1991-93 Chicago Bulls vs 1996-1998 Chicago Bulls

[Newman]

One question going back in time. As we know, Chicago Bulls dominated the 1990s' (we'll ignore 1994,1995 and 1999) but which Bulls' three-peat line-up is better? Here are the line-ups for the first three-peat and the second three-peat. (From wikipedia)

 

First era:

 

Chicago Bulls 1990–91 NBA Champions

 

2 Hopson | 5 Paxson | 10 Armstrong | 14 Hodges | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 24 Cartwright | 32 Perdue | 33 Pippen | 34 King | 42 Williams | 53 Levingston | 54 Grant |

 

Chicago Bulls 1991–92 NBA Champions

 

5 Paxson | 10 Armstrong | 14 Hodges | 20 Hansen | 21 King | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 24 Cartwright | 32 Perdue | 33 Pippen | 42 Williams | 53 Levingston | 54 Grant |

 

Chicago Bulls 1992–93 NBA Champions

 

5 Paxson | 6 Tucker | 10 Armstrong | 20 Walker | 21 King | 22 McCray | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 24 Cartwright | 32 Perdue | 33 Pippen | 42 Williams | 54 Grant |

 

The main starting line-up being:

PG B.J Armstrong

SG Michael Jordan

SF Scottie Pippen

PF Horace Grant

C Bill Cartwright

 

Second era:

 

Chicago Bulls 1995–96 NBA Champions

 

0 Brown | 7 Kukoč | 8 Simpkins | 9 Harper | 13 Longley | 22 Salley | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 25 Kerr | 30 Buechler | 33 Pippen | 34 Wennington | 35 Caffey | 53 Edwards | 54 Haley | 91 Rodman |

 

Chicago Bulls 1996–97 NBA Champions

 

00 Parish | 1 Brown | 7 Kukoč | 8 Simpkins | 9 Harper | 13 Longley | 18 Williams | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 25 Kerr | 30 Buechler | 33 Pippen | 34 Wennington | 35 Caffey | 91 Rodman |

 

Chicago Bulls 1997–98 NBA Champions

 

1 Brown | 5 LaRue | 7 Kukoč | 8 Simpkins | 9 Harper | 13 Longley | 22 Booth | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 24 Burrell | 25 Kerr | 30 Buechler | 33 Pippen | 34 Wennington | 53 Kleine | 91 Rodman |

 

 

The main starting line-up being:

PG Ron Harper

SG Michael Jordan

SF Scottie Pippen

PF Dennis Rodman

C Luc Longley

 

The teams both contain former all-stars (Bill Cartwright and Dennis Rodman, BJ got into the all-star game after he was with the Bulls) and role players on the bench (Craig Hodges, Scott Williams, John Paxson for the first era and Toni Kukoc, Jud Buechler and Steve Kerr for the second era) but there might be a bit more depth in the second era than the first era in my opinion. It's your call.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Drizzy

[Real Deal]

Probably the second three-peat squads. Jordan refined his game and, even though his FG% dropped a bit, he was still the most dangerous player in the NBA.

 

Plus, having Dennis Rodman blocking shots and rebounding the ball helped more than people realize, and Pippen proved to be an excellent player in his prime.

 

The proof is also in the 72 wins.

[reno]

I prefer the second three peat, this man + 72 wins was pretty amazing.

 

 

http://mrsgrapevine.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dennis_rodmania.png

[Redneck]

The second threepeat squad was the better team. The first three was really Jordan and Jordan alone who won them their titles. The last three had a lot to do with Jordan, but they could beat you in so many other ways too. I think MJ's absence for a year and a half is also a major factor why the latter team is better. In that time Scottie Pippen had to become the man, and he did a good job in doing so and this allowed him to grow into a much better player. Add to that Dennis Rodman, who is one of the greatest defensive players of all-time and you make that team so much scarier.

 

I don't think the 91-93 teams could have beaten the 96 Sonics, or the 97-98 Jazz because Ho Grant, while a solid defender, was not capible of shutting down Shawn Kemp or Karl Malone. Rodman didn't quit shut them down either, but he gave them fits and made them work incredibly hard.

 

Toni Kukoch also gives the latter Bulls another deapth dimension that the earlier incarnation did not have. The early Bulls didn't have a 6th man consistantly able to cause matchup problems like the latter team did.