Craig Ehlo seems to think that his old teammate was hamming it up for the cameras a little bit when he was interviewed for “The Last Dance.”
Speaking with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com this week, the retired Cleveland Cavaliers star Ehlo reacted to some comments made by Ron Harper in the latest installments of the documentary last weekend. Harper, then a member of the Cavs, said that he had wanted to guard Michael Jordan during “The Shot” in 1989 but was overruled by coach Lenny Wilkens. Ehlo was tasked wth defending Jordan instead and proceeded to give up the famous basket.
Ron Harper wanted Jordan. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/N8kMZcIldM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 27, 2020
“I never said I was a Jordan stopper like Gerald Wilkins or anything,” said Ehlo in response to Harper’s remarks. “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.
“Harp had never really talked about defense or guarding people,” Ehlo added. “He wasn’t a bad defender, I’ll give him that much, but I think those years with the Bulls where he got those championships, he was definitely third or fourth fiddle, so all of a sudden he becomes this lockdown defender, apparently. I don’t really remember him during our time wanting to play defense that much. He kind of shocked me with those comments, saying he wanted to guard Michael.”
As Ehlo hinted at, Harper went on to join the Bulls in 1994 and eventually won three championships with Jordan, mainly as a defensive specialist. Therefore, there might be a bit of revisionist history going on here.
In any case, Ehlo at least deserves credit for making the go-ahead basket in that winner-take-all playoff game in the first place. Plus, he didn’t look nearly as bad as some others in the documentary did.
