Episodes 3 and 4 of ESPN's 'The Last Dance' documentary shed light on the bitter feud between the Bulls and the Pistons at the turn of the 1990s.
' dynasties of the 1980s and the Bulls' first three-peat of the early 1990s, the Pistons are a curious case study in NBA history. Often remembered more for their bruising approach than for making three consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals and winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.
By 1988, the Pistons and the Bulls arrived into the playoffs at the second and third seed in the Eastern Conference and crossed paths in the conference semifinals. The Pistons, however, came back to take the next three games en route to sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 in the NBA Finals, avenging their seven-game loss to the Lakers from a year earlier.Former Pistons general manager Brendan Malone described the rules as such:
"Chuck Daly said this is the Jordan Rule: Every time he go to the f***ing basket, put him on the ground," Rodman, the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991, said. Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls takes the ball to the basket during the game against the Detroit Pistons in 1988.The Pistons prevailed again in 1990, stopping the Bulls in seven games in the conference finals and going on to defend their title by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in six games.
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