Can someone explain how MJ averaged 11 assists in 91 finals

[97 bulls]

Apparently you didn't know John paxson. He had some amazing games during that series.

This exactly. Magic had a bad habit of roaming. And this left paxson wide open constantly. Not to mention jordans penetrations. But it was mainly magics terrible defense

[Maestro33]

You beat me to it. PAX. Before he knocked down Vinny Del Negro he was knocking down everything in sight. Crazy good shooter, especially that series.

[Yao Ming's Foot]

they guarded him closely and he still managed to average 32 ppg on 56% shooting.... wow

everytime kobe gets guarded closely you see his FG drop down to the 30s, and cant even average more than 7 assists

Otis Thorpe 15.7 ppg 58% FG
Hakeem 22.0 ppg 58%FG
Mullin 22.3 ppg 53%FG
Haradaway 26.8 ppg 50%FG
Porter 17.0 ppg 51%FG



We are not talking about the 04 Pistons here.

[Derivative]

Otis Thorpe 15.7 ppg 58% FG
Hakeem 22.0 ppg 58%FG
Mullin 22.3 ppg 53%FG
Haradaway 26.8 ppg 50%FG
Porter 17.0 ppg 51%FG



We are not talking about the 04 Pistons here.

hakeem is a bigman, for him to shoot above 50% is mandatory

all other guys werent focal points of defense, you don't see guys like porter and mullin get double or triple teamed like jordan

[Yao Ming's Foot]

hakeem is a bigman, for him to shoot above 50% is mandatory

all other guys were focal points of defense, you don't see guys like porter and mullin get double or triple teamed like jordan

Horace Grant 14.6 ppg 63%FG
John Paxson 13.4 ppg 65% FG

[Derivative]

Horace Grant 14.6 ppg 63%FG
John Paxson 13.4 ppg 65% FG

again, they weren't focal points of laker defense.

[Micku]

Apparently you didn't know John paxson. He had some amazing games during that series.

John Paxson was on fire on that series. The dude average 13.4 ppg on 65.3% in that series.

Paxson is a really good shooter in general. His mid range game was automatic. And I think he also hit a bunch of FGs in a row just like Jordan. He was clutch too. Anyway, Paxson had one hell of a series.

[Yao Ming's Foot]

again, they weren't focal points of laker defense.

Show me a defense Kobe faced in the Finals where 2 of his teammates put up double digits on 60%+ efficiency since they were not focal points of the opponents defense.

[D-Wade316]

Show me a defense Kobe faced in the Finals where 2 of his teammates put up double digits on 60%+ efficiency since they were not focal points of the Laker defense.

You're beyond retarded.

[Yao Ming's Foot]

You're beyond retarded.

For pointing out that 9 other players averaged double digit scoring against the 91 Lakers in the playoffs and shot over 50%?

That same number for the 2010 Celtics is 3 (Wade. Shaq and Dwight Howard).

Offensive numbers born of that era are inflated.

[iamgine]

they guarded him closely and he still managed to average 32 ppg on 56% shooting.... wow

everytime kobe gets guarded closely you see his FG drop down to the 30s, and cant even average more than 7 assists

Oh wait so this is actually a kobe-MJ bait thread?

[97 bulls]

Show me a defense Kobe faced in the Finals where 2 of his teammates put up double digits on 60%+ efficiency since they were not focal points of the opponents defense.

I think his point was that grant got a large portion of his point off dunks and easy layyups, as well as offensive rebounds. Paxson got his off of wide open jumpers. It was as if he was the only guy in the gym. They didn't create their own shots like jordan

[TheBigVeto]

He's got great supporting cast.

[Micku]

For pointing out that 9 other players averaged double digit scoring against the 91 Lakers in the playoffs and shot over 50%?

That same number for the 2010 Celtics is 3 (Wade. Shaq and Dwight Howard).

Offensive numbers born of that era are inflated.

Kind'a. Like the FG% is inflated, but big part of reason is that they still hardly use the 3s that much back then.

Look at John Paxon (the Bulls best shooter). He played on average 31.8 mpg in a five game series against the Lakers. He only attempted 4 three point shots. Only made 1. Jordan averaged 44.0 mpg, and only attempted 4 threes. If look at the whole bulls team in the series, they only average 4.2 three attempts in that series. That's unheard of and not seen in today's NBA. If teams don't take a bunch of 3s like back then, then they would definitely average a much higher percentage. It's also evidence when checking out players 2 point shots %. They are significantly higher than their 3 points shots, obviously. So, if they cut it down, then today's league would average a higher percentage too.

So, they played a different style and teams don't play that 2 point offense as much anymore. They expanded upon the 3 point. The pacing back then was a bit higher too, but back in playoffs the game (like today) the game slows down and they still had to do more half court sets.

Regardless, I doubt the offense numbers affect the stars that much since you see stars that migrated from the 80s to the 90s and to the early 00s. I think it affect role players a lot more.

And if you watch the series, Paxson was on fire. He couldn't miss. You pass it to him and it was automatic.

Check out the bballbreakdown. Pretty cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ARHtF4Letw

[bdreason]

He was the total package. He took high % shots, and made the right passes... and he was clutch. That's why he's the only perimeter player in the argument for GOAT.