Can any of the Jordan-led Bulls team beat this Warriors?

[UK Cowboy]

I would say no. But only because I think that it would have negligible affect. Hand checking is the single most overrated rule there is. If the Bulls are allowed to hand check, so are the Warriors. I think Curry would be impacted most, but not enough to significantly change the outcome.

Everybody grows up hand checking playing in the local park. The hard thing to do is learn to play D without it. Much easier for the Warriors to adjust than it is for the Bulls.

Simply rewind the tape to last year's finals, when the Cavs started playing Steph physical, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Answer is depends. If you played by the older generation rules, where you could get more physical with hand checking, etc., I think the Bulls would likely win. The reason why guys like KD and Steph are so hard to guard is because there's a limited amount of contact that you can have with them. It allows them greater separation and makes them even bigger threats. If you're allowed to hand check guys like KD and Steph, it makes them a bit easier to guard and bit more predictable. The Bulls were also an elite level defensive team so that plays in their favor also. Klay and Draymond I don't think would be affected much if at all playing in that era though. Klay would be a Reggie clone and Draymond already does a bit of everything and can bang down low with Rodman or whoever.

But, if you played by today's rules, I think the Bulls would have a really hard time guarding on the perimeter against this Warriors team.

That's a good point, on the flip side imagine trying to stop Mike with these modern day rules... I swear to god these refs call the dumbest foul calls ever, it's embarrassing for the league... Some games they seem to let them play and some games it's like THA PHUCC is going on, you can't breath on a guy...

 

[fishinabarrel]

yes

 

[True Lakers Fan]

It's the Bulls, not the Pistons or Knicks. Lol. But it's still a good question.

But I'm at a loss when people compare athletes. Curry, Durant, Thompson, those are skinny dudes. There were monsters playing in the 90's. Karl Malones arms were bigger than Currys waist. Players don't come in Charles Oakley size these days.

Hell, LeBron is about 30lbs lighter than a few years ago. Draymond too, he was bigger when I watched him in high school. (He also was tubby though.)

Man - I weighed more than Curry does now - when I was 15 years old, but I doubt he has ever done manual labor in his entire old

 

[tlance]

Simply rewind the tape to last year's finals, when the Cavs started playing Steph physical, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

The Cavs are trying to be physical this year too. The difference is that Curry has two healthy legs so he is able to create space and the Warriors now have KD, so opposing defenses can't focus on Curry and Klay.

If you are using the 2016 Finals as your barometer of Curry's play, then you are making a huge mistake.

 

[flyerhawk]

It's the Bulls, not the Pistons or Knicks. Lol. But it's still a good question.

But I'm at a loss when people compare athletes. Curry, Durant, Thompson, those are skinny dudes. There were monsters playing in the 90's. Karl Malones arms were bigger than Currys waist. Players don't come in Charles Oakley size these days.

Hell, LeBron is about 30lbs lighter than a few years ago. Draymond too, he was bigger when I watched him in high school. (He also was tubby though.)

There is a reason why there aren't any big lumbering post players anymore. They can't succeed in the league today.

 

[flyerhawk]

The Bulls win. First off, the two teams played different games because of the rules. If the Warriors played under the old school rules, their shooters would be getting roughed up. If the Bulls played under today's rules, come on. Trying to guard MJ when you can't hand check him? Good luck

Would MJ magically develop a 3 point shot? Would he ignore the zone?

Some of you guys are really mythologizing Jordan.

 

[gordontrue]

The difference is that Curry has two healthy legs so he is able to create space and the Warriors now have KD

 

[UK Cowboy]

Would MJ magically develop a 3 point shot? Would he ignore the zone?

Some of you guys are really mythologizing Jordan.

And some guys are on the nutsack of the flavor of the month..

 

[flyerhawk]

And some guys are on the nutsack of the flavor of the month..

Maybe. Certainly not me. My first post in this thread...

It's hard to know how teams would perform with different rule changes.
If the Bulls were required to play using modern rule enforcement they would get smoked. If the two teams played using mid-90s rule enforcement it would be much closer.

The Bulls would have a tough time trying to defend all 5 shooters out to the arc. It would be something they would never have done before.

Would Jordan thrive in this environment? Absolutely. He's arguably the greatest player in the history of the game.

Is he superman that can defeat anyone? Of course not.

MJ very well would be the best player in the league today. But the league is very different. And the 90s Bulls would NOT be the best team in the league today. As people have pointed out, the talent is more concentrated today. The Warriors being the most extreme example.

Hand waving away the huge talent differences doesn't make them go away. Pretending that the Bulls would be able to treat the game like an NFL match is silly.

There has been no team in history that can field a set of more lethal perimeter shooters than the Warriors.

So if the Warriors and 90s Bulls were playing with modern rules, the Bulls would get shell shocked. Their entire team was built to play a very different game where isolating MJ was the key to victory. That just wouldn't be as effective today. And defensively it would be extremely difficult for that Bulls team to defend the Warriors, given today's rules.

If the rules were the 90s rules, then the Bulls would have the advantage BUT the overall talent discrepancy would still give the Warriors a great chance.

 

[flyerhawk]

The only real weakness would be Longley. On that 1996 team, the other four starters are all substantially better on the defensive end than Cleveland's guys, and all had the athleticism to play outside.

Jordan would completely limit Steph
Ron Harper is a favorable defensive matchup with Klay
Pippen was pretty much born to shut down guys like Durant
Rodman was debatably the best defender in the NBA at the time, and could crush Draymond.

I really think the Warriors are a great matchup for the Bulls. I think Golden State would be more thrown off by the Bulls defense than the Bulls would be by their offense.

Well these are all subjective opinions but I fail to understand how you think the Bulls would so dominate the Warriors. Kevin Durant is 4 inches taller than Pippen with a lethal outside shot.

Steph Curry has it perimeter shot blocked about 5 times a year at most. Yet somehow Jordan would shut it down.

Rodman probably would shut down Draymond in the paint. Rodman never dealt with a paint player that could hit 3s at a 40% clip.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

This GS team just may win 5 or 6 or 7 titles

Jordan never sniffed a team of this caliber

 

[UK Cowboy]

This GS team just may win 5 or 6 or 7 titles

Jordan never sniffed a team of this caliber

And GS hasn't played anyone even close to the Bulls. Who the Hell have they played? Garbage. The Warriors aren't even a top five all time team, let alone #1. Another team that would smash the Dubs..

Steph.. Magic
Klay.. Scott
KD.. Worthy
DGreen.. Green
ZaZa(lol).. KAJ

That's a massacre

 

[trojanfan12]

So the hand check someone prevents Curry's ridiculously quick shot from releasing?

I'm willing to agree that Curry would not be as effective driving to the hoop, although that really is something he does to keep defenders honest, IMO.

I don't see how the hand check notably hurts his perimeter shooting.

Pretty much spot on. The hand check is more about making a guy go "east/west" rather than "north/south." It would help a bit vs. Curry, but it's not doing anything to stop his 3 point shot. In fact, it would probably just encourage him to shoot more 3's (which isn't a good thing when he has his rhythm).

It would definitely be far more effective vs. a guy like Kyrie or even Westbrook than Curry because they depend a lot more on their ability to drive to the basket than Curry does.

 

[trojanfan12]

And GS hasn't played anyone even close to the Bulls. Who the Hell have they played? Garbage. The Warriors aren't even a top five all time team, let alone #1. Another team that would smash the Dubs..

Steph.. Magic
Klay.. Scott
KD.. Worthy
DGreen.. Green
ZaZa(lol).. KAJ

That's a massacre

Steph would give Magic fits with his quickness, but Magic's size, especially over the course of a series would likely wear Steph down. Plus, he'd likely see a good bit of Byron Scott and Michael Cooper off the bench. Edge: Lakers.

Klay and Byron would be a wash, imo.

KD and Worthy would essentially cancel each other out. KD is a better perimeter shooter, but he couldn't handle Worthy's quickness and moves in the post. Slight edge: Warriors.

Dray is more well rounded that AC, but AC is tough, physical and wouldn't back down. Slight edge: Warriors.

Kareem vs. Zaza would be a complete mismatch. This matchup would be the difference maker, imo. Huge advantage: Lakers

Massacre? Not likely. But I think that Lakers team wins in about 6 games.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

And GS hasn't played anyone even close to the Bulls. Who the Hell have they played? Garbage. The Warriors aren't even a top five all time team, let alone #1. Another team that would smash the Dubs..

Steph.. Magic
Klay.. Scott
KD.. Worthy
DGreen.. Green
ZaZa(lol).. KAJ

That's a massacre

And they are treating their opponents as if they have played garbage

Like 29-1 in their last 30

About to become the only undefeated team ever through a postseason


Thats a massacre?

Worthy is that much better than KD?
AJ Green is that much better than Draymond?
Byron Scott is that much better than Klay Thompson?
And the league has changed, obviously it isnt a Kareem type league anymore


I think you are revising history pretty big time there

 

[flyerhawk]

Steph would give Magic fits with his quickness, but Magic's size, especially over the course of a series would likely wear Steph down. Plus, he'd likely see a good bit of Byron Scott and Michael Cooper off the bench. Edge: Lakers.

Klay and Byron would be a wash, imo.

KD and Worthy would essentially cancel each other out. KD is a better perimeter shooter, but he couldn't handle Worthy's quickness and moves in the post. Slight edge: Warriors.

Dray is more well rounded that AC, but AC is tough, physical and wouldn't back down. Slight edge: Warriors.

Kareem vs. Zaza would be a complete mismatch. This matchup would be the difference maker, imo. Huge advantage: Lakers

Massacre? Not likely. But I think that Lakers team wins in about 6 games.

I agree completely about Kareem vs Zaza.
I don't think that Magic or Steph could defend the other. They are both mismatches for the other guy.
Klay and Byron is hard to say. Klay is arguably their 2nd best defender. He is very athletic with a great outside shot. If Scott helps out on Curry that is going to give a lot of open looks.
Dray vs AC seems about right.
I fundamentally disagree with you regarding KD vs Worthy. KD is arguably one of the 3 best forwards in the history of the game. Arguing he doesn't have the quickness to cover Worthy is dubious.

I think the Lakers match up better with the Warriors in general though.

 

[CitySushi]

So the hand check someone prevents Curry's ridiculously quick shot from releasing?

I'm willing to agree that Curry would not be as effective driving to the hoop, although that really is something he does to keep defenders honest, IMO.

I don't see how the hand check notably hurts his perimeter shooting.

His shot is obviously not affected, but look what happened last year when Curry's lateral movement was compromised. He just wasn't the same player. Now if you allow more contact on drives and movement towards the basket, it prevents Curry from utilizing his full skill set. Part of what makes him such a great player is that he's more than a spot up shooter. He's a guy who can shoot off the dribble and drive to the basket effectively. If hand checking is allowed, you press up on him and force him to drive the ball. Since contact allowable now on drivers is minimal, players play with more of a cushion.

Again it doesn't have anything to do with affecting Curry's shot. It has everything to do with altering a major aspect of his game which is dribble penetration and finishing at the rim. It also gives the defender more of an edge to press up on him higher because if Curry drives, they can be much more physical with him.

 

[Shanemansj13]

It took him 4 years to beat the Pistons and these Warrior teams are much better than the Pistons. He never even beat the great Celtic teams. I just dont see those Bulls teams having enough offensive firepower and high volume efficient 3 point shooting to keep up with the Warriors.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I dis-agree, I think the Cavs offense is a mess

Outside of Kyries' one or 2 highlight film drives to the basket, he has shot horribly

And 2 guys in the starting lineup, and every single guy off that Cleveland bench are absolutely dreadful offensive players

Iman Shumpert and Deron Williams and JR Smith and Channing Frye and Kyle Korver, etc.etc.etc.

Just dreadful every time the ball finds them

But but but they are a Superteam LOL. When their bench gets hot they can shoot lights out they just dont have many guys that can drive to the hoop.