Why / How did MJ average 11 assists per game in the 91 Finals?

[McBubbles]

Always found this massive outlier of a playmaking display from MJ odd but never really thought about it.

Was it to show up Magic?

Was it part of the game plan?

How'd he do it if the triangle limits assists?

Enlighten ya boi.

[penbeast0]

He turned into James Harden (the beard was just assumed). Not sure why the triangle would limit assists as a system; it's about spacing more than sharing though it has that rep from Phil Jackson trying to get Jordan to play more team-centric ball.

[No-more-rings]

He also did that while maintaining his usual scoring volume and efficiency. I get the arguments for guys like Lebron, or Shaq but there's just a lot to like about 91 MJ being the goat peak.

[70sFan]

He also did that while maintaining his usual scoring volume and efficiency. I get the arguments for guys like Lebron, or Shaq but there's just a lot to like about 91 MJ being the goat peak.

To be fair, injured Lakers team isn't the competition to rave about.

I'm actually more impressed with his performance against 1989 Cavs (very strong team), when he put up 40 ppg along with 8 apg.

[McBubbles]

He turned into James Harden (the beard was just assumed). Not sure why the triangle would limit assists as a system; it's about spacing more than sharing though it has that rep from Phil Jackson trying to get Jordan to play more team-centric ball.

Anything more X's and O's based?

And why did he never come close to doing it again? He averaged his career high 11.4 APG in this series, but his next highest was 8.5APG. It's a very odd outlier.

[No-more-rings]

He also did that while maintaining his usual scoring volume and efficiency. I get the arguments for guys like Lebron, or Shaq but there's just a lot to like about 91 MJ being the goat peak.

To be fair, injured Lakers team isn't the competition to rave about.

I'm actually more impressed with his performance against 1989 Cavs (very strong team), when he put up 40 ppg along with 8 apg.

I’m not saying it was his best series or anything. Just pointing out his willingness and ability to be able to up his playmkaing while not losing anything in scoring.

[70sFan]

He also did that while maintaining his usual scoring volume and efficiency. I get the arguments for guys like Lebron, or Shaq but there's just a lot to like about 91 MJ being the goat peak.

To be fair, injured Lakers team isn't the competition to rave about.

I'm actually more impressed with his performance against 1989 Cavs (very strong team), when he put up 40 ppg along with 8 apg.

I’m not saying it was his best series or anything. Just pointing out his willingness and ability to be able to up his playmkaing while not losing anything in scoring.

Yeah, I know that. I just think that with better supporting cast, Jordan would average comparable number of assists in 1989. He already averaged 8 and his teammates shot poorly (unlike in 1991 finals).

[VanWest82]

Horace and Pax shot really well that series which helped, but I always felt like a big part of it was MJ trying to prove definitively that he was better than Magic. I can do all this other stuff better than you - score, defend, jump higher, run faster - but I can also pass just as well as you too.

Knowing what we know about him, it'd be a pretty good bet that MJ took those 89 and 90 MVP losses to Magic personally.

[No-more-rings]

To be fair, injured Lakers team isn't the competition to rave about.

I'm actually more impressed with his performance against 1989 Cavs (very strong team), when he put up 40 ppg along with 8 apg.

I’m not saying it was his best series or anything. Just pointing out his willingness and ability to be able to up his playmkaing while not losing anything in scoring.

Yeah, I know that. I just think that with better supporting cast, Jordan would average comparable number of assists in 1989. He already averaged 8 and his teammates shot poorly (unlike in 1991 finals).

Well again, i see it just more of the cherry on top of what was his peak. I wouldn’t read too much more into it than that.

[SHAQ32]

He turned into James Harden (the beard was just assumed). Not sure why the triangle would limit assists as a system; it's about spacing more than sharing though it has that rep from Phil Jackson trying to get Jordan to play more team-centric ball.

Anything more X's and O's based?

And why did he never come close to doing it again? He averaged his career high 11.4 APG in this series, but his next highest was 8.5APG. It's a very odd outlier.

I mean at the end of the day it's a five-game sample size. Maybe MJ was motivated to assist more because of playing Magic?

[tone wone]

I always assume 1991 was a really good playmaking/passing postseason from MJ, and the Finals were just a culmination of that.

Whenever I watch that series, he's just making really good reads and passes...That's what makes the whole "who's open? Paxon." exchange from Phil and MJ late in game 5 so weird. He'd been hitting the open man all series really all postseason

[feyki]

Cause he decided to put 31/11 instead of 40/7 when faced the GOAT Playmaker.

[migya]

Because he has the ability, just didn't always show it. He made sure he won and also made himself look good. Not all the greats could do that. Talent wise he is the GOAT that's quite obvious.

[LewisnotMiller]

Always found this massive outlier of a playmaking display from MJ odd but never really thought about it.

Was it to show up Magic?

Was it part of the game plan?

How'd he do it if the triangle limits assists?

Enlighten ya boi.

I'm working from memory here, so take it with a grain of salt...I was 16 when this series was played.

Jordan had been dominating as a scorer for years, but had copped criticism for being a ball hog, or scorer only, or good stats guy on a team not winning rings.

He pretty deliberately focused on stepping his defence up (not like it was ever bad) and getting recognised for that, partly because of how the Pistons had won rings. And the guys he was taking the face of the NBA mantle from (Bird and Magic) were both triple double threats, so that became a bit of a thing for him at one stage. Everyone...until he started collecting rings...seemed determined to tell him Bird and Magic played winning ball, Bird and Magic made their teammates better.

Jordan was a different player. But he could create defensive reactions like no one else, hang in the air, and was actually a very good passer.

That 91 Lakers team kinda limped in to the Finals. They had near prime Magic, so not like they were easybeats, but Worthy and Scott both had injuries, and Magic was pretty cooked as a perimeter defender by then.

Jordan put pressure on the defence, and did a good job of taking what they gave. Bulls had good open shooters, and Jordan could force the D to collapse almost at will.
Combine that with the mental motivation of playing Magic, and constantly being told Magic played 'the right way' and I have little doubt Jordan decided he'd get 10 assists a game while winning. He didn't just want a ring, he wanted to be in the conversation for best player with Magic, Bird, etc.
(And in the end he got there and then some)

[gipper08]

He had no other All-star that season on his team. He had to score and distribute as he was a one man team.

[GSP]

The narrative then was scoring champs couldn't win titles and he wasn't on Magic or Birds level because he didn't make others better. I mean its Mj he def did it on purpose for that and weve seen in this era specially that heliocentric engines can pad their apg numbers if they want