Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs

Overview

Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs is an EA Sports basketball game for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. It is known as NBA Pro Basketball: Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs in Japan. It was released in 1992 and based on the 1992 season, and is the sequel to the previous year's Bulls vs. Lakers and the NBA Playoffs. Among the new additions is the ability to create fictional teams using existing players.

Featured Teams

The game features the 16 teams that competed in the 1992 NBA Playoffs:

• Boston Celtics
• Chicago Bulls
• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Detroit Pistons
• Golden State Warriors
• Indiana Pacers
• LA Clippers
• LA Lakers
• Miami Heat
• New Jersey Nets (presently the Brooklyn Nets)
• New York Knicks
• Phoenix Suns
• Portland Trail Blazers
• San Antonio Spurs
• Seattle Supersonics
• Utah Jazz

Historically, the Bulls played the Blazers in the finals (hence the name of the game), with the eventual winner being the Chicago Bulls.

Gameplay Options and Infrastructure

As Bulls vs. Blazers focuses on the 1992 NBA Playoffs, there is no full "Season" gameplay mode. Players are limited to playing an Exhibition Match or taking a team through the four rounds of the NBA Playoffs, with quarter lengths customizable between 2, 5, 8, or 12 minutes.

Players cannot be traded between teams, but full benches for the sixteen teams are available and bench players can be substituted in for starters during timeouts and dead balls.

Player-controlled instant replay is on offer in Bulls vs. Blazers, allowing one to rewind, fast forward, and pause the most recent handful seconds of gameplay.

Mechanics

In Bulls vs. Blazers, players on offense can shoot, pass, dunk, or attempt a "marquee" shot. In the SNES port, dunking and marquee shots are handled with the Y button whereas normal jump shots are handled with the A button. Marquee shots include moves such as Michael Jordan's hand-switching layup, which is featured in numerous historical highlights of the 1991 playoffs between the Bulls and the Lakers. The marquee shot button can be used to attempt hook shots with taller players if they are positioned in the low post.

It should be noted that holding down the "shoot" button results in a jumpshot, even if one does not release the button. As such, one has no control over when his or her player will release the shot. Players can tap the "shoot" button lightly to initiate a pump fake to get clearance by coaxing the defender to jump prematurely. EA Sports would not implement a dedicated ball-handling button until NBA Live 95, and so players cannot manually attempt crossover dribbles or spin moves; in fact, there are no animations for these moves in the game. Nor are there animations or commands for entering post-up positioning (although, as mentioned prior, hook shots can be attempted).

On defense, players can attempt to steal, block shots, and rebound. There is no "defensive stance" button or animation--players simply must try to "stand in the way" on defense.

There is a "hot spot" on the court--likely unintentional--where players can make the majority of the three-point shots they attempt. The spot exists beyond the three-point line--horizontally just between the top of the arc and the half-court logo, and vertically just between the middle of court and the sideline closest to the camera view. When shooting from this spot, players can enjoy a much higher rate of three-pointers made than anywhere else on the court.

Visuals

Players are recognizable on the court (except when they are angled in complete profile view) thanks to jersey numbers being present on every player sprite, and some generic facsimile of the player's real-life persona in the sprite art. (For example, it's quite easy to discern Michael Jordan thanks to his bald head and the "23" on his jersey.) Player position is not highlighted on the screen during on-court play; one must discern based on knowledge of NBA players from 1992 and what positions they played.

On the SNES port of the game, the animation of the basketball as it flies through the air--whether for passes or jump shots--is incredibly rough, and it seems to "skip" through the air, making it incredibly difficult to follow the trajectory of the ball. The Genesis port features much smoother animation and, as a result, makes it easier for the player to discern where the ball is on screen and where it is headed.