With Jordan grounded for 64 regular season games the previous year because of a broken navicular tarsal bone in his left foot, the Bulls finished 30-52 and made a token playoff appearance. With Jordan healthy, they got out of the gate deceptively fast. But it wasn't long before opponents worked Jordan hard at both ends of the floor, became more attentive to his lesser teammates and, in the process, turned what had been a season of exclamation points into questionmarks.
Then there was the hurt of growing whispers that suggested he was little more than a glorified scorer. It didn't seem to matter that his teams had been successful wherever he had gone previously, whether it be North Carolina or the Olympics. Or that the Lakers' Magic admits, "I have a few more horses than he does." As Jordan's points and shot attempts soared, so did criticism, some of it from people whom he respected and even envied.
Among them was Bird, who only the previous year had called Jordan "the best player in the league." He amended the statement, saying, "When he came into the league, I thought (Jordan) would be a great all-around player, but his game has completely changed. Right now, the only thing he does is shoot 30 times a game. I'd never want to play like that. He's got to play like that, I guess, but I would never ever want to take 30-to-35 shots a game. It's too much of a load every game."
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@ nikkas acting like mike wasn't getting shytted on back in the day for his scoring
Can you imagine Magic getting shyt on for passing to an open teammate at the end of a game?
