Who are the good 1 on 1 Defenders MJ faced?

[Ugalde]

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Iguodala is significantly bigger than Starks. He's also quicker, faster, and more athletic and 4 inches taller. It's easy to see who would be more difficult to face

do you know that lebron and jordan play different positions?

also how about when LeBron gets a screen set so he can attack Steph Curry? do those points not count or do we count those for LeBron?

[TheGOATRises007]

This is the 1st time I've seen someone refer to Kawhi as a 'super athlete'.

The guy literally moves like a robot on the court.

Not taking anything away from when he was great defensively(he no longer is). Kawhi is no super athlete though. Lebron IS a super athlete. That's the barometer. The guys mentioned guarding Lebron aren't super athletes. Some are great athletes sure. But super athletes... Come on.

Lebron dwarfs all of them athletically, just like Jordan dwarfed his competitors.

[Ill News]

We all know that MJ was a spectacular offensive player. Looking back at his Last Dance highlights I noticed something that no one else caught on to. The disturbing lack of good defensive players that MJ went against that were his size. It seemed like every perimeter player on the MJ highlight videos were 3 inches shorter and 30 lbs lighter than MJ. Where are the size appropriate defensive wizards he faced off against like a Kawhi, Artest, Draymond, George, Allen, Marion, etc. I went back to see the guys MJ played against and they were all undersized.

Dennis Johnson: 6' 4, 185 lbs
Craig Ehlo: 6' 6, 190 lbs
Dumars: 6' 3, 190 lbs
Byron Scott: 6' 3, 195 lbs
Starks: 6' 3, 180 lbs
Majerle: 6' 6, 215 lbs
Kevin Johnson: 6' 1, 180 lbs
Hawkins: 6' 3, 190 lbs
Gary Payton: 6-4, 180 lbs
Hornacek: 6' 3, 190 lbs

I don't see many good defensive players on this list. It's not a coincidence that MJ had his biggest struggles when he faced the only 2 good defensive players on this list (Dumars and Payton). If you pay attention you will notice how undersized all of these defenders were in comparison to MJ. He never faced off vs a 6' 7, 230 lbs wing like Kawhi who could get physical with him.

Dennis Johnson and his nine straight All-Defensive team selections would like a word with you over this disrespect.

[prolific passer]

It hurts their pride to admit it.

A guy like Craig Ehlo was Jordan’s primary defender in a big playoff rivalry. It’s not even close.

To be fair. Jordan owned all the cavs shooting guards from 88-93.

Uber athletes like Ron Harper and Gerald Wilkins didn't do any better.

That's why i said all during that span. Ehlo was solid but Jordan from 84-93 was just a beast who destroyed Dennis Johnson in back to back playoff series.

[LKN]

We all know that MJ was a spectacular offensive player. Looking back at his Last Dance highlights I noticed something that no one else caught on to. The disturbing lack of good defensive players that MJ went against that were his size. It seemed like every perimeter player on the MJ highlight videos were 3 inches shorter and 30 lbs lighter than MJ. Where are the size appropriate defensive wizards he faced off against like a Kawhi, Artest, Draymond, George, Allen, Marion, etc. I went back to see the guys MJ played against and they were all undersized.

Dennis Johnson: 6' 4, 185 lbs
Craig Ehlo: 6' 6, 190 lbs
Dumars: 6' 3, 190 lbs
Byron Scott: 6' 3, 195 lbs
Starks: 6' 3, 180 lbs
Majerle: 6' 6, 215 lbs
Kevin Johnson: 6' 1, 180 lbs
Hawkins: 6' 3, 190 lbs
Gary Payton: 6-4, 180 lbs
Hornacek: 6' 3, 190 lbs

I don't see many good defensive players on this list. It's not a coincidence that MJ had his biggest struggles when he faced the only 2 good defensive players on this list (Dumars and Payton). If you pay attention you will notice how undersized all of these defenders were in comparison to MJ. He never faced off vs a 6' 7, 230 lbs wing like Kawhi who could get physical with him.

Dennis Johnson and his nine straight All-Defensive team selections would like a word with you over this disrespect.

Dumars, Payton and Johnson are 3 of the best defensive guards in the history of the NBA.

[HeartBreakKid]

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Iguodala is significantly bigger than Starks. He's also quicker, faster, and more athletic and 4 inches taller. It's easy to see who would be more difficult to face

FFS you people are morons.

Starks is absolutely quicker than Iguadola. It's honestly not even that close.... and that's the whole point. It doesn't matter how strong, tall, etc you are if you can't stay in front of someone.

LOL, it's like I'm trapped with insane people.

John Starks is nowhere near Andre Iguodalla as a defender. If Starks is quicker it isn't enough to make up for the length disadvantage. Taller players don't need to be as fast to cover as much ground - and strength matters a ton for defense. Michael Jordan blasted a lot of guys because of how strong he was, especially when he was older and lost a step - ditto with James for that matter.

The quickest players in the league are not the best defenders...much stronger correlation with arm length than quickness in regards to being an elite defender (and Iggy has very, very long arms).

[Lockdown504090]

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Iguodala is significantly bigger than Starks. He's also quicker, faster, and more athletic and 4 inches taller. It's easy to see who would be more difficult to face

FFS you people are morons.

Starks is absolutely quicker than Iguadola. It's honestly not even that close.... and that's the whole point. It doesn't matter how strong, tall, etc you are if you can't stay in front of someone.

LOL, it's like I'm trapped with insane people.

John Starks is nowhere near Andre Iguodalla as a defender. If Starks is quicker it isn't enough to make up for the length disadvantage. Taller players don't need to be as fast to cover as much ground - and strength matters a ton for defense.

The quickest players in the league are not the best defenders...much stronger correlation with arm length than quickness in regards to being an elite defender (and Iggy has very, very long arms).

which lockdown defender was he going against when he averaged 18 a game against dallas?

[anatomicbomb]

Another way of putting this topic is, MJ was so good, he made the league look weak defensively.

[HeartBreakKid]

FFS you people are morons.

Starks is absolutely quicker than Iguadola. It's honestly not even that close.... and that's the whole point. It doesn't matter how strong, tall, etc you are if you can't stay in front of someone.

LOL, it's like I'm trapped with insane people.

John Starks is nowhere near Andre Iguodalla as a defender. If Starks is quicker it isn't enough to make up for the length disadvantage. Taller players don't need to be as fast to cover as much ground - and strength matters a ton for defense.

The quickest players in the league are not the best defenders...much stronger correlation with arm length than quickness in regards to being an elite defender (and Iggy has very, very long arms).

which lockdown defender was he going against when he averaged 18 a game against dallas?

He faced a well coached team that orchestrated a zone based defensive scheme that consisted of Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler (the three most important defensive positions). LBJ was hardly ever guarded 1 vs 1 in that series - as that would be an idiotic thing to do. Rick Carlisle is not an idiot.

Other than that - your statement is largely irrelevant to my post. Actually, it is entirely irrelevant. Andre Iguodalla being a better defender than John Starks and LBJ having a bad series against The Mavericks are two entirely different topics, and it shows that you have some type of personal bias just the fact that you randomly brought it up (Basically shows you just want to "win" an argument that makes LBJ look bad or perhaps makes MJ look good for the sake of).

[AussieCeltic]

John Starks is nowhere near Andre Iguodalla as a defender. If Starks is quicker it isn't enough to make up for the length disadvantage. Taller players don't need to be as fast to cover as much ground - and strength matters a ton for defense.

The quickest players in the league are not the best defenders...much stronger correlation with arm length than quickness in regards to being an elite defender (and Iggy has very, very long arms).

which lockdown defender was he going against when he averaged 18 a game against dallas?

He faced a well coached team that orchestrated a zone based defensive scheme that consisted of Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler (the three most important defensive positions). LBJ was hardly ever guarded 1 vs 1 in that series.

Other than that - your statement is largely irrelevant to my post. Actually, it is entirely irrelevant.

I already mentioned that MJ at 39/40 torched PRIME Shawn Marion. Jason Kidd wasn't playing any defense at that stage and Tyson Chandler was ok but doesn't hold a candle to the bigs MJ had to face on a nightly basis (Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Zo, Mutumbo etc).

[LKN]

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Iguodala is significantly bigger than Starks. He's also quicker, faster, and more athletic and 4 inches taller. It's easy to see who would be more difficult to face

FFS you people are morons.

Starks is absolutely quicker than Iguadola. It's honestly not even that close.... and that's the whole point. It doesn't matter how strong, tall, etc you are if you can't stay in front of someone.

LOL, it's like I'm trapped with insane people.

John Starks is nowhere near Andre Iguodalla as a defender. If Starks is quicker it isn't enough to make up for the length disadvantage. Taller players don't need to be as fast to cover as much ground - and strength matters a ton for defense. Michael Jordan blasted a lot of guys because of how strong he was, especially when he was older and lost a step - ditto with James for that matter.

The quickest players in the league are not the best defenders...much stronger correlation with arm length than quickness in regards to being an elite defender (and Iggy has very, very long arms).

I was specifically referring to prime MJ... and Iggy would absolutely be too slow to guard him. Freaking Rodman couldn't stay in front of him (and he's got he close to the best defensive lateral quickness I've ever seen for someone his size).

Of course Iggy is a better defensive player than Starks.... I would never debate that, but would he do any better against MJ? Doubtful, especially the first 3 peat version. Of course I wasn't claiming that.. but no one ever reads threads around here before commenting so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There's a reason that teams rarely used SFs on MJ and instead used smaller/quicker guys (it did become a bit more common in the 2nd threepeat when MJ's quickness fell off a touch)

[Ugalde]

always been a huge LeBron fan check my post history but LeBron fans look dumb because of this documentary.

i mean should we just stop watching sports all together?

some day people will be saying the same things about LeBron that you’re trying to say about Jordan.

but it’s very simple

Jordan - 15 seasons - 6 rings
LeBron - 16 seasons - 3 rings

LeBron may catch up in 19 seasons but i guess we’ll find out

[Ugalde]

which lockdown defender was he going against when he averaged 18 a game against dallas?

He faced a well coached team that orchestrated a zone based defensive scheme that consisted of Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler (the three most important defensive positions). LBJ was hardly ever guarded 1 vs 1 in that series.

Other than that - your statement is largely irrelevant to my post. Actually, it is entirely irrelevant.

I already mentioned that MJ at 39/40 torched PRIME Shawn Marion. Jason Kidd wasn't playing any defense at that stage and Tyson Chandler was ok but doesn't hold a candle to the bigs MJ had to face on a nightly basis (Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Zo, Mutumbo etc).

also jordan moved a lot more without the ball than Bron does so teams had to have someone fast to try to keep up with all the off ball screens

[nzahir]

The three best perimeter defenders MJ faced in the playoffs are quite clear, all were at their peaks at the time:
1. Moncrief
2. Rodman
3. Payton

Moncrief won back to back DPOYs in 83-84 and played rookie Jordan in a 1-3-1 zone, and Jordan absolutely eviscerated him (to be clear, Moncrief shredded Jordan on offense too, since rookie Jordan wasn't a good defender). Bulls GM Rod Thorn noted on their first meeting: "Milwaukee, they had the defensive player of the year, Sidney Moncrief. They double teamed him in the second half from the midcourt line in and couldn't stop him. They had Moncrief, Pressey, Junior Bridgeman, and Don Nelson was a defensive guru at the time, believe it or not...Whatever they did, he scored. In the fourth quarter, he must have scored 15,16,17 points, just won the game by himself, and I was thinking, 'Wow,' we've really got ourselves a player here."

The two best after that were Dennis Johnson and Joe Dumars, two perennial 1st team defenders.

The funniest part about these "arguments" is that they claim the 96-98 Bulls were stacked defensively with Rodman joining Jordan and Pippen (the guy who was traded for bench player Will Purdue straight up at age 35), and ignore that peak Rodman, the years he was earning 2 consecutive DPOY's, guarded Jordan in tandem with Joe Dumars.

Though of course the best defenders in that era against Jordan (and all perimeter drivers) were rim protectors, because bigs could clog the lane so effectively and rough you up. If you wanted to get a layup in a half-court set you had to beat 2-3 players minimum. Ironically the very title, in framing the discussion as '1on1 defenders,' basically exposes the ignorant fools here. It would take all of 10 minutes of watching tape to realize nobody was ever playing 84-93 Jordan 1on1 without help.

Rodman is great ofc and MJ lost to the pistons 3 times in a row
Moncrief was early in MJ's career when he was losing early in the playoffs
Leads us to his 1 finals matchup when GP didn't guard him the 1st 3 games and it was MJ's worst finals

Compare that to:

Iggy
Draymond
Klay
Bowen
Prince
Kawhi
Marion
Durant
Paul George
Jimmy Butler

And it is not ever Lebron vs 1 guy, Lebron has played in an era with defensive help, unlike MJ

Team D with help where 3-4 guys are focused on you>hand checking (also helped MJ on the other end, and would benefit Lebron as well)

Never heard of "the Jordan Rules"

You're acting like MJ didn't get fts for taking those fouls, he did

If you want to talk about someone not getting calls, go watch Lebron for the past 5 years

The pistons were a very good team D and they beat MJ 3 times in a row. They started to get a bit older and the bulls became better

But in the 90s, MJ didn't have to face too many tough defenders on the perimeter if I am being honest

[HeartBreakKid]

I already mentioned that MJ at 39/40 torched Shawn Marion. Jason Kidd wasn't playing any defense at that stage and Tyson Chandler was ok but doesn't hold a candle to the bigs MJ had to face (Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Zo, Mutumbo etc).

LBJ has "torched" teams with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and many NBA greats in the regular season also - so why would Michael Jordan going off against Shawn Marion in the RS mean anything? (if that even happened)

Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense in 2011? Okay, well, you clearly are just going off of narratives if you think that is true because that is hilariously incorrect. Jason Kidd was still one of the best defensive guards. You are just saying he was bad because he was older and not considered a superstar anymore - but the idea that Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense is just....what exactly do you think he was doing?


Olajuwon and Robinson were not in the same conference as Michael Jordan. Jordan never played Zo Mournin in a playoff series. Mutumbo only had one series against Michael Jordan (because Mutumbo was also in the Western conference) and Michael Jordan didn't score well. The only center you listed there that Jordan had any history with was Patrick Ewing, and the Knicks lost because Ewing mediocre offensive help, they defended the Bulls quite well. On top of that, what does any of them have to do with Tyson Chandler? They are better defenders yes, that doesn't mean Tyson Chandler was not a great defender.

The majority of the centers you listed, Michael Jordan never played against in the playoffs.

That is not to mention that none of those players played on the same team at the same time and were not coached by Rich Carslile so I don't know what relevance that has. Zone defense isn't one vs one defense either, and the Mavericks used zone to stop the Heat.


It seems like people here are not aware that 1 vs 1 defense and team defense are two different things. Shawn Marion isn't even famous for being a 1 vs 1 defender, so even if Jordan did torch him (which my guess is that you looked up that Jordan had high PPG against the Suns, which is not the same thing as him scoring on Marion at will) it doesn't say anything about who is the better 1 vs 1 guy.


Zone defense is not 1 vs 1 defense.



On top of that, we are basically over analyzing one series that happened in LBJ's career that will likely last 20 seasons of all-nba play and deep post season runs. That seems rather silly.

[prolific passer]

Rodman is great ofc and MJ lost to the pistons 3 times in a row
Moncrief was early in MJ's career when he was losing early in the playoffs
Leads us to his 1 finals matchup when GP didn't guard him the 1st 3 games and it was MJ's worst finals

Compare that to:

Iggy
Draymond
Klay
Bowen
Prince
Kawhi
Marion
Durant
Paul George
Jimmy Butler

And it is not ever Lebron vs 1 guy, Lebron has played in an era with defensive help, unlike MJ

Team D with help where 3-4 guys are focused on you>hand checking (also helped MJ on the other end, and would benefit Lebron as well)

Never heard of "the Jordan Rules"

You're acting like MJ didn't get fts for taking those fouls, he did

If you want to talk about someone not getting calls, go watch Lebron for the past 5 years

The pistons were a very good team D and they beat MJ 3 times in a row. They started to get a bit older and the bulls became better

But in the 90s, MJ didn't have to face too many tough defenders on the perimeter if I am being honest

If I'm being honest. Lebron not going to the line is a good thing because he can't make them anyway.

[LKN]

I already mentioned that MJ at 39/40 torched Shawn Marion. Jason Kidd wasn't playing any defense at that stage and Tyson Chandler was ok but doesn't hold a candle to the bigs MJ had to face (Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Zo, Mutumbo etc).

LBJ has "torched" teams with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and many NBA greats in the regular season also - so why would Michael Jordan going off against Shawn Marion in the RS mean anything? (if that even happened)

Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense in 2011? Okay, well, you clearly are just going off of narratives if you think that is true because that is hilariously incorrect. Jason Kidd was still one of the best defensive guards. You are just saying he was bad because he was older and not considered a superstar anymore - but the idea that Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense is just....what exactly do you think he was doing?


Olajuwon and Robinson were not in the same conference as Michael Jordan. Jordan never played Zo in a playoff series. Mutumbo only had one series against Michael Jordan and Michael Jordan didn't score well. The only center you listed there that Jordan had any history with was Patrick Ewing, and the Knicks lost because Ewing mediocre offensive help, they defended the Bulls quite well. On top of that, what does any of them have to do with Tyson Chandler? They are better defenders yes, that doesn't mean Tyson Chandler was not a great defender.

That is not to mention that none of those players played on the same team at the same time and were not coached by Rich Carslile so I don't know what relevance that has. Zone defense isn't one vs one defense either, and the Mavericks used zone to stop the Heat.


It seems like people here are not aware that 1 vs 1 defense and team defense are two different things. Shawn Marion isn't even famous for being a 1 vs 1 defender, so even if Jordan did torch him (which my guess is that you looked up that Jordan had high PPG against the Suns, which is not the same thing as him scoring on Marion at will) it doesn't say anything about who is the better 1 vs 1 guy.


Zone defense is not 1 vs 1 defense.



On top of that, we are basically over analyzing one series that happened in LBJ's career that will likely last 20 seasons of all-nba play and deep post season runs. That seems rather silly.

Wait what"? MJ faced Mourning 3 different times in the playoffs.

FFS

[HeartBreakKid]

I already mentioned that MJ at 39/40 torched Shawn Marion. Jason Kidd wasn't playing any defense at that stage and Tyson Chandler was ok but doesn't hold a candle to the bigs MJ had to face (Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Zo, Mutumbo etc).

LBJ has "torched" teams with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and many NBA greats in the regular season also - so why would Michael Jordan going off against Shawn Marion in the RS mean anything? (if that even happened)

Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense in 2011? Okay, well, you clearly are just going off of narratives if you think that is true because that is hilariously incorrect. Jason Kidd was still one of the best defensive guards. You are just saying he was bad because he was older and not considered a superstar anymore - but the idea that Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense is just....what exactly do you think he was doing?


Olajuwon and Robinson were not in the same conference as Michael Jordan. Jordan never played Zo in a playoff series. Mutumbo only had one series against Michael Jordan and Michael Jordan didn't score well. The only center you listed there that Jordan had any history with was Patrick Ewing, and the Knicks lost because Ewing mediocre offensive help, they defended the Bulls quite well. On top of that, what does any of them have to do with Tyson Chandler? They are better defenders yes, that doesn't mean Tyson Chandler was not a great defender.

That is not to mention that none of those players played on the same team at the same time and were not coached by Rich Carslile so I don't know what relevance that has. Zone defense isn't one vs one defense either, and the Mavericks used zone to stop the Heat.


It seems like people here are not aware that 1 vs 1 defense and team defense are two different things. Shawn Marion isn't even famous for being a 1 vs 1 defender, so even if Jordan did torch him (which my guess is that you looked up that Jordan had high PPG against the Suns, which is not the same thing as him scoring on Marion at will) it doesn't say anything about who is the better 1 vs 1 guy.


Zone defense is not 1 vs 1 defense.



On top of that, we are basically over analyzing one series that happened in LBJ's career that will likely last 20 seasons of all-nba play and deep post season runs. That seems rather silly.

Wait what"? MJ faced Mourning 3 different times in the playoffs.

FFS

Yeah, you're right. I forgot when Zo went to Miami.

[twyzted]

I already mentioned that MJ at 39/40 torched Shawn Marion. Jason Kidd wasn't playing any defense at that stage and Tyson Chandler was ok but doesn't hold a candle to the bigs MJ had to face (Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Zo, Mutumbo etc).

LBJ has "torched" teams with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and many NBA greats in the regular season also - so why would Michael Jordan going off against Shawn Marion in the RS mean anything? (if that even happened)

Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense in 2011? Okay, well, you clearly are just going off of narratives if you think that is true because that is hilariously incorrect. Jason Kidd was still one of the best defensive guards. You are just saying he was bad because he was older and not considered a superstar anymore - but the idea that Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense is just....what exactly do you think he was doing?


Olajuwon and Robinson were not in the same conference as Michael Jordan. Jordan never played Zo Mournin in a playoff series. Mutumbo only had one series against Michael Jordan (because Mutumbo was also in the Western conference) and Michael Jordan didn't score well. The only center you listed there that Jordan had any history with was Patrick Ewing, and the Knicks lost because Ewing mediocre offensive help, they defended the Bulls quite well. On top of that, what does any of them have to do with Tyson Chandler? They are better defenders yes, that doesn't mean Tyson Chandler was not a great defender.

The majority of the centers you listed, Michael Jordan never played against in the playoffs.

That is not to mention that none of those players played on the same team at the same time and were not coached by Rich Carslile so I don't know what relevance that has. Zone defense isn't one vs one defense either, and the Mavericks used zone to stop the Heat.


It seems like people here are not aware that 1 vs 1 defense and team defense are two different things. Shawn Marion isn't even famous for being a 1 vs 1 defender, so even if Jordan did torch him (which my guess is that you looked up that Jordan had high PPG against the Suns, which is not the same thing as him scoring on Marion at will) it doesn't say anything about who is the better 1 vs 1 guy.


Zone defense is not 1 vs 1 defense.



On top of that, we are basically over analyzing one series that happened in LBJ's career that will likely last 20 seasons of all-nba play and deep post season runs. That seems rather silly.

Bulls meet miami heat in the first round of 96 playoffs and in east finals in 97. And mourning was indeed on those heat teams.
Yeah pat riley coached knicks from 91-94
And he coached miami from 95-03 and again from 05-08
He only won 5 titles

Edit: mourning was on the hornets in 95

[HeartBreakKid]

I already mentioned that MJ at 39/40 torched Shawn Marion. Jason Kidd wasn't playing any defense at that stage and Tyson Chandler was ok but doesn't hold a candle to the bigs MJ had to face (Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Zo, Mutumbo etc).

LBJ has "torched" teams with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and many NBA greats in the regular season also - so why would Michael Jordan going off against Shawn Marion in the RS mean anything? (if that even happened)

Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense in 2011? Okay, well, you clearly are just going off of narratives if you think that is true because that is hilariously incorrect. Jason Kidd was still one of the best defensive guards. You are just saying he was bad because he was older and not considered a superstar anymore - but the idea that Jason Kidd wasn't playing defense is just....what exactly do you think he was doing?


Olajuwon and Robinson were not in the same conference as Michael Jordan. Jordan never played Zo Mournin in a playoff series. Mutumbo only had one series against Michael Jordan (because Mutumbo was also in the Western conference) and Michael Jordan didn't score well. The only center you listed there that Jordan had any history with was Patrick Ewing, and the Knicks lost because Ewing mediocre offensive help, they defended the Bulls quite well. On top of that, what does any of them have to do with Tyson Chandler? They are better defenders yes, that doesn't mean Tyson Chandler was not a great defender.

The majority of the centers you listed, Michael Jordan never played against in the playoffs.

That is not to mention that none of those players played on the same team at the same time and were not coached by Rich Carslile so I don't know what relevance that has. Zone defense isn't one vs one defense either, and the Mavericks used zone to stop the Heat.


It seems like people here are not aware that 1 vs 1 defense and team defense are two different things. Shawn Marion isn't even famous for being a 1 vs 1 defender, so even if Jordan did torch him (which my guess is that you looked up that Jordan had high PPG against the Suns, which is not the same thing as him scoring on Marion at will) it doesn't say anything about who is the better 1 vs 1 guy.


Zone defense is not 1 vs 1 defense.



On top of that, we are basically over analyzing one series that happened in LBJ's career that will likely last 20 seasons of all-nba play and deep post season runs. That seems rather silly.

Bulls meet miami heat in the first round of 96 playoffs and in east finals in 97. And mourning was indeed on those heat teams.
Yeah pat riley coached knicks from 91-94
And he coached miami from 95-03 and again from 05-08
He only won 5 titles

Ah, you're right. My time line when Zo joined Miami was messed up.