I searched, anyone else have their popcorn ready for “The Last Dance”?
- Thread starter RJ2kWJ
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Yeah, it was really well done. So many trips down memory lane and 'little' things I had forgotten.
I did find myself feeling a little down for Jerry Krause, or more specifically his family. He wasn't portrayed very well in the documentary, and probably rightfully so....but still, he's no longer here to defend himself. Thought they could have laid off some of the stuff. That would be my only gripe.
I'd still rather be watching the NBA playoffs, but this was a nice alternative, all things considered.
I did find myself feeling a little down for Jerry Krause, or more specifically his family. He wasn't portrayed very well in the documentary, and probably rightfully so....but still, he's no longer here to defend himself. Thought they could have laid off some of the stuff. That would be my only gripe.
I'd still rather be watching the NBA playoffs, but this was a nice alternative, all things considered.
Considering Rodman was at the end of his career and partied so much it is amazing he gave the Bulls as much as he did.
Rodman had a stint with the NWO while playing in the NBA finals and dating prime Carmen Electra. Forget about the Jordan vs LeBron debate. Rodman is the GOAT!
Interesting to me how drastically fan perception changed from episode 1 to 10. After the first few episodes, Krause was by far public enemy #1. So much focus on Krause in the initial few episodes made me weary of what was ahead. Especially since Krause is no longer with us to defend himself. But the documentary shifted focus and along the way Krause was rightfully celebrated for his overall great job as GM up until the early 2000's. Trading for Pippen and Horace. Drafting Kukoc and acquiring Longley, Kerr and Buechler. Players that were not hot commodities. And he made the unpopular switch from Doug Collins to Phil Jackson. I think the point was made in the Documentary that Phil Jackson did not create the friction between the front office and players but he surely used it as a motivating factor for the team.
Now, reading Bulls fan outlets following the conclusion - Reinsdorf is now shouldering the blame. And I believe rightfully so. He always had the power to put these individuals in line or even replace them. His statements in the very end on the market value of certain players was extremely hurtful to his reputation. These Bulls made him a fortune and yet after 10+ years his evaluation of these players was so cold. Not to mention the evaluation was not fully accurate.
So I like how the Documentary progressed and concluded in that regard. Krause was at times a brilliant talent evaluator and I think Reinsdorf used him as the fall guy.
Looks like both Horace Grant and Pippen are not happy about how they were portrayed. Just shows how hard it is to blend NBA egos into a winning combination and how temporary it is. Winning cures all ills.
Interesting postmortem:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/may/20/the-last-dance-espn-lebron-james-michael-jordan-nba
OFC
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/may/20/the-last-dance-espn-lebron-james-michael-jordan-nba
OFC
I think Pippen has a gripe, but more so in the amount of coverage than in the nature of the coverage. This was framed as a documentary of the 1998 Bulls, but it obviously wasn't. It was a documentary on Michael Jordan. If you take it as such, it was excellent. But they chose a different path in the marketing and description that maybe annoyed Scottie. If it was truly a doc on the team, there needed to be a heck of a lot more Scottie Pippen in it. To be such an integral part of both three-peats, and to have no more screen time than Will Purdue, Bill Wennington, security guards, Scott Burrell, etc. is crazy. And on top of that, his most prominent screen times were probably for the most negative aspects of his legacy as far as public perception: the migraine game, the foot surgery timing, struggling through game 6 in '98.
To be clear, I really liked the doc. I can just see what Pippen seemingly didn't like. They should have just marketed it as the definitive Jordan documentary, which it was.
Pippen was a very good player; but without Jordan no one is talking about him today.
I loved every second of the doc, it met my expectations coming in, which were huge.
I did feel bad for Scottie, but what I felt bad for was his contract. He was soooooo underpaid that I thought it was impressive he played through his contract without quitting or taking a real leave of absence. Besides Michael Jordan being on the team, Pippen's contract is the reason the Bulls were a dynasty. Had Pippen been paid correctly (and it's his fault and his agents fault he signed the contract), I don't think the Bulls win 6. They would never have been able to afford Rodman, Harper, etc.
Pippen's contract situation and the Bulls dominance is identical to Steph Curry's 4 year 12 million per year contract which springboarded the Warriors dynasty. Allowed them to go out and sign all these other guys and win championships.
I did feel bad for Scottie, but what I felt bad for was his contract. He was soooooo underpaid that I thought it was impressive he played through his contract without quitting or taking a real leave of absence. Besides Michael Jordan being on the team, Pippen's contract is the reason the Bulls were a dynasty. Had Pippen been paid correctly (and it's his fault and his agents fault he signed the contract), I don't think the Bulls win 6. They would never have been able to afford Rodman, Harper, etc.
Pippen's contract situation and the Bulls dominance is identical to Steph Curry's 4 year 12 million per year contract which springboarded the Warriors dynasty. Allowed them to go out and sign all these other guys and win championships.
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