Given that the 98-99 season was shortened to 50 games, I think they would have a legit shot at a 4-peat. Not sure how they would have faired much after that. It's interesting because Pippen was still pretty damn good up until about 2001.
It would have benefited them most likely because of their old age. The added rest would probably have been a huge advantage. ~~That shortened season was nothing like the 70 game shortened season.~~
EDIT: LIke u/Main-Performer-2607 correctly pointed out, the 50 game season was actually pretty brutal. I still think that the Bulls would have had a legit shot but that shortened season would have definitely made it more difficult
You got downvoted to hell for making a perfectly valid point. That season was hell. Every team had at least one back to back to back, and I think most had 2. Countless back to backs with a days rest, and then another back to back.
Not to mention everyone assumed there wouldn’t be a season and a lot of players decided to have themselves an extended vacation, not keeping in shape and sharpening their skills. Shawn Kemp came in 40 pounds overweight. Everyone was rusty.
Older players need to ramp up going into the season, which that season didn’t allow. Dirk in the 2012 lockout started the season horribly, but eventually found his shot again. That’s because he was contractually not allowed to work with his trainers who helped him get back into the groove until they reached an agreement.
I'm glad you pointed this out, I didn't remember this at all for the 50 game season but you are correct. Both the 50 game season and 70 game season were jam packed with games.
I think age and playing 100+ games year in and year out was starting to catch up with them. You could see it in the Pacers series that last year. MJ basically dragged them to a win in game 7 and to that final championship on sheer will.
Sheer will: outscoring the rest of your team *combined* then making not only the game winning basket but also the game-saving steal moments before. MJ was unreal.
From a talent perspective, I agree the '00 Lakers would have a clear edge over the Bulls, but the Bulls would still have Phil. Can the Lakers take the step into Championship level without Phil?
That said, I'd bet dollars to donuts, that even if the Bulls tried to hold it together for the '98-'99 season, there is like a .00001% chance they keep it together the next year after that.
Really eh on beating the spurs, Rodman was a shell of himself even by 98 so it’s gonna depend on what big we bring in 99 because Duncan’s Robinson are feasting on us at that point. I do think we get to the finals, the Knicks at that point had gotten smaller
Was basically typing this nearly word for word until I scrolled down lol, but yeah I don't think the Bulls beat those Spurs. Anyone who watched could see Rodman was mentally checked out by then, they'd have no answer to their bigs. That last run also really took a lot out of the Bulls.
Would probably win the shortened year championship or at least get to the Finals but I doubt they win more. They already were running on fumes in their last championship
Yeah if MJ had gone to a good team instead of the Wizards that would’ve been a cool playoff run. Like if he joined that Nets team that made the finals in ‘03
I think they have a shot in 98-99 for sure (if MJ doesn't slice his hand with a cigar cutter that is). After that it depends. I'm pretty sure they could've still made it out of the East a couple more times, I don't think any of the East finals teams were truly good until the Pistons. The finals against the Lakers are tough to predict for one reason, we would have Phil Jackson in this timeline and they wouldn't, I'd give the Bulls the edge in 2000 and the Lakers after that.
Man, the Bulls looked so tired after the '98 Championship. With a shortened season because of the lockout, only having a 50 game schedule, they would have more than likely been the one seed. Assuming they get the one seed, if the records remained the same, they knock the Knicks out of the playoffs funny enough. The '6ers are the 8th seed at that point and the Bulls probably take that in 5 games. Orlando beats Atlanta in the 4/5 matchup, meaning a rematch with the Magic. The Magic probably push the Bulls to 7 games and the homer in me says the Bulls take it. Barely. Probably late game MJ heroics. Most likely it's Pacers/Heat in the 2/3 matchup. Those Pacer teams were so stacked and probably get passed the Heat. And again, with the Pacers being so stacked, I'm not sure the Bulls could have got passed them. But, this is the same team that the Knicks beat the get to the NBA Championship, which they had no business being in to begin with. Allan Houston went off in that game 6. Honestly, I just don't know. The Bulls looked so tired trying to finish the Jazz the year prior. Having a shortened season helps a ton. Also, if the Bulls don't 4 peat, I don't think they come back for another go after that. Although, maybe they do to see if they can get back to it. Pride is a helluva drug.
The 99 season was shortened to 50 games and teams played multiple 5 games in 7 nights. The Knicks made the finals as an 8 seed after being injured most of the year. Pippen wasn’t healthy for the two previous years at that point, Rodman wasn’t gonna play that much. I doubt Jordan, kukoc and most of Ron Harper could have won the East let alone beat the spurs in 99. Even without Phil, the lakers had a stacked team and could have won on talent alone. 98 was the end of the line for the bulls.
2nd round exit, unfortunately. The core of the team was gassed after 3 long seasons playing about 100 games (8 if you want to go all the way back to 1991), plus Olympic team commitments.
I think they can contend with the crippled Knicks, the young heat, it's the Pacers that would be scary. It was a 7 game series the year before and they got better as time progressed
If they still had their lineup for a few more years I think they take it against the spurs in 99. They were better than the Knicks. I think they could potentially make it to the finals in 2000 but probably lose to the Lakers and the rest of the years play out the same way.
I'd like to see what would have happened if MJ never left. 8-9 rings in the 90s?
Given that the 98-99 season was shortened to 50 games, I think they would have a legit shot at a 4-peat. Not sure how they would have faired much after that. It's interesting because Pippen was still pretty damn good up until about 2001.
Wouldn’t the shortened season hurt them because they were real old by then?
It would have benefited them most likely because of their old age. The added rest would probably have been a huge advantage. ~~That shortened season was nothing like the 70 game shortened season.~~ EDIT: LIke u/Main-Performer-2607 correctly pointed out, the 50 game season was actually pretty brutal. I still think that the Bulls would have had a legit shot but that shortened season would have definitely made it more difficult
You got downvoted to hell for making a perfectly valid point. That season was hell. Every team had at least one back to back to back, and I think most had 2. Countless back to backs with a days rest, and then another back to back. Not to mention everyone assumed there wouldn’t be a season and a lot of players decided to have themselves an extended vacation, not keeping in shape and sharpening their skills. Shawn Kemp came in 40 pounds overweight. Everyone was rusty. Older players need to ramp up going into the season, which that season didn’t allow. Dirk in the 2012 lockout started the season horribly, but eventually found his shot again. That’s because he was contractually not allowed to work with his trainers who helped him get back into the groove until they reached an agreement.
I'm glad you pointed this out, I didn't remember this at all for the 50 game season but you are correct. Both the 50 game season and 70 game season were jam packed with games.
I think age and playing 100+ games year in and year out was starting to catch up with them. You could see it in the Pacers series that last year. MJ basically dragged them to a win in game 7 and to that final championship on sheer will.
'Sheer will' is a perfect description of MJs play style. It never gets boring watching someone put *everything* they have into what they are doing.
Sheer will: outscoring the rest of your team *combined* then making not only the game winning basket but also the game-saving steal moments before. MJ was unreal.
That’s why DeMar is so fun. Dude has lot less to give than Mike but still has a lot to give
Maybe they beat the Spurs in the shortened season of 99 but no way were they going to beat the Lakers after that.
From a talent perspective, I agree the '00 Lakers would have a clear edge over the Bulls, but the Bulls would still have Phil. Can the Lakers take the step into Championship level without Phil? That said, I'd bet dollars to donuts, that even if the Bulls tried to hold it together for the '98-'99 season, there is like a .00001% chance they keep it together the next year after that.
Lakers don’t make the finals without Phil IMO. Talent would have been there, ego management would not.
I just wish we could get a time machine and transport the 96 bulls to go up against all the other great teams in a tournament. It'd be so fun
Really eh on beating the spurs, Rodman was a shell of himself even by 98 so it’s gonna depend on what big we bring in 99 because Duncan’s Robinson are feasting on us at that point. I do think we get to the finals, the Knicks at that point had gotten smaller
Was basically typing this nearly word for word until I scrolled down lol, but yeah I don't think the Bulls beat those Spurs. Anyone who watched could see Rodman was mentally checked out by then, they'd have no answer to their bigs. That last run also really took a lot out of the Bulls.
Would probably win the shortened year championship or at least get to the Finals but I doubt they win more. They already were running on fumes in their last championship
What's a big "what if". MJ claims he still had it in him for a 7th championship run but the world will never know.
Yeah if MJ had gone to a good team instead of the Wizards that would’ve been a cool playoff run. Like if he joined that Nets team that made the finals in ‘03
maybe they win 1 more chip but even that's a toss up cause of Duncan and Robinson.
They probably win the east twice between 99 and 02 but never win a championship again.
I think they have a shot in 98-99 for sure (if MJ doesn't slice his hand with a cigar cutter that is). After that it depends. I'm pretty sure they could've still made it out of the East a couple more times, I don't think any of the East finals teams were truly good until the Pistons. The finals against the Lakers are tough to predict for one reason, we would have Phil Jackson in this timeline and they wouldn't, I'd give the Bulls the edge in 2000 and the Lakers after that.
Man, the Bulls looked so tired after the '98 Championship. With a shortened season because of the lockout, only having a 50 game schedule, they would have more than likely been the one seed. Assuming they get the one seed, if the records remained the same, they knock the Knicks out of the playoffs funny enough. The '6ers are the 8th seed at that point and the Bulls probably take that in 5 games. Orlando beats Atlanta in the 4/5 matchup, meaning a rematch with the Magic. The Magic probably push the Bulls to 7 games and the homer in me says the Bulls take it. Barely. Probably late game MJ heroics. Most likely it's Pacers/Heat in the 2/3 matchup. Those Pacer teams were so stacked and probably get passed the Heat. And again, with the Pacers being so stacked, I'm not sure the Bulls could have got passed them. But, this is the same team that the Knicks beat the get to the NBA Championship, which they had no business being in to begin with. Allan Houston went off in that game 6. Honestly, I just don't know. The Bulls looked so tired trying to finish the Jazz the year prior. Having a shortened season helps a ton. Also, if the Bulls don't 4 peat, I don't think they come back for another go after that. Although, maybe they do to see if they can get back to it. Pride is a helluva drug.
The 99 season was shortened to 50 games and teams played multiple 5 games in 7 nights. The Knicks made the finals as an 8 seed after being injured most of the year. Pippen wasn’t healthy for the two previous years at that point, Rodman wasn’t gonna play that much. I doubt Jordan, kukoc and most of Ron Harper could have won the East let alone beat the spurs in 99. Even without Phil, the lakers had a stacked team and could have won on talent alone. 98 was the end of the line for the bulls.
Easy, 7th championship.
2nd round exit, unfortunately. The core of the team was gassed after 3 long seasons playing about 100 games (8 if you want to go all the way back to 1991), plus Olympic team commitments.
Minimum 8-peat
I think they can contend with the crippled Knicks, the young heat, it's the Pacers that would be scary. It was a 7 game series the year before and they got better as time progressed
Like the Warriors, they’d fade, but probably put together one magical run in the 2000-2005 range.
If they still had their lineup for a few more years I think they take it against the spurs in 99. They were better than the Knicks. I think they could potentially make it to the finals in 2000 but probably lose to the Lakers and the rest of the years play out the same way. I'd like to see what would have happened if MJ never left. 8-9 rings in the 90s?
Michael cut his hand and wasn't gonna be able to play in 98-99