Some Thoughts On Episodes 3 & 4 Of The Last Dance

Dennis you menace. 

• Jamie Mah @grahammah

I just love this documentary. Episodes 3 & 4 were definitely worth the wait. My goodness, I haven’t been this charged up after watching something since seeing The Dark Knight for the first time. What a thrill it was to sit and see the real Michael Jordan talk. This is the man I love. The arrogant, competitive and brash leader who swears a lot and demands the highest from those around him. 

His reaction to Phil coming to him to say that Dennis needs a vacation — during the season! — was just priceless. You can tell it still chaps his ass that he even had to entertain the notion that a player on his team needed time away to party to help him play better. Can you imagine asking your current boss for such a request? The audacity of a player who is making millions of dollars to rebound a ball on the best basketball team in the world, asking for time off as they try to win a third straight championship is insane. There is zero chance this would have happened now. Zero. The Twitter shit storm alone would have been unbearable. 

But as you come to witness throughout both episodes, Rodman had his issues. Sadly, however, whatever those issues were, they don’t come across as rather interesting. 

An introvert for the most of his life, Rodman’s late career personality shift looks more and more like someone seeking attention. Plain and simple. It’s understandable why he played so well for Chuck Daly, his coach in Detroit and Phil, as both accepted him for who he was. This, more than anything, seems to be why he acted the way he did. He wanted more people to like him. I think once he saw that by dying his hair and growing this unique persona, the more attention he received. Once he got it, he liked it. He was like a kid trying to please his parents. Phil understood this, which is why he was able to get the best out of him when they needed it. 

Anyways…enough with Rodman. He’s boring. 

Here are some of my thoughts on episodes 3 & 4.

The Pistons, Isiah and a migraine. 

The best part of these two episodes was when the filmmakers gave Michael an iPad to watch Isiah backtrack on why his team failed to shake hands with the Bulls after they swept them in 1991. Michael is right to still call him an asshole. He is one. They showed zero class in that situation. Those Pistons teams were brutal. There’s playing tough and then there’s playing dirty. The Pistons fell into the latter camp every time. In acting the way they did, their legacy became tarnished. Think about it. From 1980, the league was dominated by Larry Bird and the Celtics, Magic Johnson and the Lakers, Isiah and the Pistons and then Michael and his Bulls. But whenever we talk about that era, we say Larry, Magic and Michael. We skip the Pistons all the time and there’s a reason for this. They played dirty and got away with it when they shouldn’t have. 

They knew they couldn’t contain Michael, so they resorted to just wanting to hurt him. Luckily, they didn’t. But you can see, for Michael, those battle scars run deep and it’s understandable why he’s reluctant to forgive. I probably wound’t either.

Now there is one other topic here which I thought was interesting. Michael’s reaction to Scottie’s migraine in Game 7 of the 1990 Conference Finals. You can tell he backs Scottie to this day, but part of me got a sense that he feels that Scottie melted in that moment more than anything. Like he wasn’t tough enough. I get that his father had just passed away and that migraines do happen, but I mean come on, it’s Game 7 — buck up! 

Scottie was sensitive and Michael knew it. I believe he feels that Scottie let him down on that one. He might never admit it, but I saw that look in his eye. It’s there. If they win that game, they beat Portland in the Finals. Michael has to know this. 

The behind-the-scenes footage after they win the 1991 Conference Finals

Watching Jerry Krause dance on the plane was hilarious. This moment is delightful. It’s the part of sports we rarely see. How big a moment this must have been for them. Years of torture finally overcome. The out-pour of emotion that must have been. Then you get to play Magic and the Lakers in the Finals? My goodness, icing on the cake if you tell me. 

Phil Jackson’s shoulders are weird looking

He looks as if he’s being propped up by a coat hangar. They’re so straight and blocky. Looks uncomfortable. 

Also, that they just glossed over Doug Collins firing was comical. When they asked Doug if he could tell, his response was priceless. Of course he could and it must have been awkward as shit. However, and I need to hammer this point home, Krause deserves a lot of credit for making this decision. Collins was never a good coach. He flamed out in Detroit and Washington after this. There’s a reason he does Tv. Krause saw this, and he knew he had to make a change. The players immediately recognized this too. Scottie admits it as much in the doc. The only one unhappy was Michael, which was understandable as Collins’ offence benefitted him and only him. It would only get them so far. Kudos again to Krause for seeing this. As well, his hiring of Tex Winter cannot be understated enough. Without him, this Bulls dynasty might not have happened. 

Carmen Electra has aged nicely

She’s not my type, but she still looks good.