ttc wrote:
With a bad SG, Bulls were a bad call from the next rd vs an inferior opponent, and a sure finals berth. With an avg SG, they'd have won a title.
Also: ANY ring team wouldn't win a ring w/o its best player. But most of them would not be as good as the Bulls were w/o MJ. MJ had the best cast of any ring team.
ttc-
Everything you say here is wrong. First of all, the '93 and '94 Bulls weren't just different in that one had Pete Myers instead of Jordan. The '94 Bulls also had Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr and Luc Longley added to the team while also returning key guys like Pippen, Grant and BJ Armstrong. They were still coached by one of the best ever as well. That said, they still couldn't come close to making up for Jordan not being there. In the three previous seasons they went 12-0 in playoff series, only going to a game 7 once (which they won) and never had an NBA Finals go to a game 7. The '94 Bulls couldn't win a game 7 against a team that couldn't win the NBA Finals. You make it sound like but for one call the Bulls would have beaten the Knicks. I saw game, you are wrong. They also lost by 10 points.
As for them going to the Finals if only for the addition of an "average" SG... I can do one better. The '95 Bulls added Michael Jordan at the end of the season. Granted, he wasn't in top form obviously, but it was serious upgrade from Pete Myers for the playoffs, not only in stats but in actually on the court impact. Jordan wasn't in top form but still playing at a higher level than an "average" NBA SG. The Bulls lost again in the second round. The '94 & '95 were good teams but more than just an "average" player away from an NBA title. When Jordan was back for real in '96 the Bulls were unstopable and continued to be for the '97 & '98 seasons.
The Bulls had strong rosters for all of their championships but your claim that the Bulls had "the best cast" outside Jordan as compared to the Celtics (sans Bird) is ridiculous. We can go name by name down the roster if you like... Jordan and Bird were both great. They both had a strong cast behind them. Jordan won championships and was the better player.