Michael Jordan's Universe - Online Youtube Streaming Collection

The 1998 season started on a pessimistic note for the Bulls, as there was nothing to indicate they could repeat their performance of 1996 or 1997. First of all, Scottie Pippen had an off-season knee surgery that required him to miss several months of action. Second, the Bulls were unable to secure some extra players, especially on the frontline. Luc Longley and Bill Wennington remained their only options at center position, a situation which forced the Bulls to use the undersized Rodman more and more at the 5 spot. The only notable addition to the roster was the Scott Burrell, a small forward brought to compensate for Pippen's absence and help the Bulls with his 3 point shooting and defense. Phil Jackson was having a feud with Chicago Bulls' management and with Jerry Krause in particular, a situation which created tension for everybody in the team. And last, but not least, Michael Jordan, although still the NBA's premier player, was almost 35 years of age and he was required to lead the Bulls without Pippen on both ends of the court for at least the first half of the season. Nobody knew how the Bulls would deal with their shortcomings, and not to few voices proclaimed they would succumb. The first month seemed to prove their critics right, as the Bulls found themselves 12-9 at a given moment, a far cry from the previous seasons when they lost 10 and 13 games in total. To make matters worse, Michael Jordan dislocated a finger on his shooting hand, which affected his ability to shoot the ball from long range. However, as he so often did in the face of adversity, MJ dug deep and led the Bulls to a 21-3 record from mid-December to the end of January, when Scottie Pippen came back from injury.
	At the All Star Game in Madison Square Garden, MJ would take center stage again and win his 3rd MVP award, 10 years after winning his first. After the All Star break, the Bulls would come back to full form and end the regular season on a 28-5 run, which was consistent with the previous years success. However, the setbacks earlier in the season brought their overall record to 62-20, still good enough for second place in the league and gave them the critical home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference. Michael Jordan's numbers declined slightly from the previous years, his scoring output was 28.7, still good enough to win him his 10th scoring title. Even if he didn't have a 50 point game during the season, he had 12 40+ point games, and all of them against great teams. His ability to lead the Bulls in the absence of Pippen and with all the distractions surrounding the team was recognized by the coaches and the media, which voted MJ as the League MVP for his 5th time in his career, becoming the oldest player at that time to win the award. He was also included in the league's First Team for the 10 time and in the first Defensive Team the 9th time, both of them records.
The 1998 playoffs brought the Bulls another young opponent in the first round, the New Jersey Nets, a hungry team, led by a rebounding machine of their own (Jason Williams) and other stars like Sam Cassell or Keith van Horn. Game 1 seemed to be going well for the Bulls which were leading by 14 points in the 4th quarter, only to see a big run by the Nets tie the game and turn it into an overtime dog fight. A late steal by Michael Jordan, followed by a break-away 3 point play, and other defensive stops by Pippen sealed the game, but the Bulls were again facing questions related to their age and stamina. They would bounce back and control game 2, with MJ adding 32 to his 39 points in the first game. Game 3 was played in New Jersey, but it was there where Michael would showcase his brilliance, scoring 38 points on a 16-of-22 shooting, completing another first round sweep. Round 2 would bring the Bulls face to face with the Charlotte Hornets, a team led by sharpshooter Glen Rice, and containing some experienced players like Vlade Divac, Anthony Mason, Dell Curry or BJ Armstrong. The first game went to the Bulls, who were again led by Jordan's 35, but the second game saw them stumble on a poor shooting performance only to see the Hornets walk away with a 78-76 victory and thus losing home court advantage. What hurt more was that BJ Armstrong, the former Bull, was the one who sealed the victory at the United Center. But the Bulls would rally back and win the next 3 games in convincing fashion, combining stifling defense with great execution. Michael Jordan would lead them with 27, 31 and 33 points respectively. The Eastern Conference Finals would not be so easy. In fact they would face a team that had great playoff success in years past, the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were lead by the great Larry Bird as coach, and managed to beat the Bulls 2 times during the regular season, including their last meeting at the United Center in Chicago just days before the playoffs began. The Pacers had a core of veterans, including Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Chris Mullin, Jalen Rose, Dale and Antonio Davis, or Rick Smits, and were a team which presented numerous problems for the Bulls. Game 1 went neck and neck until the Bulls were able to squeeze a victory, behind Jordan's 31 points. Game 2 would be no different, with Jordan scoring 41 and helping them defend their home court. Game 3 in Indianapolis saw Reggie Miller come to life in the 4th quarter, after spraining his ankle, giving his team the victory and nullifying a 30 point game performance by Jordan. Game 4 seemed to be going Chicago's way entering the final minute, when they were up by 2 points and had possession of the ball. However, an offensive foul was called on Dennis Rodman, which led Reggie Miller to score one of the most famous shots in playoff history, a fade-away 3 pointer with less than 1 second to go, which gave the Pacers the lead. Even so, Michael Jordan managed to get a last shot out at the buzzer, but it rimmed out and the series were tied at 2 games all. The Bulls felt some opportunities slipped away, and returned in game 5 in Chicago with a vengeance. Scottie Pippen disrupted the Pacers attack by swarming Mark Jackson, which led the Bulls to a convincing 106-87 victory. But the Pacers would not die down, and come back with a chance to win game 6 in Indianapolis. After scoring 35 points until that moment, with the Bulls down 2 and just seconds to go, Michael Jordan tripped on a drive to the basket that sealed the Bulls loss and forced a 7th game. It was the first time when Jordan's Bulls would have to play a 7th game since 1992, and this time they were 6 years older. The game started badly for the Bulls, as nervousness and lack of rhythm saw them go down 13 in the second quarter. But their experience showed, did not panic, and climbed their way into the game, behind Tony Kukoc's hot hand in the 3rd quarter. The 2 teams went neck and neck in 4th, when Michael Jordan compensated for a bad shooting day with lots of hustle and determination, grabbing crucial rebounds and fighting for every ball. The Bulls eventually prevailed 88-83, but looked tired as they just survived after being pushed to their absolute limit. But their run was not over, they had to go over one last step in the NBA Finals: the Utah Jazz. For the first time in all their championship years, the Bulls were clearly considered the underdogs in this series. They would face a team that beat them in both games of the regular season, had the home court advantage over them, was well rested and in supreme form after sweeping Shaq and Kobe's ultra-talented Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and they desperately wanted revenge for the previous year's Finals. The Bulls age and tired legs showed in game 1, and although they put on a good fight, would eventually lose in overtime, even if Michael Jordan tried his best to keep them in the game with 33 points. Everybody predicted the Jazz would go 2-0 up two days later, everyone except for the Bulls. Michael Jordan scored 23 points out of 37 in the second half, as the Bulls would win game 2 and steal the home court advantage from the Jazz. Game 3 back at the United Center proved to be an epic. Chicago played their best defense in a long while, led by Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, while Michael Jordan needed to score just 24 points in a game where the Bulls destroyed the Jazz 96-54, Utah setting a new NBA record for lowest points scored in a game since the shot clock was introduced. Game 4 was a different story, as everyone expected the Jazz come back with a vengeance with their pride hurt the game before. This game was indeed closer, but eventually the Bulls would win behind MJ's 34 points to take the lead to 3-1. Game 5 was also played in Chicago, so winning the championship here would make it that much sweeter. However, the expectations were met by a more determined Jazz team, led by Karl Malone who finally had a break-through game, and with reserve Antoine Carr hitting some big shots at the end. As Michael Jordan's game winning attempt was missed at the buzzer, the Jazz would win and send the series back to Utah. And this set the stage for game 6. The Bulls were expecting a parade just a few days earlier, now they were facing all kinds of problems. Utah went to a quick 14 point lead in the 2nd quarter, and worse, Scottie Pippen injured his back and had to leave the game. This meant the Michael Jordan would need to carry much of the load once again. And he would do just that, as the Bulls climbed their way back into the game. Pippen returned in the 4th quarter, but his mobility was severely affected, so it was clear that it would be Jordan or another loss. With 43 seconds to go, John Stockton hit another big 3 pointer to give the Jazz the lead 86-83. At this moment, Michael Jordan, which had expanded a lot of energy while carrying the Bulls offense, took over the game one last time. He would score on a drive, then he would strip the ball from Karl Malone and then he would hit probably the most famous game winner in the history of basketball. And, as John Stockton's attempt hit the front of the rim at the buzzer, the Bulls started to celebrate their 6th championship of the Jordan era. That game represented the culmination of one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. With 6 championships in 8 years, the Bulls of the 90's reached a mythical status that is acknowledged even today. As for Michael Jordan, his last minute epitomized his whole career as a basketball player and probably the most recognizable athlete of the 20th century. Even if he would return a few years later in the Wizards uniform, he will always be remembered as the Greatest Player Of All Time because of the way he lead the Chicago Bulls franchise from the bottom of the NBA to its fairytale ending.