The Bulls own the Bucks, but while the Bucks dominate the Pistons, the Pistons can’t lose to the Bulls. The Knicks can’t be beaten at home, but neither can the Cavaliers, and they win frequently on the road as well. The Celtics are crippled, but who’s to say they can’t knock off anybody if they can get Larry Bird back and adjusted to the new team?
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The Bulls, of course, are not the best team in the league, but they may well be the most interesting. With two developing sophomore players starting at forward, and with a new starting center forcing the team to adopt new ways this season, the Bulls are a team of uncertainties, and it’s the uncertainties that make them fascinating. Watching the Bulls struggle through the early going, peak out with a six-game win streak in January, fall back in early February, and, most recently, complete another five-game streak has been like watching the quick development of a promising young athlete. In the NBA–famous for games in which 46 minutes of boredom leads to two minutes of excitement, and for seasons that trudge aimlessly toward the play-offs, in which everyone eventually loses to either the Celtics or the Lakers–it’s also been a revelation.
The Bulls are intriguing as individuals as well. There are old, familiar players in new, smaller roles–Dave Corzine and John Paxson–brand-new players in important roles–Craig Hodges and Charles Davis–and relatively new players facing entirely new responsibilities–Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen. Of course, there’s Michael. And there are scapegoats old and new–Brad Sellers and Bill Cartwright. Sellers’s tall, slight, ambling appearance–the shuffling gait and frequently untucked shirt that make him seem, sometimes, like a heroin addict brought in off the street to fill out a pickup game, the Bill Burroughs of the basketball court–has helped single him out as a fan target. Cartwright, meanwhile, like Sellers, is studied in his graces and frequently uncoordinated in his actions. With his big, gangly rebounding style he should have a nickname like “Legs Akimbo” Cartwright (or, some NBA players would no doubt testify, “Elbows Akimbo”). Both players, however, are personal favorites. I love the flustered, harried, effective defense the seven-foot-tall Sellers plays against small forwards like Dominique Wilkins: knees bent, weight back, arms outstretched and flailing, he has the attitude of an old man seated in a car trying to deal with heavy traffic. And Cartwright’s shooting mechanism is unique and effective without having a hint of elegance. He shoots the ball like a weapon, his wrist clicking into position like the hammer of a gun. Sellers is not Johnny Dawkins, and Cartwright is not Charles Oakley, and if that’s a problem for some fans it’s also, unfortunately, become something they have to deal with. For the most part, they do.
The Bulls came out more intense in the second half, and while Pippen missed his first three shots, he nevertheless kept scrapping. The Bucks kept working their set half-court offense, with role player Larry Krystkowiak cutting to the basket, old DePaul star Terry Cummings taking his picture-perfect turnaround jumper, and even center Jack Sikma hitting from three-point range. They pushed their lead out to 86-74, with Jordan being called for an offensive foul along the way. As Sikma shot the free throws and the rest of the players stood orderly along the lane, Jordan stalked the floor downcourt like someone locked outside the house during dinner.
After the game, surrounded by reporters crowded into the back of his locker, he was asked about this uncharacteristic display. Cool and rational, he said simply, “Well, we really needed the game, you know.”
