Ben Simmons and the 1990 Chicago Bulls
A reminder from history on how to handle a playoff disappointment.
The Atlanta Hawks Cinderella run has come to an end. In the midst of their heroic attempt to make the NBA Finals, a funny thing happened — Ben Simmons became a villain. The Hawks downed the 76ers in seven games, and the story of game 7 was Ben Simmons' refusal to shoot, he only took four shots. Couple that with his downright abysmal free-throw shooting for the 2021 NBA Playoffs, and a “very real” question became, could the 76ers win with Ben Simmons? Let’s give a quick history lesson, which, shockingly, relates a ton to this year’s NBA Playoffs.
The Bulls Should Have Traded Pippen?
The 1990s Chicago Bulls lost a tough seven-game series to the Detroit Pistons. A harsh reality, Scottie Pippen was downright terrible in that game. As was Horace Grant. Pippen went 1-10, and Grant went 3-17. Funny side note, the best player of that game and the eventual 1990 NBA Champions? Dennis Rodman. At the end of the season, Michael Jordan was getting fed up, and according to the book “The Jordan Rules”, was even questioning if Pippen and Grant were tough enough and if they should be traded.
And it’s hard not to relate this to this year’s 76ers. Joel Embiid finished second in this year’s MVP race. He called out Ben Simmons after the loss. Can the 76ers really win with Simmons next to Embiid? It should be obvious what I think.
A reminder for people that may have forgotten NBA history. The Bulls did not trade Pippen or Grant. The Bulls went on to win the next three NBA Finals with both playing key roles. With Pippen, Michael Jordan won a total of six NBA Finals. Horace Grant, despite leaving the Bulls, would go on to make two more NBA Finals, and get another ring with the Lakers.
Overreacting to a bad playoff result with a top player is not a good idea! Ben Simmons is a 24-year-old All-Star — he’s made the past three All-Star games! He’s a back-to-back All-Defense first-team player. Last year he made All-NBA third team. This year he didn’t make the All-NBA team, despite making All-Defense first team. But as you should be accustomed to around here, the NBA undervalues defense.
Like Scottie Pippen, Ben Simmons is an awesome player, and one bad NBA series shouldn’t make the 76ers front office do anything foolish. And let’s get a little more insight from NBA history. I am sure a few NBA history aficionados were irate when I bashed Scottie’s game above. Because a look back into NBA history tells a key story. Scottie Pippen left three minutes into game seven with a migraine. After an aspirin, ice pack, and some prodding from Phil Jackson, he reentered the game, and played terribly! And, the NBA playoffs this season is full of similar stories. James Harden was injured and attempted to return to help the Nets win, and played terribly. And the 76ers were in a similar boat. Joel Embiid suffered a small meniscus tear in game four against the Wizards. While he did return to play against the Hawks, his play was not up to the same standard. In a three-point loss, Embiid shot 4-20! Some will note, Embiid did have good games in the series too, but, again, his consistency was not there, and it’s possible injury impacted that.
The Moral of the Story
Tying up the Bulls history lesson. The next season the Bulls did not lose Horace Grant, Scottie Pippen, or Phil Jackson, who had gotten some heat for his decision to play Pippen with a migraine. They finished with the second-best record in the NBA (and best strength-of-schedule adjusted point-margin). They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers handily in the Finals in five games. A caveat, former Finals MVP James Worthy was injured the previous round against the Portland Trail Blazers. While he did have some good games, he was not himself in the Finals, and left early injured in game four, and missed the decisive game five that gave the Bulls their first ring.
The Bulls’ history is a tale of a good team that was on the right and wrong side of player injury in back-to-back years. But the key is, if you have good players, getting upset at one playoff series is never the right strategy. The 76ers do have some real questions to address. Joel Embiid’s ceiling has never been a question, but his health has and continues to be a concern. At this point, Doc Rivers’ playoff performance might not just be a coincidence. Ben Simmons though? He’s been a good and consistent player since day one, and like Scottie Pippen before him, a good squad should be able to put together at least a few title runs with him. I’ll note though, as of this writing, Chris Paul is three wins away from his first NBA title. Chris Paul has consistently been a great talent. And the current GM of the 76ers traded away Chris Paul after a playoff run with some bad breaks downed a title shot. Hopefully, Daryl Morey learns from teams like the Chicago Bulls of old, and not his own teams.
-Dre