He had no trouble with Karl Malone either, but I guess Malone was inexperienced and not as strong as Duncan either
Yeah and they got bounced by the Magic the year before in the playoffs and Tim to me is better than Shaq. I don't think the Spurs could beat the 96 team, they were that good but the 98 team and some of the teams they had in the early 90's i think they could.
As opposed to when Rodman would be matched up against Shaq? Seriously?
In the late eighties, Rodman's Pistons met up with Bird's Celtics several times in the playoffs. Each time they met, it was always a hard-fought (if not always close) series.
Why is this relevant?
If you wanna talk about footwork and body control in the post, you've gotta talk about Kevin Mchale. Post skills-wise, he's the best one to compare to Timmy, IMO.
And a young, inexperienced Rodman was still able to hold his own defensively against Mchale in those playoffs series. Not shut down Mchale completely, mind you, but Rodman (over Sidney Green, John Salley, and Rick Mahorn) was pretty much the best Piston to throw against him in the post.
I'm a big fan of Timmy. Really. If this matchup were to happen, I'd think he would still be able to get his. But you're grossly overestimating this matchup in his favor.
Manu wouldn't be able to guard pippen because he would be giving up ALOT of size and strength. At the other end Pippen might be able to completely shut Manu down. Manu has never gone against a perimeter defender as good as Pippen because the only one even remotely close, Bowen, plays on the same team.
Rodman would give up a few inches but not strength. He's also a better post defender than anyone in today's league, so I wouldn't be so quick to discredit him.
And as far as Jordan goes, you have got to be out of your freakin mind if you think Bowen could guard him. Let's not forget the time period Jordan played in, he was used to alot worse things than Bowen's antics. Bowen wouldn't bother him one bit, since part of Bowen's game is getting in your head and Jordan was just too mentally tough. Not to mention they couldn't stop him before the hand check rule so no one sure as could now.
The team that got bounced in 95 did not have a solid PF. Every Bulls championship team had a stud PF that could defend on the interior and was also quick enough to defend on the perimiter and double back for rebounds or defensive help inside. It's hard to win a le when your SG and SF lead your team in rebounds (i.e. the 95 Bulls that postseason).
So are you saying Parker is harder to defend than Magic, Mark Jackson, Kevin Johnson, Gary Payton or John Stockton? Pippen helped to contain each of those players in Bulls le runs, and was put on Magic, Jackson and KJ specifically during those series. The fact that you compare Marion, to Scottie...who is arguably the greatest perimiter defender in the last 25 years (maybe him, MJ and Payton), shows me you don't know much about Pippen. Did you really watch him play? When the Bulls were winning he was arguably the best SF in all of basketball.
And how can you say the Bulls never played a defense like the Spurs when they went through the Pistons and the Knicks with regularity? You think the Spurs are tougher to score on than the Bad Boys?
Did you forget the time when Scottie Pippen lead the bulls to 55 wins and made it to the second round playoffs in 1994 before losing to the Powerful Knicks in 7 games without Michael Jordan? (The Knicks would eventually go in the finals and lose to the rockets in 7 games)
Have you forgotten that there was a player known as the \"Glove\" who was way better than bowen but couldn\'t stop Michael Jordan?
Of course Bowen couldn't stop Jordan, but the Spurs have won series against unstoppable players who were scoring 40 ppg (Amare 2005.) The point is that Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Bowen and their supporting cast would give the Bulls a run for their money. Who knows who would win. I would never bet REAL MONEY against Michael Jordan, because he was the best athlete I have ever seen in my almost 30 yrs. of watching sports. But the Spurs/Bulls series would be a good one-- not a blowout.
Thing is, for Amare 40 PPG is great, for Mike, that's damn near his Playoff average....
Pippen >>>> Manu...
Now that's talking sense!
Good post.
Interesting thread, even if it is entirely hypothetical.
People keep bringing up the rules - I think the Spurs would adjust very quickly to 1990s rules, they'd bloody love them! 90s rules are built for our team!
I think the best point is the midrange jumpshooting of Jordan and co. If a team can make 30 midrange jumpshots, they can beat us because that's what our funnel to the baseline defense/stay at home on 3pt shooter D gives up. It seems that very few teams these days can consistently hit the midrange J, but the Bulls certainly could and that would lessen the impact of our D. However, under the old rules we could be more physical and that would make up for it somewhat.
I agree that we'd be favourites against the last two Bulls teams, but they would be favourites the rest of the time. I'd love to see it played out!
Can anyone run it through on X-box or something?
None of those players were as fast or quick as Parker. They might be better all-around players, but he is harder to guard than any of them. Just look at his field goal % and points in the paint for a guy his size. Case rested.
Because neither of those teams can hold the Spurs jock?
Yes.You think the Spurs are tougher to score on than the Bad Boys?
Gold medal, defeating the United States > 2nd round of the playoffs. Easy.
He was way better than him all-around, not on defense. Not by a long shot. Besides, Payton on Jordan is a horrible mismatch of size. Not exactly a great example. In fact, it's terrible.
Game 4 of the 1996 Finals. Gary Payton was put to guard Michael Jordan. Had 3 steals on him that day. For an undersized player, that's more than perfect. And you say it's terrible????
Isiah Thomas was much quicker than Tony Parker and look how the Bulls handled him. Nice try though.
Hmmm, really? I doubt he was "much quicker" if he was faster at all. In fact, I doubt Isaiah was faster than TP, which is not to say that he wasn't an excellent penetrator, which of course he was, as is TP.
Dude, are you honestly going to argue that Tony Parker is tougher to cover than Kevin Johnson, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas or Gary Payton? Is that really your argument? All 20 ppg scorers with no low post threat to feed off of (even KJ..check his numbers pre-Barkley...check Magic's post Kareem). All 20 ppg scorers before the removal of the handcheck. All are in the top 10 in FTA's for their career (relative to their position). All had better jumpers. All better penetrators. No offense, but how old are you? If you want to argue that none of them were quicker than TP that's fine, but even then I would really question if you have ever seen Isiah or KJ play (I can't really think of two quickier, shiftier guards).
But to answer your question, KJ is a career 49% shooter (12 seasons), pre handcheck removal. John Stockton is a career 52% shooter (19 seasons), pre handcheck removal. Magic Johnson is a career 52% shooter (13 seasons), pre handcheck removal. The Bulls beat all of those guards in a series. Again, if you think TP is harder to guard than these guards then please sell what you are smoking, because you would make a killing!!!
Even if we agree that TP is quicker than Parker, does that mean parker is harder to stop? If you are seriously going to sit here and argue that TP is a tougher cover than Isiah Thomas I don't know what to say. I know it's a Spurs board man but come on now...let's be real. I wouldn't even want to imagine Isiah playing in an era where you couldn't handcheck him.......
[QUOTE=kingmalaki]The smaller the shorts the tougher the era.[QUOTE]
Isiah Thomas = Career 45% shooter. Nice try.
First of all, when you're guarding a bigger player, it's easier to steal the ball from them. A steal doesn't mean you're playing great defense, it usually has more to do with gambling. By the way, he had 2 steals the entire game. So 3 on Jordan is bull . You = done.
To cover? Yes. Are they better overall players than Parker? Yes.
So the referees are sucking their s, what exactly does that prove?
ROFL @ Magic 'I have no jump shot' Johnson having a better jumper.
Not really. lol
The only one you could really even argue is Kevin Johnson. Stockton had a great jump shot, when he was open off Malone's attention. He wasn't exactly a great penetrator. Magic was just bigger than almost everyone that guarded him. It's like a Dirk Nowitzki situation. What position do you guard him with? Do you consider Nowitzki a tougher cover than Parker? I don't.
I think that today's Spurs are NOT THAT good yet.
I think Bruce could slow down Jordan a bit, until he gets himself in foul trouble.
Manu could guard Pippen well, he has the leg's speed to stay in front of him an draw charges.
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