“Are the Hawks legitimate threats to win the Eastern Conference now?”
Apparently he's no fan of Iso-Joe, man.
Dallas–I asked the question, these guys answered at the Hall of Fame presser (where former Hawks player/coach Richie Guerin was included among 19 finalists):
Bill Walton
“The Hawks have to make the leap forward that good teams sometimes accomplish but often fail at. Their success will come when they understand that it’s about the team and it’s about ball movement. Unless you have Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or LeBron James on your team, or . . . one of the greatest of the greats, a select few in the history of basketball—unless you have one of those guys you are not going to be able to win by playing off the dribble.”
‘Nique
“Oh, yeah. No question. The thing is it is OK for us to be the underdog. In the East they know this Atlanta team is for real and we have a legitimate shot of beating anyone in the East. If you are going to take us for granted going into the playoffs that is going to be a mistake.”
Magic Johnson
“The Hawks are the team that everybody doesn’t want to play because of the athletes, Joe Johnson, Horford now has got his offense going I love his development. You look at the firepower that Jamal brings from the bench, I’m enjoying watching him. What they must not do in the second half is slide. . . . (Now they must) tell us, ‘Have you grown?’ It has got to be in you. Show everybody that you’ve grown, you learned from what happened in a seven-game series (vs. Boston), you learned from what happened last year as well and now you want to take it to another level. Let’s see that. Are you going to show us now?”
MC
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114 comments Add your comment
Ken Strickland
February 14th, 2010
2:33 am
I just can’t believe how anyone with an actual basketball IQ could think Allstar center AHorford is a bigger problem for the Hawks than PG MBibby, who should be benched or have his mins drastically reduced. Among all centers, Horford’s ranking is: DD-10th, PPG-#12, RPG-#10, BPG-#18, APG-#6, SPG-#11 & FG%-6TH. Among all PG’s Bibby is ranked PPG-#23, APG-#23, SPG-#19, FG%-#22, 3PT%-#23. Bibby doesn’t lead the team in a single category and is a complete liability on DEF. Part of the problem Horford and Smoove have on DEF is the complete absence of pressure on the ball to prevent the easy entry passes, and Bibby’s STARGATE PORTAL INTO THE LANE DEF.
Since some of you seem to think Horford isn’t good enough to take a team to a NBA title, I looked at the centers that played on the last 6 NBA championship teams, and here’s what I found.
YR TEAM PLAYER PPG RPG BPG APG SPG
04 PISTONS BWallace 9.5 12.4 3.04 1.70 1.77
05 SPURS NMohammed 9.5 7.6 1.12 .4 .75
06 HEAT SOneal 20.0 9.2 1.76 1.90 .39
07 SPURS FElson 5.0 4.8 .84 .80 .44
08 CELTICS KPerkins 6.9 6.1 1.46 1.10 .40
09 LAKERS ABynum 14.3 8.0 1.80 1.4 .36
10 Hawks AHorford 13.4 9.4 1.22 2.1 .69
It doesn’t take much of an IQ to figure out you can win an NBA title with Horford at center. However, it makes little difference who we have at center if we continue to rely on a starting PG that plays no DEF, struggles to score in double figures, barely dishes more assists than our PF, can’t penetrate or create easy scoring opportunities for others, and is basically relegated to shooting 3’s.
fellow student in Ken's third grade class
February 14th, 2010
7:05 am
Enter your comments here
The teacher of Ken's third grade class inwhich he is currently enrolled
February 14th, 2010
7:08 am
Ken so you are saying that Hoe ford cannot and will not be able to defend the post because he is the #18 center as far as blocking shots? I agree with that analysis. He not much of a defender.
not going to happen
February 14th, 2010
7:22 am
Getting your butts kiced by 16 at home by the Heat shows what kind of team this is….would never happen to Boston or Cleveland. Will not make the semis.
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
February 14th, 2010
8:54 am
Dennis G. Berdanis
“It’s funny that Boston and Orlando have been just as inconsistent at the Hawks, (only Cleveland has consistenly played at a higher level) but we’re the ones not considered a contender. Hmmm.”
Dennis there are several things to consider
1) Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland have proved themselves in recent years to get DEEP in the playoffs, we havent.
2) Boston and Orlando have been banged up with injuries, we havent.
3) When you talk of the east’s 4 best teams, We are the only one who have thrown complete goose eggs against atleast “2″ of the other teams. Boston is the only one of the other 3 top teams we even have wins against.
That’s why many look at them as contenders, but not us.
bigdave
February 14th, 2010
10:39 am
i dont see why we would be campaigning for Amare in Cleveland.. sure in theory there will be some immediate chemistry issues etc. thats until they figure it out and go on runs like their on now… bottom line is they are acquiring talent and free throw attempts, its no question as to who’s team it is.
as it relates to Hawks v Cavs Z’s size and ability to stretch the floor has always been a problem for us so there’s a plus. however, Amare’s jumper is respectable and he brings youthful legs. im sure Z feels betrayed after all those years with Cleveland. could we pick him up? Hickson’s game has taken strides and he will be a better player than i initially thought next to Nash. like ours, at times Cleveland’s offense stalls. Hawks are a decent at defending iso’s (probably b/c they see it so much in practice). with Amare i think we’ll see a lot less short clocks against them b/c they can play much faster with more ball movement, which is when the queen is at his best. please someone tell me how you defend an Amare/ queen pick and roll…?
Sautee
February 14th, 2010
11:17 am
bigdave,
“please someone tell me how you defend an Amare/ queen pick and roll…?”
Switch and avert your eyes?
jerrywest
February 14th, 2010
11:54 am
Each elite team not only has a superior superstar, the team also spends $20-$25 million more on its supporting cast. The elite teams also get the calls from refereees because the advertisers who pay the tabs demand it. How can we compete against that?
jerrywest
February 14th, 2010
11:56 am
Joe must demand that we fill up our 15 man roster with players who can contribute toward a championship run. I hope he has the understanding to use this leverage. Obviously, his agent is dumb.
LY Munz
February 14th, 2010
12:13 pm
As long as Marvin Williams is on this team we are going nowhere. God, just the thought of his fat duck butt on the court makes me vomit. What a disgraceful draft pick by Knight and even more disgraceful 5 year deal by Sund.
LY Munz
February 14th, 2010
12:14 pm
Imagine Deron Williams in Hawks jersey
LY Munz
February 14th, 2010
12:15 pm
Also, MC, keep up the good work man. You are more than taking care of the loss that was Sekou. Keep it up!
Rip Van Winkle
February 14th, 2010
5:13 pm
Why werent we smart enough to go after stodumire? Imaging JJ and crawford playing an inside out side game with Amare. We would have a near impossible to stop offense. Instead Horford offers a welcome mat to anyone who wants to drive to the basket. What a joke to think we could go to a championship.
No, our management wont spend the money to get the talent necessary to win championship. I Wouldnt blame JJ or Woodson for going some place where the management is serious about championships!
Donnie Hammonds
February 16th, 2010
10:23 am
Of course they (Can) be contenders but they won’t if they keep allowing joe johnson hold the ball 20 secs out of the 24 shot clock poss. The hawks can be an elite team if they use what they have correctly. I think woody needs to demand more ball rotation from the guys because thats when their most successful. Joe is a allstar not a Superstar there’s a big difference. We have enough solid core players where we don’t have to rely on one guy for scoring move the ball and the offense will come easily.
We have to get scrappy on the defensive end of the ball from the begining til the end if we won’t to contend. We have to have that defensive intensity that the celtics had when they won the championship two years ago and we can win the big dance