Michael Jordan: Encyclopedia II - Michael Jordan - The Jordan Rules

Michael Jordan - The Jordan Rules

In his fourth season, Jordan averaged 35 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 5.9 APG, won his first MVP award and the Defensive Player of the Year award (garnering 259 steals and 131 blocks, unusually high for a guard), was named MVP of the All-Star Game, and won his second consecutive Slam Dunk contest with a dunk from the free throw line. Jordan's Bulls got out of the first round for the first time, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games (with Jordan averaging 45.2 PPG during the series) before losing in five games to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons.

In 1988-89, Jordan averaged 32.5 PPG, 8 RPG, and 8 APG and finishing second in the MVP voting. He established himself as one of the NBA's great clutch performers with a last-second dagger over Craig Ehlo in Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls, fueled by the emergence of Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant as starters, defeated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and lost to the Pistons in the Conference Finals.

The Pistons, with their punishing, physical play, established a plan for playing against Jordan, dubbed "The Jordan Rules": double- and triple-teaming the guard every time he touched the ball, hammering him while he drove to the basket, and forcing him to rely on his inexperienced teammates.

Coach Phil Jackson took over the team in the 1989-90 season, in which Jordan averaged 33.6/6.9/6.3, finishing third place in the MVP voting. The Bulls lost to the Pistons in seven games in the conference finals.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Jordan Rules", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki