The 72-10 Bulls, Just how focused was this team ?? The questions

[dr8ked]

Was it luck? , My questions : injuries?, you have to be focused to stay healthy throughout the season ( or was it luck ?), What about the days when your star player is having a bad shooting night ??Is everybody else that much focused that they know when to step up and cover for their star player ?? also what about when everybody in the team including the star player is having a bad shooting night?? are they that much focused to realise they have to step up their defense and stop the opposing team from scoring ?? How do you handle off the court distractions without losing your focus on the goal??

Rasheed wallace said they could win 70 games but looking at some of the loses they've had, i doesnt look like they can do it. Magic is plagued with injuries/suspension, Cavs are having a chemistry issue, same applies to spurs. Lakers look lost without gasol, The verdict is still out on the nuggets ( but from the looks of things, they can't do it either). We all know records are there to be broken,but what will it take to break this record ??

speak on it and no trolling Please.

[Big One]

milwaukee will win 73 next season. book it

[Roundball_Rock]

They had injuries. Pippen suffered a few injuries during the final quarter of the season (which derailed a "Pippen for MVP" movement led by one Michael J. Jordan) and played hurt throughout the playoffs. Yet they kept winning. Why? They had the GOAT who was the best player in the league at the time and another player who was considered by many to be the second best player in the NBA at the time (when healthy). Pippen was consensus top 5 at worst in 96'. In addition to that they had the best rebounder in the game, Dennis Rodman, who also was an excellent defender. The 96' Bulls are the only team to ever have three players on the first all-defensive team. Ron Harper was also a very capable defender. Since Pippen was a unique player, a SF who served as the de facto PG, the Bulls were able to use Ron Harper, a career SG, PG spot since Pippen was the primary ballhandler/playmaker. As far as players go, they had the best 6th man in the game that year in Kukoc and a great 7th man in Kerr. Last but not least, they had Phil Jackson.

What about the days when your star player is having a bad shooting night ??Is everybody else that much focused that they know when to step up and cover for their star player ?? also what about when everybody in the team including the star player is having a bad shooting night??

Well, first this team had two superstar players so if one was struggling there was a good chance the other was not. Even when the team as a whole struggled offensively they were always competitive because they were by far the best defensive team in the league. They only lost two games by double digits. What does that tell you?

How do you handle off the court distractions without losing your focus on the goal??

You mean Dennis Rodman? Great leadership: Jordan, Pippen, and Jackson. Remember that in 97' when Rodman was getting a ton of technicals in the playoffs and playing so poorly he was not even leading the team in rebouding both MJ and Pip chided him. I recall Pippen publicly criticized him for it. Only the Bulls could have incorporated Rodman at that time. This was when Rodman was at the height of his gimmick/celebrity.

[Rake2204]

I wasn't visibly overwhelmed with how good that Chicago team was. It was not as if you could watch them play for 10 minutes and say, "Wow! I didn't know basketball could be played like that!". It was more often subtle, consistent execution and ability.

It seemed like they were always successful in completing everything they set out to do in a given game, and it was tiring for me to watch. It always seemed like, "Oh, there's Scottie Pippen pulling up for a three on a fastbreak. Stupid shot for anyone else in the NBA but of course he's going to drill it because it's Chicago" or "Oh, there's Bill Winnington dropping a pass to Michael Jordan along the baseline for a reverse layup and-1. Sure Wennington would be a scrub on any other team in the league but he plays for Chicago, so he's going to make plays like that every night." Clearly I'm exaggerating a little bit (it didn't always go right) but it honestly felt like everyone on that team played with a plus-5 ability boost.

I didn't hate the Bulls in '96 by any means, but I don't think I appreciated them until the years had passed. I was definitely rooting for the Sonics in the Finals that year (and I still love that Shawn Kemp dunk on Rodman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTPV2r2s1k8) but for the most part I remember the Bulls for just having a team full of players that knew what to do once they stepped on the floor. I even remember Jud Buechler catching a lob and throwing it down with two hands in garbage time to which I said, "Yep, figures, Bulls."

[Shepseskaf]

The Bulls were in just about every game that year. I believe that they only lost one game by more than 10 points.

I doubt this type of season will ever be equaled. Even the best teams will get blown out every now and then. Jordan just wouldn't allow it.

[Cyclone112]

I remember a game they had in Toronto back in Toronto's first season ever and as you can imagine they were horrible. Somehow the Bulls lost by 1 point when Jordan hit a ridiculous fade away like half a second after the buzzer off an offensive rebound from a missed Steve Kerr three pointer.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...603240TOR.html

I know it's a "what if" scenario but I always think they should have had single digit losses(73-9) if it weren't for that game where they had no business losing to an expansion team in its first year in the league.

[Roundball_Rock]

Jordan just wouldn't allow it.

It wasn't just Jordan. Look at these 8 games where MJ shot 33% or worse. The Bulls went 7-1 in them.

Lakers vs. Bulls: Jordan is 5 for 20 but the Bulls win by 20 points anyway on Pippen's 33/13/6/2 with Kukoc chipping in 22 points and Rodman 15 boards.

Bulls vs. Rockets: Jordan is 7 for 26 but the Bulls beat Hakeem/Drexler by double digits. Pippen had 28/12/5, Kukoc 16 and Kerr 17.

Knicks vs. Bulls: MJ is 8 for 27 but the Bulls win by 7 anyway. Pippen has 22/7/8/3/1 and a total of five Bulls are in double figures (Kukoc had 18).

Bulls vs. Sonics: Jordan is 6 for 19 and the Bulls narrowly lose by 5. Pippen has a bad game, a decent 44% from the field but only 2 for 11 at the line. Luc Longley was actually the Bulls' best player in this game.

Bulls vs. Cavs: Jordan is 6 for 19 but the Bulls blow out the Cavs by 26 anyway. Harper is the high man for the Bulls.

Bulls vs. Pistons: Both Jordan and Pippen struggle (10 for 30 for MJ, 7 for 23 for Pip) and the Bulls still win.

Bulls vs. Magic: Jordan is 10 for 30 but the Bulls win on 20 points from Kukoc and 17/13/5 from Pip.

Bulls vs. Bucks: Jordan is 9 for 27 but the Bulls win anyway. Longley was the Bulls' best offensive player in this game.

I know it's a "what if" scenario but I always think they should have had single digit losses(73-9) if it weren't for that game where they had no business losing to an expansion team in its first year in the league.

They should have been 73-9 and 40-1 at home if it weren't for yet another fishy call by Hue Hollins in the Bulls' last home game of the season (they "lost 100-99 to the Pacers)...

[Cyclone112]

They should have been 73-9 and 40-1 at home if it weren't for yet another fishy call by Hue Hollins in the Bulls' last home game of the season (they "lost 100-99 to the Pacers)...

Can you elaborate on that? I don't remember anything about that.

[Biddy77]

The Bulls championship teams were built for the Triangle, and they ran it virtually to perfection. They had a lot of guys on the roster who were smart players, and they got a lot of layups from cuts and movement away from the ball. When you have easy buckets coming in to supplement what you get from your stars, and your D is air tight, wins take care of themselves.

Watching those teams, it often got aggravating. Harper always seemed to be catching the ball right at the basket for a layup, Kerr always seemed to be standing all alone at the 3 point line, etc. Guys like Jud Buechler could come in, make smart cuts, and end a game in double digits-- and you'd be sitting there at home screaming about how bad Jud was the entire time he did it, wondering why your team couldn't seem to stop the Bulls' scrubs.

[andgar923]

They had injuries....

Only 4 players played over 80 games (MJ, Kerr,Toni, Harp).

Pip only played 77 games
Rodman only played 64
Luc 62
Bill 71
Dickey 60
Caffey 57
Randy Brown 68


The reason they won, is because they were professionals and they never took a night off. They did all the little things that needed to be done to win. Most of them were experienced vets so that can either be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it.

But it ultimately comes down to 'leadership'.

Its easy to lose focus and take a few nights off, or give up when things aren't working but they didn't for the most part..... that's due to their team's leadership.

[Jasper]

I wasn't visibly overwhelmed with how good that Chicago team was. It was not as if you could watch them play for 10 minutes and say, "Wow! I didn't know basketball could be played like that!". It was more often subtle, consistent execution and ability.

It seemed like they were always successful in completing everything they set out to do in a given game, and it was tiring for me to watch. It always seemed like, "Oh, there's Scottie Pippen pulling up for a three on a fastbreak. Stupid shot for anyone else in the NBA but of course he's going to drill it because it's Chicago" or "Oh, there's Bill Winnington dropping a pass to Michael Jordan along the baseline for a reverse layup and-1. Sure Wennington would be a scrub on any other team in the league but he plays for Chicago, so he's going to make plays like that every night." Clearly I'm exaggerating a little bit (it didn't always go right) but it honestly felt like everyone on that team played with a plus-5 ability boost.

I didn't hate the Bulls in '96 by any means, but I don't think I appreciated them until the years had passed. I was definitely rooting for the Sonics in the Finals that year (and I still love that Shawn Kemp dunk on Rodman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTPV2r2s1k8) but for the most part I remember the Bulls for just having a team full of players that knew what to do once they stepped on the floor. I even remember Jud Buechler catching a lob and throwing it down with two hands in garbage time to which I said, "Yep, figures, Bulls."

We could analyse the pi$$ out of this again , as I did that year when they won 72 games ,,, but there are two critical points to make and that is it -
1) They were purely dominant
2) Every team that stepped on the floor at tip off , knew they were in trouble , just by looking at the Bulls.

This is no joke , no exageration - it is a fact.

[Glide2keva]

We could analyse the pi$$ out of this again , as I did that year when they won 72 games ,,, but there are two critical points to make and that is it -
1) They were purely dominant
2) Every team that stepped on the floor at tip off , knew they were in trouble , just by looking at the Bulls.

This is no joke , no exageration - it is a fact.

As a person who was there for all of those home games, I agree totally.

[Roundball_Rock]

Can you elaborate on that? I don't remember anything about that.

I don't remember the particulars of the actual alleged infraction. I think it was a questionable foul call on the Bulls. What I do remember is that it came within the final minute of the game, the Bulls' players had a reaction at the call, and that even the commentators pointed out Hollin's "history" with the Bulls. I looked for it on YouTube but no one has uploaded it yet, although the Bulls/Pacers game in February in which Jordan scored 44 and Pippen 40 is up.

[Cyclone112]

I don't remember the particulars of the actual alleged infraction. I think it was a questionable foul call on the Bulls. What I do remember is that it came within the final minute of the game, the Bulls' players had a reaction at the call, and that even the commentators pointed out Hollin's "history" with the Bulls. I looked for it on YouTube but no one has uploaded it yet, although the Bulls/Pacers game in February in which Jordan scored 44 and Pippen 40 is up.

Ok thanks for looking, if you ever do come across it can you post it please. I'll check out the game you mention at the end. 84 points between Pip and MJ sounds like an awesome game.

[Roundball_Rock]

Definitely.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fPZp...x=0&playnext=1

A 10 minute highlight reel version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dARp3MYkeQM