Could Austin Reaves win 55 in 1994 because opponents did this all yr in 94'...

[3ba11]

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https://i.makeagif.com/media/2-04-2024/oT9i_-.gif


However, the honeymoon was over in 95' and the cat was out of the bag, so teams stopped taking the Bulls lightly and they nearly fell back to the lottery status before MJ returned late in the season.

Ultimately, Pippen's rookie season as a 23-year old and 8 ppg confirmed that he was never going to build a 50-win team from scratch, while 95' confirmed that he wasn't capable of leading a "real" 50-win team that can win 50 every year.. Accordingly, any team with Pippen or Reaves as the best scorer will fall out of contention quickly once the cat is out of the bag, due to insufficient roster talent, as we saw in 95'.. The three-peat chemistry was only good enough to sustain them for a year when they were under the radar and had the surprise factor on their side.. This was quite obvious at the time.

[ShawkFactory]

Probably not.

[SouBeachTalents]

No, what the Bulls did after losing Jordan was historic, and showed how stacked they were.

[3ba11]

No, what the Bulls did after losing Jordan was historic, and showed how stacked they were.


The question is whether Reaves could win 55 in Pippen's place in 1994, since the recent game of Lakers/Celtics shows that opponents take a team lightly that is missing their best players.. The consensus says that the Celtics took the Lakers lightly (see OP), just like opponents in 94'.. So Reaves could easily win 55 but similar to Pippen, probably drop-off once the cat was out of the bag and return to earth the following season (borderline lottery in 95' before MJ returned).. the 96' Bulls are almost certainly lottery in 96' if MJ never returns and they could've easily fallen to lottery in 95'

[SouBeachTalents]

The question is whether Reaves could win 55 in Pippen's place in 1994, since the recent game of Lakers/Celtics shows that opponents take a team lightly that is missing their best players.. The consensus says that the Celtics took the Lakers lightly (see OP), just like opponents in 94'.. So Reaves could easily win 55 but similar to Pippen, probably drop-off once the cat was out of the bag and return to earth the following season (borderline lottery in 95' before MJ returned).. the 96' Bulls are almost certainly lottery in 96' if MJ never returns and they could've easily fallen to lottery in 95'
Yes, let's pretend a single night in February is equivalent to 82 games over an entire season for a 55 win team.

[3ba11]

Yes, let's pretend a single night in February is equivalent to 82 games over an entire season for a 55 win team.


Clearly, the "taking lightly" factor is an aspect that is overlooked with that 94' team because what a letdown for an opponent to play the Bulls without MJ - so opponents took the night off and weren't "circling their calendars" anymore for the Bulls.. Accordingly, the Bulls played an NBA that was playing at 50% effort like the Celtics the other night.. It's intuitive and clear as day..

Then the Bulls were exposed in the playoffs with a weird series vs Knicks that involved the worst clutch play of all-time historically - i.e. 3.0 on 20% in 4th quarter for Pippen and also 3 massive chokes, aka the "sit out" game, the "dumb foul" game, and horrific closeout game 7.. Of course the cat was out of the bag now and the Bulls returned to earth in 1995 (near lottery) before MJ returned - the historical record backs my narrative, not yours.

[1987_Lakers]

Bulls returned to earth in 1995 because Horace Grant wasn't there.

[SouBeachTalents]

Clearly, the "taking lightly" factor is an aspect that is overlooked with that 94' team because what a letdown for an opponent to play the Bulls without MJ - so opponents took the night off and weren't "circling their calendars" anymore for the Bulls.. Accordingly, the Bulls played an NBA that was playing at 50% effort like the Celtics the other night.. It's intuitive and clear as day.. Then the Bulls were exposed in the playoffs with a weird series vs Knicks that involved the worst clutch play of all-time - literally - i.e. 3.0 on 20% in 4th quarter for Pippen and also 3 massive chokes, aka the "sit out" game, the "dumb foul" game, and horrific closeout game 7.. Of course the cat was now out of the bag and the Bulls returned to earth in 1995 (near lottery) before MJ returned - the historical record backs my narrative, not yours.
Whatever you need to tell yourself.

[3ba11]

Bulls returned to earth in 1995 because Horace Grant wasn't there.


They added Harper, while Kukoc became a higher-producing starter similar to their title run in 98' with Rodman coming off the bench.. Kukoc was starter for this title run and also 2nd option (2nd leading scorer) in the 4th quarter and clutch-time (last 5 within 5) for that entire title run.. So MJ won titles with 3 different guys getting role player numbers at PF - Horace (12/9), Rodman (3/8 for entire 97' Playoffs), and Kukoc (started over Rodman in 98' Playoffs).

[ShawkFactory]

No, what the Bulls did after losing Jordan was historic, and showed how stacked they were.

True. It’s historical record that the Bulls won more games than any team ever after losing their best player.

So..next.

[bison]

Austin Reaves is a Mark Price level type player, so the question isn’t whether Jordan could develop Reaves enough to win a chip on his own (MJ definitely could), but why Lebron continues to struggle with Mark friggin Price as his FOURTH OPTION.

[Xiao Yao You]

Austin Reaves is a Mark Price level type player, so the question isn’t whether Jordan could develop Reaves enough to win a chip on his own (MJ definitely could), but why Lebron continues to struggle with Mark friggin Price as his FOURTH OPTION.

:facepalm

[3ba11]

True. It’s historical record that the Bulls won more games than any team ever after losing their best player.

So..next.


It's historical record that the Bulls were the only 3-peat team, aka the best team to ever lose their best player and the only team that lost the GOAT (so opponents took them lightly like the recent Celtics/Lakers)

So how many games could Austin Reaves win with the 94' Bulls knowing that every opponent was taking the night off like the recent Celtics vs Lakers game?.. 55 seems easy and once the cat was out of the bag, he would be near lottery the following season like the 95' Bulls.

[ShawkFactory]

It's historical record that the Bulls were the only 3-peat team, aka the best team to ever lose their best player and the only team that lost the GOAT (so opponents took them lightly like the recent Celtics/Lakers)

So how many games could Austin Reaves win with the 94' Bulls knowing that every opponent was taking the night off like the recent Celtics vs Lakers game?.. 55 seems easy and once the cat was out of the bag, he would be near lottery the following season like the 95' Bulls.

Yea? We KNOW that? :lol

I love when you try to make a point and argue with people by assuming a base argument that you completely made up as fact. It’s good stuff.

[Axe]

Whatever you need to tell yourself.
:oldlol:

[SouBeachTalents]

Yea? We KNOW that? :lol

I love when you try to make a point and argue with people by assuming a base argument that you completely made up as fact. It’s good stuff.
And he's basing it entirely off one random headline from a game THIRTY years later :oldlol:

Random persons opinion from 2024 = how opponents thought of the '94 Bulls for 82 games.

[ShawkFactory]

And he's basing it entirely off one random headline from a game THIRTY years later :oldlol:

Random persons opinion from 2024 = how opponents thought of the '94 Bulls for 82 games.

Lol I don’t actually care what he’s saying at all. Obviously he’s full of shit I’m just commenting on the argument style to try to help him.

Anyone who has taken a debate class or something similar knows the classic argument presentation format is something along the lines of: Given (certain accepted truth) it’s reasonable to expect/think (whatever the point is, etc.).

That kinda falls flat when the accepted truth is outlandishly made up on the spot :lol

[Full Court]

Wizards Jordan would have won a championship with Lebron's current cast.

Without Lebron weighing him down, Reaves would carry the Lakers to at least the conference finals.

[Duffy Pratt]

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https://i.makeagif.com/media/2-04-2024/oT9i_-.gif


However, the honeymoon was over in 95' and the cat was out of the bag, so teams stopped taking the Bulls lightly and they nearly fell back to the lottery status before MJ returned late in the season.

Ultimately, Pippen's rookie season as a 23-year old and 8 ppg confirmed that he was never going to build a 50-win team from scratch, while 95' confirmed that he wasn't capable of leading a "real" 50-win team that can win 50 every year.. Accordingly, any team with Pippen or Reaves as the best scorer will fall out of contention quickly once the cat is out of the bag, due to insufficient roster talent, as we saw in 95'.. The three-peat chemistry was only good enough to sustain them for a year when they were under the radar and had the surprise factor on their side.. This was quite obvious at the time.

And you think that teams are so stupid that the cat would remain in the bag for an entire season? The East teams played the Bulls four times but never bothered to notice anything about them? And the Knicks finally figured it out and got their act together in a game 7?

Oh, and by the way, getting Harper and losing Grant was not a net positive at that time. They lost their second option, their best rebounder, and their best physical presence inside. Kucok stepped up some, but they already had him in 94, and his contribution was mainly scoring. Grant brought things that he couldn’t, and those things didn’t get replaced until they got Rodman.

[Xiao Yao You]

And you think that teams are so stupid that the cat would remain in the bag for an entire season? The East teams played the Bulls four times but never bothered to notice anything about them? And the Knicks finally figured it out and got their act together in a game 7?

Oh, and by the way, getting Harper and losing Grant was not a net positive at that time. They lost their second option, their best rebounder, and their best physical presence inside. Kucok stepped up some, but they already had him in 94, and his contribution was mainly scoring. Grant brought things that he couldn’t, and those things didn’t get replaced until they got Rodman.

they could never pressure teams in the back court again like they did with Grant. If they needed to put a team away they'd put full court pressure on with Grant guarding the in bound pass. It was over at that point

[AussieSteve]

I'm sure that all the teams were taking them lightly for both of their 10 game winning streaks that season.

Cavs also got swept by them because they took them lightly.

Knicks too. Took them lightly and came within a bucket of losing the ECSF to them.

[AussieSteve]

In games Pippen played, the Bulls were 34-29 before MJ returned.

So, Pippen lost MJ and Horace and was still capable of leading them to the play-offs and a mid-40 win season. Is that not pretty impressive 3ball?

[Xiao Yao You]

In games Pippen played, the Bulls were 34-29 before MJ returned.

So, Pippen lost MJ and Horace and was still capable of leading them to the play-offs and a mid-40 win season. Is that not pretty impressive 3ball?

Phil was a hell of a coach no doubt about it

[3ba11]

Phil was a hell of a coach no doubt about it


How good of a coach do you have to be to win 40-something games with..... just about ANY cast?

You don't have to be that good... Replace Pippen with Schrempf or Elliot in 95', or tons of other guys like Horry - Phil probably leads them to 40-something wins in 95' - the only reason they won 55 the prior year was due to the OP (surprise factor - no one gave a shit to play the bulls w/out the GOAT there - it's human nature - imagine if you were going to play a pick-up game that Lebron was supposed to be in and then he wasn't at the last minute - you wouldn't play as hard - or you would play much harder if he was there than any other game you ever played in, so that's how opponents were vs bulls without Mike)