Favorite Playoff Moment?

[RamiTheBullsFan]

Pax's winner was with 3.9 seconds left. 3.9 or... 39.. or 93 backwards! 93 Finals, 93 champs! haha

That Phoenix series was my hands down, favorite finals. Those unlucky Bulls fans who didn't witness the 92-93 season like to downgrade the series, like it was the weakest of the 6. I never understood how, unless they just weren't around, or they didn't watch it.

Well, it was definitely the weakest Bulls' roster of the 6.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I was 16 when they started winning...so I remember everything. I have other moments that were my fav moments, but the Bulls sweeping the Pistons in 1991 is like the perfect ending to a movie. The Bulls completely dominated the team that eliminated them the previous 3 years. It was unbelievable to watch. I don't think I have seen the defending champions go down with a thud like that since....well, there was 2007, but that really wasn't the same...

Luckily for me, I saw that '91 championship video and have seen a lot of net clips of that series... but that brought a tear to my eye everytime I watched it.

 

[Crystallas]

Well, it was definitely the weakest Bulls' roster of the 6.

Nope, definitely not.

 

[houheffna]

Nope, definitely not.

The weakest of the 6 in my opinion was the 98 team. Older Jordan, Old Rodman, injured Pip...the 1993 team had a 30 year old Jordan. HE was better than that 1998 team by himself...

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

The weakest of the 6 in my opinion was the 98 team. Older Jordan, Old Rodman, injured Pip...the 1993 team had a 30 year old Jordan. HE was better than that 1998 team by himself...

Yeah but the defense was so good on those later teams and Jordan and Pippen were even more well-rounded and complete players by the 1997-98 season. Paxson and Cartwright didn't seem to be playing the same role as they once were by 1993...

 

[poodski]

When Reggie scored 8 points in 11 seconds was easily my favorite playoff moment of all time.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

In 1992-93, the Bulls finished 57-25 with Jordan and Pippen playing the entire regular season practically. They had a lot of trouble in the final two rounds... losing the first two games to the Knicks in the ECF and losing 2 out of 3 in Chicago vs. the Barkley/KJ/Majerle Suns.

In 1997-98, the Bulls finished 62-20 with Pippen missing the first 35 games of the regular season. After starting out 23-11, the Bulls ended the season on a 37-9 tear. They struggled against a tough Indiana team in 7 games... but that was perhaps the best team they ever faced in a playoff series throughout all 6 of those Championship seasons. They then faced the Jazz in the NBA Finals who had over a week's rest in-wait for the Bulls and they lost the opening game in the Delta Center in OT. They then won Game 2 in SLC. Then DESTROYED the Jazz 96-54 in a huge route and COMPLETELY shut down the Jazz' offense. The next two games in Chicago were both close and the Jazz pulled an upset off of 38 or 39 points from Malone while Jordan and Pippen both struggled from the field. Kukoc nearly carried them to a win in that game and gave the Bulls a chance to tie or win on a heave by Jordan. The Bulls then lost Pippen in the opening minutes of Game 6 and Rodman looked out-of-sorts (perhaps from partying in Vegas the night before?). Pippen came back in the 2nd half and Jordan struggled from the field once again, but the Bulls STILL managed to put the Jazz away in the final minute... we all know how that happened.

I'd say, healthy, the '98 Bulls were easily the better team than the '93 Bulls.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

The weakest of the 6 in my opinion was the 98 team. Older Jordan, Old Rodman, injured Pip...the 1993 team had a 30 year old Jordan. HE was better than that 1998 team by himself...

That 1998 team was the slow, worn down version of the team that combined to have a record of 141-23 in the two seasons before. Jordan was still the most athletic scorer in the NBA and Pippen was definitely top 5 or 10 in that category. And both of those guys had only gotten better chemistry-wise and skillwise by that last run. It's not fair to say 1993 Jordan was better than that team by himself.

 

[houheffna]

In 1992-93, the Bulls finished 57-25 with Jordan and Pippen playing the entire regular season practically. They had a lot of trouble in the final two rounds... losing the first two games to the Knicks in the ECF and losing 2 out of 3 in Chicago vs. the Barkley/KJ/Majerle Suns.

In 1997-98, the Bulls finished 62-20 with Pippen missing the first 35 games of the regular season. After starting out 23-11, the Bulls ended the season on a 37-9 tear. They struggled against a tough Indiana team in 7 games... but that was perhaps the best team they ever faced in a playoff series throughout all 6 of those Championship seasons. They then faced the Jazz in the NBA Finals who had over a week's rest in-wait for the Bulls and they lost the opening game in the Delta Center in OT. They then won Game 2 in SLC. Then DESTROYED the Jazz 96-54 in a huge route and COMPLETELY shut down the Jazz' offense. The next two games in Chicago were both close and the Jazz pulled an upset off of 38 or 39 points from Malone while Jordan and Pippen both struggled from the field. Kukoc nearly carried them to a win in that game and gave the Bulls a chance to tie or win on a heave by Jordan. The Bulls then lost Pippen in the opening minutes of Game 6 and Rodman looked out-of-sorts (perhaps from partying in Vegas the night before?). Pippen came back in the 2nd half and Jordan struggled from the field once again, but the Bulls STILL managed to put the Jazz away in the final minute... we all know how that happened.

I'd say, healthy, the '98 Bulls were easily the better team than the '93 Bulls.

I was at that Utah game...Jordan was not at all the player he was in 1993...Not at all. Neither was Pippen at that point because of the nagging injuries. But the x factor was Jordan. He was at his best during that time and that makes all the difference. Horace at that point was better than Rodman, who didn't play defense at all at that point, and Jordan had to babysit him like a kid. Wins and losses don't matter as much and winning 4 straight against that New York team after losing the first two games on the road and then defeating that Phoenix team was more impressive than what the Bulls did in 1998 as a team in my opinion.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I was at that Utah game...Jordan was not at all the player he was in 1993...Not at all. Neither was Pippen at that point because of the nagging injuries. But the x factor was Jordan. He was at his best during that time and that makes all the difference. Horace at that point was better than Rodman, who didn't play defense at all at that point, and Jordan had to babysit him like a kid. Wins and losses don't matter as much and winning 4 straight against that New York team after losing the first two games on the road and then defeating that Phoenix team was more impressive than what the Bulls did in 1998 as a team in my opinion.

I'll grant you that niether team was the greatest Bulls' team and they were definitely both the least of the six teams. But neither team blows the other out of the water. Rodman was still the better rebounder and man defender than Grant and Kukoc was a poor man's Lamar Odom (without the rebounding). Harper was also a huge step up as defender from Armstrong or Paxson. Jordan definitely had a better shot and low post game by the '98 season from the '93 season... same with Pippen. These guys didn't fly around the gym anymore but Jordan still had a ton of explosiveness. And Steve Kerr was like having Kyle Korver with PG skills.

 

[Crystallas]

The 93 team, like the 98 team, was on cruise control for most of the season. The 98 team did have the more banged up roster of the whole 6 come playoffs. The records don't indicate how good or bad either were, however people brush off the Suns, like they were the easiest of the Bulls opponents in all 6 seasons. In my opinion, at the point of the finals, that Suns team was the most complete team of all 6 opponents.

So when I see someone say definitely this, or definitely that... I just think to myself, I hope you had seen that entire season to make such a judgement, and not a youtube + basketball-reference. Because that's a pure BS word to use if you can't back it up with serious out of the box logic.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

The 93 team, like the 98 team, was on cruise control for most of the season. The 98 team did have the more banged up roster of the whole 6 come playoffs. The records don't indicate how good or bad either were, however people brush off the Suns, like they were the easiest of the Bulls opponents in all 6 seasons. In my opinion, at the point of the finals, that Suns team was the most complete team of all 6 opponents.

So when I see someone say definitely this, or definitely that... I just think to myself, I hope you had seen that entire season to make such a judgement, and not a youtube + basketball-reference. Because that's a pure BS word to use if you can't back it up with serious out of the box logic.

Well, Phil Jackson said himself that he didn't think the 1993 team was as talented as the two teams before. And while those 1991 and 1992 teams were great, they were not on the level of the 1996 and 1997 teams.

Offensively, the 1993 team was considerably better offensively than the 1998 team. But defensively the 1993 team was nowhere near the 1998 team. Nor were they as good on the boards. That's why I strongly believe that the 1998 team was better.

And while that Suns team was great, I think that defensively they weren't all that great. Mark West and Dumas could defend the rim but they had guys like Danny Ainge, Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, Cedric Ceballos, KJ, and Barkley were hardly lock down guys. That is a great offensive team and rebounding team with great depth. But I still think the 1998 Pacers were the deepest team the Bulls ever faced and MUCH better defensively than the '93 Suns. The Jazz that year were better on defense, too.

 

[Crystallas]

Well, Phil Jackson said himself that he didn't think the 1993 team was as talented as the two teams before. And while those 1991 and 1992 teams were great, they were not on the level of the 1996 and 1997 teams.

Offensively, the 1993 team was considerably better offensively than the 1998 team. But defensively the 1993 team was nowhere near the 1998 team. Nor were they as good on the boards. That's why I strongly believe that the 1998 team was better.

And while that Suns team was great, I think that defensively they weren't all that great. Mark West and Dumas could defend the rim but they had guys like Danny Ainge, Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, Cedric Ceballos, KJ, and Barkley were hardly lock down guys. That is a great offensive team and rebounding team with great depth. But I still think the 1998 Pacers were the deepest team the Bulls ever faced and MUCH better defensively than the '93 Suns. The Jazz that year were better on defense, too.

I'm still trying to figure out where you have the audacity to say they were "definitely" inferior. All I hear are old written arguments to why some have opinionated that Bulls championship to not be their favorite.

And BTW, Majerle and KJ were lockdown defenders that year in that playoffs. People seem to forget, that nobody locked down pre-retirement Jordan in the playoffs. Kevin Johnson was incredible all post-season. Mark West gave every big fits in the league, even though he was himself mediocre. Paul Westphal did not implement the same style of play that D'Antoni did in Phoenix. Those Suns were a well balanced team. This was their finals to lose, but this somehow-weak Bulls roster, as the underdog, won.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I'm still trying to figure out where you have the audacity to say they were "definitely" inferior. All I hear are old written arguments to why some have opinionated that Bulls championship to not be their favorite.

And BTW, Majerle and KJ were lockdown defenders that year in that playoffs. People seem to forget, that nobody locked down pre-retirement Jordan in the playoffs. Kevin Johnson was incredible all post-season. Mark West gave every big fits in the league, even though he was himself mediocre. Paul Westphal did not implement the same style of play that D'Antoni did in Phoenix. Those Suns were a well balanced team. This was their finals to lose, but this somehow-weak Bulls roster, as the underdog, won.

It was tough for the Bulls that year because the Suns offense was so great but the Bulls defense also really wasn't. That caused problems for the Bulls because it was so tough for them to get stops at times against them. The difference in the series was Jordan being too much for the perimeter defenders to handle. You're right that Majerle and KJ were both solid defenders but as a whole, the Suns weren't that good because Ainge and Frank Johnson were out there and Barkley had a lot to handle with Grant. Bill Cartwright and John Paxson weren't in the same role as they were in the past two seasons either...

I wouldn't ever compare Westphal to D'Antoni. I like Westphal's emphasis on defense and rebounding. D'Antoni's teams all don't care at all about transition defense... so obviously the '93 Suns were miles ahead of any other Suns team.

I don't remember who the underdog was in the '93 series but I do remember the Bulls being underdogs to a lot of analysts in 1998 in the series with the Jazz. People thought the Bulls had run out of gas.

The reason I use the word "definitely" a little loosely here is because head-to-head (both teams healthy), I do think that the '98 Bulls would beat the '93 Bulls almost everytime. I remember the difference in athleticism between Jordan and Pippen in '93 and then in '98 and I don't think there was that great of a gap. Jordan started loosing some hop by the 1991 season and started declining very slowly. Pippen still had his quickness but had foot problems that limited his bounce. I really believe both those guys were better players because of their skills improving so much by that time. And because Jordan and Pippen both made one another better and had gained a lot of trust with each other that it didn't seem like Jordan had for Pippen until the later years.

 

[Crystallas]

The reason I use the word "definitely" a little loosely here is because head-to-head (both teams healthy), I do think that the '98 Bulls would beat the '93 Bulls almost everytime. I remember the difference in athleticism between Jordan and Pippen in '93 and then in '98 and I don't think there was that great of a gap. Jordan started loosing some hop by the 1991 season and started declining very slowly. Pippen still had his quickness but had foot problems that limited his bounce. I really believe both those guys were better players because of their skills improving so much by that time. And because Jordan and Pippen both made one another better and had gained a lot of trust with each other that it didn't seem like Jordan had for Pippen until the later years.

Well, if you want to use the word definitely in a loosely manner, then follow up using impossible theoretical matchups, then you can pretty much make up whatever you want. There is nothing that adds up to anything.

If you want to have an opinion that you like 98 better for whatever reasons you want to believe , then sure, I can respect that. Now if you want to sit here passing on opinions as fact(in a way that comes off as insulting), then what is the point? Trust me dude, I have ran through the comparisons in my head thousands of times over. I know what I believe, I know why I have my opinion, and to debate it like it's fact isn't going to solve jack. BTW, I think if the 93 team played the 98 team, the 93 team wins. If the 98 team were healthy, which they weren't, then that's a whole new argument. We can pretend, what if Jordan was 12 feet tall with a 200' vertical, or put Mini-Ditka into the mix too? Sure, same difference.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

Well, if you want to use the word definitely in a loosely manner, then follow up using impossible theoretical matchups, then you can pretty much make up whatever you want. There is nothing that adds up to anything.

If you want to have an opinion that you like 98 better for whatever reasons you want to believe , then sure, I can respect that. Now if you want to sit here passing on opinions as fact(in a way that comes off as insulting), then what is the point? Trust me dude, I have ran through the comparisons in my head thousands of times over. I know what I believe, I know why I have my opinion, and to debate it like it's fact isn't going to solve jack. BTW, I think if the 93 team played the 98 team, the 93 team wins. If the 98 team were healthy, which they weren't, then that's a whole new argument. We can pretend, what if Jordan was 12 feet tall with a 200' vertical, or put Mini-Ditka into the mix too? Sure, same difference.

The '98 Bulls were pretty healthy down-the-stretch of the season... Honestly, I just think defense matters more than anything. Pippen and Jordan were great shooters and low-post scorers by 1998. Obviously, they were great all-around players for their entire careers... but they improved despite not flying around. And back to defense... it was undeniably better in 1998 while, admittedly on my part, the offense was undeniably worse. But if that 1998 team happened to be scoring (or if Jordan was feeling it), that's really a team that's almost impossible to beat... and that's why I'm saying that head-to-head I really like the '98 Bulls more (in my eyes).

The only real upside on offense of the '98 team was that they had a 3rd big time scoring wing in Toni Kukoc who did have some nice point skills as a 6'11'' guy too. Horace Grant not being there would hurt. But Pippen was a lot stronger by 1998 and both he and Jordan were more skilled on the low-block by then--- not enough to completely make up for the lack of Grant, but it made up for some of that high percentage scoring. In 1993, Jordan and Pippen were definitely faster and created transition scoring opportunities out of short rebounded balls at time. By 1998, they really couldn't do that anymore, but the team was forcing so many turnovers that they were getting just as many fast breaks. It's definitely all opinion but that's a strong belief of mine that the 1998 team was at least somewhat better than the 1993 team.

 

[pinkizdead]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AQn4TlHEnw]YouTube - Ben Gordon 42 Points vs Celtics Game 2 Playoffs! HD! 20.4.09[/ame]

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

YouTube - Ben Gordon 42 Points vs Celtics Game 2 Playoffs! HD! 20.4.09

The end of that game pissed me off so much man...

 

[pinkizdead]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slv9CKB-0ps&feature=related]YouTube - Joakim Noah Steal&Big Dunk Game 6 playoff Chicago Bulls 30 Apr 2009[/ame]

 

[cubsneedmiracle]

"The Shrug"

and lately the Bulls celtics series was just flat out epic