How do you think peak defensive Rodman would do against peak Shaq, based on the '96 series?

[ardee]

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This is a 34 year old Rodman who is defending a young Shaq really well. Keeping him off the offensive boards, somehow has the lower body strength to foil his post-ups.

How do you think a younger Rodman, at his Detroit peak, would do against a Lakers Shaq?

[eminence]

Older Rodman actually strikes me as a bit stronger and thus a bit better matchup, but anyway, he gets annihilated, Shaq's strength difference was significant.

[nolunch]

Young Shaq averaged 27 ppg with FG 60% in Magic vs Bulls series. Rodman did a great job in a few plays during the game, but he still needed the help from double and triple teamed.

If the game goes one on one from the start, young Shaq is good enough to score 30 ppg and Rodman will get fouled out. There is no need to talk about peak Shaq in one on one case.

[magicmerl]

I can't see Rodman being a better or stronger defender than Ben Wallace was.

[Blazers-1977]

Shaq dominates him just like he did to Mutombo ( Who was the better defender). That doenst mean 2001 lakers beat 1996 bulls though as the Perimeter game gets shutdown and Kobe will totally be rattled.

But Shaq probably drops 34/12 on 96 Rodman.

[rebirthoftheM]

Shaq dominates him just like he did to Mutombo ( Who was the better defender). That doenst mean 2001 lakers beat 1996 bulls though as the Perimeter game gets shutdown and Kobe will totally be rattled.

But Shaq probably drops 34/12 on 96 Rodman.

Neither 96 pippen nor 96 jordan is stopping 01 Kobe. 01 Kobe combined great athleticism and a great midrange game. Pippen wouldnt have the foot speed to guard him very effectively. Plus the bulls lacked shot blockers and Kobe would have torn em up inside.

[mysticOscar]

Shaq dominates him just like he did to Mutombo ( Who was the better defender). That doenst mean 2001 lakers beat 1996 bulls though as the Perimeter game gets shutdown and Kobe will totally be rattled.

But Shaq probably drops 34/12 on 96 Rodman.

Neither 96 pippen nor 96 jordan is stopping 01 Kobe. 01 Kobe combined great athleticism and a great midrange game. Pippen wouldnt have the foot speed to guard him very effectively. Plus the bulls lacked shot blockers and Kobe would have torn em up inside.

Would have loved to see the 96 Bulls vs 2001 Lakers.

That Lakers were one of the rare teams i thought could have troubled the 96 Bulls.

Not because of Kobe..but because of peak Shaq. Although having 2001 Kobe would have compounded there issue with having to guard Shaq.

These 2 teams have been an intigueing matchp

[UDRIH14]

rodman would still play mind games and get into shaqs head...and we all know shaq will fall for it and give away cheap fouls putting himself into foul trouble

[rebirthoftheM]

Shaq dominates him just like he did to Mutombo ( Who was the better defender). That doenst mean 2001 lakers beat 1996 bulls though as the Perimeter game gets shutdown and Kobe will totally be rattled.

But Shaq probably drops 34/12 on 96 Rodman.

Neither 96 pippen nor 96 jordan is stopping 01 Kobe. 01 Kobe combined great athleticism and a great midrange game. Pippen wouldnt have the foot speed to guard him very effectively. Plus the bulls lacked shot blockers and Kobe would have torn em up inside.

Would have loved to see the 96 Bulls vs 2001 Lakers.

That Lakers were one of the rare teams i thought could have troubled the 96 Bulls.

Not because of Kobe..but because of peak Shaq. Although having 2001 Kobe would have compounded there issue with having to guard Shaq.

These 2 teams have been an intigueing matchp

Obviously Shaq 2000 would have annihilated the Bulls frontcourt. Rodman wouldn't be able to do anything besides call for doubles and triples. But I think the suggestion that Kobe would have only compounded the problem is being modest. 01 Kobe was elite in pretty much all areas of the game, from box score production to impact stats. He also tore up good to elite perimeter defenses at will. Just have a look what he did to the Kidd Suns (with Marion on the perimeter also), who were 2nd in DRTG (the lakers were 21st :lol)

Game 1: 38/5/3/3 12/19 shooting 3/3 from 3 in a blowout win
Game 2: 32/9/8/4 13/26 shooting in a 2 point win w/o Shaq.
Game 3: 20/6/4 7/14 shooting in a blowout win.

I cannot see how past athletic prime Jordan/Pippen/Ron Harper could stop Kobe from doing what he does given they have no shot blocking behind them. I think the Lakers take it in 6 at max...I'll give Jordan 2 games because Iverson was able to get 1.

[mysticOscar]

Neither 96 pippen nor 96 jordan is stopping 01 Kobe. 01 Kobe combined great athleticism and a great midrange game. Pippen wouldnt have the foot speed to guard him very effectively. Plus the bulls lacked shot blockers and Kobe would have torn em up inside.

Would have loved to see the 96 Bulls vs 2001 Lakers.

That Lakers were one of the rare teams i thought could have troubled the 96 Bulls.

Not because of Kobe..but because of peak Shaq. Although having 2001 Kobe would have compounded there issue with having to guard Shaq.

These 2 teams have been an intigueing matchp

Obviously Shaq 2000 would have annihilated the Bulls frontcourt. Rodman wouldn't be able to do anything besides call for doubles and triples. But I think the suggestion that Kobe would have only compounded the problem is being modest. 01 Kobe was elite in pretty much all areas of the game, from box score production to impact stats. He also tore up good to elite perimeter defenses at will. Just have a look what he did to the Kidd Suns (with Marion on the perimeter also), who were 2nd in DRTG (the lakers were 21st :lol)

Game 1: 38/5/3/3 12/19 shooting 3/3 from 3 in a blowout win
Game 2: 32/9/8/4 13/26 shooting in a 2 point win w/o Shaq.
Game 3: 20/6/4 7/14 shooting in a blowout win.

I cannot see how past athletic prime Jordan/Pippen/Ron Harper could stop Kobe from doing what he does given they have no shot blocking behind them. I think the Lakers take it in 6 at max...I'll give Jordan 2 games because Iverson was able to get 1.

I think u will find that ur underating how lethal defensively Pippen Jordan and Harrper on the perimeter that year.

[rebirthoftheM]

Would have loved to see the 96 Bulls vs 2001 Lakers.

That Lakers were one of the rare teams i thought could have troubled the 96 Bulls.

Not because of Kobe..but because of peak Shaq. Although having 2001 Kobe would have compounded there issue with having to guard Shaq.

These 2 teams have been an intigueing matchp

Obviously Shaq 2000 would have annihilated the Bulls frontcourt. Rodman wouldn't be able to do anything besides call for doubles and triples. But I think the suggestion that Kobe would have only compounded the problem is being modest. 01 Kobe was elite in pretty much all areas of the game, from box score production to impact stats. He also tore up good to elite perimeter defenses at will. Just have a look what he did to the Kidd Suns (with Marion on the perimeter also), who were 2nd in DRTG (the lakers were 21st :lol)

Game 1: 38/5/3/3 12/19 shooting 3/3 from 3 in a blowout win
Game 2: 32/9/8/4 13/26 shooting in a 2 point win w/o Shaq.
Game 3: 20/6/4 7/14 shooting in a blowout win.

I cannot see how past athletic prime Jordan/Pippen/Ron Harper could stop Kobe from doing what he does given they have no shot blocking behind them. I think the Lakers take it in 6 at max...I'll give Jordan 2 games because Iverson was able to get 1.

I think u will find that ur underating how lethal defensively Pippen Jordan and Harrper on the perimeter that year.

Not really. I've watched many a bull game that season to make a healthy conclusion. Kobe's combination of athleticism and skills (mid range, breaking down defenses off the dribble, posting up on the block, footwork) alongside the lack of shot blocking for the Bulls and the presence of Shaq inside means the Bulls wouldn't be able to stop him.

And while the Bulls were indeed great defensively, I just showed that another great defensive team, with great perimeter D but no shot blocking was unable to contain Kobe that season.

Btw..

Suns DRTG was 98 in 01... Pace was 93.1
Bulls DRTG was 108.1 in 96... Pace was 91.1

Also Kobe in the 2 reg seasons played v the #1 D Spurs that season. Won't even look at the playoffs because the Spurs lost their starting SG...

32/8/3 15/31 from the field
43/6/3 16/31 from the field

[mysticOscar]

Obviously Shaq 2000 would have annihilated the Bulls frontcourt. Rodman wouldn't be able to do anything besides call for doubles and triples. But I think the suggestion that Kobe would have only compounded the problem is being modest. 01 Kobe was elite in pretty much all areas of the game, from box score production to impact stats. He also tore up good to elite perimeter defenses at will. Just have a look what he did to the Kidd Suns (with Marion on the perimeter also), who were 2nd in DRTG (the lakers were 21st :lol)

Game 1: 38/5/3/3 12/19 shooting 3/3 from 3 in a blowout win
Game 2: 32/9/8/4 13/26 shooting in a 2 point win w/o Shaq.
Game 3: 20/6/4 7/14 shooting in a blowout win.

I cannot see how past athletic prime Jordan/Pippen/Ron Harper could stop Kobe from doing what he does given they have no shot blocking behind them. I think the Lakers take it in 6 at max...I'll give Jordan 2 games because Iverson was able to get 1.

I think u will find that ur underating how lethal defensively Pippen Jordan and Harrper on the perimeter that year.

Not really. I've watched many a bull game that season to make a healthy conclusion. Kobe's combination of athleticism and skills (mid range, breaking down defenses off the dribble, posting up on the block, footwork) alongside the lack of shot blocking for the Bulls and the presence of Shaq inside means the Bulls wouldn't be able to stop him.

And while the Bulls were indeed great defensively, I just showed that another great defensive team, with great perimeter D but no shot blocking was unable to contain Kobe that season.

Btw..

Suns DRTG was 98 in 01... Pace was 93.1
Bulls DRTG was 108.1 in 96... Pace was 91.1

Also Kobe in the 2 reg seasons played v the #1 D Spurs that season. Won't even look at the playoffs because the Spurs lost their starting SG...

32/8/3 15/31 from the field
43/6/3 16/31 from the field

Pls Bulls not 108 Drtg. Why making up stats?

[rebirthoftheM]

I think u will find that ur underating how lethal defensively Pippen Jordan and Harrper on the perimeter that year.

Not really. I've watched many a bull game that season to make a healthy conclusion. Kobe's combination of athleticism and skills (mid range, breaking down defenses off the dribble, posting up on the block, footwork) alongside the lack of shot blocking for the Bulls and the presence of Shaq inside means the Bulls wouldn't be able to stop him.

And while the Bulls were indeed great defensively, I just showed that another great defensive team, with great perimeter D but no shot blocking was unable to contain Kobe that season.

Btw..

Suns DRTG was 98 in 01... Pace was 93.1
Bulls DRTG was 108.1 in 96... Pace was 91.1

Also Kobe in the 2 reg seasons played v the #1 D Spurs that season. Won't even look at the playoffs because the Spurs lost their starting SG...

32/8/3 15/31 from the field
43/6/3 16/31 from the field

Pls Bulls not 108 Drtg. Why making up stats?

101.8... I mixed the numbers up obviously I wouldn't have called the Bulls a great defensive team if I thought their DRTG was 108.1.. The Bulls still have a lower DRTG than bother the Spurs and Suns in 01

[mysticOscar]

Not really. I've watched many a bull game that season to make a healthy conclusion. Kobe's combination of athleticism and skills (mid range, breaking down defenses off the dribble, posting up on the block, footwork) alongside the lack of shot blocking for the Bulls and the presence of Shaq inside means the Bulls wouldn't be able to stop him.

And while the Bulls were indeed great defensively, I just showed that another great defensive team, with great perimeter D but no shot blocking was unable to contain Kobe that season.

Btw..

Suns DRTG was 98 in 01... Pace was 93.1
Bulls DRTG was 108.1 in 96... Pace was 91.1

Also Kobe in the 2 reg seasons played v the #1 D Spurs that season. Won't even look at the playoffs because the Spurs lost their starting SG...

32/8/3 15/31 from the field
43/6/3 16/31 from the field

Pls Bulls not 108 Drtg. Why making up stats?

101.8... I mixed the numbers up obviously They still have a higher DRTG than the Spurs and Suns that season...

Bulls was no1 defensive team along with Sonics in 96...so i take it u mean '01?

'01 was more about how bad the iffense was rather than defense.

Well lets put it this way...late 90s to early 00s...the offense in the league started to turn south when teams wanted to be the Bulls and players wanting to be Jordan..and accelerated by 3pt line.

The league had to step in and change the rules to accomodate perimeter players since it was going very heavy perimeter oriented when the rules was not as accomodating for it.

In other words...if u placed the 96 Bulls in the 01 league...they would have been even more defensively lethal since there would have been more teams having perimeter slashers dominating the scoring.

[wutevahung]

Shaq dominates him just like he did to Mutombo ( Who was the better defender). That doenst mean 2001 lakers beat 1996 bulls though as the Perimeter game gets shutdown and Kobe will totally be rattled.

But Shaq probably drops 34/12 on 96 Rodman.

Good Job on showing you insecurity

[Sebastian]

First of all, interior defense is more important than "shot blocking." And the Bulls had very good interior D in 96.

Second of all, Harper/Jordan/Pippen is one of the most lethal groups of perimeter defenders in NBA history. If you honestly think Kobe would have no problem with them, you're nuts. They absolutely would slow him down and make him work to get his.

[Gregoire]

IMO Bulls 96 would beat 2001 Lakers clear 4-2 or 4-1. Rodman in his 96 form was ideal to guard even peak ONeal. He would give him a lot of trouble, not to mention insane help d (Jordan,Pippen). And MJ mentality would be decisive in important moments.

[70sFan]

IMO Bulls 96 would beat 2001 Lakers clear 4-2 or 4-1. Rodman in his 96 form was ideal to guard even peak ONeal. He would give him a lot of trouble, not to mention insane help d (Jordan,Pippen). And MJ mentality would be decisive in important moments.

Rodman is far from ideal defender against peak Shaq.