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“That pissed them off,” said Riley. But I’m not so sure. If anything, the Bulls have looked cool and composed over the first two games–a little too cool, to my way of thinking. I’m used to the playoff ways of coach Phil Jackson, who in the Bulls’ six championship runs used to routinely emphasize how each game of a series grew harder until you had to cut the other team’s heart out. When I asked Bulls coach Scott Skiles before game one if he emphasized that aspect with his young players, he said no, he simply wanted them playing with their usual intensity and focus. Not to go all macho, but that seemed counterintuitive to the unique demands of playoff basketball–until I got the chance to ask Stacey King about it. King played on the Bulls’ first three championship teams and now does color analysis of their games carried on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, so he’s well acquainted with both.
“This team here,” in contrast, “this is a young team, and you don’t want them to get overconfident, because that puts pressure on them, because expectations are there.”
