Michael Jordan al salon de la fama

- Por Madman
Este año entra al salon de la fama del basquetbol de la NBA su majestad: Michael Air Jordan. Como su inminente entrada esta a solo unos dias, y como homenaje a el mejor deportista que he tenido la fortuna de ver, presento este scouting report de Charles Rosen.
Digo el mejor, porque a pesar de haber visto muchos grandes deportistas a lo largo de mi corta vida, es el que mas ha dominado el deporte en el cual se desenvuelve, tanto por los triunfos que obtuvo, como por el conocimiento que desarrollo en su deporte (sin contar que aparte de esto, era emocionante y muy agradable el ver un juego de el).
Bueno, para no dar mas rodeos, aqui esta el scouting report:

It's been more than 11 years since Michael Jordan performed with his routine brilliance for the Chicago Bulls — but only six seasons since he retired from the Washington Wizards. As a result, too many NBA fans remember MJ only as a slightly overweight jump-shooter, while many younger fans can only vaguely recall His Airness' halcyon days.

As the Hall of Fame prepares to admit its latest honorees, and to remind us, one and all, here's a scouting report on the player who many observers consider to be the best of all time.

Offense

Although he was not nearly as comfortable shooting with his left hand as he was with his right, Jordan's hands were abnormally large. As a result, he had incredible ball control and was an imaginative and a powerhouse finisher whether on the run, or when surrounded by hostile big men. MJ's legendary hang time also enabled him to assault the basket when his defenders were already coming back to earth.

Of course, Jordan could run and sky with anybody who ever played the game. And at 6-foot-6 and 216 pounds, Jordan possessed a tensile strength that made him able to absorb a big hit without getting derailed, which is why he was the beneficiary of so many "and-one" 3-point plays.

He had a super-quick first step, a warp-speed last step and a tricky reverse-dribble going either way. Plus, his jumper was equally effective when he was stopping-and-popping going left or right.

In 1984, however, when Jordan came into the NBA, his jumper had limited range; from beyond the arc he shot only 17.1 percent in his rookie season. That's because he could always create a 15-footer while at North Carolina, while in the NBA, open 15-footers translated into open 20-footers. MJ worked diligently to expand his attack zone and wound up with a lifetime 3-ball percentage of 32.7 — good, but not great. Indeed, his long-distance dialing remained streaky throughout his career.

As he continued to adapt his game to the NBA, Jordan also refined his post-up moves. Eventually, he mastered a turn-around-fade-away jumper that was literally unstoppable.

He could also see the floor and pass like a point guard and rebound like an undersized power forward. In other words, there was no offensive skill that Jordan didn't eventually master.

Early in his career, Jordan's primary deficiency on offense was his reluctance to accept the sacrifice required in the triangle. Time and again, the ball would stick to his hand while he faked, dribbled and re-faked, seeking to create his own scoring opportunities. He was encouraged in this regard by one of the Bulls' assistant coaches, John Bach. It wasn't until the Bulls were involved in their first championship series — versus the Lakers in 1991 — that he became a true believer in what he once called "a white man's offense." Once he was on board, MJ became a perfectionist, ferociously admonishing any teammates who ventured into the wrong place at the wrong time.

In critical situations, Jordan surpassed his own Olympian expectations. Off-balance treys with a defender hanging on his shooting arm, pull-up J's that left opponents flat-footed, soaring dunks while defenders were still gathering to jump at his shot, win-or-lose free-throws ... Jordan almost always found a way to put a ballgame on ice.

How did opposing teams attempt to control his explosive offense?

By knocking him down as much as possible, e.g., the Bad Boy Pistons "Jordan Rules." And by keeping him busy on defense. None of these strategies worked for long.


Defense

His defense was less spectacular than his offense but just as decisive. Nine times he was named to the league's all-defensive first team. Steals were his specialty — he led the NBA in this category in 1988, 1990 and 1993. But he could also buckle down and lock up an opponent — although he sought to conserve energy on the defensive end in his later years.

Most often, he'd hound his opponent from catch to shot release. But sometimes he'd back off and convince the shooter that he had plenty of time and space to launch his jumper — but then MJ would quickly close ground and stick his massive hand into the shooter's face or forehead.

During his initial two NBA seasons, Jordan had difficulty dealing with high screens. In fact, throughout his career, speed players — most notably Kerry Kittles — could usually get to the proffered screen before Jordan could figure out exactly what defensive measures to take. By 1986-87, though, he'd learned to simply avoid most screens by tailgating the ball-handler over the top, beating the ball-handler to the screener, or somehow just slipping through whatever daylight there was. In fact, Jordan was the most accomplished screen-dodger in NBA history.


How good was he?

Good enough to win six rings, lead the league in scoring 10 times, play in 13 All-Star Games, be named to 10 All-NBA teams ... and so on. According to Phil Jackson, "Jordan was so good in every aspect of the game that he absolutely ruined every drill I could devise. If it was a defensive drill, he'd score. If it was an offensive drill, he'd come up with a steal. He could ruin a practice session singlehandedly."

Even so, more than his honors, awards, rings, numbers and definable skills, Jordan's greatness was powered by one overriding personal characteristic — his unbelievable competitive edge. He just hated to lose and would do anything to win.

For example:

I was fortunate enough to witness an intra-squad scrimmage in which Jordan was paired with the second-stringers, and Scottie Pippen played with the remaining starters. It was a close and fiercely combative contest with everybody playing as hard as they would have in the seventh game of a championship series. Grunts, groans, shouts of encouragement and abuse filled the arena. MJ and Pippen guarded one another with the intensity of mortal enemies.

When Pippen hit a long 3-ball to end the game, the winners hooted, hollered and celebrated as though they'd just won another gold ring. Jordan, meanwhile, was absolutely irate, kicking courtside chairs and slamming a meaty fist on the empty scorer's table.

The end of the scrimmage also signaled the end of the practice session, whereupon scores of eager media were officially allowed to rush into the playing area. Having no idea of the belligerence or the outcome of the scrimmage, they simply went about their business as usual, i.e., approaching the always cooperative Jordan for some kind of quote about the Bulls' next game.

They were, therefore, shocked when Jordan started to curse them — curses that would invite the drawing of knives and guns had they been made amidst any gathering on most street corners in Chicago. How could they know that Jordan was still steaming over the outcome of a meaningless intra-squad jousting?

Moreover, there were several reasons why Doug Collins was fired as Bulls coach in 1989. But the last straw occurred when Jordan was over-the-top outraged by Collins trying to lengthen the duration of another intra-squad scrimmage by announcing a falsified score that shorted MJ's team by a basket.

In sum, other players could conceivably be nominated as being the best ever, but nobody before or since could approach Michael Jordan's exalted combination of scintillating talent and game-eating fire.

MJ BY THE NUMBERS
2 Olympic gold medals
5 MVP awards
6 NBA titles
6 Finals MVP awards
10 Scoring titles
30.1 Regular-season PPG
33.4 Playoffs PPG