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I think they could have won it all those 2 seasons that the Rockets won. However, the next 3 years after that are debatable. You'd have to wonder about fatigue. I'll always wonder what could have been...
"The Last Dance" Michael Jordan & Chicago Bulls Docuseries
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by Arthur Shelby,
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Had MJ's father not been murdered, he probably would've toughed out that 4-5 year stretch before hanging it up. 5-6 straight rings? That's a lot. Maybe 4. Dude was already kinda gassed from the first 2, the Olympics, and the 3rd. That physical AND mental wear & tear of all of that on an entire team would've shown at some point.
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Imagine MJ, Kobe & Shaq on the same team.
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MJ retired at the right time... he was 34 and father time is no joke...he probably could of won another ring but nothing promised... but him retiring the first time for those 2 years he could have beat the rockets imo... but i guess he needed a break... just wish he didnt play on the wizards he really didnt have nothing to prove and just looked like a shell of his old self... compared to the average player he was pretty good... woulda been better to end his career though with that game winning shot against the jazz...people always say he has 6 rings and was undefeated in the finals me included that makes him great... but if you look at his records outside of the rings its pretty amazing...
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That squad had one more year in them but everything else was against it. The 98-99 season should have been the last one, imo.
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now it makes more sense why pip and krause were dancing and that one song was playing in the background lmao
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I would think the Bulls would have won against the Rockets. The only hesitation I have is that they had absolutely no answer for the Dream. He would have worked them every game. It's hard for me to dismiss a team that swept Shaq and Penny albeit a young Shaq and Penny.
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they stay in school a lil longer than most
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are you saying college matured dem? or that the average age for players in the L was older? or both?
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Bulls not winning in 95
Bulls lost grant and didn't replace him til 96.
Bulls struggled without a good 4 that's why they got bounced by the magic
Bulls lost grant and didn't replace him til 96.
Bulls struggled without a good 4 that's why they got bounced by the magic
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Veterans were more of a presence, providing mentorship, they were making a lot less money, making winning a little more of an incentive, and it was just a completely different world.
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I believe Horace Grant was also in that Orlando team. I remember as I kid, I had to double check if that was Horace or his brother Harvey.
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The perennial west playoff teams at that time were
Suns
- Barkley
- KJ
Spurs
- David Robinson
Rockets
- Hakeem
Utah
- Malone
- Stockton
Seattle
- GP
- Kemp
I always recalled that the Suns and Sonics were able to beat the Rockets and Spurs even though they didn't have centers that could match Hakeem or David Robinson.
Also, the Bulls swept an even more experienced Magic Team the year after in the 1996 playoffs.
Side note: I remember Pippen having written "4-peat" in his shoes against the Knicks in game 7 in the first half. The Knicks finally slayed their dragon that year.
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AAU did not have that much of an influence either.
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My wife who was not a sports person before me watches every LeBron steph kd giannis harden game etc and after 4 eps of tld her words and I quote ”is mj real? No one is better at ball than him period” she is now a believer as many new gen fans are becoming Thank you ESPN for shedding light where there was darkness bronny is the second best end of story ... for me watching mike now all I see is Kobe makes me feel blessed that I got to witness his airiness for over 30 years straight rip mamba
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What’s crazy to me is that they only got pushed to a game 7 twice during the 6 seasons they won the title.
They didn’t lose a single first round playoff game during those 6 titles and if you want to include 94 and 95, they only lost one first round playoff game between 1991-98.
Utah played them tough both years though. Probably the toughest challenge they had. Games 1 and 6 in Chicago were winnable in 97, as was the game 5 flu game.
They had their chances in games 2 and 4 In 98. Game 7 in Utah would’ve been crazy if it happened. Utah was a crazy tough place for visiting teams to play in at that time. i’d say those 97 and 98 jazz teams are arguably the best team to never win a title in the past 30-40 years imo. I’m not counting teams like the 2016 warriors who won titles in other years.
They didn’t lose a single first round playoff game during those 6 titles and if you want to include 94 and 95, they only lost one first round playoff game between 1991-98.
Utah played them tough both years though. Probably the toughest challenge they had. Games 1 and 6 in Chicago were winnable in 97, as was the game 5 flu game.
They had their chances in games 2 and 4 In 98. Game 7 in Utah would’ve been crazy if it happened. Utah was a crazy tough place for visiting teams to play in at that time. i’d say those 97 and 98 jazz teams are arguably the best team to never win a title in the past 30-40 years imo. I’m not counting teams like the 2016 warriors who won titles in other years.
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People don't know how good those Jazz teams were.
In '98 I remember rooting for the Lakers to make the Finals. They had all the talent in the world, all of the best players and got DOG-WALKED by the old-*** Jazz. 
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A pretty consistent pattern with most of the greatest athletes and entertainers of all time...they had some terrible sleep habits.
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I know people who played against Jordan in college, and fared well against him. Two that I can speak of, Jerry Reynolds who played at LSU before Shaq, put 35 on a UNC led by Jordan, Kenny Smith and Sam Perkins. Another friend who transitioned a few years ago, Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, told me about the Olympic trials years later. I was a kid, but I distinctly remember him stating that Jordan was special, and he knew it when he saw it. Pearl knew that he would not make that Olympic team, because Bobby Knight was the coach, and that Steve Alford was guaranteed the point guard slot, so that tryout was simply to improve your draft status. Another dude from BK, Lorenzo Charles, tried out for that Olympic team, and he tried to decapitate Charles Barkley for talking too much while going to the hoop. I heard that from both Pearl and Lorenzo. Nobody liked Barkley, but everyone knew that Jordan was special. Bobby Knight would constantly press Jordan, curse him out even during tryouts. Len Bias and Kenny Smith didn't even want to try out, due to Knight's attitude and abuse.
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People don't know how good those Jazz teams were.
As a Laker fan I remember that series vividly. They beat Utah 3-1 in the season series that year. Won 61 games but finished second in the division due to losing the tiebreaker with a Sonics team they destroyed in the second round.
13 year old me thought that Lakers Bulls series was coming and actually thought the Lakers would have a chance lmao.
Then came 1 happened in Utah that Saturday where they got demolished and it was downhill from there. Looking back, that Laker team was loaded with talent, but lacked discipline and maturity. I was mad when they traded Van Exel and Eddie Jones at the time. But they made some good addition by subtraction moves leading up to Phil taking the job in 1999.
A good chunk of that team was broken up in the offseason and early in the lockout year next season.
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I heard Allen Iverson would party till 4 am and drop 30+ the next day during a noon game
Crazy that he could even function at all.
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That was going to be my next team after Jordan retired
Then they traded Van Exel for Danny Fortson 
trying to get a power forward. Then they win a championship with a 50 year old AC Green.Crazy that he played with Magic and won a championship with Shaq and Kobe.
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