Sonics' Defense on Michael Jordan (1996 NBA Finals)

[10027]

GP was just the best.  What an awesome player.
And no, today's soft D has nothing to do with Euro players, it exists because of the horrendously biased refereeing that players like Lebron and (especially) Wade have built their entire careers on.

 

[the natural mystic]

Originally Posted by Seymore CAKE

abovelegit1 wrote:

---

If George Karl was serious about stopping His Airness, he would have given GP full defensive duties from the very start. That clown waited until the Bulls had control of the series to match them up.  

This is why I always laugh when people say how good of a coach he is

Even as a life long Bulls fan I can admit that the series would've been different had GP played him from game 1.  Not saying we don't win it but I wouldn't be surprised if it went 7 instead of 6.  He was that good and made Money work harder than any player he's ever faced in the finals.


I think GP was hurt the first couple of games tho.

 

[seymore cake]

Originally Posted by The Natural Mystic

Originally Posted by Seymore CAKE

abovelegit1 wrote:

---

If George Karl was serious about stopping His Airness, he would have given GP full defensive duties from the very start. That clown waited until the Bulls had control of the series to match them up.  

This is why I always laugh when people say how good of a coach he is

Even as a life long Bulls fan I can admit that the series would've been different had GP played him from game 1.  Not saying we don't win it but I wouldn't be surprised if it went 7 instead of 6.  He was that good and made Money work harder than any player he's ever faced in the finals.

I think GP was hurt the first couple of games tho.


GP had a tear in his Calf muscle from the previous round, I knew that. But even that didn't stop him from guarding Mike games 4, 5, & 6. He didn't magically become heal after 6 days.  He said he had to FORCE George to put him on his in game 4.  Walked into his office and told him he was guarding him regardless of what Karl said. So essentially he had no choice.

That in itself reaffirms my position.

 

[smedroc]

Beast

Someone needs to post this in that defence thread.

tombout J.R Smith would beast back in this day and age cause they didn't have any athletes and things were 'less advanced'

 

[deuce king]

Originally Posted by HybridSoldier23

Still makes me 

when I see stupid @!*$%!% Randy Brown trying to take the ball away from MJ at the end of the game. 

That %!$%@ Randy Brown had no business on the floor messing up that moment. 

Jordan was mentally on a different planet than anyone. These young Kobe and Lebron fans don't understand his mental toughness. They see players with the same moves and similar stats and think that's the whole story. He is the arguably the best athlete to ever play the game and the most mentally tough. The mental aspect is why there will never be another king. 



100% Truth.  I want folks to read this over and over again until they understand what is being said.
  

 

[langfor5]

Quite simply, $$$ was relentless. 

 

[ag 47]

He said he had to FORCE George to put him on his in game 4. Walked into his office and told him he was guarding him regardless of what Karl said


Oakland's finest

 

[alachsb]

All I can say is...WOW.
I watched the whole vid, the defense's and how physical everyone was on Jordan, that man getting tripled teamed, proves why he's the greatest ever. 

 

[young street86]

Originally Posted by gopowergoh

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

If George Karl was serious about stopping His Airness, he would have given GP full defensive duties from the very start. That clown waited until the Bulls had control of the series to match them up.

I'm a Bullets fan, but I too loved those Sonics' squads. People forget, but word leading up to that finals series was that the Glove and Reign Man had overtaken Stock and Malone. All downhill from there...

Kemp broke my heart when he requested a trade.... Mcilvaine!!

No lie, Jim McIlvaine sits like 2 rows over from me at my job. When I saw him I was like,

 wait is that the "shaq stopper"

. Kemp was never the same after that. Can't hate on MacIlvaine though. Dude made over 32mil for his career #moneyteam

 

[night marcher01]

Originally Posted by Deuce King

Jordan was mentally on a different planet than anyone. These young Kobe and Lebron fans don't understand his mental toughness. They see players with the same moves and similar stats and think that's the whole story. He is the arguably the best athlete to ever play the game and the most mentally tough. The mental aspect is why there will never be another king. 

100% Truth.  I want folks to read this over and over again until they understand what is being said.
  

Preach!

 

[thekillerj23]

I still to this day think Bulls would of easily swept but MJ wanted to win in 6 because Game 6 was on fathers day and It made the moment. First championship since the return and on fathers day (reason why MJ stated he left the game the 1st time was his Dad's death)  this prolly the furthest thing from the truth but I refuse to believe anything else 

 

[thehealthinspector]

Originally Posted by Night Marcher01

Originally Posted by Deuce King

Jordan was mentally on a different planet than anyone. These young Kobe and Lebron fans don't understand his mental toughness. They see players with the same moves and similar stats and think that's the whole story. He is the arguably the best athlete to ever play the game and the most mentally tough. The mental aspect is why there will never be another king. 

100% Truth.  I want folks to read this over and over again until they understand what is being said.

Preach!


oh please, some random guy in the future could come into the league out of college and win 11 championships in 13 seasons while averaging a double double and still not be considered "king" or "on jordan's level" with the the pedestal that michael jordan gets put on by people these days

still the greatest though

 

[ill steelo]

Originally Posted by TheHealthInspector

Originally Posted by Night Marcher01

Originally Posted by Deuce King


100% Truth.  I want folks to read this over and over again until they understand what is being said.

Preach!

oh please, some random guy in the future could come into the league out of college and win 11 championships in 13 seasons while averaging a double double and still not be considered "king" or "on jordan's level" with the the pedestal that michael jordan gets put on by people these days

If that guy leads the league in scoring for 3 consecutive seasons, wins finals mvp in those seasons, retires, comes back & does it again then I'm pretty sure he would get some MJ comparisons.

 

[dipsetgeneral]

Originally Posted by HAM CITY

Thanks so much for posting OP.

I remember the series but I just wasn't old enough to comprehend the game at that age.

Them boys were getting after it.

 

[kaycurrency]

Its disgusting how SOFT the NBA is today... smh

 

[dadecounty11]

I remember rooting HARD for the Sonics in these Finals. When they won games 4 & 5 I thought for sure it was going 7.

Matter of fact I rooted for Utah in those back to back Finals too. I always wanted the Bulls to lose. They never did.

 

[cashbanks]

It's videos like this that only reaffirm my disbelief when dudes try and compare dudes to MJ. Money was on a whole different level +!@%@ like watchin Da vinci paint the mona lisa

 

[periwinkle]

Defense used to be exciting back then, I love the passion and the physical nature that they played. Now the defense now is just boring

I love basketball, but I just can't watch the NBA.

 

[seymore cake]

Originally Posted by dadecounty11

I remember rooting HARD for the Sonics in these Finals. When they won games 4 & 5 I thought for sure it was going 7.

Matter of fact I rooted for Utah in those back to back Finals too. I always wanted the Bulls to lose. They never did.

  

 

[moonman818]

MJ D-ride thread in disguise. 

As great as those teams were... 01 Lakers > Any bulls team.

 

[Bad Religion]

Originally Posted by MoonMan818

MJ D-ride thread in disguise. 

As great as those teams were... 01 Lakers > Any bulls team.

You're entitled to your opinion, but come on. 95-96 Bulls?

 

[josednk1068]

The Sonics defense shows how mediocre MJ was, he was a good player, with a great supporting cast, and a great coach. Kobe would have worked that defense and gave Peyton the business...

 

[cyber smoke]

Originally Posted by KayCurrency

Its disgusting how SOFT the NBA is today... smh

 

[seymore cake]

Originally Posted by Josednk1068

The Sonics defense shows how mediocre MJ was, he was a good player, with a great supporting cast, and a great coach. Kobe would have worked that defense and gave Peyton the business...

 

[mgrand15]

Not turning this into a Kobe thread but I hate how everyone is going to compare old defense versus the defense now.



Look at how the Celtics guarded Kobe in the 08 Finals. Constant doubles, physical defense, zone defense, help defense any time he made a move. Teams still play defense now. Just because you're not allowed to mug players on the perimeter - it doesn't mean it's easier to score.