The Glory Days: NBA Playoffs 1997 Video

[ncthompson11]

Some have probably already seen this, but its the pregame of the chicago vs atlanta playoff game back in 1997. Man I miss those days of NBA on NBC and were they playing in the omni or GA dome? I wish I could have been old enough to really enjoy this because nothing beats those days of the NBA. I also loved the jerseys back then, and the team with mookie, smitty, and laetner was priceless.

Heres one against detroit in 1998

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LONf8bke3yI

[Hawk88]

Hawks Bulls in the playoff in 97?

1887? Seems like 100 years ago....

Who won that series?

[BusBoyIsBack]

I went to a game in that series

I still have my "Beat-A-Bull" sign

If it wasn't for Jordan who knows how far we would have gone in those glory days

[Dejay]

Ahhh, the good ole days when playoff basketball was an afterthought here. I guess that little adjustment on the Bulls' part of putting MJ on Corbin worked out a bit....

So much for not needing a star player on the team.....

[hawkster411]

I was 13 watching that "NBA on NBC" Clip.

It's obvious that a pass-first PG in Mookie and anchor Center in Dikembe Mutombo makes a big difference getting into the playoffs.

It's funny how the Bulls were a little shaken from our PG and C capabilities.

Hopefully, Law and Horford can help us out. Time will tell.

[KB21]

The Hawks problem back then wasn't Michael Jordan. The problem was the lack of a true scoring threat as well as a complete lack of depth. All of this was a result of poor drafting and poor free agent signings made that kept the Hawks from getting that starting small forward they desperately needed and the type of depth they needed.

In the 1996-1997 season, 78% of the minutes the Hawks played were taken up by 6 players: Christian Laettner, Mookie Blaylock, Dikembe Mutombo, Steve Smith, Tyrone Corbin, and Eldridge Recasner.

Those players combined for 15,499 minutes out of a total of 19,805 player minutes. If you take Eldridge Recasner's minutes off the list, the starters of that team played a total of 14,292 minutes. The starters played 72% of the minutes the entire team played. The starters were also responsible for 77% of the total points the team scored.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Quote:

---

The Hawks problem back then wasn't Michael Jordan. The problem was the lack of a true scoring threat as well as a complete lack of depth. All of this was a result of poor drafting and poor free agent signings made that kept the Hawks from getting that starting small forward they desperately needed and the type of depth they needed.

In the 1996-1997 season, 78% of the minutes the Hawks played were taken up by 6 players: Christian Laettner, Mookie Blaylock, Dikembe Mutombo, Steve Smith, Tyrone Corbin, and Eldridge Recasner.

Those players combined for 15,499 minutes out of a total of 19,805 player minutes. If you take Eldridge Recasner's minutes off the list, the starters of that team played a total of 14,292 minutes. The starters played 72% of the minutes the entire team played. The starters were also responsible for 77% of the total points the team scored.

---

Good points.

Now we potentially have the scoring threats and the depth needed to take us over the top in a couple years

[KB21]

I think the Hawks will look more like the Hawks of the '80s in a short period of time. I looked at the 1987-1988 numbers of the Hawks. That was the year the Hawks took the Celtics to the edge in the playoffs and is the one Hawks team that I felt could have legitimately won the NBA championship.

Looking at the minutes breakdowns, 10 players comprised 96% of the Hawks minutes that season. The Hawks starters supplied 63% of the minutes played and only 63% of the total scoring output. The Hawks had a deep bench that season with Cliff Levingston, Antoine Carr, John Battle, Spud Webb, and Jon Koncak coming off the bench.

[flava]

We won, but 4 starters played 48 minutes setting us up to be blown out by the Knicks...

flava

[KB21]

Yes. The Hawks lack of depth really showed in the New York series that year. Atlanta was also a slow, plodding team, and New York ran Atlanta off the court that year. That series is the reason Pete Babcock decided to blow it up and try to build an up tempo team. I keep looking back at that and wondering if we could have done anything differently, but I'm not sure we could have. The core of Steve Smith, Mookie Blaylock, and Dikembe Mutombo was a very good core, but the Hawks didn't have the flexibility to make the necessary moves to augment that core. Then you throw the fact that Pete Babcock may be the worst drafter that the NBA has ever seen, and you can see why the Hawks lacked depth. To have four first round picks in 1999 and blow three of them screams something to me.

[Frenzy]

the Omni!

[Dejay]

There's a reason why this franchise hasn't drafted an All-Star since 1984. Imagine Michael Finley being able to ride shotgun with Smith and Blalock or having Sam Cassell, Matt Gieger, and Latrell Sprewell come off the bench instead of Keefe and Henderson, who both stole $$$ in Hawk gear. That's one of the main reasons why those teams could never get far in the playoffs; the starters had to play tons of minutes while the likes of Henry James, Ivano Newbill, Todd Mundt, and Cadillac Anderson were chugging Gaterade on the bench.

And the 1999 draft was beyond the realm of ridiculous. Out of four #1 picks, two are no longer in the league (Glover and Bowdler) and one gets bounced around more often than a tennis ball (Jones). I'm certain that Andrei Kirilenko and Jeff Foster could've been helpful to the team nowadays.

Oh well....

[ncthompson11]

I just found a highlight video from steve smith. i never realized how versatile of a player he was. I always thought he was just a spot up shooter.

[AHF]

Quote:

---

I just found a highlight video from steve smith. i never realized how versatile of a player he was. I always thought he was just a spot up shooter.

---

Smitty was never a high riser but was a very versatile player. He was an excellent playmaker from the off guard position. That is why Mookie's playmaking skills weren't a big issue while he was a Hawk and why the two made such a good backcourt together.

[KB21]

I think some people forget that Steve Smith was a point guard at Michigan State and when he first came into the league. Smith had some serious knee problems early in his career that robbed him of the athleticism he once had.

Steve Smith was ultimately traded to Atlanta along with Grant Long for Kevin Willis and Duane Ferrell. I have to give credit to Pete for that deal too. Pete was much better at evaluating established talent than he was college talent. He did make some very good trades, but he did mix in some very bad free agent signings.

Smith was then put at the shooting guard position, and he was so unselfish that Lenny Wilkens had to coax him to shoot the ball more. Steve Smith was an excellent shooter and post up shooting guard. At 6'8", his height gave other shooting guards a lot of trouble, especially when he would post them up. He had an excellent turn around jumper when he was in the post, and he was also a very good passer when the double team came to him. Steve Smith was a better than average defender as well even though he wasn't an explosive nor quick athlete on the floor.