Hello friends,

Well another NBA season is starting this week. The San Antonio Spurs are trying to repeat and win 5 titles in 10 seasons and there are Kobe Bryant trade rumors especially with the Chicago Bulls which would bring another Michael Jordan type player back to Chicago.

But what intrigues me most about this new season is a trade that brought a couple very talented players Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to a former dynasty team the Boston Celtics to join another great player Paul Pierce who was already in Boston and the three players along with others and their coach Doc Rivers hope to restore the proud tradition of this once great franchise back to glory and I'll show you how he is a connection to the team that Rivers played for in the prime of his career the 1980's Atlanta Hawks and why I think these teams the current Celtics and the 80's Hawks are both comparable and different and I'd also like to hear what you think as well.

The Hawks of the 1980's played in what was arguably the best era of the game from 1979 to 1992 which was really the Larry, Magic, Michael and Dr J era among others and if you need to know their last names then you're really not a diehard basketball or sports fan for that matter. Anyway the Atlanta Hawks of the 1980's had a very talented team led by players like slam dunk champion superstars Dominique Wilkins aka The Human Highlight film and Spud Webb who was 5'6" but also a great dunker despite his size. Other great players included Doc Rivers as I mentioned who now coaches the Celtics, Kevin Willis, Jon Koncack and a few others who I'll mention in a minute.

Now one thing about this team is they had great, unbelievable athletic talent but they never seemed to have the complete chemistry to tke them past teams like the Celtics, 76ers, Bucks and Pistons in the Eastern Conference. Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird once had a great scoring duel in a Game 7 in the playoffs once but the Celtics won and the Hawks never advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals much less win an NBA title.

Now what got me thinking about these Hawks and their comparison to the current Celtics was a basketball magazine cover I saw back then when they had superstar Dominique Wilkins and brought in a couple other great players Moses Malone and Reggie Theus to add to their already talented cast to try to win that elusive NBA title which never ended up happening as I said. Now this year the Celtics brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce as their big ####. One thing I don't think these Celtics have is great role players and they don't have an All Star point guard or center and their bench is lacking big names so the aren't as talented as thiose Hawks on paper either. But can Doc Rivers the connection as the Celtics coach now and Hawks player back then find a way to make these superstar pieces and others fit into the chemistry that that 1980's Atlanta Hawks team ultimately did not have in their quest for an NBA title?

Boston unlike Atlanta in sports no disrespect is a proud championship town. The Red Sox and Patriots have recently won several championships and the Boston Bruins have been a great hockey franchise as well. As for the Boston Celtics, they have won 16 NBA Championships the most in NBA history but none since 1986 which is a long time for a great franchise which has had 20 down years and is looking for a way back to the top. Of course we know about the Len Bias tragedy after they drafted him and how they weren't able to sign Tim Duncan who went on to great success in San Antonio. So now it's time to see if the Celtics can come back to NBA prosperity with their three great new players and if they can find a way to make it work. Perhaps coach Doc Rivers can take a page from his past and learn the lessons he had as a player with his underachievements as a part of the 1980's Atlanta Hawks perhaps one of the most talented NBA teams never to win an NBA title. What do you think friends? Let me know and we'll talk soon as always. Best wishes and have a great and productive day. fenfan