The striking similarity between the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and
the 1984-85 Milwaukee Bucks
[ Up ]
The purpose of this page is to point out the striking
similarity between two of the best "Donut" teams in NBA history: the 1984-86
Bucks and the 1995-98 Bulls. These teams both ran a point-forward offense,
had 2 main stars, played great team defense and had a hole at the center
position. Neither team had a powerful inside game and thus they did not rely on it. The difference is that the Bulls have a stronger perimeter
defense and a weaker center position. The Bulls never faced a loaded team with a dominant center (Sorry, the 1995-96 Orlando Magic was not a "loaded" team). The Bucks found that they could not compete with the likes of the 76ers who had Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones in 1985 (in spite of the Bucks having a better regular season record) or the great 1985-86 Boston Celtics. The Celtics even demolished the Bucks so thoroughly in 1985-86 that they were 9-0 in head to head games vs. the Bucks, including 5-0 at the MECCA in Milwaukee. Having no inside game is a serious handicap, the formula just doesn't work in the Playoffs. That Milwaukee club was 4-11 in playoff games against Boston and Philadelphia in 1985 & 1986. When Milwaukee faced its rivals in the playoffs it wasn't close, all 4 of the Bucks playoff wins came against Philadelphia in 1986 while they were missing two starters. To those who got to see both teams play I ask you this: Would the 1985-86 Bucks have defeated the Celtics in the 1986 Eastern Conference Finals if they had the 1996 versions of Jordan & Rodman in place of Sidney Moncrief and Terry Cummings? I ask this question because the rest of both rosters are the same in terms of athletic ability, talent, defensive ability (Milwaukee was the league's #1 defensive team in those days) scrappy players in the post and depth.
(Stats from 1984-85 Bucks and 1995-96 Bulls)
The Outside & Inside Stars
| Bulls |
PPG |
FG% |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| Michael Jordan |
30.4 |
.489 |
6.6 |
4.3 |
2.2 |
0.5 |
| Dennis Rodman, Bulls |
5.0 |
.480 |
15.5 |
2.2 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
| Bucks |
| SG. Sidney Moncrief |
21.7 |
.483 |
5.4 |
5.2 |
1.6 |
0.5 |
| PF. Terry Cummings |
23.6 |
.495 |
9.1 |
2.9 |
1.5 |
0.8 |
The Point Forwards:
| Player, team |
PPG |
FG% |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| SF. Scottie Pippen, Bulls |
19.4 |
.463 |
6.4 |
5.9 |
1.7 |
0.7 |
| SF. Paul Pressey, Bucks |
16.1 |
.517 |
5.4 |
6.8 |
1.6 |
0.7 |
The Centers
| Bucks |
PPG |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| Alton Lister |
9.9 |
8.0 |
1.6 |
0.6 |
2.1 |
| Randy Breuer |
5.3 |
3.3 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
1.1 |
| Paul Mokeski |
6.2 |
5.2 |
1.3 |
0.4 |
0.5 |
| Bucks Totals |
21.4 |
16.5 |
3.4 |
1.3 |
3.7 |
| Bulls |
PPG |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| Luc Longley |
8.9 |
5.0 |
2.2 |
0.3 |
1.3 |
| Bill Wennington |
5.3 |
2.5 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
| John Salley |
4.4 |
3.3 |
1.3 |
0.5 |
0.6 |
| Bulls Totals |
18.6 |
10.8 |
4.1 |
1.1 |
2.1 |
The 3-point shooting specialists:
| Player, team |
PPG |
FG% |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| SG. Craig Hodges, Bucks |
10.6 |
.490 |
2.3 |
4.3 |
1.2 |
0.0 |
| SG Steve Kerr, Bulls |
8.4 |
.506 |
1.3 |
2.3 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
The Sixth Men:
|
PPG |
FG% |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| F. Toni Kucoc, Bulls |
13.1 |
.490 |
4.0 |
3.5 |
0.8 |
0.3 |
| F/G Ricky Pierce, Bucks |
9.8 |
.537 |
2.7 |
2.1 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
Other Significant Contributers:
| Bulls |
PPG |
FG% |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| G Ron Harper |
7.4 |
.467 |
2.7 |
2.6 |
1.3 |
0.4 |
| F Jud Buechler |
3.8 |
.463 |
1.5 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
| F Dickey Simpkins |
3.6 |
.481 |
2.6 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
| C James Edwards |
3.5 |
.373 |
1.4 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
| F Jason Caffey |
3.2 |
.438 |
1.9 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
| F Randy Brown |
2.7 |
.406 |
1.0 |
1.1 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
| Bucks |
PPG |
FG% |
RPG |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
| G Mike Dunleavy |
8.9 |
.551 |
1.6 |
4.5 |
0.8 |
0.2 |
| G/F Paul Thompson |
6.6 |
.390 |
2.6 |
1.3 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
| F Charles Davis |
6.2 |
.430 |
2.5 |
0.8 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
| G Kevin Grevey |
6.1 |
.448 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
| F Kenny Fields |
3.8 |
.440 |
1.6 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
| F Larry Micheaux |
2.6 |
.486 |
2.4 |
0.7 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
You can see above that player by player the two teams are
very similar: in some areas the Bulls are obviously better: (Starting Back
court, point forward and sixth man), and in others the Bucks are better (power
forward and center). The Bulls are the better team, but it is quite close,
and in the 1985 playoffs the Bucks were swept by Philadelphia (4-0) who lost to
Boston (4-1) who lost the Finals to the Lakers 4-2.
My point here is: these two teams are very similar, and
though the 1996 Bulls are better than the Bucks, they still are not good enough
to defeat a super team who is loaded in the post like the 1984-85 76ers or
1985-86 Celtics. Unlike the Bulls, the Bucks were not lucky enough to be
able to avoid a powerhouse capable of exploiting their weaknesses and defeating
them.
[ Up ]