The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 651 Facing Forrest Gump
Before Game 4 between the Bulls and Pistons, Scottie Pippen sat in the locker room, following Phil Jackson's advice to focus on things related to the game before it started.

With the Finals just one step away, Pippen, who had been heavily criticized before the series, delivered an outstanding performance against the Pistons, becoming the key figure in deciding the outcome.

Jordan's performance remained strong and consistent. No matter how the Pistons targeted him, he could still contribute 30 points per game efficiently, so there was no need to worry.

Pippen's exceptional performance is the biggest difference between this year's Bulls and last year's Bulls. Everyone on the Bulls team can sense that Pippen is rising rapidly.

Winning Game 4 would allow the Bulls to advance to their coveted NBA Finals, so Jackson told Pippen to focus on the game itself and not let other things distract him.

In Jackson's eyes, Pippen remained an unstable factor, constantly targeted by Dennis Rodman and Salley throughout the series.

Throughout the three games, Rodman constantly mocked, provoked, gestured, and talked incessantly at Pippen, and afterwards they would pat each other on the butt as if they didn't care and were friendly.

Veteran Buck Williams, who witnessed everything, told Phil Jackson, "Rodman must be crazy. I suspect he's been beaten so badly his brain is damaged and he's got a mental problem."

Pippen smiled and said, "He is indeed sick, he needs help. It's wrong to allow someone like him to walk freely on the streets. He should be taken to the hospital, tied up, and have his frontal lobe removed."

Jackson was very pleased with Pippen's attitude, especially the relaxed and natural smile on his face, which was absolutely unseen in last year's series.

Last year's Game 7 was a disaster, but now Pippen has escaped the shadow of the Pistons' violence and pressure, and he is full of confidence in himself and the team.

Like Pippen, Jordan was full of confidence, and his pre-game statement, "We're already thinking about our Finals opponent," caused a huge uproar in Detroit.

The Pistons were all vowing to teach Michael Jordan a lesson in Game 4, and Detroit fans were shouting and yelling wildly before the game, trying to intimidate the Bulls players.

However, if this strategy had worked, the Pistons wouldn't have been down 0-3.

At night, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the fourth game between the Bulls and the Pistons took place as scheduled.

Chuck Daly's arsenal is completely empty, and the bench is unlikely to produce another surprise weapon.

In fact, the loss in the 1990 NBA Finals, thanks to Forrest Gump's elbow, had completely shattered the Detroit Pistons' spirit.

They've managed to hold on until now, partly due to inertia. Like soulless zombies, their muscles still remember all their movements, but they've lost their spirit.

Secondly, the Pistons' core roster is relatively young. Rodman, Salley, and Tpin are all growing and at their peak, and they are the ones who have carried the Pistons this season.

But the era of the Detroit Pistons is completely over, due to the league's flagrant foul rules, the prevailing public opinion, and Isaiah Thomas's tarnished reputation.

It was clearly Thomas who was elbowed so badly his face was unrecognizable, but afterwards no one stood up for Thomas; instead, everyone pleaded for Forrest Gump. This was what hurt Thomas the most.

Before the start of the fourth game, Thomas had a strong premonition that their era was coming to an end and a new era was about to begin.

As the saying goes, its rise was sudden and its fall was swift. The pistons, as "reactionaries," were making their last struggle as they faced death.

They went head-to-head with the Chicago Bulls from the start, and even with the flagrant foul rule in place, the Pistons increased the intensity of their movements.

Anyway, if we lose this game, the season is over. So let's just commit malicious fouls, don't hide it.

Chuck Daly had no other options left and had to fight to the death.

However, the Bulls coaching staff is no longer afraid of the Pistons' aggressive play; on the contrary, the Bulls like the Pistons to play that way.

It wasn't because the Bulls were masochists, but because Phil Jackson knew that when the Pistons continued playing violent basketball, it meant they had run out of ideas.

The Pistons' violence was never intended to harm their opponents, but rather to disrupt and influence their mental state—it was a form of psychological warfare.

This tactic used to be very effective, but now the situation is completely reversed. The more the Pistons do this, the calmer and more indifferent the Bulls become.

However, the Pistons tend to get easily agitated and emotionally charged, which can affect their performance on the court.

Bill Laimbeer had a very frustrating first three games; he was getting old and could no longer provide high-quality offense and defense.

The malicious fouls had restrained him, and tonight he completely let loose, pushing John Paxson out of bounds during a defensive play in the first quarter.

Paxson fell heavily to the ground, but he quickly got up, gave Lambiel a contemptuous look, and said, "Do as you please, Bill, I'm not afraid of you."

After saying that, he ignored Laimbeer and let him talk trash. Paxson just went to the free throw line and made the free throw.

Immediately afterwards, Paxson received a pass from Jordan on offense and made a three-pointer. Then he continued to receive a pass from Jordan and cut to the basket, drawing a foul from Tpin and once again going to the free-throw line.

Laimbeer discovered that his malicious actions could no longer stop Bulls players from attacking the paint. Not to mention Jordan, even minor players like John Paxson dared to repeatedly drive to the basket and draw fouls.

In the first quarter, Johnson Paxson scored 8 points, and his key performance helped the Bulls take a 6-point lead over the Pistons.

The Pistons' intimidation tactics have completely failed, but Dennis Rodman is still unwilling to give up.

Midway through the second quarter, Rodman shoved Pippen hard out of bounds. Pippen crashed into the stands, his chin hitting the floor and bleeding profusely.

The Bulls' bench erupted in commotion as they rushed toward Rodman, but were stopped by assistant coach Bach, while Rodman walked away as if nothing had happened.

Instead of attacking Rodman, Pippen sat on the floor to clear his head, as he was somewhat disoriented.

The team doctor came over to stop the bleeding and gave the wound some basic treatment. The wound was later stitched up with six stitches.

Pippen didn't leave the court to rest, but instead threw himself back into the game. Grant came over to remind Pippen: "Don't fight with him, let's play basketball, crush them, and send them home."

Pippen nodded and said, "Tonight is their last game of the season."

While saying this, Pippen was thinking to himself, "If Forrest Gump were my teammate, I would definitely punch Rodman in the head and blow it to bits."

Pippen watched the 1987 and 1990 NBA Finals, and everyone who watched Forrest Gump go on a scoring spree against the Pistons was thrilled.

Rodman's ADHD was so bad that only Forrest Gump could handle him and had him completely under his thumb.

Because Rodman knew that Forrest Gump really would hit someone, and that provoking him would come at a heavy price.

Of course, aside from Forrest Gump, Rodman was lawless against anyone.

During the subsequent game, he kept trash-talking Pippen, saying all sorts of things, like a manic addict on drugs.

"You think this is the end of it? I'll do it again and crack your jaw again. It's no big deal to me."

"You're fucking gay. We don't want gays here. I'll make you fall even harder, and then you can go back to the locker room and get gay!"

Rodman kept attacking Pippen, but Pippen just smiled and ignored him, treating him like a patient.

Rodman said too much, so Pippen retorted, "Why don't you go and yell at Forrest Gump?"

This would drive Rodman even crazier. He wanted to prove he wasn't afraid of Forrest Gump, but he couldn't come up with a coherent explanation, so he could only angrily spew profanities.

The more Rodman acted this way, the more relaxed and composed Pippen became. Tonight, he put up a well-rounded stat line of 23 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Phil Jackson commented on Pippen, saying he completely controlled the game tonight, and most importantly, he withstood the pressure, ignoring the Pistons' violence and trash talk.

This is a sign that Pippen is maturing. Although his real test has not yet arrived, at least he has overcome the Pistons' ordeal.

The Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons 115-94 in Game 4.

We finally defeated the Bad Boys, and in the most satisfying way possible—a complete sweep.

Of course, what people remember most about that Monday afternoon at Auburn Hills is not the game itself, but what happened after the game.

With 7.9 seconds left in the game, the outcome was already decided. The Pistons players left the bench and walked straight past us toward the locker room. They didn't wait for the final buzzer, didn't shake our hands, didn't praise our performance, and didn't wish us good luck in the Finals.

Without respect, you have nothing.

I know that Isaiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer can't accept that we're better than them, that the young teams they've dominated for the past few years have grown up and easily overtaken them, and that their reign in the East is over.

Every once-glorious but now fading hero eventually reaches this point. One day we will too, but we won't fare as badly as they have.

Later, Isaiah Thomas claimed that what the Pistons did was not uncommon in the NBA, saying that the Celtics treated them the same way when they beat the Boston Celtics.

I disagree with this, because when the Pistons beat the Celtics, the scene was chaotic, with fans throwing things onto the court, and they had to leave as quickly as possible.

Our game was different. The Detroit fans didn't do anything too extreme. Although they kept yelling at us during the game, they accepted the loss after the game.

Each time we lost to the Pistons, we would shake hands with the Pistons players after the game and wish them good luck in the next round.

The Pistons didn't, which is against the spirit of sportsmanship.

But it doesn't matter, this isn't the first time.

In short, after my career ended, I had no contact with Isaiah Thomas and never will.

I met him at an event in Florida a few years ago, but I didn't say anything to him.

Michael disliked him just as much, which is why the 1992 Olympic Dream Team didn't select him but chose Stockton instead—although Michael doesn't admit that he exerted pressure or influence.

Returning to the match itself, the fourth game was still a dirty one. I had six stitches in my chin, but I didn't retaliate.

I just sat on the floor, calmed myself down, and then calmly returned to the court. My teammates did the same; they didn't cause any trouble.

If we retaliate, that's exactly what the Pistons want; it will make the game more intense, which is their preferred style of play—rolling in the mud.

But when we don't retaliate, they don't know how to respond, and they're doomed.

This game is very important to me, and it's not just about winning the Eastern Conference title.

On this very court, a year ago, in the decisive Game 1, I only scored 2 points.

Whether or not I have migraines, this is an indelible stain on my basketball career.

I can't do anything about the concussion that caused me to fall into a coma. We can regret it, but we can't change anything from the past.

I must live with these two disappointing performances until the day I die.

At least I found some solace in winning against the Detroit Pistons in 1991.

I scored 23 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

The celebrations on the bus after the game, as we left the Palace of Auburn Hills, will forever remain in my memory—except for the image of Jerry Krause dancing, which I hope I can forget.

To be honest, beating the Detroit Pistons would feel like winning the championship.

I don't know about others, but for me, our goal for the entire regular season was Detroit.

Chicago fans were ecstatic; when we landed at the airport Monday night, people lined up to cheer and shout for us.

They were excited, but I knew our mission was not yet complete; we had only just stepped onto the highest stage.

At that moment, Phil Jackson stepped up and kept reminding us that our journey was far from over until we won the championship.

He would occasionally show us his championship ring from the 1973 NBA championship he won with the New York Knicks, saying, 'Guys, do you want one? Then go win the Finals.'

We were full of confidence, but also very nervous. You have to understand that the Bulls in June 1991 were not the invincible team that later made it to the Finals many times.

We are just a young and energetic team that yearns for dreams and success. We don't know what the future holds, we just want to seize the moment.

Who are their current opponents? Everyone knows the answer, especially Michael.

We've been waiting for this for a long time—the Chicago Bulls' fated rival, the Portland Trail Blazers.

The day after returning to Chicago, the result of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals was announced, and the whole team watched the game on TV in the training facility.

Rheinsdorf and Jerry Krause were with us, and the match was very intense. We all hoped for a quick result and not to drag it out any longer.

The Suns were leading in the first half, and I thought the series might have to go back to Phoenix.

Michael said, "No, Forrest Gump will take care of the Suns and Barkley in the third quarter."

Sure enough, Forrest scored 15 points and blocked 6 shots in the third quarter, leaving the Suns completely bewildered.

The Trail Blazers rallied to take the lead and then crushed the Suns in the fourth quarter, winning the series 4-1.

This is their fifth Western Conference title in seven years, and they are building the same dominance that the Boston Celtics once had.

When the game ended, Michael turned off the TV and said, "Stop watching, everyone go practice."

Please, it was already past 11 p.m., what were you training for?

But we all agreed, turned on the lights in the training field, and practiced together for more than an hour.

Everyone was engrossed in their practice; the atmosphere was quiet and somber, and everyone was somewhat tense.

Because we're going to Portland, where we'll face Forrest Gump in the Finals.

—Excerpt from Scott Pippen's autobiography, Unguarded, published in 2021.

(End of this chapter)