Look at Dennis. He’s holding the crap out of me, but he knew how?to get away with that. He had all sorts of little tricks that you?couldn’t decipher on TV. You couldn’t see how he was holding or?pushing or grabbing. Even if you could see it, TV didn’t do it justice.?He’s one of the smartest basketball players I’ve ever played against?or with. He was, truly, a master of the game within the game.

Michael used to do the same thing. He would shove me into screens?and hold my jersey. I learned from those guys, from those Bulls,?what it takes to win a championship.

Understanding the importance of contact and physicality is only half?the battle. You have to love it, and I did. You had to love having?your jersey held and holding their jersey back. You had to love?getting hit once so you could hit them back twice. You had to love?every last push, shove, and elbow. Understand and embrace that?mentality. Once you do, you are ready to win.

In a situation like this, you also have to understand that the screener?is always the threat. When preparing for a team that runs a lot of?screens or pick-and-rolls, you don’t study the ball handler or the?player who runs off of the pick. You have to study the person setting?the screens. That person, the screener, is the real threat.

The easiest way to understand what to expect is by watching film?and learning how individual players like to set screens, because?everyone does it differently. Once you know that—where on the?court they like to set it, the timing, the angle—you can start plotting?an offensive defense to get around them and negate their screen.

So, what would I do differently than in this photo? I would not lay?on the screen. I would not try pushing off?of Dennis. By doing that, I?gave him access to my arms, which allowed him to tie my arms up?and hold me. Instead of laying on the screen, I’d keep my distance?from Dennis, and deal with Michael before he got there.