>titles.
>
>Father time never loses, which is why you don't compete
>against it. Every person and team who has tried has lost.
we're ALL competing against time. even if it wins, we don't just lay down and give up.


>Everyone is focusing on the bulls, and them still having
>scottie and michael, and not focusing on how good and powerful
>other teams were becoming.
>
>Also, the Bulls lost the intimidation factor, which made them
>a dominating team. People no longer feared them.
spoken like someone who never actually played against them


>Eaxmple:
>
>1995-96 bulls went 72-10
>96-97 went 69-13
>97-98 they went 62-20

with their second best player, top 5 in the league, out for 2 months. if you're judging them by their regular season record, then you can't eliminate the largest factor in that record. the fact that they still won 60+ games without Pip is a testament to how great a team they were.

>The decline was in full effect. Like Pat Riley stated,
>dynasties fall hard and sudden. It is never a slow fade.
again, they got a year older but this decline myth holds no weight with an injured Pip.


>Lakers went 62-21, sonics went 61-21, spurs 56-26, and pacers
>went 58-24. Bulls went 1-1 against the lakers in their final
>season. In the first game, the bulls won ( but shaq wasn't in
>that game), and in the second game, the lakers beat the bulls
>( with shaq ). Lakers were on the rise, and they went on to
>form a dynasty.
Lakers didn't make it out of their own conference for two more years.

>Pacers split the series with the bulls, 2-2, and they took the
>bulls to game 7 of the ECF. Also, the bulls won the division
>by 2 games. It was evident that, moving forward, the pacers
>now had the younger and better team, and they were now a force
>in the EC.
they didn't even make it to the finals the following year, sans the bulls

>San Antonio Spurs won the championship in the 98\99 season.
>They had a great team that year with a coach who was just as
>cerebral as Phil. The spurs would have had the better all
>around team.
>
>Basically, teams were now prepared and up to challenging the
>bulls.
>
>
>The aging of Michael Jordan:
>
>Jordan would have been 35 in the following season. He had
>already lost his GREAT athletic ability, and could no longer
>jump out of the gym. However, jordan was such an elite
>fundamental player, he used his intelligence to play at an
>elite level. But that can only go on for so long. Sports is a
>young man's game, and jordan was having issues being able to
>guard the younger and faster guards of the NBA. It was going
>to continue to decline because father team always wins.....
>
>
>
>And most importantly, the Bulls bench was not serviceable any
>longer.The bench of Kerr, Buchler, Wennigton,Brown, Burrell
>and Kukoc lacked the athleticism and speed to keep up with
>younger and stronger benches. This was the main problem to me.
this thing called free agency. they also made a few key pickups from season to season.


>example:
>
>Indiana's bench: Jalen rose, Antonio Davis, Travis Best,
>Derrick Mckay, Mark West, Austin Croshere. And Other teams
>had prominent and better benches as well.
>
>
>
>We can kick the hypotheticals all day long. But the bottom
>line is they went out on top, no other dynasty can state that.
>So it ended the way it should have ended. 6 rings, no
>championship losses, and two 3peats. Krause did the right
>thing, and actually preserved Jordan's legacy as an undefeated
>champion.
that undefeated champion shit is for message board debates.

>Magic's decline wasn't pretty.
unique circumstance

>Bird's decline wasn't
>pretty.
back blew up

>Barkley's decline wasn't pretty.
body fell apart

>Ewing decline's
>wasn't pretty.
likewise

>Kobe's decline wasn't pretty.
likewise

>Dr.j's decline
>wasn't pretty, etc,etc....I'm glad we didn't see Mike go out
>like that.

you must have forgotten the wizards years. ever wonder why he bothered? no one KNOCKED him off the mountain. the fucking mountain was taken away. Jordan was never scared of losing, but I think that team felt someone cheated in that they weren't allowed to defend the title until beaten. Definitely one of the oddest endings to a championship sports run.
>
>

that shortened season would have benefited the Bulls like no other team. they were the most experienced, and needed less time than any other team to establish a rhythm. That extra rest would have been HUGE. The fact that Jordan was able to put together some memorable games in a Wizards jersey, considering he never really started in the best shape (broken ribs from playing with Artest over summer) he could have, he would have been fine for one more year. Again WITH ALL THAT REST. We talk this load management shit. Well, give the oldest team a third less games to play and it can ONLY help them.

I was in college and traveled abroad that fall so was not paying close attention but it's fucking ridiculous that the greatest modern sports dynasty was ended OFF the court.














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