Michael Jordan: 39 Points v Orlando Magic 1995 Playoffs Game 5

There is a misconception that Michael Jordan did not play well in the 1995 Playoffs. When he came back from retirement with 17 games left in the regular season, most people (including me) expected the Bulls to win the 1995 NBAChampionship. When they didn't, some people thought that Jordan's performance in the playoffs was disappointing.

But the truth is that Jordan had an incredible playoffs that year. He averaged 31.5 points on 48.4% FG% 36.7 3P%, 81% FT%, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 Assists, 2.3 Steals and 1.3 blocks in the Playoffs.

Wearing a pair of Air Jordan 11 "Space Jams", Jordan scored 39 points on 15-28 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. But the Magic won the game despite Jordan's greatness.

MJ had some uncharacteristic turnovers in Game 1 and 6, but that shouldn't take away from his brilliant performance in the series. Personally, I think the Bulls lost this playoff series because they double teamed Shaq too much, leaving players like Horace Grant wide open all series. In 1996 when the Bulls swept the Magic, the Bulls didn't double Shaq and players like Grant, Dennis Scott and Nick Anderson were held in check because they weren't left wide open.

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[gf4670]

@babyfaceace23 He averaged 31 a game on 47% shooting - not bad, and only a bit below his career playoff averages. The problem was the turnovers. His scoring was fine and his defense was ok, but he just didn't have the feel yet. And like you said, the only one on the team who knew how to play with him - and win big games in general - was Pippen. The team needed time. It's sort of a myth that he played "terrible" in this series because all anyone remembers is the Nick Anderson steal.

[babyfaceace23]

What did he avg this series .. He wasn't the full Jordan as far as timing but he still was the best .. the team just wasn't the same with the chemistry until they played the full season

[bibssy]

it also helps that Grant was injured the following year and sat a couple of the games in the 96 playoffs. They didn't have a strong low post defender that year so they had to double. Mike actually played better in this series than he did in the series the year after but he had Rodman down low doing good job on shaq

[gladyshoffmann1761]

jxn23, unbelievable that is crazy. That's coming from a guy who s 5 5 but do windmill dunks. I followed the training program at "50-inch-vertical[dot]com" and increased over 14 ins on my jump.



[clokey8]

G.O.A.T

[WarrenKoolidge]

Legend

[szaret1]

At :26 he broke his ankles bad and dunked it left handed. Happens alot but only jordan can make it look that good.

[MyDrugAssociations]

What more can 1 man do?

[jumpnam]

@jordanlover23 I just searched for the game on YouTube and found an upload, the dude who posted it also put up the game report from the New York Times in the description.

I'll tell you what though, he was channeling '92 in a lot of his moves in this series. So much speed and athleticism. He didn't seem as quick or aggressive in any part of the '96 playoffs, after he'd got back in game shape.

[arkade2345]

[cont]...He could seem very tentative at times in the offense & sometimes looked a little scared to get the ball.Obv that is natural for someone who just returned & I think MJ did better than anyone else would have in that situation.But compared to his incredible standards, you could tell he wasn't quite the same. You saw flashes but he seemed hesitant, esp in crunch time.But I agree that people don't appreciate how amazing MJ did play in 95 & how incredible a feat it was to do what he did!