Any team in history you'd bet against the 2017 Warriors in a 7-game series?

[Godymas]

2007 Spurs probably

[druggas]

I'll take the team that had Phil Jackson as coach.

[-Luke-]

I remember that while the Warriors run happened, some former players said "we would sweep them".

So basically everybody should win against the 2017 Warriors, right?

[og15]

The 2001 Lakers I feel like would have the best chance. Both in terms of match up problems on the offensive end and defensive problems caused by who the hell is guarding Shaq?


Kobe and Rick Fox, Brian Shaw, Ron Harper, Ty Lue...this team had some really good perimeter defenders. You swap out Hoarce Grant for Robert Horry in the starting line up for Match ups and I really like their chances.

Probably the best chance but Shaq would need to absolutely go off.

Yes the team did have good perimeter defenders for their era, but no one who had the skillset or experience to guard a modern pace and space offense.

Do they get a refresher course on strategy and also like a couple of weeks to practice, because realistically from a strategic standpoint, modern teams will almost always have an advantage since they already know what you did and how things have changed over time. They don't even have to be clearly better as a team, but because the older team would be playing catch-up, they could lose 4/7 games before they have adjusted strategy, rotations, etc.

Or do they get a modern coach?

[Taj FTW]

If I believed Ray Allen was better than Steph Curry, I’d agree with you.

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

You could just admit to a bad take. We’ve all had them.

Or, you can quadruple down on a bad take forever out of anonymous internet pride.

Your call.

It's deeper than that for him. That Warriors team beat LeBron, so bringing them down a peg means he is bringing LeBron down a peg. That's the only reason for the ridiculous list.

[SashimiLover]

‘96 Bulls are the team with the best defensive pedigree to guard 2017 perimeter players. Rodman at C completely negates GSW’s “death lineup”.

Rodman guards KD
Pippen guards Curry
MJ guards Klay

Maybe the Bulls could also let Ron Harper guard KD and let Rodman guard Draymond so Rodmand may secure more boards when KD, Curry, and Klay's jumpers fail to drop?

KD would still get his, Curry, Klay probably with worse shooting performance than usual, and Draymond probably exposed on the offensive end (unless he gets miraculoulsy hot behind 3-point line)...

[ConSarnit]

Probably the best chance but Shaq would need to absolutely go off.

Yes the team did have good perimeter defenders for their era, but no one who had the skillset or experience to guard a modern pace and space offense.

Is each team playing as they did at the time: the Lakers are playing 2001 style basketball and the Warriors are playing 2017 style basketball? If that's the case the Warriors win pretty easily.

2000-01 Lakers 3pt attempts (playoffs): 15.9fga, 38.6%

2016-17 Warriors 3pt attempts (playoffs): 32.9fga, 38.6%

LAL 2001 ppg: 103.4

GSW 2017 ppg: 119.3

No matter how much they gave the ball to Shaq they'd never be able to make up that scoring difference. That was also the last good Draymond shooting year: 4.6 3's per game @ 41% in the playoffs. How does Shaq guard that when he's never faced a barrage of perimeter shooting at anywhere near that level? The Lakers would get 3pt volumed to death.

In a game where 2 teams are taken in a time machine to a neutral location and are forced to play immediately almost no team is going to beat the Warriors because their 3pt shooting volume and efficiency is going to dwarf their opponent. Every team prior to 2010 would be at a huge disadvantage.

You realize these are in large part the result of pace and play style shift towards shooting more threes league wide right? The warriors average more points (as every team in 2017 did) because there are so many more possessions than in 2001. You can't just do a 1:1 comparison like that.

The 2001 Lakers have the personnel to increase their 3pt volume, and Shaq would fare very well against the lack of size. I dunno if they'd win but the 2001 lakers and 96 Bulls have the best chance of any team.

Someone mentioned the 2004 pistons, but nah. They simply wouldn't have the offensive firepower to keep up.

Kings/Lakers 2001 Playoff series:

Kings: 86.8 fga, 49% ts

The Kings took 44 fga from the paint (non-restricted area) + midrange, shooting 26% and 34% respectively

Warriors 2017 playoffs: 87 fga, 61% ts

The Warriors took 27 fga from the paint (non-restricted area) + midrange, shooting 45% from both areas

That's a difference of 17 possessions.

So where do those other possessions go? Well, the Warriors made 12.0 3's a game in 2017 (32 attempts per game @ 38%). The Kings made 4.5 against LAL in 2001 (on 14 attempts @ 32%). That is a huge swing in efficiency and scoring.

So the Kings managed to take the same amount of FGA (86.8 fga) against the Lakers in 2001 that GSW averaged during their 2017 playoff run (87 fga), they we just far worse at shooting and took much worse shots.

In regard to the Lakers being able to increase their 3 volume:

-has there ever been a team who has DOUBLED their 3pt volume from the regular season to the playoffs?
-they played Horace Grant 26 minutes per game and he took 3(!) three point attempts all season
-Kobe shot 32% from 3 that season
-4 of their top 6 guys were either bad (Kobe, Fox) or zeros (Shaq, Grant) from 3

None of this is the Lakers fault. If they had an entire season to plan they may have been able to scale up their 3pt shooting (unlikely given their core guys) but certainly not in a one-off series. Conversely, if the Warriors were in 2001 they wouldn't be shooting near as many 3's.

The Warriors play style would cause huge problems for any pre-2010 team who wasn't used to defending a barrage of highly efficient 3pt shooting.

[ConSarnit]

‘96 Bulls are the team with the best defensive pedigree to guard 2017 perimeter players. Rodman at C completely negates GSW’s “death lineup”.

Rodman guards KD
Pippen guards Curry
MJ guards Klay

Maybe the Bulls could also let Ron Harper guard KD and let Rodman guard Draymond so Rodmand may secure more boards when KD, Curry, and Klay's jumpers fail to drop?

KD would still get his, Curry, Klay probably with worse shooting performance than usual, and Draymond probably exposed on the offensive end (unless he gets miraculoulsy hot behind 3-point line)...

The problem is the 2017 Warriors are the best offensive (by a huge margin) and defensive team the Bulls would have ever played during their run. The Bulls have great personnel to guard the Warriors but they'd be (by far) the worst offensive team the Warriors would have played during their run.

The Bulls would have numerous guys that the Warriors would just not guard: Rodman, Longley (probably unplayable), Harper (from 3). They are also one of the better equipped teams to guard MJ with Iggy and Klay. 2017 was also Draymond's last good 3pt year. He shot 41% on 4 3pt fga in the playoffs.

The Bulls trading 2's for 3's with the Warriors would be a losing strategy. It's not a talent issue, it's a play style issue. Both Pippen and Kukoc were terrible offensively those playoffs.

[Warriors Analyst]

‘96 Bulls are the team with the best defensive pedigree to guard 2017 perimeter players. Rodman at C completely negates GSW’s “death lineup”.

Rodman guards KD
Pippen guards Curry
MJ guards Klay

Maybe the Bulls could also let Ron Harper guard KD and let Rodman guard Draymond so Rodmand may secure more boards when KD, Curry, and Klay's jumpers fail to drop?

KD would still get his, Curry, Klay probably with worse shooting performance than usual, and Draymond probably exposed on the offensive end (unless he gets miraculoulsy hot behind 3-point line)...

The problem is the 2017 Warriors are the best offensive (by a huge margin) and defensive team the Bulls would have ever played during their run. The Bulls have great personnel to guard the Warriors but they'd be (by far) the worst offensive team the Warriors would have played during their run.

The Bulls would have numerous guys that the Warriors would just not guard: Rodman, Longley (probably unplayable), Harper (from 3). They are also one of the better equipped teams to guard MJ with Iggy and Klay. 2017 was also Draymond's last good 3pt year. He shot 41% on 4 3pt fga in the playoffs.

The Bulls trading 2's for 3's with the Warriors would be a losing strategy. It's not a talent issue, it's a play style issue. Both Pippen and Kukoc were terrible offensively those playoffs.

I'd like to add to this: drop prime Klay, Iguodala, Livingston and Draymond into the era of hand-checking and that's quite the collection of long defenders to guard Jordan.

[ConSarnit]

Maybe the Bulls could also let Ron Harper guard KD and let Rodman guard Draymond so Rodmand may secure more boards when KD, Curry, and Klay's jumpers fail to drop?

KD would still get his, Curry, Klay probably with worse shooting performance than usual, and Draymond probably exposed on the offensive end (unless he gets miraculoulsy hot behind 3-point line)...

The problem is the 2017 Warriors are the best offensive (by a huge margin) and defensive team the Bulls would have ever played during their run. The Bulls have great personnel to guard the Warriors but they'd be (by far) the worst offensive team the Warriors would have played during their run.

The Bulls would have numerous guys that the Warriors would just not guard: Rodman, Longley (probably unplayable), Harper (from 3). They are also one of the better equipped teams to guard MJ with Iggy and Klay. 2017 was also Draymond's last good 3pt year. He shot 41% on 4 3pt fga in the playoffs.

The Bulls trading 2's for 3's with the Warriors would be a losing strategy. It's not a talent issue, it's a play style issue. Both Pippen and Kukoc were terrible offensively those playoffs.

I'd like to add to this: drop prime Klay, Iguodala, Livingston and Draymond into the era of hand-checking and that's quite the collection of long defenders to guard Jordan.

I see you didn't get the memo: hand-checking only helps players from that era. Strong, highly intelligent and athletic guys like Iggy, Draymond and Lebron would get absolutely no benefit from being able to hand-check as well. They would crumble in the face of such physical defense.

[Invictus88]

What era is the game being played in?

[ReddoverKobe]

Maybe the Bulls could also let Ron Harper guard KD and let Rodman guard Draymond so Rodmand may secure more boards when KD, Curry, and Klay's jumpers fail to drop?

KD would still get his, Curry, Klay probably with worse shooting performance than usual, and Draymond probably exposed on the offensive end (unless he gets miraculoulsy hot behind 3-point line)...

The problem is the 2017 Warriors are the best offensive (by a huge margin) and defensive team the Bulls would have ever played during their run. The Bulls have great personnel to guard the Warriors but they'd be (by far) the worst offensive team the Warriors would have played during their run.

The Bulls would have numerous guys that the Warriors would just not guard: Rodman, Longley (probably unplayable), Harper (from 3). They are also one of the better equipped teams to guard MJ with Iggy and Klay. 2017 was also Draymond's last good 3pt year. He shot 41% on 4 3pt fga in the playoffs.

The Bulls trading 2's for 3's with the Warriors would be a losing strategy. It's not a talent issue, it's a play style issue. Both Pippen and Kukoc were terrible offensively those playoffs.

I'd like to add to this: drop prime Klay, Iguodala, Livingston and Draymond into the era of hand-checking and that's quite the collection of long defenders to guard Jordan.

It would be far and away the best group of wing defenders Jordan would have went against since maybe the bad boy pistons.

[OdomFan]

A healthy 2017 Spurs team.

I mean they beat them twice in regular season, were getting blown out with Kawhi in the playoffs… but injuries happen and that was that.

One of the more interesting what ifs..

GS was down by 20 after the 1st half of game 1. Such a small sample size to speculate that SA would've gone onto win the series.

Same scenario with the Heat and Bulls in the 2011 ECF. Bulls swept season series and then won by 20 the first game of the series, then proceeded to lose 4 in row. Most thought the Bulls were going to advance after the game 1 blowout.

Maybe, but I think the Spurs would have had a great chance because they matched up well against that Golden Warriors roster. Definitely would have been able to get 1 or 2 wins on their home court with Leonard out there with them. Then it would come down to what the Warrioes do to adjust/respond. Shame we'll never find out.

[ReddoverKobe]

What era is the game being played in?

Go to youtube and look for some late 90's game. It might shock you and not in a good way

[Warriors Analyst]

The problem is the 2017 Warriors are the best offensive (by a huge margin) and defensive team the Bulls would have ever played during their run. The Bulls have great personnel to guard the Warriors but they'd be (by far) the worst offensive team the Warriors would have played during their run.

The Bulls would have numerous guys that the Warriors would just not guard: Rodman, Longley (probably unplayable), Harper (from 3). They are also one of the better equipped teams to guard MJ with Iggy and Klay. 2017 was also Draymond's last good 3pt year. He shot 41% on 4 3pt fga in the playoffs.

The Bulls trading 2's for 3's with the Warriors would be a losing strategy. It's not a talent issue, it's a play style issue. Both Pippen and Kukoc were terrible offensively those playoffs.

I'd like to add to this: drop prime Klay, Iguodala, Livingston and Draymond into the era of hand-checking and that's quite the collection of long defenders to guard Jordan.

It would be far and away the best group of wing defenders Jordan would have went against since maybe the bad boy pistons.

Yup. 3 Pippen-sized defenders plus Klay. Much bitter and longer group of defenders than Pistons too.

[Warriorfan]

2001 Lakers would be interesting

Shaq is more dominant then Dwight but wanted to post how Green did against athletic post C.

Warriors would do Hack a Shaq late game

https://www.landofbasketball.com/games_between/draymond_green_vs_dwight_howard.htm

[Memories]

The 2001 Lakers I feel like would have the best chance. Both in terms of match up problems on the offensive end and defensive problems caused by who the hell is guarding Shaq?


Kobe and Rick Fox, Brian Shaw, Ron Harper, Ty Lue...this team had some really good perimeter defenders. You swap out Hoarce Grant for Robert Horry in the starting line up for Match ups and I really like their chances.

Probably the best chance but Shaq would need to absolutely go off.

Yes the team did have good perimeter defenders for their era, but no one who had the skillset or experience to guard a modern pace and space offense.

We’re talking different rule sets though. Try that same team in this era with more physically allowed (Shaq would be called for many flagrants for his bully post offense alone) and you will likely see different results.

So to me, this question should be based within the same/similar era of basketball. It’s hard, if not nearly impossible to make good judgements based on different rule sets and physically allowed.

[Memories]

2001 Lakers would be interesting

Shaq is more dominant then Dwight but wanted to post how Green did against athletic post C.

Warriors would do Hack a Shaq late game

https://www.landofbasketball.com/games_between/draymond_green_vs_dwight_howard.htm

You do that and you create foul trouble for the majority of Warriors players, as well as putting the Lakers in a prime position to do whatever they want on offense with the Warriors being over the limit early.

Don’t forget, it’s not just Shaq either. The team can kill you on threes of their own when left open. Horry and Fisher especially for their clutch game, Rick Fox, etc. And of course, Kobe going silent assassin in a game like that where team will be so focused on Shaq, that before you can even blink, Kobe is already dropping 30 points without breaking much of a sweat.

Even when Shaq is on the bench, especially in late game like say, fouling out. Even younger Kobe does this:

Watch on YouTube

[Profound23]

1972-73 76ers

[BoatsNZones]

Of course they could/would lose some series (there are a lot of amazing teams in NBA history), but they would be the betting favorite against every team. '01 Lakers and probably '97 Bulls would be the closest odds wise.