Chicago Bulls: The Last Dance shows Phil Jackson’s impact on depthVincent Pariseon April 27, 2020 at 6:00 pm

In order for superstars to reach their true potential, they need to be able to make others around them better. They can be great on their own by doing things for themselves but making their teammates better is something that is very difficult. “The Last Dance” showed that Phil Jackson’s goal upon his arrival in Chicago was he wanted to make Michael learn to make others better.

Instead of trying to score the most points, they worked on ways that Jordan can help setting up his teammates as well. Phil Jackson made it clear to his team that defense follows the ball. If Jordan didn’t have the ball for the entire possession, something like “The Jordan Rules” wouldn’t be an effective defensive strategy for a team like the Detroit Pistons.

Jackson implemented the strategy known as “The triangle”. It is an offensive way of attacking that allows the five men on the court to make passes to one another. Instead of everything ultimately leading to Jordan taking the shot, the triangle allowed Jordan to still get his shots while also allowing his teammates to be more involved. It allowed Scottie Pippen to develop into a top-five player. It also allowed guys like Paxson to hit shots that Jordan set him up for. Phil’s impact on the team’s depth is what led to them being such a great team for a long time.