Re: ESPN\'s Hollinger rates NBA Finals teams of past 30 yrs.
 

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did Rodman ever match up with Hakeem? I think that's a decent proxy for how he would do vs McHale.

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You guys know Rodman was just 6'8", right?

He never guarded Hakeem because Hakeem was a center and he would have destroyed Rodman in the post.

I mean, I know Rodman was a good defender, but come on, this is getting silly.

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Mchale and Hakeem were both 6'10 or 6'11, Rodman matching up with them would not be so absurd. Rodman matched up with Mailman, didn't he?

Re: ESPN\'s Hollinger rates NBA Finals teams of past 30 yrs.
 

Rodman used to defend Shaq. He was Ben Wallace's predecessor. An undersized frontcourt guy who was a menace defensively.

That being said, I don't recall if he ever covered Hakeem or how he faired if he did. I'd argue he could a better job than Longley or Wennington.

Re: ESPN\'s Hollinger rates NBA Finals teams of past 30 yrs.
 

[ QUOTE ]
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did Rodman ever match up with Hakeem? I think that's a decent proxy for how he would do vs McHale.

[/ QUOTE ]

You guys know Rodman was just 6'8", right?

He never guarded Hakeem because Hakeem was a center and he would have destroyed Rodman in the post.

I mean, I know Rodman was a good defender, but come on, this is getting silly.

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Mchale and Hakeem were both 6'10 or 6'11, Rodman matching up with them would not be so absurd. Rodman matched up with Mailman, didn't he?

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And [censored] Shaq. He owned Shaq about as much as anybody could.

Re: ESPN\'s Hollinger rates NBA Finals teams of past 30 yrs.
 

My Attempt to Answer this Question

96 Bulls beat the 87 Lakers in the finals. 92 Bulls and 93 Suns went down in the Semis. I've been thinking about running this again, replacing the teams that fared poorly with new contenders (I'm thinking I also want to extend it a few years, adding the 83 Sixers to the mix) along with a few other wildcards that I'll let you guys decide on. I do want to see the 88 Mavericks in the mix.

Here are the detailed results:
1. '96 Bulls (9-3) Champions: 4-1 over '87 Lakers
2. '87 Lakers (7-5) Eliminated in Finals: 4-1 by '96 Bulls
3. '92 Bulls (8-4) Eliminated in Semis: 4-2 by '96 Bulls
4. '93 Suns (7-5) Eliminated in Semis: 4-0 by '87 Lakers
5. '97 Jazz (8-4) Eliminated in Quarters: 4-2 by '93 Suns
6. '86 Celtics (7-5) Eliminated in Quarters: 4-0 by '92 Bulls
7. '96 Sonics (7-5) Elimated in Quarters: 4-2 by '96 Bulls
8. '03 Kings (6-6) Eliminated in Quarters: 4-1 by '87 Lakers
9. '04 Pistons (6-6)
10. '95 Rockets (6-6)
11. '00 Lakers (5-7)
12. '92 Blazers (5-7)
13. '90 Pistons (4-8)
14. '06 Heat (4-8)
15. '98 Pacers (4-8)
16. '05 Spurs (3-9)

Re: ESPN\'s Hollinger rates NBA Finals teams of past 30 yrs.
 

Rodman is one of the greatest enigmas in bball history
how good was he?
There is a lot of great work in Basketball on Paper on Rodman and his greatness. I highly recommend reading it.

Re: ESPN\'s Hollinger rates NBA Finals teams of past 30 yrs.
 

Basketball on Paper is a [censored] ass book.

Re: ESPN\'s Hollinger rates NBA Finals teams of past 30 yrs.
 

i would just like to add:

I am the biggest rodman fan i know. im the only person i know who actullay patterned most of his bball game after rodamn. That said, there is one guy i know who routinely abused rodamn - Mchale. He was the worst possible matchup for him. If you ever saw KM play, you know what im talking about.

p.s. rodman was invaluable on the 2nd bulls 3peat. u take him off that team and dont replace him w/a similary good player, the bulls only have their first 3peat.