So who wins in a best of series?

by **RedTorro** on Thu May 01, 2003 2:29 am

My friend and I were arguing all day about who would win in a matchup between the 87-88 Lakers and the 96-98 Bulls. He argued the depth of the Laker squad and I argued that the Bulls wouldn't need much depth to handle the Lakers. Sure Let Kareem sky hook all day but I think the Bulls could collectively shut down guys like Worthy and Magic.

Please post your thoughts

Also.. Could somebody please post the rosters of these squads..

by **EGarrett** on Thu May 01, 2003 12:27 pm

Hmmm...

Rodman would probably cover Worthy pretty well...and Scottie would give Magic fits...but the Lakers were at their best before the defense could set up. It would come down to plenty of skyhooks against plenty of fadeaways in crunch time.

Remember also, that in '91 an early form of Jordan's Bulls met a late form of Magic' Lakers in the NBA Finals...in that case the Bulls handled the Lakers pretty easily.

That being said...I think the 72-10 Bulls would take the series in 7 games...

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Thu May 01, 2003 4:51 pm

An interesting matchup. The Bulls never needed a dominant centre to win a title, but on the other hand, they never faced an opponent who boasted one - at least in the NBA Finals. During their 1996-98 title years, they faced the likes of Shaq (1996), Ewing (1996), Mourning (1996 and 1997) and Mutombo (1997), all great players at one time or another but only Shaq is close to Kareem in his dominance at both ends.

Having said that, I don't think the matchup at centre would prove to be too crucial. The Bulls always found a way around their lack of good big men with the superior play of their guards and wingmen.

The two contrasting styles would make for an interesting matchup - the Bulls with the five headed monster that is the triangle, and the Lakers with their lightning quick Showtime fast breaks. Would the Bulls try to outrun the Lakers? Or would the Lakers try to outduel the Bulls in a half-court offense of their own? And if each team played their game, would the two styles cancel each other out?

My personal bias towards the Bulls aside, I still think Chicago would win the series, in 6 or 7 games. I think the versatility of Pippen, the mind games of Dennis Rodman, the spark provided by Toni Kukoc and the competitiveness of Michael Jordan would prevail against Magic's uncanny playmaking, Kareem's skyhooks, Worthy's arsenal and Byron Scott's shooting.

by **Matthew** on Thu May 01, 2003 5:51 pm

I also chose the Bulls, but mainly becuase of their defensive capabilities. In my opinion, the Bulls would be better off having Longley play behind Kareem, have Scottie come over from the top of the key (Just like in 2000 when he was a blazer) to double Kareem, have rodman controll the defensive backboards by putting him on A.C. Green, have Harper on worthy and MJ on Magic. Strangle the Lakers offensive with an effective double team in the half court and also have a full court press to make them chew up more time before the ball is even advanced and the Lakers will be at a lost.

Like Andrew mentioned, the spark of Toni Kukoc might be enough to wear down the Lakers. It would be a great matchup though, and one I would happily pay to watch.

by **Rens** on Thu May 01, 2003 9:19 pm

Lakers would win the series.

by **Matthew** on Thu May 01, 2003 9:30 pm

Wow what wonderful insight! Rens, how do you do it? :lol:

by **Rens** on Thu May 01, 2003 9:35 pm

Nice insight from yourself too... :roll:

Kareem would dominate inside and the Lakers have enough defensive answers to slow down Jordan and Pippen (not stop them, I don't think any team could've in their prime) and Magic would have Pippen over him, yes, but a slowed down PG is less of a problem for a team than when your main options are slowed down. The Lakers had more options on offense, which would be the key in the series.

by **Matthew** on Thu May 01, 2003 9:50 pm

I doubt Kareem would dominate. He would have stretches of the ball game where he would seem unstopable, but when a swariming double team of Pippen or Harper arives, it would lmit his opportunities. As I said before, have rodamn control the boards and the tempo will be Chicago's. Remember Dennis was a great offensive rebounder, which would take away alot of possible transition points for the Lakers. MJ, along with Pippen would pick them apart in a half court offense, and defensively the Bulls would take L.A. right out of their game.

Andrew brought up before how Chicago was able to beat plenty of teams who boates quality centres. Lets have a look at some point gaurds they have beaten:
Tim Hardaway
Gary Payton
John Stockton
Mookie Blaylock (in his prime)
Penny Hardaway( in prime too)
Mark Jackson

Magic would pose a similar matchup to Penny imo, so I dont think he would break the series open. MJ could (and would) exploit the Lakers and Pippen would create havic doing all those intangable things that he was a master at. Lakers depth? I don't think anyone from the Lakers bench would be able to slow down Toni Kukoc either. All these things would result in a Bulls victory. Kareem would give them problems though.

Bulls in 6

by **Matthew** on Thu May 01, 2003 9:55 pm

Fuck, some spelling mistakes:

As I said before, have rodman control the boards and the tempo will be Chicago's

Andrew brought up before how Chicago was able to beat plenty of teams who boasted quality centres

by **Colin** on Fri May 02, 2003 9:11 am

How are those spelling mistakes other than the fact that rodman wasn't capitalized?

by **Matthew** on Fri May 02, 2003 10:07 am

Dude check my post above it. I spelt Rodman as "rodamn" and boasted as "boates"

by **Bill Russell** on Fri May 02, 2003 3:01 pm

How would Kareem dominate? He would be pretty old in 1988...

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Fri May 02, 2003 4:46 pm

By 1988 Kareem had slowed down somewhat (14.6 ppg, 6 rpg). The Kareem from one of the earlier title years (evem 1985: 22 ppg, 7.9 rpg) would probably cause more problems.

by **Matthew** on Fri May 02, 2003 5:42 pm

How would Kareem dominate? He would be pretty old in 1988...

I thought about this later. Kareem would still pose problems with that bastard of a skyhook he posses. But I'll stick to my guns, Bulls in 6

by **Rens** on Sat May 03, 2003 12:07 am

How would Kareem dominate? He would be pretty old in 1988...

Yeah the year thing is an issue.. picked the Bulls when they were at their peak, but the Lakers when they were starting to slow down.

by **RedTorro** on Sat May 03, 2003 2:50 am

Ok then, pick any showtime Laker team and I still think the Bulls would come out on top. My friend suggested that Michael Cooper would be a factor but I still think Toni,Scottie, and MJ would get it done. :roll:

YouTube · by **mp3** on Sat May 03, 2003 6:09 am

How would Kareem dominate? He would be pretty old in 1988...

not that it matters, i went to see kareem play with the harlem globetrotters in manchester some years back

...... anyway as i did not start watching the nba untill 92 i didn't see to much of the " showtime " lakers so who have to pick the bulls.

So who wins in a best of series?

Showtime vs. Gametime

So who wins in a best of series?

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