Before he achieved GOAT status, Michael Jordan endured the nasty defense of the Detroit Pistons Bad Boys. It took several attempts for MJ and the Chicago Bulls before finally ousting Isiah Thomas and crew.
According to the Bulls point guard B.J. Armstrong , Jordan pushed his body to the extreme to finally beat Detroit. In addition to enhancing his strength, Mike also beefed up his offensive arsenal in a precise way.
How MJ beat the Pistons
"The Jordan Rules worked as long as Michael played a traditional way," Armstrong says , per Bleacher Report. "But he made an adjustment. He figured out he had to catch the ball in position to score. So he learned to operate from the post and on the weak side and play the game with three dribbles or less. Now, when he caught it because his footwork was so good, he could score in many ways. He was skilled enough to adapt to any situation."
This was a simple yet genius tweak. To recall, one of the basic tenets of the Jordan Rules was to put MJ to the ground once he reached the paint. And so every time Mike tried to drive, several Pistons players were waiting for him.
But what if His Airness was already near the paint? As Armstrong said, it allowed MJ to get a good shot in just three dribbles — way before the Pistons defense could pounce on him.
Analysts claims are true. If it wasn't for the Pistons, Mike wouldn't be the complete offensive player that he became. Because he struggled with the Bad Boys, the Bulls shooting guard had to add a reliable postgame to his offensive arsenal — and it made all the difference. It was in the post that Mike entertained us with his signature fadeaway shot.
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Breaking down MJ's postgame
Mike's postgame was so lethal that many tried to imitate him. Still, only one succeeded — the Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant . Fans have collected video clips of how similar the two guards operated in the post.
According to ex-NBA player Hersey Hawkins, both MJ and Kobe made the posting so easy because of their supreme mastery of the fundamentals . Their footwork was so good that they were always in control.
"I think a lot of people get intrigued -- I think Kobe fits in that same category -- you see him shooting fadeaways and off-balance this and that, but they don't look at how their footwork is, or how square they are to the basket when they are shooting those shots. They may be fading away, but fundamentally, it's perfect how they are executing those shots. People just don't pay attention to that," Hawkins explained.
Nowadays, we see more and more NBA players — guards and bigs — with a postgame in their arsenal. We can blame Mike and Kobe for laying down the perfect foundations for it. But to an extent, we should give the Pistons Bad Boys some credit.
Related: “You don’t want to awake a sleeping giant” - Dominique Wilkins' message to his brother for instigating Michael Jordan’s competitive fire
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