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Past or Present? The Conundrum That is the Chicago Bulls

What has 2K done to the Chicago Bulls? After a summer of free-agency heartbreak, the Bulls salvaged their offseason by adding half of Utah’s roster, headlined by Carlos Boozer. They also added a much needed shooter in Kyle Korver and a couple solid guards (C.J. Watson and Ronnie Brewer). But why will this team not be used as much as it would have been? The answer is simple:

Michael Jordan.

With the recent announcement of the Jordan Challenge and the inclusion of historical teams in NBA 2K11, the Windy City crew will most definitely hit the court with MJ rather than Booz. Sure D-Rose is a very popular player in Chicago and beyond, but is he MJ? No. Is Deng Pippen? No. What about Booz and Rodman? Booz is way too boring to even reach Rodman’s basement. The obvious point I am trying to get across here is that the new and improved (and in my opinion best team in the East -- yeah I said it) will see a lot of fans opting for the past rather than the present.

D-Rose is a machine in NBA 2K10. He finally had a solid jump shot after all of the roster updates, and he essentially became a smaller, slightly less talented 2K-LeBron. Adding Booz to Rose should help to create one of the sickest (yet still broken) pick and pops in the game, with Noah sitting there to fix it if you break it. Plus, if all else fails, you can always just dish it to Korver in the corner for the open J.

But then there is MJ’s Bulls, all eight of them. MJ is no doubt going to be arguably one of the greatest video game characters of all-time. He has not been featured in a video game since the NBA Street days. His Airness will surely rival (and probably trump) the unforgettable Madden 04 Michael Vick.

To put Jordan's potential video game greatness into perspective, just remember the amount of cheese you saw with Vick, then combine that with the last few years of LeBron shenanigans. Now, close your eyes and imagine the greatness of the greatest basketball player ever to touch the rock, and then imagine putting him in a video game. Only one word should come to mind at this point. Broken.

But I also know a lot of you are not cheesers or refuse to admit it -- even I cheese on occasion. Either way, if we are given the weapon of mass destruction, we probably will not resist the urge to use him over D-Rose -- unless you're a 15-year-old child who is wearing a "vintage" Garnett Timberwolves jersey

So my request to fellow 2K-ers is to simply not forget about the present. Sure the past is awesome ('95-'96 Sonics live on in this household), but do not dwell on what was. Bring D-Rose and Booz to life and fulfill what I believe is their destiny: a 4-2 2011 NBA Finals series (loss) against the Lakers.

Then again, it is your $60 so play the game however you want. Put MJ on the current roster for all I care. I know I’ll be using the 15-year-old Sonics more than the atrocity that sits in Oklahoma City.

Payton to Kemp all day long.

 

Dustin Toms is a staff writer for OS, specializing in basketball and fighting games. Born and raised in Washington state, he has made his life goal to personally see to David Stern's firing after the Seattle Supersonics were relocated. You can follow him not on twitter, but on the forums (eckoefx).


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Member Comments
# 1 Hotobu @ 08/02/10 05:32 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brankles
Good read.

Two things, though. I wouldn't call Oklahoma City an atrocity and I don't think Michael Jordan will be "cheesy" if 2k does it right. He should be able to get into the lane at will and hit mid-range jumpers like layups, but if you're out there jacking up threes with MJ (which he wasn't that good at) and holding turbo running into triple teams, I don't think the game is going to reward you.
Dude was a 50% career shooter that if I remember my stats correctly on average took 1.5 3s per game. That lets you know how sick he was his the mid-range. Truthfuflly his SIT, SOD, and Mid J ratings should all be in the mid -> upper 90s... yet I doubt people will try to use him there. They'll just force it inside looking for dunk highlights, because of course that's all Jordan ever did was dunk and layup. I know this will be the case because I've seen people refuse to take mid-range jumpers with their My Players that have maxed out attributes.
 
# 2 theprocess @ 08/02/10 05:33 PM
"the atrocity that sits in Oklahoma City."

Wow...I'm from Miami and the last thing I would do is call a team who took the defending champs to seven games an atrocity. You need a time machine son! Get your *** back into the present because you're anything but informed.
 
# 3 jWILL253 @ 08/02/10 05:43 PM
I applaud you for the Sonic comment...
 
# 4 ManOfLaMange @ 08/02/10 05:55 PM
I think he meant atrocity as in "Durant should be the king of Seattle" not "Thunder can't ball"
 
# 5 rangerrick012 @ 08/02/10 06:19 PM
As a Bulls fan, I will be more than happy to use this year's team to go against the Miami Trio for whoever chooses to use them. Solid shooters, good rebounding, and D-Rose at point is more than enough for me.
 
# 6 hokupguy @ 08/02/10 06:29 PM
i can see that when i get this game on the 5th of october most likely try some of the jordan changes 1st thing out of the box. Then play with magic at home "new arena" 5 days before i get to go there for the 1st preseason game. Play with new heat and then jordan mode until games start getting good.
 
# 7 coolcras7 @ 08/02/10 06:36 PM
good article, and the author is right the current Bulls will be a after thought in most situations.
 
# 8 24 @ 08/02/10 07:25 PM
hey i am the 17 year old young adult wearing the vintage KG jersey lmao
 
# 9 swiftychampleone @ 08/02/10 08:21 PM
Good Article, but the Thunder are solid team. You might have a point with that NBA Finals prediction. Bulls vs Lakers in the Finals. Bulls have a deep roster.
 
# 10 hokupguy @ 08/02/10 09:14 PM
the only way the bulls get to the finals is if the heat and magic end up meeting the 2nd round. I think both of those teams are stronger then this bulls team.
 
# 11 elprez98 @ 08/02/10 10:47 PM
Well don't worry Chris, I'll take it easy on you and torch you with just D-Rose and not MJ.
 
# 12 VDusen04 @ 08/02/10 11:35 PM
I think the current Bulls will still get some play amongst Bulls fans on 2K11. I figure it'd be similar to the Pistons deal. I'll be rolling with those Bad Boys for a lot of games, but I'll still be giving my '11 crew some love and affection (regardless of how good they are this year).
Classic teams and courts is just the best thing ever.
 
# 13 ChaseB @ 08/03/10 01:32 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ManOfLaMange
I think he meant atrocity as in "Durant should be the king of Seattle" not "Thunder can't ball"
Yes, this.
 
# 14 DustinT @ 08/03/10 02:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ManOfLaMange
I think he meant atrocity as in "Durant should be the king of Seattle" not "Thunder can't ball"
What can I say? I'm a sore loser.
 
# 15 Beastly Wayz @ 08/03/10 10:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotobu
Dude was a 50% career shooter that if I remember my stats correctly on average took 1.5 3s per game. That lets you know how sick he was his the mid-range. Truthfuflly his SIT, SOD, and Mid J ratings should all be in the mid -> upper 90s... yet I doubt people will try to use him there. They'll just force it inside looking for dunk highlights, because of course that's all Jordan ever did was dunk and layup. I know this will be the case because I've seen people refuse to take mid-range jumpers with their My Players that have maxed out attributes.
Well Said, and again people who typically play these games, are youngsters who believe bball is all about dunks...
 
# 16 noshun @ 08/03/10 10:23 PM
Nice read..maybe people will use them who knows?
 
# 17 KyotoCarl @ 08/03/10 11:49 PM
I've been a Bulls fan since 92 and I will be playing the 2010-11 season as the current Bulls without any added teams or such. I might start a second one, just for fun, with the 95-96 Bulls but that won't be my main Association.
 
# 18 VDusen04 @ 08/04/10 12:15 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotobu
Dude was a 50% career shooter that if I remember my stats correctly on average took 1.5 3s per game. That lets you know how sick he was his the mid-range. Truthfuflly his SIT, SOD, and Mid J ratings should all be in the mid -> upper 90s... yet I doubt people will try to use him there. They'll just force it inside looking for dunk highlights, because of course that's all Jordan ever did was dunk and layup. I know this will be the case because I've seen people refuse to take mid-range jumpers with their My Players that have maxed out attributes.
It's unavoidable. Using the created versions of Jordan in 2K10 my little brothers (14 and 12) and my older brother (29) all try to bust inside every single time down the court with MJ early on. It always takes a few quarters (and some reminders about Jordan's game from me) before they begin getting into a groove with him. It's natural to just want to force and make him score 90. I've been guilty just as well.

So yeah, definitely possible to combat MJ and the Bulls. It can be real tough not to force and expect everything to drop.
 
# 19 Hotobu @ 08/04/10 01:01 AM
Well I mean he IS Jordan who in addition to everything I said is probably the best finisher in terms of power/finesse the game has ever seen as well. Forcing it inside a few times isn't exactly dumb, but yeah I know people will just bull charge in there and try to score on 4 people. It never ceases to amaze me how many times someone (My players with 5 bars from mid-range in pickup games) will get the ball for a WIIIIIIIDE open mid range J and instead of taking the shot they'll charge headfirst towards the basket and get some ******* animation.
 
# 20 ParisB @ 08/04/10 01:35 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftychampleone
Good Article, but the Thunder are solid team. You might have a point with that NBA Finals prediction. Bulls vs Lakers in the Finals. Bulls have a deep roster.
Article was a fun read. Except the Bulls won't be sniffing Finals. They will be a dangerous 50 win team like the Jazz were along with the 9 other quality teams in the West, but they won't be able to go through Miami, Orlando or Boston.

Hypothetically speaking, even if they did meet the Lakers in the Finals, LA would stomp them in 4 or 5 games just like they did with Utah and Boozer. Noah and Boozer is a quality/decent combo, but just doesn't compare to Gasol and Bynum.
 

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