Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas were never friends. However, the fact of the matter is, history has been so exaggerated by His Airness that now people see Thomas as one of the only bad guys in the entire NBA from that time. Perhaps the only people remembered to be there with him were the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons.
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But of course, back then, the entire league was dirty. People today forget in all their nostalgia, but back then, players were more interested in WWE, rather than basketball. Even just a few years ago, everyone was calling out the Warriors for ‘moving screens’. However, the fact of the matter is, they only did it a little bit more than the rest of the NBA.
NBA history will always be biased against the ‘villains’. And the thing is, because of it, even real strategy has become muddied by the ones who won in the very end.
You see, ‘Jordan rules’ have gained a bad name amongst the NBA community, and why wouldn’t it? If ‘The Last Dance’ is to be believed, strategy was a mere afterthought of it. No, the *real rules* were to kill MJ.
However, of course, being physical wasn’t all there was to it. And recently, Isiah Thomas came forward to throw this dim-witted mentality aside and explain the real truth to the NBA community.
Surprise: The ‘Jordan Rules’ attacked the weaknesses in Michael Jordan’s game
Believe it or not, Michael Jordan wasn’t perfect at basketball. Yes, we know, it sounds beyond shocking. But, despite the persona his worshipers have created, this man had faults in his game.
Sure, as soon as he came into the NBA, he was very good. However, much like Kevin Durant’s first season in the league, the man was good, but not complete. In fact, they both had the very same weakness. They couldn’t go left, so that’s exactly what the real ‘Jordan rules’ were based around. Take a look below.
“(Michael) Jordan was a reluctant passer. He didn’t like to pass and he was the first volume shooter… He didn’t have great handles. (Michael Jordan) Couldn’t go left. And if he went left more than 2-3 times, he had to pick it up. So, the (Jordan) rules were very simple.
Left side of the floor, send him left. Right side of the floor, send him left. In the middle, send him left. Now when he is going left, we wanted the trap to be visible. So, I’m going left, and the first person that he sees, now is running at him. And you as a defender, your job is to take away his right hand. Because now, as a passer, we want that ball going in the air.
So, those are the real ‘Jordan rules’. Makes Michael Jordan rely on the left hand he didn’t have, or make him pass, something he was never good at. Of course, once he reached the baseline, you lay him out.
But, at that point, just about everybody was doing the exact same thing. And shocker so were the Bulls. So, simply put, until a certain somebody learned to play as a team, Chicago was outplayed by Detroit when it counted most.
Is Michael Jordan’s GOAT case untouchable?
Frankly, there are two ways to look at this question. If you look at it in a way that the man had absolutely no flaws (ergo, the way you’ve been led to look so far), sure yes. The man’s case is untouchable because the man is a literal god.
However, if you were to look at the case for what it was, there are things to talk about here. To be clear here, Jordan is still the GOAT. He won far too many times and did far too much for the NBA’s image to lose his title yet. But, if LeBron James wins a 5th NBA championship within the next two seasons, it will finally be time to have a real sit-down about who the GOAT really is.
