Michael Jordan's Stats from Bulls' 4 Playoff Series vs. 'Bad Boy' Pistons

Every all-time great needs to vanquish the old guard before beginning their own reign. For LeBron James, it was the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce Boston Celtics. For Michael Jordan, it was the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons.

For four straight years, Jordan's Chicago Bulls went head-to-head against Isiah Thomas and the Pistons. Three times for a conference championship.

The Pistons were victorious in each of those first three matchups, giving Jordan the biggest failures of his professional career and making fans wonder if he could ever lead the Bulls to the promised land. How funny those storylines look in retrospect.

With Sunday's installments of The Last Dance looking back on that rivalry, here is a look at Jordan's stats from those four series.

1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals

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The 1987-88 Pistons essentially laid waste to the Bulls.

The third-seeded Bulls were a fun upstart on their way to becoming a contender but were essentially a one-man show. Jordan was the only player on the roster who scored more than 13 points per game during the regular season. Scottie Pippen was merely a promising rookie who came off the bench to add defensive presence, finishing eighth on the team in minutes per game.

This series was an ugly reminder of just how far the Bulls had to go. The Pistons bullied the young Bulls and, even to an extent, Jordan himself. Aside from a brilliant Game 2, Detroit did an excellent job of keeping MJ in check while the players around him struggled to keep pace.

The Pistons would go on to reach the NBA Finals, where they'd lose to the Lakers in a seven-game thriller.

Game 1

• Points: 29
  Rebounds: 11
  Assists: 6
  Turnovers: 5
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 10-22
  3PT: 0-1
  FT: 9-10

Result: Pistons 93, Bulls 82

Game 2

• Points: 36
  Rebounds: 11
  Assists: 1
  Turnovers: 2
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 1
  FG: 14-22
  3PT: 0-0
  FT: 8-10

Result: Bulls 105, Pistons 95

Game 3

• Points: 24
  Rebounds: 7
  Assists: 3
  Turnovers: 5
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 1
  FG: 8-20
  3PT: 0-0
  FT: 8-9

Result: Pistons 101, Bulls 79

Game 4

• Points: 23
  Rebounds: 7
  Assists: 5
  Turnovers: 3
  Steals: 6
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 11-22
  3PT: 0-0
  FT: 1-2

Result: Pistons 96, Bulls 77

Game 5

• Points: 25
  Rebounds: 8
  Assists: 8
  Turnovers: 3
  Steals: 2
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 10-22
  3PT: 1-2
  FT: 4-7

Result: Pistons 102, Bulls 95 (DET wins, 4-1)

Averages: 27.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, 49.1 FG%

1989 Eastern Conference Finals

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Consistency was not Jordan's strong suit in this series. While he was transcendent in a 46-point outing that gave the Bulls a 2-1 series lead and seemingly set the stage for a new king of the East, his next two games went by with a whimper.

The Pistons used their veteran guile and some hard fouls to rough up Jordan in Game 4 to the point he essentially disappeared in Game 5. Jordan's eight shot attempts were the only time he took fewer than 10 in a playoff game in his entire career. In fact, it was the only time he took fewer than 14. While he got to the line 11 times and added nine assists, that performance goes down as one of the biggest blemishes on Jordan's playoff resume.

The Pistons themselves were a motivated, deep powerhouse that atoned for their 1988 Finals defeat by sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers. No shame in losing to what was by far the best team in basketball.

Game 1

• Points: 32
  Rebounds: 11
  Assists: 4
  Turnovers: 3
  Steals: 0
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 10-29
  3PT: 2-6
  FT: 10-13

Result: Bulls 94, Pistons 88

Game 2

• Points: 27
  Rebounds: 4
  Assists: 4
  Turnovers: 4
  Steals: 2
  Blocks: 1
  FG: 9-20
  3PT: 0-2
  FT: 9-11

Result: Pistons 100, Bulls 91

Game 3

• Points: 46
  Rebounds: 7
  Assists: 5
  Turnovers: 2
  Steals: 5
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 16-26
  3PT: 0-3
  FT: 14-15

Result: Bulls 99, Pistons 97

Game 4

• Points: 23
  Rebounds: 2
  Assists: 4
  Turnovers: 1
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 5-15
  3PT: 1-3
  FT: 12-17

Result: Pistons 86, Bulls 80

Game 5

• Points: 18
  Rebounds: 5
  Assists: 9
  Turnovers: 4
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 4-8
  3PT: 0-1
  FT: 10-11

Result: Pistons 94, Bulls 85

Game 6

• Points: 32
  Rebounds: 4
  Assists: 13
  Turnovers: 8
  Steals: 3
  Blocks: 2
  FG: 13-26
  3PT: 1-2
  FT: 5-12

Result: Pistons 103, Bulls 94 (DET wins, 4-2)

Averages: 29.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 46.0 FG%

1990 Eastern Conference Finals

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If there are any of these series that likely stick in Jordan's craw more than the others, it's likely this one. He did just about everything in his singular power to finally vanquish the Pistons. Individually brilliant in five of the seven games, including back-to-back 40-point performances in Games 3 and 4 to get the Bulls back from a 2-0 deficit, Jordan got little help from anyone on the roster not named Scottie Pippen.

Bill Cartwright and John Paxson got turned into ghosts, and Horace Grant did not help enough in the middle of the defense to stave off the Pistons. This was perhaps the height of Dennis Rodman's brilliance as a defender, and he enveloped the inside for Detroit.

Game 1

• Points: 34
  Rebounds: 7
  Assists: 5
  Turnovers: 1
  Steals: 3
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 12-27
  3PT: 2-6
  FT: 8-8

Result: Pistons 86, Bulls 77

Game 2

• Points: 20
  Rebounds: 7
  Assists: 7
  Turnovers: 3
  Steals: 4
  Blocks: 1
  FG: 5-16
  3PT: 0-2
  FT: 10-12

Result: Pistons 102, Bulls 93

Game 3

• Points: 47
  Rebounds: 10
  Assists: 4
  Turnovers: 4
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 17-32
  3PT: 2-2
  FT: 11-13

Result: Bulls 107, Pistons 102

Game 4

• Points: 42
  Rebounds: 4
  Assists: 9
  Turnovers: 4
  Steals: 4
  Blocks: 3
  FG: 13-26
  3PT: 0-1
  FT: 16-19

Result: Bulls 108, Pistons 101

Game 5

• Points: 22
  Rebounds: 4
  Assists: 8
  Turnovers: 1
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 7-19
  3PT: 1-4
  FT: 7-9

Result: Pistons 97, Bulls 83

Game 6

• Points: 29
  Rebounds: 10
  Assists: 2
  Turnovers: 3
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 11-20
  3PT: 1-4
  FT: 6-6

Result: Bulls 109, Pistons 91

Game 7

• Points: 31
  Rebounds: 8
  Assists: 9
  Turnovers: 4
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 13-27
  3PT: 0-2
  FT: 5-5

Result: Pistons 93, Bulls 74 (DET wins, 4-3)

Averages: 32.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, 46.7 FG%

1991 Eastern Conference Finals

Finally.

This was not a final battle in an epic series. This was an absolute mauling, with Jordan wresting away control of the NBA and the Eastern Conference from the Pistons for good. A year later, Detroit didn't make it out of the first round. The next, they were out of the playoffs entirely.

Game 1

• Points: 22
  Rebounds: 3
  Assists: 6
  Turnovers: 6
  Steals: 3
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 6-15
  3PT: 0-1
  FT: 10-13

Result: Bulls 94, Pistons 83

Game 2

• Points: 34
  Rebounds: 3
  Assists: 7
  Turnovers: 3
  Steals: 2
  Blocks: 0
  FG: 10-20
  3PT: 2-2
  FT: 13-14

Result: Bulls 105, Pistons 97

Game 3

• Points: 33
  Rebounds: 7
  Assists: 7
  Turnovers: 4
  Steals: 3
  Blocks: 5
  FG: 11-19
  3PT: 0-0
  FT: 11-12

Result: Bulls 113, Pistons 107

Game 4

• Points: 29
  Rebounds: 8
  Assists: 8
  Turnovers: 2
  Steals: 1
  Blocks: 2
  FG: 11-17
  3PT: 1-2
  FT: 6-9

Result: Bulls 115, Pistons 94