Face of a stranger

Sporting News, The, March 7, 1994 by Ted Rodgers

Michael Jordan was the face of the Bulls through three championships. To understand why they won, you could look at him -- unselfish team play and devastating ability.

The face of the Bulls in this, an unexpectedly good season, is Steve Kerr.

Yes, Steve Kerr.

A free agent signed for the minimum this season, he is playing an effective, career-high 25.8 minutes per game and leads the NBA in 3-point percentage, .451 (37 of 82). Kerr, a 6-foot-3 guard, is the only Bulls player to lead the NBA in anything.

Kerr has one superlative skill, shooting, and the Bulls exploit it. He is vulnerable defensively to bigger or quicker guards who go to the basket, so his minutes are limited against them.

Staying in that role -- his accepting it, the coaching staff keeping him in it -- Kerr can help the Bulls become the best team in the Eastern Conference. These aren't the Bulls that won the last three NBA titles, blowing away opponents with more physical ability. They are role players who win with smarts and a system.

"Some people can jump, some people can run fast, some people can shoot, I think," Kerr says. "I was born with the ability to shoot. It is the one athletic attribute I have."

Kerr shares a guard position with B.J. Armstrong. No one would confuse the two; Armstrong is best with the ball in his hands, running the court and driving, taking hands, running the court and driving, without the ball, spotting up or getting the ball to shoot as he comes off screens. Armstrong uses quick feet and tenacity to play man-to-man defense. Kerr defends on the perimeter, staying in front of his man.

Coach Phil Jackson -- before this season known as the guy who kept Jordan happy -- was able to design a shared position to fit their abilities. "We thought Steve would be good in this role and he has been," Jackson told reporters after Kerr's first big game.

Successful franchises use the talents of the players available instead of forcing those players to do things they can't. The Celtics were one kind of team with Bill Russell and Bob Cousy, but another with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. Pat Riley had his Lakers run, but he makes his Knicks pound.

Kerr had virtually no value entering the league, coming in with the Suns as a second-round draft pick, which is as close to nothing as you cant get. He was traded twice for second-round picks, to the Cavs and Magic. After last season, the Magic let him go.

Kerr recruited the Bulls. The best deal he would get was this: "I guaranteed him I wouldn't guarantee another contract," says Jerry Krause, the Vice President for Basketball Operations. "We kept two spots open. He knew he wouldn't have to beat out somebody with a guaranteed contract."

Kerr wanted to play in the Bulls' triple-post offense. "He point-blank told me he knew the offense," Krause says. Developed by Tex Winter over 47 years of coaching, there are players -- some of them Bulls -- who mock it. But Kerr saw it was the best offense for his skills, so he was willing to take the minimum salary.

"The way they play in most of the NBA today, teams toss the ball into the post all the time," Kerr says. "The trend is for a true point guard to distribute the ball and big, scoring off-guard to drive to the basket and play defense.

"I'm not really a point guard and not really an off-guard. I'm in between. So this offense is perfectly suited to me and my game. There is no one player who distributes the ball. There's no point guard. You're just a guard."

In Winter's offense, players move to open spots on the floor. Three players form a triangle on one side, one posting up, another on the wing, a third slashing from the backcourt. Kerr goes to a spot, ready to hit the jumper.

"It's an offense that is geared to coming off picks and getting to our spots in the 17- to 20-foot range," Kerr says.

Says Krause, "We've always had the guy who can hit the outside shot. We've always had a penetrator -- Michael, Scottie (Pippen) and now Toni (Kukoc), and we've had a guy they can pass off to, Craig Hodges, (John) Paxson, Steve."

Kerr can say outside in the Bulls offense. "I can count the number of layups I've had in the NBA on one hand," he says, laughing. But what was a weakness is not a factor with the Bulls, who want their guards to take spots outside.

3-point FGs
Name, team              Made   Att.    Pct
Steve Kerr, Bulls         37     82   .451
Mark Price, Cavs           3    217   .429
Tim Legler, Mavs          39    943   .415
Eric Murdock, Bucks       48    116   .414
Craig Ehlo, Hawks         64    155   .413
Dale Ellis, Spurs        102    248   .411
Mitch Richmond, Kings     75    185   .405
Brent Price, Bullets      36     89   .404
Reggie Miller, Pacers     74    184   .402
Nate McMillan, Sonics     32     80   .400