Atlanta Hawks: Getaway day
There will be a blog hiatus for a couple weeks while I get away for some me time. There’s a chance I might drop in with a post if anything interesting happens with the Hawks but don’t count on that (either something interesting happening or me dropping in). Meanwhile the beat will be in the capable hands of Ken S., who will chronicle the Hawks’ attempts to pluck a center from the bargain bin.
I suspect not much will have changed with my blog people when I return. Truth-Serum will still be using his multiple identities to agree with himself that Al is a terrible defensive center. JeJe will continue to rip ASG for not letting J.J. walk and using all that cap space to SIGN FREAKIN’ LEBRON. And all of you will wonder how in the heck this squad is supposed to make a move in the East with basically the same guys suiting up.
Be easy until I get back, blog people. Remember, it’s all love and and it’s just basketball . . .
MC
(Note: Commenting is closed until Michael returns Aug. 2)
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1,155 comments Add your comment
KevinM
July 25th, 2010
11:10 am
Its not about what the Hawks have done in the past that shape where they are today heading into 2010.
Have they learned their lesson from last year? I don’t think so.
The head coach is not the sole person to blame. While he gets little credit for the back to back 50 win seasons, he got the blame for the game plan.
So when is the fault on the players? Anyone? I put as much on this core as I did the coach and I would think most would agree.
So now we have LD and Lester the professor with the assignment to ‘change’ to makeup of the core.
For a guy who has been on the bench for 6 years, I don’t see how this move makes a team who can’t get a win in the 2nd round.
If we’re talking about team makeup, forget CP3 to Orlando; they are still better than us. They have a moxie that they know they can dominate us. Mentally, we can’t stop Dwight no matter how mad Steve Holman gets. Even he has to admit we have no answer, period.
I think we struggle watching the Miami HiLites take it to us on our own court. And you can bet there will be a zero home court advantage. The HiLites lose less than 15 games this year.
I can state the matchups we have with every team, but until we can beat a team regularly in the 1/2 court and we can win big games on the road. the 2nd round is our peak.
Joe doesn’t have enough game in him and we quite possibly waste Jamal Crawford’s last year here by staying intact.
The Truth
July 25th, 2010
11:39 am
Big Ray
Great 10:23 am Post
Since I have been on vacation, I see that the landscape around these blogs have certainly changed and for good reason. I have been preaching about the inactions of Sund and Co. before it was popular so now that the Truth has come to light, even the smooth feathers have been ruffled around here. With so many more bloggers calling a spade a spade without any political correctness, it means that the fans are mad as hell and are venting; it also may means that Sund hoodwinking days are over. Lies can’t live forever
Ken Strickland
July 25th, 2010
11:49 am
OBIEN-I believe Sund and the ASG felt the team needed a new HC to become a better overall team and playoff contender. However, I’m certain they are aware that more is needed in order for the team to become a serious title contend. I believe it makes more sense for them to wait until the trade deadline before making a commitment to going over the luxury tax threshold to sign a player. What if we use up our exemption(s) now, and go into luxury tax territory to sign a center, only to find out that an injury has made PG, SG, PF or SF a more important need. Any premature move at this point will take away our flexibility before we gain knowledge of what affect LDrew and LConnor’s OFF and DEF systems might have on the team. It would certain be a tremendous advantage to know the levels of contributions players like JTeague, Marvin, JCollins, JPowell, Zaza, MEvans, JoCrawford and Bibby are having before making such a financial commitment. I think JJ and JaCrawford can produce in any system.
leedsatlanta
July 25th, 2010
12:06 pm
Per one Hawks official: “The Shaq situation is not a dead subject for us. We are still exploring the possibilities.”
about 1 hour ago via web
.SekouSmithNBA
Sekou Smith
leedsatlanta
July 25th, 2010
12:11 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky-wZZmEXqI&NR=1
The Truth
July 25th, 2010
12:16 pm
Interesting article; maybe Garret Siler will get a camp invite from the Hawks. Why not let Jason Collins compete for the 3rd center spot? Maybe this idea makes too much sense.
Ken Strickland
July 25th, 2010
12:24 pm
BIG RAY-Thanks to Woodson’s stubbornness and/or inability to make adjustments, that rookie PG you mentioned was granted the privilege of being defended by PF JSmith, C AHorford, or MBibby throughout the series. Among PG’s, SNash is the only PG who’s on Bibby’s level when it comes to DEF futility.
If the Hawks win 6 of the 10gms they played against the Bucks, and both teams improve, albeit in different ways, why would you automatically conclude that the Bucks are somehow potentially better? If you don’t know what to expect from the Hawks this season because of our new coaches, why ASSUME the Bucks will automatically improve without having any realistic idea about what to expect from the addition of CMaggette to their starting lineup? Why is it so hard to see him possibly having the same issues that AJamerson had when he joined Cleveland, or RJefferson when he joined the Spurs?
Milwaukee’s rousing playoff performance against us is no more an indicator of them potentially being as good or better than we are, than our rousing 07-08 performance against Boston was any indicator of us being in the same ball park with them. We were certainly good enough to take them to 7gms, but we certainly weren’t good enough to win the title, like they did.
O'Brien
July 25th, 2010
12:49 pm
Ken S,
The key to where you finish is not only based on head to head matchups against each other, but how do we play against other teams.
Do I think Milwaukee and Cleveland are better than us head to head? No. But there are teams who beat them last season that will not beat them this season.
So even if we go 4-2 against those teams, it doesnt automatically mean we will finish above them in the standings*.
* For the record, I think we will finish above Bulls and Bucks.
The Truth
July 25th, 2010
1:09 pm
Dam this is a long blog. Anybody know the record?
J.J.M.
July 25th, 2010
1:38 pm
somebody needs to update this blog
Rev in Tampa
July 25th, 2010
2:06 pm
Those who are writing that the Hawks stink because they got swept in the 2nd round of the playoffs the last two years are way off base. JJ and Horford were both hurt during the Clevland series two years ago and they seemed out of gas after the Boston series. They gave up and were just wishing for it to be over. And the Orlando series was over before it even began. Stan Van Gundy exposed everything that was wrong with Woodson’s defensive system. When the Hawks stayed on Howard Orlando shot threes and when the Hawks contested the threes Orlando went down to Howard. And then the Hawks, like the previous year, just gave up. It was not lack of talent for the Hawks, but the stubbornly inane coaching. The Hawks had to fire Woodson. His defensive ineptitude was a much greater liability than the lack of a true center. Every team in the league would have adopted Van Gundy’s strategy against the Hawks. Woodson’s defensive strategy made Howard look like Superman. I predict Atlanta’s defense per game will easily fall into the eighties. They have too much talent not to.
Rev in Tampa
July 25th, 2010
2:18 pm
I should add that I don’t think the Hawks would have beat Cleveland or Orlando even with a decent defensive strategy. They needed a real point and true center. If they add these pieces, with a little time, they will very likely move into the elite level.
Mike is back
July 25th, 2010
2:35 pm
@ The Truth, maybe I missed something when I watched Siler during summer league play…because Siler is a nice kid with a lot energy and hustle…however he is DLeague at best. He is still a couple of years way from making an NBA roster…but anything is possible.
JeJe
July 25th, 2010
2:48 pm
“They gave up and were just wishing for it to be over”
Al Horford did not quit.
THE HAWKS HAVE NOT DONE 1 THING THIS SUMMER TO IMPROVE BESIDES DRAFTING A PLAYER WHO WON’T EVEN GET MINUTES BEHIND JOE AND JAMAL.
GOOD JOB ASG
POOR LARRY DREW HAS A MINIMUM WAGE CONTRACT FOR A COACH AND CAN’T EVEN GET ONE FREE AGENT WORTH AN OUNCE OF PISS TO SIGN HERE BECAUSE ASG IS LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT PLAYER EVEN THOUGH IT’S A CHEAP PATHETIC OWNERSHIP
JoJo the Godfather
July 25th, 2010
2:51 pm
If we can just somehow upgrade defensively at the positions of Bibby, Evans & Pachulia, we’ll be fine…Sund will have to get creative to do something with Bibby, but Pachulia & Evans have contracts that can be moved.
Ken Strickland
July 25th, 2010
3:00 pm
REV IN TAMPA-where have you and your insanely logical approach to seeing things been all this time? It definitely wasn’t a our lack of talent that prevented us from being consistently competitive with Orlando or Cleveland, but the overall lack of coaching. We had a sizable lead in our 1st back to back with Cleveland, which is when Woodson, in his infinite stupidity, decided to use a six man rotation. The end result was, he ended up wearing our starters down and causing us to lose.
OBRIEN-excellent point. I see Orlando, not Miami, as our biggest challenge in the East, and in a worst case scenario, I see us finishing no lower than the 3rd seed. Other than Orlando, I see Miami as the only serious threat to the Hawks in the East. The Hawks were certainly talented enough to overtake Orlando and win the division as the 2nd seed last yr. They just weren’t good enough as an overall team to get the job done. We just couldn’t overcome our limited half court OFF and OFF philosophy, our seriously flawed DEF philosophy, and Orlando too.
We repeatedly saw teams far less talented overall than the Hawks be more than just competitive against Orlando. They were successful because they had better coaching and a better understanding of what it took to overcome DHoward. Our DEF approach was to switch everything on DEF, and our OFF approach was to shoot jump shots and stay out of the lane.
He obviously had no solutions of his own for the various problems he and the team encountered. And it was just as obvious he wouldn’t listen to anyone who did. Now, I have no doubt LDrew will make mistakes. However, I’ve detected nothing in his approach, philosophy, or demeanor, that leads me to believe he’d be stubborn, narrow minded and inflexible enough to repeat the same ill advised mistakes over and over again, like his predecessor. I see LDrew and LConnor giving the Hawks the same type of leadership and direction Doc Rivers and TThibodeau gave the Celtics.
dap01
July 25th, 2010
3:04 pm
No matter how anyone rationalizes, justifies or reasons, the Hawks (so far) have had a very unsuccessful offseason.
They got 3 million dollars with the 31st pick and they have not spent it. They could have selected a shot blocking 7 footer which was available. They have scrapped the very bottom of the barrell for free agent role players. While other teams actually have been able to find good role players.
I am hopeful for the upcoming year, but our window of opportunities are passing. Drew will help. Woody was a drag on the development of the whole team.
It is hard to be a passionate Hawks fan.
The Truth
July 25th, 2010
3:05 pm
Mike is back
Agreed Siler maybe a project; but we are talking about a roster spot for camp to compete with Collins. How risky can that be? Are we afraid that he might actually out play Collins? It’s amazing how perception works. Maybe if Collins had gone to a small school, he would look so favorable. Maybe if Siler had gone to a larger popular school, maybe he would look like a beast right now with every team knocking on his door. Since bigs are a premium around the league, like stock, it would make sense to buy low and sell high (or in Siler case, not sell at all)
The Truth
July 25th, 2010
3:09 pm
Correction:
Maybe if Collins had gone to a small school, he would not look so favorable.
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
3:37 pm
Ken Strickland ,
I know what to expect out of the Bucks because they don’t have a new head coach. We saw first hand what they could do in the playoffs. Now they’ve added some firepower that was missing when they played us, which makes me think…gee, with the addition of Maggette and the return of Redd and Bogut…Hmmm, they might be better than they were last year. Notice I didn’t say they would be better than we are, but they have an excellent chance to be if things go well for them. However, if our “unknows” at coaching go well for us, in addition to improvements by Teague and some others…then no way are they better than us, we’re still the better team.
The point is, they addressed some of their needs by adding to their roster, as the coaching was not a drawback for them. We changed coaches, but there is no absolute guarantee that things will be all rosy and sunshine (though we certainly hope for it, and I have confidence the Drew will address many of Woody’s weaknesses adequately). However, we have not filled holes on the roster that we had last year. That’s my point in a nutshell.
And as far as I’m concerned, there is no way to spin that. What if Horford goes down (God forbid..), then we start Zaza and who backs him up? RandMo? An overweight Collins? Naw, we gotta do better than that..
JeJe
July 25th, 2010
3:39 pm
FIRE SUND.
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
3:41 pm
dap01
I agree.
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
3:43 pm
JeJe ,
Yeah, Horford didn’t quit. Unfortunately, the team as a whole did.
JoJo the Godfather
July 25th, 2010
3:48 pm
Would you guys/gals trade Za Za & Mo Evans for Shaq at a salary of $5.5M?…Hawks would save $1.2M in salary $’s, but would then have 2 roster spots that they would have to fill on roughly $3.7M.
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
3:52 pm
The Truth ,
The “real truth”, I should call you. Nice link. I’d like to see Garrett Siler get another, more legit crack at making this team. Maybe Collins comes back in better shape and beats him out for a spot, maybe not. But he’s GOT to be better than RandMo. I say give him that shot.
northcyde
July 25th, 2010
4:02 pm
Rev in Tampa
July 25th, 2010
2:06 pm
Those who are writing that the Hawks stink because they got swept in the 2nd round of the playoffs the last two years are way off base. JJ and Horford were both hurt during the Clevland series two years ago and they seemed out of gas after the Boston series. They gave up and were just wishing for it to be over. And the Orlando series was over before it even began. Stan Van Gundy exposed everything that was wrong with Woodson’s defensive system. When the Hawks stayed on Howard Orlando shot threes and when the Hawks contested the threes Orlando went down to Howard. And then the Hawks, like the previous year, just gave up. It was not lack of talent for the Hawks, but the stubbornly inane coaching. The Hawks had to fire Woodson. His defensive ineptitude was a much greater liability than the lack of a true center. Every team in the league would have adopted Van Gundy’s strategy against the Hawks. Woodson’s defensive strategy made Howard look like Superman. I predict Atlanta’s defense per game will easily fall into the eighties. They have too much talent not to.
********************
The Hawks don’t stink. Far from it. But Rev . . answer this question honestly. And JoJo has already touched on it a little. Do you think this team has enough quality players 1 through 9, to see us be more successful in the playoffs? 1 through 9 now.
Nobody is complaining to much about our top guys, other than the fact that they don;t come up big time when we need them the most. JJ, Smoove, and Horford are fine. Jamal had his most efficient year as a pro. Marvin, with his struggles, could at least be serviceable on occasion.
But once you get past those 5, do we really have a quality team? Zaza and Evans were pretty much horrible last season. Bibby proved to be a liability as the year progressed. Jason Collins was useless. Joe Smith’s jumper was way off. Teague was a rookie. And Mario West was basically the defensive mascot for the team.
We need at least 3, maybe 4 quality players to supplement our top 5 guys. And the fact of the matter is that we just don’t have that right now. Even if Teague proves he can be serviceable, does Bibby decline even more?
I mean . . we pretty much have to hope that the kids ( Jordan and Jeff ) are pretty much ready to become rotational players from the jump, in order for the depth on this team to improve and possibly be mentally ready come playoff time.
But we’re still weak in the area where we need the most help. And that is on the frontline. And we’ve lacked quality depth on the frontline since the mid 90s, which is incredible.
What’s kind of scary about this offseason, is that the East playoff teams not only upgraded, they upgraded on the frontline
- Miami: Bosh
- Chicago: Boozer
- New York: Amare
- Boston: Jermaine O’Neal ( which may not be an upgrade if Rasheed retires, but they did add him for depth )
People simply can’t overlook the significance of that. Not when the main people we go to battle with are Smith and Horford, with them basically having no support.
All the points about coaching have been noted, and maybe the team will respond positively to a “different voice and philosophy”. Let’s even concede that you are right.
Why can’t you even remotely admit that we just may need better players here? Or that the players we do have here, simply can’t get it done on a nightly basis? Every team that made a coaching change, also made a change in their roster.
It’s funny though. The same people that don’t give the former coach any credit whatsoever for the success of the team, are the same ones to quickly remind people that we won 53 games and got to the 2nd round last year. LOL . . they don’t give him credit for the success of the team, but blame him for everything that went wrong with the team, all the way down to the play of individual players.
But everything is going to be A-OK. Because Drew is going to have Zaza, Josh Powell, and Jason Collins ready for battle every night, to give Smith and Horford the proper support they need. His offensive system is going to turn Jason Collins into an 8 point – 6 rebound center in 20 minutes, while his defensive system is going to turn Josh Powell into Dejuan Blair on the boards.
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
4:03 pm
JoJo,
Hmmmmmmm. It could work out, but part of it is predicated on what sort of role Shaq is willing to play (i.e., off the bench). But there also has to be some follow-up. Trade Zaza and lose some youth at the backup center position, so I’d then be wanting to give a guy like Garrett Siler a shot at the job. Maybe another guy as well. And, losing Mo means no backup or option to Marvin Williams (the SF slot), so we’d need to fill that as well. Won’t be easy to get a guy worth having if we’re handing out nothing but minimum contracts. Most of the guys available for that kind of money are available because either A) They are seriously over the hill, or B) They suck/haven’t proven a thing yet.
Of course, an easy sounding solution to that is to play Joe as SF a lot more (maybe start him there) and move Crawford into the starting SG slot. Only problem with THAT is that you now have only one backup SG, and he’s a rookie who can’t defend worth a damn yet, but can score some (Jordan Crawford). One issue begets another, and it requires that the Hawks move quickly to shore up areas of need.
Given the Hawks’ plodding ways in the offseason so far (except in the case of Joe Johnson), I’m not sure I want to do that deal. Because as I said, it requires follow up moves. And personally, I’d rather not have to be picking between Luke Jackson and Trey Gilder as guys to fill out my roster. Know what I mean?
Melvin
July 25th, 2010
4:09 pm
Ray,
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Hawks sign a guy like Gerald Green as a backup SF. He would be an explosive talent off the bench. I prefer him over Luke or Trey….
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
4:10 pm
LOL@ Northcyde . Well said….
Here’s another thought –
Is Jamal Crawford going to have the same kind of year he did last year? I don’t think so. Not if Larry Drew’s offense is going to be as advertised. We’re talking more touches for guys like Al Horford and Marvin Williams, and if he and Lester Connor are serious about the defense, Crawford won’t be coming off the bench early and often for Marvin Williams (especially if Marvin responds well to Drew’s coaching/offensive scheme, and has more of an impact on the game than he did last season).
Crawford is who/what he is: a talented scoring guard. But he can also hand that SMOY trophy over to…..Mike Woodson. Tell me, does Crawford score 18 ppg and win the SMOY without being the 2nd option/featured scorer in an offense that was built largely on his and Joe’s ability to create their own shots (and shots for others in some cases)? I think not.
I like Jamal. I like what he brought to this team for the most part. But his value is at an all time high coming off a year where he finally gained more than a passing notoriety. And, he has an expiring contract. His value will only go down from here, and again…if Drew’s approach works for the TEAM, the effect for this one particular individual might not be what it once was.
More than one way to skin a cat, and this could be one way to address front line depth. Especially if Jeff and Jordan can pick up some slack, as we’d like to see, and some of us are all but guaranteeing…
JoJo the Godfather
July 25th, 2010
4:11 pm
Big Ray…if we made that deal, we’d have $3M to spend on a Rodney Carney, Jarvis Hayes, Damien Wilkins, or we could use the trade exception and a draft pick to try to grab a backup off another team looking to shed salary (i’m personally still stuck on the potential of Juian Wright in New Orleans, who may currently be 3rd string and a restricted free agent next year).
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
4:13 pm
Melvin ,
I agree. I’d give him a shot in training camp at least. I don’t know why a kid who has such potential has done so poorly (the problem is from the neck up, actually), but if his talent can be harnessed in any way, then why not go for it…he might be the best thing available at a minimum contract, actually.
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
4:16 pm
JoJo ,
Bruh…I’m not disagreeing with you one bit. My confidence that ownership/management would actually SPEND that money and make such a move is what’s shaky right now.
The money might be there, but these guys are showing absolutely NO indication that they will or want to spend it. And we’re not talking about going into luxury tax territory, either. We’re talking about spending UNDER that. The most we’ve heard has come from other teams’ websites and city papers. The LA Times says we will likely sign Josh Powell. Some other sports section of some other paper says we are likely to re-sign Jason Collins.
We ain’t heard jack from anybody around here, and even the above stuff is nothing to write home about. That’s my issue. Not necessarily WHO we could get with that money. Just whether we’d bother to go get ‘em.
northcyde
July 25th, 2010
4:17 pm
And yeah . . I know the Knicks didn’t make the playoffs last year. But this is the lineup we’ll be facing next year when we play the Knicks.
PG – Felton
G – Azubuike
F – Gallinari
PF – Turiaf
C – Stoudemire
They’ll be improved from last year, and possibly a borderline playoff team this year, if they can keep that starting lineup healthy most of the season. They’re not better than us, but they will be improved. They’re not a team to be concerned about, but neither was last year’s Knick team that beat us 3 out of 4 times.
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
4:18 pm
Poor Rodney Carney would probably be glad to settle down somewhere. Dude has been shipped off from team to team in one miscellaneous cost cutting move after another…
northcyde
July 25th, 2010
4:27 pm
Big Ray
July 25th, 2010
4:10 pm
LOL@ Northcyde . Well said….
Here’s another thought –
Is Jamal Crawford going to have the same kind of year he did last year? I don’t think so. Not if Larry Drew’s offense is going to be as advertised. We’re talking more touches for guys like Al Horford and Marvin Williams, and if he and Lester Connor are serious about the defense, Crawford won’t be coming off the bench early and often for Marvin Williams (especially if Marvin responds well to Drew’s coaching/offensive scheme, and has more of an impact on the game than he did last season).
Crawford is who/what he is: a talented scoring guard. But he can also hand that SMOY trophy over to…..Mike Woodson. Tell me, does Crawford score 18 ppg and win the SMOY without being the 2nd option/featured scorer in an offense that was built largely on his and Joe’s ability to create their own shots (and shots for others in some cases)? I think not.
I like Jamal. I like what he brought to this team for the most part. But his value is at an all time high coming off a year where he finally gained more than a passing notoriety. And, he has an expiring contract. His value will only go down from here, and again…if Drew’s approach works for the TEAM, the effect for this one particular individual might not be what it once was.
**********************************
Big Ray . . you know good and well Woody had “nothing” to do with Jamal getting All-Star type usage last season. Jamal got all of those points and shot attempts within the flow of the offense.
In Drew’s “new offense”, He’s probably going to be the one most affected, if the intention is to make all 5 guys legit offensive threats. What Drew is going to quickly find out though, is that maybe only 3 of the 5 can be legit offensive threats. We’ll see what adjustments he’ll make, if we have players playing inconsistent offensive basketball.
northcyde
July 25th, 2010
4:29 pm
Dang . . I forgot to add my { sarcasm } tags on that first paragraph.
bigdave
July 25th, 2010
4:34 pm
O’brien…
like i said.. outfield help is desperately needed.
Mike is back
July 25th, 2010
4:43 pm
@ The Truth, I have no problem with the Hawks inviting Siler to camp…in fact I expressed your exact sentiments last summer. However, after watching him struggle to keep with the speed of the summer league players…I wonder if he wouldn’t have been better served playing in the DLeague…instead of over in China.
In Orlando…guys was scoring on him with ease.
Rufus1
July 25th, 2010
4:46 pm
Talented Core
The reason Sund does not want to break-up the core, because the Hawks have top 5 talent. We never lost a game because of talent, we lost because of COACHING…
Hube Brown said, Talent will get you to the 2nd round but coaching get tou past. If people think we needed to change anything other than our coach and PG, you are not being objective.
northcyde
July 25th, 2010
5:00 pm
Rufus . . and how many titles has Hubie won? Hubie is a great teacher, but even he got swept by the Spurs when he had a 50 win Memphis Grizzlies team.
Why?
Because they didn’t have the talent.
You need BOTH Coaching AND Talent.
And we do not have a top 5 talent team across the board.
You’re trying to tell me that if we had a player like Andre Iguodala instead of Marvin Williams, that the team wouldn’t improve?
You’re trying to tell me that if we had a player like Shaq, instead of Zaza, that the team wouldn’t improve?
You need talent just as much, if not more, than you need coaching,
Najeh Davenpoop
July 25th, 2010
5:02 pm
“I like Jamal. I like what he brought to this team for the most part. But his value is at an all time high coming off a year where he finally gained more than a passing notoriety. And, he has an expiring contract.”
I agree on all counts. And presumably on a team that has a coherent plan, drafting a player with strengths and weaknesses identical to Jamal would foreshadow him getting traded. We have clearly seen this summer, though, that the only real plan the Hawks have is to stay out of the luxury tax.
I like Jamal a lot as a player, but logically there is no point in drafting Jordan unless Jamal is getting traded. Neither Jamal, Jordan, nor the Hawks benefit from having a surplus of shooting guards and not moving any of them for help at center in a division with Big Z and Dwight Howard.
Of course, like I have said before, I’d ideally rather see them keep everyone who is currently on the roster and add Shaq with the mid level.
Rev in Tampa
July 25th, 2010
5:07 pm
Sorry that I posted but haven’t been around to respond. I was at the YMCA teaching the youngsters how to post-up and eat my elbows.
Northcyde, I would answer you question, “Do you think this team has enough quality players 1 through 9, to see us be more successful in the playoffs? 1 through 9 now?” by referring to another of my posts from today. At 2:18pm I posted, “I should add that I don’t think the Hawks would have beat Cleveland or Orlando even with a decent defensive strategy. They needed a real point and true center. If they add these pieces, with a little time, they will very likely move into the elite level.”
But that is precisely why I agree with Ken Strickland’s patient approach. If we break the bank now and misfire (which many of you on the blog – especially JEJE – would expect ASG to do) we ruin our future for the long-term. Our core is young. We have a 3-4 year window to aspire toward the championship You are right, we don’t have all the pieces in place 1-9 to get the job done. Worse yet, we don’t know whether we have the point guard (but I think we do).
For me, the trade deadline is the more sensible time to make the changes. I have heard Najeh when he says the optimum time to build the team is in the offseason and agree with him, but we do not live in a perfect universe. The Hawks know, more than other teams, what to expect from their core players, but have more unknowns than most teams. So we must wait and assess first.
At the same time I am growing more and more optimistic about this CURRENT Hawks team. Will they make the playoffs? Yes. Are they good enough to make it past the first round? Yes, on athletic talent alone. Can they make it past the second round? Not with their lack of depth and all of their unknowns.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 25th, 2010
5:07 pm
“They’re not better than us, but they will be improved. ”
Maybe slightly. The Amare move is pretty overrated — they just swapped one statistically productive, defensively clueless, out-of-position center for another one, and added a league-average starting point guard. Maybe they won’t be horrible last year, but I have a hard time seeing them make the playoffs unless Anthony Randolph actually realizes his potential AND their starters are healthy all season.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 25th, 2010
5:12 pm
“Are they good enough to make it past the first round? Yes, on athletic talent alone. ”
Unfortunately, the way the playoff seeding is set up, it is almost impossible for the Hawks to get home court advantage in the first round this year, since they will have to finish with a better record than either Miami or Orlando to do so. Judging from how this team has performed on the road in recent years in the playoffs (two road playoff wins this millennium) it seems unlikely that they will make it back to the second round this year barring a significant player acquisition or injuries on other teams.
Rev in Tampa
July 25th, 2010
5:18 pm
Something else has been eating at me today. The comments about the Milwaukee Bucks being better than the Hawks are over the top. In the playoffs last year, the Hawks were the Buck’s DADDY. The Hawks stunk up the court the whole series, but they willed themselves to win on athletic talent alone. Coach Drew has a wealth of talent in his core to work with.
The Truth
July 25th, 2010
5:19 pm
Mike is back
While I didn’t actually see Siler play in the Summer League, the article does not suggest your sentiment of him. In fact, this bleacher report suggest an opposite viewpoint of Siler.
He’s shown some explosiveness in getting off his feet and he’s rebounded well on both ends of the floor and has been a pleasant surprise in the individual and help defense department.
Rev in Tampa
July 25th, 2010
5:23 pm
@ Najeh “Judging from how this team has performed on the road in recent years in the playoffs (two road playoff wins this millennium) it seems unlikely that they will make it back to the second round this year barring a significant player acquisition or injuries on other teams.”
It’s a new day with a new attitude. I believe that the Hawks will be able to win on the road in the playoffs next year. I have no reasons to believe this true, except that I am very impressed with the attitude that I have heard from Drew and Conner.
Ken Strickland
July 25th, 2010
5:28 pm
NORTHCYDE-tell the whole story now. How much can you actually say that Boston upgraded by signing JOneal when they lost RWallace? How much can you say the Knicks upgraded by signing AStaudemire when they lost DLee? Other than shoot 3’s, have you seen KKorver drive to the basket or play any form of DEF? Have you heard anyone accuse CBoozer of playing any DEF. The Bulls have again miscalculated the value of KHinrich, and are going to miss his DEF and versatility more than they think.
They made the same miscalculation with BGordon, and they’re still trying to find an adequate replacement for him, hence KKorver. BGordon could penetrate, and was a good enough ball handler to play some PG. They aren’t going to get any of that from KKorver. And how can you foresee JCrawford not scoring and producing like he did last yr in LDrew’s OFF, yet be but unable to see any problems with CBosh, LJames and DWade together with each producing in a new OFF? There’s no way they can expect LeBron and Bosh to effectively produce using the same DWade dominated OFF.
CBoozer’s style of play is almost identical to that of EBrand, which means Boozer could end up having the same negative affect on LDeng and the Bulls that Brand had on Igoudala and 76ers. JUST SAYING.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 25th, 2010
5:29 pm
“The same people that don’t give the former coach any credit whatsoever for the success of the team, are the same ones to quickly remind people that we won 53 games and got to the 2nd round last year. LOL . . they don’t give him credit for the success of the team, but blame him for everything that went wrong with the team, all the way down to the play of individual players.”
Just because Woody wasn’t the ONLY problem with this team doesn’t change the fact that he was by far the BIGGEST problem. No, Atlanta didn’t have the talent to beat Orlando in a playoff series, but they clearly had enough talent to not suffer the WORST PLAYOFF SERIES DEFEAT OF ALL TIME. No, Teague wasn’t going to be Rajon Rondo from day one, but he was clearly good enough to have improved this team on both ends given a meaningful allotment of minutes. No, the Hawks probably wouldn’t have stopped the Magic playing straight defense, but they would have given themselves a much better chance than they did by sticking to the switching defense long after other teams figured it out. Maybe an intelligent offensive system wouldn’t have been enough to advance to the conference finals, but it would have been enough to not get embarrassed.
Woody didn’t just get fired because he lost. He got fired because when his plan A failed, he didn’t even have a semblance of a plan B, and as a result he ended up getting thoroughly annihilated.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 25th, 2010
5:32 pm
At the same time, I don’t agree with the other extreme either, which is the opinion put forward by Ken Strickland that the Hawks are a championship team with good coaching. The truth lies somewhere in between Samuel and Ken Strickland, but it is closer to Ken than it is to Samuel.