Back To Special Features
After the San Antonio Spurs went 15-2 in the playoffs and won the NBA Championship in convincing fashion, the question on the minds of many in the sports world was, "Who would win if this Spurs team played last year's Chicago Bulls team?" Unfortunately, the two teams will never play each other in real life, but that doesn't mean we can't imagine what would happen if they did. I decided to let EA Sports' NBA Live '99 decide who would win if these two teams played each other. I modified the rosters until they were completely accurate, then I pit the two teams against each other in a computer-controlled, best-of-seven series. All the settings and rules were just as they really are in the NBA, except I made each quarter last three minutes instead of 12 minutes. Without further ado, here are the results: GAME 1- IN SAN ANTONIO The flaws in the game's Artificial Intelligence become apparent in a computer vs. computer match-up, as Luc Longley and Dennis Rodman took just as many mid-range jump shots as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Still, the Bulls came away with the win to take a 1-0 series lead. The Bulls won largely thanks to Scottie Pippen, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, and was named the Player of the Game (Pippen's rating is equal to Jordan's in Live '99). Michael Jordan contributed eight points on 4-for-6 shooting. Surprisingly, the Spurs were led by Mario Elie, who had 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting. David Robinson finished with eight points, and Tim Duncan finished with just six points. GAME 2- IN SAN ANTONIO The Spurs picked up their game and the Bulls' shooting skills disappeared in Game 2, allowing the Spurs to walk away with a 39-28 victory. As a team, the Bulls shot just 34%, including 3-for-12 in three-pointers. Ron Harper in particular stunk up the court with his 0-for-7, 0 point "performance." The game's flawed AI reared its ugly head once again as Michael Jordan only took three shots in the entire game, making one of them and finishing with two points. When was the last time Jordan took three shots in a real NBA game? On the bright side, Scottie Pippen turned in another strong performance with 17 points, and Luc Longley had seven points, four rebounds, and four steals (although the steals came largely from horrible, blind passes to David Robinson that Longley intercepted). Sean Elliott led the Spurs in scoring with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, but the player of the game was Avery Johnson, who finished with six points and seven assists. Also, Mario Elie scored eight points, David Robinson scored eight points, and Tim Duncan scored seven points. GAME 3- IN CHICAGO The Spurs kept their momentum going in Game 3 with a 30-17 win. The game was actually fairly close for the first three quarters, but the Spurs closed out the game with a 12-0 run (thus the lopsided score). David Robinson exploded in Game 3 with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting, earning him Player of the Game honors. Mario Elie had another good game despite being guarded by Michael Jordan, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, and four steals. Tim Duncan had a bad game offensively (he shot 2-for-7), but he also finished with five rebounds and three assists. The Bulls' shooting in Game 3 was pathetic. They shot just 28% in the game, and when they started shooting three-pointers to catch up to the Spurs in the fourth quarter, they went 1-for-9. Scottie Pippen had nine points and seven rebounds, but the rest of the Bulls played pretty poorly. Dennis Rodman forced Tim Duncan to take bad shots on offense, but didn't do much of anything himself on the other end of the floor. Luc Longley's defense against David Robinson was non-existent (most of Robinson's 18 points came on un-contested dunks). Ron Harper committed 10 turnovers; the entire Spurs team committed seven turnovers. Michael Jordan had four rebounds and three blocks, but shot just 2-for-8. GAME 4- IN CHICAGO Game 4 was the wackiest of the series by far. The Spurs opened the game with a 15-0 run, and to be honest it looked like the Bulls were through. The Spurs had just beaten the Bulls twice in a row, and it looked like they were on their way to another easy win and a 3-1 series lead. However, Michael Jordan started sinking jump shots and the Bulls went on a 12-0 run to make the game competitive again. It sounds like the work of the game's "Keep Scores Close" option, but it's not because I had that option turned off for the entire series. After the Bulls pulled to within three points of the Spurs, the Spurs went on an 8-0 run to go up 23-12. The second and third quarters saw the two teams stay in a holding pattern, with the Spurs up by a lot, but not so much that the Bulls had no prayer of winning. The Bulls turned it on in the fourth quarter and out-scored the Spurs 15-0 in the fourth to win the game 36-29 and tie the series at two. The Bulls' shooting woes vanished in Game 4, as they shot 15-for-25 in the game (60%). The Player of the Game was Scottie Pippen, who scored 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting and also grabbed five rebounds. Michael Jordan scored 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and also had six rebounds. Thirty- five of the Bulls' 36 points were scored by Pippen and Jordan; the other one was scored by Dickie Simpkins, who came in for Dennis Rodman in the first half when Rodman got in foul trouble. Pippen and Jordan had no choice but to carry the load for the Bulls because Harper, Longley, and Rodman combined to score 0 points on 0-for-6 shooting. The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan, who finally broke out offensively with 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting (although that's not surprising considering that he was being guarded by Dickie Simpkins for five minutes of the 12- minute game). David Robinson shot the ball just five times in Game 4, making three of them and scoring six points. The Spurs' supporting cast of Sean Elliott, Mario Elie, and Avery Johnson combined to score ten points, but that was on terrible 28% shooting (5-for-18). GAME 5- IN SAN ANTONIO The Bulls came out strong in Game 5, leading the Spurs 22-13 at the half and 30-19 going into the fourth quarter. The Bulls shot just 25% in the fourth quarter, but made seven of nine free throws in the fourth. What really got the Spurs back into the game was four three-pointers by Sean Elliott in the fourth. Unfortunately for the Spurs, other than that four- shot spurt, Sean Elliott shot 0-for-7 on the game and missed some key shots in the final minute of the game. The Bulls ultimately held on to win by the score of 41-35. Unlike the crazy streaks of Game 4, Game 5 was much more steady. The Bulls won the game while never going on a run of more than six points. The Bulls out-rebounded the Spurs 18-11, out-blocked them 6-3, and out-stole them 9-5. The Player of the Game was Michael Jordan, who finished with 24 points and three rebounds on 10-for-15 shooting. Scottie Pippen shot just 4-for- 11, but still finished with nine points, six rebounds, and two blocks. Luc Longley also had a fairly good game, with four points, six rebounds, and six steals. The one area where Longley really choked was on defense. David Robinson shot 7-for-9, scored 15 points, and had four rebounds. Many of Robinson's baskets were un-contested dunks, but many of them were also skillfully placed jump shots. Unfortunately for the Spurs, Tim Duncan scored just six points on 3-for-6 shooting, Mario Elie wasn't a factor on offense and was a liability on defense against Michael Jordan, and Avery Johnson shot 0-for-5 and committed six turnovers. After Game 5, the Bulls had turned the series around and needed just one more win to end the series. GAME 6- IN CHICAGO Game 6 was the closest of the series, as the Bulls were trying to put away the Spurs once and for all, the Spurs fought hard to win the game and force a Game 7. In the end, the 1-2 punch of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen was enough to put away the Spurs with a 37-34 victory. Michael Jordan was the Player of the Game thanks to his 11 points, 5-for-7 shooting, and five rebounds. Scottie Pippen also had a great game, with 10 points and four rebounds. The Bulls' supporting cast of Luc Longley, Dennis Rodman, and Ron Harper shot poorly (6-for-17), but still made valuable contributions in their own unique ways. Harper finished with five assists, Rodman grabbed four rebounds, and Longley had two blocks. The Spurs were once again led by David Robinson, who had 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and also had three steals. Sean Elliott also had a great game for the Spurs, with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting and five rebounds. Unfortunately for the Spurs, Tim Duncan was once again not a factor, as he finished with two points on 1-for-3 shooting. Mario Elie also had a bad game with 0 points on 0-for-5 shooting. After six hard-fought games, the Bulls won the series 4-2. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were both named Player of the Game twice during the series, but I would have to say that Jordan was the series MVP. He got off to a fairly slow start, but he led the Bulls in their comeback from a 15-0 deficit in Game 4, and he was the Player of the Game in Games 5 and 6 when the series was on the line. If Jordan, Pippen, Jackson, and Rodman had stayed around after the '98 season instead of leaving the Bulls, it is my opinion that they would have gone on to beat the Spurs in this year's NBA Finals. Duncan, Robinson, and Co. would have definitely given the Bulls a run for their money, but I think Jordan's clutch play would have won out in the end and given the Bulls their seventh NBA title in nine years. What did you think of NBA Live '99's simulated results? Who do you think would win if these two teams really did play each other? Let me know by e-mailing me at ivan@mastergamer.com
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com