Listen, I get that ESPN wants to embrace debate and that strong opinions are the basis for viewership, but there are times when those strong opinions need to be dialed back because they are A) nonsensical B) full of sh*t.
Case in point, Thursday’s episode of SportsNation when Max Kellerman talks about the Bad Boy Pistons as if they’re some throwaway team that got in Michael Jordan‘s way.
“Michael Jordan, as soon as Scottie Pippen entered his prime, they swept the Pistons. Listen to this very clearly, if Jordan would have had a prime Pippen throughout that Detroit run, Detroit never gets out of the East.”
What kind of dumbass hypothetical are we working with here? Never mind the fact the Bad Boy Pistons reached five Eastern Conference Finals in a row and three NBA Finals, winning two of them. Disregard that for a moment.
Since when do create these “well, if this guy was in his prime, then this never happens” arguments? That’s Kindergarten-level debate. That’s “smoke-filled coffehouse crap.”
That’s like saying, “If Isiah had Joe Dumars, John Salley and Dennis Rodman two years earlier, then the Pistons beat the Lakers and Celtics.”
Or…
“If the Celtics had a healthy Bill Walton, they win five championships in a row.”
Or…
“If Charles Barkley was 10 years older, he teams up with Dr. J and Moses Malone in their prime and…”
See where I’m going with this?
You can talk about the greatness of Michael Jordan and those Bulls teams without insulting the champions before them with your nonsensical garbage.
