Hawkmoor

And THATS why Cleveland swept the Hawks in the playoffs last season. Cleveland made moves last season to acquire Shumpert and Smith, to overcome the Hawks. They knew they needed perimeter shooting and perimeter defense to do that. Yes, the Hawks FORCED Cleveland to address them. This season, after getting mauled by San Antonio and Golden State, Cleveland fires their head coach and has Mosgov and Love on the trading blocks. The Hawks get mauled by San Antonio TWICE, and they are doing NOTHING. Again, you can spread the floor all day long, but if you are not a great shooting team like Golden State, you BETTER be able to rebound, which the Hawks obviously are lacking at. Cleveland might not beat Golden State in a rematch, but at LEAST they tried to improve their team...... Teams have addressed THEIR shortcomings and made moves to counter what WAS a great Hawks team early last year. Toronto did it. New York did it. The Hawks scared the hell out of the Eastern Conference last year. I hate the fact that THEY will not counter anybody. Another wasted season gonna go down the drain with this bunch. I heard Cleveland's general manager say its about championships with them. Again, i have YET to hear ANYBODY out of Hawks ownership or front office say anything about winning chips. If they have, they not showing it.

No comparison. Sap brings waaaaaay more to the game than Love does.

lmao, this dude angled and got blatt fired.............lmao http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25458728/reports-cleveland-cavaliers-fire-coach-david-blatt

WE WANT DWIGHT!!! lmao

I agree. Trade teague while he has value for a rebounding big. i would be on the phone with philadelphia if i were Hawks management. I wonder if they would bite on a Teague/Taveres or Teague/Splitter for Nerlens Noel?? The Hawks have THREE point guards. Mack can back up Dennis.... The problem is philly isnt trying to pay anybody...

http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/oral-history-outtakes-dominique-wilkins-underrated-superstar-0 Oral History Outtakes: Dominique Wilkins, Underrated Superstar by Micah Hart Nique’s teammates and foes reflect on the greatness of a Hall of Famer whose all-around skills were often overshadowed by his tremendous dunking prowess. Cliff Levingston: Dominique was more than a dunker, he was a scorer. He was a mid-range to a little bit deeper than mid-range type of shooter. He was great at getting to the basket, his spin move, I don’t care who was in front of him, that spin move was unbelievably hard to guard. He had a lot of dunks, but he had more mid-range shots and spin moves than dunks. Kevin Willis: He led the league in scoring and it wasn’t all off dunks. He was a fascinating dunker, a phenomenal dunker. But Nique could put the ball on the floor, he could shoot, he could post up, he had the in-between game, he had the up-and-under. I remember coming in my rookie year and watching him like “Wow, this guy is incredible, man.” He was so gifted athletically, he could do anything he wanted. Then on defense, when Nique wanted to play defense, he could play defense. Everybody didn’t want to give him credit on that end but Nique could play some defense for sure. Mark Bradley: I’ve gotten into a lot of arguments with basketball people over the perception of Dominique Wilkins because when he came into the league he was what a lot of people thought he was. He was a dunker. But every summer he would go out and learn something new. I mean he couldn’t shoot a jump shot when he came into the league, but he became a great shooter. That bank shot, he taught himself that. He used the backboard as well as Bailey Howell or somebody that had a great bank shot. He was, of the players I’ve actually seen in person, he used the backboard better than anyone. He made himself into a player, not just a talent. I remember Rick Pitino once saying of Antoine Walker, that he has to decide whether he wants to be Dominique Wilkins or Magic Johnson. Like one was bad and one was good. That really offended me because, Earvin Johnson was the greatest player in the history of basketball. But Dominique Wilkins did things for the Atlanta Hawks that if you would have put Earvin Johnson in here I’m not sure he would have done the same things without James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar beside him. Dominique Wilkins had to be the focal point and he was the focal point of a team that wasn’t the best team in the league but was pretty darn good for a little while in a time where there were a lot of good teams in the NBA. Dominique Wilkins: I tell people all the time, it’s hard to get 26,000 points on dunks. Spud Webb: I’ve never seen a guy get that short-sticked on everything as far as being a superstar. He led the league in scoring, teams won 50 games, he rebounds, he scores at will. I can just imagine how many points he would score if he was playing with Derrick Rose today. He didn’t make the Olympics that one year, he didn’t win the dunk contest against Jordan in Chicago, he didn’t win a championship. This guy always did what it took to win, played hard, and they just overlook him for some reason. This guy went hard every day, even at practice -- this dude hated to miss practice. You don’t find too many guys that love to play basketball like Dominique does. He probably still thinks he could score 20 points. Steve Holman: That was the game where Larry really gained respect for Dominique. They met each other here two or three years ago when the Pacers came in and it was the first time they said they had taken a picture together. Can you imagine that? They were the key members of that ‘88 game that is always on ESPN Classic and it was fun for me to sit there and watch them talk about it. And I could really tell that Larry, who probably in his career up until that point probably thought Dominique was a dunker, a showman, not one of the great players. But I could tell when Dominique talked to him that night a couple of years ago, that he really felt like he had the great respect for Dominique and he expressed that to him and I think it meant a lot to Dominique too. I think it was one of the great injustices of all time in the NBA that he didn’t make that top-50 team. I still can’t believe that because when he retired he was the 7th leading scorer in the history of the NBA. He and Bob McAdoo are probably the two guys I think I’m the most shocked didn’t make that team. Jeff Twiss: He deserves more. Maybe my hunch is people make critical of him for not being quite the defensive player. I still think he had a great all-around game. He could still see the court, he could still anticipate things, still make some good passes. I though his defense was good. I think that he and Larry both had a similar trait, though I bet many people would disagree with me. I think they were great team defensive players. Individually they weren’t the greatest, but team defensively they could fill lanes and do that. They were kings of doing that, both of them. Larry Bird: Dominique was a real scorer in the league. I mean he was one of the top players ever. You watch Carmelo Anthony and he’s a scorer and that’s what Dominique was, a scorer. He made plays. Yeah he could jump and he could dunk, but he could play. Tommy Heinsohn: He was a great scorer period. He was a fabulous athlete and he knew how to use his body. He was a terrific competitor and he went out and played hard every game I ever saw.

I got ONE stat for you. Name ONE player that the Hawks have had on their roster SINCE Dominique that is anywhere NEAR the value or talent he brought to that team...........Nique carried the Hawks for years and the team never recovered from trading him away.

Everybody in this thread that commented on Lebron STATED that its the league and media that goes overboard about Lebron. Also, Lebron isnt the only athlete who has good character and gives off the court. Its MARKETING FOR THE LEAGUE, period. The more popular basketball is, the more money everybody makes, the media, league, teams, etc. What people dont like is the result of that: forcing players on the fans. Dominique wasnt one of their chosen ones to MARKET. Thats what this thread is REALLY about. When they made that top 50 player list, it was all a popularity contest. Heck, the list that was posted by ESPN in this thread is STILL a popularity list.

Good point. Regardless, i still say let Lebron get his. Sap has no business playing on ball defense on the wing because the Hawks NEED him on the boards, since Horford doesnt wanna play in the paint. Sap gets worn out. Sap IS the modern day Dominique for the Hawks because of the fact, as you pointed out about his defense on Lebron, Sap is asked to do too much because of lack of talent around him.

Rememember the game in the playoffs where Sap came out to check Lebron on the wing, and he blew past Sap and Korver ran out of the way for the Lebron Dunk?? lmao You DONT check Lebron on the wing. You back down to the paint and DARE him to shoot the ball. If he comes into the paint, you PUNISH him.

One more thing. What you just said about Lebron, ive always said the same thing, let him shoot the ball. DONT double team him. When you double team him, he kicks out to the 3 point shooters and Thompson and Mosgov grab the boards. You LET Lebron get his 30 points, and dont let the rest of the team get anything. Then, you bring Cedric Mack into the game just to ELBOW dellavedova or whatever his name is, in the mouth and sideline him............lmao

Dieselputer blew a circuit..........................

Everytime i turned to the game, Dennis is either being trapped on the baseline or throwing up a air ball. If he had a better game than what i saw, my bad.

If you cant rebound or defend the paint, you BETTER be a talented bunch, and the Hawks are not. When Sap went out, that SAPPED the Hawks........lmao Dennis and teague, BOTH are garbage. Teague is sometimey ( is that a word?), and Dennis cant shoot, dribbles too much etc. etc. korver is a bench player. Splitter is garbage. Horford is playing point guard. Scott has turned to garbage. Hardaway is garbage. Hawks are a 8th seed team. I hate to say it, but Barkley was right about the Hawks:

Excellent short clip with Fratello talking about Wilkins: http://omnyapp.com/shows/siriusxm-nba/mike-fratello-goes-off-the-dribble-on-appreciating

EXACTLY. The NBA and media MARKET Lebron. Its all about MONEY......He was crowned King of the NBA BEFORE he ever took his FIRST dribble in the NBA..........Thats one of the MAIN reasons i cant stand the NBA. Its one step away from WWE wrestling.....

See, thats my problem with people who dont KNOW what the situation with Nique was in Atlanta. Dont take this personally, but you DONT KNOW. Most people get what they know from the media. First, you are correct about the tools Nique had to be a excellent defender. When Nique first came into the league, especially his rookie year, he was a MONSTER on the defensive end. He was blocking shots, along with Dan Roundfield, left and right. With that leaping ability, he was a BETTER defender than Josh Smith. I saw those games. He was a EXCELLENT on ball defender. Seriously, the ONLY player i saw player as TOUGH and HARD as Nique on both offense and defense was Allen Iverson. They were hustling MACHINES. I know it because thats how I PLAYED THE GAME. I saw it. Mike Fratello made a conscious decision to INSTRUCT Nique to concentrate more on his offensive game and CARRY THE HAWKS ON OFFENSE. With that scrub team he played on, the scoring HAD to come from Nique. Red Auerbach was the ONLY coach who set the record straight about Nique when he said that Nique's defense was VASTLY under rated and he never got credit for it. NOBODY is slamming CarMElo, NOBODY is slamming Durant, and we can go on and on. These players are prima donnas on offense, but nobody slams them about their defense. Honestly, Nique is TOP 3 small forward of all time and top 20 alltime player. He was THAT great. If he had played in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, etc. it would have NEVER been put up for debate.

Lot of people will disagree, but Nique is TOP 5 all time at the small forward. The ONLY small forwards on that list that you can make a legit argument about being better than Nique are Bird , maybe Durant and maybe James. Personally, i think James is overrated, but he is the media darling......... I watched Erving play, he aint better than Nique, just has the reputation and was on a better team than Nique. Durant dont make anybody better around him, a argument that was always thrown at Nique. I feel Nique is better than Durant because of his offensive rebounding. NOBODY could keep Nique off the offensive board. Lebron just has that bullrush to the rim that people cant stop because he as big as a NFL lineman......

Bud IS trying to be the smartest guy in the room. He is NOT running the Spurs system set for set. He is taking the Spurs system, and EXPANDING it to the wings with his bigs. Some "coordinators" are MEANT to be coordinators and not head coaches.......Bud appears to be one of those. Like Josh Daniels up in New England. Great offensive coordinator, but he cant LEAD a team. He CANT make adjustments as the head coach. Thats bud all the way....

But but, its the SYSTEM the Hawks run. They dont need superstars or allstars.............

And Portland wished they had drafted Jordan instead of Bowie.............

Hey, Hawks need a wing.....................lmao ON a serious note, WHAT a wasted talent this dude was. Just wasted it..............