Can 1996 Michael Jordan lead the 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs?

[Lebron23]

LeBron put up an amazing stats in the regular season, playoffs, and in the nba finals. Probably one of the worst supporting casts in basketball history. I was surprised that team won 50 games and made it into the nba finals.

[Soundwave]

Yes. Kevin Love is not that bad of a player to begin with and the Eastern conference was weak. DeMar Derozan gonna stop him from getting to the Finals? I don't think so.

And even older Jordan in 1998 had the Bulls at 24-11 (and honestly heating up, they were playing at more like a 60+ win rate for several weeks) which is a 56 win pace with no Pippen in the lineup and Kukoc as the no.2 option. They were no.1 in the Eastern Conference to boot before Pippen came back.

[3ball]

Those were Love's prime years and he was easily the best 2nd option in the conference and would've been the best 1st option too, after Lebron and Kyrie

Compare DeRozan and Drexler's stats - Drexler's advantage is massive, and MJ toyed with him

[1987_Lakers]

Yes. Kevin Love is not that bad of a player to begin with and the Eastern conference was weak. DeMar Derozan gonna stop him from getting to the Finals? I don't think so.

And even older Jordan in 1998 had the Bulls at 24-11 (and honestly heating up, they were playing at more like a 60+ win rate for several weeks) which is a 56 win pace with no Pippen in the lineup and Kukoc as the no.2 option. They were no.1 in the Eastern Conference to boot before Pippen came back.

Love was awful in the postseason. 2018 is the greatest carry job I've ever seen.

[Lebron23]

Those were Love's prime years and he was easily the best 2nd option in the conference and would've been the best 1st option too, after Lebron and Kyrie

Compare DeRozan and Drexler's stats - Drexler's advantage is massive, and MJ toyed with him

Love averaged 14.2 ppg, 10 rpg on 38.1 FG& in the playoffs.17.6 ppg/9.3 rpg on 45.1 FG& in the playoffs. He was also terrible in the nba finals. he also played 59 games in the regular season.

[Soundwave]

Love was awful in the postseason. 2018 is the greatest carry job I've ever seen.

Still we saw an even older version of Jordan that had the Bulls playing at a near 60 win rate in 1997 while Pippen was injured, making Kukoc basically the 2nd option.

This is not only an old player by this point, this is an old player on the 3rd lap of a threepeat which we know is very taxing, you look at how gassed a relatively young Golden State team looked by that 3rd year.

Now imagine trying to do that at age 35.

[Lebron23]

Love was awful in the postseason. 2018 is the greatest carry job I've ever seen.

It's the best carry job in nba history.

[1987_Lakers]

Still we saw an even older version of Jordan that had the Bulls playing at a near 60 win rate in 1997 while Pippen was injured, making Kukoc basically the 2nd option.

This is not only an old player by this point, this is an old player on the 3rd lap of a threepeat which we know is very taxing, you look at how gassed a relatively young Golden State team looked by that 3rd year.

Now imagine trying to do that at age 35.

He did that in the regular season, LeBron doing it in the postseason while averaging 34/9/9 on 54% shooting while your 2nd option is averaging 15 ppg on 39% shooting is much more impressive. Hell, the Cavs 3rd option J.R. Smith was shooting 35% during that postseason run.

[Roundball_Rock]

The Bulls had an elite defense during the 35 games Pippen missed to start 98'. They were 3rd in the league in points allowed. Their problem was offense, where they were 18th in scoring. (After Pippen returned the offense became elite again and the Bulls played at a 67 win pace.) It strains credulity to compare that team to the 2018 Cavs. The Cavs were 29th in defense and 5th in offense with a point differential of +1. The Bulls were about +5.

Moreover, 35 games isn't a full season. We saw in the doc how Rodman in particular temporarily stepped up his game knowing it was a short term void. The Cavs had to do it for 82 games then four rounds in the playoffs.

Finally, we hear "1st in the East" but it isn't as hot as it sounds. Here were the standings at that point:

1) CHI 24-11
2) MIA 22-11
2) IND 22-11
4) ATL 21-12
5) CLE 20-12
6) CHA 21-13

These teams were jumbled up with the Bulls benefiting from having played more games than Miami or Indiana (they would be 24-11 too after 35 games).

[ImKobe]

The Bulls had an elite defense during the 35 games Pippen missed to start 98'. They were 3rd in the league in points allowed. Their problem was offense, where they were 18th in scoring. (After Pippen returned the offense became elite again and the Bulls played at a 67 win pace.) It strains credulity to compare that team to the 2018 Cavs. The Cavs were 29th in defense and 5th in offense with a point differential of +1. The Bulls were about +5.

Moreover, 35 games isn't a full season. We saw in the doc how Rodman in particular temporarily stepped up his game knowing it was a short term void. The Cavs had to do it for 82 games then four rounds in the playoffs.

Finally, we hear "1st in the East" but it isn't as hot as it sounds. Here were the standings at that point:

1) CHI 24-11
2) MIA 22-11
2) IND 22-11
4) ATL 21-12
5) CLE 20-12
6) CHA 21-13

These teams were are jumbled up with the Bulls benefiting from having played more games than Miami or Indiana (they would be 24-11 too after 35 games).

So the Bulls were #1 in the East. Thanks for playing.

[Roundball_Rock]

So the Bulls were #1 in the East. Thanks for playing.

Yeah, they were good but not dominant. "#1 in the East" was a function of scheduling. They would be 2nd or 3rd if the other teams had also played 35 games. Indiana had a 1-0 series lead while Miami was tied 1-1 (with the Bulls' loss being an embarrassing 27 point defeat right before Pippen returned).

Sorry for disrupting the fairy tale with context.

[ImKobe]

Yeah, they were good but not dominant. "#1 in the East" was a function of scheduling. They would be 2nd or 3rd if the other teams had also played 35 games. Indiana had a 1-0 series lead while Miami was tied 1-1 (with the loss being an embarrassing 27 point defeat).

Sorry for disrupting the fairy tale with context.

They had won 11 of their last 13 when Pippen returned. One blowout loss in 35 games. Not dominant doe.

[Roundball_Rock]

They had won 11 of their last 13 when Pippen returned. One blowout loss in 35 games. Not dominant doe.

Indiana went 14-3 around that same time frame. You can cherry pick a hot stretch when you conveniently cut it off after a bad stretch with any good team.

The Bulls went 30-6 after Pippen returned in 94' without MJ, for example.

Every good team isn't a dominant team. 56 or 58 wins is good, not dominant. 67 or 69 wins is.