Jordan, Bulls Are High and Yet Not So Mighty

SALT LAKE CITY — Altitude. Old guys. Imagine the possibilities.

Forty-two hundred feet high, the Bulls took a few breaths of that thin Utah air, went from omnipotent to ordinary and were set upon by the Jazz as if they were mere Clippers, Lakers or Rockets.

Michael Jordan, 34, made two of his first three shots but went 7 for 19 after that. Karl Malone, back in his element, outscored Mike, 37-26. The no-longer-intimidated Jazz led by as many as 24 points. I don’t think we’re at sea level any more, Toto.

“I thought he [Jordan] looked tired but you have to ask him that question,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “There is a certain factor about that. Usually, in the first run, these guys kind of acclimate themselves to it, but they’re the ones who experience it.

“I was a little bit short of breath on the sideline but not too bad.”

Said Jordan: “I felt fine. The altitude didn’t bother me at all.”

Huh?

This may mean one of several things: Jordan doesn’t want to talk about the altitude for fear of making it into a psychological barrier, or he’s hiding an injury, or he just decided to see how many points he could score while standing on the same spot, 25 feet from the basket.

Of course, this was a turnaround of some proportion. The Jazz left Chicago, pounded to the consistency of pudding, blasted by Coach Jerry Sloan after Game 2 when he said his team was “intimidated” and let the Bulls “destroy our will.”

Malone had been out-MVPed so badly, he was asked at Thursday’s practice if winning the award was a problem in the series, since it was obviously firing up Jordan.

“I don’t know,” said the unflappable Mailman, smiling. “I’m not giving it back.”

Even the hard-nosed Sloan conceded Thursday he couldn’t do much different, since “We don’t have the type of athletes to make adjustments like they can make. . . . They’re physically bigger at every position than we are. They’re also quicker.”

OK, now that everyone was agreed on who the underdog was, they could get on with the series.

The crowd came ready. Jazz management did the usual production number beforehand, multiplied by 100, with a fireworks show that resembled an actual battle, followed by the release of about 10,000 balloons, each of which had to be individually popped for more of that loud fun that almost everyone enjoyed.

“Obviously, this crowd is outrageous,” Jackson said. “What they do before the game is totally beyond limits. I’m bringing ear plugs next time before the game so I don’t get hearing loss, or else I’m going to sue this organization.”

Is somebody’s poise running out?

Eardrums vibrating, the Bulls started the game. On the first possession, Jordan, left alone beyond the three-point line, fired from there in what players call a “heat check,” to see if he had it.

It went in. Moments later, he hit another three, significant since he has been struggling with his outside shot all postseason. Before this game, he was 6 for 44 on from three-point range.

This should have meant trouble for the Jazz, except Jordan then faded, missing his next four shots, leaving for an early rest with 3:18 left in the quarter. In the second and third periods, he took only six more shots and scored 10 more points, while the Jazz turned it into a romp.

Only in the fourth quarter did Jordan try to assert himself, still looking as if he were spent, standing outside and firing one long shot after another, but finally hitting some.

Very mysterioso. Jordan looks like that statue of himself in front of the United Center but says he’s fine. Everyone goes baying after Dennis Rodman, who stages his own no-show (24 minutes, three rebounds, no antics or technicals), with Jordan pointing the way.

“Dennis didn’t give us much tonight,” Jordan said. “He never really got into the flow of the game. His enthusiasm wasn’t quite the same as you normally see it.

“Hopefully, he can bounce back the next game. He brings that intensity to defensive rebounding and they beat us on the offensive boards.”

Of course, Rodman is 36 so maybe age, altitude or arrogance is catching up with him too.

However, Game 4 is two days off, giving them all a chance to acclimate. They’re staying in the nearby ski resort of Park City, an additional 1,000 feet or so higher, so if Jordan can get in 54 holes or so, and Rodman can get to Las Vegas, everyone should be fine.