[JMIKE is a Grizz fanParticipant]

If the bulls were playing in michael jordans prime would they still be a championship contender?

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Are you serious?  This is one of the theories we can actually go back and proove because the Bulls DID PLAY WITHOUT JORDAN IN HIS PRIME FOR 2 YEARS!!!

Without Jordan and just Pippen they were still a playoff team because of Pippens brilliance but they were far from contenders.

[TyroberParticipant]

 Obviously when you take the greatest player of all time away from a team they aren’t going to be championship contenders and will take a few steps back. 

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Do you mean if the Bulls had not had Michael for the 6 rings? I guess they would still be a play-off team. I mean, they did alright without Mike, but they were not championship caliber without there star. In Mike’s first last season (lol) they were 57-25 winning the 1992-93 NBA championship.

The next year, they went 55-27 with Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and BJ Armstrong taking on more of the offense and Toni Kukoc as the only major addition. They got Luc Longley later in a trade, but really Kukoc was a key. The next season, they were 34-31 with Horace Grant going to Orlando as a FA, adding Ron Harper as the only major replacement.

That is, until Michael Jordan came back and they went 13-4. They took the eventual Eastern champ Magic to 6 games and I have little doubt in my mind they probably do not make it past Charlotte without Mike. That is, if they had finished with the 5 seed, which was no guarantee. Than, with Michael back to being Michael, plus Dennis Rodman, they go 72-10 the next season.

They had Harper, MJ, Scottie, Rodman and Longley, with Toni Kukoc off the bench. Take MJ off the team, they are still a play-off team more than likely. But are they champions or even major contenders? I say no. It is hard to find a team in synch enough to win a championship without stars.

Honestly, Detroit 2004 was about it, plus you could argue that their were indeed some stars on that team. At the very least they had 4 All-Stars, with Tayshaun Prince being a close 5th a few times. So, say what you will about certain players carrying teams, if you win a championship, it is a team effort. But, the stars are usually the ones that take a team from being good to great. That is what Michael Jordan did with the Bulls and I think that is what they are hoping Derrick Rose does with the team now.

[JoeWolf1]

In 1984-85, 85-86 and 86-87 I feel the Bulls were definately not a playoff team without Michael Jordan. It really wasn’t until 1987-88 when they really started to fill out that roster, and 88-89 until they started to mesh as a team.

[all-star snubParticipant]

 i think pippen took them to the eastern conference finals

[PulseGlazerParticipant]

Pippen took them to the Eastern semis where they only lost to NY because of TERRIBLE officiating (and mind you, I was a Knick fan).  To say they weren’t contenders is totally disingenuous. They weren’t dominant title favorites, but they were absolutely still contenders.

[Krypt GussParticipant]

They might be a playoff team without Rose, but they sure as hell not a championship-contending team. BIG DIFFERENCE.

[Maniac MaciejParticipant]

The 1993-94 Bulls were a questionable Hue Hollins foul call away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, and probably the NBA Finals.

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