CLEVELAND - While the Orlando Magic were in the process of defeating the L.A. Lakers, 108-104 last night in Florida to trim their deficit in the NBA Finals to 2-1, I was busy watching on television while having flashbacks of 1995.That was the last time the Magic were in the NBA Finals.
My flashbacks however, were not of that Shaquille O'Neal/Penny Hardaway-led team that got swept 4-0 by the eventual champion Houston Rockets. The memories I was having were about that Orlando team's performance in the Eastern Conference Semifinals versus the Chicago Bulls.
Yes, it's always about Michael Jordan with me.
What brought on these memories? How about this: Kobe Bryant, the basketball great who has starred for Hollywood's team for the past 13 years endured a very uncharacteristic conclusion to last night's game. After a sizzling 1st quarter during which he scored 17 huge points, he went into a tailspin and struggled to score a mere 14 during the final three quarters. The most shocking part, however was his five missed free throws in the game, including a critical one down the stretch and a costly turnover when Bryant tried to split Orlando's defense and was stripped of the ball with less than a half minute to go.
Wow.
Though Kobe finished with 31 points, his second half showing was plain awful. His usual crunch time brilliance was AWOL in this game, a contest that could have resulted in a stranglehold 3-0 series lead for the Lakers but instead has given the Magic renewed hope after dropping a heartbreaking Game 2 in L.A.
Which brings us to Jordan.
The Bulls legend had returned from an early retirement in March 1995 at age 32. After playing in the final 17 games of the regular season, he led Chicago to a 4-1 victory in Round 1 over the Charlotte Hornets which earned them the right to face the upstart Magic.
In Game 1 on Orlando's homecourt, Chicago seemed poised for a stunning upset when they led 91-90 with the ball in the closing seconds. Jordan, who by then possessed a huge catalog of 4th quarter heroics dribbled the ball into the frontcourt while hounded defensively by sharpshooting guard Nick Anderson. All-star Hardaway came with a trap on MJ and Anderson caught him off guard by knocking the ball from Jordan. Hardaway recovered the ball and tossed it downcourt to a cutting Horace Grant (former Bull) who dunked emphatically for a 1-point Magic lead.
After Chicago came out of a timeout, Jordan had the ball again to redeem himself with a clutch play, but he dribbled to the foul line, rose up for an apparent jumper, then tossed a pass towards the baseline to Scottie Pippen who, anticipating a Jordan shot attempt, cut to the basket to gain position for a potential rebound. The miscommunication between star players caused the ball to sail out of bounds.
Orlando won the game, 94-91 while Jordan had to endure the utter disappointment of costing his team a critical victory. He had arguably his worst playoff game ever; 19 points on 8-of-22 shooting and a whopping 8 turnovers! The Magic wound up beating the Bulls, 4-2 in the series and move on to the East Finals v.s. Indiana. Jordan had been woefully inconsistent and out of sync during the entire series, due mostly to his 21 months of pro hoops inactivity. This crushing defeat led many to believe that Jordan had become a has-been and that Chicago's time had passed. For Michael himself, he used the series defeat as the matrix to power his return for his 11th season the following autumn.
That led to the Bulls' historic 72-10 season and 4th NBA title as well as MJ's 4th MVP award.
Back to Bryant. It is very safe to say that he isn't "losing it" or past his prime. The man is two months from his 31st birthday, which isn't exactly young by NBA standards, but with his prime level of fitness, skill, savvy and flat-out drive, he may as well be five years younger.
Bryant will be just fine. Just look at how Jordan came out of his nightmare in Orlando.
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