The Last Dance: 4 Predictions for episodes 3 & 4

ESPN’s premiere of The Last Dance MJ doc left us with no shortages of information and anticipation for next week. So what do we think will happen on Sunday?

ESPN filmmakers’ initial dual-episode airing of their long-awaited MJ doc,The Last Dance, for fans proved wildly successful and engaging to those who were making a judgement, and undoubtedly left the basketball world starving for additional encore performances of the first cavort.

And I think I can speak effectively for the collective as I pen this statement: we are hooked.

Luckily for us all, the series is just getting started. Episodes 1 and 2 proved to be revealing in-depth looks at the Chicago Bulls teams of the 1990s that revealed aspects of the groups unlike anything we had ever witnessed before: the inner-workings, the drama, and the intimate banding together that ultimately led to the subsequent cohesive prevail and triumphs of the squad that made winning look so easy throughout the decade.

And while we’re aware of most of the general facts that surrounded their winning ways – the players, the coaches, the front office executives – we’ve never had exposure to those involved quite like this. It took more than 20 years for Michael Jordan to give the go-ahead in allowance of production to begin for release of the footage he had let sit in shelter for ages.

But boy, are we ever grateful and indebted to him for finally doing so. Yet for all we did learn this past Sunday about the personal lives and private dealings of these larger-than-life superstars, there’s still so much that was left hanging in the balance, just waiting to be divulged.

This was unquestionably strategic. Although most of what’s being shown doesn’t need much of a preview considering it’s already taken place, it’s the unseen behind the scenes footage, and the ever-informing glimpses into the subject’s minds themselves that is ultimately what has fans uncontrollably brooding over what will happen next, all-the-while clamoring for new content to stream.

And that’s the job of the filmmakers – to swell viewer interest while building anticipation for each subsequent moment, and ultimately leave those who watched feeling as though a couple of hours passed by in the window of a few seconds. They’ve succeeded in this task.

It’s impossible to know what will take place next for sure, and yet that’s the beauty of it.

But a guy can fantasize, right?

Here are my predictions for what awaits in episodes 3 and 4.