How the hell did the 93-94 Bulls manage to go 55-27 after losing MJ?

[zimpy27]

That doesn't make sense at all.

You word it like Pippen was the driving force behind the success.

Celtics without Tatum is more applicable(even though Tatum/Brown are closer than Jordan/Pippen).

I don't think Celtics without Tatum is as good as Bulls without Jordan.

Yeah but you said Brown originally, not Tatum.

Exactly... Celtics without Brown was like Bulls without Jordan.

What is confusing here?

[Bornstellar]

Because they were an all time great team. But MJ is the difference between being a good playoff team and an all time level champion

[Iwasawitness]

I don't think Celtics without Tatum is as good as Bulls without Jordan.

Yeah but you said Brown originally, not Tatum.

Exactly... Celtics without Brown was like Bulls without Jordan.

What is confusing here?

Oh… I need to stop reading posts at one in the morning.

[Iwasawitness]

Why did they go 85-12 with Jordan’s return from 96-98 after barely being .500?

To answer the thread, there point differential wasn’t as good as their record. They definitely overperformed. It was a great season, unlike the next season. One of the Bulls also stated that there was “residual effect” from the prior season, but I forgot if it was BJ or who.

Because Jordan wasn’t the only player they got after 95… why are you leaving him out?

[dhsilv2]

It's incredible what that team did. In 92-93 they went 57-25 and won the chip. MJ retires to play baseball, and they go 55-27 next season. Should have beaten the Knicks and contended for a title too IMO.

They made some minor changes. Tony Kukoc being the biggest. They added Luc Longley, but he was only a 7 pt and 5 reb guy that season.

Was Kukoc THAT good and just generally underrated? It's crazy how a team can lose a GOAT in his prime and still only lose 2 fewer games the next season.

1. 93 bulls under preformed in terms of wins and losses.
2. The 94 bulls over preformed in terms of wins and losses.

The above was a net difference of about 6 games. In other words the 93 teams was about 6 games better than the 94 team in terms of SRS...so looking at things like point differentials.

Given the quality of those teams...that's pretty reasonable.

3. Pippen played like a defensive god that year. It was the single best non big man defensive season possibly in NBA history.

[OdomFan]

People always like to gloss over the fact that Michael was a loser before Pippen showed him how to win.
.

So dumb

They also like to ignore that Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen joined the Bulls from the 87 draft at the same time. Pippen being traded for, and Grant drafted. Pippen didn't just come in and single handled turn that Bulls squad into a leader.

They also ignore that the Bulls went through 3 coaching changes from 85-87. A new coach back to back until Doug Collins was the one that stuck around after Pippens rookie season. Lasting 3 seasons himself with the squad before Phil Jackson took over. They just want to act like Pippen saved the day and that the team improving was a bad thing.

[dhsilv2]

A Bulls fan asks this question? Aren’t you supposed to tell us?

Fans aren't really very good at objective help. You know given "Fan" is short for "fanatic" which more or less says you're irrational on the topic.

[TheGeneral99]

Also remember Bulls were 34-31 in the 1994-1995 season without Jordan before he returned. They finished 13-4 with Jordan for the remainder of the season.

[Karate Diop]

People always like to gloss over the fact that Michael was a loser before Pippen showed him how to win.
.

So dumb

They also like to ignore that Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen joined the Bulls from the 87 draft at the same time. Pippen being traded for, and Grant drafted. Pippen didn't just come in and single handled turn that Bulls squad into a leader.

They also ignore that the Bulls went through 3 coaching changes from 85-87. A new coach back to back until Doug Collins was the one that stuck around after Pippens rookie season. Lasting 3 seasons himself with the squad before Phil Jackson took over. They just want to act like Pippen saved the day and that the team improving was a bad thing.

Pippen teaching Jordan that he can't be a coach killer and that continuity matters shouldn't be used to prop Jordan up...

[Kobe187]

Krause thought he could win a championship without Jordan They just had a 3-peat and had Kukoc ready to take a bigger role, Had Pippen & Horace and their role players from the 3-peat and a great coach in Phil Jackson, but in the playoffs you obviously can’t win without MJ. The Bulls came down to earth and everyone realized MJ was the Bulls.

In 95 the Bulls headed towards missing the playoffs but got a major boost with MJ coming back and won 24 of their final 34 games, and finished the season with a 47–35 record. In 96 the Bulls had a record of 72-10 winning the 1st Championship of their 2nd 3-peat.

[ImSlower]

Hes not a bulls fan, this is just an angle shot at MJ as usual from this guy.

This poster is one of the precise reasons for the GOAT thread. His entire schtick is "I'm a Bulls fan but MJ was overrated!" over and over since his first log-in. This thread is yet another he's created for this weird agenda regarding the singular most over-discussed and uninteresting debate for a decade.

[70sFan]

Because Jordan played on great teams? You don't win 6 titles without great teams, it's quite simple.

[ScrantonBulls]

Hes not a bulls fan, this is just an angle shot at MJ as usual from this guy.

This poster is one of the precise reasons for the GOAT thread. His entire schtick is "I'm a Bulls fan but MJ was overrated!" over and over since his first log-in. This thread is yet another he's created for this weird agenda regarding the singular most over-discussed and uninteresting debate for a decade.

I'm a diehard Bulls fan. I've made multiple threads in the Bulls forum that a non-Bulls fan wouldn't make. Being a fan of a Jerry Reinsdorf owned team is the worst curse in sports fandom. I want nothing more than the Bulls to fire AKME and commit to a proper tank, but we know that won't happen.

[The4thHorseman]

Krause thought he could win a championship without Jordan They just had a 3-peat and had Kukoc ready to take a bigger role, Had Pippen & Horace and their role players from the 3-peat and a great coach in Phil Jackson, but in the playoffs you obviously can’t win without MJ. The Bulls came down to earth and everyone realized MJ was the Bulls.

In 95 the Bulls headed towards missing the playoffs but got a major boost with MJ coming back and won 24 of their final 34 games, and finished the season with a 47–35 record. In 96 the Bulls had a record of 72-10 winning the 1st Championship of their 2nd 3-peat.

Jordan came back in 95 with 17gms left in the season. The Bulls only ended up needing to win 3 of those 17gms to qualify for the playoffs. Safe to say they would have even if MLB hadn't gone on strike and MJ had no choice but return to the NBA.

[Capn'O]

They were still a tough team but no longer a great team. Like the Fratello Cavs but with more talent. BJ Armstrong also had a really nice couple of seasons.

The next year, prior to MJ's return, showed the proper regression.

Also, apropos of nothing, it's a little odd that Ron Harper didn't have more of a prominent role in '95 before MJ came back seeing as they had lost Horace Grant and needed somebody else to score. Just the previous season he was a 20 ppg scorer and he goes down to 7 ppg? Maybe they knew MJ was coming back. Harper was the OG Iguodala in the extent that he sacrificed his game to win.

[ImSlower]

Hes not a bulls fan, this is just an angle shot at MJ as usual from this guy.

This poster is one of the precise reasons for the GOAT thread. His entire schtick is "I'm a Bulls fan but MJ was overrated!" over and over since his first log-in. This thread is yet another he's created for this weird agenda regarding the singular most over-discussed and uninteresting debate for a decade.

I'm a diehard Bulls fan. I've made multiple threads in the Bulls forum that a non-Bulls fan wouldn't make. Being a fan of a Jerry Reinsdorf owned team is the worst curse in sports fandom. I want nothing more than the Bulls to fire AKME and commit to a proper tank, but we know that won't happen.

I agree with you! Whole-heartedly! Our once-proud Bulls forum has lost 90% of its activity and analysis because Reinsdorf clearly doesn't give a turd as long as his trust funds grow. I just don't get the relentless fascination with Jordan vs LeBron, which interests you far more than our pathetically irrelevant franchise. To each his own. I just wish literally every tired Jordan thread just stayed in that mega thread that I've happily never clicked on. Sorry for intruding, I'm glad several posters have answered your query. Snake3 nailed it in far fewer words than my inane, overly verbose self can. Go Bulls.

Phil Jackson was a great coach.

Pippen was a great player.

Triangle was great system.

Bulls role players stepped up.

[AmusingFiddle]

Here is the Roster after Jordan. Most were still within their prime. When you add continuity/familiarity with teammates/offense, it translates to success on the floor. I wonder if the East had weaker teams during that year.

Some players on the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan's time with the team include:

Scottie Pippen: A perennial All-Star and one of the greatest defenders of all time.
Horace Grant: A key component for three championship Bulls teams,
Toni Kukoč: A Croatian player who specialized in clutch situations.
Steve Kerr: A sharp-shooting point guard.
Dennis Rodman: A rebound ace.

[G35]

Phil Jackson was a great coach.

Pippen was a great player.

Triangle was great system.

Bulls role players stepped up.

Some Bulls players were motivated to prove they were more than just Jordanettes - Armstrong, Pippen, Grant

Kukoc was a really good fit for the triangle and gave the Bulls a scoring option with Jordan gone

Phil knew how to manage that group of players.

This is one of the best overachieving teams in memory and they might have gone to the finals if not for that call against the Knicks.....

[TheGeneral99]

Here is the Roster after Jordan. Most were still within their prime. When you add continuity/familiarity with teammates/offense, it translates to success on the floor. I wonder if the East had weaker teams during that year.

Some players on the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan's time with the team include:

Scottie Pippen: A perennial All-Star and one of the greatest defenders of all time.
Horace Grant: A key component for three championship Bulls teams,
Toni Kukoč: A Croatian player who specialized in clutch situations.
Steve Kerr: A sharp-shooting point guard.
Dennis Rodman: A rebound ace.

Rodman wasn't on the team yet.

But BJ Armstrong was a very nice player on that squad.

[Rust_Cohle]

Hes not a bulls fan, this is just an angle shot at MJ as usual from this guy.

This poster is one of the precise reasons for the GOAT thread. His entire schtick is "I'm a Bulls fan but MJ was overrated!" over and over since his first log-in. This thread is yet another he's created for this weird agenda regarding the singular most over-discussed and uninteresting debate for a decade.

I don't get why he isn't banned, it's trolling at this point under multiple usernames