Would MJ have won 8 titles in a row

[closetohumping 17547]

If he hadn't retired.  Your vote counts.

Edited February 21 by closetohumping

[Brian Fantana 6704]

Shit poll options not clicking

[closetohumping 17547]

1 minute ago, Brian Fantana said:

Shit poll options not clicking

Works for me.  Maybe the wind is messing with the dial up connection in Lubbock?

[Pimphand 6048]

Everyone seems to forget that during the Bulls first 3 peat the Rockets went 5-1 against them in the regular season.  They had no answer for peak Olajuwon and Vernon Maxwell while not anywhere in Jordan's stratosphere was seemingly the one player who stood up to the shit talk and could get under his airness skin.  The 1995 team likely would have struggled having traded away Otis Thorpe & Maxwell for Drexler who definitely did not get under Jordan's skin.

Only 1 game of the 6 was even close....

Edited February 21 by Pimphand

[Pimphand 6048]

 

[Pimphand 6048]

Man I guess time has dulled my memory.... I forgot Mad Max wasn't part of the Drexler trade but he quit the team after the Game 1 loss to Utah

[KingBobo81 541]

17 minutes ago, Pimphand said:

Everyone seems to forget that during the Bulls first 3 peat the Rockets went 5-1 against them in the regular season.  They had no answer for peak Olajuwon and Vernon Maxwell while not anywhere in Jordan's stratosphere was seemingly the one player who stood up to the shit talk and could get under his airness skin.  The 1995 team likely would have struggled having traded away Otis Thorpe & Maxwell for Drexler who definitely did not get under Jordan's skin.

Only 1 game of the 6 was even close....

The regular season results are something I often hear Rockets fans talk about when answering this hypothetical question, and I think those same Rockets fans are likely the large majority of people who think that this means it would translate to the playoffs. The Jazz swept the regular season against the Bulls in 97-98 (and split the previous season)...didn't exactly translate to finals success. 

While I do believe it would be competitive, I'd give the benefit of the doubt to MJ and company ramping it up in the playoffs.

Edited February 21 by KingBobo81

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

19 minutes ago, Pimphand said:

Everyone seems to forget that during the Bulls first 3 peat the Rockets went 5-1 against them in the regular season.  They had no answer for peak Olajuwon and Vernon Maxwell while not anywhere in Jordan's stratosphere was seemingly the one player who stood up to the shit talk and could get under his airness skin.  The 1995 team likely would have struggled having traded away Otis Thorpe & Maxwell for Drexler who definitely did not get under Jordan's skin.

Only 1 game of the 6 was even close....

except we are talking about 1994 and 1995 Finals where I believe Houston was 1-3 or maybe 2-2 vs. Chicago both years.

One player people forget is the loss of Eric Sleepy Floyd who was key to wins in those 1991-1993 years . He was pre-Cassell and was the only one who could dribble around and set up his own clean look at the hoop for an easy J. Kenny and Mad Max did not have that skill set. I've seen those games on Youtube and we cannot discount the importance of Sleepy Floyd. 

1994 Chicago still had Horace Grant. 1995 no Rodman and no Grant; Houston didn't have Otis Thorpe either but the overall dominance on the glass goes to Houston in 1995 which is why Orlando was able to beat them in the playoffs , in fact Grant was with Orlando. Bulls don't win 1996-1998 without Rodman.  

So, I dream that 1995 would belong to Houston. 

[joeycovers 391]

Mj played in 95. The 95 bulls team lost Grant and didn’t have Rodman yet. They lost to Orlando.  That team was just not equipped to handle the 95 rockets. 
 

I’ll listen to the case for 94 but 95 no chance that Bulls team beats Houston even if MJ played the entire year or what we excuse your want to give 

[closetohumping 17547]

20 minutes ago, Pimphand said:

Man I guess time has dulled my memory.... I forgot Mad Max wasn't part of the Drexler trade but he quit the team after the Game 1 loss to Utah

That guy was crazy

[closetohumping 17547]

I feel like mj would’ve just found a way to win, bad matchups or regular season record be damned. 
 

I know MJ had great stats vs the Magic, but they didn’t seem at their peak.  

[Dutchrudder 11159]

Chicago probably approaches the 93 and 94 off-seasons completely differently if MJ doesn't "retire" too. It's hard to say, but in 95 the Bulls had MJ, and his team lost to the Magic, who were swept by the Rockets.  So I think 95 would have still gone about the same if he stayed. 

94 is a crapshoot. I think the East would have been completely different if all the teams knew MJ was playing. 

[chainsaw 9998]

I said Houston would have won, but the real answer is that it depends who is on Jordan's team. Presumably they would have been good enough to beat the Knicks and Magic.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Pimphand said:

Everyone seems to forget that during the Bulls first 3 peat the Rockets went 5-1 against them in the regular season.  They had no answer for peak Olajuwon and Vernon Maxwell while not anywhere in Jordan's stratosphere was seemingly the one player who stood up to the shit talk and could get under his airness skin.  The 1995 team likely would have struggled having traded away Otis Thorpe & Maxwell for Drexler who definitely did not get under Jordan's skin.

Only 1 game of the 6 was even close....

Look at those puny scores. Not even one 130+ game.

Last Thursday's scores:

[Rex Kramer 1436]

1 hour ago, joeycovers said:

Mj played in 95. The 95 bulls team lost Grant and didn’t have Rodman yet. They lost to Orlando.  That team was just not equipped to handle the 95 rockets. 
 

I’ll listen to the case for 94 but 95 no chance that Bulls team beats Houston even if MJ played the entire year or what we excuse your want to give 

Wrong. MJ was NOT in hoops shape. Easily, the Bulls win 8 in a row. Though they’re not “sweeping” the Rockets, OP, so I can’t pick an option. 

[closetohumping 17547]

22 minutes ago, Rex Kramer said:

Wrong. MJ was NOT in hoops shape. Easily, the Bulls win 8 in a row. Though they’re not “sweeping” the Rockets, OP, so I can’t pick an option. 

Sweeping the years    But I see the confusion so I adjusted the wording. 

Edited February 21 by closetohumping

[CurlyDumps 4536]

There's a reason no pro sports team in the modern era has ever won 4 in a row (except the '80-'83 NY Islanders , the exception that proves the rule, and also who cares about hockey). It's too hard. Too physically and emotionally draining.

Jordan took his ball and went home because he knew he didn't have it in him to 4-peat. All that stress and exhaustion + the personal tragedy of losing his dad. He was so competitive he chose retirement over conceding the belt to another team. Probably knowing full well he'd come back after taking that pro baseball vacation, decompressing, and recharging for another run.

Edited February 21 by CurlyDumps

[shadow_operative 15932]

1 hour ago, joeycovers said:

Mj played in 95. The 95 bulls team lost Grant and didn’t have Rodman yet. They lost to Orlando.  That team was just not equipped to handle the 95 rockets. 
 

I’ll listen to the case for 94 but 95 no chance that Bulls team beats Houston even if MJ played the entire year or what we excuse your want to give 

“whatever excuse to want to give” lol. it’s not an excuse it’s a very valid explanation. that was the one year during this stretch where MJ showed up mid-season, and it’s the one year the bulls didn’t win it all. that’s not happenstance or coincidence; those events are linked to one another.

[chainsaw 9998]

18 minutes ago, CurlyDumps said:

Jordan took his ball and went home because he knew he didn't have it in him to 4-peat.

Skip Bayless is that you?

[CurlyDumps 4536]

17 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

Skip Bayless is that you?

Just a theory. and it's not a hot take to suggest Jordan's retirement may have been driven by his personality type, which as we all know was petty and vindictive in addition to being fiercely competitive. 

So kindly gtfo with this terrible vapid comparison.

[closetohumping 17547]

6 minutes ago, CurlyDumps said:

Just a theory. and it's not a hot take to suggest Jordan's retirement may have been driven by his personality type, which as we all know was petty and vindictive in addition to being fiercely competitive. 

So kindly gtfo with this terrible vapid comparison.

Yea but if he were a front runner he wouldn’t have ever played for the bullets

[Paul Wesley 3299]

1 hour ago, joeycovers said:

Mj played in 95. The 95 bulls team lost Grant and didn’t have Rodman yet. They lost to Orlando.  That team was just not equipped to handle the 95 rockets. 
 

I’ll listen to the case for 94 but 95 no chance that Bulls team beats Houston even if MJ played the entire year or what we excuse your want to give 

This.  
 

I mean, MJ is the GOAT, and he should get all the accolades.  
 

That said, he did NOT win a championship in roughly 66% of his NBA seasons.  
 

The 95 Rockets were one of the hottest playoff teams in history.  They played the four teams with the four best records in the league, were on the road all four times, and left NO doubt in each series who the better team was.  Olajuwon bettered Malone, embarrassed Robinson, edged a young Shaq (whose supporting cast just wilted vs Horry/Cassel/Drexler/Smith).  Those Rockets swept the Magic team that had just beaten Michael and the Bulls. 
 

“But Jordan wasn’t in shape in 1995.”

Horse shit.  He was a pro athlete in the prime of his career.  His other career?  Pro athlete.  How many months was it going to take to get into such unbelievable shape that Hakeem was no longer going to be guarded by Bill Fucking Wennington and Will Fucking Perdue?   How many months until BJ Armstrong would have outplayed hot-shooting Kenny Smith and Sam Cassel, or until Harper would have outplayed the younger, more athletic (and also red-hot) Robert Horry?

The 1995 Bulls weren’t winning shit.  

[CurlyDumps 4536]

Just now, closetohumping said:

Yea but if he were a front runner he wouldn’t have ever played for the bullets

Not suggesting he's a front runner. And he was at a different stage of his career then. Near the end, plus he wanted to get into ownership. I could argue the Wizards stint supports my theory. The whole team agreed at the beginning of the '96-'97 season that there would be no attempt to go for #4.  That was more due to shitty ownership if the documentary is accurate, but still. It supports the idea that winning 4 in a row is near impossible because there's so many factors pushing against it.

[MrX 744]

Even assuming they win in 94 and 95, they then wouldn’t win 3 more. So, no. 

[Pato del Muerto 52853]

4 hours ago, CurlyDumps said:

There's a reason no pro sports team in the modern era has ever won 4 in a row (except the '80-'83 NY Islanders , the exception that proves the rule, and also who cares about hockey). It's too hard. Too physically and emotionally draining.

Jordan took his ball and went home because he knew he didn't have it in him to 4-peat. All that stress and exhaustion + the personal tragedy of losing his dad. He was so competitive he chose retirement over conceding the belt to another team. Probably knowing full well he'd come back after taking that pro baseball vacation, decompressing, and recharging for another run.

I thought the conspiratorial reason was gambling related. Either he quit to avoid a suspension or it was a well hidden suspension to avoid the scandal. 

[Guest]

Same here.  Jordan didn’t ’quit.’  He was given a choice.

[aggie08 21578]

If the NBA had the pull to hide a serious MJ gambling scandal, then they would have hid the scandal AND let him keep playing.

What's the logic there? "Mike, we're going to cover up you gambling on your team for you, but to show how angry we are, we're going to shadow suspend you for almost two years and cost the league untold millions in the process. I hope you learn your lesson."

[Pimphand 6048]

It has been almost 31 years since this game and my blood still boils over it. Not sure the Rockets would beat the Suns in 1993 but they certainly had their number the next two seasons....

 

[CurlyDumps 4536]

 

1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

If the NBA had the pull to hide a serious MJ gambling scandal, then they would have hid the scandal AND let him keep playing.

What's the logic there? "Mike, we're going to cover up you gambling on your team for you, but to show how angry we are, we're going to shadow suspend you for almost two years and cost the league untold millions in the process. I hope you learn your lesson."

lol. you beat me to it. It's a fun conspiracy theory but completely nonsensical. Also requires MJ, in the prime of his career, to quietly go along with said --one and a half year? -- suspension.  Because he..what? Lost too much money on the golf course?

Edited February 22 by CurlyDumps

[ztejas 43741]

Most of you are just arguing about the fucking '95 season - granted from the poll options OP gave it's sort of framed that way. 

There is no way in fuck they would have won 8 straight. The double 3-peat is already beyond absurd. 

Could they have won five straight from '91-'95? Idk. Probably. Would they have won the Finals in '95 if MJ played the full season? Again - maybe maybe not but sure. 

"Could they have won 8 in a row" has almost nothing to do with either Rockets team. The year and a half off MJ got was totally instrumental. 

[Guest]

On 2/21/2024 at 9:04 PM, CurlyDumps said:

 

lol. you beat me to it. It's a fun conspiracy theory but completely nonsensical. Also requires MJ, in the prime of his career, to quietly go along with said --one and a half year? -- suspension.  Because he..what? Lost too much money on the golf course?

 

On 2/21/2024 at 7:54 PM, aggie08 said:

If the NBA had the pull to hide a serious MJ gambling scandal, then they would have hid the scandal AND let him keep playing.

What's the logic there? "Mike, we're going to cover up you gambling on your team for you, but to show how angry we are, we're going to shadow suspend you for almost two years and cost the league untold millions in the process. I hope you learn your lesson."

The whole thread is speculative ( and fun.)  If you think Jordan's sudden interest in baseball, the murder of his father, and that he was just hustling golf games at the local muny were just random events, that's your choice, and it probably is more well grounded than my opinion.  That being said, it appears to me he was in the worst way with some really bad folks.  His hiatus from the NBA wasn't just because Jordan wanted to go.

Edited February 23 by slorch

[ChiTownDoc 21216]

On 2/21/2024 at 12:08 PM, Dutchrudder said:

Chicago probably approaches the 93 and 94 off-seasons completely differently if MJ doesn't "retire" too. It's hard to say, but in 95 the Bulls had MJ, and his team lost to the Magic, who were swept by the Rockets.  So I think 95 would have still gone about the same if he stayed. 

94 is a crapshoot. I think the East would have been completely different if all the teams knew MJ was playing. 

I voted Bulls in both just looking at each season in a vacuum.  If they come in having won 3 already, I think they lose one of the two, just not being able to maintain an edge mentally, with all the winning.  2 three peats is crazy enough.  8 in a row isn’t happening in modern hoops.  

[closetohumping 17547]

94 Rockets barely beat the Knicks.  I’d say the Bulls would’ve won in 94

[Pam Cummings 9696]

They 8 peat if MJ's mom was on the squad.

 

 

 

[HornOnTheBayou 8967]

Put me down as not happening just because the odds are so long. Winning in the playoffs is hard in any sport. It's a crap shoot where injuries and luck play a huge role. The NBA is probably better than most leagues (college and pro), because the "better team" usually ends up winning the title, but it's not guaranteed. With MJ, the Bulls would have been the clear favorites at the beginning of each of those playoffs, but that doesn't mean they would have won both. 

[ChiTownDoc 21216]

Also, is Jordan’s son banging Larsa in this make believe scenario?  I’d think that could tinker with team chemistry.  

[Kermit 3160]

What really grinds my gears is that we were deprived of this Finals matchup. Fuck the hypothetical question, this should have fucking happened. It sucks that it didn’t for both Mike and Dream’s legacies. Those guys in their prime, in the Finals. I guarantee you they’re not cutting to murderous Heisman guy during that series.