by Last night the highly anticipated Episodes 3 & 4 of “The Last Dance” aired on ESPN. As expected, they were very good. Episode 3 highlighted Dennis Rodman while 4 focused on Phil Jackson. Both were riveting and continued to expose little known facts and very entertaining stories.
Let’s get right to each episode with what stood out the most to me.
Episode 3
Rodman was aware that Jordan and Pippen needed him to win. He made that point clear seconds into the episode, and that was a refreshing bit of honesty. Rodman never pulled any punches and it was made clear in this episode once again.
Early into the 1997-1998 season, with Pippen still out, Rodman was having issues concentrating and with effort. He realized it one game when Jordan called out the team’s lack of rebounding after a loss in Indiana. Rodman would go to Jordan’s hotel room later that night and ask for a Cigar. Basically, his way of communicating that he was aware of his effort problems and would turn it around.
He would go on to do just that as the Bulls would then go on a run to lead the conference by the end of January. Phil Jackson said in the documentary that Rodman was holding them together. Rodman was a pretty quiet kid and played cleanly until showing up in Detroit when they brought the bad boy out of him, creating the monster we all know and love.
This documentary has a ton of hidden gems in it if you look hard enough for them. Gems such as a very young Greg Gumble doing play by play for a game between the Bulls and Knicks in early 86. It was head coach Doug Collins first game and you can hear Gumble calling the action. Another one is Craig Sager handing Rodman a $20 bill to go towards the fine he was sure to get later that night.
The episode has a dramatic close to it with a hometown feel for Cleveland fans watching. The conclusion focuses on the legendary “shot” Jordan hit to defeat the Cavaliers in the opening round of the 1989 NBA postseason. The Cavaliers had beaten them six times in the regular season, but when it comes to stopping Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the postseason, the Cavaliers found out firsthand just how difficult that would be.
People forget, but the Bulls has beaten Cleveland in the playoffs the year before as well. Cleveland was the biggest challenge to Detroit and the team that was supposed to unseat them as the leaders in the East.
Again, Jordan and the Bulls had other plans. Go back and look, the Bulls knocked the Cavaliers out of the playoffs in 88, 89, 92 and 93. 1992 was in the Eastern Conference Finals. That is 4 times in 6 years during the in initial Jordan era. Not to mention the fact that the Bulls got them again in 94, even without Jordan.
Back to the shot for one moment, I personally spoke with Craig Ehlo and Larry Nance for my book Cleveland’s Finest back in 2013. Neither one of them shied away from talking about “The Shot”. They both took responsibility for blowing the play.
A lot people make Ehlo the scapegoat, but it was a double team blown by Larry Nance that put Ehlo on that island. As for Ron Harpers comments of he wanting to cover Jordan on that play, who really knows if that would have made a difference.
The Bulls would go on to lose to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989. Detroit would physically beat on Jordan the next seasons in 89 and 90, to knock them out of the playoffs in the Conference Finals each year. More on that in Episode Four on the next page.
The episode concluded with Rodman in 1997, asking for a brief vacation from the team to go party in Las Vegas with his super model girlfriend Carmen Electra. Pippen had finally come back to the team when he realized he would never win a money battle with management. This made Rodman depressed and feeling like the third wheel again. His solution, booze, strippers and Vegas.
For a full recap of Episode 4, turn to page two
