Pick A Side: Which 72-win team would win - Bulls or Warriors?
The Golden State Warriors have a chance to make history Wednesday night. With a win, they'd break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record for wins in a season. Rather than looking ahead to Wednesday's game, basketball fans around the globe are instead looking to the past and wondering:
Who would win a seven-game series between the 95-96 Bulls and 15-16 Warriors?
William Lou: If the series were to be played tomorrow, meaning in this era of "Pace and Space" basketball, the Warriors would definitely take down the '96 Bulls. Golden State is making nearly twice as many threes per game than that Bulls team did (13.0 to 6.6). That's a 19-point swing.
Gino Bottero: The 95-96 Bulls averaged an NBA-best 105.2 points at a time when hand-checking was more prevalent, and players were liable to have Charles Oakley club them across the chest when driving the lane. An albeit more complex Warriors defense would be a walk in the park.
Lou: The Bulls primarily ran their offense through wing players, which plays right into the Warriors' hands. With a dearth of 3-point shooters in the Bulls' lineup, the Warriors could freely double Jordan, then station a third defender at the basket. Even the Greatest of All Time would struggle going 1-on-3. More importantly, could the Bulls stop the most efficient offense of all-time?
Bottero: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman combined for 24 NBA All-Defensive First Team nods, and hold three Defensive Player of the Year awards between them. If the Warriors struggle to eclipse 90 in San Antonio on Sunday, why are we expecting them to roll that all-time defense?
Lou: The Spurs' defense is no joke. They have the lowest defensive rating for any team over the past decade, and the Warriors hung 120 and 112 on them in previous meetings. Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman make for an ideal trio to defend the Warriors, but there's absolutely no precedent for stopping the famed "Death Lineup" which is outscoring opponents by 47.4 points per 100 possessions. Unless hand-checking is allowed, there's simply no stopping Curry.
Bottero: Curry deserves a lot of credit for the way he's changed the game, but he's not hitting 100 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, and certainly not with Pippen guarding him. When Jordan gets the fire going, he can and will hit all his shots, and can will his team to victory like no other player in history.
Lou: Taking down the Greatest of All Time wouldn't be easy, but there's a reason why Curry's Warriors are on the brink of winning 73.