct the interview so late because the documentary was initially not set to air until June. When the virus forced the entire country into a quarantine, ESPN moved it up. As of last week, the final episodes still*had not been*completed because of the truncated timeline.* Eventually, Stockton did agree to participate, and he is likely to be heavily featured in the remaining episodes.

[VDusen04]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jeffx

Makes you wonder why Lenny Wilkens, who coached the Sonics to back-to-back Finals appearances (and winning in '79), would put Ehlo on Jordan.

Wasn't there a part in that clip stating that Jordan was just 1-for-6 against Ehlo at that point?

Regardless, against the best player on the planet at virtually the height of his athletic powers, Craig Ehlo was still able to force Jordan to double pump on a drifting right-to-left jumper.

Personally, that Ron Harper bit reeked of classic hindsight storytelling. I've done it, my former teammates have done it, coaches have done it. It's just a way of maximizing an important moment that tends to stretch the truth the more time that passes, particularly if it makes the story more entertaining.

Ehlo's take:

Quote:

“I never said I was a Jordan stopper like Gerald Wilkins or anything,” Ehlo told cleveland.com this week. “But back then Harp and me were on the court at the same time and he was our big offensive threat. So, when I came in it was a no-brainer that I would guard Jordan so Harp could rest on defense and play on offense. “Harp had never really talked about defense or guarding people. He wasn’t a bad defender, I will give him that much, but I think those years with the Bulls where he got those championships, he was definitely third or fourth fiddle, so all of a sudden he becomes this lockdown defender, apparently. I don’t really remember him during our time wanting to play defense that much. He kind of shocked me with those comments, saying he wanted to guard Michael.”

Price:

Quote:

“That was pretty interesting,” Price told cleveland.com. “That caught me a little off guard. I didn’t know Ron had such strong feelings about that because I didn’t really remember all that. Maybe it’s because we were in the midst of everything or maybe that was something where Ron had talked to [head coach] Lenny [Wilkens] on the side or before. I didn’t ever really recall that situation being a big deal at the time when the game was going on. I just remember Lenny kind of telling us what we were going to do and then going out and trying to do it. Obviously it’s something that had bothered Ron.”

https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2020/...-comments.html

Price and Ehlo come across as being super diplomatic, basically dancing around stating, "Yeah, Harper made all that up. Dude didn't care about defense back then."