Like any good film that has left its mark, the temptation was great to make a sequel. As a good director and actor, specialist in special effects and spectacular actions, Michael Jordan gave us “The Shot II” after his legendary “The Shot” of 1989.
In 1993, he used the same victims and the same room for this second part. On May 17, 1993, the Bulls guard again assassinated the Cavaliers at the buzzer and eliminated them in the playoffs, at the conference semi-final stage.
Except that the sequel is less striking than the first film. For several reasons. The first is that there was a tie at the time of his shot (101-101), and Michael Jordan therefore had less pressure than in 1989 when Chicago was trailing. In addition, this shoot concludes the series with a “sweep”. Cleveland was down 3-0, while four years earlier, we were playing the deciding game of the series. Finally, Michael Jordan is no longer this young, long-toothed MVP. He is the arguably best player in the world and the Bulls have dominated the league for two seasons.
Michael Jordan's shot remains a shot at the buzzer in the playoffs, to conclude a series in addition, but clearly, it does not have the same impact, nor the same force as its predecessor.
“The 1989 shot was more difficult, because if I missed it, we lost the match”, he remembers. “There, we would have been in overtime. So the pressure wasn't the same. The result yes. »
Hindered by his right wrist, Michael Jordan finished with 31 points at 11/24 on the shoot. And this time, it was not Craig Ehlo who was responsible for defending him, but Gerald Wilkins. In vain. “He knew he was going to come back and he ended our season. He's the one in charge.”concedes the Air Jordan victim.
Especially in Cleveland.
