By talking to those involved in the battles and getting out of their way, Drew Sharp pieced together the best article you'll read all month about the classic Pistons and Bulls rivalry. It's a series of quotes from those who played the game, and it's apparent from the start that the main instigators haven't mellowed with age. Speaking of the infamous handshake snub in 1991, Bill Laimbeer shows anything but remorse:
"I'm still glad that we didn't shake their hands," Bill Laimbeer said Wednesday. "They were whiners and criers. Piss on them."
Hell yeah!
The whole article is worth a read, but Rick Mahorn's statement stood out:
Rick Mahorn: "We became their rival long before they became ours. They weren't even on our radar back in '88 and '89. For us, it was all about the Lakers then and, before that, it was all about Boston. Everything we did that year we did with the Lakers in mind, not Chicago. That's what we were pointing to that season.
Sound familiar? Maybe that's because you just read what Rasheed Wallace had to say on Thursday:
"We're not knocking them," Wallace said. "We respect them. They're a good young ball club. But hey, it's a different type of mission we're on. I think they're happy to be here, and we're on a mission to go out there and win it."
Remember the "Jordan Rules?" Heh:
Mahorn: "We were just throwing stuff out there for (the media). It was just a joke. Chuck (Daly, Pistons coach) throws it out there that we had some secret plan to stop Jordan, and everybody just jumped on it. Everybody was writing stories about this strategy. When we kept reading about it, Isiah told us that we had gotten in their heads, and that's how we had them beat."
Abdenour: "You talk about the prince of disinformation? Chuck Daly threw a whole lot of nonsense out there that didn't exist. That should have gone down as one of the greatest fakes of all time."
Seriously, just stop whatever you're doing and read the whole thing.
Echoes of the '88-'91 Pistons-Bulls series reverberate still [Detroit Free Press]
'Sheed: Focused, yet playful [Detroit Free Press]