Say Dennis Rodman never joined the Bulls...

[guy]

2010.... when he was hurt in game 5 but yet put up 27-19-10 in must win game 6?

2011....when it was obviously agreed (right before the Finals) that Wade would be the first option and James would lay back to let Wade shine........and it completely backfired in their face?

Wow the excuses. when was he injured in game 5? That game 6 was terrible regardless of the stats and barely anyone at the time was saying he had a good game. 2011

[Real14]

Still have more rings then bronnatella

[Hey Yo]

Wow the excuses. when was he injured in game 5? That game 6 was terrible regardless of the stats and barely anyone at the time was saying he had a good game. 2011

dumb

[Indian guy]

Any serviceable PF who could rebound/defend would do. There's nothing more overblown than Rodman's impact on the 2nd 3peat team. He missed 47 games from 96-98 and Bulls went 38-9 without him. They actually had some excellent depth at the 4 - Kukoc, Caffey, Brian Williams - all darn solid players. And at the end of the day, it's really not that hard to replace a hustle player. It's far harder to make-up for losing a skilled offensive player than someone who just plays hard. And that 2nd 3peat team was a really BIG team. Rebounding was never going to be an issue for them. Come '98 playoffs Rodman wasn't even starting half the games - Kukoc was, and he could neither defend nor rebound, but that says everything about how replaceable Bulls considered Rodman's hustle.

[chazzy]

2011....when it was obviously agreed (right before the Finals) that Wade would be the first option and James would lay back to let Wade shine........and it completely backfired in their face.

uggghhhh

[Droid101]

2011....when it was obviously agreed (right before the Finals) that Wade would be the first option and James would lay back to let Wade shine........and it completely backfired in their face.

[sdot_thadon]

So we're talking about replacing 32 to 35 minutes of Rodman with caffey, williams, salley, Simpkins and spot minutes from Kukoc? They still 3peat? Riiiight. Kukoc was a better offensive option but he'd get eaten alive by most good powerforwards on the other end. Those guys would also have to contribute to guarding and do spot treatment on centers too, Dennis did that as well. The last 3peat bulls were successful because of elite offense AND defense. You lose Dennis and you lose a central cog of that defense. Him and scottie's ability to guard larger positions regularly helped their insane versatility and, was a huge advantage for Phil those last 3 years.

[Fallen Angel]

Any serviceable PF who could rebound/defend would do.

Name one PF that can rebound in the double digits and defend all 5 positions. Just one.

There's nothing more overblown than Rodman's impact on the 2nd 3peat team. He missed 47 games from 96-98 and Bulls went 38-9 without him. They actually had some excellent depth at the 4 - Kukoc, Caffey, Brian Williams - all darn solid players. And at the end of the day, it's really not that hard to replace a hustle player. It's far harder to make-up for losing a skilled offensive player than someone who just plays hard. And that 2nd 3peat team was a really BIG team. Rebounding was never going to be an issue for them. Come '98 playoffs Rodman wasn't even starting half the games - Kukoc was, and he could neither defend nor rebound, but that says everything about how replaceable Bulls considered Rodman's hustle.

Shaquille O'Neal vs. The 1996 Chicago Bulls Frontcourt and Dennis Rodman:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCX2bEBPABQ
Thread: http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=380216

The same about the video and thread can be said about what Dennis Rodman did to Karl Malone in the playoffs. Chicago doesn't beat either of them without Rodman.

[Hey Yo]

uggghhhh

What happened the following 2 seasons when Wade declared publicly(summer of 2011) it was James' team now?

[guy]

Name one PF that can rebound in the double digits and defend all 5 positions. Just one.



Shaquille O'Neal vs. The 1996 Chicago Bulls Frontcourt and Dennis Rodman:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCX2bEBPABQ
Thread: http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=380216

The same about the video and thread can be said about what Dennis Rodman did to Karl Malone in the playoffs. Chicago doesn't beat either of them without Rodman.

Rodman wasn't really defending all 5 positions though. I'm not sure if he was even capable at that point and even if he was, it was irrelevant with Jordan, Pippen, and Harper on the team.

[Indian guy]

Name one PF that can rebound in the double digits and defend all 5 positions. Just one.

Dude, 96-98 Rodman was 35-37 years old and could defend no more than 2 positions.

Shaquille O'Neal vs. The 1996 Chicago Bulls Frontcourt and Dennis Rodman:

Shaq averaged 27/11/4 on 64% shooting in the '96 ECF. I'd say he did alright. Reason why Orlando lost that series was because how awful everybody was outside of Shaq/Penny, and the MVP of the '95 match-up, Horace Grant, only played 1 game because of injuries.

The same about the video and thread can be said about what Dennis Rodman did to Karl Malone in the playoffs. Chicago doesn't beat either of them without Rodman.

Ummm, this is a myth. Malone being a perennial choke-artist and playoff underachiever aside, Longley actually did a better job on him than Rodman for much of the '97 and '98 Finals. Rodman also came off the bench in all 6 games of the '98 Finals.

[Fallen Angel]

Rodman wasn't really defending all 5 positions though. I'm not sure if he was even capable at that point and even if he was, it was irrelevant with Jordan, Pippen, and Harper on the team.

So Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Ron Harper all getting bounced out the 1995 Playoffs in the second round to the Orlando Magic is irrelevant to you?

The Magic got better the following season and the main improvement with the Bulls the next season was the acquisition of Dennis Rodman. For the Bulls to SWEEP the team that knocked them out the playoffs the prior year is something. Horace Grant's injury isn't that big of a part of reason for the sweep of a team that made the NBA Finals a year ago, Dennis Rodman was the difference with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and the mental approach to the game.

[Fallen Angel]

Since you chose not to read the thread or even watch the video here I'll just repost it here:

• 1996 NBA Playoffs (SHAQUILLE O'NEAL vs. DENNIS RODMAN)

• Game 1 Conference Finals: The Bulls allowed Shaq to feast on Luc Longley at first. But when guarded by Rodman, Shaq scored only 2 points on 1/4 (not including a very short hook shot that was bailed out by an illegal defense call) and committed 2 turnovers while Rodman also forced a team turnover on the Magic from his pick and roll defense on O'Neal. In the stretch that Rodman guarded Shaq the Chicago Bulls pulled out to a comfortable 20+ point lead. Afterwards, Shaq was free to pad his stats against Bill Wennington and John Salley, very similar to what Bill Russell and Willis Reed did with the great Wilt Chamberlain.
• Game 2 Conference Finals: Once again, Shaq was free to abuse Luc Longley and Bill Wennington. At first, Shaq started 2/3 against Rodman in the 1st quarter. That would be the last time he'd score a field goal on Dennis Rodman the rest of the playoffs. On the remaining possessions Rodman guarded O'Neal, Shaq went 0/2 and committed 2 turnovers while forcing another Magic turnover because of his ball denial on Shaq. Once again, the stretch in which Rodman locked down Shaq was crucial as it was the major reason the Bulls erased the Magic's 18 point 3rd quarter lead. The Bulls went on to win this game.
• Game 3 Conference Finals: Shaq had an off night so Rodman only guarded him 1 possession. On the sole possession Shaq was guarded by Dennis he was forced to pass out the post. The Magic lost this game as well.
• Game 4 Conference Finals: Shaq scored from 3 free throws against Dennis Rodman with no field goals attempted. The rest of his points came when Rodman was not guarding him as Shaq feasted on Chicago's weaker defenders once again. When Rodman was guarding first O'Neal he forced the Magic into a team turnover. Dennis then came off of Shaq and O'Neal then went back to work against the Bulls' weaker defenders. On Dennis Rodman's second defensive stretch on Shaquille O'Neal he didn't score a point and committed 1 turnover while forced 3 addition team turnovers on the Magic by his defense on Shaq. Yet again, the Bulls went on another scoring run with Rodman disrupting Shaq to close the game and close the series as the Chicago Bulls swept the Orlando Magic out the playoffs and ran Shaquille O'Neal all the way back to Los Angeles months later.

[smoovegittar]

Let's not forget that Dennis had an uncanny knack for getting into opponent's heads - Phil's kind of player.

[guy]

So Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Ron Harper all getting bounced out the 1995 Playoffs in the second round to the Orlando Magic is irrelevant to you?

The Magic got better the following season and the main improvement with the Bulls the next season was the acquisition of Dennis Rodman. For the Bulls to SWEEP the team that knocked them out the playoffs the prior year is something. Horace Grant's injury isn't that big of a part of reason for the sweep of a team that made the NBA Finals a year ago, Dennis Rodman was the difference with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and the mental approach to the game.

That is irrelevant. What is relevant is that they had a PF that can rebound and defend. That's not exclusive to Rodman. And the fact that could or couldn't defend positions didn't matter. Rodman wasn't replacing Horace Grant, he was replacing Toni Kukoc at PF. That makes a huge difference .What's also relevant is Jordan was in better game shape and didn't get fatigued as easily.