Jackson always liked using reverse psychology, because it worked on Jordan every time.
"Not tonight, Phil. We're definitely not the ones who are going to lose," Jordan replied, his brown eyes fierce as those of a wild beast.
During the warm-up, O'Neal was practicing his free throws, his only concern.
His free throws had been poor in the previous game, and he didn't want to suffer the same tragedy as Karl Malone.
Fortunately, Shaq's free throw touch felt good today; his success rate during the warm-up was steady.
Although the free throws in an official game were completely different from practice, at least Shaq wouldn't repeat something like a 1 for 9 performance today.
The game was about to start, and Phil Jackson had switched up his starting lineup today. He benched Rodman, promoting Kukoc, who had performed heroically in the final moments of the last game.
Phil Jackson was hoping the team could establish an advantage at the onset with more efficient offense.