Still talking about Joe!
I promise, this is the last time you will have to view this picture of Joe Smith. Next time, he'll be in the same uniform as Josh Smith.
HAWKSVILLE - More than a month has passed since the Hawks’ interest in Joe Smith was revealed to the world in this space.
I doubt any of us thought it would take this long for the resolution to come. I mean, school has already started. The Michael Jackson autopsy is done (someone’s going to jail for this one). The NFL season is upon us. Cash for Clunkers has come and gone. College football is just days away.
And still, we wait for Joe Smith to be signed.
But I believe the day has come. Today has to be Joe Smith Day in Hawksville. It has to be. If things play out the way they are supposed to my name will be intact – check the Twitter feed for my name-change challenge – and we should be able to move on from this saga and back to whatever else we amuse ourselves with this time of year.
And speaking of amusement, if you haven’t seen this extrapolation of the Hawks’ ownership situation, you need to. I understand how someone might try and make the move from “we’re not selling” to where this article took the conversation, but it seems like a stretch even to me. And we all know I’m not afraid to go off the deep end every now and then.
While we’re on the subject of the deep end, I had a great seat at the Dream-Sparks game Sunday at Philips Arena. It allowed me to view the crowd from just about every direction. Josh Smith, Billy Knight, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright and many others were in the building. Josh has shed some weight since I last saw him. He said about 10 pounds. It was noticeable. He looked slimmed down from when I saw him working out in the gym at McEachern High in early July. He said he’s been working all summer on every facet of his game, particularly his mid-range game (those jumpers everyone wants him to take instead of the 3-pointers that cause so much cringing). He’s worked out mostly here in Atlanta, which is a departure from previous summers, when he spent most of his time in Houston.
Wright, who finished last season on the roster in Cleveland, is in a unique situation. He’s job-hunting, so to speak, and an intriguing possibility for the Hawks since he still has a residence here in town. Another veteran big man in that same situation earlier this summer, Theo Ratliff, was also at the game Sunday. The Spurs snapped him up before the Hawks could get to him. But Wright is the kind of physical, veteran big that could fit exactly what the Hawks need in a 12th or 13th man for this upcoming season.
My philosophy is that a team can never have too many big men. It’s clear the Hawks’ cupboard isn’t overflowing in that department, and hasn’t for some time. But now is the time to stock up, especially with every contender in the Eastern Conference loaded up front.
Some of you probably chuckled when you read that the Celtics scooped up Shelden. You were probably thinking back to his days with the Hawks and assuming that he’s an odd fit there. Not me. I think it was a shrewd move for the Celtics to go out and find a serviceable big body for an excellent price, even if he doesn’t play a whole lot this season. It always pays to have that part of your team secured.
If you don’t believe that, scan the rosters in Boston, Orlando and Cleveland and start counting big men. You can go five deep on each team. The Celtics start with Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins and round out the rotation with Big Baby Davis and Shelden. Orlando starts with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis (who is a bit of a tweener but forces one of your bigs to guard him at 6-10) and Brandon Bass and round out the rotation with Marcin Gortat and Ryan Anderson. Cleveland starts with Shaquille O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao and rounds out the rotation with JJ Hickson, Darnell Jackson and Leon Powe (not to mention a dude named LeBron James who can swing over and play minutes at power forward if ever needed).
The Hawks enter the season with a group that starts with Josh Smith, Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia and round out the rotation with Joe Smith and Randolph Morris.
Again, the more quality big bodies (you can debate the quality of one guy over the other all day long) on your roster the better.
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428 comments Add your comment
Big Ray
August 27th, 2009
12:40 am
Heh. It’s NOT okay to find fault with the coach, but it IS okay to find fault with a player.
So we SHOULD assume that Woody will do the right thing with a rookie player, but we SHOULD NOT assume that Smith has actually improved his shooting.
This argument never ends
Stating the Obvious
August 27th, 2009
12:58 am
Tribe,
Just repeating what someone else posted a few weeks back, brah.
Ken Strickland
August 27th, 2009
2:07 am
BIG RAY-we’re on the same page as far as Teague’s chances of becoming a starter this yr. I find it hard to believe a team would double JJ with Teague or Crawford in the gm. Their speed, quickness, penetrating and shooting ability in a 4 on 3 situation would give us an almost unstoppable advantage. And like you, I was very encouraged to hear Woodson sing the praises of Teague.
With Crawford’s size and PG skills, he would be a perfect compliment to Bibby coming off the bench. On OFF Bibby would play SG and PG on DEF, like AIverson did with ESnow in Philly. I know it’s just wishful thinking, but it’s an intriging thought anyway.
Despite all of the varied opinions that’s been expressed about where the Hawks will finish this yr, I think we’ll give Orlando a run for the 3rd seed. We did an excellent job of overcoming major injuries to 3 key starters last yr. With Joe Smith, we should be able to do an even better job. Boston can’t afford to lose either Pierce or KG, Cleveland would fall apart without LeBron and Orlando can’t challenge us without Dwight. Orlando knows that, which is why they matched Houston’s offer for Gortat.
One queston. If Bibby missed considerable time due to injury, who do you think Woodson would start in his place, Teague or Crawford?
Hms
August 27th, 2009
2:31 am
Hms
August 27th, 2009
2:26 am
Guys, I want to tell you a secret ive lived with for a long time. Im gay. Very gay. I like animals too… I hope you arent offended and will accept me for what I am. A sick and perverted man.
Hms
August 27th, 2009
2:45 am
Hms
August 27th, 2009
2:26 am
Guys, I want to tell you a secret ive lived with for a long time. Im gay. Very gay. I like animals too… I hope you arent offended and will accept me for what I am. A sick and perverted man.
August 27th, 2009
2:37 am
Hms
August 27th, 2009
2:26 am
Guys, I want to tell you a secret ive lived with for a long time. Im gay. Very gay. I like animals too… I hope you arent offended and will accept me for what I am. A sick and perverted man.
Ken and I are a couple and we both wear our pants with the zippers to the rear. Ive also got a crush on Michael Vick. There…Ive said it. Im tired of being under cover. Ken and I are coming out of the closet.
Like it or not!!
Hms
August 27th, 2009
2:40 am
I never said I was very gay. Just gay.
Ed
August 27th, 2009
4:00 am
The fact that Woody approved of drafting Teague, likes what he’s seen in Teague, means Woodrow will be much more forgiving and supportative. He will see the good things in JT as opposed to his weaknesses when evaluating him. This isn’t to say Woody won’t work on Teague’s shortcomings, it just the way in which he’ll look upon the situation,…the glass half full not empty.
tbhawksfan
August 27th, 2009
6:10 am
Teague will be given the team in pre-season (as was Law). Acie actually did really well in the pre-.
Given an early opportunity to show what he can do, it’s possible that he will be able to stake his claim to minutes.
Bibby and the rest of the starters are ready to play together. Teague wil get the chance. We’ll see.
Teague and Crawf will get time at PG. I’m hopeful to see Bibs minutes come down to about 26.
Oh, and I rezally like (lol) Samuel’s statement to not judge Woody before the season has even started. Hey, Samuel, we have like five years of Woodson to use in analysis. He has deficiencies and I’ve never understood your blind defense of his coaching.
I wish, but totally doubt, that we’d see some new twists to the Hawks schemes that maximize their talent and potential. Woodson seems to be pretty good at creating a homogenous environment, but I don’t think anyone can sell him as a offensive schemer. As for his D, there is some success, but no sign of adapting to and over-coming adversity.
If his “plan” doesn’t work, we get to see him spend the remainder of the game with the ol’ arms folded frown. Thing is, the plan is thin and Woodson doesn’t seem capable of thickening it.
Samuel
August 27th, 2009
6:41 am
His plan got us as far as anyone else could have taken us, the 4th spot and “COY” considerations.
Astro Joe
August 27th, 2009
7:06 am
Here’s my point, if a PG is supposed to do 5 things well to be perfect but only does 3.5 of those things well, do you replace him with someone who may do 2.5 things well? If Teague is a better across all facets of the game than Bibby in November, then of course dude should get most of the PG minutes. But if he is only better at defense and penetrating while producing more TOs or while missing more jumpers or while showing less of a basketball IQ, then why would we trade off 2 deficiencies for 3? Some of you all get so caught up in seeing what a guy can’t do that you forget the value that he brings. No one would suggest benching Josh Smith’s defensive abilities because he can’t hit jumpers, because they realize those skills that he DOES have out-weigh the ones that he still needs to development.
I’m not forgetting that Bibby is a poor defender, I just seem to be one of the few who remember all the qualities that he brings to the team that outweigh that weakness.
Sautee
August 27th, 2009
9:01 am
Samuel,
about your August 26, 6:29 p.m. post. You said this: “Give me an example of a rookie or anyone else for that matter who was good enough to start but didn’t.”
I said John Havlicek and you came back with some nonsense about Woody coaching when he was 4 years old.
Do YOU see ANYTHING in your post about limiting the examples to players Woody has coached? No you do NOT!
And you also said this about Jeff Teague: “Who cares about how he’s advertised.”?
Apparently that would be YOU Sam, because there you are at 11:03 listing all of Teague’s strengths and weaknesses.
So I guess you cared A LOT.
Sekou Smith
August 27th, 2009
9:40 am
Not sure what we’re arguing about right now, but Teague was not drafted to start immediately. It’s Bibby’s job. Teague’s just 21 and has only two years of college experience under his belt. The expectations for him are quite different than they were for Acie, who was a four-year college player and much more physically mature by the time the Hawks got him.
Woody’s on trial, as always around here. He knows and understands that all coaches live with that scrutiny. That’s just the way it is.
Daniel
August 27th, 2009
10:00 am
Sekou- we are losing it around here, because of the summer down time.
Are the Hawks going to have any open sessions during training camp?
vava74
August 27th, 2009
10:36 am
Hi believe that Teague will see between 15 to 18 minutes of day light during his first year which should be more than enough for us to have a much more balanced rotation.
We can now distribute the 96 minutes allocated to the back court to 4 players which, no doubtfully will allow us to get to the playoffs fresher (in particular JJ).
jerrywest
August 27th, 2009
11:01 am
Acie had a clear path to starting. He had to beat out a gimpy Speedy, a shorty Lue and old man AJ, but several unfortunate events happened. AJ started whining and Woody listened to him. Acie started playing really well nevertheless. Thats when Hollins (Bobcats) took him out. Acie never got out of Woody’s dog house after that. Like Sekous said, Teague is a 3rd string PG until he proves otherwise. Remember, even great point guards take a few years to learn to play in the NBA. Check Nash/Devon Harris/ Deron Williams stats as rookies.
Ken Strickland
August 27th, 2009
11:01 am
SEKOU-it’s all good. It’s just a bunch of die hard Hawk fans trying to get a die hard Mike Woodson fan named SAMUEL to try and deal with reality. He’s so busy attacking anyone that doesn’t embrace Woodson as Coach of the Year, he can’t see his own senseless logic and contradictions. He also can’t seem to accept or admit there might be the slightest possibility that any opinion he’s expressed could in anyway be wrong.
With the additions of veterans JSmith and JCrawford, and Woodson’s acceptance of rookie PG JTeague, we will likely see him go back to using his bench and expanding his rotation the way he did before Bibby’s arrival. With the successful off season aquisitions we’ve made and the improvement we’ll see from our key players, I think this is going to be an exciting season for us Hawk fans.
Stating The Obvious
August 27th, 2009
11:46 am
Sekou,
what about a trade of Joe Johnson + Horford for Jermaine O’Neal? I think getting a true bigman will do wonders for us
Stating the Obvious
August 27th, 2009
11:56 am
Failing to put my “middle name” in lower-case clinches that the real StO did not make that post. First Hms and now me. I guess some people don’t have anything better to do with their time.
Doug
August 27th, 2009
11:59 am
Stating the Obvious: You must be, of course, being sarcastic with that trade proposal for some reason…only a complete idiot would seriously propose trading Horford for Jermaine O’Neal….much less throwing in Joe Jojhnson??? So in what vein is the sarcasm directed??
Rod from College Park
August 27th, 2009
12:36 pm
Samuel,
Keep it up. I can’t say that I agree, but some of the responses are amazing. Havlick? How about using examples from the last two decades. No wonder these guys never agree with anything I post. They are still living in the 60’s and 70’s. Correct me if I’m wrong but black people were still cosidered to be less than a man at that time. It’s 2009 people. Maybe they think Marvin would have been great in the 60’s and 70’s, that is why the love him so much. Ok, I understand now.
Rod from College Park
August 27th, 2009
12:41 pm
Doug,
He is serious. He OBVIOUSLY is a complete idiot. I realized that long ago. Before you even say something dumb, I don’t have the time or desire to post as you. It’s probably one of you lunchroom buddies.
Astro Joe
August 27th, 2009
12:59 pm
Rod, you seem to think that Marvin is 3/5ths of a players.
Stating the Obvious
August 27th, 2009
1:01 pm
Lololol…wasn’t even me, Rod. You obviously knew that from reading the post right after it. Nice try, though.
And you made a post about the back-and-forth between Sautee and SAmuel and you STILL couldn’t keep from dising Marvin. It’s ok. Go back to your sad pathetic life obsessing about Marvin.
PS – Are you back on your meds? Is Sam gone?
Stating the Obvious
August 27th, 2009
1:16 pm
Why am i still here? nobody likes me
Ken Strickland
August 27th, 2009
1:18 pm
JERRUWEST-Good point. I once thought ALaw was not allowed an opportunity to atart because he wasn’t a prolific jumpshooter. But I realized AJohnson wasn’t a prolific jumpshooter by a long shot, yet he started and got plenty of mins. Then I thought he just wanted jumpshooting PG’s like Bibby and TLue, but he had no problem playing Speedy, when he was able to play. Acie’s DEF certainly wasn’t an issue, when compared to a pair of DEF liabilities like TLue and Bibby. A number of people, including Woodson, used Acie’s injuries as an excuse, but his injuries can’t account for the excessive number of DNP coaches decision that appeared next to his name ehen he was healthy. TLue certainly had as many isssues with injuries as Acie, if not more, and it didn’t stop him from getting heavy mins.
Then I considered it might have been his attitude towards rookie PG’s, but he had no problem starting Royal Ivey as a rookie, although he didn’t play much after the 1st Qtr. So, all that’s left to consider are personal issues towards Acie, which likely reflected the personal issues that developed between Woodson and BK.
Daniel
August 27th, 2009
1:23 pm
Astro Joe- that was hilarious.
Hoops
August 27th, 2009
1:32 pm
We need to move Morris to allow Siler and Hunter more PT. Also, we need a bigger and stronger backup SF.
This is probably a stupid question, but would Portland consider trading Travis Outlaw? Speculation is his playing time is going to be cut. All we could offer them is Morris, Evans, and a second round draft pick. The salaries will work. Any thoughts?
Yupperz
August 27th, 2009
1:45 pm
Blazers wouldnt go for that – some other team will offer them more.
Daniel
August 27th, 2009
1:53 pm
Yupperz and Hoops,
I disagree. I think that is too much to give up for Outlaw. RandMo, whatever, but Evans AND a second rounder? A little steep. Now, if it is a protected second rounder(i.e. not the Houston one, which should be high next year) then maybe.
Daniel
August 27th, 2009
1:56 pm
Ultimately, I am not as down on Maurice as you are Hoops. I know you are not out to get him or anything. I think he was called on for too many minutes in a starting role last year because of Marvin’s injury. In his natural role, coming off the bench, second wave, I think he can be quite effective, even a spot start here or there. He got a little exposed last year, but he was playing if not out of position, certainly out of rotation.
FlashGordon
August 27th, 2009
2:08 pm
What is the word on Randolph Morris progress? He was highly rated years ago and is still young. Is he progressing?
GeeMack
August 27th, 2009
2:50 pm
Ken Strickland
August 27th, 2009
2:07 am
What up Ken? I normally enjoy your post, however the post concerning the Hawks challenging for the 3rd seed is a stretch at best. I think challenging washington for the 4th or 5th seed in the playoffs is more realistic based on the moves all the eastern conference teams have made.
I think the Hawks made some good moves to be able to compete for the 4th or 5th seed in the east. Our competition is not the 3 Eastern elites in bottom 5 playoff positions.
jerrywest
August 27th, 2009
3:16 pm
Sekou,
What do you think about making a poll like this on AJC Sports page?
Poll: Which player will exceed expectations the most in 2009-10
Horford / Josh / Marvin / Crawford /Teague
Mystikal
August 27th, 2009
3:19 pm
From what we know about Woody, it is tough to get out of his doghouse. And with us getting Joe Smith inked and probably another big (even if Siler), don’t think is likely that Randmo will ever see the floor. So whether than just letting him collect checks on the bench another year why don’t we trade him for a second rounder or cash? And for those who haven’t completely given up on him “YET” i’m curious what you’re expecting to see out of him?
Melvin
August 27th, 2009
3:39 pm
And some want to say Josh is over paid well look at this list yahoo have comprise… The top 3 are Knicks players..lol… Dang, Isiah…
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-top-10-worst-free-agent-signings-of-the-deca;_ylt=Aqb2rU.tEWFXuHdv1gwecSa8vLYF?urn=nba,185489
Daniel
August 27th, 2009
3:42 pm
Mystikal- if we could trade RandMo for a second rounder then Sund is a genius.
GeeMack- Are you serious? C’mon man I thought you had more faith in your team. We are going to be very good, a deeper team with more veteran leadership. Boston got Sheed, nice move, but who is to say that Garnett will be the same player? Pierce and Allen are getting old.
Clevland- I will believe the Shaq thing when I see it. Talk about an old lumbering front court. Yes, they have LeBron, but I am not sure they are really that improved.
Orlando made the best move in picking up Bass (I will concede that point) and they do get Jameer back, but VC for Turk? that is a push at best. And they WAAAY overpaid for Gortat, that contract is going to come back to haunt them.
We are definitely closer to the top three than the 5-8.
Daniel
August 27th, 2009
3:45 pm
MYSTIKAL- anyone who hasn’t given up on RandMo yet either is still watching his AAU tapes from 6 years ago or are the ASG that have to pay him $800K.
The guy is GARBAGE!!!
Only Lorenzen Wright is worse.
Hoops
August 27th, 2009
4:32 pm
Daniel,
I get the feeling that you don’t like Morris. Hopefully he will be great in his limited playing time this year and earn your respect!
Daniel
August 27th, 2009
4:40 pm
Hoops- what would ever lead you to that idea. I probably dislike Morris as much as Rod hates Marvin or Ken hates Woodson.
GeeMack
August 27th, 2009
4:41 pm
Daniel
What up D? Man you know I love the Hawks! I think we did a good job in getting deeper as a team across the board, but you can’t seriously say these are champioship contender moves.
Say what you will about Bos but the nucleus of PP KG & Ray is still 5 years better than JJ Josh & Al our 3 best players. Our best player JJ would be the 3rd best player in Bos behind KG & PP.
You are correct Orlando overpaid for Gortat & I think it will bite them in the long run. However VC is a much better player than Turk. They are still deep adding Matt Barnes, Bass, AJ will be back Petrius is still there & Gortat, they are just as deep as the Hawks.
Cle. got deeper as well. Don’t just look at the shaq move they also sign AParker & JMoon for perimeter defense. They got deeper than last year and added fire power.
I think the team that will compete with us all year as long as they are healthy is Washington. They are just as talented as us in the starting and their bench is just as deep: adding RFoye & Alberto with Nick Young (who killed us last year) DeShawn & Blatche. That’s a nice mix of veterans and youth.
I never said we didn’t get better and deeper, because I think we did. I just don’t think we have the personnel to leap frog Bos Orl & Cle.
Ken Strickland
August 27th, 2009
5:15 pm
GEEMACK-how many people thought the Hawks would successfully compete for a playoff spot and take Boston to a 7gm series in 08? How many thought we’d successfully compete and win the 4th seed and advance to the 2nd rd in last yrs playoffs? If you operate on the premise that your team can’t successfully compete for a higher goal, it won’t happen.
Orlando lost starters HTurkoglu, RAlston and CLee, and they’ll start the season without starter RLewis. They’ll start the season with 4 new starters from last yrs finals team. In addition, they lost TBattie, JRichardson, BCook and AFoyle. They’ll start the season having to deal with a butt load of changes, adjustments and chemistry issues. And there is absolutely nothing that would indicate BBass will provide more than HTurkoglu, or that VCarter can become a better team player than he’s been in the past.
UGA
August 27th, 2009
6:14 pm
Johan Petro just signed with Denver, scratch him off the list now. Guess we better lock up Collins.
A Quest Called Tribe
August 27th, 2009
6:21 pm
WHY COULDN’T WE SIGN PETRO OR FOYLE. THERE IS SOMETHING CLEARLY WRONG WITH SUND AND ASG BECAUSE THEY LET 2 MORE BIG MEN GET AWAY, JUST LIKE HE LET GOODEN, RATLIFF, AND WILCOX GET AWAY. I DON’T CARE THAT WE SIGNED JOE SMITH. I WANT US TO SIGN EVERY BIG MAN WHO BECOMES AVAILABLE.
UNLESS OUR ROSTER CONSISTS OF 15 MEDIOCRE BIG MEN, RICK SUND IS A FAILURE AND THE HAWKS ARE HEADED FOR THE LOTTERY.
Hoops
August 27th, 2009
7:20 pm
Tribe,
That’s funny! I hope you don’t believe it.
Hoops
August 27th, 2009
7:42 pm
Off of Twitter-Adam Harrington and Corsley Edwards to workout with Hawks. Who are these two players? Size, position, playing experience, age?
Big Ray
August 27th, 2009
8:09 pm
Hoops,
Clearly that was somebody making fun of A Tribe Called Quest, hence the reversing of words in his name.
I see somebody is also making fun of Stating the Obvious and Hms (and who knows who else), or so it would seem. What’s funny is that THIS “someone” doesn’t realize that while you can change the name you use, as well as the email address, you can’t change the IP address.
I could tell you who it is, but there’s really no point. Very few listen to what he has to say anyhow, because it rarely makes sense.
Ah, what the hell, here’s a couple hints: 1)he will post under your name and say that you’re gay, 2)he can’t stand Ken Strickland or Sekou (likes to call them Uncle Tom), 3)he likes to accuse people of being members of the KKK if they disagree with his posts.
Sound like anybody y’all know?
Big Ray
August 27th, 2009
8:15 pm
Astro Joe ,
Your point is well taken. Clearly Bibby brings qualities to the table that balance out his problems. Many players do, or they wouldn’t be playing much. I think the issue is that there are too many left or right “extremist” lines of thought in some of the posts. Some people want to pencil in Teague as a starter and throw Bibby out the window, with Teague having played nary an NBA game. Others want to say that Teague will amount to nothing. Still others say Teague has no chance in this league because he’s playing for Woody.
Or so the posts go, initially (some people actually believe this stuff though). I think it only stands to reason that if Bibby’s good points didn’t outweigh his bad points, then he wouldn’t be starting or making the kind of money he has in the past (or even now), much less be re-signed here. Likewise, I believe that Teague will show that his good stuff outweighs his bad stuff.
And no way would Woody give Bibby so much credit for regular and postseason success the last two years if he wasn’t getting the job done. Will that stop us from complaining about his defense or if he goes 2-11 in a game? Not anymore than it will stop people from complaining when Josh manages only three rebounds, generates 4 turnovers, and complains 18 times to the same ref while the ball is still in play, LOL!
…or pick your own scenario…
Big Ray
August 27th, 2009
8:27 pm
Sekou,
I believe it was MannyT who coined the term “canniblogging.” Now that Joe Smith is signed, there will be more. And I think we have discussed before how it’s abnormal for the #19 pick to be an instant starter for a 4th seed playoff team. But that won’t stop folks from having their fun, now will it? Heh!
Ed,
I agree. Woody won’t give Teague a free ride. He’s old school and I can appreciate the attitude of “you’re going to have to work for it.” At the same time, it can never hurt when the head coach looks at a rookie player and says, “that guy has the skills to get the job done.” In my mind, that leaves nothing but the work ethic/habits and hopefully a continual clean bill of health on the part of the player.
Ken,
I’m not sure how the Orlando situation will play out. We may have a better shot at Boston than we do Orlando, or even maybe even Cleveland. They are all the big 3 for a reason. The biggest key for us is not necessarily what they have, and what they can do. It’s what kind of organic growth, chemistry, and cohesion we can come up with. It’s really on us. We can do a lot when we play well together. When we don’t, well you see what happens.
GeeMack,
Just to quibble a bit with one point you made. We will not be challenging Washington for the 4th seed. They will have to challenge US . I don’t care what NBA.com or anybody else says. Arenas is not a team-building player, he is a scorer and a spotlight hog. I don’t hate him, I don’t even dislike him. But if people think Vince Carter is me-first, then they haven’t met Agent Zero.
If making the team’s nightly scoring average higher makes the team better, then Arenas qualifies. That’s about it. And I think anybody who automatically pencils that team in ahead of us is a fool. They have a new coach, and a third of their roster is changed. They have very little solid help in the front line, and their backcourt is jammed big time. Nope, we won’t be challenging. They’ll be challenging us. We were last season’s 4th seed. They were nobody.
Big Ray
August 27th, 2009
9:22 pm
Here are some thoughts on Orlando.
As guys like Astro Joe have noted, these guys had quite a gap on us in the win totals, and it would be quite the feat to close that gap.
There was one issue and one name that kept popping up in my mind, even as the playoffs were still on.
First, it cannot be said any plainer than this: Orlando is deep. Deep in ways other teams only wish they were. Dwight Howard is the best center in the game. But behind and beside him are this trio of big bodies: Marcin Gortat, Adonal Foyle, and Brandon Bass. I don’t think I need to go into that at all. Consider that the Magic went to the NBA Finals with two finesse guys in Lewis and Turkoglu as Howard’s main help last season. Add the energetic Bass to the equation and even the sweet-shooting Ryan Anderson and, well…
Then there is the perimeter. Start with Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter. Then add Matt Barnes (and Ryan Anderson). Even Pietrus is good for a few 3s if you give him the ball. The shooter-starved Sixers are probably cursing them as we speak.
No doubt adding Vince Carter adds a 20-30 point threat on a nightly basis. But the offense ran through Turkoglu. And is it just me, or is a team’s defining moments not more evident down the stretch of the season, and in the playoffs? Those defining moments included both Turkoglu and Alston, both of whom are now gone. Leaving one person who will be tasked with that job. Jameer Nelson.
So what of Jameer Nelson? Will he be able to facilitate to all these scorers? Where is the true facilitator on this roster? Anthony Johnson is an okay backup, and Lue figures to play very little, if at all. Where does Jason Williams fit into all of this? I don’t know. Once again, that leaves Nelson, who, before getting injured, was enjoying an all-star invite season, in which he fed off of Howard and the others to the tune of 16 points and 5 assists per.
And that was with a 2-guard platoon of youngster Courtney Lee, and defense-first Mickael Pietrus. Now he has Vince Carter. Oh, and Matt Barnes. Heh. If those guys aren’t shooting, they aren’t helping.
So how will the frayed-haired, loud-mouth Van Gundy make this work? I don’t know. But something tells me that Jameer Nelson just made his first and last all-star game last season. For a team like this to win, Nelson just about has to become a pass-first, shoot 4th point guard. Or this team won’t be as successful as last season. It’s not like somebody else in that starting lineup can or will become a facilitator and do so successfully by sacrificing their own offensive numbers.
Lastly, a warning to Mr. Nelson: This team enjoyed greater success last season than imagined, and they did it without you. Not only did they do it without you, but they did it with a guy who was brought over much like Bibby was for the Hawks in ‘08. It can happen again…
Oh, one more thing. Just what did Nelson do to incur an all-star invitation last year? If 16 and 5 gets you there, somebody has been cheating Mike Bibby for years. That’s right. Mike Bibby.
Mystikal
August 27th, 2009
9:29 pm
What do you guys think Orlando’s starting lineup will be?
I think either:
Nelson Nelson
Vince Vince
Barnes or Lewis
Lewis Bass
Howard Howard
They have a lot of new pieces and will have to run completely new
offense without Turk, but i’ll give them they’re able to put very
versatile lineups on the floor
Mystikal
August 27th, 2009
9:44 pm
About the wizards, remember their success a couple yrs ago was under Eddie Jordan in his Princeton offense. That was largely what made them so successful. I forget who the new coach is, but they will have to learn a new scheme (likely not as beneficial), have to adjust to new teammates, and all that on top of returning from all the injuries. A lot of obstacles to overcome for a team supposed to challenge us for a top seed.