Hoops4theSoul

May

2

Chicago Bulls History in Game Sevens

Filed Under Analysis/Commentary, NBA, Chicago Bulls

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Bulls - Pistons 1990 Bulls Knicks in 1994 Bulls Pacers 1998 What past Bulls teams have done in Game Sevens has absolutely no effect on what the team does tonight against Boston.

With that point clear, it’s still interesting to examine the Bulls history in Game Sevens.

While 0-5 in franchise history when on the road in a Game Seven, the Bulls are 3-5 overall in these do-or-die games.

Here’s what I can tell you about some of the Bulls’ performances in Game Sevens.

1975 Western Conference Finals, Bulls Lose on the Road to Golden State Warriors:

Yes, the Bulls were once in the Western Conference. No, I wasn’t alive when this series took place. Prior to the Jordan championship teams, the 1975 squad featuring Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier, Chet Walker and Bob Love was the franchise’s closest hope to a title. Unfortunately, the Bulls blew a 3-2 lead in this series, losing at home in Game Six and falling by four to Rick Barry’s Warriors on the road in Game Seven. The Warriors went on to sweep the Washington Bullets in the NBA World Championship (as it was known back in the day).

* 1989 Eastern Conference First Round, Jordan’s Shot Knocks off the Cavs (not a Game Seven, but still worth noting)

In Game Five of a first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jordan stunned the state of Ohio and took his game to another level with his free-throw jumper over Craig Ehlo as the horn expired.

1990 Eastern Conference Finals, Bulls Get Blown Out by Detroit:

The Bad Boys would hold back Jordan for the last time with a Game Seven blowout in 1990. A day after my Holy Communion, Game Seven was a dud, with John Paxson unable to go due to injury and Craig Hodges having to fill in at the point. This was the infamous Scottie Pippen migraine game. In Sam Smith’s The Jordan Rules, then Bulls GM Jerry Krause acknowledged that he knew his team was going to win the championship when he saw most of his players working out at the team’s practice facility the day after being bounced by the Pistons for the third straight season. Jordan and the Bulls would sweep Detroit in four glorious games in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals and then win the franchise’s first championship with a 4-1 triumph over the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Bulls Survive the Surprising Knicks

During the playoffs in the Bulls six championship seasons, Michael Jordan never lost a game during the first round. In fact, his title teams were extended to seven games only twice. In 1992, a Knicks team that wasn’t supposed to give the Bulls much trouble did so in an absolutely and brutally physical series that set the stage for one of the great rivalries of the 1990s. After a tight first half, Jordan and the Bulls would rout the Knicks in the second half, beat the Cavs in six games in an Eastern Conference Finals that should have gone seven, and slay the Portland Trail Blazers in six games in an NBA Finals that almost went the distance as well.

1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Bulls Lose at Madison Square Garden to the Knicks

Sans Jordan (who was in his first retirement), the Bulls finally fell to the Knicks in a gritty series remembered for Hugh Hollins’ phantom foul call on Scottie Pippen in Game Five. Jordan’s replacement, the often-maligned Pete Myers, was a surprising 6-for-6 from the field in Game Seven and the Bulls hung around for three quarters before losing. The Knicks would play in two more Game Sevens in that playoffs, beating the Pacers at home in the do-or-die finale of the Eastern Conference Finals and losing to the Rockets on the road in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals.

1998 Eastern Conference Finals, Bulls Dismiss the Pacers at the United Center

Michael Jordan’s final championship team was pushed to the limits in a scary seven-game series with the Pacers. In all honesty, this series shouldn’t have gone seven as the refs missed a terrible push off on Jordan by Miller at the end of Game Four. Indiana led by double digits in the first half of Game Seven before Jordan and the aging Bulls scratched and clawed to its victory. Entering the 1998 NBA Finals as underdogs, Chicago beat Utah for the second year in a row in six games.

In contrast to Chicago, Boston has been more successful in Game Sevens throughout its illustrious history.

The Celtics are 19-5 (16-3 at home) in Game Sevens (no wonder this organization has 17 titles). During its championship run last season, the Celtics won two Game Sevens at home, in the first round against Atlanta and the second round against Cleveland.

With all this said, I think it’s safe to say that the NBA hasn’t seen a series like this Bulls-Celtics duel and that everything which is supposed to happen according to Game Seven histories (3 out of 4 home teams win the decisive Game Seven) should be thrown out the window.

Nothing has made sense this series and why should it in Game Seven tonight!

Go Bulls.

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