Crosby2010
Registered User
- Mar 4, 2023
- 1,065
- 883
Both of these teams have a lot in common. The Bad Boy era Pistons of the NBA and the Broad Street Bullies of the 1970s. Both were tough teams who played dirty but backed it up and also had a lot of skill to go with it. Both teams would swarm their opponents and backed each other up. Both were known for strong defenses. Isiah Thomas is to the Pistons what Bobby Clarke would be to the Flyers. Both teams knocked off a legendary team on their way to their championships and took the baton from them. With the Pistons you could argue this happened twice with them. In 1988 they knocked off Bird and the Celtics in the semis and the Celtics championship teams were finished after that. Then they nearly beat the Lakers in the 1988 final but then hammered them in the 1989 final as they were trying to threepeat. Thus ending the reign Magic and the Lakers had. The Flyers beat the favoured Bruins in 1974 as they were trying to get 3 Cups in 5 years. And that was the end of the Orr/Espo Bruins.
Both teams won back to back and I would say both did it against good competition. And both teams lost to the up and coming dynasty that they had to pass the torch to. Pistons finally losing to Jordan's Bulls and the Flyers losing to the Habs in 1976. I think the only difference is that the Flyers were still a contender for a few years after that while the Pistons went on a steep decline after 1991.
Both teams the head office of the league hated. Jordan in 1991 stated that the Pistons losing was good for basketball and in 1976 there was a bit of a good vs. evil battle with the Habs vs. the Flyers. Sort of an unspoken support for Montreal that I am sure if you strapped Clarence Campbell up to a polygraph he'd have wanted the Habs to win rather than see a Philly threepeat.
So which franchise was more hated in their primes? Both had nicknames that they embraced. I will say this, the grudges that Jordan has towards Isiah and the Pistons to this day is ongoing. I don't think Orr or Esposito or Lafleur or Dryden or Robinson have that sort of animosity towards Bobby Clarke or Bill Barber. Put it this way, even in the 1976 Canada Cup there were Flyers, Bruins and Habs in there and it worked out fine. Orr wasn't trying to keep Clarke from being on the team. However, it is widely known that Jordan's influence helped keep Isiah Thomas off of the 1992 Dream Team based on how the Pistons would try to hurt him. And if you ever hear an interview with someone such as Bill Laimbeer, you can still hear the resentment he has towards the Bulls. And Jordan still has resentment towards the Pistons. I don't see that with the Broad Street Bullies to this day, although like the Pistons they seem like a uniquely united bunch whenever you see them interviewed. But I get the feeling that even though teams hated the Flyers they still sort of liked them and respected them. They had talent, they had Hall of Famers, and they had good defense and were well coached. Ditto for the Pistons, they were a great team, but I get the feeling that if the NBA had their way they'd have wanted a nice smooth transition from the Lakers/Celtics teams of the 1980s to pass the baton onto the Bulls into the 1990s, not have the Pistons ruin that party and shake the league up.
Anyway, what is your call?
Both teams won back to back and I would say both did it against good competition. And both teams lost to the up and coming dynasty that they had to pass the torch to. Pistons finally losing to Jordan's Bulls and the Flyers losing to the Habs in 1976. I think the only difference is that the Flyers were still a contender for a few years after that while the Pistons went on a steep decline after 1991.
Both teams the head office of the league hated. Jordan in 1991 stated that the Pistons losing was good for basketball and in 1976 there was a bit of a good vs. evil battle with the Habs vs. the Flyers. Sort of an unspoken support for Montreal that I am sure if you strapped Clarence Campbell up to a polygraph he'd have wanted the Habs to win rather than see a Philly threepeat.
So which franchise was more hated in their primes? Both had nicknames that they embraced. I will say this, the grudges that Jordan has towards Isiah and the Pistons to this day is ongoing. I don't think Orr or Esposito or Lafleur or Dryden or Robinson have that sort of animosity towards Bobby Clarke or Bill Barber. Put it this way, even in the 1976 Canada Cup there were Flyers, Bruins and Habs in there and it worked out fine. Orr wasn't trying to keep Clarke from being on the team. However, it is widely known that Jordan's influence helped keep Isiah Thomas off of the 1992 Dream Team based on how the Pistons would try to hurt him. And if you ever hear an interview with someone such as Bill Laimbeer, you can still hear the resentment he has towards the Bulls. And Jordan still has resentment towards the Pistons. I don't see that with the Broad Street Bullies to this day, although like the Pistons they seem like a uniquely united bunch whenever you see them interviewed. But I get the feeling that even though teams hated the Flyers they still sort of liked them and respected them. They had talent, they had Hall of Famers, and they had good defense and were well coached. Ditto for the Pistons, they were a great team, but I get the feeling that if the NBA had their way they'd have wanted a nice smooth transition from the Lakers/Celtics teams of the 1980s to pass the baton onto the Bulls into the 1990s, not have the Pistons ruin that party and shake the league up.
Anyway, what is your call?
