This Warriors team just beat the regular season of the 95-96 Chicago Bulls last night. So I pose this question: Could this Warriors team beat those Bulls?
My answer is a flat out no! And I don’t say this to be a “hater” but I say it to be a realist. This Warriors team is one of the most unstoppable forces the NBA has seen in a while but, to beat a Jordan led team in a seven game series, the answer is no.
Let’s breakdown the teams.
To start off, Luc Longley would be guarding Andrew Bogut. I see this matchup as a draw.
Dennis Rodman would be guarding Draymond Green and that’s a win for Rodman and the Bulls. Rodman is one of the best defensive forces the NBA has seen. Rodman could definitely shut down Green’s ability to blow by people. And if Green can’t drive and kick that drops the Warriors’ number of three-point shots. With Rodman’s ability to switch, he can guard the pick and roll better than any big man the Warriors have faced this year.
Scottie Pippen would guard Harrison Barnes. Pippen and Bulls win that matchup. Pippen is one of the best small forwards in the history of the NBA.
Even though we would like to see Jordan guard Curry, I think the Bulls would guard the Warriors straight up. Jordan would guard Klay Thompson.
And Ron Harper, a very underrated defender, would be guarding Curry.
Throughout the game we will see a lot of different matchups, we could see Pippen on Thompson, Rodman on Thompson, or even Jordan on Curry.
Head Coach versus head coach, the Bulls win every single time. Coach Phil Jackson is lightyears ahead of Steve Kerr. I don’t have to go any further on that.
In the end, I think in a seven game series the Bulls will beat the Warriors in 5-6 games. Even though the Warriors bench is a little bit deeper than the Bulls bench, I think the Bulls win because they have Jordan, Phil Jackson, and their starting five’s impact will be greater than the Warriors’s starting five.