Ballin’: Michael Jordan Scores 63 Points Versus Boston

12 Responses to “Ballin’: Michael Jordan Scores 63 Points Versus Boston”

1. Garcia Vega Says:
   July 7th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

   This was the game that made me a fan of the NBA. I was too young(29) to remember seeing any other playoff or regular season game before 1986.

   Jordan showed he was gonna be a force for years to come on that day.

2. Hoffman Says:
   July 7th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

   Garcia Vega,

   Welcome.

   MJ won ROY so peope were aware of him. But I think they took notice of his greatness on that day.

3. xphoenix87 Says:
   July 7th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

   I think the funny thing about this game is that so many people forget how many chances Jordan had to win it. The greatest clutch player of all time, but you wouldn’t know it by watching this game. Missed free throws, missed open jumper, allowed Danny Ainge to go right past him for an open layup. Absolutely he played a fantastic game, but it always amuses me how “unclutch” he was, and how nobody ever points that out.

4. Hoffman Says:
   July 7th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

   x,

   MJ hit three straight free throws at the end of regulation to send it into OT…

5. Garcia Vega Says:
   July 7th, 2008 at 6:33 pm

   xphoenix,
   I think you are right. I think many people remember the greatness, the game winning shots, the titles. But they forget how many game winning shots potentially Jordan had, and missed. They also forget the playoff disappointments.

   In this age of the internet, players like Lebron, Kobe, etc. are under much greater scrutiny.

6. xphoenix87 Says:
   July 7th, 2008 at 9:08 pm

   Hoff – He actually hit two to send it into overtime. I had to rewatch it to make sure because I thought for sure I remembered him missing a crucial free throw at the end of regulation. I think I made basically the same mistake you did. I thought he got three free throws because he got fouled behind the line, and therefore must have missed one since they were down by two and the game went into overtime. However, he only shot two free throws, so that’s where my incorrect memory came from. Still, the miss at the end of the first overtime is so surprising to see from him. A wide open mid-range jumper with the clock winding down, in my head, that’s a shot that the Legendary Michael Jordan just doesn’t miss, it isn’t possible.

   Garcia – I’m not implying anything negative about Jordan. I think he’s unquestionably the greatest player of all time and the greatest “clutch” player ever. However, I also think the whole concept of “clutch” is incredibly overrated. I think it’s mostly a matter of perception and not all that important a factor.

7. King_Kaun Says:
   July 8th, 2008 at 4:51 am

   I see where you are coming from X that “clutch is a matter of perception” but how can you say its not all that important a factor?

   Call it whatever you want, but wanting the ball at the end of the game and constantly delivering when the game is on the line is a helluva trait to have. Overrated? naw…under appreciated!

8. Hoffman Says:
   July 8th, 2008 at 7:05 am

   xphoenix87,

   I see. I don’t have the game on tape so I was going from memory. Were his feet on the three point line then?

9. xphoenix87 Says:
   July 8th, 2008 at 9:57 am

   Nah, he was clearly behind the line, and the official clearly signals that it’s a 3. They must have just awarded 2 free throws to any shot, and changed the rules later to give 3 free throws for a three-point shot. I wasn’t aware of that, but it’s the only logical explanation to me. It was only 6 years after the institution of the three point line, so I guess they just hadn’t added that rule yet.

10. A-Train Says:
    July 8th, 2008 at 9:43 pm

    I have that on DVD.

    Players didn’t get three free throws until sometime in the mid-90’s.

    Michael Jordan in those three games was the most dominant THING–he wasn’t human–I have ever seen. He was by far the best player on the floor, offensively and defensively, at all times. Bird said afterwards, “that was God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

    The whole clutch discussion is borderline moronic. He was, what, 22 years old? He was on a team FULL OF SCRUBS. I mean, give me a break. The guy single-handedly ate the NBA that year, carried his garbage team to the playoffs, totally outplayed Hall of Fame superstars in their prime, and, and, gave the best team in the league a competitive series.

    But we want to talk about clutch?

    You know, sometimes clutch doesn’t boil down to simply hitting the last shot in a game. Clutch also means you step up when your team needs buckets. The Celtics never blew out the Bulls. Jordan matched them basket for basket, almost all by himself. That’s not clutch?

    And he took that game into overtime. But we’re talking about two free throws or three free throws?

    Lame.

11. xphoenix87 Says:
    July 9th, 2008 at 4:11 am

    “The guy single-handedly ate the NBA that year”

    You do know he was injured basically all of that year right? He only played in 18 regular season games.

12. A-Train Says:
    July 10th, 2008 at 9:10 pm

    Confused my years.

    Oh well, he ate the league the year before as a rookie and in the year after. And he ate the Celtics in the playoffs. And had he not been hurt that year, he would have eaten the league. Then, of course, he went on to eat the league the next 15 years.