But his playing time was limited because Buck-Williams firmly held the starting position.
Tonight, Jordan also received special treatment from the chief referee Darell Garretson (robot referee), having only 2 free throw opportunities throughout the game.
This season, Jordan's average free throw attempts per game is 8.2, which has significantly dropped from previous seasons because he has had fewer opportunities to attack with the ball.
But having only 2 free throws is too few, indicating that Jordan's impact on the Hawks' interior defense was severely lacking.
Phil Jackson was very dissatisfied with this, believing that Garretson was biased against Jordan. He dislikes star players like Jordan enjoying certain special treatments on the court.
To the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, Darell Garretson is what Jack O'Donnell is to the Portland Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang.
This season, among the few games the Bulls lost, two were officiated by Darell Garretson.
