Lucas: Last Dance Rapid Reactions Night 5

By Adam Lucas

1. Even until the end, Michael Jordan was Carolina. In the episode ten scene before Game 5 of the NBA Finals when Jordan is talking trash to Scott Burrell in the locker room, Jordan very noticeably was wearing the same Carolina shorts that he always wore under his uniform.

2. Is anyone else genuinely sad that is over? It feels like the morning after the basketball season ends. What's incredible is that Michael Jordan was the center of the sports universe in the 1990's, and here we are, 30 years later, and as we sit here tonight...he's still the center of the sports universe. No other sports figure--perhaps no other world figure--can claim that kind of range.

3. Interesting to hear Phil Jackson talk about his strategy in the closing seconds of the 1998 championship-clincher, as he chose to go without a timeout because he "didn't want to let them talk about it." Sound like anyone you know? Avoiding letting the other team set their defense is a consistent Roy Williams approach.

4. The flu game wasn't the first time Jordan had a memorable experience while under the weather. You probably know about Jordan's incredible performance against Virginia in 1983, but you might not know about the other circumstances that surrounded that game.

5. The fact that Jordan remembered an offhand slight from Bryon Russell three years earlier makes it even more unlikely that he just happened to throw down the rock the cradle dunk at Maryland in a heated game and wasn't actually trying to send a message. Of course, Russell just goes on the long list of individuals we learned about in this documentary who made the inexplicable decision to talk trash to Jordan. Had word not gotten around the league that making that choice was a very bad idea?

6. That Jordan near-game winner against the Indiana Pacers in 1998...anyone else think that looked a little bit like Marcus Paige against Villanova? (No need to talk about what happened after that)

7. Of all the side players in the documentary, it might have been Steve Kerr who came across as the most likable (which, from all accounts, is true). What you might have forgotten: Kerr was a key part of the 1988 Arizona team that eliminated Carolina in the regional final. Kerr played 39 of the 40 minutes in that game, hit three of his four shots, went 5-6 from the free throw line, and scored 14 points to go with three assists. Sean Elliott led the Wildcats with 24 points and Tom Tolbert added 21. Future Bull Jud Buechler came off the bench for Arizona in that game, as did future major leaguer Kenny Lofton. Carolina led the game at halftime 28-26, but the loaded Wildcats were dominant (shooting 58.3 percent from the field to Carolina's 31 percent) in the second half and won, 70-52.

8. Reggie Miller against Carolina: he scored 20 points at Carmichael Auditorium in a game Carolina won, 107-70, in November of 1985. He was terrific in a rematch on Dec. 1, 1986, at Pauley Pavilion, as he had 32 points and nine rebounds as the Bruins handed that great Tar Heel team (they won 16 straight games after the loss at UCLA) one of just four losses on the season.

9. At the time, we all thought Jordan held the pose on the game-winner in 1998's Game 6 because he knew it was the last shot. The postgame celebration scene in his hotel room seemed to suggest the actual reason was because he was aware his jumper had been short for most of the game and he wanted to make sure he flicked his wrist and followed all the way through.

10. Another reason to look forward to sports returning (and Chapel Hill returning) to normal: there's a new hotel on deck in Chapel Hill that will let you live out all the Jordan nostalgia you found over the last five weeks by staying in an identical recreation of his dorm room at Granville Towers. It doesn't stop there, by the way; the hotel is also going to have some one-of-a-kind Jordan memorabilia.

11. If you're not ready to let go just yet, here's a way to catch up on other Jordan-related content from the last month:

Last Dance Rapid Reactions Night 1
Last Dance Rapid Reactions Night 2
Last Dance Rapid Reactions Night 3
Last Dance Rapid Reactions Night 4
MJ Rewind (ACC Network Jordan at UNC marathon) Rapid Reactions
Lucas: Rock the Cradle (column on the legendary Jordan dunk at Maryland)
Carolina Insider podcast featuring Scott Williams with his Bulls/Jordan stories
Carolina Insider podcast featuring Last Dance executive producer/UNC grad John Dahl and Bulls PA announcer Ray Clay

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