Jordan vs. Wilkins on NBATV now

[benhillboy]

Should be a good nostalgic watch if you're able to catch it. Nique versus Jordan was always epic back in the day, especially when it was a little more even before Phil and Scottie.

Edited August 18, 2014 by benhillboy

[Guest]

Ya I saw this a few hours ago and I'm recording it. I saw it a few months ago on nbatv as well. Ahhhh the good ole days :-)

[Guest]

Quick question for y'all. In the 82 draft, the Lakers had the 1st pick and took James Worthy, the Jazz had the 3rd pick and took Nique.

With Worthy, the Lakers won 3 championship (85,87,88), with Worthy being the MVP of the 88 finals. How many championships would the Lakers have won if they took Nique instead? And would Nique have won the MVP in any of the championships?

Personally I think Worthy was a perfect fit for the Lakers, but I'd say Nique would have won 3 or 4 rings with LA and would have won MVP zero or one time. Ill go with 4 rings, 1 MVP :-)

[AHF]

Nique was better than Worthy for sure but fit is the real question.  Kareem and Magic account for a lot of usage.

[benhillboy]

Yeah, I truly believe there are times you could have too much offensive firepower. Worthy was more of a defender, had more length, and less ego. I would seem impossible for them to score more points than they did during Showtime, but adding Dominique could've bumped them up 2 or 3 points per throughout their entire run in the 80's. Worthy is more of a "championship teammate" than Nique IMO, but Nique clearly the more explosive talent. I think trying to acclimate him would've been a problem Pat welcomed.

He probably could've put them over the hump for one more Finals Series win instead of their many losses among Boston, Detroit, and Chicago, but I don't see him as an MVP type among 2 other Hall of Famers. Perfect role players (Parker, Worthy, Dumars, Billups) are more likely to win it than a Third Superstar.

Edited August 18, 2014 by benhillboy

[AHF]

The interesting "what-if" is whether Nique could have been a third wheel.  I can only imagine the damage he could have done with the attention Kareem and Magic would have garnered, but if he took on less responsibility offensively could he have been a better defender and even better rebounder by putting more energy into those areas?  If so, what would he have looked like and what would the Lakers have looked like?  

 

Nique was a significantly better rebounder than Worthy so that is a given.  The real question is whether he could have been an impact defender by putting more effort into that.  With his athletic gifts, it certainly seems like that could have been a reality.

[buckeye242424]

While Nique is my favorite Hawk of all time, and the fact TBS had all their games growing up.... On TV, obviously... Duh. He was kinda selfish. Nique wanted his... Whatever. Worthy fit better better, especially with Magic.

[AHF]

I'm just saying it would be interesting to see if Nique could have blended into a team if he had been on a team with a couple of guys who were good enough to win multiple MVPs like Kareem and Magic.  If so, I can see him bringing more to the table than Worthy certainly for scoring and rebounding but also for what could have been for defense.  Winning rings can help discipline better habits in players because they get that positive attention and reward.

[Guest]

The interesting "what-if" is whether Nique could have been a third wheel. I can only imagine the damage he could have done with the attention Kareem and Magic would have garnered, but if he took on less responsibility offensively could he have been a better defender and even better rebounder by putting more energy into those areas? If so, what would he have looked like and what would the Lakers have looked like?

Nique was a significantly better rebounder than Worthy so that is a given. The real question is whether he could have been an impact defender by putting more effort into that. With his athletic gifts, it certainly seems like that could have been a reality.

Yes, that's why I brought it up actually. I always wonder whether players would win more/less in different situations. I think Worthy was a perfect compliment to Magic and Kareem but Nique would have blended in well also.

I think because Nique had an offensive mentally that he would have done well with the show time Laker 80's squads, but to answer your question of whether or not Nique would have focused more on his defense, I say no. Watching Nique for his entire career I noticed that he was all offense all the time. It was just his mindset. Nique was as althetic as anyone and could have been a great defender, but he had no interest. To be honest though, the 80's Lakers weren't even known for their defense. It was all run n gun.

By the way if Worthy would have ended up on the Hawks, we would have been crap. Worthy was not the alpha that Nique was and he wasn't ever a #1 option. A Hawks lineup of:

Spud

Rivers

Worthy

Willis

Koncak

Just wouldn't have worked...no bueno

[AHF]

Agreed on Worthy in Atlanta.  He wasn't good enough to be the lead guy on a team that had any real aspirations.  Nique at least gave us some real hope (until he was traded from his best team).

[DrReality]

Nique was better than Worthy for sure but fit is the real question.  Kareem and Magic account for a lot of usage.

A lot of guys would've won championships with Kareem and Magic. 

[Guest]

A lot of guys would've won championships with Kareem and Magic.

-captain obvious

Lol

[MaceCase]

Must be Nique Week ( he should copywrite that)

NBATV was showing his 50 burger game against the Knicks today. I caught some of it on my way to work and it was awesome watching Gerald jawing at Nique despite only having 16 points himself.