Paxson

Paxson
by KHADDAFI (2020-05-05 21:38:11)
Edited on 2020-05-05 21:39:42

In reply to: Thoughts on Jordan's Last Dance? posted by DBCooper

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I've enjoyed seeing his clutch performances revisited.

There was his off-balance jumper to beat the Pacers in 1986 that put the Bulls into the playoffs, despite MJ missing more than 60 games and enduring Krause's demand that Stan Albeck yank Jordan off the floor for the last 30 seconds of that game. Without Pax's bucket, there never would've been a Jordan 63-point game in the opening round of the playoffs against the Celtics.

In the 1991 Finals, Pax's 20-point effort, including his finishing kick (5 jumpers in the last 4 minutes), to help clinch the Bulls' first title against the Lakers was a blast to see again.

And while everyone knows about Pax's three-pointer to win the third title after every player on the floor touched the ball, few probably recalled that those were the only points scored by any player other than Jordan during Q4 of the win against Phoenix.

Behind that wonderful moment, Pax was getting close to the end. During the 92-93 season, BJ Armstrong had taken over as the Bulls starting PG. Pax's minutes declined as he lived through serious knee pain, a surgery that failed, and a number of weeks on the sidelines. Even during the Finals, Pax's minutes were limited. In Phoenix's epic 3 OT win during Game 3, Pax played 5 out of the 63 minutes.

Yet Jackson played him in Game 6 for 20+ minutes. But when Phil took him out of that game with less than 6 minutes to play, Pax was not sure he'd re-enter the game. Of course, he did and he was ready to deliver when presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

One year later, his career on the court was done.

John Paxson remains one of the true class acts in ND history.

That shot likely allowed to him keep his front office

job with the Bulls longer than he should have.

No more GarPax.

Losing Derrick Rose

. . . certainly wasn't his fault. I don't follow the Bulls closely at all, but that guy could've been one of the best players in the history of the sport. MVP at age 22. A shell of his former self not long afterwards.

It's impossible to win consistently in that league without true stars. And it's tough to draft stars when you're not near the top of the lottery.

But I'll leave the details to Bulls fans.

Two trades stick out

Tyrus Thomas and a Russian for LaMarcus Aldridge.

Trading two mid first round draft picks to take Dougie McBuckets.
Denver selected Gary Harris and Nurkic.

Drafting Marcus Teague, Tony Snell and Valentine.

Now credit where credit is due: Butler and Gibson.

Getting Rose at all was absurd luck

The Bulls are the longest shot team to ever win the lottery, as they had only a 1-point-something chance that year. My friends and I didn't even bother watching the lottery and only found out they'd won when the Cubs broadcasters congratulated them on air.

My point is, they deserve absolutely no credit for getting Rose. Give them a little for effectively building a team around him in 2010 before it went to hell 2 years later.

Paul Pierce, Patrick Ewing

The list of “lucky” GMs is endless.

The Bulls has Rose. They were building a strong club that may have been attractive to free agents. He went down. It’s been a continuing rebuild ever since.