Those Hawks teams were good because Mike Fratello knew how maximize those players on offense even with a ballstopper like Nique as the number one scoring option. Mike Fratello was a very underrated coach, look what happened to the Grizzlies when he left them. He took the Hawks, Cavaliers, and the Grizzlies to the playoffs. In fact Nique should be glad Fratello was his coach, otherwise Nique's resume would only be about individual stats. It's no knock on Nique, he just wasn't wired to play team basketball. And thus endeth the lesson.
Dominique -He played alot like how the other star swing men played before him or during -fill up the bucket and ask questions later, maybe a little flair added, defense optional. Just when it got to his turn the style appeared to lack "sophistication" ... Still compared to the Adrian Dantleys, Alex English, Bernard Kings etc his assists are a bit low and his FG% not as high, while attempting the most shots over almost everyone in the league (Though his turnovers are a little lower)...would basically agree Dominique wasnt making plays for other people. Great player though... Gay - he lacks the fierceness of Dominque to put the fear in an opponent but he's a good player. He's a better player than Battier no doubt but oh well, good for him.
not innate but it can only be promoted during childhood when cognitive eye-hand coordination is still developing. basically, if you haven't been dribbling the ball since you were a kid, you won't ever be an elite ball handler.
LOL, is this what this discussion has come to. The innate cognitive eye-hand coordination. LOL, alright doogie howser
Come on now guys....just because we got the short end of a trade doesn't mean we have to hate on a dude for his entire career. Gay is playing very well now. He isn't a do everything player but he is a very good scorer. Could we have used a top-notch scorer...yes. I'm over it now because we got Artest for nothing...but let's not act like Gay doesn't have skills. He does. Even if he never becomes a "franchise player"....who cares. Were we expecting a franchise player with that draft pick? Did we get a franchise player in Battier? Did we even need a franchise player at the time (no...we needed youth and a 3rd scorer).
I've been here before, like many other posters, hated that trade more than anyone on this board. I knew Gay would turnout to be 23+ppg, high flying scorer and would be just enough offense for the Rockets to start marching through western conference. All of sudden, he's traded for Shane Battier.... ...I was like intangibles my @ss...is this team really trying to win now or trying to cover up their incompetence on another blunder draft pick or trade. It almost sucked the hope for this team out of me, briefly. Then, I looked at this trade over time and I would say that (once I was in the right mood) the Rockets made the right move. The team with Battier played really well together and even beat few good teams. Gay would not have help this team right away and most likely be a 3rd to 4th wheel...he would have probably been regulated to bench by JVG. Also, there would've been a much bigger defensive burden on T-Mac, if we didn't require SF/SG defender. Our offense would have within two or three seasons became one of the top in the league (Gay and T-Mac) being out on the wing, while Yao was in the paint. But, our defense would've suffered a bit, especially without lockdown defender and missing that one really good role player (like Battier). As strange as this sounds, I think we would've actually made out of the 1st round with Gay...he would've been exact scoring option we needed to breakthrough and beat Utah (especially after that horrible game 3 where only 4 players scored on the Rockets in 2007 Playoffs). That aberration might have been limited with another strong, high scoring wing player. I think with Gay we get little bit further in the playoffs, but I think our team in some ways would be more limited defensively and not as good from wing, while the same team attitude might not be there, like it is with Battier. Gay can develop pretty well in place, like Memphis where there are no expectations in any way, shape, or form. They practically give away players...he could learn and develop in place without too many demands. If he came to Houston, then he would not have had the same chances to develop his game offensively...because minutes to vets. While, he might have been in doghouse and that might have effected his game for the worst (and probably wouldn't have flourished until after a trade, like say Joe Johnson or Gerald Wallace).
Co-sign to that, if Atlanta had inferior coach...the Hawks would have been a very erratic team and would not have taken the mighty Celtics to 7 games in 87. The Hawks are one of those odd teams who always seem to have a blob of talent, but can't ever put together for decent playoff run or deep run into playoffs, mainly because of management, inexperience, and sometimes coaching. Even in the early 2000s, they probably shouldn't have been as bad as they were and even drafted better players. How does this apply to Nique...? If he did win a championship, it would not have been in Atlanta or as the main player. It would be him on a team, like the Spurs with David Robinson and/or Tim Duncan, where he would not be expected to be 25 to 30 ppg a night guy (maybe here and there), but as a piece of a title team. The Hawks just aren't a first class organization with the best leadership and structure.
