'It was almost like they had the Penny and Shaq rules' - Penny talks about how fiercely the Bulls defended him in the 1996 ECF

In the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals, the match-up basketball fans had been looking forward to finally came to the fore. The Orlando Magic, a team teeming with promise and talent, faced off against the squad they knocked off in the previous postseason, the Chicago Bulls.

Unfortunately for the Magic, this Bulls employed one of the most vindictive athletes the sports world had ever seen: Michael Jeffrey Jordan. After stewing over last year's loss to Orlando throughout the offseason and regular season, MJ and Chicago finally had the chance to gain revenge.

When the dust cleared, "His Airness" emerged victorious in emphatic fashion: a 4-0 sweep of the Magic to book a ticket to the 1996 NBA Finals, where they would eventually triumph over the Seattle Supersonics to reclaim their spot on the throne. As for Penny Hardaway and Orlando, they were left to sift through the debris of their shattered championship dreams and ponder what could have been.

The Bulls put Scottie on Penny

While "Air Jordan" had his moments defending Hardaway, a versatile 6'7" guard from Memphis who became one of the league's elite players in Michael's absence, defensive hound Scottie Pippen was given the task of slowing down Anfernee. With his length, athleticism, and defensive savvy, Scottie made life difficult for the Memphis product on both ends of the court.

"Scottie Pippen guarded me mostly. He knew how to make you uncomfortable. He knew how to make you use your weak hand and not play to your strengths," Hardaway relayed.

Penny said the Bulls' defense was as relentless as it was sharp, quick to immediately shut off lanes to the basket in the oft chance Hardaway broke free from either Pip or Mike.

"They were a great help defensive team, so when you beat him, somebody was right there. It was almost like they had the Penny and Shaq rules, like, 'We're not letting these guys do this. Last year, we allowed them to do whatever they wanted,'" Penny exclaimed.

On the surface, Hardaway seemed to have a fantastic showing in that series, averaging 25.5 points on 46 percent shooting. The Bulls effectively stifled Penny's playmaking abilities during the matchup, holding him to an average of just 4.3 assists per game.

Men on a mission

Throughout his career, MJ had established a reputation as someone no player wanted to cross. Whether it was a little trash talk or even a bad look, Jordan used these to fuel his competitive fire and burn every foe that stood in his way. And when the Magic handed Michael a loss in the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Orlando gave the UNC product all the motivation he needed to bring his very best to the table.

"Michael had a full year under his belt. They had a huge chip on their shoulders, which the Bulls had never had to have a chip on their shoulders because they were always the best," Hardaway stated. "They were on a mission. They added Dennis Rodman, and they went for the jugular. We didn't have enough to beat them."

After that lopsided affair, the two teams went on separate paths. The Bulls went on to complete a second three-peat, adding two more NBA championships at the expense of the Utah Jazz. Meanwhile, the Magic lost Shaquille O'Neal in free agency in the summer of 1996, as he decided to move to the Los Angeles Lakers. That placed Orlando on a path of mediocrity, losing in the first round in five of the next seven seasons.