5 of the best statistical INDIVIDUAL playoff series displays of the last 40 years.

[Professor Emeritus]

How many of these series were first round best of 5 with only 3 games played compared to some of the other ones that had 6-7 games played?

1992 Heat were the 8-seed, that was a first-round sweep.
1988 Cavs were the 6-seed, that was first-round too
1988 Mavs were the 3-seed, that was a first-round loss

The other two series were 2nd-round series against decent teams though not actual contenders

 

[Ben.]

Don't know how serious I take gamescore in terms of judging what was the best, even just looking at the raw numbers I'd take some others over one or two of some in this list

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

1992 Heat were the 8-seed, that was a first-round sweep.
1988 Cavs were the 6-seed, that was first-round too
1988 Mavs were the 3-seed, that was a first-round loss

You didn't answer the question

The other two series were 2nd-round series against decent teams though not actual contenders

How many of these series were first round best of 5 with only 3 games played compared to some of the other ones that had 6-7 games played?

So of the top 5 mentioned, two were decided in 3 games. Jordan vs the Heat in 1992 and Hakeem vs Dallas in 1988.

Jordan vs the Sixers in 1990 - 5 games.

Jordan vs the Cavs in 1988 - 5 games.

Jordan vs the Knicks in 1989 - 6 games.

So lets look at a brief back story to all 3 of those series :


Jordan vs the Sixers -

I already touched on this earlier in one of my previous posts. This was the best Sixers team Barkley played for arguably.

He had Hershey Hawkins who was a very good player that had just helped destroy the Cavs in the previous series :
1990 NBA Eastern Conference First Round - Cavaliers vs. 76ers | Basketball-Reference.com

Hawkins averaged 24ppg during the 1990 playoff run and 27ppg vs the Cavs in 1990 first round. Jordan in the Conference semifinals held him to 19.8ppg:
1990 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - 76ers vs. Bulls | Basketball-Reference.com

That Sixers team won 53 games in the 1989/90 season. They had very good players like Barkley, Dawkins, Hawkins, Giminski, Rick Mahorn, Ron Anderson, Derek Smith and son on. The Bulls won 55 games. Again two evenly matched teams by record but the X-factor was Jordan.

Interestingly, Lebron in his entire 16 year campaign in the Eastern conference only faced 6 teams with a better record. (17/18 - 59-23 Raptors), (10/11 - 56-26 Celtics), (13/14 - 56-26 Pacers), (15/16 - 56-26 Raptors), (10/11 - 62-20 Bulls), (14/15 - 60-22 Hawks). And in all these encounters, Lebron was already on his superteam in Miami or with Kyrie/Love in Cleveland.

So its kind of hilarious Bron superfan boy @Rhakim and closet Lebron apologist @murksiderock are complaining about this.

Anyone who knows anything about that 89/90 season knows it was one of the most balanced seasons in NBA history and that the 76ers were considered as much as contender than the Bulls. The fav to come out of the East was the Pistons but there were several contenders trying to ursurp them, including the Sixers and Bulls.

So just because Jordan averaged these insane numbers against them, you're trying to discredit his opposition? How pitiful

This is why nobody who is not a Lebron fan respects Lebron's jock sniffers. You tear down other legends and their achievments to push your agenda. Now, im going to FINISH kicking your ass @Rhakim and @murksiderock with my next post about the Cavs and Knicks teams.

 

[Goat poster]

Dream put up video game numbers

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

1992 Heat were the 8-seed, that was a first-round sweep.
1988 Cavs were the 6-seed, that was first-round too
1988 Mavs were the 3-seed, that was a first-round loss

The other two series were 2nd-round series against decent teams though not actual contenders

The Knicks in 1989 were more than just a "decent team". They were serious contenders and I can tell you that legendary 1989 Pistons team that went on to be Champions were scared to death of the Knicks that year, even more than they were of that 57 win Cavs team and certainly more than they were of the 47 win Bulls.

That Knicks team of 88/89 won 52 games. The Bulls in 88/89 won 47 games. The Bulls were the underdogs in this series, the Knicks were a better/deeper team and had home court advantage.

Again, Lebron in his ENTIRE 16 year career in the Eastern (or Leastern Conference) only beat 6 teams with a better win record

Just like in the previous round, the Bulls had just knocked off the 57 win Cavs on the road in game 5 (shot over Ehlo) . Jordan's numbers in that series speak for itself: 1989 NBA Eastern Conference First Round - Bulls vs. Cavaliers | Basketball-Reference.com He almost averaged 40ppg again for the series, he was shot with 39.8 ppg . (Keep that in mind)

Back to the Knicks. That Knicks team had SWEPT the would be Champions 89 Pistons , 4-0 during the regular season. 1988-89 New York Knicks Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com . The Pistons had no answers for Rick Pitino's high press. So believe me, they didn't want to see that team.

So Jordan beats them being the underdog with one of the greatest series performances of all time. Played point guard that series. Became the only guard to lead his team in all 5 stat categories. Shot insanely efficiently. And as a result has a top 5 of all time performance.

So, faced a strong team, balled out, put up crazy numbers and WON. What's the issue here Bron fanboys @Rhakim @murksiderock

Other than the fact you don't see you boo thing Lebron's name mentioned up there in the top 5 after 16 years in the playoffs no doubt facing MUCH WORSE TEAMS THAN the ones I've just mentioned.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

So of the top 5 mentioned, two were decided in 3 games. Jordan vs the Heat in 1992 and Hakeem vs Dallas in 1988.

Jordan vs the Sixers in 1990 - 5 games.

Jordan vs the Cavs in 1988 - 5 games.

Jordan vs the Knicks in 1989 - 6 games.

So lets look at a brief back story to all 3 of those series :


Jordan vs the Sixers -

I already touched on this earlier in one of my previous posts. This was the best Sixers team Barkley played for arguably.

He had Hershey Hawkins who was a very good player that had just helped destroy the Cavs in the previous series :
1990 NBA Eastern Conference First Round - Cavaliers vs. 76ers | Basketball-Reference.com

Hawkins averaged 24ppg during the 1990 playoff run and 27ppg vs the Cavs in 1990 first round. Jordan in the Conference semifinals held him to 19.8ppg:
1990 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - 76ers vs. Bulls | Basketball-Reference.com

That Sixers team won 53 games in the 1989/90 season. They had very good players like Barkley, Dawkins, Hawkins, Giminski, Rick Mahorn, Ron Anderson, Derek Smith and son on. The Bulls won 55 games. Again two evenly matched teams by record but the X-factor was Jordan.

Interesting, Lebron in his entire 16 year campaign in the Eastern conference only faced 6 teams with a better record. (06/07 - 53-29 Pistons), (16/17 - 53-29 Celtics), (16/17 - 51-31 Raptors), (14/15 - 50-32 Bulls)

So its kind of hilarious Bron superfan boy @Rhakim and closet Lebron apologist @murksiderock are complaining about this.

Anyone who knows anything about that 89/90 season knows it was one of the most balanced seasons in NBA history and that the 76ers were considered as much as contender than the Bulls. The fav to come out of the East was the Pistons but there were several contenders trying to ursurp them, including the Sixers and Bulls.

So just because Jordan averaged these insane numbers against them, you're trying to discredit his opposition? How pitiful

This is why nobody who is not a Lebron fan respects Lebron's jock sniffers. You tear down other legends and their achievments to push your agenda. Now, im going to FINISH kicking your ass @Rhakim and @murksiderock with my next post about the Cavs and Knicks teams.

So they won 53 games in an expansion year? Those Sixers were TRASH defensively. They had the 2nd-worst defense out of all playoff teams in 1990, the only one worse was the 8-seed Pacers. The fukking 7th-seed Cavs had averaged 107/game against the in the first round and almost beat them in five.

And that doesn't even get into the fact that 1989 and 1990 were BOTH expansion years, so overall talent was even more diluted than usual. The East alone had three different teams that couldn't crack 18 wins.

THAT is who you're propping up. One of the worst defenses in the NBA in a fukking expansion season. And that was your BEST example of an opponent.

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

1992 Heat were the 8-seed, that was a first-round sweep.
1988 Cavs were the 6-seed, that was first-round too
1988 Mavs were the 3-seed, that was a first-round loss

The other two series were 2nd-round series against decent teams though not actual contenders

The 1988 Cavs was obviously insanely underrated. They won only 42 games but they were one of the youngest, least experienced teams in the league. This was a team that had Mark Price, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, Brad Daugherty. ALL of them All-stars or all star level players.

This team had WAY more talent than the 1988 Bulls who had Jordan, a rookie Pippen , a rookie Grant and a bunch of average to flat out mediocre players. The fact that this team won 50 games playing in the strongest conference and division in the league at a time you faced division teams 6 times every year is a testament to Jordan's brilliance and his two way play that year.

This same Cavs team of 88 a year later won 57 games and were looked at as the team of the 90's by Magic Johnson. That is before Jordan nixed that whole idea with the game winner over Ehlo and instead put the Bulls in that position.

Jordan averaged 45 ppg against them. FORTY FIVE. @Rhakim @murksiderock

Interestingly, bronsexuals like to say Jordan never won a playoff series until Pippen arrived. This was Jordan's 1st playoff series win. Pippen was coming off the bench averaging 10ppg on 47 FG%. Yeah I'm sure Jordan really needed him there

 

[Jplaya2023]

MJ ducked him for 2 years.

Imagine current great GOATs seeing the rise of the Warriors and ducking them till they fell off to protect their legacies

so does this mean dream ducked MJ for 6 years

 

[ISO]

Interesting, Lebron in his entire 16 year campaign in the Eastern conference only faced 6 teams with a better record. (06/07 - 53-29 Pistons), (16/17 - 53-29 Celtics), (16/17 - 51-31 Raptors), (14/15 - 50-32 Bulls)

Why are you lying?

The '06 Pistons had 64 wins.

The '08 Celtics had 66 wins.

The '09 Magic had 59 wins.

The '11 Bulls had 62 wins and the '11 Celtics had 56 wins.

I'm also sure the '12 Pacers and Celtics were near or above a 53 win pace in the lockout shortened season.

The '15 Hawks had 60 wins.

The '16 Raptors had 56 wins.

The '17 Celtics had 53 wins and the '17 Raptors had 51 wins.

The '18 Celtics had 55 wins and the '18 Raptors had 59 wins.

Now tell us is this you and if not why do you parrot these talking points?
Nobody Touches Jordan

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Interesting, Lebron in his entire 16 year campaign in the Eastern conference only faced 6 teams with a better record.

Of course he actually faced 15 teams with a better record, but in Bron Hater Land all of his campaigns against Western teams in the Finals selectively don't count whenever they don't want them too. Oh, and lockout years don't count either, right?

And when you're talking about offensive performances you should talk about the other team's defense, not their record. Damn close to EVERY playoff team that LeBron ever faced had a better defense than the 1990 Sixers.

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

I say all that to say this. Its just amazing how sad Lebron's fans truly are. They are just as sensitive and insecure as the guy they stan for:

Just like this mess from a couple of hours ago:




Why tear down other players achievements to boost up Lebron? I even went through the trouble of researching Lebron's best playoff series displays and I included him in my original post. What more awknowledgement do you guys want?

Are you just upset Lebron doesn't have a top 5 series GameScore and the true GOAT instead dominates everything? Because we know how much your crew loves "stats" and "box scores" and apparently Lebron is the best player all round ever and all this other BS.

But when that's questioned, you attack the messenger and stat super-stanning and disrespekin' other All time great players. fukk you guys. That's cancerous bullshyt.

And just so you know , to give some context for those who don't understand the magnitude of averaging 40ppg in a series is


NBA record 5 playoff series averaging at least 40 points per game

1. 1986 First Round vs Celtics – 43.7 ppg on 51%
   
   
2. 1988 First Round vs Cavaliers – 45.2 ppg on 56%
   
   
3. 1990 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs Sixers – 43 ppg on 55%
   
   
4. 1992 First Round vs Heat – 45 ppg on 61%
   
   
5. 1993 Finals vs Suns – 41 ppg on 51%

• No other player in NBA history has more than 1 40ppg+ average in a playoff series of any length. Jordan did it 5 times.
  
  
• Elgin Baylor 1962 vs the Celtics (40.6 ppg on 43% FG), Jerry West 1965 vs the Bullets (46.3 ppg on 45% FG), Rick Barry 1967 vs the 76ers (40.8ppg on 40%FG), Bernard King 1984 vs the Pistons (42.6ppg on 60%FG) are the only players ever to accomplish this feat.
  
  
• Jordan was also the last player in history to do this when he averaged 41ppg in the NBA Finals of 1993 vs the Suns

All time. In NBA history. Every player to ever set foot in the NBA.... Absurd. And that's one reason why Jordan dominates the Game Score here. He simply did the impossible more times than anyone to ever play the sport.

@Rhakim @murksiderock Deal with that.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

The 1988 Cavs was obviously insanely underrated. They won only 42 games but they were one of the youngest, least experienced teams in the league. This was a team that had Mark Price, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, Brad Daugherty. ALL of them All-stars or all star level players.

This team had WAY more talent than the 1988 Bulls who had Jordan, a rookie Pippen , a rookie Grant and a bunch of average to flat out mediocre players. The fact that this team won 50 games playing in the strongest conference and division in the league at a time you faced division teams 6 times every year is a testament to Jordan's brilliance and his two way play that year.

This same Cavs team of 88 a year later won 57 games and were looked at as the team of the 90's by Magic Johnson. That is before Jordan nixed that whole idea with the game winner over Ehlo and instead put the Bulls in that position.

Jordan averaged 45 ppg against them. FORTY FIVE. @Rhakim @murksiderock

Interestingly, bronsexuals like to say Jordan never won a playoff series until Pippen arrived. This was Jordan's 1st playoff series win. Pippen was coming off the bench averaging 10ppg on 47 FG%. Yeah I'm sure Jordan really needed him there

Wait, did you just gas up the fukking 1988 Cavs? A 6th seed making the playoffs for the first time? A team that didn't win ANY playoff series until fukking 1992? A team starting two unathletic White guys in the backcourt who averaged 175 pounds each?

He's gassing up a 42-win team that wouldn't even make the 2nd round for another five years and in a shytty expansion era too.

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

Of course he actually faced 15 teams with a better record, but in Bron Hater Land all of his campaigns against Western teams in the Finals selectively don't count whenever they don't want them too. Oh, and lockout years don't count either, right?

And when you're talking about offensive performances you should talk about the other team's defense, not their record. Damn close to EVERY playoff team that LeBron ever faced had a better defense than the 1990 Sixers.

We're talking about the Eastern conference record here, bytch boy. People like you is what causes people like me to dislike Lebron.

And these are the facts. Jordan on the other hand in the East ALONE faced 12 teams with a better record than 52 wins:

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

Wait, did you just gas up the fukking 1988 Cavs? A 6th seed making the playoffs for the first time? A team that didn't win ANY playoff series until fukking 1992? A team starting two unathletic White guys in the backcourt who averaged 175 pounds each?

He's gassing up a team that wouldn't even make the 2nd round for another five years and in a shytty expansion era too.

Again, you show you don't know basketball from that era. They won 57 games in 1989 and didn't make the playoffs again till 1992 because Mark Price, Daugherty, Larry Nance all had major stretches of injuries when they missed almost the entire season.

EVERYTIME their core group of Price, Daugherty, Nance, Harper/Ehlo, was fit and didnt miss large stretches, they won nothing less than 54 games per season.

Like in 1989, 1992, 1993. I'm done here. I'm not going to go back and forth with a basketball illeterate (i.e Bronsexual) I already proved my point in my 3 posts on the Knicks, Sixers and Cavs.

 

[ISO]

The 1988 Cavs was obviously insanely underrated. They won only 42 games but they were one of the youngest, least experienced teams in the league. This was a team that had Mark Price, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, Brad Daugherty. ALL of them All-stars or all star level players.

This team had WAY more talent than the 1988 Bulls who had Jordan, a rookie Pippen , a rookie Grant and a bunch of average to flat out mediocre players. The fact that this team won 50 games playing in the strongest conference and division in the league at a time you faced division teams 6 times every year is a testament to Jordan's brilliance and his two way play that year.

Is this what we doing? Hyping up 42 win teams?

Two can play at that game then.

The '06 Wizards were insanely underrated they only won 42 games. This was a team that had Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler, all multi time All-Stars.

This team had WAY more talent than the '06 Cavs who had LeBron, a post injury Larry Hughes, Big Z and a bunch of flat out mediocre players.

The '07 Nets were insanely underrated they only won 41 games but they had Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson. VC and Kidd are Hall of Famers and RJ was All-Star level. This team had WAY more talent than the '07 Cavs who had LeBron and Boobie Gibson was his most consistent second option as the playoffs wore on.

Also let us not sleep on the '12 Knicks. They found their footing in the lockout shortened season and went 18-6 after firing D'Antoni. They were on a 46 win pace in a lockout shortened season and found their footing late with the emergence of Lin and the acquisitions of J.R. Smith from China.

Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith pretty good players All-Stars to near All-Stars