Back in July, I started this major project in a redo of 2013's Tournament of Champions. 64 NBA teams entered a contest to find the best team of all time. We have narrowed the field down to four teams after two and a half months. Today, we see the results of the semifinals and find out who will play for all the marbles.
Still standing are our top two seeds, the 2015 Golden State Warriors and the 1986 Boston Celtics, who each went 13-1 in Group Play. They each have home court in this round, but have stiff competition to face: the 1996 and 1991 Chicago Bulls, respectively, stand in their way to a chalk-based championship round.
As with the previous three rounds, both of these series are a best-of-seven that will be played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Home court advantage goes to the higher seeded team based on place finish in Group Play, and our first tiebreaker comes into play today in the form of record in Group Play. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's set the championship stage.
(1) 1996 Chicago Bulls vs (1) 2015 Golden State Warriors
Game 2: @ '15 Warriors 99, '96 Bulls 93 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: @ '96 Bulls 99, '15 Warriors 74 ('96 Bulls lead 2-1)
Game 4: @ '96 Bulls 97, '15 Warriors 93 ('96 Bulls lead 3-1)
Game 5: @ '15 Warriors 106, '96 Bulls 85 ('96 Bulls lead 3-2)
Game 6: @ '96 Bulls 93, '15 Warriors 83 ('96 Bulls win 4-2)
Chicago stormed out of the gate in Game 1, leading 27-18 after one quarter, but the Warriors fought back to tie the game at halftime. Solid defense forced 16 Golden State turnovers while the Bulls controlled the glass and got 19 points from Ron Harper to steal the opener. Michael Jordan went off for 33 points in Game 2, but Klay Thompson and Steph Curry hit a combined nine threes to even the series. Back in Chicago, the Bulls dominated the boards 64-38 and the Warriors couldn't cash in on Chicago foul trouble as the Bulls won going away in Game 3. The Bulls continued it in Game 4, with 28 points from Jordan and an 18 point, 10 rebound day from Toni Kukoc pushing the top seed to the brink. The Warriors staved off elimination in Game 5 with a 34 point outburst by Curry, while Thompson added 26. Michael Jordan returned to Chicago sufficiently motivated, and exploded for 44 points, while Dennis Rodman pulled down 29 rebounds to send the defending champs back to the Finals.
(2) 1991 Chicago Bulls vs (1) 1986 Boston Celtics
Game 2: @ '86 Celtics 98, '91 Bulls 92 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: @ '91 Bulls 132, '86 Celtics 116 ('91 Bulls lead 2-1)
Game 4: @ '91 Bulls 98, '86 Celtics 73 ('91 Bulls lead 3-1)
Game 5: @ '86 Celtics 114, '91 Bulls 109 ('91 Bulls lead 3-2)
Game 6: @ '91 Bulls 116, '86 Celtics 101 ('91 Bulls win 4-2)
Scottie Pippen put up 26 points and 10 rebounds while Michael Jordan added 24 points to rally the Bulls back from an early deficit and steal Game 1 at the Boston Garden. Jordan's 29 in Game 2 weren't enough to overcome 34 points and 15 rebounds from Larry Bird, who took advantage of foul trouble on Pippen to even the series. Jordan went off for 36 points, Pippen added 22 and four other Bulls scored in double figures on a day where they shot just shy of 60 percent from the floor to win a Game 3 barn burner. Game 4 was the total opposite, as the Bulls held the Celtics to 40.2 percent shooting and forced 25 turnovers, including a six steal day for MJ as the Bulls pushed the Celtics to the brink. Every Celtic starter scored in double figures in Game 5 and three scored at least 20, led by Kevin McHale's 28 to go with 12 rebounds to keep the series alive. Robert Parish went off for 30 points and 14 rebounds while Bird finished an assist shy of a triple-double in Game 6, but the Bulls hit 28 of their 32 free throws, Pippen also finished an assist shy of a triple-double, and John Paxson had a 22 point outburst to send the Bulls to the Finals.
We had the upset that was really only an upset in name only: the 1996 Bulls will return to the championship roun, and they get a fun opponent: themselves. The 1991 Bulls pulled the improbable upset over one of the top teams in NBA history. The result: an all-Chicago Championship of Champions.
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