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Jordan's Bulls vs the Warriors of the past 3 years (1 Viewer)

I do think the Bulls stars were better built to transition to 2017 than the Warriors would be to translate to 1994.

 
That is how the original list was created in 1996, right?
I don't recall if specific instructions were given, but looking at the selection committee they chose, it's fair to say they were was seeking to tell the history of the league when naming its greatest players.  I doubt many on the selection committee would argue Paul Arizin at peak could beat Dominique Wilkins at peak in a game of one-on-one, but Arizin made the list and Nique didn't.

 
Why? Jordan took Isaiah Thomas and John Stockton in defense. Why wouldn't he take Curry?
The post I originally responded to on that said Jordan would take Curry, Pippen would take Thompson, and Rodman would take Durant. Which would leave no one for Harper, unless he was to take Green. That doesn't make sense. I also don't think it makes sense to put Rodman on Durant, other than an occasional different look. Durant would either draw him away from the basket (and rebounds) or get open 3 pointers. So to me, Pippen is on Durant and Rodman is on Green. If Green goes out to shoot a bunch of 3 pointers, you can more easily live with that. Plus, you want Rodman on Green to get under his skin, much easier to do with Green than Durant.

Certainly, it could be Jordan on Curry and Harper on Thompson, but it seems to me that more energy is required to guard Curry, and I expect the Bulls would choose to let Jordan spend that bit of extra energy on offense.

As I originally said, there would be cross matching and switching at times, so the truth is that he would be on Curry a fair amount.

As for Jordan taking IT on defense, when are you talking, late 80s, early 90s? We are talking 5+ years later. And taking Stockton on defense is not nearly the challenge of taking Curry, plus I don't really recall Stockton being Jordan's match in the 97/98 Finals... I thought Jordan took Hornacek and Harper took Stockton. :shrug:  

 
Let me just add this again, directed to all those who think the Warriors would win easily. You appear to be giving exactly zero weight to Phil Jackson vs. Mike Brown. Is that really what you think? Is Jackson, arguably the best NBA HC of all time, really worthless in this matchup? I certainly don't think so.

 
I don't recall if specific instructions were given, but looking at the selection committee they chose, it's fair to say they were was seeking to tell the history of the league when naming its greatest players.  I doubt many on the selection committee would argue Paul Arizin at peak could beat Dominique Wilkins at peak in a game of one-on-one, but Arizin made the list and Nique didn't.
Sure but the difference in NBA players from 94-2017 is pretty minor imo. Arizin wasn't big enough that play forward in any modern NBA era. Pippen is the physical ideal of a 2017 forward.

 
I don't recall if specific instructions were given, but looking at the selection committee they chose, it's fair to say they were was seeking to tell the history of the league when naming its greatest players.  I doubt many on the selection committee would argue Paul Arizin at peak could beat Dominique Wilkins at peak in a game of one-on-one, but Arizin made the list and Nique didn't.
Exactly. It is pretty obvious that they were talking about the 50 greatest careers, which implies relative to era.

 
The post I originally responded to on that said Jordan would take Curry, Pippen would take Thompson, and Rodman would take Durant. Which would leave no one for Harper, unless he was to take Green. That doesn't make sense. I also don't think it makes sense to put Rodman on Durant, other than an occasional different look. Durant would either draw him away from the basket (and rebounds) or get open 3 pointers. So to me, Pippen is on Durant and Rodman is on Green. If Green goes out to shoot a bunch of 3 pointers, you can more easily live with that. Plus, you want Rodman on Green to get under his skin, much easier to do with Green than Durant.

Certainly, it could be Jordan on Curry and Harper on Thompson, but it seems to me that more energy is required to guard Curry, and I expect the Bulls would choose to let Jordan spend that bit of extra energy on offense.

As I originally said, there would be cross matching and switching at times, so the truth is that he would be on Curry a fair amount.

As for Jordan taking IT on defense, when are you talking, late 80s, early 90s? We are talking 5+ years later. And taking Stockton on defense is not nearly the challenge of taking Curry, plus I don't really recall Stockton being Jordan's match in the 97/98 Finals... I thought Jordan took Hornacek and Harper took Stockton. :shrug:  
https://youtu.be/dEPWjG3K0vo

 
The post I originally responded to on that said Jordan would take Curry, Pippen would take Thompson, and Rodman would take Durant. Which would leave no one for Harper, unless he was to take Green. That doesn't make sense. I also don't think it makes sense to put Rodman on Durant, other than an occasional different look. Durant would either draw him away from the basket (and rebounds) or get open 3 pointers. So to me, Pippen is on Durant and Rodman is on Green. If Green goes out to shoot a bunch of 3 pointers, you can more easily live with that. Plus, you want Rodman on Green to get under his skin, much easier to do with Green than Durant.

Certainly, it could be Jordan on Curry and Harper on Thompson, but it seems to me that more energy is required to guard Curry, and I expect the Bulls would choose to let Jordan spend that bit of extra energy on offense.

As I originally said, there would be cross matching and switching at times, so the truth is that he would be on Curry a fair amount.

As for Jordan taking IT on defense, when are you talking, late 80s, early 90s? We are talking 5+ years later. And taking Stockton on defense is not nearly the challenge of taking Curry, plus I don't really recall Stockton being Jordan's match in the 97/98 Finals... I thought Jordan took Hornacek and Harper took Stockton. :shrug:  
Good points, you convinced me 

 
The lack of movement was because teams could occupy the help by standing.  It helped the offense to isolate a dominate guard just as easily as a dominant post.

Jordan was horrible from 3.  28% behind todays line.
:goodposting:

I remember watching Jerry Stackhouse average 29.8 points per game for a bad Pistons team in 2000-01 because they could just run isos for him all day and the illegal defense rules made help defense nearly impossible. I don't have much nostalgia for that type of basketball.

The Bulls were well-suited for that style because they had players (especially Jordan) who excelled in 1-on-1 situations at both ends. But in today's game they wouldn't have the shooters needed to create space offensively, and the impact of having 3 great individual defenders would be much less against a modern offense like the Warriors with 4 3-point threats and a lot more movement.

 
:goodposting:

I remember watching Jerry Stackhouse average 29.8 points per game for a bad Pistons team in 2000-01 because they could just run isos for him all day and the illegal defense rules made help defense nearly impossible. I don't have much nostalgia for that type of basketball.

The Bulls were well-suited for that style because they had players (especially Jordan) who excelled in 1-on-1 situations at both ends. But in today's game they wouldn't have the shooters needed to create space offensively, and the impact of having 3 great individual defenders would be much less against a modern offense like the Warriors with 4 3-point threats and a lot more movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eewCYox5MuI

 
That's ridiculous.  Gary Payton used to say Stockton was harder to guard than Jordan. 
Steadymobbin has made it very clear that players from that era are infallible.  Therefore Payton is correct, Stockton was harder to guard than Jordan.

 
Steadymobbin has made it very clear that players from that era are infallible.  Therefore Payton is correct, Stockton was harder to guard than Jordan.
I'm just saying. Whether he was or not, he was clearly hard to guard for elite defenders. 

 
 Let me just add this again, directed to all those who think the Warriors would win easily. You appear to be giving exactly zero weight to Phil Jackson vs. Mike Brown. Is that really what you think? Is Jackson, arguably the best NBA HC of all time, really worthless in this matchup? I certainly don't think so.
Steve Kerr is the coach of the Warriors.  He's not in the 2017 playoffs, but everything they're doing now is a product of his work. I wouldn't be surprised if he's also advising on rotations and matchups behind the scenes in these playoffs.

Phil Jackson was great at managing superstars and egos (something Kerr obviously does pretty well himself) but IMO he's just a good coach who fell bassackwards into perfect situations. He never really had a team overachieve the way Kerr did with the 2015 Warriors. And he's set the Knicks back years just by getting involved with them due to his inflexibility. 

 
We can all agree that Shaq isn't so far out of the game that he wouldn't be dominant at his best years if they were now, right?  Shaq is still a beast?

How did Shaq do against Jordan and those Bulls when Shaq was in his most physically dominant form?

 
The Bulls would have to severely clean up their defense under current rules. By the time they got through Detroit, they had become a bumping, slapping and grabbing bunch. The defense Pippen played against Magic in the Finals would probably get him suspended today.

 
Steve Kerr is the coach of the Warriors.  He's not in the 2017 playoffs, but everything they're doing now is a product of his work. I wouldn't be surprised if he's also advising on rotations and matchups behind the scenes in these playoffs.

Phil Jackson was great at managing superstars and egos (something Kerr obviously does pretty well himself) but IMO he's just a good coach who fell bassackwards into perfect situations. He never really had a team overachieve the way Kerr did with the 2015 Warriors. And he's set the Knicks back years just by getting involved with them due to his inflexibility. 
The triangle offense is perhaps the most dominant coaching philosophy in the history of basketball.  Phil Jackson executed it better than any coaching staff in history. 

How many championships do Jordan, Pippen, Kobe, and Shaq have without Phil Jackson?

 
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I'm not sure what you think this video shows. I watched it, and the vast majority of the plays shown do not show Jordan matched up on Stockton, most show others like Harper or Randy Brown on him. On the ones that show Jordan matched up on Stockton, it is typically because Kukoc and/or Kerr are on the floor, and Harper and Brown are not. On the ones with Harper on the floor, it is sometimes hard to tell if they got crossmatched in transition.

The guy who posted the video even stated that Jordan rarely matched up 1 on 1 with Stockton in those two Finals.

:shrug:  

 
Steve Kerr is the coach of the Warriors.  He's not in the 2017 playoffs, but everything they're doing now is a product of his work. I wouldn't be surprised if he's also advising on rotations and matchups behind the scenes in these playoffs.

Phil Jackson was great at managing superstars and egos (something Kerr obviously does pretty well himself) but IMO he's just a good coach who fell bassackwards into perfect situations. He never really had a team overachieve the way Kerr did with the 2015 Warriors. And he's set the Knicks back years just by getting involved with them due to his inflexibility. 
Jackson isn't the HC of the Knicks. Apples and oranges.

We can just agree to disagree that Kerr not on the sidelines + Brown on the sidelines is a wash with Jackson on the sidelines.

 
I'm not sure what you think this video shows. I watched it, and the vast majority of the plays shown do not show Jordan matched up on Stockton, most show others like Harper or Randy Brown on him. On the ones that show Jordan matched up on Stockton, it is typically because Kukoc and/or Kerr are on the floor, and Harper and Brown are not. On the ones with Harper on the floor, it is sometimes hard to tell if they got crossmatched in transition.

The guy who posted the video even stated that Jordan rarely matched up 1 on 1 with Stockton in those two Finals.

:shrug:  
It shows that you were correct and that Jordan's work on Stockton, though great, was mostly a result of defensive switches caused by the offense being what it was. That's all. 

 
The triangle offense is perhaps the most dominant coaching philosophy in the history of basketball.  Phil Jackson executed it better than any coaching staff in history. 

How many championships do Jordan, Pippen, Kobe, and Shaq have without Phil Jackson?
Shaq managed to win one with just Pat Riley as coach.

 
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If you're just looking at starting 5, Bulls would win, but when you consider the benches Dubs have a better roster. Then you add in the 3 point shooting of Curry, Klay, and Durant and I think that edges them over the Bulls. 

Watching Rodman and Draymond go at it would have been awesome, though it's a mental battle that Rodman would eventually win.

 
If you're just looking at starting 5, Bulls would win, but when you consider the benches Dubs have a better roster. Then you add in the 3 point shooting of Curry, Klay, and Durant and I think that edges them over the Bulls. 

Watching Rodman and Draymond go at it would have been awesome, though it's a mental battle that Rodman would eventually win.
Watching Rodman and Green go at it with today's rules would be boring as hell.

Watching Rodman and Green go at it with the 90s rules would be boring as hell.

 
:goodposting:

I remember watching Jerry Stackhouse average 29.8 points per game for a bad Pistons team in 2000-01 because they could just run isos for him all day and the illegal defense rules made help defense nearly impossible. I don't have much nostalgia for that type of basketball.

The Bulls were well-suited for that style because they had players (especially Jordan) who excelled in 1-on-1 situations at both ends. But in today's game they wouldn't have the shooters needed to create space offensively, and the impact of having 3 great individual defenders would be much less against a modern offense like the Warriors with 4 3-point threats and a lot more movement.
That type of basketball was rare because it wasnt very successful. If more people came to help on jordan he would easily find the open man. 

 
The triangle offense is perhaps the most dominant coaching philosophy in the history of basketball.  Phil Jackson executed it better than any coaching staff in history. 

How many championships do Jordan, Pippen, Kobe, and Shaq have without Phil Jackson?
Yeah, it's weird that no other coaches have been able to make it work, even Jackson disciples and teams assembled by Jackson specifically to run it. Must be their own flawed coaching. Can't possibly be that the triangle is a gimmick that produces the sort of shots that modern NBA analytics have shown to be very inefficient and that it worked in Chicago and LA only because of the talent involved and that those teams would get killed by a team that has roughly equivalent talent plus the advantages of efficient shot-taking and defending.

 
Yeah, it's weird that no other coaches have been able to make it work, even Jackson disciples and teams assembled by Jackson specifically to run it. Must be their own flawed coaching. Can't possibly be that the triangle is a gimmick that produces the sort of shots that modern NBA analytics have shown to be very inefficient and that it worked in Chicago and LA only because of the talent involved and that those teams would get killed by a team that has roughly equivalent talent plus the advantages of efficient shot-taking and defending.
There's so much wrong with this post. 

 
First off, if they're playing by the rules that the Jordan Bulls played under, I doubt the Warriors make the finals and ever meet the Bulls.

Second, the Jordan-less Bulls with Pippen could have probably taken this bunch.

It was a tougher game back then, both mentally and physically.  [Insert other hyperbole that can't be verified here]

 
TobiasFunke said:
I dunno, I thought it was goink pretty well.
The actual difference between your current NBA metric of "Triangle Offense low quality shots" versus "genius Steph Curry ZOMG" is literally for players in the triangle to take one step backwards.

 
First off, if they're playing by the rules that the Jordan Bulls played under, I doubt the Warriors make the finals and ever meet the Bulls.

Second, the Jordan-less Bulls with Pippen could have probably taken this bunch.

It was a tougher game back then, both mentally and physically.  [Insert other hyperbole that can't be verified here]
Yah because an all time great 7 foot scorer flanked by 2 of the best shooters ever in a ball movement based offense will suddenly find it hard to score in Jordan's days. The defense the Dubs play translates to an era. The only weakness is rebounding, but if Rodman has to come out to the 3 point line to guard Draymond...how much of a factor is he?

 
I don't remember the Bulls ever needing 4 all-stars to make sure they lock down another ring.  

I also don't remember Jordan ever blowing a 3-1 Finals lead.  The Cavs had one all-star selection last year in LeBron and that was enough to de-throne the almighty Warriors.  

 
Yah because an all time great 7 foot scorer flanked by 2 of the best shooters ever in a ball movement based offense will suddenly find it hard to score in Jordan's days. The defense the Dubs play translates to an era. The only weakness is rebounding, but if Rodman has to come out to the 3 point line to guard Draymond...how much of a factor is he?
Yeah, I mean when would he ever have seen such a great shooting big man?  I mean, other than Arvyad Sabonis, perhaps the most versatile big man in the history of the game, who went 0-4 from behind the arc, 3-11 from the field while Rodman still snagged 15 rebounds in 1997.  But other than that.

 
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Yeah, I mean when would he ever have seen such a great shooting big man?  I mean, other than Arvyad Sabonis, perhaps the most versatile big man in the history of the game, who went 0-4 from behind the arc, 3-11 from the field while Rodman still snagged 15 rebounds in 1997.  But other than that.
Draymond runs point forward, not just stationary at the 3 point line and when Sabonis got to the NBA the guy could barley move.

 
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The actual difference between your current NBA metric of "Triangle Offense low quality shots" versus "genius Steph Curry ZOMG" is literally for players in the triangle to take one step backwards.
If they're gonna get the whole triangle back there they're gonna need to take more than one step. 

Honestly there aren't many defenders of the Triangle these days. My perspective is all secondhand from people like Haralabob and the folks at Bball Breakdown, the former of whom thinks it's outdated garbage that was no more than a loose structure back in the day anyway, and the latter of whom gives it mixed reviews. Plus I know the recent results.  It's not really worth discussing though, as it's not that important to my underlying point that the Warriors would absolutely slaughter the Jordan-era Bulls.

 
I don't remember the Bulls ever needing 4 all-stars to make sure they lock down another ring.  

I also don't remember Jordan ever blowing a 3-1 Finals lead.  The Cavs had one all-star selection last year in LeBron and that was enough to de-throne the almighty Warriors.  
Yah, the question was Bulls vs this year's Warriors....not last years. Bulls easily destroy the past two Dubs teams, but the Dubs plus Durant is a different story. 

 
If they're gonna get the whole triangle back there they're gonna need to take more than one step. 

Honestly there aren't many defenders of the Triangle these days. My perspective is all secondhand from people like Haralabob and the folks at Bball Breakdown, the former of whom thinks it's outdated garbage that was no more than a loose structure back in the day anyway, and the latter of whom gives it mixed reviews. Plus I know the recent results.  It's not really worth discussing though, as it's not that important to my underlying point that the Warriors would absolutely slaughter the Jordan-era Bulls.
That's the difference between the Jackson/Winter version and the half-###ed versions run by other coaches.  Kind of my whole point.

 
Yah because an all time great 7 foot scorer flanked by 2 of the best shooters ever in a ball movement based offense will suddenly find it hard to score in Jordan's days. The defense the Dubs play translates to an era. The only weakness is rebounding, but if Rodman has to come out to the 3 point line to guard Draymond...how much of a factor is he?
I think people are forgetting that the defensive switch was invented by Gregg Popovich in 2005 as a countermeasure to the D'Antoni offense.  The 96 Bulls wouldn't know how to switch on defense, nor would they know how to react when the Warriors started doing it against them.

 
I think people are forgetting that the defensive switch was invented by Gregg Popovich in 2005 as a countermeasure to the D'Antoni offense.  The 96 Bulls wouldn't know how to switch on defense, nor would they know how to react when the Warriors started doing it against them.
What the hell are you talking about?

 

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