The broadcast doesn’t show when the planning started but it was brewing throughout the fourth quarter in the form of Bill Laimbeer, the baddest of the Bad Boys.
During the Isiah Sportscentury ESPN episode, Chuck Daly says he pleads with Isiah not to do it, adding that there will be consequences that he can't imagine. I read that Daly felt that Pistons run wouldn't be as long as the Celtics or Lakers. Still an amazing 5 year run. He felt that the amount of physical and mental energy expended vs those 2, the fact that the Bulls were on the rise, and the volatile personalities of his main guys would eventually take a toll on them, though the players didn't realize it in that moment
Incredible five-year run! In 1988, if Isiah doesn't get hurt in Game 6, they probably win the title, meaning they would have knocked out Jordan, Bird and Magic in the same year, the top 3 in the '88 MVP voting and the winners of all nine MVPs from 1984 to 1992. In five years:
1987 - Beat Moses, beat Nique, lost to Bird in 7
1988 - Moses, MJ, Bird, lost to Magic in 7
1989 - Celtics (no Bird), Cummings, MJ, Magic
1990 - Reggie, Ewing, MJ, Drexler
1991 - Nique, Bird, lost to MJ
So in five years, they were only eliminated by Bird's Celtics, Magic's Lakers and Jordan's Bulls, and they also beat all three in those five years. That's crazy.
Jack great insights into quite possibly the single greatest act of poor sportsmanship in the history of pro sports. Isiah was the leader of that team and he should have stopped Laimbeer from pulling that stunt. I have no sympathy for Isiah because he had complete control of what happened as the undisputed leader of that team. I didn't realize he tried to enroll Chuck Daly in the scheme and you would think after the reaction he got from Daly that it would have sunk in that it was a bad idea. Usually I have a strong dislike for a team because they have the upper hand on my team, but in the case of the Pistons it was easy to dislike them simply because of their personalities (not the style of play which was embraced by the Knicks of the 90's).
Thank you! Isiah could have stopped it but clearly he didn’t want to. I think he had a ton of frustration that had built up for a long time and that’s why he participated. It was poor sportsmanship and it cost him dearly.
Amazing piece, Jack. My wife is a Pistons fan and the first movie we watched when we were dating was the Kid Rock narrated Bad Boys' 30 for 30. With snark, I only agreed to watch it because I told her "I know how this ends."
Thanks Ashok! I rewatched that doc as part of my prep for this. Great to see this from their perspective and see that even from their perspective they confirmed their brutality against MJ.
During the Isiah Sportscentury ESPN episode, Chuck Daly says he pleads with Isiah not to do it, adding that there will be consequences that he can't imagine. I read that Daly felt that Pistons run wouldn't be as long as the Celtics or Lakers. Still an amazing 5 year run. He felt that the amount of physical and mental energy expended vs those 2, the fact that the Bulls were on the rise, and the volatile personalities of his main guys would eventually take a toll on them, though the players didn't realize it in that moment
Incredible five-year run! In 1988, if Isiah doesn't get hurt in Game 6, they probably win the title, meaning they would have knocked out Jordan, Bird and Magic in the same year, the top 3 in the '88 MVP voting and the winners of all nine MVPs from 1984 to 1992. In five years:
1987 - Beat Moses, beat Nique, lost to Bird in 7
1988 - Moses, MJ, Bird, lost to Magic in 7
1989 - Celtics (no Bird), Cummings, MJ, Magic
1990 - Reggie, Ewing, MJ, Drexler
1991 - Nique, Bird, lost to MJ
So in five years, they were only eliminated by Bird's Celtics, Magic's Lakers and Jordan's Bulls, and they also beat all three in those five years. That's crazy.
Jack great insights into quite possibly the single greatest act of poor sportsmanship in the history of pro sports. Isiah was the leader of that team and he should have stopped Laimbeer from pulling that stunt. I have no sympathy for Isiah because he had complete control of what happened as the undisputed leader of that team. I didn't realize he tried to enroll Chuck Daly in the scheme and you would think after the reaction he got from Daly that it would have sunk in that it was a bad idea. Usually I have a strong dislike for a team because they have the upper hand on my team, but in the case of the Pistons it was easy to dislike them simply because of their personalities (not the style of play which was embraced by the Knicks of the 90's).
Thank you! Isiah could have stopped it but clearly he didn’t want to. I think he had a ton of frustration that had built up for a long time and that’s why he participated. It was poor sportsmanship and it cost him dearly.
Amazing piece, Jack. My wife is a Pistons fan and the first movie we watched when we were dating was the Kid Rock narrated Bad Boys' 30 for 30. With snark, I only agreed to watch it because I told her "I know how this ends."
Thanks Ashok! I rewatched that doc as part of my prep for this. Great to see this from their perspective and see that even from their perspective they confirmed their brutality against MJ.