Memories

Every year around this time, I can't help but reminisce about the great Bulls teams that I grew up with. To be more specific, my memories tend to center around a certain Bull who wore # 23. John Hollinger wrote an interesting article on ESPN.com yesterday listing his 50 greatest NBA finals individual performances. Not surprisingly, Michael Jordan is all over that list including 4 out of the top 10 games and the #1 overall game.

I would like to make a smaller list of my own and it will contain my 10 favorite Bulls playoff games.

10. 1997 vs Miami Game 5 Eastern Conference Finals.
This wasn't the greatest game but it holds a special place in my heart since it was the only Bulls playoff game that I was able to attend in person. This was the game after Scottie Pippen had gotten clocked by an Alonzo Mourning elbow and had a bump the size of golf ball on his head. After that game, Jordan said "now, it's personal". Needless to say, the Heat stood no chance.

9. 1997 vs Utah Game 1 NBA Finals This game had an amazing ending--Karl Malone stepped to the free throw line with 7.5 seconds left in a tie game and Scottie Pippen whispered in his ear "the mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays." Malone tosses up 2 bricks and leaves the game in the hands of MJ. Bad idea. What follows is Jordan calmly holding the ball until about 3 seconds are left on the clock and then and knocking down a jumper over Bryon Russell with no time left on the clock (you'll see this scenario play out again later). As great as the shot is, the coolest thing was Jordan's fist pump afterwards--the ultimate been there, done that moment.

8. 1993 vs Phoenix Game 6 NBA Finals This was a great series highlighted by a triple overtime classic in game 3 where Dan Majerle was hitting threes from from anywhere inside half court. Game 6 was also an epic game as John Paxon bailed the Bulls out of a tight situation and helped them win their third straight championship. I remember watching this game with my parents and close high school friend, John Hilgert. We went nuts when Paxon hit the three to put the Bulls ahead. Horace Grant's block on Kevin Johnson's final attempt is also really underrated.

7. 1996 vs Orlando Game 1 Eastern Conference Finals. This game is on the list, because I believe it's the best game I ever saw the Bulls play. They had waited over a year to get revenge on Orlando for eliminating them from the 1995 playoffs and were practically foaming at the mouth wanting to get a piece of the Magic. This was a strong Magic team lead by a young Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, but they ran into a buzz saw in this series.

6. 1992 vs Portland Game 1 NBA Finals. Jordan drops 35 on Portland in the first half of this game including 6 three pointers. After his last trey of the half, Jordan does his famous shrug---I also believe this was the loudest I'd ever head the old Chicago Stadium. There was also a lot of yelling going on in my living room.

5. 1991 vs Los Angeles Game 5 NBA Finals. This was the clinching game of the Bulls first championship run. Even though the Lakers were crippled by this point in the series, I still didn't believe the Bulls were actually going to win until the final buzzer sounded. This was a typical great game for Jordan and Pippen. Paxon also had a monster 4th quarter when the Lakers started collapsing on Jordan.

4. 1997 vs Utah Game 5 NBA Finals. This will always be known as "the flu game". ESPN's John Hollinger rates it as the greatest individual performance in NBA finals history. Jordan's finals stats were 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Did I mention he was playing with a nasty case of food poisoning? One of the most heroic efforts I've ever seen on a basketball court.

3. 1998 vs Utah Game 6 NBA Finals. This was Jordan's last game in a Bulls uniform and he left us with one lasting memory. I remember getting a speck of dust in my eye during the Utah timeout after Jordan hit the final shot. Bryon Russell was just in the wrong place at the wrong time (again). The whole final sequence of this game was great as Jordan strips Malone on one end of the floor and goes down and hits the game winner on the other end. The Utah crowd was in total shock after Jordan's shot.

2. 1989 vs Cleveland Game 5 First Round. "The shot." This is where it all began---the Bulls were totally over matched in this series by a outstanding Cleveland team that had Mark Price, Ron Harper, and Brad Daugherty as its key players. Somehow, the Bulls pushed the series to a 5th and final game. It looked liked all of the Bulls' efforts were for naught when Cleveland executed a perfect give and go to take the lead with 3 seconds left. Then came MJ to the rescue and the rest is history. The unfortunate victim in this case was Craig Ehlo.

1, 1993 vs New York Game 5 Eastern Conference Finals. My favorite game of all time. This one had it all-- Chicago vs New York, Phil Jackson vs Pat Riley and Michael Jordan playing in Madison Square Garden. This game was tight the whole way through and the defensive stop on Charles Smith in the final sequence was the stuff legends are made of. I could watch highlights of this game 24 hours a day and never get bored. This was the best example of the famous "Doberman" defense that the Bulls employed during their championship years.

Amazingly, I left at least another 10 games off this list that would qualify as instant classics. Those Bulls teams seemed to be involved in a lot of these type of games. I don't think we will ever see another team like them, in this city or any other.