Craig Ehlo Q&A: 'Shocked' by Harper, still in awe of Jordan

YB: What were your thoughts on what Ron Harper said about you in Episode 3 of "The Last Dance"?

Ehlo: I was kind of shocked Ron said that. We were on the floor a lot together, and when we played, I was like, "I'll guard Mike so you don't expend all that energy." It was a no-brainer. That first timeout, we weren't doing anything but catching our breath. I don't remember him saying “I got MJ” to the five of us. He could've said it walking out to the court. 

Whatever he said, it wasn’t directed at the rest of us. I know I've conversed through Twitter with (former teammates) Mark (Price) and Larry (Nance), and they were shocked he'd say something like that. I think he and MJ are such close friends now that it might have been, "Let’s cause some commotion here." When he was on those Bulls championship teams, his defense was what he was known for, but at that time, no. He was an offensive player. Not that he'd back away from it, but I didn't hear him say it in the huddle.

YB: Were you surprised you were so prominently featured in the documentary? 

Ehlo: It gave me some spotlight. It gets kind of busy every anniversary. It’s still with me.

YB: When you watch the play, do you think you could’ve done something differently?

Ehlo: We knew we'd get out of the huddle, watch how they set up, and call timeout again, but it wasn’t rocket science. (Bulls coach) Doug Collins always said, "Give the ball to Mike and get the [expletive] out of the way." So we knew it was going to happen. But we had the luxury of the timeout. When we came back to the huddle, we were really just waiting for the timeout to end, to see how they were set up and come back and discuss it. The only thing that I can say I'd do differently is this: (Cleveland) Coach (Lenny) Wilkens was so old school, he never wanted to take the man off the inbounder. Brad Sellers vs. Larry Nance, both 6-11, a good matchup, but Larry made a decision, and we're talking in 30 or 40 seconds, to take Larry off the ball, and he put him in front, me in back.

The more I’ve watched it over the years, I was probably a little lax knowing Larry would be in front of him. I wasn't in really good posture. I was standing straight up, which was the cardinal sin in basketball. I think I just kind of laxed a little bit, but when (Jordan) got rid of Larry and came back to the wing, I saw I was the only thing between him and the basket. I ran out and didn’t close out again like I was taught. I didn’t have time to close out because he was already dribbling. I'm now running to where he is, he stops and goes straight up, and I’m running to catch up to him and not defensive sliding. 

If I had been in a good defensive slide, I could’ve stopped and gone straight up with him. Now I know I couldn’t have out-jumped MJ, so I’m not saying I would’ve blocked it, but he hung in the air until my hand went by. Then he let it go. It was perfect. So that’s what I would change: my mentality and my slide, and I would’ve gone straight up.

YB: Watching that play, Jordan almost levitates before releasing the ball. Did it feel like magic, like he floated? Was playing him like playing something otherworldly?

Ehlo: The thing we're all learning about him -- even guys who played against him -- is how competitive he really is. He already had made the (winning) shot in the NCAA championship, but he was Mike Jordan then. He wasn't Michael. After playing against him and hearing him so much lately, I just think he lived for that moment. 

Thinking back to that era, there were just so many stars – Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Dr. J. Was MJ just another star at that point in his career, or was he clearly above everyone else?

Ehlo: What made him so attractive is he was never arrogant. His game was amazing -- I wish I was given a pinch of the God-given talent he had -– and he was already doing the between-the-legs thing. He was maybe not as flashy as Pistol Pete (Maravich), but he was scoring when he wanted to. He was always bound for greatness or stardom.

And the NBA knew what it had. There weren't a lot of games on TV before then. There might have been one game a week, and you only saw the good teams or Dr. J or Larry or Magic, but then all of a sudden, the Bulls were on four times a week. And (Michael) embraced it. Because his game already spoke for him.

But when he went to talk, he was personable and people liked him. His marketability with Gatorade and Nike was just insane. He cherished that. Magic liked the airtime, but he was 6-foot- 9 and a point guard. He didn't do the dunks and off-balance shots. He was penetrate and kick. I don’t want to say he wasn’t flashy, but Michael just had a flair to him. You couldn't wait to get home to watch SportsCenter just to watch his highlights.

YB: What was it like to play against him? Were you in awe?

Ehlo: I would never say I could ever raise my game to Mike’s level, but that's what my dad taught me from Day 1: You’re getting to play the best guys in the world. Every time we played Chicago -- and before expansion, we played him six times every year -- I'd get the opportunity to play against the best, and yes, I was in awe.

I loved to play him. That was the way I was taught to play, to compete for those 48 minutes. Once you stepped between the lines, it was all war. Anything went. He played that way too.

His talent level was way above my mine, but someone had to guard him, and it was usually me. I cherished those moments to play against them. Sure enough, because we played them so often, he hated us for some reason. I don’t know why. I guess because it was going to be the Bulls or the Cavs that knocked the Pistons down.

YB: Did he have a gear the other greats didn’t?

Ehlo: He did. I don’t want to say it was easy for him because he worked his ass off. But my rookie year, Magic and Larry were in their prime, and I watched Dr. J go out, and all those guys had this unique ability to make you drop your jaw. But Michael did it almost every play. There were a couple times I would take the middle away from him, he'd spin, step back, I'd be right there on the baseline, I'd get my hand up and he'd still make it. I would take stuff away from him, but he'd still be able to score.

YB: How much of it was just his willingness to take the shot?

Ehlo: Tell Michael he can't do it, and he'll do it. That whole mentality was like, "I can make the 15-footer or I can jump over you."

YB: What’s incredible is you had the game of your life that day. You hit the shot that would’ve been the game-winner before MJ’s. Your defense on him was good.

Ehlo: In broadcasting now I say it all the time: "The defense was good, but the offense was just a little better." That’s the way it is. I watched (Broncos QB) John Elway drive 98 yards to tie the Browns when I was in Cleveland. Those guys have this confidence about them: "I live for this. I want to be 98 yards from tying the game." That's what those great ones have. I’m not them, but I still want to be in that position. I've heard people talk about it. ...

I can tell you in my driveway growing up, I made free throw after free throw to win NCAA championships. We all do it in our minds. But there's only so much room for greatness -- the Michaels, the LeBrons, the Kobes.

YB: Do you look at that game as an achievement because of your great play, or only with disappointment?

Ehlo: Losing the game was more hurtful than anything. I gotta tell you, when you talk about teams with a chance, if he misses that shot, who’s to say we don’t win a title? I think it changed the course of both franchises. We just never got by the big one. I got to play in a golden era, and I never won.

There's something that just gives champions a little more edge. Guys like myself work our ass off and get close but no cigar. The thing that helped me really was just the support of my wife and family, my father and coaching staff. Patting me on the back and saying, "It took that kind of shot to beat you."