Bear Down Wildcats

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14196 ... cago-bulls" target="_blank

The Golden State Warriors' hot start has inspired some hot takes. Ron Harper, formerly of the storied 72-win 1996 Chicago Bulls, claimed that squad would have swept the NBA's current reigning champs. If the topic wasn't already in the sports debate bloodstream, this served as a direct injection. It's an official barstool argument now: 2016 Warriors, 1996 Bulls, who ya got?

96 bulls. Jordan goes for 40 a night and they win in 6

azcat49 wrote:96 bulls. Jordan goes for 40 a night and they win in 6

It all comes down to handchecking. If allowed, I'll take the Bulls. If forbidden, this is much closer than people think. The 3-pointer is the great equilizer, and when healthy, Golden State has better depth and equal if not better versatility.

I'm taking the 96 Bulls, but it definitely wouldn't be a sweep. I mean, the Bulls needed 6 to put away Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, and Detleff. They had some nice role players on that team, but they weren't as good or complete as these Warriors, and even though Gary Payton is a hall of fame player, he wasn't close to being a Steph Curry level of a problem offensively. The Warriors are better than those Utah Jazz teams of Stockton, Malone and Hornacek, whom the Bulls needed six games to beat twice. I remember those series being very tight with some late game winners (and the push off on Russell in 98), with the Bulls squeeking out most of their wins. I also remember Malone sucking balls for a lot of those series and the time he clanked two late free throws when after Pippen said something to him.

A lot of people make the mistake of penning the Warriors as this finesse team that only shoots the three and are limited to Steph Curry, while completely ignoring all of the other solid pieces they have around. They certainly didn't help their cause by letting a Cleveland team minus Kyrie and Love make it a series.