Craig Ehlo 'Shocked' by Ron Harper Comments on Defense in 'The Last Dance'

Craig Ehlo was caught off guard by comments made by his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Ron Harper in episode three of The Last Dance. 

Ehlo told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com he was "shocked" at what Harper said on the show. 

"I never said I was a Jordan stopper like Gerald Wilkins or anything," Ehlo said. "But back then Harp and me were on the court at the same time and he was our big offensive threat. So, when I came in it was a no-brainer that I would guard Jordan so Harp could rest on defense and play on offense."

Harper recalled saying "'yeah, OK, whatever, f--k this bulls--t" when Cavs head coach Lenny Wilkens told him Ehlo would guard Michael Jordan on the final play that would come to be known as "The Shot" during Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference playoff series.

Ehlo noted the Cavaliers decided to double-team Jordan on that final play because "we definitely knew who wanted to take the last shot," but that he got caught by not being in a defensive slide and had to catch up:

"I jumped. But my momentum was going east-west and he was going north-south, straight up, and all he did was hang in the air there, which is what he's known for, and let me go by. I got my hand up and that's what everybody talks about, how good the defense was, but if I would have been sliding, if I could have stopped and gone straight up with him, he would have still outjumped me there but I probably wouldn't have flown by and could have distracted him more."

In the documentary, Jordan shared Harper's surprise at the defense Wilkens used: "They had Craig Ehlo on me at the time, which, in all honesty, was a mistake, because the guy that played me better was Ron Harper."

Even before "The Shot" sealed the victory, Jordan dominated the Cavs throughout the series. He averaged 39.8 points on 51.8 percent shooting, 8.2 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 steals in five games. 

Jordan gave the Bulls a 101-100 win, a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals and provided the NBA with a play that has been shown in highlight packages over the past 30 years.