Can today’s Golden State Warriors beat Jordan’s 1995-96 Bulls?

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Many basketball pundits have toyed with this scenario in their heads: Can the modern-day incarnation of the Golden State Warriors that include Kevin Durant beat the threepeat champs Chicago Bulls of the 1995-96 season? Chicago Bulls supporter Richard Ohlhaber argues otherwise.

It must first be remembered that these teams come from two distinct generations of NBA play. The Bulls reigned during a time in the league when defense was king. Referees were more tolerant of physical contact and fouls that would in today’s NBA be normally and quickly called were then allowed. The advantage here should go to the scrappier Bulls team that included Dennis Rodman, as he would have manhandled the Warriors’ Draymond Green.

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In terms of offense, Jordan and company thrived in post-ups and mid-range shooting, which Golden State plays little attention to outside Durant’s and Livingston’s play. It most likely will be a battle to see which team will take and make more three-pointers and we’d give the advantage here to the Splash Brothers of Curry and Thompson.

Curry’s and Thompson’s dominance outside the arc may just be canceled, though; Phil Jackson’s triangle offense will drastically slow down the game and limit Golden State’s transition offense. Assuming that referees are coming from the old NBA contact rule, Jordan and Pippen will make mincemeat of the smaller Golden State guards’ offensive posturing.

Finally, the mid-90s was still the era of the big man, and Golden State simply cannot match the Bulls’ dominance and production in the paint even if DeMarcus Cousins were healthy, Richard Ohlhaber adds. Cousins, Bogut, and Looney will just be irked, hounded, and overpowered by Chicago’s Rodman and its four-player-strong centers Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, James Edwards, and Jack Haley.

Richard Ohlhaber has been living in the DFW Metroplex since 1998 but grew up in Chicago. He is a huge fan of the Chicago Bulls. Visit this blog for related posts on the NBA.