I've been in and out of the room on Sunday nights during #TheLastDance and I've missed pieces here and there that I then catch during the week. Catching up on ep7 — definitely surprised they skipped this play.
But I think I'm more surprised (and I discussed this on @LockedOnBulls last night) that the doc isn't doing a great job of tying together the two timelines: the '97-'98 story with the flashbacks. There is a huge reason why this play is so important:
In 1994 and 1995, without MJ, Scottie Pippen was a top-5 player in the NBA.
Not hyperbole:
Not hyperbole:
But what Pip's 1.8 seconds showed was how much he missed and needed MJ, and why their partnership was essential.
Here he is explaining that in 1996:
Here he is explaining that in 1996:
Likewise, here is MJ that same season explaining what he believes Pippen learned in his absence:
That connection between the 1.8 seconds and Pippen's new understanding or acknowledgement of his partnership with Jordan, and how the complement each other, is the context that binds that down moment in Pip's career with his great success in the 2nd three-peat.
MJ and Phil learned vital lessons during MJ's '93-'95 retirement, too, ones they carried into the 2nd three-peat. MJ used baseball to regain his peace and his love of pure sport and — this is key — gain empathy for lesser talented athletes, because that's what he was in baseball.
His re-humbling in baseball — both naturally in baseball (i.e. failing 7 out of 10 times is success) and specifically to him (his own struggles) — helped reframe his view of lesser talented yet equally driven/motivated members of the Bulls.
So rather than just telling us the story of his baseball career in a vacuum, the doc could have given viewers that key connection b/t baseball and the 2nd three-peat and hence the '98 season. Baseball helped MJ understand/accept/bond with Buechler, Wennington, Kerr, Brown, etc.
By presenting those connections b/t the timelines and not just running thru MJ's history chronologically, #TheLastDance would have much deeper resonance. As it stands, it's terrific fun. But it could have been true history with deeper emotional weight.
Peep the new episode of @lockedonbulls, as @Bulls_Peck, @JordanCMaly and I discuss these ideas on the gap between the potential and the delivery of #TheLastDance.
On this subject: As much as we love new interviews in #TheLastDance, interviews from the day are valuable too. Here is @dennisrodman telling @LouCanellis about the MJ-Scottie tandem. Great perspective.
