The Bulls' worst loss in the playoff was by around 20 to the Supersonics. Never had a 7 game series. Meanwhile, the Warriors have been blown out 3 times, had a 7 game series, and did not sweep one opponent. No, they are not the GOAT, but, sure, they are in a "conversation", whatever that means. This playoffs is too much of a stain on them.
I just can't believe the Rockets use to punk these same players. Parsons even once talking about Draymond saying "that kid is irrelevant". How times have changed.
Probably wont be remembered as the greatest team in the history of the NBA like the Bulls were for a period of time, but will definitely be in the conversation. Barring them winning 3 or 4 more titles in a row, they'll likely be remember alongside the Bulls, showtime lakers & old celtics teams as the greatest teams in the nba.
Beyond hitting 3s at a great clip . . .. . what are those 'Things'? The GOAT is so dependent on so many things What set of rules are you using? Do you think Golden State is winning 73 games in the hand check era? Jordan Rules Era? Do the Bulls win 72 in this can't touch anyone free moving pick era? *chuckle* Let's put them head to head MJ versus Klay Thompson Scottie Pippen versus Harrison Barnes/Iggie Dennis Rodman versus Draymon Green Steve Curry versus Ron Harper Luc Longley versus Bogut BENCH Livingston versus Steve Kerr Iggie/Harrison Versus Toni Kukoc Ezelie Versus Bill Wennington/John Sally [old] Barbosa Versus Jud Buechler How do you break down those match ups. In My Opinion - With the exception of MAYBE Luc Longley In the starting line up Every Bull plays better defense than Every Warrior Am I Lying? Rocket River
I agree with this assessment. The Warriors despite being late in season is still prone to complacency and taking it easy. I chalk it down to being young, which the Bulls were not. But I believe the Warriors peak play is more lethal than the Bulls. Both have elite D, but the Warriors have back-breaking soul-crushing back-to-back-to-back 30 ft bombs ability which can be strung together in a matter of a few possessions. There is no defense for that. And they pass very well once the D commits further out. Regarding Pippen though, the Bulls didn't lose that much when Kukoc was given opportunity to get starter minutes. He was very underrated under the shadow of Pippen & MJ during those times. As a starter he was like 17-5-5 47% 37% without pippen for half the season. A good defender also, just not elite. Plus, more clutch.
Being complacent in the playoffs? As Phil Jackson would say about the other team: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qNyt4FkPFtQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> We are talking about the *playoffs*. Maybe they just got outplayed. Many believe the Thunder just choked the series. It's all narratives.
He's right as well, however, any given game is different. In regards to complacency I'm referring to the end of season run when they had lack of efforts against poor teams, also in the OKC game and Cleveland blowout loss. Kerr also specifically directed the faults at the effort from the players. The other team came out firing, and the dubs simply didn't show up cos they didn't really have to as they're perceived to be in advantage, until being down 1-3 which woke them up. Contrast with the 24-0 start of the season when they played to prove people wrong, that was a stretch of sustained focus which the dubs never repeated. Let down games happen, that's why they play 100+ games to decide the champ.
As rockets fans, we have to walk a fine line when talking up the greatness of the 1990s Bulls otherwise we basically admit that the rockets would have never won if Jordan didn't retire. And if clutchfans was around in 1995-96 in its current form there would be non stop threads discrediting the Bulls, how stern favors the Bulls, how Olajuwon would dominate a finals matchup and how much better the showtime lakers were
1996? Some of the younger folks here might not even realize this, but from 1994-1997 the NBA actually moved the 3-pt-line IN to a uniform 22-feet. 1996 was such a year. Jordan shot .427 on 260 attempts. Pippen shot .374 on 401 attempts - not his best percentage, but it's no coincidence that Jordan and Pippen's highest three years of 3-pt attempts and makes was from 1995-1997, when it was a 22-foot shot. Kukoc, Buechler, and Kerr did similarly well that year from 'long distance'. I bring this up because, obviously, if we move the line IN for the Warriors or OUT for the Bulls and it changes the games and matchups of these two teams significantly.
I think that Kings team that got cheated from the finals by stern and lakers could give good competition to this Warriors team.
This significant rule change does not get enough attention. Of the top 10 three point shooting percentage seasons in NBA history, 7 years are from 2005-present, and the other three are from 1994-97. In 1993-94 the league shot .333% (9.9 att per gm) under the old line. Then they moved it in. Three point shooting shot up to .359 (15.3 att per gm), .367 (16 att per gm) and .360 % (16.8 att per gm) in the next three years. Then they moved it back out in 1997-98 and three point shooting went down to .346 % (12.7 att per gm) a lot of players had inflated 3 point shooting stats from 1994-97
