Do you think the Rockets would have won both of them championships if MJ never left?

Anyone who averages over 25 a game and puts up the league high for the 95 season single game scoring mark (50+) is 'back' --> Jordan. The addition of Rodman is what pushed the Bulls back into title contenders in 96' after they lost Horace Grant in 94'.

The only team that could beat us in 94' and 95' were the Sonics and they choked out in the first round -- at any rate they couldn't have hung with a team of destiny over 7 games.

 

I'll be honest and say that the 2nd title team had enough fire power to beat the bulls (championship teams) and honestly I think they would have in '95.....the '94 team would take them to 7 games, because we were a better rebounding team with Thorpe and Herrera, but who's to say who would win or lose..............I hate when people act like those bulls teams were invincible.........over the years the knicks and the pacers took them to 7 games (and I think both of the rockets champ teams were better than those 2 teams) and the Jazz came awfully close to beating them twice...............and I'm sure it's already been stated Jordan was BACK in '95......he put up his normal MJ numbers in the playoffs and even had a few break out games, but the Bulls had no PF.........that is why they lost in 95.........not because MJ "hadn't regained all of his skills" like his nuthugging fans would like you to believe...............

whenever MJ nuthuggers throw that in my face I just throw the "what if" Sampson would've never gotten injured?, right back at them.......

 

it was Will Purdue........you're getting your slow/untalented big white guys confused, lol..................

 

I disagree with this.......watching both teams play I always said the first of the bulls dynasties was better, for these reasons

a.) Jordan and Pippen were better (statistically and they were much younger and more athletic)
b.) Cartwright/Grant > Longley/Rodman......Rodman was FANTASTIC rebounding and on the defensive end, but offensively him and Luc were horrendous...Grant at least gave you some offense, and Cartwright was better than Luc

 

What If:

James Worthy and Byron Scott wouldn't have gotten injured in the '91 Finals......................I mean the Lakers did split the first 2 games with the bulls.................Magic Johnson (who in my opinion is the greatest player to ever pick up a basketball, because of his versatility and the ability to make others around him better) still managed to keep his team in the game with a bunch of young role players......and Magic wasn't even in his "prime" at this point in his career......................

 

What if:

The Chicago Bulls would have pulled out the Game 7 in the Second Round against the Knicks in 1994, then went on to beat the Pacers and go to the Finals. Would this ridiculous Jordan mystique even exist anymore?

 

Everybody acts like 93-94 + 94-95 were up for grabs season just because Jordan left the game. Talk about ignorance and vanity, because MJ was not that good. ****, The Rockets went 5-1 in the three championship years of the Bulls so not even MJ could've stopped it. Really, people act like if MJ was there the Rockets wouldn't have been champs etc etc. Really ridiculous and i'm not exaggerating when i'm saying the 93-94 Rockets are definetly among the best teams ever. Going 15-0 and 21-1 and something only done once besides the 93-94 Rockets so that tells you something. Not to mention that season was one of the hardest seasons for teams in the West. All 8 teams in the west could've been in the NBA Finals. I bet if the Nuggets would'be beaten the Jazz the Rockets could've lost the WCF. The Nuggets won the season series 3-2 so it was really a tough season.

 

Well, that didn't happen so I guess that ridiculous Jordan mystique(whatever you mean by that) stays. He won three straight, retired and won another three straight. It's already hard enough to three peat and he helped the Bulls do that twice. 6 Titles in 8 Years, you can't knock that.

 

You talk about it sensibly. Most fans and media people act like he won those championships by himself.

The "ridiculous Jordan mystique" is the forever perpetuated idea that Jordan was the greatest (or even one of the two greatest players) of all-time. Jordan was a great player on the greatest team since the 1960s. I'll give him that. But they barely missed a beat when he retired, and when he came back, his declining defense actually hurt the team until they got a DPOY-level power forward to cover his mistakes.

Michael Jordan never impacted the game as much as Hakeem, and while he was certainly a big part of the Bulls success, he was lucky to play with such great teammates.

 

Actually, MJ was All-Defensive 1st team all three years of the second three peat. If you call that declining defense, then he must have been the best defender ever before he first retired. Sure MJ had great teammates but he made everybody else better. Dream had great teammates also and he too made them better.

The whole "Greatest Ever" talk is and will always be opinion. I don't see how it's absurd to think that MJ is the GOAT. 5x MVP, DPOY, 10X All-NBA 1st team, 9x All-Defensive 1st team and 6 rings. You can definitely make a case for him. I think its more ridiculous that people try to discredit MJ like he lucked in to winning championships.

 

Most undeserved awards that he received. He was average defensively all three years of the second three-peat. Pippen and Rodman were spectacular defensively and basically earned him those awards.

 

The number of wins won't lie. Did you watch Bulls game at their Championship rums? Luc is very efficient offense role player. He's a great piece of that Champion team. Rodman is also a great offense player with special talents. He can be offensively very efficient without scores. He's a very good passer, screen for others and cluch Free Thrower! No need to mention his offensive board ability. I think he got double digit offensive rebounds twice a final playoff series for Bulls. For many fans here, "offense" means much more than dunk and scores. Some players can be very good offense players without scoring a lot.

 

I think you'll be on your own defending that one.

I'm obviously a Rockets fan, and I think they would have won at least one championship if MJ stuck around. But I think its a bit silly that so many peeps on here are proclaiming that the Rockets would have quote-on-quote "dominated" the Bulls, as I've seen a lot of people state. Obviously we'll never know. I know for a fact they would have given the Bulls a run given the fact they played them so well during the regular season, but its another thing to say that they would have "dominated" them.

Maxwell was one of my favorite players, but no one was going to shut down MJ in his prime. If "slowing down" MJ is him getting 30 points, well... then I don't know how to counter that..

 

I agree.... Ron Harper and Pippen usually guarded the other teams best wing player in that 2nd title run.........his name got him those honors in his final years............

Okay Rodman was never a good FT shooter, and Luc/Rodman no matter how "efficient" they were offensively were not offensive threats......

 

Exactly. Plus, that '95-96 Bulls team won 70 games! Is everyone forgetting that already? Its one of the best, if not THE best, team of all-time. And the roster of the '94-'95 Bulls is almost identical other than Rodman. Everyone is right on that adding Rodman was a HUGE addition, but so is.. adding a healthy Jordan. Rodman wasn't the only variable there.. adding a hungry, healthy, in his prime Jordan probably played a minor part in essentially the same team becoming a 70 win team. Jordan on the '94-'95 Bulls would have made them exponentially better obviously, so the Rockets wouldn't have just rolled them.

 

Question: Wouldn't Magic sound like a complete *ss if he said I'm better than Mike?

Come on . . .. even if he beleives it he would not say it

Rocket River

 

No one has ever beaten MJ in the finals.