Ryan's view of the Great Debate

["Mike Dynon" <mdynon@ix.netcom.com>]

One-on-one game between the NBA dynasties
By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist, 06/17/98


Randy Brown, meet Tom ''The Cobra'' Thacker.

Toni Kukoc, meet Tom Heinsohn.

Dennis Rodman, meet Tom ''Satch'' Sanders.

Scottie Pippen, meet John Havlicek.

Phil Jackson, meet Arnold ''Red'' Auerbach.

And most of all ...

Michael Jordan, meet Bill Russell.

Like it or not, you're all linked now. You are historical soul brothers. You
are representatives of the two greatest dynasties in world basketball
history, and from this moment on, it will be impossible to discuss one
without mentioning the other. What you have accomplished is in the books,
subject to perusal as long as they play this sport on this planet.

The Boston Celtics once won 11 championships in 13 seasons. The run began on
Saturday, April 13, 1957, in Boston Garden with a stirring 125-123
double-overtime victory over the St. Louis Hawks, and it ended Monday, May
5, 1969, in the Fabulous Forum with an upset 108-106 victory over the Los
Angeles Lakers. There was one playing link between Title No. 1 and Title No.
11 - Bill Russell.

The Chicago Bulls have won six championships in the last eight seasons.
Their run began Wednesday, June 12, 1991, in the Great Western Forum with a
108-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers and it was expanded Sunday, June 14,
1998, in the Delta Center with an 87-86 win over the Utah Jazz. There have
been two playing links - Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Two great athletic teams. Two superb legacies. Two entirely different
worlds.

The Bulls have absolutely no idea what life was like in Russell's time. The
Bulls have never taken an overnight train. They don't scrunch themselves
into cabs. They don't change planes. They don't stay two to a room in
second-rate hotels with laughably small meal money.

The Bulls have their own charter plane. They stay in the very best hotels.
They never touch a piece of luggage.

The Bulls have the finest medical assistance available. In the early Russell
days, the trainer didn't even travel.

The Bulls, like most NBA clubs, are a team of millionaires. The Celtics
worried about lining up offseason jobs.

The Bulls have a palatial locker room and their own practice facility. The
Celtics used to dress in a slanted locker room in the old, old Garden in
which the tall guys stood at the top of the roof slant and the small guys
dressed at the bottom. Lockers? How about nails? They practiced in such
places as the Cambridge YMCA and Tobin Gym - after begging for the time.

All these differences make it far easier for the Bulls to play at their
best. The flip side is that the old Celtics had far fewer distractions. They
never had off-day press conferences. They had no endorsement deals. They
were inherently hungrier and more dedicated because, well, just because. So
it was easier for them to focus on the task at hand.

There are many ways of evaluating the differences between the Russell
Celtics and the Jordan Bulls. Here are a few:

Argument No. 1: Less Is Easier.

In order to win his first nine titles, Russell and his mates had to play two
series a year. Win eight games and you're a champ. In order to win their
six, Michael and Scottie have had to win four series annually. They need to
win almost twice as many games (15) in order to get their rings.

It stands to reason that the more games you play, the more peril exists.
Just because you're supposed to win doesn't mean you're going to.

Historical Advantage: Chicago.

Argument No. 2: Who'd You Beat?

Russell began play in an eight-team league. The best 80 basketball players
in the world were concentrated on those teams. Even the worst teams had, in
the context, very good players in reserve. When he won championship No. 11,
the NBA still had only 14 teams.

The Bulls' championship run began seven years ago in a 27-team league. It's
now up to 29. Almost no one has a decent bench. Centers are scarce. The
talent is pathetically dispersed, and some of the best players choose to
stay in Europe.

Historical Advantage: Boston.

Argument No. 3: We Coulda Had More

Only Houston hardheads would deny that the Rockets won a pair of
championships (1994, 1995) that would have been Chicago's had Jordan not
taken his famous sabbatical.

Fine. But does anyone outside St. Louis believe the Hawks would have won in
1958 if Russell had not injured his ankle? Twelve out of 13 sounds pretty
impressive.

Historical Advantage: No one.

Argument No. 4: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Seventh Games.

We respect the Russell Celtics because they knew how to win the so-called
Big Game. Russell played in 11 winner-take-all games, 10 seventh games (five
in the Finals) and one fifth. He was 11-0, and in those games, he averaged
18 points and 30 rebounds.

Jordan has a sparse Game 7 resume, which is to his credit. His teams have
been so dominant that there have been only two seventh games in the
seven-year Chicago run. They are, of course, 2-0.

Historical Advantage: No one.

Argument No. 5. Modern Must Be Better.

You hear the word ''athleticism'' so much these days, you'd think players of
the past didn't know how to run and jump.

So hear this, and hear it well: William F. Russell would come out of nowhere
to block a Michael Jordan shot just as easily and just as frequently as he
did to Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson, to name three of the
many NBA players of the '60s who could step into the NBA today to make
All-Star teams.

And hear this: Sam Jones was a better guard than any current NBA backcourt
player not named Michael Jordan. Yeah, that includes Gary Payton, Penny
Hardaway, and anyone else you can name.

And this: Before there was Scottie Pippen, there was John Havlicek, who
never had to come out of a game and who, at age 37, shut off a prime-of-life
Dr. J in the 1977 playoffs.

The big difference between the '60s and the '90s is the coaching approach,
not necessarily the inherent athletic ability. Everything is geared to
defense today. In Russell's third championship season, 1960, the Celtics
averaged 120 shots a game. In Jordan's six championship seasons, the Chicago
annual average is 86. The fewest shots averaged by a Russell title team were
101 in 1968-69. The game concept was entirely different.

The modern defenses are more complex and sophisticated. Russell & Co. had
scouting reports and a memory bank. Jordan and Friends have videotapes and
computer printout tendencies. Meanwhile, offenses are more cautious - the
fast break has almost disappeared as an art form - and the players, however
athletic, are woefully incomplete once you take away their Plan A. The old
guys were more well-rounded basketball players. The modern defenses are
combating more and more players who really don't know how to play. Have
Russell anchor one of today's defenses and he would be even more
devastating. How about that?

Historical advantage: No one.

Bill Russell and Michael Jordan are the two greatest demonstrated winners in
American team sport history. On sport's Mt. Olympus, they occupy the two
finest houses.

So whose best team would win?

I don't know. But we're definitely going seven.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist.

This story ran on page C01 of the Boston Globe on 06/17/98.
© Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.