Which Spurs team could give the 95-96 Bulls team a run for their money?

[ATRAIN]

Which Spurs team could give the 95-96 Bulls team a run for their money? I dont know if this post has made it up here yet, which i would be shocked if it hasn't. Anyone want to analyze the matchups?

[ducks]

we are not even sure if this spurs team can win a title

[Summers]

The 04-05 team was the best we've had, I think. Everything they did looked effortless.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

I read about this in another blog. It's pointless to compare. There were different styles at a different time. I even heard people comparing teams with those Russell's teams. Totally different basketball.

[The Go For 4]

I think the 99 team had a great run, maybe they would give them a good game.

[aaronstampler]

I think the '03 team was probably the best suited. Still had Robinson to play some D, Duncan was at his peak, Kerr and S-Jax could hit some big shots, and Manu and Tony were both young, but very good athletically.

[SilverPlayer]

I'd still pick the 99 team over anybody....Duncan breaking into the league was unstoppable. A Robinson with plenty of spring left to his game. Sean Elliot was at his best both a monster offensively and defensively. JJ and Elie to drain the occasional three ball. And AJ and AD were outstanding PGs. Excellent backups in Malik Rose and Will Perdue.

Without a doubt it was our most balanced team. It was a team without a single hole at any position.

[PM5K]

There hasn't been a Spurs team that could make the Bulls sweat...

[dbreiden83080]

I'd still pick the 99 team over anybody....Duncan breaking into the league was unstoppable. A Robinson with plenty of spring left to his game. Sean Elliot was at his best both a monster offensively and defensively. JJ and Elie to drain the occasional three ball. And AJ and AD were outstanding PGs. Excellent backups in Malik Rose and Will Perdue.

Without a doubt it was our most balanced team. It was a team without a single hole at any position.

No Spurs team was beating that 96 squad but i think the 99 team would have beat the 1998 Bulls and ended their dynasty.

[nkdlunch]

this year's Spurs team would give them a better fight than Charles's Suns, or Kemp's Sonics

[Tippecanoe]

I'd still pick the 99 team over anybody....Duncan breaking into the league was unstoppable. A Robinson with plenty of spring left to his game. Sean Elliot was at his best both a monster offensively and defensively. JJ and Elie to drain the occasional three ball. And AJ and AD were outstanding PGs. Excellent backups in Malik Rose and Will Perdue.

Without a doubt it was our most balanced team. It was a team without a single hole at any position.

probably the best team the spurs will ever assemble, though still not enough to take on any of the bulls championship teams if you ask me

[Tek_XX]

02-03 was pretty good. But stopping Jordan was tough.

[gtownspur]

probably the best team the spurs will ever assemble, though still not enough to take on any of the bulls championship teams if you ask me
If reggie millers pacers took them to a game 7, we could beat them.


THe Jazz was the only strong team they ever faced.

[Spurs rock]

'96-'97

[Bob Lanier]

2003.

[johnpaulwall21]

probably the best team the spurs will ever assemble, though still not enough to take on any of the bulls championship teams if you ask me

Why is everyone acting like these Bulls teams were gods????

[PM5K]

If reggie millers pacers took them to a game 7, we could beat them.

They didn't play the Pacers is 95-96

Miami 3-0
New York 4-1
Orlando 4-0
Seattle 4-2

[PM5K]

Why is everyone acting like these Bulls teams were gods????

Because they were...

[Fabbs]

Rodmans flopping was not even basketball, yet his feakshowishness was a ratings draw. Theoretically some fair reffing takes much of the glow off the *unbeatable* Bulls.

In fact Frank Brickowski (yes Frank) was having a lot of success in that series before the refs suspended him a game for messing up Miss Dennis' makeup.

[td4mvp21]

04-05 team.

[K-State Spur]

Bulls had 2 amazing players, but they had a rather large flaw in that they didn't have anybody to score in the low post (similar to this year's bulls).

Now, the Bulls made up for that because Michael and Scotty were able to drive and/or post to get a lot of easier buckets, and eventually kick out to shooters like Kukoc and Kerr.

But the twin towers of '99 and '03 would have made playing that way very difficult for Chicago.

Remember, they weren't unbeatable. In '98, the Pacers had them on the ropes and the Jazz were right there as well.

[Despot]

To be fair, the OP said "Run for their money", doesn't mean we would have won.

Anyways, this is one of those topics in which everyone involved has to be drinking heavily in order to have an intelligent discussion.

[jaespur21]

Spurs could have and would have taken a couple of games. 99 or 03 squads. The bulls didnt have a sole to guard timmy and o3 bruce was awesome on defense also. Plus did i mention WHO would guard timmy.. Bill Cartwright...WIll Perdue.. GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE.. oh wait the had some other loser big man but i cant remember his name something like scott williams or chump williams

[Cry Havoc]

The 99 team was one of the best teams the NBA has ever seen, I think. Absolute dominance. All 5 guys could play defense, and 2 of them were both top 20 all-time players, just like the Bulls. But the Spurs were a lot more than just Duncan and David, while the Bulls were very little without Jordan and Pippen.

I'd take the Spurs in 7 over almost any of the Chicago teams. Too much post defense. Jordan may have been able to beat one of the greatest big men of all-time in a series.... how about 2? No freaking way they were being stopped that year.

[Warlord23]

'99 Spurs would have been our best bet: featuring the best frontcourt in recent memory, and they'd have dominated Rodman/Longley/Wennington. But the perimeter gap is even more yawning. MJ/Pip/Harper vs Elliott/Elie/Avery would have been massacre. Elie and Avery would have been relentlessly posted up by the Bulls' big guard line-ups. The difference would be the bench (Kukoc was miles ahead of any bench player we had), the championship poise, and the coaching. Close, but the Bulls would take it.

'03 Spurs wouldn't have a chance: The only big mismatch we have is Duncan; DRob was on his last legs, and SJax/TP/Manu << MJ/Pip/Harp. Especially when Manu wasn't a battle-tested vet and Bowen wasn't known for the kind of defense he has played for the last 3 years.

The '05 Spurs' starters would have given the Bulls a real run for their money. Manu had established himself, Bruce had become the defensive hound and TP had championship experience. Both had stiffs at center, and our backcourt wouldn't have fallen behind the Bulls' backcourt too far. Duncan of course had a decided advantage. The bench would have tipped it again in the Bulls' favor, with Horry and Barry (?!) being no match for Kukoc and Kerr.

IIRC, the 95-96 Bulls were close to the top of the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency ratings (as were the 96-97 Bulls). Too talented, too deep, too veteran, too clutch. Oh, and having 2 top-50 players of all time close to their primes helps.

[TampaDude]

The Bulls would likely not have won titles those years without Jordan...just look at the two years MJ was away from the game.

[Warlord23]

But the Spurs were a lot more than just Duncan and David, while the Bulls were very little without Jordan and Pippen.


I wouldn't agree with that. They had a lot more than MJ/Pip. Rodman snagged 15 RPG and the rebounding title that year. Kukoc was the sixth man. Harper was better than anything we had in the '99 backcourt. Kerr shot a sick 52% from 3-point range. They had the complete package.

In fact if anything, it was the Spurs who were weak outside of TD/DRob/Elliott. Avery, Elie, Jaren, Rose, Daniels and Kersey would have been overmatched.

[Spurs Brazil]

99 team

That team played GREAT D

[Mavs<Spurs]

99 team. You just simply were not going to score against that team in the post.

So, you had to shoot jumpshots. Jordan and Pippen would have had a tough time at the rim.

Bulls could turn you over though.


96 Bulls were one of the very best teams the NBA had ever seen.
72-10 is unbelievable.

Still, I think that it is tough to win if you are too dependent upon your guards and can't score in the post.

So, 99 Spurs would have given them a run for their money. In a 7 game series, it is not impossible to see how the 99 Spurs could have beat them.

[GrandeDavid]

Anyone of our championship teams would sweep their soft asses.

[PM5K]

Some of you talk about how good our frontline is/was, but this Bulls team played in the hayday of great centers, with prime versions of O'Neal, Olajuwon, Ewing, Mutombo, Mourning. Even the second rate centers of that time would be making a ton of money right now, guys like Smits, Sabonis, Divac, etc...

Scottie and Michael were two of the best finishers this game has ever seen, and even without Michael the Bulls were a fifty win team...

[Cry Havoc]

Some of you talk about how good our frontline is/was, but this Bulls team played in the hayday of great centers, with prime versions of O'Neal, Olajuwon, Ewing, Mutombo, Mourning. Even the second rate centers of that time would be making a ton of money right now, guys like Smits, Sabonis, Divac, etc...

Scottie and Michael were two of the best finishers this game has ever seen, and even without Michael the Bulls were a fifty win team...

I'm pretty sure if the Rockets would have had a frontline that read something like Patrick and Hakeem, the Bulls wouldn't have found them so easy to beat. Jordan beat some of the best center. Note the lack of the "s".

That's what the Spurs had, and that's what people keep forgetting. Not one but TWO of the best big men. Ever. On the floor. At the same time. And as good as Jordan was, he was most definitely not invincible. A series of going into the lane to find two of the best defenders in the league would have been difficult for even him and Pippen to overcome.

The Spurs frontline when both were in their prime was the best the league had ever seen. Inarguably, no questions asked. Duncan and Robinson, people will look back on that in 20 years and say, "That team would dominate today with no problems."

[gtownspur]

05 horry and Barry > 96 Kukoc and kerr.

Seriously, kukoc is not god, and can't defend like horry can.

[jaespur21]

I'm pretty sure if the Rockets would have had a frontline that read something like Patrick and Hakeem, the Bulls wouldn't have found them so easy to beat. Jordan beat some of the best center. Note the lack of the "s".

That's what the Spurs had, and that's what people keep forgetting. Not one but TWO of the best big men. Ever. On the floor. At the same time. And as good as Jordan was, he was most definitely not invincible. A series of going into the lane to find two of the best defenders in the league would have been difficult for even him and Pippen to overcome.

The Spurs frontline when both were in their prime was the best the league had ever seen. Inarguably, no questions asked. Duncan and Robinson, people will look back on that in 20 years and say, "That team would dominate today with no problems."


well said my thoughts exactly

[smrattler]

'99 team. I don't buy that their guards would be posting up AJ all day. Nobody was scoring on us in the paint, period. TD and DRob warmed the paint when anybody set foot in there. They'd have to hit 3s, and you recall, our rotations were never better than that year. How about TD posting up all night long and DRob getting volleyball passes for dunks? Don't know if we win, but that's the team I'd send to give it a crack.

[PM5K]

I don't think so, the 98 team was good but the Bulls beat them both times they played them and you can't really say the 99 team was that much better, Tim's numbers stayed about the same and David's actually dropped.

[Louie Vega]

Why is everyone acting like these Bulls teams were gods????


Exactly! Spurs '03! I would like to have seen the Bulls try and stop Tim and have to deal with David down low. Not to mention Stephen Jackson, Speedy Claxton, Manu and Tony! What about Bowen? Come on ! Those Bulls teams were good , but they weren't untoucha-bull.......shit!

[whottt]

If I have to pick one I pick the 99 team. It's the only one with big enough balls to knock off those Bulls teams. The 03 and 05 teams were more talented...but I don't think they had the killer instinct of the 99 team.

[baseline bum]

Which Spurs team could give the 95-96 Bulls team a run for their money? I dont know if this post has made it up here yet, which i would be shocked if it hasn't. Anyone want to analyze the matchups?

The '99 team would give Chi a hell of a series, but I don't think any team since the '96 Bulls could beat that '96 team.

[baseline bum]

I don't think so, the 98 team was good but the Bulls beat them both times they played them and you can't really say the 99 team was that much better, Tim's numbers stayed about the same and David's actually dropped.

That's crazy. The 98 team ran a tri-towers lineup with Will Perdue starting, since Sean was hurt. Even worse, they had Vinny Del Negro's soft ass starting instead of Mario Elie. Malik had no game at the time, and JJ wasn't getting the shots he got on the '99 team.

[LakerLanny]

None. You would get worked.

[Marcus Bryant]

i think the best one would be the '03 team since that had some depth on the perimeter. I'd trust Jack/Manu/Bowen more than I would Manu/Barry/Bowen against MJ and Jordan. Also the 5 spot was considerably weaker with the '05 team. The X variable is, of course, Horry. But man, that '03 was fairly deep across the board, especially in the frontcourt. And having a pretty good backup point wasn't bad either. '99 might've played some tough D, but that team was limited offensively.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

If I have to pick one I pick the 99 team. It's the only one with big enough balls to knock off those Bulls teams. The 03 and 05 teams were more talented...but I don't think they had the killer instinct of the 99 team.


You know what, I was struggling to find the words, but's that's exactly what I thought.

There was something about that '99 team that was amazing, 15-2 in the playoffs, they knew when to step on the throat and not give up the lead.

The '03 let the Nets take them to 6... hell they let the suns to take them to '6

the '05 team was soft, like it was a better team then we have now, but they were prone to going through prolonged streaks of ineptitude...and TD was on one ankle

[ATXSPUR]

Anyone of our championship teams would sweep their soft asses.
ummmmm nooooooo

[Cry Havoc]

'99 might've played some tough D, but that team was limited offensively.

Yeah, I know what you mean. David and Duncan were only both 20+ PPG players (don't talk about David only getting 15+ per game, he could have scored a lot more against the Bulls). Elliott, Elie, Jackson, Kerr could all bring rain from outside. All but 3 guys on that team averaged +10 minutes a game, and we could constantly throw guys at the Bulls. Double Jordan and let Pippen try to score 1 on 1 with our post defense waiting.

And don't forget about Malik Rose. He was a guy that could come off the bench and light a fire under the team, someone who would have been able to match up on Rodman relatively well.

I'd really like to see Rodman avg. 10 rbs. a game over Duncan & David. Not happening. No one would ever have a shot at running against the 99 Spurs. No way.

[PM5K]

I'd really like to see Rodman avg. 10 rbs. a game over Duncan & David. Not happening. No one would ever have a shot at running against the 99 Spurs. No way.

Really, you'd like to see it?

How bout in 97-98 when Rodman had sixteen and twenty two boards in their two games and the Bulls out rebounded the Spurs?

[SilverPlayer]

The 99 team was not limited offensively in the slightest. Duncan, Tim, Malik, Sean, JJ and hell even Avery were all capable of 15+ a night.

Everyone seems to forget just how much JJ, Sean, and Elie were GIANT Killers that year. Those three were unstoppable in the clutch, like no team I had seen before.

Elie and Sean were both very tough capable defenders to throw at Jordan, and Popovich's funneling system was at its very best that year. Guarding Pippen would have caused us some grief, but I am one of those that consider him overrated.

I say Spurs in 6.

[bobbyjoe]

Some of you talk about how good our frontline is/was, but this Bulls team played in the hayday of great centers, with prime versions of O'Neal, Olajuwon, Ewing, Mutombo, Mourning. Even the second rate centers of that time would be making a ton of money right now, guys like Smits, Sabonis, Divac, etc...

Scottie and Michael were two of the best finishers this game has ever seen, and even without Michael the Bulls were a fifty win team...

This is misleading.

Of the Centers you name, only 2 are truly, truly dominant and top 10-15 ever NBA players. Hakeem and Shaq. Tim's right up there with these 2 as far as overall skill/talent/impact.

The Bulls were 1-1 against Shaq in the playoffs. Everyone wants to say "MJ wasn't the same, etc" but the fact is Shaq is the one superstar who led a team to a series win over that dynasty before the Pistons used to beat Chi-town.

As for Hakeem, the Bulls did not ever face him in the Finals and in fact in the regular season had a losing record against Houston in the Jordan era. So I dont see how that helps your argument.

Ewing, Mourning, etc are just in a different tier of player. Very good, but not great players like Hakeem, Shaq, Tim.

As for the subject at hand, I think all would be good series because SA has a dominant big in #21 unlike anything MJ ever had to go through to win an NBA title. The one thing that might tilt it in the Bulls favor is that MJ was the type of player who actually played better against greater competition. He would have been so fired up to school Bowen that he'd probably play the best ball of his NBA career.

Still, I think if you look at any of the post Jordan title teams named LA, Houston, or SA, they'd have great matchups against Chi and give them much tougher comp than the teams Chitown actually played because of the difficulty in guarding and finishing against dominant (on both ends of court, unlike the Malone's, Barkley's, Kemp's Chitown faced) bigs.

I mean prime Shaq vs. Bulls C's is just a massively bigger mismatch than Kobe vs. MJ.

[traitoravery]

WHat about Bowens D on Jordan....I think the 03 Team could take em to 7 and possibly beat them.

[ATRAIN]

None. You would get worked.


Shut up and go have sex with Colorado ho's.

[DarkReign]

OMG, some of you Spurs fans are comepletely and utterly delusional.

Rodman is junk now? Averaged a double-double in the talent-laden, pre-expansion days. Michael "Im the greatest fucking player ever, anywhere. Period" Jordan? Scottie "it aint all MJ" Pippen?

They could have put fucking Elden Campbell at center and destroyed any Spurs team. Thats not an indictment on the Spurs. That 96' Bulls team was the best ever, Period.

No team could give them a run. Not even the showtime Lakers. They had toughness and finesse.

"Rodman wouldnt be averaging 15 rbds a game against Duncan/DRob..." LOL...blind homerism at its finest.

[SilverPlayer]

No team could give them a run. Not even the showtime Lakers. They had toughness and finesse.

"Rodman wouldnt be averaging 15 rbds a game against Duncan/DRob..." LOL...blind homerism at its finest.

They still had to take 6 games to beat Seattle, a very inexperienced team. The Sonics were playing way above their heads that year. This is the same Soncs team that was the first number 1 seed to lose to an 8th seed. The year before.


The Bulls were great but you state that nobody could ever beat them. That simply wasn't the case. There are probably about four or five teams that could have beat them. The Celtics and the Lakers were both godly in their own prime. The 95 Rockets, The '99 Spurs, and Shaq's Lakers were the other teams that I would put at the level of the Bulls.

I seriously believe that if MJ hadn't retired he would have lost those two years to Hakeem.

[florige]

I'd still pick the 99 team over anybody....Duncan breaking into the league was unstoppable. A Robinson with plenty of spring left to his game. Sean Elliot was at his best both a monster offensively and defensively. JJ and Elie to drain the occasional three ball. And AJ and AD were outstanding PGs. Excellent backups in Malik Rose and Will Perdue.

Without a doubt it was our most balanced team. It was a team without a single hole at any position.



Thats what I think. Those two guys didn't allow NOTHING in the paint area. If you weren't a jump shooting team you were pretty much screwed. Our offense was at question, but other than that...

[Texas_Ranger]

99.

[Findog]

Which Spurs team could give the 95-96 Bulls team a run for their money? I dont know if this post has made it up here yet, which i would be shocked if it hasn't. Anyone want to analyze the matchups?

Let's watch the Bulls try and stop Cadillac Anderson and Jon Sundvold!

[Findog]

They still had to take 6 games to beat Seattle, a very inexperienced team. The Sonics were playing way above their heads that year. This is the same Soncs team that was the first number 1 seed to lose to an 8th seed. The year before.

That was two years previous, not one. And that was not a close series, ask any of your fellow Spurs fans the difference. Bulls jumped out to a 3-0 lead before finishing them off in 6.

[SilverPlayer]

That was two years previous, not one. And that was not a close series, ask any of your fellow Spurs fans the difference. Bulls jumped out to a 3-0 lead before finishing them off in 6.


I remember the series. And it wasn't close until Seattle won two in a row and people were talking about Seattle having a shot.

Regardless my mention of the series going to six is huge. They couldn't close them out on the road. To me that shows that they had some flaws. This was a Seattle team that had One great player Payton and a guy who was playing way over his head in Kemp. Detlef was their next best player.

look at their roster:
Gary Payton | Shawn Kemp | Detlef Schrempf | Hersey Hawkins | Sam Perkins | Vincent Askew | Ervin Johnson | Frank Brickowski | Nate McMillan | David Wingate | Sherell Ford | Eric Snow | Steve Scheffler |

The Bull were great, but not unbeatable. As I said before I would say five teams could have given them a hell of a run.

By the way Rodman even with his rebounds was a huge liability for the Bulls, to pad his rebound numbers he would never leave the paint, and he would sacrifice guarding someone in order to get a potential board.

[Findog]

They couldn't close them out on the road. To me that shows that they had some flaws. This was a Seattle team that had One great player Payton and a guy who was playing way over his head in Kemp. Detlef was their next best player.

look at their roster:
Gary Payton | Shawn Kemp | Detlef Schrempf | Hersey Hawkins | Sam Perkins | Vincent Askew | Ervin Johnson | Frank Brickowski | Nate McMillan | David Wingate | Sherell Ford | Eric Snow | Steve Scheffler |



I might be the contrarian here but a core of Payton (one of the alltime great PGs in NBA history), Kemp (at his height a huge presence inside on both ends of the floor), a supporting cast of McMillan, Perkins, Schrempf and Hawkins, all those guys were starter-caliber players, a team that won 60+ games year after year, they beat out Malone, Barkley and Hakeem to reach the Finals, so they weren't exactly chopped liver. And they got rolled.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

That 99 team and its not even close. Robinson was not yet hobbled by his back as he was in the following championship and the ruleset alllowed our perimter defenders to shut it down. You try scoring in the paint with both Duncan and Robinson on the floor.

David Robinson was not hobbled in 99 and although Duncan improved over the next few years that pales in comparison to the dropoff that Robinson experienced in subsquent years.

Sean Elliot at that time was a better all around player than Bruce. i love Bruce but Elliot brought it at both ends of the floor.

As for the backcourt, there is no question that Ginobili and Parker are far superior to Johnson and Elie given the game of today; however I still feel that they changed the rules to cater to smaller quicker guards because of that 99 team. Ginobili could have played as well or better in 99 but Parker would not have. There is a definite reason that players like Gary Payton went form NBA All Defense to marginal defenders. Jaren jackson and Mario Elie went in the toilet for this very reason.

The 99 bench of Daniels, Kerr, Jackson, Kersey, Rose and Purdue brought a wide range of althleticism, shooting, rebounding and overall grit. I would kill to have Purdue and Kersey of 99 on our team today.

Sorry but that 99 team forced rules changes and to me that is the truest sign of greatness.

[EvenFlow]

On the flipside of the coin would Jordan Bulls be able to hang in today's bigger, stronger,faster nba with the nullification of handchecking and the inclusion of zone defenses. I don't think so.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

On the flipside of the coin would Jordan Bulls be able to hang in today's bigger, stronger,faster nba with the nullification of handchecking and the inclusion of zone defenses. I don't think so.

Jordan, Harper and Pippen could definitely hang in todays NBA world. Pippen and Jordan could keep up with and destroy point guards and Kerr was protected by their system.

If anything imagine a world where you couldnt handcheck them.

[td4mvp21]

Isn't there a website that predicts this type of stuff?