NBA fans across the nation are pretty much all aware of two of the most dominant teams that I’ve ever stepped on the court. The 1995 Chicago Bulls and the 2015 Golden State Warriors, both teams were outstanding, and both teams had their own styles.  Because it’s always fun to speculate and imagine what would have happened if these teams played on the court today, we’re going to take a look at both of these teams in depth and from a VegasTopDogs edge. 

In this legendary matchup, it’s going to be the battle of the two 70+ win teams. 
Chicago; 72-10
Golden State; 73-9

The average margin of victory for each team was;
Chicago; +12.3
Golden State; +10.8

The top players from each team;
Chicago; 
Michael Jordan; 30 / 6 / 4  – 49.5% FG
Scottie Pippen; 19 / 6 / 6  – 46.3% FG
Toni Kukoc; 13 / 4 / 4 – 49% FG

Golden State; 
Stephen Curry; 30 / 5 / 7 – 50.4% FG
Klay Thompson; 22 / 4 / 2 – 47% FG
Draymond Green; 14 / 10 / 7 – 49% FG

Teams strengths;
Chicago;
105.2 ppg (1st of 29)
92.9 oppg (3rd of 29)
Offensive rebounding; 15.2 orpg /game (3rd)
3p shooting; 40.3% (3rd)
Steals; 9.1 /game (3rd)

Golden State;
114.9 ppg (1st of 30)
Shooting; 48.7% (1st of 30)
3p shooting; 41.6% (1st of 30)
Ball movement; 28.9 apg (1st)
Blocks; 6.1 /game (2nd)

Team’s weaknesses;
Chicago;
Poor rim protection.
They were not very aggressive attacking the rim

Golden State;
Prone to turnovers
Defense wasn’t great, they were into a shootout just about every game acording to the odds. 

I believe Stephen Curry was as good a scorer as Michael Jordan, and Klay Thompson at that time, was easily comparable to Scottie Pippen. Steph scored 30ppg during that season and Jordan scored 30ppg and in comparison, Klay was putting up 22ppg and shot 47% and Scottie was putting up 19ppg and shot 46%. Of course, the way these players went about scoring points was very different, but with the ease that Curry put points on the boards was mind-blowing to me. 

Chicago would’ve been a force on the boards, but they’re not bullying anyone from getting bounds on the Warriors frontcourt, as Chicago relied on their strength and mass, but Golden State wasn’t able to be pushed around easily.  The Warriors could not defend quite as long as the Bulls could, with their impeccable intensity, and plethora of schemes. Except for the paint, Golden State was able to defend the rim very well and actually much better than Chicago could. The overall defense intensity overall for the Bulls was a lot to match. They made their living on shutting down teams, giving up 108 pts or more only a mere 7 times during the year. Giving up 110+ only on 2 occasions.

The Warriors knew how to use leverage to neutralize teams. That Golden State backcourt was easily the most intelligent and skilled Gs ever.  With a pair of guards who could knock it down from 30′ – 35′ several times a game was very hard to try and contain. Teams were not shooting nearly as many threes back in 1995 and they certainly weren’t hitting them at the high percentage that Golden State was, shooting 32 /game and hitting almost 42% of those attempts.

No one was able to contain a prime Stephen Curry. They would not be able to either, they wouldn’t be able to either. Chicago struggled to stop skilled shooters like Reggie Miller and Glen Rice. They would’ve looked silly trying to stop Golden State’s shooters. A team with Steph and Klay coming off screens with their ball handling skills, even if Chicago tried to double team Steph, they had too many guys who could still knock it down. 

Golden State was slightly better than Chicago. No team when Chicago was playing, came anywhere near the shooting from behind the arc like Golden State did. The Warriors had 4 guys putting up 3+ a game from downtown, while knocking down 11 of their three’s per game. And not only their ability to knock down the deep ball but the range in which they were doing it.

Chicago isn’t outplaying them. The 95 Chicago team was a way better defensive team, but the 2015 Warriors were slightly better, in my opinion. Their ability to move the ball on offense, and score from deep would have been more than Chicago could handle as their 3p coverage was only defending about fifteen 3p shots /game and I just don’t think they would have been able to manage controlling the accurate barrage that the Warriors brought. The Warriors backcourt would have made mincemeat out of the Chicago deep ball defense.