The 97-98 Bulls- the last of their rings - had to go 7 to take down the Pacers. Best player on that Pacers team = Reggie Miller. I do t think you can find two more evenly comparable players across generations than Reggie Miller and Klay Thompson. They're such similar players. I think this years Klay was better than that years Reggie. In any case, Klay is obviously the 4th best player on the Warriors. Certainly the 97-98 Bulls weren't the 95-96 Bulls. That 96 Bulls team is another level. And yes rules being used would matter. And while I think today's NBA has comparable if not better talent I do think the warriors have had very easy paths to the Finals. Of course that said the Bulls didn't have impossible paths to the Finals either. But I have to give it to the Warriors. Does anyone think the 96 Sonics would give 17 Warriors any trouble?
This. It's readily apparent in individual sports, so IDK why people are hesitant to apply it to team sports. Federer would crush the former tennis greats, Phelps set world records, Tiger set the world on fire during his run..scientists used to say the 4 minute mile would never be accomplished...somehow individual atheletes continue to set the bar over the years, yet people think a collection of 5 athletes drastically changes the equation? What?
Warriors would win. Players are more advanced, and the gamestyle has evolved. Teams are a lot more efficient in scoring than before, and I would say Warriors win in 6, 2 because of just how great Jordan was.
Not to mention the tactical improvement through things like analytics. Look at the Grant Hill video. He passed up wide open 3 and dribbled to the FT line to shoot a 2. That would never have happened today. All perimeter players, let alone elite perimeter players, will work on their 3pt shooting and knock down those wide open ones.
It depends, if Steph Curry is still a protected player, then yes, it will be the warriors. If Vernon is allowed to smack talk him, rattle his cage, foul, and everything else he is damn good at, the warriors don't have a chance. Even with KD, Dream was a beast. Would cause nightmares for KD and co. Klay Thompson could be their X factor, but I still see the Rockets taking it in 6. No doubt.
Do my eyes deceive me or is this in the GARM? Screw the Jordan Bulls and a double serving of finely whipped suck it to the sell-out Kevin Durant. (Warriors are better. Also, today's no-contact officiating surely helps that fact.)
Rubbish... You may see slight increases in athletic ability over the years due to nutrition, training techniques, etc... but it would be very slight.... we're talking about professional athletes who were in prime condition.... Guys like Jordan, Wilt, etc - would still dominate today. Rule changes and equipment would have a greater bearing - and if you're gonna make those factors a level playing field - Bulls beat the **** out of GS.... MJ had more drive and focus than the whole GS squad put together! Never underestimate the heart of a TRUE champion! btw... Bob Beamon's performance at the 1968 Mexico City Games is still one of the most extraordinary in Olympic history. His leap of 8.90 metres remains the Olympic record 44 years on. No other athlete at a Games has been within 16cm of his distance for two decades; the best jump this year is more than half a metre shorter. It's no longer the world record (beaten in 1991) - but remains the Olympics record.... so the best Olympic athletes (with better nutrition, etc) haven't beaten it in 40+ years...
people have so little respect for the past... it's all about today and setting records... People dont appreciate that guys of the past made it work with different rules and much more physical d - as opposed to the creampuff players of today.... When you have threads where the majority of people are claiming James harden is better than prime Clyde - obviously the majority of folks are ignorant.... Using Harden as an example... his stats are derived from being on a team where next to no emphasis is placed on defense... the whole roster and gameplan is built to propel offensive stats - and oh look - he's got great offensive stats.... all these stats today are trumped up and based on just propelling 1 aspect of the game (scoring) as opposed to overall performance.... similarly, Rodman was a beast on rebounds - cause that was pretty much all he did toward the latter part of his career... it's no great accomplishment if you only cherrypick certain aspects of the game to focus on... true greatness comes from doing it all at a high level!
Bulls were physical.. GSW is soft. And you would have to determine what rules. In today rules GSW would win bc u cant breathe on a perimeter player without getting called for the foul.. With the rules during Jordans time, i'd go with the bulls.
Yes, Jordan and Wilt would be great in any era. Anthony Mason and Sam Perkins and whoever else were the supporting cast of the teams Jordan was beating wouldn't get on the floor today. The Warriors would feast under the defensive rules of the 90s--stay within an arm's length of your man and no double-teaming until the ball is in the player's hands. Draymond Green can hand check now, you say? Yes please. And the three-point line would be nearly two feet closer. Steph's laying it in today from 28'. OK, so you put forth the greatest anomaly of all track and field records. How about virtually every other record outside of the pole vault? No one's ever scoring 100 points again either.
I've always said that there are no objective ways to compare players/teams of different eras. How can you compare the performances of two people working in two different sets of conditions? If you are talking about time-traveling, there is no question the Warriors would win hands down. Like it was pointed out, technology and accumulative knowledge improve athletic performances. If you are talking about the Warriors players being born 20 years earlier, or the Bulls players 20 years later, then that's a totally different discussion, and would be a completely speculative exercise.
A lot of it is comparing apples to oranges.... The game has changed and as thus priorities and focuses have as well... Guys like Harden drive the lane and complain that he didn't get a call for being slapped a couple times... please! back in the day, he'd have gotten a forearm to the forehead - and given him greater consideration for making that drive in the future... lol People talk about how Curry is the greatest shooter off all-time... Curry has .476 career fg%... Reggie Miller had career .471 fg% ... and that includes the downturn portion of Reggies career, being guarded by the likes of MJ, not having comparable teammates, etc.... Draymond Green? I'd like to see him lineup against Charles Oakley.... and Oakley only made all-star once...
So he has a better fg% than Reggie?? Not sure how you proving a point?? Nevermind that Steph also has a better career true shooting % (TS%) and the highest one year TS% of the two, a better career ft% and a better career 3 point %. What does this even mean? Why would Draymond struggle against Charles Oakley any more/less than Oakley's talent set level was? Oakley was a solid player. He'd still be a solid player with Green guarding him - Green would probably do a better job guarding him then most, as he's a great defender... Not that this is a Draymond Green vs. Charles Oakley comparison, but of the two, Oakley would struggle more in today's NBA than Draymond would in Oakley's NBA.
Jordan averaged 8.2 FTA in his career to Harden's 8.1. Curry has nearly three more 3FGA a game than Miller did, shooting them at 43.8% vs. 39.5%. The more you shoot, the lower you can expect your percentage to be. Give Curry three less 3FGA, and he'll shoot 50%. FG% is meaningless for volume 3-point shooters. EFG%: .575 vs. .544. Lockdown perimeter/high post defender Charles Oakley...
I think a lot of people underestimate the sophistication of today's defense. They talk about how players in the 90s were allowed to play more physical defense, as if that in itself would negate today's player's offensive performances. These people forget the ridding of illegal defense, allowing teams to do a lot more varieties of defensive schemes and tactics, also exposing the offensive liability of the so-called "defensive specialists." Defensive specialists on the perimeter would not have a job in the NBA today without being able to knock down an open 3pt shot. Teams can clog the lane to prevent guys like Harden from driving to the basket at will. All these are more than compensating the highly touted hand check rule. And I have not mentioned the use of hi-tech video tracking to scout an offensive player's tendency and shooting pattern. Today's offensive players have to be much smarter than just beating your man one-on-one.
Five tiny Hakeems could sweep the Warriors. So whenever someone asks this question the answer should always be Da Rockets.
I agree. Put these two teams in the 1996 era (having neither team know anything about the other before they play) and have the 1996 game officials work the games. Bulls win that series on reputation foul calls alone
The 94-95 Rockets would've beaten the Warriors. The Rockets would play the Warriors tight on the perimeter and if they drove to the rim, guess who would we meeting them there?
My point being, Reggie Miller was a damn good player... I would put he and Curry on about the same level.... Let Reggie camp out on the 3 pt line and not have to run around playing great defense along with his offense output and his numbers would prob be far superior to Curry... Heck, drop Reggie on this GSW team with the same responsibilities as Curry today - and his numbers would be stupid... but nobody's talkin about the Reggie Millers of the past when theyre sayin so n so is the goat at ______ - just proppin up the one dimensional golden boys of this watered down era... Sure, there were guys back in the day that didn't play intense defense (Wilkins comes to mind) but the vast majority of superstars who people are doing statistical comparisons to - did a hell of a lot more than just score - they were all around better players workin it on both ends of the court!
