RealGM

Hey, I'm gonna write an article on rivalries and I wanted some feedback.
I was hoping that you could give me a list of the team you would consider your rival, scale that rivalry 1-10, and your most hated player in the league (on any team).
Thanks.

celtics and paul pierce

In the division, I'd say the Magic. Home victories are always a challenge for both teams, and Orlando's got an ATL-bred All-Star who always strives to play superb ball in front of hometown viewers (and ex-AAU teammates like Josh Smith). I'd rate that rivalry a 7 with a chance to get better over time.

Outside the division, I'd go with the Raptors. Although the rivalry has lost some of its recent historical luster with TJ Ford off to Indy, both teams seem to play extra hard (if not always well) when they match up, and either some cool highlight or something totally bananas and controversial (like a last-second tip-in or a point-guard spending his postgame at Piedmont Hospital) ensues that has everybody yapping for days afterwards. Also a 7, but it certainly was a 9 back in the spring.

There's an automatic-booing mechanism in my gut whenever Kobe Bryant appears on the TV screen, but that's just 'cause he's That Dang Good and my KobeHater membership hasn't expired. I'd have to agree for most Hawks fans it'd have to be the buzzer-beating, rookie-wagering, gang-sign-toting, possum-playing Paul Pierce that draws the most venom, but the spite is not really that bad. I doubt the ire for Pierce transcends game days.

My personal most-disliked players include Brendan Haywood (tries to masquerade the perpetual softie-ness in his play by being a jerk), Agent Zero Games Played (chose not to vote in the '08 election but wants everyone to know he got an Obama tattoo... AFTER Obama won), and Damien Wilkins. The latter plays the games of his life against the Hawks (in front of Uncle Nique) and seemingly nobody else.

~lw3

honestly- the Hawks haven't been good enough in recent years to have any sort of real rivalry. You need big moments on a big stage for any sort of rivalry to develop. As lethal said- the Raptors had the potential after the Horford/Ford thing but the trade probably eliminates that.

I'd have to say the Raptors at the moment just because something controversial always seems to happen when we play them (flagrants, scorekeeping messups, etc). I'd say this is an 8.

If you watched us play the Celtics at Boston and don't see a rivalry brewing up again there, then something is wrong. This one is definitely growing....a 7 right now, but possibly getting bigger.

Orlando and Charlotte are kind of rivalries just because of the division factor. Maybe a 5 for both.

The Hawks are no better than 5th in line for a rivalry with the Celtics. There is no such thing as a one way rivalry.

I think there are 2 ways to get rivals, in division and in post-season. One good series against the Celtics don't make us rivals (yet). Meeting again in post-season and winning would make us a rival (fans tend to despise the team that ends their season). The closest thing to post-season rivals other than that would be Detroit because I think we played 3 or 4 times in the 90s with each team at least winning a series, but you take about 10 years off and the fire dies. Inside the division we have animosity with each team, but I agree that Charlotte and Orlando are our natural rivals. Orlando because we play them tougher than I would guess they feel we should and Charlotte because they play us tougher than they probably should. I also agree that they are lukewarm rivals at best (5 out of 10 seems fine). We'll need some success to stoke some rivalries.

I always didn't like Milwaukee or Toronto. I felt like those games are always bad blood..

The Boston series needs to be extended more for it to become an actual rivalry. I like how things is forming and what it could eventually become.

Like Dallas said, the Charlotte and Orlando games are the more natural rivals.

Honestly, we have no rivals these days. We haven't been a contender since the early 90's. I basically just root for the Hawks and against Kobe Bryant.

That being said, as an old school Hawks fan, I will always hate the Celtics and Pistons for breaking my young heart when 'Nique and the Air Force was in their prime. I would rate the Celtics as a 10 on hate, Pistons a 9. Danny Ainge a 9 on hate, and Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas both about a 17 on the hate scale.