Phil Jackson Said Kobe Is More "Skilled" Than Jordan

[Jordan23Forever]

In the NBA Finals, he most certainly has faced much better defenses. The best that Jordan faced was the Sonics in 96', and I think we can safely say that the Sonics were not in the same stratosphere as either the Pistons or Celtics.

I'd take issue with that. Here's what the '96 Sonics and the '08 Celtics held teams to in the playoffs:

2008 Celtics: 88.8 ppg/42.7% FG
1996 Sonics: 92.7 ppg/43.4% FG

Now, even taken alone, this shows that they are not "stratospheres" apart. However, Seattle faced more potent offensive teams during their playoff run than Boston did. Here are the team averages of their respective opponents during the regular seasons in question:

2008 Celtics' Opponents: 100.1 ppg/45.7% FG
1996 Sonics' Opponents: 102.4 ppg/47.2% FG

Now, with this in mind, when we look at how far below their averages Seattle/Boston held teams to during their respective playoff runs, this is what we get:

2008 Celtics: -11.2 ppg/-3.0% FG
1996 Sonics: -9.7 ppg/-3.8% FG

The Celtics were a little better at keeping scores down, and Seattle was a little better at making teams shoot poorly. In addition, both teams did a sterling defensive job on the best offensive teams in the league (Lakers/Bulls) and the best offensive players in the league (Kobe/Jordan).

There are no "stratospheres" here, semi-sentient.

[semi-sentient]

Fair enough, but it's still safe to say that all things considered Kobe held his own against a team that was completely focused on shutting him down. I think my point was that if Kobe gets knocked for "stinking it up" against the Celtics, then the same should be said of Jordan. I realize that the Bulls won and the Lakers didn't, but at the end of the day the big difference is teammates.

Both players had very comparable averages across the board, with the big difference being that the Bulls, as a team, had a much better defense than the Lakers (they were ranked #1 that year). Now perhaps I'm wrong here, but didn't the Sonics pretty much play Jordan straight up in that series using Payton as the primary defender?

[Jordan23Forever]

Fair enough, but it's still safe to say that all things considered Kobe held his own against a team that was completely focused on shutting him down. I think my point was that if Kobe gets knocked for "stinking it up" against the Celtics, then the same should be said of Jordan.

Like I said earlier, there are quantitative and qualitative differences between the series Kobe and Jordan had. But that is not germane to this topic. Looking at it just in terms of FG% is superficial and glosses over several important distinctions.

Now perhaps I'm wrong here, but didn't the Sonics pretty much play Jordan straight up in that series using Payton as the primary defender?

Yes, you're wrong. Jordan was aggressively doubled and trapped the entire series both in the post and on the wings, and Seattle was notorious for using masked zones. The defense was also much more physical. I'd advise you to watch the series again (and I'm not trying to be a wise guy with that comment).

[MAQ]

hey J23F...do you have any of the finals series posted on the web...i know you have a large collection of bulls games from jordan's career...i was wondering is there anyone i could see them or something?

while i remember all the way back to the emphamis "shoulder shrug" series against portland i was just a young tot (i have no memory whatsoever of the first championship other than the riots on the news) and dont remember it vividly nor did i understand exactly what was happening the way i do now when i watch bball so i'd love to go over and see some old jordan games all the way through

in fact...i'd like to compare the 93 team and the 94 team to see just different it was if at all

[Jordan23Forever]

hey J23F...do you have any of the finals series posted on the web...i know you have a large collection of bulls games from jordan's career...i was wondering is there anyone i could see them or something?

Unfortunately, converting my game DVDs to youtube videos is an extremely labor-intensive process for many reasons, so I don't have any full games up (nor do I plan to). The games I have on VHS (most of my '96-'98 games) also can't be converted (well, I'm sure they can be, but it'd be cumbersome). There are tons of Jordan games up on youtube, however, so do a search and see what you come up with. Sorry dude; wish I could help..

[klvanzu]

Kobe may have slightly better skill but no one matches MJ's competitiveness, drive, and heart. There's only a few that match up to Jordan's basketball IQ as well (Bird, Magic, and a couple others).

[MAQ]

hey J23F...do you have any of the finals series posted on the web...i know you have a large collection of bulls games from jordan's career...i was wondering is there anyone i could see them or something?

Unfortunately, converting my game DVDs to youtube videos is an extremely labor-intensive process for many reasons, so I don't have any full games up (nor do I plan to). The games I have on VHS (most of my '96-'98 games) also can't be converted (well, I'm sure they can be, but it'd be cumbersome). There are tons of Jordan games up on youtube, however, so do a search and see what you come up with. Sorry dude; wish I could help..

ah, no worries...makes me think i should start recording some lebron games here...that set you have has got to be worth some money...

do you have any tapes from the 94 team that you watch too? if so, just hwo different did the team look without jordan?

[Jordan23Forever]

ah, no worries...makes me think i should start recording some lebron games here...that set you have has got to be worth some money...

do you have any tapes from the 94 team that you watch too? if so, just hwo different did the team look without jordan?

Nope, no games from '94. I'm a Jordan fan, not a Bulls fan. All of the games pre-retirement that I have I purchased. When Jordan returned from baseball I started to tape whatever games were on (TNT/TBS/NBC and later League Pass -- I think I had LP the first year it was available, which was 1997).