RealGM

Assume Scottie Pippen's back injury is healed.

Assume Joe Johnson's eye injury never happens.

Assume whatever rules you want.

Who wins a seven game series between the '98 Bulls and the '05 Suns?

Longley
Rodman
Pippen
Jordan
Harper

vs.

Stoudemire
Marion
Johnson
Richardson
Nash

Bulls would smoke these guys. You thought what the Spurs did to them was bad, Bulls would make it even worse.

The Bulls have ideal defenders to throw at Phoenix's big 4 (Rodman on Amare, Pippen on Marion, and Jordan/Harper on Johnson/Nash in some order). This series would go 6 games at most in a Bulls win. The Bulls were also the best team in the league at controlling the tempo of games.

Suns in 6 or 7

Bulls were older team and coming off 2 straight finals.

Suns are a horrible match up for them. Nash would run them out of the building.

05 suns were terrible. They lost in 5 to the spurs, being down 0-3 at one point. They were horrible defensively that year, a lot worse defensively than the 07 suns.

GAME TIME wrote:Suns in 6 or 7

Bulls were older team and coming off 2 straight finals.

Suns are a horrible match up for them. Nash would run them out of the building.

Has no barring on the matchup. 1998 Lakers were a team that ran up and down and lost in 4 straight to an old ass Jazz team as well and the 1998 Lakers are significantly better than the 2005 Suns.

JordansBulls wrote:

GAME TIME wrote:Suns in 6 or 7

Bulls were older team and coming off 2 straight finals.

Suns are a horrible match up for them. Nash would run them out of the building.

Has no barring on the matchup. 1998 Lakers were a team that ran up and down and lost in 4 straight to an old ass Jazz team as well and the 1998 Lakers are significantly better than the 2005 Suns.

This ain't 90s basketball. I'm looking at the game objectively. It's a bad match up for those bulls teams. Jordan would be gassed trying to keep up with those suns teams. Rodman wasn't a scorer. Pippen played with a broken back. Suns are much better than that Utah team

GAME TIME wrote:

JordansBulls wrote:

GAME TIME wrote:Suns in 6 or 7

Bulls were older team and coming off 2 straight finals.

Suns are a horrible match up for them. Nash would run them out of the building.

Has no barring on the matchup. 1998 Lakers were a team that ran up and down and lost in 4 straight to an old ass Jazz team as well and the 1998 Lakers are significantly better than the 2005 Suns.

This ain't 90s basketball. I'm looking at the game objectively. It's a bad match up for those bulls teams. Jordan would be gassed trying to keep up with those suns teams. Rodman wasn't a scorer. Pippen played with a broken back. Suns are much better than that Utah team

Suns are in no shape or form better than that Utah team who swept the Lakers who had 4 stars including a prime Shaq. That team was a run and gun team and they still got swept by an old team. The 2005 Suns have nothing on the Bulls.

Bulls would sweep.

This is a Bulls team that for some reason is considered one of the weaker ones, but even with Pippen missing half of the year, Rodman spacing out, and MJ battling injuries while holding things together, still managed to be tied for the best record in the league (Jazz had the tie-breaker, giving them home court advantage in the Finals) and win it all.

And you're comparing them to a team that couldn't win?

GAME TIME wrote:Suns in 6 or 7

Bulls were older team and coming off 2 straight finals.

Suns are a horrible match up for them. Nash would run them out of the building.

Sad thing is, you're serious.

GAME TIME wrote:

JordansBulls wrote:

GAME TIME wrote:Suns in 6 or 7

Bulls were older team and coming off 2 straight finals.

Suns are a horrible match up for them. Nash would run them out of the building.

Has no barring on the matchup. 1998 Lakers were a team that ran up and down and lost in 4 straight to an old ass Jazz team as well and the 1998 Lakers are significantly better than the 2005 Suns.

This ain't 90s basketball. I'm looking at the game objectively. It's a bad match up for those bulls teams. Jordan would be gassed trying to keep up with those suns teams. Rodman wasn't a scorer. Pippen played with a broken back. Suns are much better than that Utah team

Seriously?

Seriously, the Bulls would win in 5 and Jordan would average 40ppg again

I'm not sure... That 05 Suns team was really good. Joe Johnson doesn't go down, who knows? Of course the main weakness of the 98 Bulls was Pippen's injury and Rodman's regression. That was not a very talented team. And the matchup would be a nightmare for the Bulls. However I think the Bulls would win cause they're winners. Though I will say the 98 Bulls are one of the least talented championship teams I've seen. Jordan held that team together with duct tape.

JordansBulls wrote:Suns are in no shape or form better than that Utah team who swept the Lakers who had 4 stars including a prime Shaq.

Seriously?
Eddie Jones, Van Exel and 19 YO Kobe?

KyletheDingbat wrote:I'm not sure... That 05 Suns team was really good. Joe Johnson doesn't go down, who knows? Of course the main weakness of the 98 Bulls was Pippen's injury and Rodman's regression. That was not a very talented team. And the matchup would be a nightmare for the Bulls. However I think the Bulls would win cause they're winners. Though I will say the 98 Bulls are one of the least talented championship teams I've seen. Jordan held that team together with duct tape.

Even with injuries, the Bulls would work the Suns over. They still won 64 games in a tougher era. Played tougher defense than the Spurs team that Phoenix could never get past. And had MJ. Plus, OP said Pippen is not injured in this scenario.

The only post-90s teams I can see giving the 90s Bulls a challenge are the 2000s Lakers and Spurs. All other teams since then would get steamrolled by MJ's Bulls.

i think it would be pretty close. the jazz almost beat the bulls in the finals and the suns were a better team than that (both had the 17th ranked defense but the suns had a better offense + had better SRS).

idk why people think the bulls would crush them, the bulls that year really dont have an answer for the suns offense. also seems like people are really underrating the 05 spurs, they had the #1 defense that year and were really good.

sportjames23 wrote:Bulls would sweep.

This is a Bulls team that for some reason is considered one of the weaker ones, but even with Pippen missing half of the year, Rodman spacing out, and MJ battling injuries while holding things together, still managed to be tied for the best record in the league (Jazz had the tie-breaker, giving them home court advantage in the Finals) and win it all.

And you're comparing them to a team that couldn't win?

haha there is zero chance the bulls sweep. where are you guys getting this from? the freaking hornets took a game off the bulls that year in the playoffs yet the suns would get swept? thats amazing logic.

The bulls couldn't keep up with this suns offense

Doormatt wrote:i think it would be pretty close. the jazz almost beat the bulls in the finals and the suns were a better team than that (both had the 17th ranked defense but the suns had a better offense + had better SRS).

Oh they both had the same rank D....

You forgot to mention they both ranked 1st on offense too.

idk why people think the bulls would crush them, the bulls that year really dont have an answer for the suns offense. also seems like people are really underrating the 05 spurs, they had the #1 defense that year and were really good.

The Bulls wouldn't let Amare run wild for almost 40 a game like Timmy did.

Shot Clock wrote:Oh they both had the same rank D....

You forgot to mention they both ranked 1st on offense too.

and the suns stilll had a better offense + SRS so what is your point exactly?

just for reference to see how good the suns offense actually is:



so yeah the suns were an amazingly good offense and nash was FAR FAR better than stockton and probably better than malone as well. i really dont see how the bulls are going to slow him down.

The Bulls wouldn't let Amare run wild for almost 40 a game like Timmy did.

haha good one. so youre telling me the bulls would play better defense, even though there defense was inferior. and youre also telling me that 36 year old rodman and luc longley would do a better job defensively than prime duncan? id really like to hear how thats going to happen.