^^ Pippen wasn't anything special in the 1992 playoffs against much inferior defensive teams than the 2014 Spurs, tbh..
Jordan would have absolutely run train on the Spurs in 1992 or 1996. Not sure that even Bowen would have been able to slow him down.
Pippen would have gone off too. Definitely would have presented a mismatch. Either we put Kawhi on Jordan and give Pippen to Green, or Green on Jordan.
That being said. Outside of those two, who was going to score for that team? Jordan and Pippen could have combined for 70 ppg but it's hard to imagine the Bulls getting another 30-40 ppg out of that lineup against the Spurs.
Bulls would play good enough defense to win 1 or 2 games in the series, but if it's that 2014 performance, no one was stopping the Spurs, they were the most lethal offensive team the NBA has ever seen. It's hard to imagine a team being that potent for that stretch of games again. Dwayne Wade was a man possessed in the playoffs and then he met the Spurs and people were suddenly talk about him being a year away from retirement. I've never seen a narrative flip that fast on a player where he went from having a resurgent year to needing to think about hanging them up over the course of maybe 2-3 games.
^^ Pippen wasn't anything special in the 1992 playoffs against much inferior defensive teams than the 2014 Spurs, tbh..
Spurs in 6. Although Dad Killer > Lebron, they're both extremely dominantl from a physical and skill standpoint, and Leonard (and Green to an extent) limited the latter. The Lebron Heat was more stacked than the 92 Bulls and the Spurs should've beaten them twice. Young Phil was a much craftier coach than Spo, but he wasn't seasoned enough to play mind games on Pop like he did with the Lakers. There's also no equivalent of Bosh on the Bulls to give Duncan issues.
Mitch Richmond was regarded as the 2nd best SG during that era. Jordan always acknowledged he was his toughest matchup.
Leonard wouldn't have been able to limit MJ who unlike Lebron could score from all areas of the floor.
Forgot about Mitch tbh
Jordan's jumper was nowhere as good as it was in 92 compared to their second threepeat run. His greatest strength was getting to the rim and finishing at that point. Should he of gotten past Kawhi he'd still have Duncan to deal with. He would've averaged 30-35 PPG but not efficiently enough.
He destroyed Portland with his 3-point shooting. He had become a very good jumpshooter during his 1st 3-peat run. His turnaround wasn't nearly as good, but his jumpshoot had become really good.
Why are people acting like Jordan didn't have a bad series? He had plenty, and they were against much inferior defensive teams than the Spurs that couldn't punish the Bulls offensively, too..
Not to mention that most of the role players in the 90s were 1-way players that couldn't shoot from 3, too..
The 2-year Spurs peak had them shutting down Durant, Lebron, Wade, Steph Curry, Lillard, Dirk, and doing a fine job on Westbrook/Ellis..they went up against and dominated plenty of top-tier talent..
Non-special players have good series against us all the time.![]()
hey I do like the idea of the 2014 Spurs being the greatest team ever.I'm not as confident as HH but for once I'm ready to follow him on this one
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There are many stats that back it up, tbh, and Lebron/Bosh said it was the greatest team they have ever seen, too..
I think it's clear that they were the most unstoppable offensive team ever, the best passing team in League history by a wide margin. GOAT team is definitely a worthy discussion.
Can you imagine the 2014 Spurs playing in the 1980s?
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"Kiwi would lockdown Jordan".
Said no one besides San Antonio Cucks fan![]()
It doesn't mean that the 2014 Spurs would be the greatest ever in a tournament that is played 10 times..out of those 10 times, maybe they only win once..
But the actual performance they had in 2014 with the hot shooting we saw, and the historic margin of victory, puts them in the conversation, statistically..it was a perfect storm of elite defense + crazy shooting from outside..
They also went up against Lebron, Wade, Durant, Westbrook, Lillard, Aldridge, Nowitzki, Ellis..a lot of talent to go up against..
Except nobody said that... We all are saying he will get his 30...lakers fans
You don't want that shiiiiiiiiiiit! Duncan in the '80s = Brad Daughtery (NO rangs). Real talk.
Jordan can get his numbers, it doesn't really matter..
Lebron averaged 30+ on some of the best efficiency in playoffs history, but the Heat got killed in every game but 1..
The 2014 Spurs weren't going to lose a game vs. 1 guy..
What's the difference between 2014 Spurs and 2011 Mavericks. I'm seeing mirror images here folks.
- Who is banging in the post against Rodman and Chicago's 2-7 footers.....old Duncan, Splitter and Diaw? Yikes. Atleast Mavs have Tyson and Dirk to spread the floor.
- Who is the Spurs go to scorer when they face these other GOAT teams?...... 36 year old Manu creating off the dribble? Yikes. Unless the 2014 Spurs are beating those Bulls teams by 15-20 points, they would completely meltdown in crunch time.
"Anyone can score on our team" = No go to scorer = Disaster when facing GOAT teams. While MJ is walking up and down the free throw line, Manu is doing some fancy spin move pass off the shot clock.
2011 Mavs would have better success against those Bulls teams than 2014 Spurs
Last edited by Infinite_limit; 01-26-2015 at 09:03 PM.
The 90s Bulls were challenged by many ty 90s teams with weak-ass perimeter players, weak perimeter shooting, and much inferior defensive teams than the Spurs(statistically)..
People act like the 90s Bulls won every championship like the 2001 Lakers did..
The Heat were on the verge of a 3 peat. Definite contention for a GOAT team. The Spurs made them look like a lottery team. That's never happened in Finals HISTORY, not even when Shaq and Kobe had Iverson's god-awful 6ers team in the Finals.
Like y'all would had a choice?!![]()
I could not care less about "statistics". Trying to imply that the 2014 Spurs were defensively even in the same ballpark as 1992 Knicks is idiotic. The 2014 Spurs were essentially the 1993 Suns with a better perimeter defender and worse (basically none) post scoring.
Can't compare defensive statistics in those two eras. The game was so different. Spacing wasn't as prevalent in that era due to the rules. Spurs would suffer from the same fate. Really that Spurs team is just a product of its era with heavy spacing, perimeter oriented teams. That style of play would have suffered in the 90s era where guys were getting grabbed every second with hand checking and mugging. Also, post scoring was more prevalent. I don't think Duncan could defend the elite 90s centers. In fact, I know he couldn't.
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