OT- The Last Dance documentary

[HomoSapien]

LeBron's sort of in a weird position. I think beating the 73 Warriors team is one of the most impressive upsets of all-time. I also think losing to Dirk and a bunch of old teammates while he had Wade and Bosh is one of the most embarrassing upsets.

[TheGOATRises007]

LeBron's sort of in a weird position. I think beating the 73 Warriors team is one of the most impressive upsets of all-time. I also think losing to Dirk and a bunch of old teammates while he had Wade and Bosh is one of the most embarrassing upsets.

It's not the loss to the Mavericks.

It's how he played. He mentally froze on the biggest stage.

The biggest mental collapse of any GOAT candidate in the NBA.

[dice]

LeBron's sort of in a weird position. I think beating the 73 Warriors team is one of the most impressive upsets of all-time. I also think losing to Dirk and a bunch of old teammates while he had Wade and Bosh is one of the most embarrassing upsets.

It's not the loss to the Mavericks.

It's how he played. He mentally froze on the biggest stage.

The biggest mental collapse of any GOAT candidate in the NBA.

i don't think it was freezing so much as not knowing how to navigate the moment. the last time the heat were in the finals was with dwyane wade leading them to the title. now lebron finds himself in the finals playing on wade's heat team...he didn't establish his alpha status until the next season, when a 30 year old wade began his decline and eased into a supporting role

that said, those initial chemistry issues were the byproduct of lebron joining a "superteam", which was his Decision. and he did play badly. it is a prominent stain on his resume. MJ didn't have any bad stains on his resume, which gives his stans a pretty teflon reputation to...cling to

[TheGOATRises007]

LeBron's sort of in a weird position. I think beating the 73 Warriors team is one of the most impressive upsets of all-time. I also think losing to Dirk and a bunch of old teammates while he had Wade and Bosh is one of the most embarrassing upsets.

It's not the loss to the Mavericks.

It's how he played. He mentally froze on the biggest stage.

The biggest mental collapse of any GOAT candidate in the NBA.

i don't think it was freezing so much as not knowing how to navigate the moment. the last time the heat were in the finals was with dwyane wade leading them to the title. now lebron finds himself in the finals playing on wade's heat team...he didn't establish his alpha status until the next season, when a 30 year old wade began his decline and eased into a supporting role

that said, those initial chemistry issues were the byproduct of lebron joining a "superteam", which was his Decision. and he did play badly. it is a prominent stain on his resume. MJ didn't have any bad stains on his resume, which gives his stans a pretty teflon reputation to...cling to

He had no problems navigating vs Boston or us the prior series.

I think the fact they got there in the finals after 'breezing' through the East(perhaps he thought that was THE big test) - maybe Lebron thought the finals would be a cakewalk.

I mean they won game 1. They're cruising in game 2 and then Dirk and the Mavs storm back. I think Lebron mentally froze afterwards.

But yeah it's the biggest stain of Lebron's career for sure. Jordan isn't invincible and we can argue indefinitely whether he'd be capable of leading the 2016 Cavs back from a 3-1 defecit vs GSW. What we know definitely is that Jordan never had a bad series like Lebron's 2011 finals.

[dice]

LeBron's sort of in a weird position. I think beating the 73 Warriors team is one of the most impressive upsets of all-time. I also think losing to Dirk and a bunch of old teammates while he had Wade and Bosh is one of the most embarrassing upsets.

there's also the blow to his reputation that was "the decision" and the impression that he gave up on his team at the end of the celtics series on his way out the door. and how he conveniently returned to cleveland after they won the lottery for the THIRD time since he left (think how much history might be changed had they taken oladipo instead of anthony bennett). and then left for the lakers when the return to cleveland thing had played itself out

also not the "closer" that jordan was...writ large in that dallas series but partly made up for since

[dice]

It's not the loss to the Mavericks.

It's how he played. He mentally froze on the biggest stage.

The biggest mental collapse of any GOAT candidate in the NBA.

i don't think it was freezing so much as not knowing how to navigate the moment. the last time the heat were in the finals was with dwyane wade leading them to the title. now lebron finds himself in the finals playing on wade's heat team...he didn't establish his alpha status until the next season, when a 30 year old wade began his decline and eased into a supporting role

that said, those initial chemistry issues were the byproduct of lebron joining a "superteam", which was his Decision. and he did play badly. it is a prominent stain on his resume. MJ didn't have any bad stains on his resume, which gives his stans a pretty teflon reputation to...cling to

He had no problems navigating vs Boston or us the prior series.

I think the fact they got there in the finals after 'breezing' through the East(perhaps he thought that was THE big test) - maybe Lebron thought the finals would be a cakewalk.

I mean they won game 1. They're cruising in game 2 and then Dirk and the Mavs storm back. I think Lebron mentally froze afterwards.

reasonable interpretation. i'll also note that this was the same mavs team that wade crushed leading his team to the title years earlier. and he had a huge game in that game 2 loss. had 9 points in 3 minutes early in the 4th quarter, giving him 36 for the game and putting the heat up 15. deja vu stuff that turned lebron into a spectator. wade didn't score the rest of the game, lebron didn't pick up the slack and mavs went on 22-5 run

wade then had another big game in a game 3 road win in dallas to put the heat up 2-1, pushing lebron into a supporting role

ANOTHER big game for wade in game 4, by which point lebron was not making shots and in total deferral mode (20 FGA for wade, 19 for bosh, 11 for lebron). 13-5 run by dallas to pull that one out

at that point, lebron was getting criticized for passivity, so led the team in FGA in game 5 (19 vs 12 for bosh/wade), had a triple double but shot poorly and was outscored by both wade and bosh in a loss

lebron, wade and dirk were all mediocre in the deciding game 6 and jason terry put on his cape

also, it was bosh more than lebron who crushed the bulls in the ECF and wade who was MVP of the boston series

[MrSparkle]

Lebron is a Marvel character. Literally looks and moves like one. Especially in his younger prime, it was just mind-boggling watching that 260 lb. dude glide around the court. But he had a weakness against certain situations and players. Kinda like when Spiderman would run out of web-sling and go crashing, or when Wolverine hit a magnetic field and start writhing in pain, they all had some random kryptonite.

Lebron's was/is pretty simple to me. Largest stage with the highest pressure, when his teammates couldn't make plays, he put his head down and took the pedal off the gas. Gave an 80% effort instead of 110% like Wade, Kobe, MJ. I thought game 1 of the 2018 finals was Lebron's most impressive finals performance EVER (the infamous JR Smith forgot how much time was left on the clock ending), even though they lost. He was absolutely incredible in that game, and I bet if JR gave him the ball on that last rebound, Lebron would've won the game in regulation, and it would go down in history as one of the best individual performances in a finals game ever.

But alas, it didn't. He continued filling the stat sheet with a 30/10/10 kind of a line for G2 & G3, but you could tell Lebron kinda bailed on the Cavs after that JR mishap, and limped out with a really weak game 4 (and the sweep). OK - I get it. His #2 and #3 were a fool's gold Love and past-prime JR Smith. And he was facing the most loaded star team ever assembled in history. They were gonna lose no matter how much Lebron scored, ala the 86 Jordan/Celtics. But it was interesting seeing him just put his head down and not try to put on a show in the last game.

Granted Kobe had that "lemon" 2nd half in game 7 against PHX back in 06, but first off, his squad was the underdog (seed #7) against the hot Suns and he took them to 7 games (not a sweep), and I thought he made a solid point defending his performance (he wanted to try to get LA back in the game as a point guard/distributor since scoring 24 in the first half still had them down by in a blowout , but it didn't work).

So really, game mechanics aside (which I'll argue he never developed fundamentals to the full extent of the Mt Rushmore NBA legends), Lebron's crazy "must-compete to the end no matter what" attitude like MJ, Stockton, Bird, Kobe, younger Wade.... for whatever reason, it got zapped several times in crucial playoff/finals games. And to further cement the point, he officially/literally quit on 3 teams by leaving in free agency after the losses (10 Cavs, 14 Heat, 18 Cavs).

But I do appreciate he's still human. Cause honestly, it would've been really brutal if he had MJ's bite. I really think we might've seen atleast 10 chips go to Lebron, an entire decade of that man winning chips each season as a division rival. Would've been rough.

[othawhitemeat]

Lebron is an all time great and maybe the second most talented player I have ever seen besides Shaq. However, he is not mentally tough in general and fades when pressure is put back on. He has consistently done this. I think he does this because when talent fights back he does not really have a go to move if someone stops his path for a layup and his shot is not falling. Thulis is why he struggles in clutch as he is not a good free throw shooter.

Stating that, I simply would rather have a prime Goat Jordan, Prime Bird, Prime Magic, etc... can you imagine Lebron carrying our Bulls to 6 Chips? I cant. He is too timid for best player. Heck during the Olajuwon prime years, he was more dominant than Lebrons best. Look at that Houston 2nd star?

[DropStep]

At first the time jumps didn't bother me, but they've gotten a little scattered in terms of tone. Going from Kukoc and war torn Croatia to Jordan's issue with Reebok branding on Olympic uniforms threw me. That was chronological but for other areas, they kept with the story told and moved the timeline instead. I understand it couldn't have been easy, but it probably would have been better just framed chronologically instead of the 1998, then jumping backwards to each individual story.

Yeah, I thought 5 was my least favorite episode so far. I liked the Kobe ASG footage, and it really heated up with the Dream Team and Kukoc saga, but it was the first time in the series I was like... "eh...." The time-jumps really were wild.

Anyway, like I've been saying, I'm looking forward to much more of that 97/98 behind-the-scenes footage. Sounds like 7-8 will finally give it to us.

Honestly, I get that the early 85-95 history is important for the kids, but as a Jordan/Bulls fan, about 95% of the 'old stuff' just isn't news to us whatsoever. 96-98 is where a lot of the mysteries lie, as tensions were high, the Bulls' personalities were most volatile, etc. The history is definitely crucial in the documentary, I enjoy it, but the way I'm seeing it, this documentary isn't exactly focusing on the "The Last Dance," it's focusing on the history and using the 97/98 season as the McGuffin.

You'd think there'd be a whole lot more build-up and focus on that particular season (97-98). But I'm sure we'll get a Utah Jazz and Bird Pacers special in one of the next few episodes.

You summed up my thoughts perfectly. And pinpointed the difficulty of establishing conflict and tension in a story the audience already knows inside and out. I'm watching with my 11 year old, and of course I handle the time jumps seamlessly while he gets lost trying to keep up. Meanwhile I love the tiny stuff (Jordan goofing around with security guards and rubbing shoulders with other stars in the hallways) while my son is pretty captivated by the big stuff ("Jordan was mvp and defensive player of the year?") so I appreciate that there is a much wider intended audience for this than someone like me who witnessed it all in real time as a kid. But yeah, I want more behind the scenes of the "Last Dance" because that is what we were promised, and I was away at college for much of it.

I actually like their framing of the story, because they have three things they somehow have to juggle: personal profiles, so people will know and care about the players; the arc of the Bulls dynasty, so people will know the context for where we are; and then the actual last dance, the 1997-98 season. They could have done it in chunks - showed the early years in ep. 1 and 2, then some personal profiles, then some more history, then a bunch of the last season - but that would have stunk I think. Weaving all three into each episode is smart - but it isn't done that slickly, unfortunately. There has to be a better way to help us navigate when we're shifting gears. If it was a movie, they'd have made MJ go bald much more gradually as a landmark (He should have gone for the Granville Waiters look anyway.) Better musical or graphical cues maybe? Play Vader's Theme whenever we go back to '98? Not a film expert, but if you're an 11 year old who doesn't already know the history, I wish you luck figuring it all out.

[troza]

I think that 2017 GS team was the best team I ever saw-except for how Game 1 vs. the Spurs was going. They were kicking their butts until Leonard went out.
All this talk about "who would guard MJ?"-they had Klay and Iggy. No one stops MJ, but both of those guys could have made him work-like Seattle did.
Look at the 2017 Warriors
2 top 20 all time guys at their peak in Curry and KD
A top 5 shooter all time in Klay who plays very solid D
DGreen was still an elite defender in 2017
Iggy is a match for Toni as a 6th man.
Some solid role players, just like Chic had

That would be an epic series-honestly I think "which era's rules/style" it was played with would determine the winner

Considering the KD golden state squads GOAT teams is perfectly valid. That said, I don’t agree with some of your assertions.

Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen that's as quick as Jordan other than Mugsy Bogues. That's the reason he could guard him. Jordan was the other team's gameplan. If he got by his defender, which was whenever he wanted, there was always a big ready to quickly contest his shot. Imagine that against Golden State. Don't believe me yet? Keep reading.

Jordan has historically torched teams with DPOY candidates and "Jordan stoppers", the 1st best defense in Detroit Badboys being just one of those examples, who along with the Celtics HOF GOAT-contender team tried at least 4 defenders on him on more than one occasion who had size, speed and strength. Jordan torched Rodman, Dumars, Isiah, and that bigger dude (forgot his name) in the most efficient 50+ point game in history (nearly all 2 pointers and 76-81 percent shooting, I forget the exact number but scored 59 points). He also did the same to Bird, Dennis, and a couple defenders who's names I've forgotten on the Celtics. EDIT: apparently Kyrie beat that efficiency with his "Kobe Bryant tribute" game.

Watch on YouTube

With Jordan in - 73 points. With Jordan out - 6 points.

My point? Iguodala and Klay would have been barbecued chicken, especially with the spacing in the league today.

Now consider this - Klay would have been guarded by Jordan (or Steph, either one), Draymond would be guarded by Rodman. Durant would be guarded by Pippen, who at the very least, would have done a way better job than Lebron. Durant is what makes this whole thing interesting.

But I take the Bulls defense/fast break abilities coupled with Jordan/Pippen's offensive leadership and scoring over that Golden State team. I'd bet on it. The Bulls' weakness was trying to score against aggressive defensive teams, the Sonics being the culmination. Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen successfully give Jordan a tough time for more than 1 game. And the Bulls still got them in 6, despite that.

What makes that Golden State team scary to me is Durant. He’s the second most unguardable player ever IMO. But the rest of the squad could be limited by the Bulls’ elite defense.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198804030DET.html

if someone wants to check the box score.

[Ice Man]

My kid loves all the backdrop. It seems pretty clear to me that the older hardcore NBA fans would like to see more of the 97-98 details, while the younger fans like The Last Dance providing the broader view. They have a general idea of the Bulls' history in the 1980s and 1990s, but not having lived through it, very few of them know all the details -- how Jordan went 3rd, the backgrounds of Scottie and Rodman, the Collins/Phil succession, all that stuff.

The guys who made The Last Dance made the decision to broaden the appeal of the show by making it a general Bulls history lesson, and that was a good call for most viewers.

[ATRAIN53]

I think that 2017 GS team was the best team I ever saw-except for how Game 1 vs. the Spurs was going. They were kicking their butts until Leonard went out.
All this talk about "who would guard MJ?"-they had Klay and Iggy. No one stops MJ, but both of those guys could have made him work-like Seattle did.
Look at the 2017 Warriors
2 top 20 all time guys at their peak in Curry and KD
A top 5 shooter all time in Klay who plays very solid D
DGreen was still an elite defender in 2017
Iggy is a match for Toni as a 6th man.
Some solid role players, just like Chic had

That would be an epic series-honestly I think "which era's rules/style" it was played with would determine the winner

Considering the KD golden state squads GOAT teams is perfectly valid. That said, I don’t agree with some of your assertions.

Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen that's as quick as Jordan other than Mugsy Bogues. That's the reason he could guard him. Jordan was the other team's gameplan. If he got by his defender, which was whenever he wanted, there was always a big ready to quickly contest his shot. Imagine that against Golden State. Don't believe me yet? Keep reading.

Jordan has historically torched teams with DPOY candidates and "Jordan stoppers", the 1st best defense in Detroit Badboys being just one of those examples, who along with the Celtics HOF GOAT-contender team tried at least 4 defenders on him on more than one occasion who had size, speed and strength. Jordan torched Rodman, Dumars, Isiah, and that bigger dude (forgot his name) in the most efficient 50+ point game in history (nearly all 2 pointers and 76-81 percent shooting, I forget the exact number but scored 59 points). He also did the same to Bird, Dennis, and a couple defenders who's names I've forgotten on the Celtics. EDIT: apparently Kyrie beat that efficiency with his "Kobe Bryant tribute" game.

Watch on YouTube

With Jordan in - 73 points. With Jordan out - 6 points.

My point? Iguodala and Klay would have been barbecued chicken, especially with the spacing in the league today.

Now consider this - Klay would have been guarded by Jordan (or Steph, either one), Draymond would be guarded by Rodman. Durant would be guarded by Pippen, who at the very least, would have done a way better job than Lebron. Durant is what makes this whole thing interesting.

But I take the Bulls defense/fast break abilities coupled with Jordan/Pippen's offensive leadership and scoring over that Golden State team. I'd bet on it. The Bulls' weakness was trying to score against aggressive defensive teams, the Sonics being the culmination. Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen successfully give Jordan a tough time for more than 1 game. And the Bulls still got them in 6, despite that.

What makes that Golden State team scary to me is Durant. He’s the second most unguardable player ever IMO. But the rest of the squad could be limited by the Bulls’ elite defense.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198804030DET.html

if someone wants to check the box score.

Charles Oakley with the double double 14/11 boards
San Vincent too 18/ 13 assists

But MJ

17-19 Free Throws

59 Points -

only 1 3 Point attempt

We won this game 112-110

This game is the epitomie of the Jordan Rules.

They just mauled him, but he just keeps stepping up to the FT stripe and knocking them down.

I bet his 2 blocks in this game are pretty epic

LOL 1 point combined from a young Pip and Horace those guys were SCARED in these games back then.

[TheFinishSniper]

That's disgustin. And when someone mention Bron as GOAT just link them that boxscore.

[bledredwine]

Considering the KD golden state squads GOAT teams is perfectly valid. That said, I don’t agree with some of your assertions.

Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen that's as quick as Jordan other than Mugsy Bogues. That's the reason he could guard him. Jordan was the other team's gameplan. If he got by his defender, which was whenever he wanted, there was always a big ready to quickly contest his shot. Imagine that against Golden State. Don't believe me yet? Keep reading.

Jordan has historically torched teams with DPOY candidates and "Jordan stoppers", the 1st best defense in Detroit Badboys being just one of those examples, who along with the Celtics HOF GOAT-contender team tried at least 4 defenders on him on more than one occasion who had size, speed and strength. Jordan torched Rodman, Dumars, Isiah, and that bigger dude (forgot his name) in the most efficient 50+ point game in history (nearly all 2 pointers and 76-81 percent shooting, I forget the exact number but scored 59 points). He also did the same to Bird, Dennis, and a couple defenders who's names I've forgotten on the Celtics. EDIT: apparently Kyrie beat that efficiency with his "Kobe Bryant tribute" game.

Watch on YouTube

With Jordan in - 73 points. With Jordan out - 6 points.

My point? Iguodala and Klay would have been barbecued chicken, especially with the spacing in the league today.

Now consider this - Klay would have been guarded by Jordan (or Steph, either one), Draymond would be guarded by Rodman. Durant would be guarded by Pippen, who at the very least, would have done a way better job than Lebron. Durant is what makes this whole thing interesting.

But I take the Bulls defense/fast break abilities coupled with Jordan/Pippen's offensive leadership and scoring over that Golden State team. I'd bet on it. The Bulls' weakness was trying to score against aggressive defensive teams, the Sonics being the culmination. Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen successfully give Jordan a tough time for more than 1 game. And the Bulls still got them in 6, despite that.

What makes that Golden State team scary to me is Durant. He’s the second most unguardable player ever IMO. But the rest of the squad could be limited by the Bulls’ elite defense.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198804030DET.html

if someone wants to check the box score.

Charles Oakley with the double double 14/11 boards
San Vincent too 18/ 13 assists

But MJ

17-19 Free Throws

59 Points -

only 1 3 Point attempt

We won this game 112-110

This game is the epitomie of the Jordan Rules.

They just mauled him, but he just keeps stepping up to the FT stripe and knocking them down.

I bet his 2 blocks in this game are pretty epic

LOL 1 point combined from a young Pip and Horace those guys were SCARED in these games back then.

Dude! Only 1 turnover? That’s insane.

I never noticed that.

Jordan is, without a doubt, the best All time great player in history at taking care of the ball. Even in 93, setting a record 41 ppg in the finals in an intense series against Phoenix, he had only 3 TO per fame. With that volume, that’s crazy.

[dice]

Considering the KD golden state squads GOAT teams is perfectly valid. That said, I don’t agree with some of your assertions.

Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen that's as quick as Jordan other than Mugsy Bogues. That's the reason he could guard him. Jordan was the other team's gameplan. If he got by his defender, which was whenever he wanted, there was always a big ready to quickly contest his shot. Imagine that against Golden State. Don't believe me yet? Keep reading.

Jordan has historically torched teams with DPOY candidates and "Jordan stoppers", the 1st best defense in Detroit Badboys being just one of those examples, who along with the Celtics HOF GOAT-contender team tried at least 4 defenders on him on more than one occasion who had size, speed and strength. Jordan torched Rodman, Dumars, Isiah, and that bigger dude (forgot his name) in the most efficient 50+ point game in history (nearly all 2 pointers and 76-81 percent shooting, I forget the exact number but scored 59 points). He also did the same to Bird, Dennis, and a couple defenders who's names I've forgotten on the Celtics. EDIT: apparently Kyrie beat that efficiency with his "Kobe Bryant tribute" game.

Watch on YouTube

With Jordan in - 73 points. With Jordan out - 6 points.

My point? Iguodala and Klay would have been barbecued chicken, especially with the spacing in the league today.

Now consider this - Klay would have been guarded by Jordan (or Steph, either one), Draymond would be guarded by Rodman. Durant would be guarded by Pippen, who at the very least, would have done a way better job than Lebron. Durant is what makes this whole thing interesting.

But I take the Bulls defense/fast break abilities coupled with Jordan/Pippen's offensive leadership and scoring over that Golden State team. I'd bet on it. The Bulls' weakness was trying to score against aggressive defensive teams, the Sonics being the culmination. Gary Payton is the only player I've ever seen successfully give Jordan a tough time for more than 1 game. And the Bulls still got them in 6, despite that.

What makes that Golden State team scary to me is Durant. He’s the second most unguardable player ever IMO. But the rest of the squad could be limited by the Bulls’ elite defense.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198804030DET.html

if someone wants to check the box score.

Charles Oakley with the double double 14/11 boards
San Vincent too 18/ 13 assists

But MJ

17-19 Free Throws

59 Points -

only 1 3 Point attempt

We won this game 112-110

This game is the epitomie of the Jordan Rules.

They just mauled him, but he just keeps stepping up to the FT stripe and knocking them down.

I bet his 2 blocks in this game are pretty epic

LOL 1 point combined from a young Pip and Horace those guys were SCARED in these games back then.

according to wikipedia, the "jordan rules" were devised by isiah in '88 and utilized in the '88 playoffs. in that series, jordan's average offensive game line was:

11/22, 6/8, 27/5/4to. close to human

as opposed to his regular season averages vs all teams:

13/24, 9/11, 35/6/3to

he also had subpar numbers against them in the '89 and '90 playoffs before killing them in the '91 sweep

career TS% vs eastern teams (50 games min.):

60.2 milwaukee
60.1 charlotte

58.7 atlanta
57.8 NY
57.3 boston
57.3 jersey
57.1 philly
56.7 cleveland

55.1 indy
55.0 detroit

[prolific passer]

Jordan had 5 games in which he scored 50+ points while shooting 70+% from the field and 80+% from the FT line. The 60+ point games were nice and all but those were his best games imo.

[bullsaficianado]

LeBron's sort of in a weird position. I think beating the 73 Warriors team is one of the most impressive upsets of all-time. I also think losing to Dirk and a bunch of old teammates while he had Wade and Bosh is one of the most embarrassing upsets.

It's not the loss to the Mavericks.

It's how he played. He mentally froze on the biggest stage.

The biggest mental collapse of any GOAT candidate in the NBA.

LeBron almost lost to the Spurs twice if it wasn't for Pop in 2013 pulling Duncan out of the game and allowing for the Bosh to Allen pass.

Without a doubt though beating that 73 win Warriors team with Cavs will go down as LeBron's greatest accomplishment as a basketball player imo.

People aren't giving that Mavs team credit, that team was on a mission along with the 2014 Spurs. If LeBron mentally froze it's because the play of that team got to him. That Spurs teams almost repeated if it wasn't for the 2013 collapse.

LeBron has faced some really great teams in the Finals over the years. That 2014 Spurs team would have given the 96 Bulls tons of problems.

[dice]

That 2014 Spurs team would have given the 96 Bulls tons of problems.

nobody was beating that team the way they shot the ball in that series

[troza]

That 2014 Spurs team would have given the 96 Bulls tons of problems.

nobody was beating that team the way they shot the ball in that series

It might be true but one thing that I notice is that even the good shooters had worse numbers vs the Bulls... ok, not true against Indiana in their field but true in ours.

Other thing... watched the first game of the 1998 finals (the one we loose in OT) and it seems to me that the Pacers were better than those Jazz. Stockton does an amazing game 1, Russel is also good and Malone gets his numbers even with low% and their bench plays well (mainly Esley)... but as they go to their best players all the time, they had Foster in the starting line-up in the game 1... I feel that Indiana, even without a Malone and Stockton duo, they are a better team with a better bench and were able to just go after their matchup advantages... Although Mark Jackson isn't near Stockton's level...

[HomoSapien]

FYI, Kukoc is doing an AMA on Reddit.