They were definitely a dynasty albeit one who benefited from a weak league diluted through expansion. That isn't their fault they still dominated.
The point of the argument isn't about the 90s vs the 80s per se, it's about the lies & mythology around a one man cult of personality team.
I do agree that unlike the 80s, it was highly unlikely for a more diluted 90s squad to have a combination of Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, and Dr J all playing at their best (at least for Erving's last good year, before his decline) for a couple of seasons together. Yes, no 90s team was like that.
But the good teams of the 90s were those with great defensive squads, which were the Bulls, Knicks, and Heat. Remember, when Jordan was out in '94, a fathom foul on Pippen was the primary reason why the Bulls didn't advance in that round. The Bulls were a fine defensive team for that decade.
Now, once you have the defensive team framework in place, what's the difference? ... the alpha male scorer/defender, in which each team had at most, one.
For the Knicks, that person was suppose to be Ewing, however, having seen numerous Knicks vs { opponent } games, what's kinda obvious is that like his other Georgetown alumni, Chris Webber, he disappears a lot during the final quarters of key games. As a Knick's coach, I'd be afraid if the ball was in Ewing hand's, during crunch time.
Here's how those Knicks-Bulls series ends with Olajuwon, from other thread ...
The Clock is winding down, the final possession of Game 6, Hakeem's got the ball.
Cartwright is on him.
He fakes, then he spins.
Grant and Pippen shore up both sides, another fake, a near foul by the Dream.
Starks and Mason break free. The Dream bullets the pass to Starks.
Starks goes for the pull up jumper.
It's no good.
But wait ...
Tipped in by Olajuwon!
The New York Knicks win the series.
It's all over... Hakeem Olajuwon has led his men to the NBA Finals.
And yes, the above is still a Knicks team effort though the alpha male elevates his squad to an even greater outcome. This is where Ewing would fumble it, and the NY press would try to hide it for the weeks ahead.
Today, we're still struggling with myth of the one man alpha male scorer/defender team. In a few years, people will forget Pau Gasol's efforts in the 2010 finals and start to say that Kobe singlehandedly defeated the Celtics. Unfortunately, Stern wants this to occur because for him, it's always about the next MJ and not the team sport of basketball where yes, you have supermen but at the same time, you also have super teams.
