OT- The Last Dance documentary

[siriusjames]

I expect to see a heavy dose of the maniacal MJ, the MJ that was a dick to people. And I think that is why He was initially against the release of the footage.

There will be a dose of that but I do think the message will be the opposite of that. The Athletic had a piece about the doc where they interviewed the director. MJ cooperated with them and had time for three different interviews.

https://theathletic.com/1741609/2020/04/13/the-last-dance-director-jason-hehir-captures-michael-jordan-from-all-angles/

I was really interested in whether or not it hurt him that the perception of him was this stone-cold killer and not as Mr. Nice Guy. The question produced probably a nine-minute answer. Was it worth to you to have that reputation for intensity and ferocity? Is it worth the tradeoff of not being considered nice guy quote unquote?”

[dougthonus]

Anyone know who the hell 42 is?

Mario Bennett?

He played as 44 and isn't in the picture. The two google images I found of him look like totally different people from each other, but both look sort of similar to the guy in the photo as they at least both match the mustache which seems reasonably unique.

David Vaughn?

He was 42 the year before for the Bulls, but didn't finish the season for them. Maybe he was in for a camp invite during photo day?

[dougthonus]

Somewhat related, I just found out that Amazon Prime has a ton of free Bulls content. All the Ultimate Jordan videos, tons of championship games etc are all free if you have amazon prime video.

[ATRAIN53]

I am getting psyched. Some good talk yesterday on Kaps show where he says the main thing I hope this documentry does-

Teaches this current generation of fans who didn't see MJ and think LeBron is the end all be all.

They will finally be properly educated.

My kid needs this. It doesn't matter how much I talk and tell him, you have to see it to really understand how driven MJ was.
You're gonna see a guy who just refused to lose or quit and always seemed to find something a little extra to pull of spectacular shots - even when everyone watching knew he was talking that shot - and everyone tried to stop it and they still could not.

You will love him but you will realize you don't want to be his teammate because he was better than you - he knew it and he enjoyed proving it. But he also turned you into a guy he could depend on when he needed it - otherwise he just destroyed you so you quit and he didn't have to deal with your weak ass when the game was on the line.

My kid is psyched. This is gonna like be an event here Sunday night.
Even the wife says she might watch.

Family Movie night!

[bledredwine]

I haven't been thinking about it until recently,
but I'm honestly relieved that fans will be reminded of how much they are living in the "now" and just how transcendent Jordan in particular, but also Pippen and those Bulls were.

Even folks like Cowherd are referring to this as a reminder of who the real GOAT and GOAT team is.

It's so easy to dismiss the past and think in black/white, but when you actually see it in action?
It's clear as day.

[wickywack]

I't's not clear Krause would have gotten McGrady anyway. TMac was (AFAIK) just one of the players on Krause's radar. The rumors at the time had him also interested in Keith Van Horn and Ron Mercer:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-06-24-9706240005-story.html

Pippen for Van Horn and Mercer would have been pretty sad.

Besides, TMac didn't really blow up until his second contract - one Krause had the opportunity to sign him to and failed. Trading for a rookie TMac only to have him walk in 2000 would have also been pretty sad.

Of course, Krause did get ... Ron Mercer.

I began following the Bulls and discussing by message boards like this one that summer we went after T-Mac looking for any and all kinds of Bulls news.

It wasn't as easy as "having the opportunity to sign him" and failing. Orlando simply had much more to offer a 21-year old T-Mac as they were also signing a pre-injury-stricken prime Grant Hill and flirting with Duncan. That Orlando team looked scary with potential.

Absolutely. I think Orlando would have been attractive to TMac regardless of whether he was a rookie in Toronto or a rookie in Chicago. Had Krause actually traded for TMac in 97, there is a good chance he'd have lost him to Orlando in 2000 anyway.

It appears that these snubbings were the beginning of having this reputation as the franchise that broke up the dynasty.

Also, I don't remember Keith van Horn being THAT horrible. He was a key part of that Nets team that made the Finals that one time with Jason Kidd.

Van Horn was a decent player. He's just not someone you'd blow up a championship team for.

[The 6ft Hurdle]

Man it's going to be something re-watching these things as an adult that I watched over and over as a kid and teenager. I really didn't have any prior context or prior suffering with any other sports team as a 7-year old when MJ won that first one. I followed, I got all the NBA Entertainment videos (Playground, AirTime) that showed how hard he had to work, and I knew MJ was the best, but I still had very little idea the depths of actual struggle he had to go through to maintain the level he played.

I just kind of thought success was as straightforward as it looked on TV, so my natural reaction to things like seeing the Bulls lose by 30 to the Knicks or seeing the old Red Wings badly beat the Blackhawks over and over was just to cry.

Now as a more jaded adult with all kinds of sports attachments and PLENTY of disappointments, a lot of suffering as far as the Bulls has taken place, but I have paid only a little attention since after Nate Robinson was let go. Chicago sports has done pretty well championships wise as some kind of compensation (namely the Blackhawks and Cubs, though the infrastructures that led to the success of each have been quickly dismantled or significantly re-figured).

[HomoSapien]

Anyone know who the hell 42 is?

Mario Bennett?

He played as 44 and isn't in the picture. The two google images I found of him look like totally different people from each other, but both look sort of similar to the guy in the photo as they at least both match the mustache which seems reasonably unique.

David Vaughn?

He was 42 the year before for the Bulls, but didn't finish the season for them. Maybe he was in for a camp invite during photo day?

Figured it out, it's Jeff Sanders. He was drafted by the bulls in 89 had a very short and uneventful career and then was brought in by Krause (though he didn't ultimately make the roster) as sort of a favor. Krause had toyed with the idea of bringing him back a few times during the course of the dynasty because they owed him more money (not exactly sure how or why that occurred).

[HomoSapien]

It appears that these snubbings were the beginning of having this reputation as the franchise that broke up the dynasty.

Also, I don't remember Keith van Horn being THAT horrible. He was a key part of that Nets team that made the Finals that one time with Jason Kidd.

It seems absurd now, but when Van Horn was drafted he was always in the same conversation as Duncan and KG as the next great PF. He was really good his first three years, but then developed a reputation for being soft and then retired early to spend time with his family.

[dice]

Anyone know who the hell 42 is?

Mario Bennett?

He played as 44 and isn't in the picture. The two google images I found of him look like totally different people from each other, but both look sort of similar to the guy in the photo as they at least both match the mustache which seems reasonably unique.

David Vaughn?

He was 42 the year before for the Bulls, but didn't finish the season for them. Maybe he was in for a camp invite during photo day?

Figured it out, it's Jeff Sanders. He was drafted by the bulls in 89 had a very short and uneventful career and then was brought in by Krause (though he didn't ultimately make the roster) as sort of a favor. Krause had toyed with the idea of bringing him back a few times during the course of the dynasty because they owed him more money (not exactly sure how or why that occurred).

damn

my mother's side of the family has an annual reunion in florida and somehow it became a tradition to include a random passerby in the family photo. was kinda hoping the bulls were doing that in the team photo

[dice]

richard roeper has seen the full documentary and talks about it here:

Watch on YouTube

[dumbell78]

I think going through some games and highlights from that period would be a great idea. Even for us diehards, its good to refresh your memory of what was back in 98. I'm going to catch some games on Amazon Prime like Doug mentioned. Will put me in the right mind set to fully absorb this doc.

[Clint Eastwood]

Anyone know who the hell 42 is?

Mario Bennett?

He played as 44 and isn't in the picture. The two google images I found of him look like totally different people from each other, but both look sort of similar to the guy in the photo as they at least both match the mustache which seems reasonably unique.

David Vaughn?

He was 42 the year before for the Bulls, but didn't finish the season for them. Maybe he was in for a camp invite during photo day?

Figured it out, it's Jeff Sanders. He was drafted by the bulls in 89 had a very short and uneventful career and then was brought in by Krause (though he didn't ultimately make the roster) as sort of a favor. Krause had toyed with the idea of bringing him back a few times during the course of the dynasty because they owed him more money (not exactly sure how or why that occurred).

My brother an I nicknamed him “sleepy sanders”

[bledredwine]

Somewhat related, I just found out that Amazon Prime has a ton of free Bulls content. All the Ultimate Jordan videos, tons of championship games etc are all free if you have amazon prime video.

Dude.


Seriously, thank you.

[bledredwine]

richard roeper has seen the full documentary and talks about it here:

Watch on YouTube

Awesome interview.

I actually don’t care about today, tomorrow, or Friday of this week. They could go to hell.

If I could fast-forward life to Sunday, I really believe that I would.

But thanks to Doug, there are now some great games to watch on the big screen.

[jc23]

One of the beautiful aspects about this doc is people will get to see MJ/Bulls footage in HD. I have really enjoyed the game replays shown on comcast sports but would prefer if it was in hd.

[bledredwine]

Watching 1993 double nickel Phoenix game now.

So far, Jordan’s carrying the team. 21, rest of Bulls 17. Checked out with a 12 point lead, checked in 4 points up two minutes later and dunked immediately. Pippen was not having a good game, committing some dumb turnovers via telegraphed passes to the perimeter.

We really didn’t deserve to beat Phoenix. Their fire power was far ahead of ours and their defense looks on par. Barkley had his way with Horace. Those games were down to the wire every time. What an overlooked team, 93 Phoenix.

That must have felt discouraging as a Suns fan.

[Michael Jackson]

Watching 1993 double nickel Phoenix game now.

So far, Jordan’s carrying the team. 21, rest of Bulls 17. Checked out with a 12 point lead, checked in 4 points up two minutes later and dunked immediately. Pippen was not having a good game, committing some dumb turnovers via telegraphed passes to the perimeter.

We really didn’t deserve to beat Phoenix. Their fire power was far ahead of ours and their defense looks on par. Barkley had his way with Horace. Those games were down to the wire every time. What an overlooked team, 93 Phoenix.

That must have felt discouraging as a Suns fan.

Yeah Phoenix should have beat the Bulls but they didn't. Portland was really a more stacked team too. Thank heavens for Bobby Hansen.

[troza]

Should have? They were better than people give them credit (and I believe that happened because they chocked twice vs the Rockets) but on that series they just couldn't get anything in the first two games (as far as I remember)... after that, oh my... some crazy battles... It took Jordan with 55 points and an ugly 4th quarter on the last game (with Jordan scoring the first 9 of the 12 Bulls points) for us to win.

I watched the 98 finals game 6 more times than any other game but the situation in 93 was similar and the team was super clutch also.

[siriusjames]

A bit off-topic, but I started watching our 1991 Playoffs run lately. Does anyone know how I can find recaps of those games? I checked ESPN and AP archives but to no avail. It would have been good to read some media pieces about the games after I watched them.