Chapter 786 - 19 Just Want to Play Ball_2

With various off-court instabilities, Dale Ellis’s trade value had plummeted, forcing the Supersonics to let go of McDaniel first.

Seeing this, Pat Riley swiftly acted, trading the young potential shooter Glen Rice for X-Man.

This trade was controversial because Glen Rice was still on the rise, with the potential to become an all-star level shooter.

He paired well with Drexler, and the sudden trade shocked Miami fans.

Although McDaniel was talented, at 27 years old, he no longer had potential to tap into, and he was known for his quirky character and temperamental nature.

It was uncertain whether he would clash with Drexler upon joining the Heat.

Fortunately, upon the start of the new season, McDaniel respected Drexler, who already had three championship rings.

The two had faced each other in the 1987 playoffs, where the Portland Trail Blazers easily defeated the Supersonics.

Back then, Drexler was Ah Gan’s deputy; now he was becoming the true leader of the Heat.

Since then, he was never late to training—though he also wasn’t particularly early.

His training volume was unmatched in the Heat, and his shooting skills had greatly improved.

At the very least, his shooting stance had stabilized, no longer being the epitome of human shooting stances.

The 90-91 season started, and the Heat were constantly short-handed due to injuries.

But the Heat were developing a strong defensive system, relying on harsh front-line confrontations to compress their opponents’ offensive space.

At the point guard position, Riley signed John Starks, who had been cut by New York’s CBA.

This CBA all-star player had a notable performance in New York, but New York had too many backcourt talents, and ultimately he couldn’t stay in The Big Apple’s training camp.

Riley picked up this sharp dagger discarded by New York, treasuring it because the Heat were desperately short on usable guards.

Starks soon became the starting point guard for the Heat, partnering with Drexler, ostensibly the backup but truly the lead.

Height-wise, he played the point, but in reality, he was at the shooting guard position, responsible for ball-handling and aggressive attacks.

Though Drexler appeared to be between the shooting and small forward positions, he was better at ball-handling, organizing, and advancing the offense.

This season, his average assists reached 7.7 per game, surpassing many dedicated point guards.

However, in scoring and defense, Drexler did not fall behind; he averaged 26 points per game and his defense was continuously improving.

Drexler was striving to surpass Michael Jordan, thus he was well-prepared for the battle against the Bulls.

The defense on both sides was intense, and by halftime, the Heat led the Bulls by one point with a score of 40:39.

During the game, McDaniel elbowed Scottie Pippen in the head, leading to a scuffle that continued from the court to the technical bench.

X-man received a Grade 1 malicious foul.

Buck-Williams and Anthony Mason were virtually wrestling in the three-second zone.

Jordan’s offense wasn’t feeling great tonight, as Drexler successfully defended him one-on-one.

In the first half, he held Jordan to a low shooting percentage of 40%.

In the third quarter, Phil Jackson requested the ball be passed more to Bill Cartwright inside, to leverage the inside advantage against the center-lacking Heat.

But Jordan didn’t follow through, being suppressed by Drexler in the first half made him uneasy, not only was his offense blocked by Drexler several times, but he was also beaten defensively by Drexler’s breakthrough dunk.

Jordan was displeased and spent much of the third quarter in one-on-one play, trying to reclaim the game through shooting and breakthroughs.

But tonight the Heat taught the favorable Bulls a lesson, under Drexler’s defense, Jordan couldn’t perform to his usual standards.

The Bulls were pulled apart in points by the Heat in the third quarter, including a moment when John Starks wildly broke through to dunk over Bill Cartwright’s head.

This dunk electrified the entire Miami Arena, boosting the Heat’s morale to its peak, while Jordan argued with Phil Jackson on the bench.

Jackson insisted Jordan must pass the ball, Tex Winter commented that Jordan and Pippen driving to the basket together was not a triangle offense.

While Jackson was drawing on the tactic board, Jordan knocked on it with his hand expressing his dissatisfaction.

However, in the fourth quarter, Jordan adhered to Jackson’s strategy, passing and breaking through efficiently, rallying his teammates’ offense.

This was effective, as the Bulls slowly recovered and closed the gap to just a one-point difference.

87:88, the Bulls were down by just one point, where it was Jordan’s turn to deliver the decisive blow.

But Jordan’s potential game-winning shot was disrupted by Drexler and missed.

Anthony Mason grabbed the rebound and passed it forward, Drexler received the ball, bowed his head, sprinted, took off, and began to glide.

Jordan desperately chased after him, but once the real "Glider" took off, no one could catch up.

Drexler completed a game-winning dunk, securing the victory for the Heat.

87:90, the Heat conquered the Bulls at home, delivering an important victory and handing the Bulls their third loss of December.

This defeat greatly irritated Jordan, although he still scored 32 points; on the other side, Drexler achieved 28 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds.