Jordan hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer over Ehlo in Game 5 of the Cavaliers-Chicago Bulls first-round series in 1989.

“They had Craig Ehlo on me at the time which honestly was a mistake,” Jordan said in Episode 3 of The Last Dance docuseries. “Because the guy that played me better was Ron Harper.”

In the same episode, Ha

rper talked about how he was angry at Wilkens.

“We up by one,” Harper said. “I said, ‘Coach, I got MJ. I got MJ.’ So the coach tells me, ‘I’m gonna put Ehlo on MJ.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah okay, whatever. Fu– this bulls–t.”

The Bulls beat the Cavaliers by a final score of 101-100. Chicago made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where Jordan and Co. lost to the Detroit Pistons in six games.

Arguably the best player in NBA history, Jordan had a 42-25 record versus the Cavaliers in his career. MJ never lost a postseason series to Cleveland.

Jordan won five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, six championships and six Finals MVPs with the Bulls in the ’90s. He made 14 All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams and nine All-NBA Defensive teams during his career with the Bulls and Washington Wizards.

MJ also won three All-Star Game MVPs and one Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Jordan has career averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Wizards. He’s first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating.

MJ holds the NBA record for most points (63) scored in a playoff game.

Behind Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the Bulls went 6-0 in the NBA Finals and three-peated twice in the ’90s. Chicago beat the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz (twice) in the Finals.

As for the Cavaliers, they won their lone title in 2016 behind LeBron James.

This article first appeared on Hoops Wire and was syndicated with permission.

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Isaiah Thomas makes concerning claim about injury with Celtics

Isaiah Thomas was the star of the Brad Stevens’ era Boston Celtics. The diminutive guard quickly established himself as a fan-favorite on the underdog Celtics, earning himself two All-Star selections and finishing in the top five of MVP voting in 2017.

However, a severe injury led to his eventual exit from Boston, as he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Kyrie Irving trade. During a recent appearance on the “Knuckleheads” podcast, Thomas revealed that Boston kept the severity of his injury a secret. “The thing that hurt the most was that nothing was explained to me,” Thomas said. “If you tell me, ‘This can possibly get worse, this is what you have,’ then it’s on me to make the choice…

They shot me up to go into the Wizards series, I got shot up three times, every round. The last one was right before Game 7 of the Wizards series…Then in Game 2 of the Cleveland series, I get hit by a screen, and it just shoots to the back of my hip, and I’m like, ‘What the [heck]?’” Thomas has never fully recovered from that hip injury. Since leaving the Celtics, he has free-fallen through the NBA. He’s had stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers (twice), Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns. He failed to earn a consistent spot in the rotation at each stop. As such, it’s fair for Thomas to wonder whether the Celtics’ decision to push him through injury led to his drastic decline. If they didn’t advise him on the severity of his injury, Thomas would have been unable to make an informed decision about whether to risk his future as the team chased a potential spot in the NBA Finals. Nevertheless, Thomas remains a hero in Boston. He is still viewed as a fan-favorite and a catalyst for the current version of the Celtics, which recently won the 2024 NBA championship. He helped expedite their rebuild and was a key part of putting them back on the map.

Still, if Thomas’ claims are true, Celtics fans will hope the team has adjusted its injury protocol and prioritizes the safety of the players. Considering the franchise sat Kristaps Porzingis for most of the playoffs, that looks to be the case.

Packers’ waiver claim expected to extend shocking streak to 20 years

Giants place trio of veteran players on waivers

The Giants placed second baseman Thairo Estrada and lefty relievers Taylor Rogers and Tyler Matzek on waivers, report Grant Brisbee and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. They’re the latest veteran players known to hit the waiver wire as fringe contenders attempt to offload some salary. Estrada, Rogers and Matzek were not designated for assignment. They can continue to play for the Giants pending resolution of the waiver process. If they go unclaimed, San Francisco can (and quite likely will) simply keep them on the roster for the rest of the season. However, waivers are irrevocable. If another team places a claim on anyone, the Giants do not have the ability to rescind the placement.

Of course, the Giants wouldn’t have placed the players on waivers if they weren’t hoping another team made a claim. This is strictly a move to try to shed payroll. Estrada probably stands the best chance of the group to be claimed. He’s playing on a $4.7M arbitration salary. There’ll be roughly $810K to be paid from tomorrow through the end of the season. The 28-year-old Estrada is generally well regarded for his defensive acumen. Defensive Runs Saved has never been keen on his performance, but he grades very highly by Statcast’s Outs Above Average. While that hasn’t changed this year, his offense has fallen off a cliff. Estrada was an average or better hitter during his first three seasons with the Giants, combining for a .266/.320/.416 slash. He topped 20 stolen bases and drilled 14 homers apiece in 2022 and ’23. This season, Estrada has been one of the worst hitters in the game. He sports a .216/.246/.345 line through 374 plate appearances.

While that’s partially due to a career-low .245 average on balls in play, Estrada has never walked much or had particularly strong batted ball metrics. Among hitters with 300+ plate appearances, only Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall have a lower on-base percentage. That performance makes it likely the Giants will move on from Estrada next offseason even if he sticks on the roster for the remainder of the year. He’d be due a small raise on this year’s salary, likely into the $5M-$6M range. The Giants have evidently determined they were going to decline to tender him a contract, so they’ll make him available to other teams a month earlier to see if they can shed the final month of his 2024 salary. Rogers is having a much better season than Estrada, but he’d be a far costlier pickup. The veteran southpaw is in the second season of a three-year, $33M free agent deal.

It’s a backloaded contract that pays him $12M this year and next. He’ll be due a little more than $2M for the final month of the season. A claiming team would also need to absorb his $12M salary for the ’25 season. That isn’t an outlandish amount for a reliever of Rogers’ caliber but represents a hefty sum to take on via midseason waiver claim. The 33-year-old Rogers is a former All-Star closer with the Twins. He has remained effective over his two seasons in San Francisco. After turning in a 3.83 earned run average across 51 2/3 innings a year ago, he carries a 2.45 mark in 51 1/3 frames this season. Rogers has fanned an above-average 28.2% of opponents against a solid 7.7% walk rate. He has been generally solid all year yet hasn’t pitched his way into first-year manager Bob Melvin’s circle of trust. By measure of leverage index, Rogers has been eighth on San Francisco’s bullpen hierarchy (among relievers with at least 10 innings). That hasn’t changed throughout the season despite Rogers’ numbers. It’s understandable the Giants wouldn’t want to pay $12M next season to a reliever whom Melvin feels is best suited in the middle innings.

Matzek is the most affordable of the trio. Acquired from the Braves as a salary offset in the Jorge Soler deadline deal, he’s playing on a $1.9M contract. Matzek was on the injured list at the time of the trade and hasn’t thrown a pitch as a Giant. He missed all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. Matzek returned this season before landing back on the IL in May with elbow inflammation. The 33-year-old southpaw had a tough first month in Atlanta, giving up 11 runs over 10 frames. The Giants sent him to Triple-A on a rehab stint a couple weeks ago. He has made five appearances, allowing four runs through 4 2/3 innings. Matzek should be able to return in September, though it’s not clear if a contender is willing to plug him into their bullpen after a five-month layoff. Matzek is due around $330K for the rest of the year. His deal contains a $5.5M team option for next season without a buyout. That’s unlikely to be exercised by the Giants or a hypothetical claiming team.

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Watch: Player collapses to ground after exhausting 37-shot rally at U.S. Open

Andrey Rublev and Arthur Rinderknech engaged in an exhausting 37-shot rally at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, a point that took so much out of them that Rinderknech collapsed to the ground afterwards. Rinderknech was up a set on the No. 6-seeded Rublev, who was serving up 3-1 in the second set of their second-round match. Rinderknech had a break point and returned a serve from Rublev that went up the middle. The two proceeded to trade shots for nearly a minute, with the point culminating in a short ball hit by Rublev that Rinderknech was unable to chase down. Rinderknech was so exhausted that he went to the ground and lay there for about 20 seconds while breathing heavily. The point clearly took a lot out of him. Surprisingly, Rinderknech was able to win the game to break Rublev, and then take the second set 7-5. Temperatures at Flushing Meadows were in the low-90s, with a humidity around 45%, making for conditions that felt like 100 degrees outside. Playing a long match and having a long point like that one is exhausting for the players.

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Randy Orton seemingly hints at bringing back old WWE faction on Raw after Bash in Berlin

This week’s Raw featured an inspiring promo by Randy Orton. On the go-home episode for Bash in Berlin, The Viper walked down the aisle to ask for support from the WWE Universe once again in his conquest against Gunther. He talked about various things from his career in the past and how he sees the future from here on. Talking about the future, The Apex Predator gave a subtle hint toward the reformation of an iconic WWE faction. The Legend Killer said that winning the World Heavyweight Championship in Berlin would give him a fresh start to once again embark on a whole new journey. He added that it will be the start of a new title reign as well as a “new legacy.” This name drop was wild, as it is being considered a foreshadowing of a new faction led by Orton himself. From 2008 to 2010, he led a faction with the same name.

That I was gonna do everything in my power to make sure that my name was engraved on the World Heavyweight Championship. This Saturday in Berlin, I get my opportunity. New World Heavyweight Championship. New title. New Legacy. Randy Orton on Raw Randy Orton formed ‘Legacy’ with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. It was a group of second-generation stars in WWE who wanted to capitalize on the legacy of their families. However, ever since the group parted ways, Orton rarely recalls those days. This name drop on Raw is being directly linked to the rumored plans of bringing back the same faction. Moreover, there are a bunch of stars who can be a part of this new-gen ‘Legacy’. Bron Breakker and Lexis King are a few notable names in WWE who are second-generation stars. It can be formed only if the Viper is able to dethrone Gunther this Saturday. The former was able to land an RKO to the Ring General in a few weeks, which makes many believe that he might walk out of Berlin as World Champion. Nic Nemeth supported the argument of Randy Orton winning the World Heavyweight Championship Nic Nemeth, a.k.a. Dolph Ziggler, was released by WWE last year.

He has been pretty open with his views and opinions on wrestling ever since. Recently, he talked about the World Heavyweight Championship match at Bash in Berlin. The former WWE Superstar advocated for the victory of The Viper. Speaking on the Busted Open Radio, Nemeth stated that if Orton wins the World Championship at Bash in Berlin, he can elevate the title to another level. He added that it can change the perception of the championship as a consolation prize in WWE. Nic said if Randy won his 15th title, it would add more value to another extent. It isn’t the worst possible thing to have, like, ‘Hey, Randy Orton holds this up and it counts as one of his world titles.

That would be something to like, ‘Hey, man, that’s no longer a consolation prize to anybody,’ even the sharpest critics, they’ve made it into something because of their long-term booking, Nic Nemeth via Busted Open The Show Off certainly had an interesting choice of words. Therefore, he supports Orton walking as champion this Saturday. Although Nemeth had strong reasons for the victory of the Apex Predator, it is pretty unlikely Gunther would lose the title in Germany.