NBA season 2019/20
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You still need some sort of supporting cast and role players to win the title, or even make the playoffs. MJ averaged 30+ in the mid-80s but the Bulls were shit. It wasn't until Pippen started to contribute and Jackson arrived that they took that final leap.
One thing is certain is that LBJ has never had a coach as good as Phil Jackson.
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Yeah what the last few posters said. The teams MJ had to beat in the finals were more than handy, and those he lost to previously were some of the greatest. Larry Bird said the Celtics team which MJ almost beat single-handedly, was the best they'd had, and considering how prolific they had been that's saying something. The Lakers, Celtics and Pistons teams of the late 80s were outstanding.
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I'd say the only fairly ordinary teams MJ beat in the finals were the Blazers and the Supersonics. Two titles came against the outstanding Malone and Stockton Jazz, and he also had to beat Magic and the Lakers and the Barkley-led Suns who also featured KJ, Dan Majerle and Tom Chambers.
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@shark I wouldn't call that Sonics team ordinary. They were a very good defensive team who kept MJ below his season/playoff average in the finals. I remember watching it and games 2 and 3 swung the series. Rodman went crazy on the boards.
The Lakers team was in decline by 1991. I got Sky TV to watch the NBA that year.
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@shark said in NBA season 2019/20:
@Hooroo There was a brief clip in Ep 1 showing the winning shots in the Bulls' first three-peat. When I watched the shot against the Suns it was like I went back in time 27 years and my stomach almost churned in the same way. I was back there. I was hopeful Barkley, KJ, Thunder Dan et al were good enough, and they had stayed in the series for sure, but I always knew a Jordan-lead Bulls team was never gonna lose. I'm sure they'll get into this later, but Barkley was either regarded as frontrunner or had already won the MVP that year and MJ had a point to prove.
One of my favourite NBA Finals series. Suns were overall a better team in my view but the Bulls had the two best players in that series.
Richard Dumas is one of my favourite Suns players of all time. Amazing athlete.
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@shark said in NBA season 2019/20:
I'd say the only fairly ordinary teams MJ beat in the finals were the Blazers and the Supersonics. Two titles came against the outstanding Malone and Stockton Jazz, and he also had to beat Magic and the Lakers and the Barkley-led Suns who also featured KJ, Dan Majerle and Tom Chambers.
Blazers aye?? They had 6 players that averaged double figures. They were a deeper team than the Bulls.
They lacked someone that had that ‘edge’ or killer instinct, but in terms of talent they were a damn good side.
The thing with the West at that time was that it was officially the end of the Magic Lakers dominant era and so it was transitioning to other sides who had been used to being beat by LA.
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@ACT-Crusader said in NBA season 2019/20:
@shark said in NBA season 2019/20:
I'd say the only fairly ordinary teams MJ beat in the finals were the Blazers and the Supersonics. Two titles came against the outstanding Malone and Stockton Jazz, and he also had to beat Magic and the Lakers and the Barkley-led Suns who also featured KJ, Dan Majerle and Tom Chambers.
Blazers aye?? They had 6 players that averaged double figures. They were a deeper team than the Bulls.
They lacked someone that had that ‘edge’ or killer instinct, but in terms of talent they were a damn good side.
The thing with the West at that time was that it was officially the end of the Magic Lakers dominant era and so it was transitioning to other sides who had been used to being beat by LA.
The 1992 Portland starters were Drexler · K. Duckworth · J. Kersey · T. Porter · B. Williams. Pretty strong
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@canefan said in NBA season 2019/20:
@ACT-Crusader said in NBA season 2019/20:
@shark said in NBA season 2019/20:
I'd say the only fairly ordinary teams MJ beat in the finals were the Blazers and the Supersonics. Two titles came against the outstanding Malone and Stockton Jazz, and he also had to beat Magic and the Lakers and the Barkley-led Suns who also featured KJ, Dan Majerle and Tom Chambers.
Blazers aye?? They had 6 players that averaged double figures. They were a deeper team than the Bulls.
They lacked someone that had that ‘edge’ or killer instinct, but in terms of talent they were a damn good side.
The thing with the West at that time was that it was officially the end of the Magic Lakers dominant era and so it was transitioning to other sides who had been used to being beat by LA.
The 1992 Portland starters were Drexler · K. Duckworth · J. Kersey · T. Porter · B. Williams. Pretty strong
And Cliff Robinson off the bench. A man that could put 50 on ya.
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@Bovidae said in NBA season 2019/20:
@canefan And my favourite player at that time, the Big Smooth. Also McMillan and Hawkins.
I was cheering for Seattle.
Still remember that Game 6 when Big Smooth couldn’t hit the side of a barn door. Cold as ice.
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@ACT-Crusader None of that elevates them above ordinary.
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Anyway, the actual point I was making was that MJ had to beat some good teams. The cases being made for the Blazers and Sonics only speaks to that further. So I think it's more than fair to say MJ had his work cut out and that the 90s NBA wasn't weak compared to LeBron's era.
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@ACT-Crusader Dumas would have been a superstar had he not fucked his shit up.
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@shark said in NBA season 2019/20:
Anyway, the actual point I was making was that MJ had to beat some good teams. The cases being made for the Blazers and Sonics only speaks to that further. So I think it's more than fair to say MJ had his work cut out and that the 90s NBA wasn't weak compared to LeBron's era.
I was more talking about the level of effort during the season. My theory is the overall level of talent was lower with the NBA being less international and having 7 expansion teams in the 90s.
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@TeWaio said in NBA season 2019/20:
@shark said in NBA season 2019/20:
Anyway, the actual point I was making was that MJ had to beat some good teams. The cases being made for the Blazers and Sonics only speaks to that further. So I think it's more than fair to say MJ had his work cut out and that the 90s NBA wasn't weak compared to LeBron's era.
I was more talking about the level of effort during the season. My theory is the overall level of talent was lower with the NBA being less international and having 7 expansion teams in the 90s.
It's definitely a good point that overall the NBA is probably deeper due to the quality of the international talent, but only minimally. Drazen Petrovic and Detlef Schrempf were quality players in the 90s. I think what clouds the picture is guys who are essentially American aligning with other countries. There is a huge amount of current talent who fall into that bracket and this makes it appear there is more foreign talent.
