Could Austin Reaves win 55 in 1994 because opponents did this all yr in 94'...

[3ba11]

.



However, the honeymoon was over in 95' and the cat was out of the bag, so teams stopped taking the Bulls lightly and they nearly fell back to the lottery status before MJ returned late in the season.

Ultimately, Pippen's rookie season as a 23-year old and 8 ppg confirmed that he was never going to build a 50-win team from scratch, while 95' confirmed that he wasn't capable of leading a "real" 50-win team that can win 50 every year.. Accordingly, any team with Pippen or Reaves as the best scorer will fall out of contention quickly once the cat is out of the bag, due to insufficient roster talent, as we saw in 95'.. The three-peat chemistry was only good enough to sustain them for a year when they were under the radar and had the surprise factor on their side.. This was quite obvious at the time.

[ShawkFactory]

Probably not.

[SouBeachTalents]

No, what the Bulls did after losing Jordan was historic, and showed how stacked they were.

[3ba11]

No, what the Bulls did after losing Jordan was historic, and showed how stacked they were.

The question is whether Reaves could win 55 in Pippen's place in 1994, since the recent game of Lakers/Celtics shows that opponents take a team lightly that is missing their best players.. The consensus says that the Celtics took the Lakers lightly (see OP), just like opponents in 94'.. So Reaves could easily win 55 but similar to Pippen, probably drop-off once the cat was out of the bag and return to earth the following season (borderline lottery in 95' before MJ returned).. the 96' Bulls are almost certainly lottery in 96' if MJ never returns and they could've easily fallen to lottery in 95'

[SouBeachTalents]

The question is whether Reaves could win 55 in Pippen's place in 1994, since the recent game of Lakers/Celtics shows that opponents take a team lightly that is missing their best players.. The consensus says that the Celtics took the Lakers lightly (see OP), just like opponents in 94'.. So Reaves could easily win 55 but similar to Pippen, probably drop-off once the cat was out of the bag and return to earth the following season (borderline lottery in 95' before MJ returned).. the 96' Bulls are almost certainly lottery in 96' if MJ never returns and they could've easily fallen to lottery in 95'

Yes, let's pretend a single night in February is equivalent to 82 games over an entire season for a 55 win team.

[3ba11]

Yes, let's pretend a single night in February is equivalent to 82 games over an entire season for a 55 win team.

Clearly, the "taking lightly" factor is an aspect that is overlooked with that 94' team because what a letdown for an opponent to play the Bulls without MJ - so opponents took the night off and weren't "circling their calendars" anymore for the Bulls.. Accordingly, the Bulls played an NBA that was playing at 50% effort like the Celtics the other night.. It's intuitive and clear as day..

Then the Bulls were exposed in the playoffs with a weird series vs Knicks that involved the worst clutch play of all-time historically - i.e. 3.0 on 20% in 4th quarter for Pippen and also 3 massive chokes, aka the "sit out" game, the "dumb foul" game, and horrific closeout game 7.. Of course the cat was out of the bag now and the Bulls returned to earth in 1995 (near lottery) before MJ returned - the historical record backs my narrative, not yours.

[1987_Lakers]

Bulls returned to earth in 1995 because Horace Grant wasn't there.

[SouBeachTalents]

Clearly, the "taking lightly" factor is an aspect that is overlooked with that 94' team because what a letdown for an opponent to play the Bulls without MJ - so opponents took the night off and weren't "circling their calendars" anymore for the Bulls.. Accordingly, the Bulls played an NBA that was playing at 50% effort like the Celtics the other night.. It's intuitive and clear as day.. Then the Bulls were exposed in the playoffs with a weird series vs Knicks that involved the worst clutch play of all-time - literally - i.e. 3.0 on 20% in 4th quarter for Pippen and also 3 massive chokes, aka the "sit out" game, the "dumb foul" game, and horrific closeout game 7.. Of course the cat was now out of the bag and the Bulls returned to earth in 1995 (near lottery) before MJ returned - the historical record backs my narrative, not yours.

Whatever you need to tell yourself.

[3ba11]

Bulls returned to earth in 1995 because Horace Grant wasn't there.

They added Harper, while Kukoc became a higher-producing starter similar to their title run in 98' with Rodman coming off the bench.. Kukoc was starter for this title run and also 2nd option (2nd leading scorer) in the 4th quarter and clutch-time (last 5 within 5) for that entire title run.. So MJ won titles with 3 different guys getting role player numbers at PF - Horace (12/9), Rodman (3/8 for entire 97' Playoffs), and Kukoc (started over Rodman in 98' Playoffs).

[ShawkFactory]

No, what the Bulls did after losing Jordan was historic, and showed how stacked they were.

True. It’s historical record that the Bulls won more games than any team ever after losing their best player.

So..next.

[bison]

Austin Reaves is a Mark Price level type player, so the question isn’t whether Jordan could develop Reaves enough to win a chip on his own (MJ definitely could), but why Lebron continues to struggle with Mark friggin Price as his FOURTH OPTION.

[Xiao Yao You]

Austin Reaves is a Mark Price level type player, so the question isn’t whether Jordan could develop Reaves enough to win a chip on his own (MJ definitely could), but why Lebron continues to struggle with Mark friggin Price as his FOURTH OPTION.

[3ba11]

True. It’s historical record that the Bulls won more games than any team ever after losing their best player.

So..next.

It's historical record that the Bulls were the only 3-peat team, aka the best team to ever lose their best player and the only team that lost the GOAT (so opponents took them lightly like the recent Celtics/Lakers)

So how many games could Austin Reaves win with the 94' Bulls knowing that every opponent was taking the night off like the recent Celtics vs Lakers game?.. 55 seems easy and once the cat was out of the bag, he would be near lottery the following season like the 95' Bulls.

[ShawkFactory]

It's historical record that the Bulls were the only 3-peat team, aka the best team to ever lose their best player and the only team that lost the GOAT (so opponents took them lightly like the recent Celtics/Lakers)

So how many games could Austin Reaves win with the 94' Bulls knowing that every opponent was taking the night off like the recent Celtics vs Lakers game?.. 55 seems easy and once the cat was out of the bag, he would be near lottery the following season like the 95' Bulls.

Yea? We KNOW that?

I love when you try to make a point and argue with people by assuming a base argument that you completely made up as fact. It’s good stuff.

[Axe]

Whatever you need to tell yourself.