NOSEBLEED SPORTS MEDIA
MJ Mondays
NO DEBATE. JUST RECEIPTS.
VOL. 1, NO. 10 · MAY 4, 2026 · EVERY MONDAY
THE STAT THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST 01
THEY BUILT A RULEBOOK TO STOP HIM. HE AVERAGED 30.4 AGAINST THEM ANYWAY.
Points vs Detroit Pistons — Career Regular
Season
30.4 3 losses 3 wins
MICHAEL JORDAN BULLS VS PISTONS THEN:
The Detroit Pistons eliminated Jordan and the Bulls from the playoffs three straight years — 1988, 1989,
1990. They had a physical defensive rulebook called The Jordan Rules designed specifically to hurt him.
They hit him, pushed him, grabbed him on every drive. Jordan averaged 30.4 points per game against
them for his career. The Jordan Rules stopped the team from winning. They never stopped Jordan from
scoring. When the Bulls finally built a complete enough team to beat Detroit in 1991, they swept them 4-0.
Isiah Thomas and the Pistons walked off the floor without shaking hands.
THE GAME YOU FORGOT 02
Chicago Bulls @ Detroit Pistons 1988-04-03
4 6 21/27 W
POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS FG RESULT
The Rules Didn't Work Tonight.
59 POINTS IN THE ENEMY BUILDING
The Jordan Rules existed. The Pistons had memorized them. Every defender on Detroit's roster knew the
plan. On April 3, 1988, Jordan went to the Palace at Auburn Hills and put up 59 points on 21-of-27 shooting
— 78% from the field. Against the Jordan Rules. In Detroit. The team that had a specific strategy for stopping
him watched him shoot 78% against that strategy. Bill Laimbeer committed 5 fouls. Jordan made 17 free
throws. Detroit lost.
MJ VS TODAY 03
The Jordan Rules — Were They Real?
DETROIT'S DOCUMENTED STRATEGY JORDAN'S RESPONSE
PHYSICAL FOULS CAREER VS DET
Every drive 30.4 PPG
DOUBLE TEAMS VS 1991 PLAYOFF RESULT
Constant Swept 4-0
GOAL JORDAN'S REACTION
Make Jordan pay physically Won 3 rings
The Jordan Rules were a real, documented defensive strategy authored by assistant coach Ron Rothstein and
implemented by head coach Chuck Daly. Jordan famously said they sent him to the weight room — he spent
the 1988 offseason adding muscle mass specifically to absorb the physical punishment. The rules made
Jordan stronger. The three championships that followed are the evidence.
Were the Bad Boy Pistons the best villain the NBA ever had?
YES — PERFECT VILLAIN BETTER THAN TODAY'S RIVALS JORDAN NEEDED THEM TO GET BETTER
OVERRATED — JORDAN'S BULLS WERE THE BULLIES
THE COLDEST MJ MOMENT 04
THE 1991 HANDSHAKE THAT NEVER HAPPENED
Isiah Thomas Walked Off Without Shaking
Hands.
When the Bulls swept the Pistons in 1991 — eliminating the team that had knocked Jordan
out three straight years — Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and the Pistons starters walked off
the floor with time remaining and refused to shake hands with the Bulls. No handshake
line. No acknowledgment. They just left. Jordan watched them go. He didn't chase them.
He didn't need to. The scoreboard was the statement.
THE MJ STAT VAULT 05
STRAIGHT PLAYOFF ELIMINATIONS BY
PPG CAREER AVERAGE VS DETROIT
DETROIT (1988-90)
30.4 PISTONS 3
The Bulls went to Detroit three years in a
They had The Jordan Rules. He averaged
row and lost three times. The 1991 sweep
30.4 against them anyway.
ended the conversation.
BULLS SWEEP OF DETROIT — 1991
HANDSHAKES FROM PISTONS STARTERS IN
PLAYOFFS
4-0 Jordan's first championship run started 0
They walked off. No line, no
with sweeping the team that had blocked
acknowledgment. The defining
him for 3 years. He averaged 29.7 in that
unsportsmanlike moment of the era.
series.
FREE THROWS MADE VS DETROIT — APRIL 3, 1988
They fouled him 22 times. He made 17 free throws and shot 78% from the field. The Jordan Rules cost Detroit
the game.
THE FORGOTTEN MAN 06
OVERLOOKED · UNDERRATED · DESERVES MORE
Craig Ehlo
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS · 1983–1997
11.4 PPG CAREER AVERAGE — MORE THAN A FOOTNOTE
The Man Jordan Killed — And His Actual Career
Craig Ehlo is remembered for one thing: collapsing to the floor after Jordan hit The Shot over him in 1989.
What's forgotten: Ehlo was a 12-year NBA veteran who averaged 11.4 points per game, played competent
defense, and had a legitimate career. He was assigned to guard Jordan on the final play not because he was
terrible, but because he was Cleveland's best option. He was good. Jordan was simply impossible.
The Jordan Connection: Ehlo said in later years: 'People think I was a nobody. I played 12 years in the NBA.
Jordan just happened to be the best player who ever lived and I was in his way.' The shot made him infamous.
His career deserved better.
Who's Your Forgotten Man?
Reply with a player who deserves more credit. Best answer gets featured next Monday.
MJ MONDAYS The Jordan Era · 1984–2003
Every Monday. No exceptions.