Clarence Gaines · @ClarenceGaines2
21st Jul 2015 from TwitLonger
My quick response - All-time Bulls vs. All-time Lakers Team
No way in the hell any all-time great team is going to beat a Michael Jordan all-time great team by 50. No Way. First, it's a team sport. Not constructed of just 5 players. If I was picking a Chicago Bulls team to compete against the Lakers. It would include 15 players since the league now allows 15 players on a roster & 13 can be active. Phil Jackson would be the coach & we would run the triangle offense.
My starting 5 would complement one another. Derrick Rose would not start on my team because his game does not complement MJ's. Kirk Hinrich would be my starting point guard. The Bulls team that I'm constructing would be a defensive force. I'm not even starting Dennis Rodman, bringing him off the bench to inject energy. I'm starting Kirk Hinrich, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, & Joakim Noah. Kirk's a very good deep shooter, good playmaker & excellent defender. In his prime, I think he complements Jordan extremely well. Better than any of the triangle guards on the championship teams like Paxson, Kerr, & Armstrong & that's saying something. All three of those guards have effective FG% greater than 51% with Kerr leading the pack at 56%. One of them could easily be my 3rd guard because I'm looking for a specialist to fill that role. I'm taking Paxson because he's so clutch & can handle the 3rd guard role.
Here's my team & depth chart. At the #1 or Lead Guard spot - Kirk Hinrich, Derrick Rose, & John Paxson. Pax is a team chemistry pick. Others might pick Norm Van Lier (Defensive terror), Guy Rodgers (only played one year for Bulls but consummate playmaker - still holds all-time assist mark for the team)
At #2 Guard spot MJ - MJ always averaged over 40 minutes per game in the playoffs, so it doesn't really matter who I pick to back him off, but I'm spelling him with Jerry Sloan & Jimmy Butler. I think that's 3 defensive 2 guards who can handle anything that the Lakers put on the floor.
At the #3 I'm picking Scottie Pippen, Backed up by Chet the Jet Walker & Bob Love.
At the #4, I'm starting Horace Grant, who I consider to be one of the finest & most versatile defensive power forwards to ever play the game. Horace was & would be the point person when this Bulls team would apply full court pressure to the Lakers. Dennis Rodman would backup Horace, adding versatility & energy to the second unit. Tony Kuckoc takes the final spot - a versatile, playmaking 4.
Who would I pick to match up with the Lakers dominance at the 5 spot? In the Bulls championship years, they had a 3 headed monster at the center spot, so I'm continuing the tradition. Start either one of my center choices for different reasons, but I'm going with Joakim Noah, Artis Gilmore, & Bill Cartwright. Noah is the perfect center for this team. Selfless, great ball handler & passer, and a warrior on the defensive end. Artis gives you size, scoring punch, & a solid presence on both ends. Bill Cartwright's presence might shock some on this roster, but ask Patrick Ewing how tough it was to go against BC in the post. The Bulls did not double team Ewing with Cartwright on the floor, which was a huge reason why the Bulls were able to beat the Ewing led Knicks team.
An All-time Bulls lose by 50 to an all-time Lakers team. Please, never, not if you understand the game & realize its a TEAM sport!