I watched MJ's 69 point game again yesterday, and he had a lot of great passes that lead to free throws/weren't capitalized on.
i watched it not long ago too, and what struck me was how he many shot opportunities he passed up in the first half. until he got really hot he was just sort of playing within the offense. fun game to watch just to see how explosive he was. i don't know about 80+, but if he had set his mind to it earlier, he definitely could have had 70+ in that game. i still think 81 is a bigger deal because it's the first time since wilt that someone's done it, but if you look at total production, mj's across the board numbers were better (at least in every fantasy league i've ever belonged too ).
Now, that's a great analysis. When I saw the name of the website I thought I'd read some typical fan BS like "Kobe the ballhog Bryant wanted to score big and he pad his stats and MJ could've done it a million times if he wanted to " and stuff like that.
Which is more impressive?
Definitely 81. I mean, it's 8 freaking 1.
As rare as 69 is, 81 is just out of this world.
However, when you take a deeper look at all around stats, Jordan's look better.
If only he scored 1 more point. 70 sounds so much better than 69.
If he scored 70 you could really put even more emphasis on the greatness of that game. .
69 however...is still in the 60's. 60 point games are not THAT rare.
For a guy with a career average of 30 points and plenty of seasons over 30 ppg, 69 in an OT doesn't seem that outrageous if you know what I mean.
i watched it not long ago too, and what struck me was how he many shot opportunities he passed up in the first half. until he got really hot he was just sort of playing within the offense. fun game to watch just to see how explosive he was. i don't know about 80+, but if he had set his mind to it earlier, he definitely could have had 70+ in that game.
Easily. He really wasn't looking to score much until about midway through the third iirc.
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i still think 81 is a bigger deal because it's the first time since wilt that someone's done it, but if you look at total production, mj's across the board numbers were better (at least in every fantasy league i've ever belonged too ).
Agreed. 81 is definitely the better scoring feat (i.e., more historically significant), but 69/18/6/4/1 (including 7 offensive boards) against a far better team is overall a more impressive game imo. Not by a ton or anything, but marginally. Jordan also "only" took 37 shots that game -- had he taken 7-9 more, he likely would've been at least in the mid-70's imo.
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Originally Posted by KobeIsBryant
I watched MJ's 69 point game again yesterday, and he had a lot of great passes that lead to free throws/weren't capitalized on.
Very true; nice of you to acknowledge it. Some people seem to think that Kobe's the only player in history whose passes weren't capitalized on. :)
Very true; nice of you to acknowledge it. Some people seem to think that Kobe's the only player in history whose passes weren't capitalized on. :)
in the late 80s i would get so mad at the other bulls for dropping passes or missing wide open shots that jordan created because he was always being compared to magic and larry who were given credit for being better passers than him. having grown up, i can now recognize that magic and larry were in fact better passers and that it takes a lot of passing to record a lot of assists because teammates do drop passes, get fouled, and miss shots. at the time it irked the hell out of me though .
As good as Jordan's all round game is, it was still "only" 69 and it did take him OT to do it. It was on Ehlo too. (What's that quote, "It always seems to be on Ehlo" or something.
Kobe's was just plain crazy. 81 in the modern game for a guard. Sure Jordan probably could have done it had he taken more shots, but he didn't. Plus Kobe scored 55 points in the second half. That insane! Anyone know exactly how many minutes Kobe played in the second half?
in the late 80s i would get so mad at the other bulls for dropping passes or missing wide open shots that jordan created because he was always being compared to magic and larry who were given credit for being better passers than him. having grown up, i can now recognize that magic and larry were in fact better passers and that it takes a lot of passing to record a lot of assists because teammates do drop passes, get fouled, and miss shots. at the time it irked the hell out of me though .
Yeah, Cartwright and later Longley were notorious for dropping passes. Really, the only great catcher/finisher inside that Jordan ever played with was Grant (great hands and a quick jumper). Caffey was good, but not as consistent as Grant (and he didn't get nearly as many minutes). Rodman had great hands to catch passes, but wasn't a good finisher in traffic. Longley was just terrible relatively speaking, as was Cartwright (speaking of catching/finishing here, not overall -- both were serviceable players).
As good as Jordan's all round game is, it was still "only" 69 and it did take him OT to do it. It was on Ehlo too. (What's that quote, "It always seems to be on Ehlo" or something.
Kobe's was just plain crazy. 81 in the modern game for a guard. Sure Jordan probably could have done it had he taken more shots, but he didn't. Plus Kobe scored 55 points in the second half. That insane! Anyone know exactly how many minutes Kobe played in the second half?
81 on subpar defenders (Calderon and 36 year old Jalen Rose) in an era where you can't breathe on a defender without it being a foul.let me know when Kobe does that on the Pistons instead of the worst teams on the league..MJ dropped 63 in the playoffs against the best team in the league
Kobe Bryant 81 vs. Michael Jordan 69
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