Jordan and T-mac

[ronnymac2]

Alright, say, instead of scottie pippen, mj's sidekick was t-mac. Take t-mac's first season being really good (the version of t-mac that was in his first year with orlando), and put that version on the 1990-1991 chicago bulls (he'd be replacing scottie pippen). Say what you think the results are for the bulls up through the 1998 season. Assume mcgrady is injury-free through all the seasons. And assume mj takes his 2 year hiatus.

Are the bulls as good? Do they win 6 titles? What do they do while mj is gone?

[Jordan23Forever]

Same results if Jordan still retires after '93, and the '94 Bulls with TMac at the helm would have done slightly better than they did with Pippen there.

[Baller 24]

Same results if Jordan still retires after '93, and the '94 Bulls with TMac at the helm would have done slightly better than they did with Pippen there.

[War3player]

McGrady brings the same skill set that Pippen does with a bit more offense and a bit less defense; though if McGrady played along side MJ he wouldn't need to spend as much energy on offense and thus play better defense.

[Joseph17]

I'm not sure if they would win 6 titles. Even though prime T-Mac is more talented than prime Pippen, he wouldn't complement MJ half as good as Pippen did. T-Mac's best quality is his scoring ability. I can't picture him accepting the role of Jordan's sidekick the way Pippen did. The only current player that would be as good of a sidekick as Pippen is prime Garnett.

[War3player]

I'm not sure if they would win 6 titles. Even though prime T-Mac is more talented than prime Pippen, he wouldn't complement MJ half as good as Pippen did. T-Mac's best quality is his scoring ability. I can't picture him accepting the role of Jordan's sidekick the way Pippen did. The only current player that would be as good of a sidekick as Pippen is prime Garnett.

That's crazy talk - McGrady's ability as a passer and play making is what makes him such a good offensive player. You also forget that McGrady went to Orlando to play along side Grant Hill who was supposedly the heir apparent to Jordan.

In the past McGrady has made plays for the likes of Andrew Declerq, Deshawn Stevenson, Gordon Giricek, Jacque Vaughn, Ryan Bowen, Rafer Alston, Shane Battier, Yao Ming, etc. What makes you think he wouldn't want to make plays for Michael Jordan? It sure as heck is an easier assist than passing to those other players.

[Baller 24]

-= original quote snipped =-



That's crazy talk - McGrady's ability as a passer and play making is what makes him such a good offensive player. You also forget that McGrady went to Orlando to play along side Grant Hill who was supposedly the heir apparent to Jordan.

In the past McGrady has made plays for the likes of Andrew Declerq, Deshawn Stevenson, Gordon Giricek, Jacque Vaughn, Ryan Bowen, Rafer Alston, Shane Battier, Yao Ming, etc. What makes you think he wouldn't want to make plays for Michael Jordan? It sure as heck is an easier assist than passing to those other players.

Pippen and McGrady are similar players, but offensivly McGrady is much more talented, play making ability seems close, VERY close but Pippen might get the slight edge, while Pippen gets the clear edge defensively.

[AgEnT50]

McGrady brings the same skill set that Pippen does with a bit more offense and a bit less defense; though if McGrady played along side MJ he wouldn't need to spend as much energy on offense and thus play better defense.

Agreed

[Patterns]

But as an impact player on the floor, McGrady>Pippen. TMac can control the tempo, something only elite players can do.

[Guy Smiley]

Tmac is the proven playoff performer.

[Storm Surge]

t-mac(according to the OP) would be healthy and would be a lot better defender if he was letting Jordan control the team on offense.

He would be at least all 2nd team defense

[RoyceDa59]

Scottie Pippen was the best defender on any the 6 championship Bulls teams. His skill set was perfectly suited to be MJ's sidekick. McGrady's style of play would not mesh NEARLY as well with MJ as Scottie did. I think the Bulls would have still won some championships, but not nearly to the same effect as two 3peats. Pippen was a better defender, distributer, leader, decision maker, and clutch performer than McGrady. T-Mac is a better volume scorer, but thats not what the Bulls needed from a 2nd option. Pippen is also more efficient than McGrady. No way in hell are the Bulls as good with McGrady instead of Pippen.

[Jordan23Forever]

Pippen is not a better distributor than McGrady, and certainly not a better clutch player. LOL @ the notion of Pippen being clutch.

And Pippen wasn't the best defensive player on the Bulls until Jordan retired, though they were roughly equal in '93.

[Baller 24]

Pippen is not the better play maker, even if he is, its VERY close. But just because Jordan would be the first option, McGrady would be in the play making role much more then he ever has, since he usually is a scoring option. McGrady would still score, but his play making would compliment MJ, while his defense would just be just as good if not better. Pippen was made the player he was due to MJ, not because of how he plays. McGrady also is the better rebounder, and I don't know where you got Pippen was the better clutch performer. McGrady is on another level if we talk about clutch performances.

[TracyMac]

With Tmac on the Bulls Team.. I don't think they can make it out of the 1st round seeing him as a 2nd round virgin