As we know, the 1995-96 Bulls is one of the greatest basketball teams of all-time. In this article, I’m going to discuss why I believe the Warriors will actually beat the Bulls’ win record and then I’m going to compare both teams.
When Shaq and Charles Barkley were breaking down the “finals” between that Bulls team and the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks, neither were in favor of Chicago.
As they both chose the Bucks as being a better team than the 72-10 Bulls, Shaq was distraught and essentially called the fans out for neglecting his 2000 Lakers. Charles brought up the mid-80’s Lakers and Celtics.
Both set that Bulls team to the side. As I do say the 95-96 MJ, Pippen, and Rodman-led Bulls is the best basketball team in NBA history (hence bias, which could be assumed), there was some hint of jealousy of the former players who happened to play during the time of the Bulls’ six titles in eight seasons.
Of course, they were doing this bracket because of what the Golden State Warriors are doing: going for 73 wins, and off to the best 52-game start in history with a 48-4 record coming out of the All-Star Break.
What the Warriors are doing right now is something miraculous. Although, as a Bulls fan, I don’t want the Warriors to even tie the 72-win record. As a sports fan, and young person, I absolutely want to see history be made at a point in my life where I’m able to remember completely what happened and how it affected the sport.
The Warriors remaining schedule (they play 30 more games against 18 teams) has a combined record of 837-765 for a winning percentage of .522. They play 17 of the 30 at the Oracle Arena, with 13 being on the road.
Now, setting all Bulls bias, and fan bias, aside, I’m going to tell you why I actually think the Warriors will top the 72-win mark and truly make a new wins record that just won’t even be touched.
Heading into the All-Star break, the Warriors won 11 in a row including winning in Cleveland and Chicago heavy-handedly. All four losses for the Warriors have come on the road (Milwaukee, Denver, Dallas, Detroit).
Coming out of the break, the Warriors will begin a six-game road trip starting in Portland and making trips through Los Angeles (Clippers), Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, and Oklahoma City.
For the sake of guessing losses, let’s assume the Warriors take the L in LA and OKC bringing their record to 52-6. After this road trip, they have 17 of their remaining 24 games at home.
I’ll separate the remaining 24 into three eight-game stretches. They host Atlanta and the Thunder, before going back to LA to face the Lakers. For the next five, the Warriors will host Orlando, Utah, Portland, Phoenix, and New Orleans. I don’t see a major dent being put into their 24-0 home record, so I’ll chalk up the seven as wins and the game against the 11-win Lakers. So after the first 14, I project the Warriors going 12-2 bringing their record to 60-6.
Three of the next eight games will be away from the Oracle Arena. The Warriors will host the Knicks before traveling to Dallas, San Antonio, and Minnesota before heading back home for the Clippers, Mavericks, 76ers, and Wizards. I’ll give the Warriors the home win against the Knicks (especially if Carmelo is actually traded by the deadline). I’ll give San Antonio the win at the AT&T Center, but again don’t see the Warriors losing at home. With eight games remaining, I have Golden State at 67-7.
The Warriors begin the final eight games in Utah, a game in which I see them winning. I’m going to take this time to remind people that no player on the team averages more than 34 minutes per game (besides Green at 34.1). Fatigue is a good argument to make when reasoning that the Warriors won’t win 73 games. However, I think this team is different. 11 players see 15+ minutes per game. Golden State plays in more blowouts that they can allow their starters to rest more than what other teams can say.
At 68-7, the Warriors have four home games against Boston, Portland, Minnesota, and San Antonio. As previously stated, it’s hard seeing the Warriors losing at home. But it’s even harder to see them going 41-0 at home for the season. I’ll factor in a loss here so that the team stands at 71-8.
The Warriors find themselves on the road for two of the three remaining contests. After a (projected) win in Memphis, the team has to head to San Antonio for a game the next night. Because of the back-to-back games and being against the Spurs (remember at this point, the Spurs will have already locked in the two-seed so they will probably rest their guys) I’ll give the Warriors the loss just for the sake of it. Now at 72-9, the Warriors will get to host the Grizzlies for the chance at the record. I say they win that game to finish the regular season 73-9.
It felt weird giving them some losses that don’t appear to be losses. One can make the argument that they’ll lost some games, but say they’ll win a couple games I project them to lose. For example, I can really see them beating the Clippers the second game after the All-Star break, but lose another home game.
As I alluded to a couple paragraphs ago, fatigue isn’t the only argument one can make against the Warriors because it solely doesn’t fit the mold. The team is putting up incredible stats in the amount of minutes each player is averaging, and the team chemistry is a major part of it. I can honestly see them winning 74 games, and I wouldn’t blink an eye.
You can go look at the 95-96 Bulls team and make a similar argument in terms of how many players see significant minutes and how nobody plays a terrible amount to result in a major fatigue factor. And my response would be: that’s my point. The team that won 72 games had the best player to ever pick up a basketball, including a great supporting cast. The thing is with this Warriors team, they have a tremendous supporting cast with four guys averaging double-digit points with two in the 20s (Curry is at 29.8).
Although I wouldn’t use the word “easy” to describe how looking at the Warriors remaining schedule and picking out losses, I will say comparing this team to the 95-96 Bulls was a lot harder than the previous exercise.
As a whole, the Bulls were a slightly bigger lineup and in a much-believed-tougher NBA environment. But, we’ll go with the stats now.
We’ll start with the point guards. Although Ron Harper served his purpose in his 80 starts he made for the Bulls, I can’t act like this is a close one. Curry is averaging 29.8 ppg, 6.6 apg, and 5.3 rpg. He’s the the reigning MVP had quite the case for back-to-back awards. Harper averaged 7.4 ppg and 2.6 apg. I don’t think much more needs to be said…so Curry in a landslide.
The same can basically be same for shooting guard. MJ averaged over 30 ppg in his first season back from the two-year hiatus to pursue professional baseball. In doing so, he also 6.6 rpg and 4.3 apg, and 2.2 spg. He shot 49.5% from the field during the season, and he eFG% was actually 52.5%. Klay Thompson is a hell of a player, there’s no doubt. With 21.3 ppg, he’s also shooting 42% from three-point range. He’s part of the Splash Bros, and him and Curry being together is deadly. But, in all but a landslide, the edge is obviously given to Jordan.
At the small forward for the Bulls you had All-NBA first team and defensive team Scottie Pippen. He averaged 19/6/6 and shot 46.3% from the field, and is often overlooked because of who he played with. Pippen provided the Bulls with a legitimate option that would’ve been the number one guy in several other place had he not been in Chicago. The Warriors have Harrison Barnes. Barnes is a solid player; he averages over 12 ppg with 4.6 rpg in 29.5 minutes per contest. Barnes also shoots 47% from the field. Overall, he’s a nice piece to have, especially to such a great team such as the Warriors. But in a head-to-head format, it’s extremely difficult to say you’d rather have Harrison Barnes than Scottie Pippen. In a “not that close” battle, Pippen takes it.
This will be a fun one. For the Bulls at power forward was Dennis Rodman, a defensive king. Nearly averaging 15 boards per game, he added virtually no value on the offensive end. 5.5 ppg and 2.5 apg is not necessarily something you can brag about. Because of the defensive value he brought to the team and the other offensive weapons the team utilized, Rodman didn’t try to produce offense. This isn’t saying he had the potential to be good offensively (he only averaged 7.3 ppg his entire career). For the Warriors, you have Draymond Green. He averages the most minutes played on the team at 34.1. In those minutes, he shoots 48.5% from the field with 14.2 ppg. He also pulls down 9.5 rpg and 7.2 apg, with more than one steal and block per contest. Green has turned himself into a great player in this league, and provides much value to this Warriors team. Honestly it’s really close because Rodman is considered one of the greatest defenders in basketball history, but the overall value Green brings to a team slightly outweighs that, especially when I’m sticking with one season only. I take Draymond, but it’s a lot closer than all of the other position battles have been.
The battle of the centers is comparable. For the Bulls was Luc Longley. The 7’2 center averaged 26.5 minutes per contest, and in those he put up 9.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg. He also averaged over one block per game. For the Warriors is Andrew Bogut. Averaging less than 21 minutes of playing time, Bogut is averging 5.4 ppg and 7.5 rpg. He also averages more than one block per game. Virtually the same player, except for one averaging more points and the other grabbing more boards, it’s a virtual toss-up. Longley would have a two-inch advantage on Bogut if matched-up, whereas Bogut doesn’t really have that big of a battle with big men in today’s guard-oriented game. I think the advantage goes to Longley.
Both teams have six guys off the bench who average(d) double-digit minutes. Steve Kerr (yes, the same one coaching the Warriors) shot 51.5% from deep and dished out more than two dimes in his 23.4 minutes per game. Toni Kukoc averaged 13.1, 4 rpg, and 3.5 apg in 26.5 minutes. Andre Iguodala has 7.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 3.5 apg while Festus Ezeli is averaging 7.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg. Brandon Rush has the highest shooting percentage from three (45%) outside of Curry, but 15.4 minutes per game. Overall, I think the Bulls’ bench gave more contribution as a whole, especially the importance of each individual role.
To review, I gave the edge to the Bulls – SG, SF, C, and bench – while I gave the Warriors the edge at PG and PF. Despite averaging 10 more points per game as a team, I would give the Bulls a slight edge in a seven-game series.
I definitely believe the Warriors will break the Bulls 72-win record, but comparing these teams I do think Chicago has/had the better group of guys. Basketball has changed a lot in the past 20 seasons, and I think the toughness of the 90s would give the 95-96 Bulls a nice edge over this season’s Warriors.
I can’t help but cheer for the Warriors to make history, especially since I do believe the Bulls team is ultimately better. Where would this Warriors squad rank up among the best if they do break the record and win back-to-back NBA titles? Time will tell…
Difference of opinion on either or both of these? Good! Let’s hear it!
*picture is courtesy of ESPN.go.com
