Benedict_Boozer
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Spurs, Mavericks, shit even the Grizzlies. All examples of teams that have had a lot of playoff success against much more talented squads.
And if you don't think the Hawks have a player equivalent to or better than Rasheed Wallace then idk what to tell you. You're probably not watching them.
The Hawks have beaten some good ass teams. They shouldn't be discounted. They're definitely legit.
Like I said I could be wrong and I know many people who share your view as I have debated this with friends.
I think Rasheed Wallace is better than he gets credit for. IMO he was one of the best defensive bigs in NBA history, particularly when it comes to post D. I would take him over Milsap and Horford easily. His offensive post game was strong at his peak also. Wallace had his issues and never quite lived up to his potential but I think he is underrated in terms of his ability historically.
The other examples you cite:
*Spurs - to me they also have way better top end talent; Parker/Ginobli/Duncan/Leonard is alot of elite talent - and the first three have been to so many Finals for a reason, they aren't role players. ATL may run the same system but they don't have the same level of personnel IMO. Even at his advanced age Duncan is a better player than Milsap or Horford (IMO) especially in terms of rim protection and Parker is one of the best PG's in the league. Leonard is likely going to get a max contract and while somewhat of a system player is still elite talent wise defensively.
*Mavs - they had Dirk at his peak, again way better than anyone ATL has currently and a proven closer. Dirk also played out of his mind in those Finals, one of the best performances of all time. Who is the HOF'er on ATL squad even close to Dirk's talent level?
*Grizz - they went out in the 1st round last year and in 2011/2012, made the conf finals once and 2nd round I think once, but they always have fallen to the team with top end talent (OKC, Spurs). Not disrespecting them, they have been a very solid playoff team but when you reach the conf finals and finals historically teams with star talent win out.
Think back to our season when we won 66 games, we were arguably just as impressive if not more than ATL, but in the NBA more often than not top end star-talent wins games. The Heat are the perfect example of this to me. They had major roster flaws and often got beat in the regular season but when playoff time comes, they often put 2 or 3 of the best players on the court.