ESPN's Mythical Game Is Farce
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Posted by Mark Barnes May 9, 2006 |
ESPN Page 2 Under Review
In an article on ESPN's page 2, Brian Murphy has a little fun with a classic NBA mythical battle between the Boston Celtics' and Chicago Bulls' best all-time players.
This ESPN page 2 piece is interesting, if flawed. Each team obviously has tremendous players. Guys like, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, and Bill Russell. Can you imagine the latter four playing at the same time?
The Bulls squad included Reggie Theus and Scottie Pippen. Put these graceful athletes next to Jordan, and imagine the offense and the pace a team could generate.
Murphy plays out a mythical game in the ESPN page 2 article, and he makes a Bulls-Celtics game a tremendous match-up, which it most likely would be. Where my esteemed colleague, Brian Murphy, is way off base, though, is in his ending.
He has Jordan putting up a buzzer-beating attempt, but unlike all of the daggers Jordan inserted throughout his career, Murphy has Russell blocking Michael's last shot in the mythical game.
Hogwash, I say. No one could stop Jordan in his day, and not even the great Russell could have stopped him, had they competed.
Michael Jordan was as unstoppable as any athlete has ever been. Ask the Jazz, ask the Cavaliers; for that matter, ask anyone who every faced him in the waning minutes of a big game.
I like Murphy's mythical battle, but his ending goes beyond myth to farce.
Now, Murphy or someone else might take a second pass at this mythical game and include an unlikely opponent - the previously-mentioned Cavaliers.
Sure, the Cavs haven't won anything, but take their best - Brad Daugherty, Austin Carr and Larry Nance, and add these to current Cavaliers LeBron James and Larry Hughes, and you just might have a team that could beat Jordan's Bulls.
LeBron vs. Jordan. I can't say yet how it would end, but it certainly would make great theater.
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