A more fitting explanation is that Boston’s was just untouchable. That doesn’t mean the Bulls had bad team chemistry. Michael Jordan was an underrated facilitator, but Chicago’s overall cohesiveness was just not as strong as Boston’s. The Celtics rarely took any bad shots because they would almost always find the open man. Larry Bird is one of the most unselfish superstars to ever play the game, and his passing was contagious. The Bulls starting center, Luc Longley, may be the worst starting center to ever win an NBA Finals.Īs for chemistry, I would also give the edge to Boston. And, as previously mentioned, the Celtics had the Sixth Man of the Year. The Celtics had four guys average over 15 points per game. If you’re ranking every player on both teams, the Bulls have first, fourth and sixth, while the Celtics own second, third, fifth and seventh (then there’s a noticeable drop-off between seventh, Johnson, and eighth, Kukoc). But in the Bulls backcourt played the greatest player ever, a solid starter in Ron Harper and maybe the best pure shooter ever in Steve Kerr, who shot 51.5 percent on three pointers in ’96.Īlthough he was technically a forward, Toni Kukoc was another good perimeter scorer for the Bulls.ĭepth undoubtedly goes to the Celtics. The Celtics had a nice combination of Johnson and Danny Ainge, who was a very good knockdown shooter. Both are all-time greats, but four always beats two. The Bulls had Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen, but that was about it. They trio combined for 63.2 points, 27.4 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game on 53.2 percent shooting.Īnd, they had the Sixth Man of the Year in Bill Walton, who averaged 14.1 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per 36 minutes on 56.2 percent shooting. Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were all in their primes, and they were all named to the NBAs 50 Greatest Players list. It seems absurd to suggest any team could ever possess a better front line than the ’86 Celtics. Jordan was better than Bird, and Pippen was a better defender than Johnson. Jordan had two inches on Johnson, but Johnson could still irritate MJ and cause a key turnover or two.īut, the Bulls still win this battle. The Celtics’ best defender was a point guard, Dennis Johnson, who is also considered one of the best perimeter defenders ever.
The Bulls had Scottie Pippen, maybe the greatest defensive small forward of all time, so he could limit Bird’s production. There’s really no stopping Bird or Jordan, but you still want a great defender on them to make them work for their points. So, if you’re going to beat either of these teams, you must first stop the star.
Both Michael Jordan and Larry Bird could score whenever they wanted in their heyday.
1986 CHICAGO BULLS ROSTER FREE
P.- Position GP.- Games played GS.- Games started MIN.- Minutes played PTS.- Points scored RB.- Total rebounds BL.- Blocks AS.- Assists FG.- Field goals 3P.- 3-pointers FT.- Free throws ST.- Steals TO.- Turnovers PF.- Personal fouls EF.So which of these two juggernauts was the better? Let’s go in depth to figure out the answer.Īs previously mentioned, these teams were led by arguably two of the best five players ever. PLAYER P GP GS MIN PTS RB BL AS FG 3P FT ST TO PF EF
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