Which team is better, all-time Hawks teams?

[HawksBalla]

Which team would you take to defeat the other three teams in a tournament for best Hawks team ever?

1988 Hawks: Dominique in his prime. Doc Rivers. Spud Webb. Moses Malone. Coached by Fratello

1993-1994 Hawks: Dominique/Manning, Kevin Willis in his prime. Mookie Blaylock. Stacey Augmon the "Plastic Man".Lenny Wilkens coach.

1996 Hawks: Steve "Smitty" Smith and Mookie Blaylock tandem. Mount Mutumbo. Laettner who made the all-star team. Lenny Wilkens coach again.

2009 Hawks: JJ as our do-it-all leader, Smoove leading the league in blocks at 6'9, Horford averaging a solid double-double in his third year, Crawford in the running for 6-man of the year. Woody as the coach.

I think Woodson is the worst coach, but his team has the most over-all talent. I think the way the 2009 Hawks are playing right now, they would run the other three teams off the court. I like JJ against Smitty, and Marvin would at least make Wilkins work for his points. Smoove would blow past Willis.

[thecampster]

Which team would you take to defeat the other three teams in a tournament for best Hawks team ever?

1988 Hawks: Dominique in his prime. Doc Rivers. Spud Webb. Moses Malone. Coached by Fratello

1993-1994 Hawks: Dominique/Manning, Kevin Willis in his prime. Mookie Blaylock. Stacey Augmon the "Plastic Man".Lenny Wilkens coach.

1996 Hawks: Steve "Smitty" Smith and Mookie Blaylock tandem. Mount Mutumbo. Laettner who made the all-star team. Lenny Wilkens coach again.

2009 Hawks: JJ as our do-it-all leader, Smoove leading the league in blocks at 6'9, Horford averaging a solid double-double in his third year, Crawford in the running for 6-man of the year. Woody as the coach.

I think Woodson is the worst coach, but his team has the most over-all talent. I think the way the 2009 Hawks are playing right now, they would run the other three teams off the court. I like JJ against Smitty, and Marvin would at least make Wilkins work for his points. Smoove would blow past Willis.

96 Hawks scare me in that group. I don't think Bibby could do anything with Mookie at either end fo the floor. Mookie was a lock down defender and everything starts with us at the point. On the inside, our half court offense would not be able to function with Mutombo in the middle. The best chance we have there is with our forwards and Al being able to draw Deke away from the basket with his mid range jumper. There is no way Laettner could function against Josh Smith. but i do think the 96 team is much smarter.

[Joker]

It's too early to talk about 2009 team. The 93 team had the best chance to win it all. 88 team had the best starting lineup and probably the best team on the list.

[Joker]

96 Hawks scare me in that group. I don't think Bibby could do anything with Mookie at either end fo the floor. Mookie was a lock down defender and everything starts with us at the point. On the inside, our half court offense would not be able to function with Mutombo in the middle. The best chance we have there is with our forwards and Al being able to draw Deke away from the basket with his mid range jumper. There is no way Laettner could function against Josh Smith. but i do think the 96 team is much smarter.

The 96 team played the best defense I've ever seen outside of Detroit in the early part of this decade. They were too weak on offense which is why we could not get over Chicago. The 96 team was very intelligent as well, mainly vets made up our roster. Deke was the man that season.

[HawkItus]

The '96 team would get run out of the gym when Horf and Smith got going.

The '93-'94 squad would go to seven and probably be Dominique's crowning moment

The '88 team was bad *ss. They beat every other Hawk's team in six.

[MVP23]

I wasn't alive..so I'll be a noob and pick the 09 team.

[Dejay]

The '96 team would get run out of the gym when Horf and Smith got going.

The '93-'94 squad would go to seven and probably be Dominique's crowning moment

The '88 team was bad *ss. They beat every other Hawk's team in six.

The '88 team has my vote as well. Nique in his prime would've scored 50+ a night against any of those teams, including the '96 version (what, Ty Corbin and Henri James wasn't going to keep him busy).

I can't put the '09 team into the conversation of all-time Hawk teams until we see how the endgame turns out in June (hint, hint). The '94 team would've had a shot until the deciding game where Manning leaves a note stating that he decided to return to the west coast. The '96 squad could play defense but once Smith and Mookie ran out of gas from the perimeter, there was nothing coming off the bench to save that squad.

[Diesel]

Which team would you take to defeat the other three teams in a tournament for best Hawks team ever?

1988 Hawks: Dominique in his prime. Doc Rivers. Spud Webb. Moses Malone. Coached by Fratello

1993-1994 Hawks: Dominique/Manning, Kevin Willis in his prime. Mookie Blaylock. Stacey Augmon the "Plastic Man".Lenny Wilkens coach.

1996 Hawks: Steve "Smitty" Smith and Mookie Blaylock tandem. Mount Mutumbo. Laettner who made the all-star team. Lenny Wilkens coach again.

2009 Hawks: JJ as our do-it-all leader, Smoove leading the league in blocks at 6'9, Horford averaging a solid double-double in his third year, Crawford in the running for 6-man of the year. Woody as the coach.

I think Woodson is the worst coach, but his team has the most over-all talent. I think the way the 2009 Hawks are playing right now, they would run the other three teams off the court. I like JJ against Smitty, and Marvin would at least make Wilkins work for his points. Smoove would blow past Willis.

Ranking:

1. 88' Hawks.

2. 96' Hawks

3. 93' Hawks.

I know it's a bummer that this Hawks team haven't been included but those Hawks teams had something. Great rebounding and defensive bigs, Good scoring forwards, Gaurds who played good defense.

Head to head, the 96 Hawks would tear a hole in the 2009 Hawks. Mookie would end up with 8 steals and Mutombo would have double digit blocks.

[Diesel]

The '96 team would get run out of the gym when Horf and Smith got going.

:no-no:

Sultan, you must be a younghead. That 96 team would destroy this one. First off, Deke's finger would not let Smoove and Horf do anything. He would block every shot they put up. They don't have a consistent offense. That's Deke's thing. Bibby would get shut down by Mookie. Mookie would have a high steal count. Smitty would be about even with Joe... But Smitty would not disappear and Smitty would take Joe to the post the way he schooled Kobe in the post.

[thecampster]

:no-no:

Sultan, you must be a younghead. That 96 team would destroy this one. First off, Deke's finger would not let Smoove and Horf do anything. He would block every shot they put up. They don't have a consistent offense. That's Deke's thing. Bibby would get shut down by Mookie. Mookie would have a high steal count. Smitty would be about even with Joe... But Smitty would not disappear and Smitty would take Joe to the post the way he schooled Kobe in the post.

Agreed...that team wasn't exciting but it could beat anyone...it just fell short that year.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

First off, it depends on which '88 team you're talking about. The 87 - 88 team that took Boston to 7 games, did NOT have Moses Malone on it. The 88 - 89 team did though . . . and won 50 games, and lost in the 1st round. Those Moses Hawk teams were good, but disappointing come playoff time.

Actually, the 86 - 87 Hawks may have been better than both of those other teams. They won 57 games that year, but lost to Detroit in the 2nd round. Back in the 80s, it was nothing for Nique to jack up 25 - 30 shots a game. Offensively, his output and production is comparable to Carmelo Anthony. Part of the reason why those 80s Hawk teams "only" won at the low 50-win level, was because if Nique had a bad shooting game, we usually lost.

The 93 - 94 Hawks ( pre Nique trade ) was a dominant home team, but could lose to anybody on the road. And I mean anybody. Nique, although still good, was a much more erratic shooter that settled for a lot of long jumpers But the supporting pieces around Nique ( K-Willis, Mookie, Plastic Man ( Stacey Augmon ), along with I think Craig Ehlo ) were very good at times. I just wished we could've seen what that team with Nique could've done in the playoffs, with no Jordan around.

Like everyone else is saying, the 96 - 97 Hawks were a great defensive team. Dikembe and Mookie on defense, were so fun to watch back then. Smitty was the great "post-up" guard, and Laettner did his thing offensively on a nightly nasis.

The problem with that team, was that they virtually had no bench. They were 7 deep, with an 8th man sometimes rotating in the mix. That was a strange offensive team too. They never looked to run, but in the halfcourt, they didn't mind jacking up a lot of 3's . . . especially Mookie. Mookie would have damn near a triple-double one night, then go 3-13 ( 1-8 3FG ) the next. I used to call him "Mookie Sellout" back in those days, becaue all those bad 3's kept us from winning games at times.

The current Hawks are definitely far more athletic than any of those other teams. They're nowhere near as tough though. But if Josh Smith is going to play at a level in which he's getting 15+ points and 10+ rebounds a night, that may elevate this team over those other squads. I think the 09 - 10 Hawks and the 96 - 97 Hawks are the best 2 teams, with a slight edge going to the 96 team.

[Diesel]

First off, it depends on which '88 team you're talking about. The 87 - 88 team that took Boston to 7 games, did NOT have Moses Malone on it. The 88 - 89 team did though . . . and won 50 games, and lost in the 1st round. Those Moses Hawk teams were good, but disappointing come playoff time.

Actually, the 86 - 87 Hawks may have been better than both of those other teams. They won 57 games that year, but lost to Detroit in the 2nd round. Back in the 80s, it was nothing for Nique to jack up 25 - 30 shots a game. Offensively, his output and production is comparable to Carmelo Anthony. Part of the reason why those 80s Hawk teams "only" won at the low 50-win level, was because if Nique had a bad shooting game, we usually lost.

The 93 - 94 Hawks ( pre Nique trade ) was a dominant home team, but could lose to anybody on the road. And I mean anybody. Nique, although still good, was a much more erratic shooter that settled for a lot of long jumpers But the supporting pieces around Nique ( K-Willis, Mookie, Plastic Man ( Stacey Augmon ), along with I think Craig Ehlo ) were very good at times. I just wished we could've seen what that team with Nique could've done in the playoffs, with no Jordan around.

Like everyone else is saying, the 96 - 97 Hawks were a great defensive team. Dikembe and Mookie on defense, were so fun to watch back then. Smitty was the great "post-up" guard, and Laettner did his thing offensively on a nightly nasis.

The problem with that team, was that they virtually had no bench. They were 7 deep, with an 8th man sometimes rotating in the mix. That was a strange offensive team too. They never looked to run, but in the halfcourt, they didn't mind jacking up a lot of 3's . . . especially Mookie. Mookie would have damn near a triple-double one night, then go 3-13 ( 1-8 3FG ) the next. I used to call him "Mookie Sellout" back in those days, becaue all those bad 3's kept us from winning games at times.

The current Hawks are definitely far more athletic than any of those other teams. They're nowhere near as tough though. But if Josh Smith is going to play at a level in which he's getting 15+ points and 10+ rebounds a night, that may elevate this team over those other squads. I think the 09 - 10 Hawks and the 96 - 97 Hawks are the best 2 teams, with a slight edge going to the 96 team.

The bench for that team was Funny. You had Hendu... and the most underrated scorer ever... Willie Burton.

But defensively, today's team would have a really hard time scoring on that team. There were many teams like todays team that went against that team and could not do anything. You have to have a offensivegame plan to beat that team. Like Reggie Miller running through 17 picks. Or Patrick Ewing... ":Wallking" think the lane.

[Joker]

Christian and Deke running with Horford and Smith is funny in thought, but the rules were different in 96. Rules will define who wins between those teams.