Steph Curry: "2017 Warriors would win in 6 against the 96 Bulls"

[toodles23]

Warriors would constantly be in foul trouble with Jordan and Pippen constantly driving. Bulls in 5.

Jordan wasn't driving a whole lot by that point in his career. If they weren't constantly in foul trouble against Lebron there is zero reason to think it would be a problem against second 3peat Jordan and Pippen.

This is easily the 2017 Warriors, who are by far the most talented team in NBA history. The only teams that maybe come close are some of the 80s Lakers and Celtics teams, but those teams would need to adjust significantly to have a chance against a team with modern 3 point shooting and defensive principles. The first 3peat Bulls were more talented teams than the second 3peat, and MJ and Pippen were younger and better, but their records were worse because the league in the late 90s was so watered down by expansion and a string of bad drafts.

You gain younger Jordan and Pippen, but lose Rodman and Harper. That is NOT a trade you want to make for this particular series.

Rodman and Harper would be major, major offensive liabilities and with modern rules the Warriors would be free to ignore them like they did with Tony Allen. I'd take Horace Grant's rim protection over Rodman's man defense and rebounding anyway.

[2klegend]

The X factor is Rodman. He feeds on hot head player like Draymond. If playing with 90s Rules physicality favor the Bulls. Also Bull 4 head switchable monsters Harper Kordan Pup Rodman with Kukoc at center is a dead lineup for Warriors to counter.

[OkcSinceSGA]

Jordan wasn't driving a whole lot by that point in his career. If they weren't constantly in foul trouble against Lebron there is zero reason to think it would be a problem against second 3peat Jordan and Pippen.

This is easily the 2017 Warriors, who are by far the most talented team in NBA history. The only teams that maybe come close are some of the 80s Lakers and Celtics teams, but those teams would need to adjust significantly to have a chance against a team with modern 3 point shooting and defensive principles. The first 3peat Bulls were more talented teams than the second 3peat, and MJ and Pippen were younger and better, but their records were worse because the league in the late 90s was so watered down by expansion and a string of bad drafts.

You gain younger Jordan and Pippen, but lose Rodman and Harper. That is NOT a trade you want to make for this particular series.

Rodman and Harper would be major, major offensive liabilities and with modern rules the Warriors would be free to ignore them like they did with Tony Allen. I'd take Horace Grant's rim protection over Rodman's man defense and rebounding anyway.

I care more about switching onto 3 point line, getting through screens. Grant gets crushed vs Warriors. You have to pick your poison. This is a chess match of defenders vs shooters mostly. Trying to beat the Warriors at their own game and trading 3s isn’t the answer. Bulls need to get stops, control the glass and get to the FT line a lot.

[Jcity08]

Yeah I can agree that the 2017 Warriors would win, you cant win if you are trading your 2s agaibst their 3s. They have more affordance where you dont period.

But Jordan is a competitor, and if they were given the time to adjust, they'd be able to put up a fight. The conditions and idea of what is good basketball has changed, whats a good shot, true back to the basket dominant bigs were the gold standard through much of those older eras, loading the paint was common, 3 point specialists usually didnt play as large a role as they do now.

But Steph aint wrong though. I see that now.

[draftnightsuit]

Yes. Jordan and Pippen offer great perimeter defense, but Curry/KD/Klay is just too much fire power. On the other hand, KD/Klay/Iggy/Livingston is a great rotation to throw at Jordan. GSW in 5 or 6. Honestly I think the 01 Lakers stand a better shot because of the way Shaq would wreck them and foul people out.

The ‘01 Lakers are the only team that would stand a chance against the ‘17 Warriors. It would probably look similar to the 2002 WCF against the Kings.

[jerok]

If both teams played their games, it doesn't matter the rules. No magical things like the bulls/warriors will adapt to play style garbage. etc etc.
I think GSW would would win in 5 or 6. Likely 5.

They'll be raining 3s and bulls wouldn't know how to stop them.
Pippen would have to guard KD full time.

MJ's absolutely cannot be stopped on Offense, even when warriors have 4 defenders to throw at him in Klay, KD, Dray and Shaun.
Since MJ can't rest on defense cause he and Harper will be chasing Steph or Klay around. Offensively he might take a dip.

I mean Pippen and Harper can chase Splash bros around, but MJ would have to guard KD, still can't rest.
As great as Rodman is, he never seen anything like KD, so he doubt he can guard him 100%, need someone quicker like Pippen or MJ.

[Freighttrain]

Curry had a pretty great interview in GQ where he talked about a lot of things, see video below. Asked upon, he mentioned Tony Allen and Avery Bradley were/are his toughest defenders. Another interesting one was whether the 2017 KD Warriors would win against the 73 Bulls. Obviously, he picked his own team as he should, but also called it in 6 which I thought was rather cocky but funny nonetheless. It's at the 0:53 mark. I'll add in a poll cause why not.

Watch on YouTube

Predicting a long series is cocky? Wouldn't it be cocky to say Warriors in 4? lol

Well, most people consider the '96 Bulls as one of, if not thé best team ever, so to say you'd double their wins in a playoff series sounds definitely superconfident to me.

[Jcity08]

If both teams played their games, it doesn't matter the rules. No magical things like the bulls/warriors will adapt to play style garbage. etc etc.
I think GSW would would win in 5 or 6. Likely 5.

They'll be raining 3s and bulls wouldn't know how to stop them.
Pippen would have to guard KD full time.

MJ's absolutely cannot be stopped on Offense, even when warriors have 4 defenders to throw at him in Klay, KD, Dray and Shaun.
Since MJ can't rest on defense cause he and Harper will be chasing Steph or Klay around. Offensively he might take a dip.

I mean Pippen and Harper can chase Splash bros around, but MJ would have to guard KD, still can't rest.
As great as Rodman is, he never seen anything like KD, so he doubt he can guard him 100%, need someone quicker like Pippen or MJ.

Adaptation isnt magical, it happens in real time. Look at how much threes teams take now. Its a copy cat league.

So its not at all out of bounds to think one of the greatest teams lead by one if the greatest competitors in basketball history wouldnt attempt to at least to adjust. Whether it be how they guard the perimeter, to their shot selection.

If we're just grabbing the 1996 Bulls from their era and the 2017 Warriors, and just say you have 7 games to compete without any pre-warning, the Bulls have no chance against the 5 out offense of the Warriors, especially since the Warriors would have the advantahe knowning everything about the Bulls, their plays, their defense, strengths, weakness...ect... and the Bulls have nothing to compare to the Warriors who are the best 3 point shooting team ever formed.

[KembaWalker]

Curious how people think it would affect it depending on the court they played on. 96 Bulls of course played with the shortened 3pt line. MJ was a 43% 3pt shooter from that line and even Scottie was decent. The bulls shot 40% as a team from 3

Would the Warriors be comfortable shooting from that line? I feel like they'd shoot a higher percentage but probably not as big of a gap as they'd have on the bulls from the standard line.

Would it be unfair to let the Bulls play their side with the shorter line and Warriors on the standard line? So both teams play to their comfort level and run their normal sets and spots? I dunno

[shoresy69]

The traveling question at 2:47 is 100% percent true, it feels like Curry is challenging the refs to call it on every inbound. LeBron does something similar. It's like when Magic would clearly palm the ball dribbling across halfcourt. I guess it doesn't actually affect the play but is annoying to watch.

Is your username a shoutout to the Letterkenny character?

God damn right!

[GeorgeMarcus]

The traveling question at 2:47 is 100% percent true, it feels like Curry is challenging the refs to call it on every inbound. LeBron does something similar. It's like when Magic would clearly palm the ball dribbling across halfcourt. I guess it doesn't actually affect the play but is annoying to watch.

Is your username a shoutout to the Letterkenny character?

God damn right!

I love it. Pitter patter my friend

[jerok]

If both teams played their games, it doesn't matter the rules. No magical things like the bulls/warriors will adapt to play style garbage. etc etc.
I think GSW would would win in 5 or 6. Likely 5.

They'll be raining 3s and bulls wouldn't know how to stop them.
Pippen would have to guard KD full time.

MJ's absolutely cannot be stopped on Offense, even when warriors have 4 defenders to throw at him in Klay, KD, Dray and Shaun.
Since MJ can't rest on defense cause he and Harper will be chasing Steph or Klay around. Offensively he might take a dip.

I mean Pippen and Harper can chase Splash bros around, but MJ would have to guard KD, still can't rest.
As great as Rodman is, he never seen anything like KD, so he doubt he can guard him 100%, need someone quicker like Pippen or MJ.

Adaptation isnt magical, it happens in real time. Look at how much threes teams take now. Its a copy cat league.

So its not at all out of bounds to think one of the greatest teams lead by one if the greatest competitors in basketball history wouldnt attempt to at least to adjust. Whether it be how they guard the perimeter, to their shot selection.

If we're just grabbing the 1996 Bulls from their era and the 2017 Warriors, and just say you have 7 games to compete without any pre-warning, the Bulls have no chance against the 5 out offense of the Warriors, especially since the Warriors would have the advantahe knowning everything about the Bulls, their plays, their defense, strengths, weakness...ect... and the Bulls have nothing to compare to the Warriors who are the best 3 point shooting team ever formed.

Even without knowing anything about the other team.
If both teams play the way they normally do and were put in a 7 game series.
GSW wins.

Bulls are only given 7 games (or Less) to adapt to something like the Curry/KD warriors.
Even for Pip and MJ, that is impossible for 7 game series. They never seen anything like these guys.
That's what I mean by no magic adaptations.
Reggie alone, took Bulls to a game 7. Warriors have 3 shooters better than Reggie, think about that.

[wickywack]

Whose rules do they play with? The game *and* the rules have changed over time.

Just for fun, I'd imagine a 7 game series. MLB style: home team gets their era's rules. So,

(1) I'll assume the 72-win 96 Bulls. If you are the Warriors, do you pick 2016, 73 wins, and home court advantage or 2017, 67 wins, and Durant?

(2) The 3pt line was shorter in 96 (other than the corner 3s). 96 Jordan actually had a better 3pt% than anybody on the 17 Warriors. And Kerr shot a ridiculous 51.5%. The Warriors would shoot even better from the shorter line of course, but the advantage might not be as much as you think.

(3) The Bulls should dominate the glass. Not just Rodman - they had plus rebounders across the board. Both teams scored about 115 points per 100 possessions. Yes, 3 > 2, but if the Bulls get many more attempts, that will offset.

(4) Hopefully, we'd see a lot of death-lineup vs death-lineup: Jordan-Harper-Pippen-Rodman-Kukoc (with Kerr off the bench) vs Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Durant-Green (with Livingston off the bench). I.e., bench the centers!

(5) Speaking of centers, can the Bulls retroactively keep BJ Armstrong (12th best - 3pt% of all-time - https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/fg3_pct_career.html) and leave Longley or Wennington for the expansion draft?

(6) Does Kerr get to coach and play at the same time?

Anyway, it'd be great fun to watch the contrast in styles.

[Jcity08]

If both teams played their games, it doesn't matter the rules. No magical things like the bulls/warriors will adapt to play style garbage. etc etc.
I think GSW would would win in 5 or 6. Likely 5.

They'll be raining 3s and bulls wouldn't know how to stop them.
Pippen would have to guard KD full time.

MJ's absolutely cannot be stopped on Offense, even when warriors have 4 defenders to throw at him in Klay, KD, Dray and Shaun.
Since MJ can't rest on defense cause he and Harper will be chasing Steph or Klay around. Offensively he might take a dip.

I mean Pippen and Harper can chase Splash bros around, but MJ would have to guard KD, still can't rest.
As great as Rodman is, he never seen anything like KD, so he doubt he can guard him 100%, need someone quicker like Pippen or MJ.

Adaptation isnt magical, it happens in real time. Look at how much threes teams take now. Its a copy cat league.

So its not at all out of bounds to think one of the greatest teams lead by one if the greatest competitors in basketball history wouldnt attempt to at least to adjust. Whether it be how they guard the perimeter, to their shot selection.

If we're just grabbing the 1996 Bulls from their era and the 2017 Warriors, and just say you have 7 games to compete without any pre-warning, the Bulls have no chance against the 5 out offense of the Warriors, especially since the Warriors would have the advantahe knowning everything about the Bulls, their plays, their defense, strengths, weakness...ect... and the Bulls have nothing to compare to the Warriors who are the best 3 point shooting team ever formed.

Even without knowing anything about the other team.
If both teams play the way they normally do and were put in a 7 game series.
GSW wins.

Bulls are only given 7 games (or Less) to adapt to something like the Curry/KD warriors.
Even for Pip and MJ, that is impossible for 7 game series. They never seen anything like these guys.
That's what I mean by no magic adaptations.
Reggie alone, took Bulls to a game 7. Warriors have 3 shooters better than Reggie, think about that.

In that case, yeah I fully agree, not enough time to adjust to 2 decades of basketball evolution in 7 games, against the greatest shooting team and probably the best constructed team of all time.

[pr0wler]

2017 Warriors are the most talented team of all-time, and the 96 Bulls are an all-time great talented team with great synergy, coaching, and system. Pretty tough call.

[jlokine]

are we playing by 90s rules or 2017 rules?

[Knightfall]

I don’t think the bulls have the personnel to be able to shoot a high volume of 3s at a decent percentage and I just don’t think you can be successful playing non optimal ball against a team playing to the analytics. You’re not winning 2s vs 3s against competent competitor.

I’ll take it a step further and say they wouldn’t stand a chance. They’d get pummelled by the 2017 cavs who shot like 30 3s a game too

When would the Warriors face a defensive trio of Jordan/Pippen/Rodman? If you think Curry/Klay/KD are doing what they normally do vs defenders like that, you’re insane. Hell Ron Harper can probably hold Klay down. Then you use Pippen as a roamer, primary KD defender.

You can talk about all these hypotheticals all you want but there doesn’t exist a collection of talent you can put out there that will beat the warriors if they’re not shooting and making 3s at a respectable rate. It just will not happen. You can’t win 2s vs 3s

2s are worth more then 0. With Rodman and and the Bulls rebounding I'll take those chances.

[Antinomy]

100%

The Warriors had 2x top-5 players and 2x top-20 players. The Bulls would be badly outclassed.

Bulls have the best player of all time though. MJ is equivalent in value to KD plus Steph. So it comes down to the rest of the roster which is close

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

This is why there’s no point in discussing anything with MJ nostalgia acts.

[og15]

2017 Warriors are blowing out any team from the past.

3s are better than twos.

Offensive efficiency is the name of the game, it isn't some simple three's > two's thing. It's easier to be more efficient taking spot up three's instead of spot up two's, but that is on average.

If a team shoots few three's but are as efficient on offense then it really doesn't matter.

The Bulls played with a shorter line in 95-96 that had them shooting 40% 3PT as a team and taking 16.5 3PA, so are we playing with a shorter line half the games somehow?

Warriors get to shoot from closer, easier shot, Draymond should be even better spouting up but interior spacing is tighter and Bulls have more experience with that. What kind of freedom of movement, level of hand checking enforcement, etc are we playing with?

The Bulls disadvantage would be more strategic than the 3PT difference. Warriors offense and defense is based on what the Bulls and many other teams after them have done. They have more data, while the Bulls without experience playing teams in this setting could have a plan of attack and defense, but that doesn't mean it will work, and they could get down before they figure it out. That's what a regular season does. If the Bulls went through a regular season then played them, totally different situation.

You can make up the difference in 3PT shooting with size, defense and offensive rebounding.

[HangTime]

are they using the shortened 3 point line, and no zone defense?