Flip’s gone, time for camp
Flip Murray and Mike Woodson had a great year together, but that's history now. Murray has moved on to Charlotte and the Hawks are on the eve of training camp with a different mix of players.
HAWKSVILLE – One last time, Flip Murray is gone.
It’s over. And it’s official.
Take one last good look at him in his Hawks uniform (above next to Hawks coach Mike Woodson) and then move on.
Charlotte’s gain is the Hawks’ loss, until you scan the recently released training camp roster and realize that guys that the man replacing Flip as the Hawks’ third guard is a player that by any measure is a far better player. Whether or not he’s a better fit on this team remains to be seen. But anyone making the argument for Flip over Jamal Crawford needs to clean the lenses on their BlueBlockers.
And don’t get me wrong, I think was extremely valuable to the Hawks’ cause last season. He was a great fit at the perfect time for a team that desperately needed a tough guy with a no-nonsense attitude coming off the bench to help energize their second unit. But this idea that Flip won games for the Hawks last season is make believe.
It never happened.
Would I have love to see Flip remain in a Hawks uniform? Sure. That would have been ideal. But him moving on to a one-year deal with the Bobcats doesn’t shift the balance of power in the Southeast Division either.
Now there are plenty of people within the Hawks organization that disagree with me. They’ve been arguing me down all summer about Flip. They contend he was far more valuable than anyone realized, that he was a stabilizing locker room presence and the unsung guts of the team. Could be. But I never witnessed that sort of impact on or off the floor.
In fact, I’d argue that Mo Evans was every bit as crucial to the Hawks’ 47-win season of a year ago. He was actually pressed into service as a starter (for an injured Marvin Williams (and the Hawks won roughly 67 percent of the games in which Evans started). Flip was never called upon to shoulder the load of say a Mike Bibby or Joe Johnson for an extended stretch of the season.
I suspect Flip’s loss will have the same impact the loss of the man he replaced (Josh Childress) had on this team the year before …
TRAINING CAMPERS
The training camp roster stands at 20 players, right at the number expected. Can’t say that there are any surprise names on the list either. You know the regulars, the guys already under guaranteed contracts for this season. What deserves further scrutiny is the eight players on the training camp roster that are looking for work. A brief breakdown of each guy and the initial outlook of his chances of securing that 13th roster spot (and perhaps the 14th if someone makes a definitive case for sticking around):
JUAN DIXON – The internal concerns about the Hawks’ point guard depth is reflected in the number of veteran guards on the camp roster, highlighted by this veteran guard. Dixon has never carved a niche for himself as a starting point guard but he’s been a factor on several teams as a situational combo guard. He’ll need a huge showing in camp to snag a roster spot.
OTHELLO HUNTER — Having already made the team this way a year ago, Hunter knows the odds are stacked against him sticking this year. The Hawks are deeper in the frontcourt and they’re not as likely to keep a developmental player on the roster if they’re only going to keep 13 players. Still, Hunter has improved as much anyone on the roster from this time a year ago. And with a strong camp, he could force the Hawks to consider keeping him.
AARON MILES – Miles made an appearance on the Hawks’ practice court during the workout season before the 2005 draft but has been basically a pro basketball journeyman since then. He’s a competitor and the kind of guy that always raises the meter defensively but he would appear to be an extreme long-shot to be here beyond the end of camp.
FRANK ROBINSON – One of the more intriguing players you’ll see in camp, Robinson continues to impress with his all-around skill (think a more skilled offensive player with Mario West-like energy). If you see him in action on a daily basis you keep asking yourself, “why isn’t this guy on someone’s roster?” Then you remember his problem is like most guys his size that play his position, they’d have to face the likes of Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson on a nightly basis in the league. But keep an eye on Mr. Robinson. He’ll turn some heads.
GARRET SILER – Augusta’s Finest is looking svelte these days, somewhere in the neighborhood of 280 pounds or so, per one of my spies. He’s going to make you take notice because he’s usually going to be the biggest man in the room or on the floor. That doesn’t mean he’s not skilled, because he is. And that doesn’t mean the Hawks aren’t serious about gauging his long-term potential, because they are. Training camp and the preseason schedule will be the true test for Siler. If he proves he can hold up against top-flight competition over the course of the next month it’ll be hard to send him packing.
COURTNEY SIMS – I’m giving Sims the early nod as the favorite for the MOST SURPRISING CAMPER award. And it has nothing to do with the fact that he spent undergrad in Ann Arbor toiling for the Michigan basketball program. Sims was the D-League MVP last season and has matured tremendously since college. His frame (6-11 and 240 pounds) is much sturdier now and he has a face-up game that stretches beyond the 3-point line (if needed). I want to see how he deals with Al Horford and Josh Smith on a daily basis in camp.
MARIO WEST – If folks thought West was fighting for his life to make the roster the last two years, you’d be wise to pop some popcorn for the show I expect him to put on this time around. No one outworks the maniacal former Georgia Tech standout. While he’s been nursing some nagging injuries in recent weeks, there’s no doubt he’ll crank up the energy next week. The sticking point for West, however, is his salary number. As a rookie and second year player, with a salary under $1 million, West was a fantastic investment. Three years in, though, and his roughly $1 million price tag seems a bit high (to some) for a player that you know probably won’t play much unless there are injury catastrophes in the backcourt.
MIKE WILKS – Like Dixon, Wilks looks more like veteran point guard insurance. And he’s had stints with several teams that proved he could be a legitimate NBA contributor. But the idea of another 6-foot (or thereabouts) point guard on a team that already boasts Bibby and promising rookie Jeff Teague just doesn’t add up. Barring an absolutely stunning performance in camp, I have a hard time justifying a spot for Wilks or any other undersized point guard.
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287 comments Add your comment
Big Ray
September 27th, 2009
11:11 pm
….unless somebody offers him nicer money for a chance to compete for a championship NOW, and the luxury of playing with another bonafide star….but I ain’t tryin’ to borrow trouble….
niremetal
September 27th, 2009
11:23 pm
But on another set of topics…
KevinA,
You expect 800-900 less attempts from the backcourt overall?? That’s just crazy. JJ, Flip, and Bibby combined for ~3200 shots last year, so 800-900 fewer attempts would mean slashing the backcourt touches by more than a quarter. Our frontcourt rotation (Josh/Marvin/Al/Zaza) combined for ~2400 attempts. Transferring 800-900 shots would give the Hawks one of the most frontcourt-heavy offenses in the league. I agree we should have more touches for the frontcourt, but that would be swinging the pendulum too far in the other direction. To paraphrase our president, we need a scalpel, not a hatchet.
And not to put too fine a point on it, but with the exception of Marvin and Joe Smith (who play more on the perimeter anyway), the frontcourt guys on our roster are always going to be known more for their defense and rebounding than their offense. All of them are more about strength, power, and (in the case of Josh/Al) explosiveness than finesse. On the other hand, our backcourt has three guys now who can shoot lights out, including two guys who can score both off the drive and from deep. So every halfway decent coach in the league would tilt the Hawks’ offense at least a little more towards the backcourt than usual (and offenses usually tilt more towards the backcourt anyway…that’s just the nature of the modern game). They just probably wouldn’t tilt it quite as heavily as Woody has.
Should the frontcourt get a few more touches per game? Absolutely. We need more balance. Should the backcourt’s touches get slashed by a full 25% and give the Hawks one of the NBA’s most frontcourt-heavy offenses? No freaking way. That would just replace one kind of imbalance with another.
KevinA
September 27th, 2009
11:26 pm
Doug
September 27th, 2009
8:44 pm
Thats one part of our offense I never did understand. Our bigs being outside the 3pt line. Why they don’t slide to the free throw line? Beats me.
niremetal
September 27th, 2009
11:41 pm
And PS – if you want to quibble and count Marvin with the backcourt players, the point still stands. Just check out the FGAs from around the league last season on basketball-reference and compare teams’ PG/SG FGAs to their PF/C FGAs. With the exception of Orlando (which has D-12) and Houston (which has Yao), every team with a winning record had significantly more touches for their backcourt than their frontcourt. Including San Antonio, which has quite possibly the league’s best PF/C.
As I said, we need a scalpel, not a hatchet…
KevinA
September 27th, 2009
11:56 pm
niremetal,
Your math will be a little different if you include Flips shots. My math figures around roughly 2-3 shots per quarter. Why does that seem like such a big deal to you.
Would your idea of a better balance be deferring 1 shot per quarter? that’s 328 attempts in an 82 game season. I believe we need more change of direction than that.
You know what?- I am not so tied up in shot attempts but passing to these guys first early in the clock. This would mean a more up tempo set up. Getting into sets quickly will allow more time to pass back and try again before settling on the jumper.
Best case scenario, We go to the big’s enough that teams respect and change the defense to guard against it. Then of course the ball kicks out to three of the most dangerous guards in the NBA.
niremetal
September 28th, 2009
12:02 am
KevinA,
Read my post more carefully. I DID include Flip’s shots.
In fact, re-read my entire post again, because it’s pretty clear you missed the point. The change you suggest would make the Hawks among the league’s most frontcourt-heavy offensive teams. Does that really make sense considering the relative offensive talents of the players on our roster?
KevinA
September 28th, 2009
12:03 am
All attempts are not created equal. Lets take the example of Parker vrs. Bibby. What type of attempts do you prefer. For every added drive our back court makes, drop that number from the 2-3 attempts per quarter to the front court. Does that make more sense to you? A little less crazy?
niremetal
September 28th, 2009
12:13 am
Got cut off there – I wanted to say a couple more things.
I do agree with your idea that we should get the ball to the frontcourt early in the shot clock…as long as the frontcourt players show that they have the offensive awareness to know when to go up and when to kick out. And to be blunt, while I’m pretty confident Horford can do that, Josh and Zaza both have a tendency towards tunnel vision when they get the ball down low. That’s precisely why so few teams run their offense through the frontcourt, and why I’d be wary of a drastic cut in shots.
And 2.5-3 FGAs per quarter is a lot when you consider that we only take 19-20 FGAs per quarter total. To put it into context, that would be like a football team running 9-10 more running plays per game and making 9-10 fewer passes – it only comes out to 2.5-3 per quarter, but that makes a pretty big difference in the team’s offensive balance. That’s the difference between a run-heavy team and a pass-heavy team.
kwooden1
September 28th, 2009
12:13 am
I will start by saying Thanks for the great year Flip! I’m glad to see Flip get a raise, I hate to see him go to a team in our division, especially a rival! Either way I’m happy for Flip because he really made a difference for the team.
I will also say I’ve been on the side of finding an improvement for Woodson and that still really hasn’t changed, but some of his comments in Sekou’s article really shed some light on why I think the guys always stand up for him. Woodson said, “Last year, yeah, I burnt guys. I have to try and play Joe differently this year. I look at the Lakers and what they did by getting Ron Artest, and all I can think is that Kobe is going to be a beast this year because he won’t have to guard the other team’s best player this year.” With this quote he did two major things:
1) Didn’t openly called out Bibby for being unable to play defense on many PGs in the league.
2) Put JJ in the same class as Kobe
Whether you agree or not he supports his guys but also calls things like he sees them. We all know that Bibby couldn’t guard many PGs, but we also know he won games for us. JJ isn’t Kobe, but he’s our version. I think players know their own shortcomings, so there’s no need to openly down them. If this is how Woody operates in the locker room, its probably the reason the team has never not played for him. For all I can say about his in game decisions and lack of using players, the guys seem to respect him and play hard. (especially on the defensive end) Because of this, I expect for him to be successful this season. I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform against the big 4! (Lakers, Orlando, Celtics, Cleveland)
GO HAWKS!!
rms
September 28th, 2009
12:23 am
I hear Flip had talks with Cleveland before he chose Charlotte. I wonder what made him chose Charlotte over having a chance to win a ring with the Cavs.
niremetal
September 28th, 2009
12:24 am
Kevin,
You can’t look at these things on a micro level. That’s not how NBA teams scout each other, and that’s not taking into account the impact that it would have on the Hawks’ offense relative to the rest of the league. Your “2.5-2.75 attempts per quarter” (which is what 800-900 per year comes down to) is the difference between the Hawks being one of the league’s 5 most backcourt-heavy offensive teams to being one of the league’s 5 most frontcourt-heavy offensive teams.
The macro level is what matters because the micro level loses too much of the context. So answer me this: Do you think the Hawks should be one of the 5 most frontcourt-heavy offensive teams in the league? Do you think that is where our best offensive players lie?
One shot per quarter more for the offense comes out to 328 more during the course of the year. That would put the Hawks right in line with the league average. Why would we want to swing further than that?
KevinA
September 28th, 2009
12:30 am
kwooden1
September 28th, 2009
12:13 am
For all I can say about his in game decisions and lack of using players, the guys seem to respect him and play hard. (especially on the defensive end) Because of this, I expect for him to be successful this season.
Well said, another Hawk plus is being down and fighting back to win or make games close. This only works with good defensive effort.
niremetal
September 28th, 2009
12:35 am
To use another analogy – you know all those commercials that say “It’s just $1 per day!” You think “oh, I can afford that. $1 per day isn’t so bad.” Then you realize “geez, that’s $30 a month…and geez, that’s $365/year. I can’t afford that after all…”
niremetal
September 28th, 2009
12:36 am
(And that’s why niremetal doesn’t have cable…)
KevinA
September 28th, 2009
12:41 am
I don’t think we are like the rest of the teams. We are more athletic and are coming into our own. I hope when other teams think of the hawks they know there will be no plays guarding on defense. We should be known as a feared slashing and attacking team that draws a league lead in free throw attempts. Yes I think we need to over balance towards the front court until we establish that capability and respect for that part of our game.
If were successful, the ball will find it’s way back to the front court as teams collapse to guard the paint. Josh, Marvin and Al are on the verge or at this point with their skill level.
I agree with you on ZaZa 100%, he is not ready for the responsibility nor quite has the handle.
Ariose
September 28th, 2009
12:47 am
Having JJ, Crawford, Teague, And Bibby at the guards will open up easier baskets for our frontcourt. Our guards will get TONS of attention from opposing teams.
As far as the frontcourt attempts, Al and Smoove are still maturing, the better they get down there, the more the ball will swing their way…..besides, Smooove gets plenty of iso’s on the block.
In the grand sceme of things were still going to win 50+ games this year, and Joe Smith and Jason Collins solve more problems than you realize. They can both hit the midrange J with consistancy. Something Al and Smoove still need to work on. THATS what was hurting our offense, just like Childress did with his inaiblity to consistantly hit the outside jumper.
Look at Boston. Up until they actually won the title in 08′, KG was STILL considered SOFT around the basket and blamed for “not being a closer”. But if you really think about it, it was his ability to consistantly knock down that midrange J that really made that offense consistant. He wasn’t in the paint a whole lot. The same can be said for Glenn “big-baby” Davis in the 09′ season.
So I think it works both ways. A penetrating guard makes the team paint% look better, while a good shooting bigman makes the teams peremetr game look better…and of couse regardless of who takes the shots Bigs or guards, it will still reflect as an overall team stat, as far as atempts/touches are concerned, and in what area of the floor the shot is taken in.
Ariose
September 28th, 2009
12:57 am
What would happen if we asked Horford to average 20ppg by scoring 5pts a quater? We would be in trouble, thats what. Things like that, while reasonable, are a little unrealistic. That’s not taking into account who will be difending him in the paint, or the flow of the game. What if Crawford is 50pts-done deal hot one night but we forget about him so Horford can get his 20&10?
We have to take into account matchups, time, flow of the game, and the oppositions defensive scheme/prowess, and even fouls when talking about touches per quater. When you get out there it’s just unrealistic to get things to work out like team stat guru says is ideal for team effeciancy.
Some nights Smoove & Al get tons of touches, and they don’t deliver, some nights its JJ and Bibby who are struggling. You just never know.
Kinda like how The Patriots shot down our run game today (-_-) and Matty Ice had to thow it a whole lot. Thats NEVER Mike Smiths plan, but sometimes you just can’t help it.
….i’m rambling lol…..
Ariose
September 28th, 2009
1:00 am
Liar Nire pants on fire!!!! How do you watch all those Sixers games then? Borrowing from the neigbors like my cousin Romeo in Alabama huh?
Honestly though, I’d cut the cable if I had to watch the Sixers full-time too ha!
KevinA
September 28th, 2009
1:08 am
A lot of the premise for more balance in my posts was happening anyway. Marvin/Al and Josh all lost much time on the injury dole. If healthy there would have been more balance.
Aroise – to your point – stats are so hard to prove a point when each game has it’s own story. Of course we need to feed who is hot. Who cares where they shoot from.
niremetal
September 28th, 2009
1:08 am
Ariose,
League Pass Broadband, my friend. All NBA games for the full season for $85, and no need to buy a cable package. It’s brilliant.
Sadly, the ATP doesn’t have a comparable package for the Slams
MannyT
September 28th, 2009
1:20 am
@Ariose, in Philly, everyone lives within 5 minutes of a neighborhood bar. Maybe that’s where niremetal watches his televised sports.
@Tron5000-I wasn’t evaluating Shockey’s talent,but his situation. West has been hanging on with the Hawks for a few years as a local favorite. He hasn’t really moved up the rotation and he has to fight harder for his job as his salary increases.
BWAF
KevinA
September 28th, 2009
1:20 am
Maybe we need incentives like 10 assists for a game = free meal for the week. In a 10 game stretch the first player to get 40 pt’s from drives = a lap dance. Two rebounds over their average for 3 games in a row gets a kiss from every cheer leader. You – know – something worth fighting for.
If you miss three in a row you can’t shoot until you get an assist. If you do shoot again and miss – buy meals the next time out. If a front court player makes two buckets in a row and they don’t get the ball for the next four possessions – The back court has to wash their car by hand. Now I am rambling.
Ariose
September 28th, 2009
1:23 am
Nire….
!!!! I may have to look into that! But I still need to record my games lol. Some ppl dont bother watching them again, but I like to at least once the da after a win lol….not the losses…ugh..
Tennis gets snubbed so much lol….but I usually get my fix between the ESPNews updates and the mid-day replays hehehe….
KevinA, yeah I see your point. We had so may frontcourt injuries, it was hard to gain any kind of consistancy on that front.
chemdawg
September 28th, 2009
1:28 am
Sekou,
I absolutely agree the hawks are better with Crawford instead of Flip, but you’re wrong about one thing. Flip annihilated some teams in the second half last year off the bench (especially 4th qtr) and absolutely stole a few games for the hawks filling in as a spot starter. Personally, I remember him being the only one on the floor making shots for minutes at a time. Statistically, here are his top 5 point totals from games last year: 30, 29, 25, 23, 23. And, he scored at least 20 pts. a total of ten times in limited minutes. He absolutely contributed to several of the hawks wins that got them that 4th seed by 4 games over miami.
Ariose
September 28th, 2009
1:29 am
Manny, lol. Your probably right!
of course, Nire is gonna vehmently deny this….but we know the truth 
KevinA, Ha! We should try that in the preseason and see hoe it works. Something tells me that would lead to teammates fighting for some reason hehe….don’t know why.
A lot of Car washes for the backcourt, and A few lap dances for Smoove Hehehe!!!!
Ariose
September 28th, 2009
1:43 am
KevinA, of course guys like Shaq, Tim Duncan, And on Occasion Dwight Howard are the exceptons….. Like Nique’ says. “Feed Em’ and Fan Em’!!!!”
Ariose
September 28th, 2009
1:45 am
chemdawg, Exellent post! Like the Black Eyed Peas say, “Where is the Love???” Can my boy Flip get some??? He IS the topic of this blog ya know
Flip For Mayor!!!!!!
KevinA
September 28th, 2009
1:54 am
I am interested in how Coillins will be used. He sounds like a good defensive stopper for those big fellers you just mentioned. Something we have never had for some time. Do you put him in with Al and then bring in Josh with the second unit that he would destroy? Would Josh be mature enough to accept that against big front courts? Would ZaZa have issues? Are we ready for the team concept where players are pieces?
KevinA
September 28th, 2009
2:00 am
Getting back to Flip, if he is hot and causes a loss, there may be interesting blogs to read. lol We avoided that mess last year by Chills playing over seas. It will be interesting to see if we avoid this mess. I expect Larry Brown will give Flip a rip to see if we can stop him. Our work will be cut out for us.
Dashizz357
September 28th, 2009
8:50 am
Flip over Evans anyday, but how much playing time would he really see now with Teague & Crawford backing up the starters! Everyone can’t play and I’m sure Woody won’t have a 11 man rotation without someone complaining about playing time and numbers. Plus I heard Woody being a close friend to Coach Brown referred Flip!
Mike
September 28th, 2009
9:01 am
Sekou, you had me convinced on Stackhouse, despite the lack of an obvious role for him here. I was a bit surprised not to see him on the roster for camp. Do you know where he is?
ILL-logical
September 28th, 2009
9:39 am
In the discussions about the Hawks’ offensive balance, the question might be further detailed by defining what kind of shots are taken by whom and when.
Clearly, if there are fast break,leak out baskets available most often the wings get the majority of those. If, however , the half court set is employed under the current regime, the front court takes the shots.
The Hawks offense would become more”balanced” and potent , if A) the team ran more and B) there was a consistent low post threat that commanded a double team.
A is attainable ; it is a matter of coaching. B is more about the current roster but coaching – designing plays to maximize a players strengths- is a factor as well.
Daniel
September 28th, 2009
10:01 am
Great stuff over the weekend Sekou.
Interesting camp selections by the Hawks. Why no Korolev?
Seems like the Hawks will be looking for another guard, but the camp invitees look better in the front court.
I will also assume by your omission that Morris is going to make the team. I guess 800,000k is too much for the team to just eat.
Mac-Town
September 28th, 2009
10:55 am
Man, look I’m going to base this on what I’ve saw.
Mike Bibby is not exactly the best prototype PG anyway.
He had the ability to make big shots and he did, but that was basically all he was good for.
His jump shot is all he has to offer really. His defense and driving/dripping/penetraing skills are well below average…..and he’s an average passer
Flip Murray, like bibby, showed that he was unconscious with his shot, was willing to take the big shots and I remember him hitting many of them
UNLIKE bibby,
flip brought more energy on the court, was a better defender, AT LEAST as much of a vocal leader, and he could actually drive to the hole and penetrate…that would create more chances of gettin free points with the clocked stopped at the line since he would get fouled more going to the hole…..and the simple fact of actually having a guard that will penetrate would give opposing defenses THAT much more to worry about
all of that and Flip was much cheaper than Bibby.
We drafted Teague as the PG of the future, and I would have rather “experimented” with Flip at the point, being that we’d have Teague and Crawford to handle some of the load…and JJ could also run it at times during a game.
We could have used the extra money to improve in other areas like with our BIGs or another swingman.
at this stage of his career, and in comparison to what what Flip offered Vs. what Bibby offers…..(plus financial reasons) Bibby = Overrated
Should have kept Flip and let Bibby go.
Daniel
September 28th, 2009
11:36 am
Mac-Town: with player assessments like that, I am sure glad you are not the GM of this team. If you really think that Flip is anywhere near the kind of player as Bibby, you are obviously not watching much basketball. Was Bibby overpaid at $14mil. prob. but his new contract is VERY reasonable.
The whole point of Sekou’s blog was that we need to move on from Flip. He helped while here as a quality ROLE player. He is not a starting pg in the NBA.
Ramon
September 28th, 2009
11:37 am
Mac, you would’ve experimented with Flip at PG, although he was constantly harassed in the back court last season any time he played the position (even by back up PGs)? Flip can’t dribble well enough against pressure defense to be a starting PG. Flip doesn’t make any one on the team better when he’s in the game. Flip gets HIS, and no one else. Bibby is the PG who made every one on the team better when he was added to the equation. That is much more than a jump shot. Do you not remember the game when Bibby was unable to go, and the Hawks offense was nonexistent? Bibby is a liability on defense, but you do not replace a PG like Bibby with Flip ‘I don’t pass’ Murray. Another thing you forgot to add about Bibby is he is one of Woody’s best assistant coach, if not his best one. And you let him walk so Flip can start? That move would’ve surely had the Hawks playing Cleveland in the first round of the play offs to only get swept.
Daniel
September 28th, 2009
11:42 am
you do realize that Bibby is making 6 mil this year and Flip is making 2 mil, as a 3rd guard for the Bobcats.
I hear you ramon…. some people will never learn.
Ramon
September 28th, 2009
11:48 am
Daniel, I don’t know what that was about. If Flip was a good pg option, Law would’ve never gotten the playing time that he even got.
Ramon
September 28th, 2009
11:52 am
Last season in the 2 games Flip started he averaged a good 22 ppg, but 5 assists with 4 turn overs. And I think I recall those two games being losses.
Diego
September 28th, 2009
12:01 pm
I am late in the game here and have not read all the posts yet, but Sekou’s take on Flip from last year is off (and a bit disturbing). Sekou indeed must have had his head in the popcorn during a few games last year because Flip simply did win a few games for the Hawks last year. Give credit where credit is due. The Hawks would have been hurting w/o Flip as basically first guard (point or shooting) off the bench and a very dependable scorer.
Mike is back
September 28th, 2009
12:10 pm
Sekou, I seen you at the Dream game during the playoff…I thought I witness the rebirth of Latta…she played like she did back in her UNC days. They made great strides…u got it made. I see yo wolverines made the polls…congratulation.
Don’t get to write much but always enjoy the reading. Big ups to the guys that keep things rolling during the down time…its hard to believe that training camp is about to kick off…great time to be in the ATL!!!!
I like what I’m hearing from Woody. I expect to see some different wrinkles from Woodson this season he has a deeper pool of talent to work with…I believe those are obtainable goals he set for his team…he sounds like a man on a mission. He has to be thrilled with the talent he has going into to camp. They could very well challenge the big three. I think Orlando will miss Turkolu more than they think…there could be some serious chemistry issues for Orlando…the same could be said for Cleveland. This could open the door for the Hawks.
I wish Flip the best of luck with the Bobcats except when he plays us of course. lol
I don’t see where Woody could have given Flip minutes without limiting Teague. I think he learned from the situation with Acie. I think it was the drafting of Teague that made Flip expendable, not the trade for Crawford. Sund made the right move.
Teague will quiet all this chatter about Flip anyway…as for Crawford…I seen the clips guys was posting of Crawford but most of us Hawks fan should be able to remember the ease as which Crawford use to score on the Hawks when he was in the NY. This guy can light it up…just what the doctor ordered if you are the Hawks.
I can see Crawford in combinations with JJ, Bibby, Mo or Teague…depending on foul trouble or injury. They all play a different style of ball. That is yet another reason you don’t need another combo guard like Flip. As Teague continue to impress in camp…I look for the Hawks to go with emergency backup help at the 4 and 5 to fill out the roster. I’m looking for a 14 man roster. I’m still pulling for Siler and Othella to make the squad but I think the other 6’11” guy Sekou was talking about in a previous blog might knock one of these cats out. If you are the Hawks, you can’t have enough Bigs if you want to seriously compete for the Eastern Conference Title.
Nire, before you go into attack mode…excuse the English brooooooooooooo. Yeah, Big Ray…nothing worst than some Gremlin checking your English. Ooooops. heh heh
jerrywest
September 28th, 2009
12:11 pm
Sekou,
In practices, does Bibby need double team help to stop Teague?
Ramon
September 28th, 2009
12:12 pm
Raja Bell is on the trading block. So I’m curious, who would you guys rather have, Evans or Bell? It would be a dream if Bobcats took Morris for him lol.
rob
September 28th, 2009
12:18 pm
Its it true that we have a pre season game on ESPN Oct. 23 againts Orlando?
rob
September 28th, 2009
12:26 pm
Because if we do, thats when we can see how much better Atlanta is then the Magic!
Daniel
September 28th, 2009
12:34 pm
Ramon- I would rather have Bell, although Mo has more size (I believe) so he is better for SF help. If we got Bell for Morris (HA!) then Sund is automatically GM of the year. Where did you hear he was on the block? What is his contract status?
jerrywest
September 28th, 2009
12:54 pm
Was Sekou instructed to turn off his twitter at the hawks training camp today? Where did he disappear?
no name
September 28th, 2009
12:59 pm
1. Boston
2. Cleaveland
3. Atlanta
4. Orlando
5. Detroit
6. healthy Washington
7. Toranto
8. Heat
Ramon
September 28th, 2009
1:03 pm
Daniel, http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/120433-bobcats-shopping-bell the source came from Yahoo! Sports.
no name
September 28th, 2009
1:05 pm
Maybe Bobcats get in the playoffs and take the Heat out.