The Bulls were 3-2 against the Pistons during the 1990-91 regular season, playing to a near stalemate against their longtime rivals. And while the two-time champion Pistons were a problem, the Bulls had their own issues. Jordan had not abandoned his desire to defeat the Pistons alone, putting together a string of high-scoring games against them, as Smith chronicled in “The Jordan Rules."

After a 95-91 loss to the Pistons on April 12, 1991, there was doubt in the Bulls locker room. Jordan had scored 40 points but ignored Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright and decided to take the Pistons on by himself. “Phil’s (Jackson) got to say something to him. If we’re going to do anything, we’ve got to stop playing Michaelball,” Horace Grant said after the loss, according to Smith.