Atlanta Hawks: With start of new season near, end to ‘10 still burns

From previous blog:

Marvin Visits Sekou and Lang on the Hangtime Podcast.

As I listened to the entire Podcast on Marvin, I was impressed with him “giving back” but I didn’t get the impression he did anything specific during the off-season toward improving his game. His off-season focus was apparently on his community projects (including his ATL fundraiser: Strike the R-word) and pursuing his degree at UNC. However, he did share his desires for the upcoming season:

Marvin Williams joined Sekou Smith and Lang Whittaker on NBA.com’s Hangtime Podcast and sounded excited about getting started this season. You can listen to the entire podcast HERE. Some of Marvin’s thoughts are included below.

On the team continuing to increase the Hawks win total:
“We have to make that jump man. We have to be committed. We have to buy into what coach Drew wants us to do, and we have to do it early. Everybody has to put their trust in him, which they will.”

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““We pretty much got embarrassed in the second round,” J.J. said the other day. “I am sure it won’t happen again.”

We Shall See

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Rev

Don’t read anything into Stackhouse informal workout with the Hawks. He did it last year as well and ended up playing for the Bucks.

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Idon’t believe anything J.J. says ….. I guess he’s still recruiting some players for us too !!!!!!!!

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No major personnel changes? Are you really so dubious to assume Josh Powell is not a major improvement to Joe Smith? Etan has a better record all around compared to Randolph Morris, no matter how you slice the numbers, are you discounting that potential because it isn’t Shaq? Dobbs forgive my optimism…but just those two changes alone are improvements, not even beginning to assume what running a L.D. mutated Princeton will do for an already up-tempo team…..AND ARE YOU FRICKIN’ JOKING ABOUT NICK VAN EXEL NOT BEING A SERIOUS UPGRADE IN COACHING PERSONNEL, EVEN IF HE’S AN ASSISTANT AND NOT THE COACH?

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MC: This statement:

” I’m told Jordan Crawford has stood out during the informal runs at Philips.”

What about Teague?

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*whole Jamal thing*

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The Hawks have nothing Denver wants….no assumption we’d even begin to jump into discussions with the Nug’s…

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Brittish Anger, upgrading positions 10-14 of the roster most definitely falls under the category of “no MAJOR upgrade”. I would submit that a MAJOR upgrade would take place amongst the players who are more likely to either start or finish a game… like roster spots 1-7.

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Thanks, MC. I suspected that some of the chemistry problems came from the lack of a clearly defined player leader. Thus my question a few weeks back about how will the team captain be chosen. It seems it would be in Drew’s best interests to allow the players to make that decision… and then hold them (and their chosen leader) accountable for falling in line.

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“Are you really so dubious to assume Josh Powell is not a major improvement to Joe Smith? ”

Is Josh Powell a major improvement over anyone?

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Najeh, YES… over RandMo.

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“Van Exel? i’m thinking Lester Conner could have more of an impact as the Hawks look to improve their defense and toughness.”

Okay, breaking down the way Astro did for Najeh, Van Exel or Mark Price?

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B.A., I am very excited about adding Van Exel to the staff… but is the hiring of the last assistant coach on the staff a major move? I hope it turns out to be but I think it is fair not to yet characterize it as something that is likely to generate season-ticket sales or national exposure for the Hawks.

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Sorry, MC, I didn’t mean to jump into your kool-aid (grape or red?).

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I would really love to see us sign Stackhouse. Even at his age, he still has a lot to offer. Additionally, a healthy, serviceable Stackhouse plus two rotation-worthy gaurds in JC2 and Evans makes the whole JC1 issue … well, a little less of an issue.

Speaking of Evans, am I the only one that thinks we will see noticeable improvement out of Evans this year? I really think the motion offense will suit him well. He really has the ability to move without the ball and explode around the rim when given the chance. If his spot-up three would become a little more consistent, I think we will see Evans transform into one of the better bench players in the league … maybe not quite 6th man of the year candidate, but I think he has the potential to be someone who *deserves* to be the 6th or 7th man on a championship contender.

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Michael, I don’t think the Hawks players fully grasp how bad the end of last season was. I really don’t. For instance, my wife and I took a trip to New York City this summer. Our first day there, I wore a Hawks shirt. Had several people come up to me and say “what happened to them?” or “I thought they would make noise in the playoffs.”

If you ever go into the NHL Store, on the Avenue of the Americas, by the way, the guys that work there love to talk NBA hoop.

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By the way….I have seen that picture of the Hawks after game 4 before. I always think Bibby and Joe Johnson are talking to each other through the towels and do not want anyone to hear/lip read what they are saying.

And, I agree with the person who said they did not care what Joe Johnson had to say. Really, the guy should just shut up. He has the IQ of a rock and is kind of a d-bag.

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jery would be a nice pick up

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HawkZ, I don’t know….tough call. I’m guessing Josh is not exactly weak, even though he is no longer as buff as he was. I’ve never heard an athlete who gained weight on purpose say it was a bad thing. And, never heard an athlete who lost weight on purpose say it was a bad thing, either.

I just hope he was locked in a gym all summer, working on his jumper.

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[ @ BrittishAnger . . . The thing is, if guys like Etan and Powell aren't even good enough to crack the rotation, are they REALLY better than Joe Smith or Randolph Morris? Because when you look at both of those players, it wouldn't be surprising if neither player played on a nightly basis.

Why?

Because they are scrubs.

But I guess all NBA fans laud and campaign for the 10th - 14th man to get PT. There's not a single team ( that I've seen ) in the league that wanted any of the big men we picked up.

Not one.

Because if you REALLY want to be real about it, the center that guarded Dwight Howard the best during that playoff series was NOT Horford, or Zaza, or Collins ( with his flopping ) . . . it was Randolph Morris. His defense on Howard in Game 2 of that series in the 2nd quarter, was far and away the best job that any big man did on him during that series.

Does that mean that we should keep Morris? He11 no.

Why?

Because he's a scrub too, for the most part.

There's optimism . . and then there's blind optimism. ]

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Woody once said, if having too many scorers is a problem, then that is a nice problem to have”. However, if there is no upcoming trade, then Sund would have put together and very unbalanced team of too many similar players (SGs) assuming Jordon Crawford is “The Truth”. Since there are only so much PT minutes to spread around, someone will be impacted. These are scenarios that could happen:

Zaza impacted from Etan
Jamal impacted from Jordan
Teague impacted from Jordan
Bibby impacted from Teague

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Hawkz ,

It’s definitely a good thing that he has been polishing his skills mand making sure his conditioning is right. Can’t argue with that AT ALL. There is a difference between looking bigger and actually being stronger. Losing weight doesn’t necessarily mean losing strength. Josh was never going to be a big rough neck from the beginning. It’s not the best way to optimize what he is, and what he does.

Look at guys like Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin, even Theo Ratliff and Tyrus Thomas. Length and athleticism has defined them. With the exception of Tyrus Thomas, toughness has defined them, too. Camby looked like a skinny joke when he came into the league. What about Joakim Noah? He’s taller, but skinnier. Leading rebounder, though.

Toughness is what we need more than body weight and strength. Toughness begins in the mind. He can use his incredible athleticism, 7′1″ wingspan, his desire….and add mental toughness, which translates into physical toughness. Yeah, there is no direct substitute for sheer weight, size, strength. But sheer weight and size is why we have Etan and Jason Collins (even Zaza).

Toughness can wear on strength and weight. It’s why the much older Kurt Thomas gave the younger Al Horford fits in the bulk of the series against Milwaukee last season.

It’s why Horford beats the dog snausage out of 7′2″ 285 pound Roy Hibbert every time we play Indiana. Well, that and Horford is a superior athlete to Hibbert.

Josh will be fine if he stays on the weights for strength and stamina. But he needs to be tough more than anything else. His athletcisim at a weight of say 225-230 pounds is just fine. Kenyon Martin was never bigger than that. Neither was Marcus Camby (until age added a few pounds). Both have been a pain to deal with in the post.

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Like I’ve been saying on Jordan C . . . if the kid proves that he’s better than Mo Evans, I want him playing instead of Mo. Play him in front of Teague too, for that matter, if he’s the better player.

Drew has to play his best bench players if they can ball. And for those that can’t ball, keep them off the floor.

Chach Drew needs 8 players he can count on every night. Woody only had 6. And even that was reduced to 4 and 2 possibles, on those nights Bibby and Marvn struggled.

Drew needs a solid 8.

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Statistically, Joe Smith was better than Josh Powell last year. But since Joe is 35 and Powell 28, I would assume that Powell will be better this year than Joe would have been, all things being considered. But I’m not sure he would have been better last year – kinda doubt it. And I guess I don’t understand the meaning of rotational player – I thought Joe played almost every game he was healthy, especially in the 1st half of the games. He was at least semi-rotational I guess.

I do think, if he’s healthy, Etan will be a vast upgrade over RandMo. Even with Etan at 32 and RandMo at 24.

On Smoove, I hope he can take the pounding with less weight room time. But if he continued to bulk up, the high flying Josh was history in a couple of years. No way to add that much weight to the frame, and continue the circus act.

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Joe Smith is not better than Powell. Statistics lie. And plus, Powell played behind Odom, Gasol, and Bynum. I can see why he didn’t get much burn. Joe Smith on the other hand, couldn’t get time behind Smoove and Zaza freakin Pachulia.(Some of that was Woody’s fault though.) I’d still take Powell regardless. Maybe he learned a thing or two from the Zen? At least give him a chance before you bash..

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No doubt on the Horforf being tougher comment. Smoove and JJ too, for that matter. But if Horford wants to be the REAL leader of this team, he’s going to have to start being the toughest S.O.B. on the court, regardless of who we play.

I personally don’t want to see anymore comments made by him about what position he prefers to play. We all know he’s a PF and prefers to play that position. But in ATL, he’s a CENTER, so he needs to start taking on that mentality. His mind needs to be in a warror mindset, when going up against the bigger and stronger guys.

If he has to download some old Pastor Troy songs into his iPod to get him “ready for war”, then dangit, that’s what he needs to do.

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Co-sign again, Northcyde .

Actually, gotta give you the credit on the toughness speeches. You were saying that about Josh and Al during the playoffs last season. I remember!

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HawkZ

*Skill Polishing -or- [skill learning] is “more” important!

Who cares if he looks purty?
It’s about production, correct?

I’m certain he did not completely eschew wgt. training.
Most likely his off-season was about emphasis.
I’m guessin’?

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Marvin Williams speaking about this team in the Orlando series and what we as a team needed to do is a joke. He needs to stop focusing on team, and focus on him. I have to agree with a previous poster, Joe and Marvin are not guys we need to hear from. Joe is Joe, and he will do what he does. Marvin is a non-factor on this team. Let us hear from Josh and Al. Actually, people on here bash him, but I never heard Mo Evans not tell the truth when the cameras and mic’s were out in his face. Let’s hear from him.

Marvin’s numbers in the Orlando Series:
32mpg, 30%FG, O%FG, 4.5RPG, 0.3APG, 6.3ppg

I have heard a lot from him from the Sekou interview, and this article, and he seems like a guy with a good head on his shoulders, but I am an Atlanta Hawks fan, and I want to know if he is going to be a liability on the floor for another year. Stop working on a degree, and take a ballet class to help your balance. Stop being a nice guy and be aggressive. Train with a UFC guy, and grow some balls. Stop working out at North Carolina in the summers with friends, and go learn how to finish at the rim with smaller guys checking you. Get in the weight room and get stronger so guys like Brandon Jennings and Jameer Nelson in the playoffs can’t stop you from finishing at the rim.

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I am glad MC you started a new blog because people or one person is filling it up with mess I hope you can catch who it is who is doing it. It makes you not want to blog

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has anybody noticed but in 2k11 trailer in “jordan moments” he looked alot heftier than he did 4 months ago

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KEVINM-From the previous blog. It doesn’t matter what OFF you run, in order for it to work successfully you must have the proper players, with the proper attitude and skills to make it work. We’ve seen the jealousy, selfishness, lack of discipline and maturity on full display with the Wizard players over the last couple of yrs.

I’m not certain anything will work there until they get rid of the cancer(s) on that team and change the atmosphere and their approach. They traded away AJamison, the only key player on their roster that can even come close to matching the talent, maturity and focus of Hawk players like JJ, Horford, JaCrawford, Zaza etc.

Some of our fans complain about us not having enough leadership on our team. But if you think we’re lacking in leadership, what would you say about the Wizards?

DRMARYB-It was stated by HC LDrew, and confirmed by JJ, Teague and JaCrawford, that they learned and often ran the MOTION OFF during practice, and they liked it. I’m certain what they ran was only a portion of what the full OFF entails.

If a defender lags behind, or is lazy in fighting over a pick, we’ll have an open player and scoring opportunity. On the other hand, if the defender is aggressive and overplays, or anticipates, like a lot of teams successfully did against Bibby, he now has the option of back cutting to the basket. JSmoove appeared to be the only player with the option of back cutting to the basket when he was being overplayed. He was certainly the only Hawk player I saw do it more than once or twice.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaDIjukIaWc
Season Preview in HD
Can’t Wait for the Season it’s Almost Here!!!
R.I.P. Kenny McKinley

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Marvin seemed content with his progress, happy to be enjoying school and happy to give back. He seems to have his long term future in perspective and that community and personal growth come before basketball. Granted that’s all IMHO. He’s a good kid. I just wonder if basketball truly is his passion, or just a means to an end.

As for his comments about being more aggressive I like that. When he’s been healthy and aggressive he’s shown glimpses of greatness. Like him or not he’ll flourish if inspired in the right system. Maybe that’s somewhere in the NW, but I honestly hope to see the kid break out here this season.

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I love the Hawks–sure, I didn’t like the way the Orlando series went down. I think L.D. is going to make a positive difference. Looking forward to seeing players like Horford, Josh, Marvin, Teague develop further. Looking for Joe Johnson to get “the eye of the tiger.” Hopefully, Jamal will not regress with the contract stuff up in the air. Jordan Crawford sounds like he has the potential to be “instant offense.” Josh Powell isn’t an all-star but I understand he’s a pretty tough-nosed player and knows what it’s like to be on a Phil Jackson championship team. It would be nice to see Etan add some toughness off the bench. Bibby can’t defend or drive, but still can contribute a veteran point guard presence and get hot with the 3 point shot. It would be nice to see Zaza bring his game up another notch–he’s still pretty young, hope he hasn’t peaked.

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Jordan Crawford: http://espn.go.com/nba/feature/video/_/id/5544081/

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How nice that Joe Johnson is sure a second-round blowout won’t happen again. He better step up because he (along with his max contract) is the reason why no other signficant free-agent moves could be made.

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Terrell – Joe Smith and Josh Powell played almost identical minutes per game, and almost an identical number of games. Joe’s stats were better. I hope Josh comes in and develops great – I think it was a good signing for a number of reasons – 2 rings, good work ethic, good locker room guy – but definitely not even a very good NBA player as of yet. Joe was a legit #1 draft pick back in the day. Joe was a better ball player last year, just a fact. Not bashing on Powell, hope he becomes KG2, but we’ll see. What do you expect for the vet minimum?

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Man, one sportswriter is saying ATL doesn’t make the playoffs this year, wow!

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JC2 will be starting point guard 10 games in.

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JSS ,

Good thing we can still type with dislocated jaws, huh?

I did not want to hear that from Marvin. And I have to agree with Rod from CP on what we need to hear/see from Marvin.

Yeah, I know. I just agreed with Rod. On Marvin. Cue the Apocalypse….

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Rod’s getting at what is Marvin’s focus. School, community and being a kid who’s got it made or winning. His lack of weight room focus points to his summer exploits. Sure he worked out at UNC, but I bet it wasn’t like Jordan did. We’ll know what his summer held once the season starts. If he’s not ready LD will have to do what’s best for the team and play someone else.

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Kevin M: But if they could truly buy in and maximize talent, what would you say then? I’ve been waiting since the early 80’s. What’s new?

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Tony Macaroni – here is the link predicting no playoffs for the Hawks – says we’re not even in the top 10 in the East any longer –
http://www.slamdunkcentral.com/2010/09/17/if-the-nba-playoffs-were-to-start-today/

Fundamentals – again, I’m not hating on Josh Powell, glad the Hawks signed him. This all started when someone said how can we not say that Josh Powell is an upgrade over Joe Smith. Already posted numerous times now and in the past that this was just not the case last year. I’m hoping he is this year. Facts are just facts however.

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The Rest: Charlotte and Atlanta, two playoff teams from last season, ready to take dramatic falls. Did they improve? Why not? Forget them. They will be sorry come mid-April.

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Mark Price > Mike Bibby

Give the man a contract. Make him come out of retirement!

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Tony – I didn’t say I agreed with the article BTW. I think he did try to bring some facts in. And he’s not alone; another guy had us 7th, and another 6th. Almost all have the Bucks and Bulls ahead of us. And Hoopinion just trashed Pape Sy. They tried to be balanced, but in the end, just trashed him. We still are 1.423m below the luxury tax – we would need to use our Two Year or a portion of the MLE to sign Dampier – I say sign him, pay a couple mill. in luxury tax and send Collins to DLeague with Sy, if Sy goes to DLeague!.

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I’m trying to find any ‘Xperts predictions that we will finish 3rd or higher – anybody seen one? I may have seen one 4th and one 5th. I think the Bucks may be worse than people think, because I don’t think Bogut comes back quickly from that elbow injury. But man, adding Gooden and Maggette, that’s pretty stout, with Skiles as coach also. Could you imagine 3 wings of Salmone, Maggette, and Redd? Their ready for some inside out basketball when Bogut comes back. Good, quick PG also.

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MC, its interesting that JC2 is getting a lot pub…However, we were hearing the same thing about Teague last season. Everyone was talking about his quick first step to the rack. Scorer like JC2 are never destine for the PG position…I hope people can embrace the thought of both Teague and JC2 as heir apparent on the team…AND understand we need both guys to develop…and lets throw in Sy…for a honorable mention. These guys are our future.

As for as the Bigs…I think if nothing else…the personally of the Bigs…are a mark improvement from last season…save for Big Burger…of course…hard to motivate someone…when you report to camp…out of shape. Oh my bad…I forgot dude has slim down…great news…I’m over joyed…now if he can make it past the first quarter…without fouling out…he will be an improvement too. heh heh

No doubt, Ethan is the wild card in the bunch…but I think Powell will have a bigger impact than most predict…though I think his biggest impact will be his intangibles. I think his game is greater than his minutes. Dude got two rings…no way anyone on the Hawks team can scoff at that. Maybe just maybe…he become a calming present for Josh or a MOTIVATOR for JJ…hard to call that one.

In Thomas and Powell, you are looking at two guys that are sure to be more vocal…than the Bigs we’ve had in the past. If they step on some toes…I don’t really care…I just want someone to get Josh to understand…that he is blessed with talent that are afforded to few in the NBA…therefore he is charge with the task of becoming an ambassador for game…and challenge to give his all…whenever he steps on court…ala AL.

I think the same can be said for JJ…and to a curtain degree Marvin too…though Marvin has yet to prove that his talents and skills can rise above mediocrity…no doubt…the time is now FOR THIS CORE. There is presuppose for this team to actually over achieve…given gloomy cloud that is being cast over the upcoming season.

The crazy thing is I think that LD actually relish this opportunity…dude must know summin…he got me sold…I don’t know what I’m buying…but I want a piece of the action. lol

There you have it…the travails of a lowly Hawks fan…copy write…9/2010. daaaaaaaaaaaaang.

GO HAWK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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“Look what I Found hehehe DIRT

http://hiphop.popcrunch.com/los-angeles-lakers-josh-powell-custody-battle/

The video is whats most important”

In honor of his shooting percentage, she should get 36% of his money.

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How about another one?

PF – Smoove ( 34 )
C – Horford ( 20 )

What does this indicate? This means that Drew can allocate 28 minutes to the big guys at center. It also means that you can play Horford some decent minutes at PF. In this scenario, Powell does not see the floor.

So your rotation may look like this:

PF – Smoove ( 34 ) – Horford ( 14 )
C – Horford ( 20 ) – Zaza ( 16 ) – Thomas ( 12 )

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@Northcyde

To answer your question in regards to whether any of the summer additions could crack the top 9 spots on the roster, I would have to say that Jordan Crawford has the best shot at potential gaining consistent minutes in the rotation. My reasoning behind this is the fact that Crawford is not only the most seemingly hungry and aggressive of the 10th-15th roster spot players, but he’s also the most talented and most capable of being useful right away. Sy is obviously a long-term project who may spend his season in the D-League, so I don’t expect him to have a chance in the rotation unless he completely astonishes during training camp. As for Thomas and Collins, these guys will most likely be situational players more than rotation players. Collins will be used in instances similar to last year where he comes in temporary to guard extremely physical players using his “size” or due to foul trouble. I see Etan having a similar role, albeit a larger role than Collins, considering he brings some rebounding and athleticism to the table. Now, although there is no designated back-up PF this year to replace Joe Smith, you would think that Powell would be the most likely to crack the rotation; however, based upon LD’s comments regarding Al playing more PF than in previous years, I have a feelling that most of the minutes at PF will be split between Josh and Al, with Al and Zaza sharing the majority of the minutes at center. Thus, I doubt Powell will play any major minutes, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at least see him play in most games.

Now, that leaves Jordan Crawford. Although the Hawks already have an overabundance of guards with Bibby, JJ, Jamal, Teague, and Mo, Crawford brings a valuable dimension to the team, similar to that of JJ and Jamal. He’s capable of creating his own shot and breaking down the defense, this is a skill that a lot of players of his type are able to carry through from college early on in their careers. This, in addition to his physical gifts of quickness and athleticism make him valuable not only offensively, but even defensively at times if he buys into the system. Most rookies are not very good defenders, but based on raw physical talent alone, I think he could potentially be more valuable on the defensive end than someone like bibby, and more valuable offensively than Mo Evans, even right now he’s probably a superior offensive player. I would be surprised to see him take some of Mo’s or Bibby’s minutes away, similar to way in which Jamal did last season. The Hawks would have a very quick and athletic line-up with Teague, Jordan Crawford, JJ, Josh and Al in the game at the same time, or potentially even Jordan Crawford, Jamal, JJ, Josh, and Al with JJ taking over more of the playmaking, considering there should be less responsibility on the PG in a motion-driven offense.

Now, clearly, my opinion is based mostly on observation and talent. There’s no guarantee that Crawford (Jordan) has as much upside as he seems to be leading people to believe, but if this guy is the real deal, I see him cracking the regular rotation over Sy, Powell, Thomas, and Collins, without a doubt.

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Did Woodson get any job in the NBA? Don’t forget some of our star bloggers predicted he would be snapped up quickly.

I think Drew should show films of the Orlando series every day until the lesson sinks in. Apparently, it hasn’t.
.

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Give stackhouse a contract.

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I say we trade J.J. for Angel McCoughtry and we trade M.Bibby for Coco and Kelly Miller.

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Rev,

Thanks for the props during the past few days!

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Rev, Bibby ran a version of the Princeton offense in Sacramento. It requires a PG who is willing to start the offense by passing it to a teammate, which I think is a little different than a Steve Nash type “pass first” PG. So to the extent that the motion offense does not call for someone to dribble up the court and look for their own offense, yes, it requires someone willing to initiate the offense. Could JC2 eventually dribble up the floor and make he first pass to start the motion? It doesn’t seem like that would be an overly complicated thing to do. But I wouldn’t ask the rook to learn 2 positions in his first season of pro ball.

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“heck they cant even beat the okay ones thats just at .500 Wanna challenge me…lets put up the season stats.”

Moehawk, you mean like going 4-0 against the Eastern Conference Champion Celtics? There record against winning teams was at least among the best 25-30% in the league last season.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/type/expanded/sort/gamesBehind

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Moehawk, its the offseason…

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Astro, I hear you on the pass first to initiate the offense. And in a motion offense the traditional positions do become more fluid. So I could see JC2 effectively bringing down the ball, starting the offense, and moving off the ball to catch for an open shot.

However, I don’t think that “pass first” is a job responsibility. It speaks more to the mindset. JC2’s mindset is to “score first” rather than “pass first”. For a motion offense to work there must be a throughgoing commitment to make the motion work. In other words, a scorer’s attention is going to be divided between “pass first/score first”. The point guard in a motion offense must have the mindset of “pass first/pass first.”

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JC2 did play PG at Indiana as a FR. And I think we’re kinda of hoping he develops into a Jamal Crawford type, who is not a pure PG, but plays it on occasion. It’s a 1st G off the bench type of thing. Regardless if your PG or SG comes out, he’s the 1st G off the bench and can play either position. Of course this year that role goes to JC1 unless something happens. Same with Lou Williams in Philly – per of 18.2 BTW – great 1st G off the bench type, can play either SG or PG.

I am surprised that some NBA draft services were touting JC2 as a SG/SF however. Even though he is only 6-4 205, his 4% body fat index must lead some NBA types to think he can play the 3 in a pinch. Interesting, maybe on occasion in a certain type of match-up, but I don’t see the dude guarding LeBron on a regular basis!

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SteveW,

I see 30ppg potential in Jordan: fluidity, shot range, fearless, mid air moves and touch around the rim (banks shots well).

However, that can easily turn out to be just a 8 or 9ppg for his career.

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Rev in Tampa,
I concur…it will be great to see our young athletic Bigs incorporated into the offense with all the motion and screening. I’m looking forward to seeing how our guys respond in a structured offense…instead of all the free styling.

I just hope everyone buys in early on…that will make the transition go a lot smoother…no doubt…they will have their struggles. LD is face with a tall order…however, thus far…LD appears to be more than up to the test…dude got some swagg.

I’m excited Rev…I can’t wait to see these guys flying around.

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Rev, I’m not sure that anyone is advocating to turn a late 1st round SG into the starting PG of a 50 win team in his rookie season (heaven knows I’m not). I think if you asked the average fan, they would not categorize Bibby nor Teague as “pass first”, yet our new head coach is employing a motion offense with those two players running the show. That says to me that while Jason Kidd did it in NJ, it could also be done by a player who isn’t likely to average 8+ assists/game. I would go so far as to say that offensive schemes like the motion or triangle allow you to do more without a HOF-level PG, becasue you shift play-making responsibilities from a single “QB” to all 5 players on the floor. In Sacramento (as an example), Divac and C-Web were often the assist men in that offense… allowing Bibby to optimize his shot-making skills. Could JC2 handle such responsibilities for 12-15 minutes a game in another 2-3 years? It doesn’t seem impossible (to me).

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Astro Joe, within the parameters of 12-15 minutes a game in another 2-3 years, and given the fluidity of the motion offense, I don’t see how I can disagree with you. After re-reading your posts I see I overlooked your statement: “I wouldn’t ask the rook to learn 2 positions in his first season of pro ball.” That was my original point. Just because JC2 gets attention for standing out in the pre-camp pick-up games several bloggers start wanting to replace Teague with Jo. Crawford. It is mind-numbing.

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As the season progresses, Bibby may be the odd man out with playing time….

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Mike is back

I’m sorry, I wasn’t even referring to you per se.
You just so happened to be the 116th Ethan !

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don’t discard Bibby’s knowledge of the game and ability to knock down the open 3

he was a huge disappointment last year, however, I think he can be a very valuable commodity as the veteran PG off the bench

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AJ @ 11:32 am is correct.
-But-
It appears LD has that concept in mind for ‘Paps’.
*[note] Motion off good fit for PS @ point.
-Also-
People tend to forget about the ‘Def’ end of the floor.
JC2 would have to defend the [1]. I’m not so sure he can
handle NBA pt guards defensively.
-Therefore-
I’m with ‘the Rev’ on this one. (The JC2 @ pt g debate)
JC2 – not a pt guard!

vava…..^…..above…..while extolling the virtues
of Jordo mentioned *fluidity. *[That one] I don’t see.

JC2 playin’ pt g would be very much like Rip Hamilton
playin’ pt g – why?

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Atlanta Hawks 2010-2011 Preview Perhaps the most thorough and accurate I have read. They are all in the Hawks Kool Aid. A great guide for opponents to study our DNA.

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vava…are those traits of bibby’s more important to the team than developing young talent?…where does this team finish if bibby plays 15-20 minutes a game vs. jordan crawford playing those 15-20 minutes a game?…i don’t think there’s much of an impact one way or the other in the short term…long term, getting jordan meaningful minutes NOW could pay off with higher productivity in the next few years while he’s still on his rookie deal…plus, i like the idea of crawford & crawford off the bench, that’s a lot of firepower…if we can get both to start playing some D, even better…both are athletic enough, quick enough & long enough to play above avg D on the perimeter…i think it comes down to effort on that side of the ball.

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Grandad, I find it utterly amazing that any fan who watched Pape Sy play 2 summer league games can make any kind of projection about his NBA potential. I’ve been known to make some fearless predictions, but predicting anything other than “Mario West minutes” for the 53rd pick from a lesser European League is FARRRRR out there. I’d go so far as to say that the reason he is “projected” as a PG is because it makes more sense to show his as the 3rd PG than as the 5th SG.

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SQUASH THAT ISH!

Astro Joe is The ISH Squasher MVP on this Blog Today!

Here is the ISH he squashed:

“heck they cant even beat the okay ones thats just at .500 Wanna challenge me…lets put up the season stats.”

Moehawk, you mean like going 4-0 against the Eastern Conference Champion Celtics? There record against winning teams was at least among the best 25-30% in the league last season.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/type/expanded/sort/gamesBehind”

I linked those stats and The Hawks were in the Top THREE of teams that WON against teams with records of .500 or better.

The Hawks won
25 – 20

The Lakers won
27 – 20

‘Nuff Said!

Get ‘Em Astro Joe! Get ‘Em!

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Come Together!

Keeping a 53 win 2nd round playoff team together?

How is that a bad thing? All we need to do is improve the
teams weaknesses. Did we do that well enough?

We shall see.

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Leon, great post. I’m hoping that Jordan is the guy that can crack the top 9 as well, replacing Mo Evans, or in a worst case scenario, Jeff Teague.

As for the “pass first” PG issue, we all hope that Teague can be that guy. Keep in mind though that in the final regular season game in which he posted 15 assists, he had the ball in his hands exclusively in ISO, Pick & Roll, and Transition situatons. In college, Teague was definitely more a “lead guard” than a point guard ( ala Salim Stoudamire at Arizona ).

But of course, Teague’s game is much more suited to play the point than Salim’s was.

Jordan Crawford may be somewhere between a Rodney Stuckey/Randy Foye type of player. Players who are around 6-4 and can play both the point and the 2.

I don’t know if he’ll be as good as even Randy Foye, but Jordan has a similar skillset to him. What will make or break Jordan, is his defensive abilities. If he proves he can defend both 1s and 2s, he’ll have a decent shot at being that 9th or 10th man.

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Nobody is saying he shouldn’t pursue his degree. I’m happy he is trying to get it and I even said that in the earlier post but the man is getting paid millions to play basketball. That is his job. My point was he needs to put in more effort to become a better player. Is that wrong to expect a guy you took number 2 in the draft and need a bigger contribution from to work on getting better? Nobody said don’t pursue a degree or help your community but it would be nice to know he did something to improve his game. And considering that his bosses are Sund and the ASG I wouldn’t put too much stock in his bosses addressing his underwhelming play. These are the same bosses that rewarded a guy who was so fat he had to be put on the injured list with a new contact.

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Gee Mack

You missed the entire point!
Re-read the post and look at the link.

Stay on the topic. It was a direct response to a flat out lie!

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Do You See – What I See?

VaVa74

Do you see that twinkle in Jordan’s eye and that gargantuan Chip on his shoulder?
I saw the background story on Jordan, his convoluted journey to the NBA is
riveting and his Mother is a CEO of Public Relations for the Motor City – Detroit.

Here’s my point: I mentioned the twinkle and chip numerous times before,
since Jordan was drafted. His game, really reminds me of DWade’s game.
IMHO, we may have the steal of this draft. Jordan may be better than Evan Turner
in Philly!

I’m just sayin’ and prayin’! Watch Out!

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Gee Mack

When you’re done bashing the Hawks?
Don’t forget to save some of that hate for the:

Cavaliers
Magic

They got beat too, granted not in historic fashion, but The Hawks
don’t have any future HOF’s on their team either.

LeBron, pouted and sulked and flat out QUIT on his team!
Yelled at Mike Brown to play Hickson, and didn’t even bother
to get up and join the huddles. Something about … Delonte
banging his Mamma? What does that have to do with
Basketball?

Anyway, don’t forget to spread the love. Oh yeah, and throw
Dallas in there too. They got a HOF’er too, who just reigned
a super-max deal at his age.

I’m just sayin! Spread the Love!

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“some people come to be seen.”

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2 for John Drew!

Excuse me? Do I know you?
This is a Blog – nothing personal going on here!

Scroll on Bruh!

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From my 2010-2011 previewed link on Marvin; perhaps explain why Cleveland was interested. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure:

The Unheralded Player: Marvin Williams. It’s very easy to beat up on Williams. Sandwiched In a starting lineup that features, Johnson, Smith, Al Horford and Mike Bibby, he’s clearly the member with the least amount of professional accomplishments. Throw in the fact that he was selected before Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the 2005 draft and ladies and gentlemen you have an easy scapegoat. But lost in the mix is a player that has become a bona fide 10-13 point scoring threat that is only 24 years old. On a squad with so much talent, Williams does the dirty work and doesn’t complain about shot attempts. He also has developed into a pretty solid wing defender. Williams’ total contribution to the team won’t show up on the box score, but if he were to suffer a long term injury his presence would be felt immediately with Maurice Evans the only other small forward option on the roster with experience.

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KenS – I think his NBA career to this point, and especially last year, show he is a scrub. And by scrub I mean somebody 9-13 on a roster who will average less that 5 ppg, 5rbg, and 12 mpg, not be great a blocking shots, steals or defense. Now I do agree that LD made a comment that he liked his shot – and he may flourish in the ATL his hometown, and I hope he does. But recently especially, Josh has been a scrub. I do think he has potential however, and can be a solid rotational guy behind Smoove, and even better behind the scenes.

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Truth, that article is going to be like poking a stick into a wasps’ nest on this blog.

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LOL . . . Marvin can’t win for losing.

When it comes to Marvin, I’m at the point in which I want to see him make an “A” or a “B+” in at least one area of his game. Just give us something that everyone agrees on that he can do well.

It’s like your child’s report card. Which is the better card?

Card #1:

Math – C
English – C
Biology – C
U.S. History – C
Health – C
Drama – C

GPA: 2.0

*************

Card #2

Math – A
English – C
Science – D
U.S. History – C
Health – D
Drama – C

GPA – 2.0

**************

Both cards are nothing to write home about. And Card #2 has two D’s. But at least the child with Card #2 can claim that he’s a math whiz. The Child with Card #1 is just average across the board, and can’t claim that he’s real good at anything, while not being really bad at anything either.

That’s how I view Marvin. He’s the child with Card #1.

But I would rather him be the child with Card #2. He doesn’t have to be real good at everything. Just be great in one area.

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Rod
I can’t disagree that the Cleveland buzz could have been speculation or maybe not, we will never know because apparently the Hawks was not interested enough in Shaq to advance the discussions. It is interesting though to here another prospective on Marvin from outside. Some of these opinions we will agree with, some we will not. Again, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

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i say we trade mo evans for cash and we sign jerry stackhouse

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I’d replace Mo Evans for Stack too…….but I’m cool with the team as constructed.

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northcyde, this statement:

“But I would rather him be the child with Card #2. He doesn’t have to be real good at everything. Just be great in one area.”

You may have touched on the real dilemma Marvin finds himself in. As was suggested, The Hawks are a multi-talented team that needs a utility player to do the dirty work and make hustle plays. Those utility players don’t do any one thing particularly well. They are just average players with a lot of heart (since heart is not a skill). That would be more like your Card #1 Child. At any given instance on offense, only one player can take the shot. We have more then enough of those players. As I noted in a previous blog, the Hawks offensive ranking last season was on par with the Lakers. But, we got smoked on defense. I’m not saying Marvin is the perfect utility player, but that is the kind of player we need on this team.

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@ wordsmithtom . . . it wasn’t that Boston wasn’t worried about winning those games. It was that they COULDN’T win those games.

Keep in mind that it was Boston who came out of the starting blocks flying. I think they were something like 19 – 5 at one time last year. But when the injuries started to happen, they became a very mediocre team ( especially without their defensive and emotional lader . . KG ).

They even made a trade for Nate Robinson. A trade that ( at that time ) I thought was specifically aimed at US, if we ever met in the playoffs.

The Boston bench really didn’t play well at all last season. Big Baby especially didn’t play well.

But when the “lights” of the playoffs came on, they had everybody back healthy, and was able to get production out of key people. And Rondo started playing like the leader of the team.

Also, they had no one to challenge them in that division.

So it wasn’t that Boston wasn’t worried about the regular season, injuries and inconsistent bench play prevented them from posting a 55+ win season. But they got multiple people to step up in the playoffs, with the most important one being Rajon Rondo, who played like a superstar at times.

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For those who have pointed out how good our production was last year, and how we were on par the the top teams in the league, please research our offensive production in the playoffs the last two years. Those numbers should help you realize that our offense is not as good as you think it is. I would guess that our production is near the bottom of all of the playoff teams. When we play better teams, in a series, we are not so great offensively. The Cleveland series, and the Orlando series come to mind when we had trouble getting out of the 80’s.

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My posting has tailed off because this team looks more depressing than promising. Still no true Center worth playing, still does not have a starting SF worthy of being a part of a perennial playoff team. Still no SF off the bench to push the sorry starting SF. Still no type of defensive presence whatsoever off the bench. This team is built to be SOFT, bottomline

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northcyde,

To add on to your point, I remember Hubie Brown saying your best player should not be the most well liked guy in the locker room.

On our team, our guys are too nice. We need somebody who is not afraid to get in somebody’s face if they’re not doing their job.

And I would report card #2. I know their games are different, but Bruce Bowen was good at 2 things. Defense, and the 3 from the corner.

Tayshaun Prince was known mostly for his defense. Ron Artest has bad shot selection, and a bad attitude at times. but the guy can be a lockdown defender at times.

One offseason, marvin worked on his 3 pt shooting, and he was much improved during the season. But something happened to him last year.

I hope Drew can undo/reverse the spell.

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Hey Coach! Put Me In!

SteveW

I got interrupted earlier, had to see the patients.
But, if Coach Drew will use the bench like Doc Rivers did all
season long? They will be primed and ready for the playoff.

Even, after Nate Robinson was acquired from NY Knicks,
after dropping 45 pts on my Hawks? Doc, sàt him for 3 months
straight and told him to be ready. That, he would win a play-off
game for the Celtics.

Nate stayed humble, believed and did win that play-off game with
Shrek. Nate, had to learn and wàtch how to play Celtics Ball!
Team, Together and no ball hogging. If perkins didn’t blow up his knee?

Celtics Win that series!

I hope Drew was watching that series and the series before against Orlando!
The Hawks could learn from how to rotate players.
Doc was brazen to put that ENTIRE bench out there in the 4th Qrtr.
All 5 4tarters sat and told Doc to leave the bench out there to embarrass the Lakers in Game 6. That takes a Big Pair!

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no marvin, the world knows that you guys suck when it come to the magic. what film have you been looking at. they have beaten you guys for the last three years like a drum. they ease up on you guys and you havent shown you can keep with the magic for more than one quarter. sorry they have got your number so bad it is down right stupid of a guy saying he is in college at unc to come to a conclusion the world knows you are better than that.

stevew thanks for the reality check on mr powell. still dont have any idea that etan has something left in the tank, looks good in a uni is about all i can say at this point. as far as him being an upgrade? there arent many folks you could put in a uni that wouldnt be an upgrade on randmo.

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cp

Thanks for the response to my query earlier today.

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Certains should be certain in the last post

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Reports are that the signing of Dampier by the Heat are imminent on Yahoo sports. The Heat have to release Da’Sean Butler if this occurs. If the Hawks do not sign him, they are idiots in my opinion. I know he would be the 15th guy, and now no wiggle room with the roster. But the guy is a potential star, on 2nd round money. And yes we would still be under luxury tax. The Hawks should be on Butler’s doorstep as the last line of Dampier’s contract is signed.

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One more thought: [this one on JC2]

Ordinarily I’m the positive guy and the optimist.
However, when it comes to JC2, I’m not seeing what
has sparked the inordinate amount of hyperbole on
this blog.

Please understand that I am not attempting to foreshadow
a sub-standard career. It’s just that for a normally
blood thirsty group of predators, you guys are suddenly
ready to champion this guy.

Good for him.

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Just to keep the focus on where the focus should be:

Weaknesses:

The Hawks have three glaring weaknesses: interior size, perimeter defense and point guard play. As good as Horford is right now at center, it doesn’t compensate for the fact that he’s playing out of position. For example, in four regular season games against Orlando Horford’s productivity dipped to 8 points and 7 rebounds (down from 14.2 / 9.9 on the season). Magic center Dwight Howard on the other hand powered to averages of 21 points and 16.8 rebounds in those contests. Chris Kaman, Brook Lopez, Andrew Bynum and even Brendan Haywood shared similar success against the Hawks inside. Moving out to the perimeter, Atlanta was constantly abused off the dribble by penetrating point guards. Bibby’s lateral quickness rapidly diminished and throughout the season he was a huge liability when opposing teams called isolations. Teague will get a shot to win the starting point guard position and his quickness will help alleviate some of the defensive gaps, but he’s turnover prone and ball control is something Bibby still excels in. Teague also averaged a whopping 4.1 fouls per 36 minutes as a rookie. Point guard play may be rocky early on.

Read more NBA news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17373#ixzz10K44l0Mr

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Marvin gotta’ keep his Game Tight!
Like Kobe on Game Night!
-Dee Jay from The ATL soundtrack-

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Oh yeah!

And, when Marvin leads this team in scoring inside and out and
knock down wide open threes and learns how to create his own shot while leading the team in assists and can lock down the other teams best scorer?

Then we can compare him to Mr. “Clutch” Johnson

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Getting to the Poinþ!

Grand-Daddy, the PG does a lot!
Sounds like the QB in Football!

It has to be the hardest job for a rookie to transition into!
That job description makes:

CP3
Deron Williams
Brandon Jennings

Seem more impressive at what they do.

Chauncey Billups took a while to put all that together.
John Wall has his work cut out for him with all the issues in DC.

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Mary Ellen

I should write a dissertation.
I only jotted down a few thoughts about the position.
And yes I do respect [CP3 & Deron Williams] as well.
Although it’s much easier to be a scoring point guard
as a rookie. As you said; “Chauncey Billups took a while”.
There is no way a rookie could do what Steve Nash does;
and the way he does it. (multiple responsibilities)
And yes…he took awhile as well.

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So the losing streak in 2nd round playoff games is now 15…lost the last three to Jordan and Da Bulls in ‘97, then the Knicks in ‘99, the Cavs in ‘09 and then Orlando.

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Another day closer til camp…Mann, I cant wait to hear about the write-ups on Teague, JC2, Pepe Sy, JPowell, EtanT, and J Collins…as u can see, im rootin for the underdogs to come out and TRY to out do the starters! GO HAWKS!! Oh, add MarvinW to that list too.

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Withthe should be with the in my last post

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About the Heat, I think everybody is saying the interior and PG are the Heats 2 biggest weaknesses. But to say Z and Magliore lack height is stretching it a little bit. That’s why the Heat want Damp so bad however, is they know their inside weakness.

That’s why I say the Heat never makes it past Boston, if the Celts are healthy. Ray, Paul, and KG match up pretty well with DWade, LeBron, and Bosh. Not as good currently, but match up pretty well. And the Heat have nobody to match up with Rondo or Nate in the backcourt, and definitely don’t have anybody to match up with Jermaine, Shaq, Kendrick, and Big Baby in the FC. Damp would help the Heat, but still may not be enough.

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SteveW…Heat could always waive Patrick Beverly, Shavlik Randolph, Kenny Hasbrouk, and/or one of their vets (Juwan Howard???)…I hope you’re right though…I’d give Butler a 3-yr partially guaranteed deal and then try to get him healthy for next year…Filling out our roster with 2nd round contracts (Sy & Butler) NEXT year will likely be needed.

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JoJo – you can only have 15 players with guranteed contracts on your roster. Dampier will be the 15tj guranteed contract on the Heat’s roster. The other guys can come to camp, but only as non-guranteed invitees. I think the other guys you mentioned are all non-guranteed invitees. My understanding is they have to waive De’Sean, but you can check if I’m wrong.

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The Truth,

You omitted Udonis from that list. I’m sure he will be the Heat first big man off the bench.

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The Truth, I would add our lack of depth at Small Forward as a weakness. If Mo is really a SG, as everybody on this blog seemed to suggest, then who do the Hawks have behind Marvin? We are overloaded at SG. So lack of balance is also a weakness.

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The Truth,

about this (which I realize are not your words):

“Magic center Dwight Howard on the other hand powered to averages of 21 points and 16.8 rebounds in those contests. Chris Kaman, Brook Lopez, Andrew Bynum and even Brendan Haywood shared similar success against the Hawks inside.”

Yeah Truth, I’ll admit that Howard dominated Horford like he does most other centers. But let’s look a little more closely at the other three that this writer says had “similar success”.:

Chris Kaman vs. ATL: 2 gms – 19 pts 10 reb
Al H. vs. LAC: 2 gms – 23.5 pts 8 reb

Not exactly domination by Kaman as Al outscored him and the Hawks won both games.

Brook Lopez vs. ATL: 3 gms – 17.3 pts – 8 reb
Al H. vs. NJN: 3 gms – 13 pts – 10 reb

Once again, I don’t see domination here, particularly since Lopez is the second option on offense for his team while Al is likely fourth. The Hawks won all three.

Andrew Bynum: 1 gm vs. ATL – 21 pts – 3 reb
AH vs LAL in that game: 6 pts – 9 reb (in 6 fewer minutes than Bynum)

Once again, not the domination that Howard had, unless you consider 3 rebounds in any way comparable to the 16.8 that Howard averaged.
Lakers won the game.

Brendan Haywood: 3 gms vs. ATL: 14.3 pts – 10 reb
Al H. in those 3 games: 10 pts – 10 reb

I’m not sure what Howard-like domination this writer saw, but I’m not buying it. Howard is a BEAST but Horford matched up pretty well against these others.

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Overall I think Marvin should have a better year just because he’s physically matured another year. I thought a lot of his stumbling a few years ago was because of his lack of physically maturity. I have no problem with Marvin working on his degree and his charity projects, I actually commend him for that, what I do have a problem with is his comments about the Orlando series. I understand not wanting to call anyone out, but you just can’t say you don’t know why you lost by that much! It was clearly a combination of things, but those things are obvious.
1) Howard is the best shot block and rebounder in the game (no easy baskets, few offensive rebounds)
2) PF that plays on the perimeter (No Smoove in the paint!)
3) Quick PG (Nuff Said!)

That combination, is way to much to handle for our guys with their current set of skills. We can’t score enough points to hang with Orlando, their strengths exploit our weaknesses. NY, Phoenix, GS don’t play good defense so we’re OK against them, even though they cause us a lot of problems. Our guys have to improve their personal games to really compete with Orlando. Horford and Smoove have to develop more offensive moves. Marvin has to get to the rim and finish. Bibby has to play better man-on-man defensive. And the coach has to better utilize the bench so the starters don’t get worn out.

I hope that Marvin understands the problems and just didn’t want to call out his guys for not being complete players. I hope that JJ is talking to Smoove and Horford off-line and is really in the ear of Marvin.

In terms of this summer, in my mind if we didn’t get a quality center like J. O’Neal or S. O’Neal, than I really didn’t care what we did. (Not counting re-signing JJ) Without those kind of moves I didn’t think anything else really mattered. Maybe Amare would have made us better, but we would have lost Smoove, Horford or JJ in the process.

I look forward to this season, and I hope that the guys took the summer to really improve on their games.

GO HAWKS!

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Rev – With Mo’s contract expiring, I don’t think we could find a more realistic ‘gamble’ than De’Sean. He has the potential to unseat Marvin in 2 to 3 years. And Marvin would make a great 1st forward off the bench, like Jamal is 1st Guard off the bench. Still interested in how the Jamal situation will play out contract/trade wise btw.

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Loving Steve W & Sautee’s comments today. Excellent job!

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Sautee

Thanks for the recognition that those were not my words. Maybe the scoring point-for-point stat you sighted may not be the best indicator. Generally speaking, the Hawks didn’t really stop opposing teams from scoring in the paint (last season) when critical stops needed to be made. Our low team defense ranking shows that as well. That certainly manifested itself in the playoff against the tough Bucks series and the Orlando beat-down. But yes, the Hawks being the 3rd best team in the east did prevail against teams’ likes NJ and the LAC, but that may have had more to do with our stronger backcourt masking our weaker interior. But let’s not kid ourselves; the big gorilla in the room is Dwight Howard. If you are comfortable with Howard dominating us with regular beat-downs because he dominates others then that’s good for you. For me, I’m tired of being sick and tired of getting punked by the lone Howard in postseason on national TV. It is what it is.

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The Truth,

Tell the Truth, Did Al and Josh give 100% or did they get frustrated with the switching and shut down, especially when they knew they had no backup since ZaZa was in lala land and Collins was busy at the snack bar.

Give LD and Conners to invoke a new philosophy, a new system. D12 will get off, but he shouldn’t allow ORL to completely dominate anyone unless the other team loses its resolve…which we did.

Somehow we’ve gotta get the mental edge on ORL that we got on BOS, similar to what we were trying to muster against CLE. It’s all mental, not physical. We have the talent, we just don’t have the mind or heart.

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@ the [3] position:
Marv, backed up by (in no particular order)
Mo, Josh, Joe -&- *Pape Sy.
Ol’ Paps is the wild card.

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Super Fiends front line:
Big ‘Z’ = 35
*Dampier? = 35
Haslem = 30
Magloire = 32
(((total))) = 132 years old!

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Fundamentals

Let’s stick with the basic or Fundamentals. I have no idea (for sure) whether Al and Josh gave 100% or if they got frustrated with the switching and shut down (as you suggested). They never really publicly commented on it. That may just have been a theory to sell or promote LD’s new O/D systems using Woody as a scapegoat. Not defending Woody, but he can’t play the game for these players. They are all millionaires; they have to be accountable for something. They have to execute. Yes, there is plenty of blame to go around for last season embarrassment but I’m just focusing on the personnel aspect right now. I don’t have any problem with the forward thinking of the Hawks plans for the upcoming season because I’m hoping the best for LD as well. But I’m not going to live in denial that last season didn’t really happen the way I saw it either.

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2 FOR JOHN DREW

A pleasure to entertain.
JD could really score (I also heard he once had an assist)!
I feel bad for him, the way things turned out.

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Mary Ellen

About D.Howard -&- concerning your thought:
“Go at him hard and make him foul you”
in addition;
with motion offense he cannot camp out in the middle
and be a goal-tender. He will be chasin’ folks around.
No matter who he’s gaurding, LD will have them moving
on the perimeter. Even if it’s Al or Josh
(setting -&- slipping screens and what-not). He will be
constantly moving, therefore unable to guard the lane as
he did a year ago.

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2 Live Stews!

Word on the Street!

Philly looking to trade Kevin Kolb!
Vick named Starter or rest of the year!

Happy for Michael. Instead of killing dogs – he’s killing defenses!
Great Turn Around! Now, if he can just stay away from clubs
and knuckle-heads. That includes Marcus Vick!

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Grand-Daddy

I like the sound of movement a lot!
Never saw that here in Atlanta, I did see exceptional ball
movement in the first 13 games last season!

What happened to that?

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I Give up!

All my posts are eaten alive .. I was just sayin,
2 Live Stews sayin’ – Word on the Street is The Eagles paid Kevin Kolb was paid
12M and now he is on the trading block? Vick named starter for rest of year.

Great turn around for Vick … Instead of killing dogs, he’s killing defenses.
TNow, if he can stay out of Night Clubs and Knuckle Heads (Marcus Vick) included.

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Ken regarding this:

“TRUTH-in your lineup scenario, if Lebron plays SG, who plays SF in that lineup? With 3 high average scorers and high volume shooters in Miami’s starting lineup, they will certainly need a pass first high assist PG to distribute the ball and run the OFF. Who is that PG?”

I would speculate that their normal lineup would be:

Chalmers – PG
Wade – SG
James – SF
Bosh – PF
Dampier – C

Then for substitutions:

Miller spells Wade
Haslem spells Bosh
Jones spells James
Big Z (or other backup centers) spells Dampier

If Lebron plays SG while Wade is at PG then James Jones plays SF

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Fundamentals – I have never under any circumstances suggested trading Al or Smoove straight up for ‘Melo. Wouldn’t do it. And definitely wouldn’t include them as part of a package, if I’m not willing to go straight up on a deal. Just wanted to clarify. If Jamal wants out, I don’t mind he and Marvin getting traded for ‘Melo, but not Al or Smoove, no way.

Grandad – attacking Howard is the perfect way to approach him. He fouls, and you get him off the court. I agree wholeheartedly. Remember how Hugh Durham used to beat Shaq at LSU? He made his players kamikaze Shaq on Offense, till Shaq got in foul trouble. Then the Dawgs would beat LSU in an upset – really just great coaching.

KenS – The Heat are talking about running DWade at PG in some circumstances and I think Juwan Howard would be the SF on that circumstance. Or James Jones. Look back at some of my other blogposts on the horrible bench I think the Heat have. But Damp will help them, and may even be what gets them past the Celts and Lakers. i think the Heat may win 75 games, but like Cleveland at 66 wins, I don’t think they’re built for teams with strong PG/Inside play. Bynum, Gasol, and Odom will eat Bosh and Co. alive inside. And Artest and Barnes guarding LeBron will punish him – the best combination you can throw at LeBron in my opinion. Artest, big and physical followed up by quick and tough Matt Barnes. And Kobe can still handle DWade as well as most anyone in the League. Lakers in 7 if Bynum’s healthy – and that’s if the Heat get by the Celts, which I doubt.

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I think Dwight kills the Hawks worse on Offense, rather than on Defense. Why? We don’t have a starter that can handle Dwight 1 on 1 – he’s too big, strong, physical and athletic. So we have to send someone down to help Al in the paint to double Dwight. Then he looks for the open man – and that’s why ORL has surrounded Dwight with shooters. They then have open looks all day. And with Jameer able to blow past Bibby at will, just another weapon they use to kill us. We don’t match up well with them at all. And the playoffs are all about match-ups. That’s why it is said that bigger C’s tend to bother Dwight. He can be played one on one, and it really crimps ORL’s style.

And don’t think the Bucks aren’t taking a cue from ORL. Bogut on the inside – and he was a beast last year, say what you want – kicking it out to Salmone, Redd, and Maggette will be a fierce combination. And with Jennings blowing past people, well, they got a good squad regardless of what we Hawk fans want to believe. If Bogut comes back healthy that is. Hadn’t the Bucks won like 12 in a row or something before Bogut was hurt? Their a good team, and better this year. And I know, they need to play defense, but Bogut can make up for alot of mistakes. Over 2.5 blocks per game last year.

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J-Smoove just did an NBA 2K Commercial. I thik his acting skills have improved.

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SteveW,

The Celts got one year older;
Lost their defensive strategist Thibodeau;
Lost Tony Allen (underrated defensive dynamo off the bench);
Lost ‘Sheed’s last remnants of interior D;
And will have Perkins probably only at about 70% of his ability come playoff time.

Added Shaq, a notorious coaster and in constant bad shape, poor screen and roll defender, poor interior defender;
Added Delonte West, an accident waiting to happen involving either guns or moms or both;
Added Jermaine O’Neill a guy who not only is on his last wheels but also is not known to be humble enough to play a diminished role with an happy face.

I say: 45/50 wins, second round exit.

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2009-2010 already happened. It’s all about what’s happening in 2010-2011. Can’t change what happened then. Lets move on into the new season.

Go Hawks!

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@ DrMaryb…
The NBA retirement fund has been a point of contention since its (NBAPA) formation. Go back and see Lenny Wilkins and Oscar Robertson’s comments from the mid 90’s on the matter. Bob Lanier certainly tried to address it. Look, it is not just the NBA, the NLRB has been on the professional sports leagues and their unions for years for underfunding not just the pension but the long term care instruments. It will be one of the things that will drive the next league contract.

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Man the consensus around the sports universe is that this Dampier signing makes the Heat much stronger, but may create chemistry issues in the locker room. Where does Z play? When? How about Anthony? Penciled in as starter, now off the bench competing with playing time with Z. You know Bosh and Haslem will be getting all the minutes at PF, so C – 48 minutes per night, and you have 3 guys used to starting to split the minutes up. Interesting. Sure hope we get Butler out of this.

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“In honor of his shooting percentage, she should get 36% of his money.”

Hahahaha!

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Let’s be realistic here, were the Hawks looking at DeSean Butler in the first place? I didn’t hear anything. Just don’t get your hopes up, Ricky Rick has already said he’s finished adding to the roster and will stand pat at 14….and I don’t see rick trading Jamal unless it’s for someone who will make us significantly better. Weather it’s now or next summer, I think Jamal will still sign with us. Joe needed a scoring sideckick, Sund knows this.

That’s just the realist in me. Personally, i’d love to add Butler to our roster. If Rick does add Butler then it probably means either Mo or Bibbly will get shipped (we all know how I Feel about that ^_^)

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YES I AM MAD!!! Were sitting up here blogging about the 10-14th player on this team when one of the top 5 players in this league could be had and no one from ASG has made it known they want to at least throw their hat in the ring!! Man Dampier will not get us a ring. Nor will this team as it is contstructed. If the Hawks dont make a move on Carmelo they dont deserve to have fans in the seats this year. They wont get a dime from me if they dont i will watch the games at home. My son is 14 years old he has no pride in hardly of the atlanta teams except maybe the Braves but he was too little to know when they went to the world series. Come on man step up!!

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Nah, no talk about us getting De’Sean except here. Just hoping, that’s all. As a Hawks fan, you learn to hope alot. And I won’t hold my breath on 57 wins. The East is much better than last year. I do see a fast start, maybe 19-1. Others have suggested 14-4. But then the schedule gets tougher. I went game by game with games I felt we should win, and came up with 58. My gut tells me 46 wins, 36 losses, but tougher in the playoffs.

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SteveW & Ken

You guys are really reaching to identify the problems with the Heat.

If the Heat start Big-Z and Marion Chalmers both player are capable of being solid starter.

Big Z can still give 10 to 11ppg & 7 to 8 reb a night. When you have LBJ, D-Wade, & CB that’s all you need out of the center position.

Remember Chalmers was top 5 in the league in steal in 08-09. I I’m not mistaken, I think he had a game where he 8 to 10 steal in 1 game that season.

The bench for the Heat will be just as good has any with Carlos Arroyo, James Jones, Mike Miller, Haslem, and/or (Anthony, Magloire, or Howard). That’s a solid bench.

Will the Hawks bench be better? Sure. However it’s as big a difference as we think.

Wade and James are 2 of the most intelligent and unselfish players in the league they will make sure this team jells quickly, and avoid any ego traps.

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@ DMB…
I thought I remembered but I wanted to double check…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2769817

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DMB/GD
You guys are great … Keep bloggin’ & I’ll keep reading !!!!!!

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Astro Joe,
Horf wants some 4 action. Against Orlando, why not throw Zaza, Collins and Etan at Howard, a la “Hack a Shaq” and let Horf shoot his midrange from the 4 spot. Foul out 3 guys….who cares, we still have Powell to fill in at 4 and let Horf finish the game at 5. Marvin could even throw in some time at the 5 against Orlando. What we did last year obviously didn’t work….time for something new. Hack a Howard…..we have the guys who can do it…use em.

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JSS

Thanks for the old-timers link, that was a good read.

2 for John Drew

You are hilarious my friend. Well, I gotta’ go now. Later Yall!

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GeeMack – I have a difficult time seeing how predicting the Heat may win 75 games is looking for fault with them. All I know is if the Hawks were trotting out Arroyo and Chalmers as our PG’s, we would be howling for blood. Most of these fans already think Teague and Bibby stink basically, but we’ll see how they stack with Arroyo, Chalmers, and House.

Let’s day the Heat sign Damp. He will be their starter and best C. Is Al better than Damp? Yes. By a lot. Some other examples: James Jones versus Mo’ – Mo’ wins. Miller versus Jamal – Jamal wins. The Heat barring injury will be a great team, but not unbeatable in the playoffs by a long shot.

And 1 more team that may give them fits – Dallas. Haywood and Chandler will dominate inside, and they have no answer for Jason Kidd.

I can see the Magic with Howard and Jameer playing the Heat tough also.

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Enter your comments here

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“MsDee

September 23rd, 2010
4:51 pm
Dukester,

Who says that Sund isn’t or haven’t been trying to make offers to these top players wanting out of their current teams?? ”

MsDee, Sund himself told everyone he is not in the running for any elite FA. That could mean a couple of things:

1) He isn’t going to try and outbid or win over anyone
2) He is completely satisfied with the roster.

It could mean he isnt’ opposed to bringing in other players, but the track record speaks for itself when he has been the GM. Being at this job for what, 30 years, you tend to develop and pattern.

I never expect anything substantial to impact the current core, but it would be nice if a Dominique type transaction could happen to bring in more help.

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Astro Joe

I was thinking we could throw the whole team at Dwight.
Penetrating 1, 2 & 3’s. The 4 & 5. Just come in waves!

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It is being reported that if the Bulls include Noah in the deal, they would be the front runner for Carmelo.

If you’re the Bulls, would you include Noah in the trade?

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Are All Star Centers harder to find than SF?

I’d keep Noah, they’ll reget it if they don’t.

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Mello looks to be staying in Denver at least till the trade deadline Knicks , Nets ,and Bulls look to be staying put .

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Fundamentals, if I was the Bulls, and Melo agreed to a deal, I’d trade Noah for him in a heartbeat. If you have Rose, Brewer (who is underrated in my mind), Melo, and Boozer with Gibson and Korver (I think) on the bench, you’ll be able to do a lot for the next 3-4 seasons. Noah is a good player, but he can’t take you to the playoffs by himself. Melo can! If Melo was able to lead the Nuggets to the playoffs in the WEST for 7 years straight. Imagine what he could do in the East. MJ and Pippen had Luc Longley for a starting center. If I was the Bulls, I’d do that deal and then look to trade Gibson to GS for Biedrins (who are looking to trade him). Also if they traded Noah but kept Deng, they could possibly end up with a good center from trading Deng elsewhere.

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By the way, now that Nelson is gone, I wonder if GS would want Crawford back, lol. Or how about Marvin and Mo for Biedrins?

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SteveW, Bosh is not a better player than Smoove! Bosh can’t take it to Smoove like that.

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The problem is James. With their addition of Miller, they have the outside shooting that makes you pay if you double team when James and Wade drives. And then also Jones is good from the outside. But Bosh is not the problem.

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An old Hawks player popping back up on the NBA radar…

Jerry Zgoda: #Timberwolves bringing DeMarr Johnson, Maurice Ager, former Gopher John Thomas and former Wolf Jason Hart to camp to fill out roster

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Speaking of the Hawk’s John Drew, my brother was his bookkeeper/friend back in the mid eighties. NBA and the players’ Union screwed him big time. Here’s the story, John Drew had a big drug problem and was at the end of his career. When the NBA started the new League’s and Union approved drug policy. Mainly, a player would be banned for life if the failed two drug test. The big screw for John Drew was he failed a drug test before the new rule went into effect in 1984. Drew failed another drug test after the new rule in 1985, but the NBA wanted an example and the Union allowed Drew to be the sacrifical lamb to protect the new star players. Drew was unfairly banned from the league and the Union did not attempt to offer him any help. Two years later the tale gets worse for Drew, he had left Garner-Webb after two years in college without the ability to read and now with no means of financial support he falls into a abyss. While with the Hawks, my brother had successfully convinced the Hawks to defer 400k in salary to the years of 1992,93,94, & 95 100k per year in order to hopefully provide John with financial security. Unfortunately by 1988, John is completely destitute and a Crack Head. Also that year, the Hawks agreed to John’s wishes by cashing in his salary deferments for 40k or 10k a year. The Hawks should been a shame of theirselves, but business is business. The Hawks allowed the salary deferments to mature and cashed them. Fast forward to 2002 when John reaches the age of 45 which makes him eligible to receive his NBA pension of 85k a year for life. Unfortunately, my brother attempts numeral times to contact John, but to no avail. John is completely lost. The story ends well in 2008, John is found living under a bridge in Houston. My brother makes contact with him by miracle while getting taxicab in Houston; he somehow sees John. My brother tells him the Union has been looking him for years to save face. Drew gets his back pension and drug counseling. After completing a drug program, John begins driving a taxicab and telling people about his life story. At last account, he is doing well! Look for a movie about his life soon!!

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Ramon – I was not suggesting that Bosh is better than Smoove. I am a former coach, and have been trying to devise a way the Hawks can beat the Heat. So I developed a parody based on “brawl ball”, otherwise known as “basketbrawl”! And I still feel that if a suplex is in order, ZaZa can deliver it much more effectively than Smoove on Bosh.

Now would I trade Smoove for Bosh straight up? Yes. I think Bosh may be slightly better all things considered. But Smoove is definitely a great passer and shot blocker. But we could discuss that for a long time – both are great PF’s in my opinion.

Back to the parody – I would put Smoove on LeBron after Marvin gets tired and tell him to trash talk to his hearts content. Maybe he gets in LeBron’s head a little bit.

Anyhow, no easy way to defend Superfriends. Fortunately, the 3 will be on the court together for probably less than half the game. They’ll probably all 3 average 36mpg or so, but will be in and out at different intervals.

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Man I used to enjoy watching Drew go head to head with Dr. J. Always seemed to be a great game, and they both excelled. Was Drew the last player to use the glass effectively from mid-range or what?

George Gervin, Adrian Dantley, Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Rick Barry, Pistol Pete, Lou Hudson, Darryl Dawkins, World B Free etc. Man were those the days! Joe Barry Carroll – the list just goes on….

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Ramon – also on previous posts I have said if Bosh goes down, you still have a problem – if Wade or LeBron goes down, you have a chance.

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Lebron James has a real good shot at averaging close to 10 assists this year. His game has always been more Oscar Robertson than Michael Jordan. Wade will lead them in scoring. Bosh will still be a 20 ppg – 10 rebs guy.

At least one of these guys will be in the game at all times.

At least two of these guys should be in the game 3/4ths of the game.

You win with talent in the NBA. The reason why we won 53 games, is because we were talented. Every one of their veterans have playoff experience . . even Mike Miller ( when he was in Memphis ).

Before the Hawks can worry about the Heat, they need to form an identity of their own. After that, they need to make a full commitment to playing good team defense on a nightly basis.

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Marvin Williams is the biggest disappointment and weakness with this team when you think about making the step to elite team. Let’s be frank here, if the Hawks are gonna get out of the 2nd round and into the Eastern Conference Finals they will have to become an undeniable Elite team in the NBA. I just don’t see that happening without upgrading Marvin Williams position more than any other position. Even if you have to move Josh Smith to SF and go out and get a stronger and or taller C than Al. I keep saying it because it is true. Moving Josh to SF and going after a C is more feasible than thinking a Pg is going to fall into your laps. People, if you watched Billups this summer you know that he has lost 2 steps and is not good on defense anymore and noone is looking to trade you Paul, Williams, Rondo, Rose, Westbrook or anyone on that level, plus Teague is not a pure PG and will take a lot of time considering he did not even play the position exclusively in college. Next, we don’t need anymore SG’s if we wanted to go small just forget defense and throw Crawford in there which I am not a fan of the idea. Next, we have 2 guys that can play PF at an all-star level in Al and Josh. Next, Josh has played SF before and the zone is now legal in the NBA, which is a defense we seem to refuse to use. Lastly, this summer is going to be huge for Center on the FA market. Javal McGee, Greg Oden, Samuel Dalembert, Marc Gasol, and Kendrick Perkins are all Free Agents of some sort. Add to that the fact that I would have rather had Al Jefferson on this team trying to play C due to his girth than Al Horford we have made too many mistakes when having chances to go after guys. We have a better chance at getting a C and moving Josh to SF than getting a SF.

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LOL..Too funny Dr Mary and yet so true about Mrs. LaLa!!

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La La La La La …. La La La – La!

Isn’t that a Christmas Carol?

Ms. Dee

I had to do it! I had to bash that Diva! She needs to get a Life!
She may be running Melo – But, she ain’t running the NBA!

We don’t give a damn what she wants!
She is a Gimmick! If she had some talent?
Your talent is your Gimmick! She apparently ain’t got none.

Didn’t she start out as a DJ for Ludicrous – in Atlanta?
Then she need to spin a damn record on the 1’s and 2’s and
stay out of the NBA! This is a grown man’s business!

I see the two of them as a – Goody’s Powder 2 Pack!
That’s what the GM will need if he signs Melo & La La!

I believe they have over-estimated Melo’s market value.

I’m just sayin’

Shaq made the same mistake and you see what he got paid!
Ha Ha – La La!

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Dr Mary,

Totally agree with ya on both comments; Mrs. LaLa and Jamal. I wish someone could hand me a 10mil paycheck..hay, we could split that baby and still be satisfied!! LOL!!

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Past is Prelude.
-drmaryb-

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pg – Pistol Pete
sg – Lou Hudson or Steve Smith
sf – Nique
pf – Kevin Willis
c – Mutombo

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I hope someone gets Smoove to read this.

This is getting completely out of hand with Stern protecting his “marquee products”:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5609817

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Maybe Stern has been talking to McMahan of the WWE….sometimes seems that way.

Josh will, no doubt, have a different voice in his ear this season. Mrs. Smith. Perhaps a combination of lost revenue and “honey don’t” will help him go quietly after the ref issues his edicts. Maturity coming with matrimoney….could happen.

Yes, where players perceive they are being mistreated, it’s natural to want to speak out. LD will have to get JS’s attention before the season starts on this ref issue. Ref’s know JS’s past history and will have him in the crosshairs. He’s a marked man. Let’s see if they treat Stern’s “superstars” equally. Pixie dust displays should fit within this edict, IMHO.

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*excuse the bold

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWb7749kjc&feature=related

I cried then and I cried again now remembering that awful trade.

the hawks franchise should remain haunted forever on account of that.

this link is only part 1, there are 3 more.

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Wally Walker
Wow, thanks man for that piece on my favorite (obviously) Hawk of all-time !
He was such a fun guy. Every time he scored he’d pull his trunks up, and when he got hot, I was afraid his onions were going to pop out, those trunks were already daisy-dukes ! (lol)

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BTW,

Great post Wally Walker!

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And when the Heat get up by 20, which I expect them to do alot, I wouldn’t be surprised if the sit all 3, and let say 12 be the firewall. When the other team gets within 12, we put 1-3 of the superfriends back in. Here’s hoping Dampier goes to Denver btw!

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Training Camp and Media Day signify the beginning of the new season. So looking forward to next week. Not looking back at what happened back then.

Moving on, go Hawks!

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SteveW,

The only problem I see with your 10:15am post is that you ignore the fact that the Hawks would not receive any luxury tax pay outs for being under the luxury tax. That’s probably around 5-10 mil depending on the final tax monies paid into the pool at the end of the season. Being that the ASG are frugal spenders, i doubt if they would want to miss out on those pay outs.

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We sold a pick for $3,000,000, we have not used that $3M. We traded Childress for sometype of exemption, we have not used it.

Therefore, one of two things is happening. Either the Hawks are still planning other moves or we are being lied to and are being shortchanged by owners who strive to do the minimum.

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I don’t think Orton will be more than a 5ppg 5rpg career bench guy at best which is something we can always get at minimum wage and without too much hassle.

so I am not to unhappy about the 3 million trade.

there are not too many cases of players taken late in the draft who end up being successful and that number is even lower when we talk about bigs.

heck, the success rate when drafting bigs is low even in the lottery picks.

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I think the Hawks signing Etan and Collins show we are still concerned with inside defense. Etan could very well turn out to be a key to this season, if he stays healthy. And I can definitely see him becoming a crowd favorite – long locks, lots of hustle, take no prisoners attitude.

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Wally Walker – thanks – what a great ball player.

Vava74 – Great documentary on Dominique! He is a very erudite gentleman. I still remember seeing him play in college against UTChattanooga in the Omni. And how shocked we were we got him on draft day. I liked Lenny Wilkens, and he may have been the best coach we’ve ever had (sorry Hubie and Fratello) but I hated when we traded ‘Nique. And yes, that Boston game 7 should have sealed the fact that ‘Nique was one of the 50 best of all time. People forget he developed a dead on outside J in his career.

Remember how the Hawks wouldn’t add anybody from 2nd round loss playoff teams in the 80’s, and we were supposed to believe that ‘Nique developing his left hand over the summer was supposed to get us over the hump to a championship? Lot’s of similarities between those teams and this. We had a young core – Wilkens, Levingston, Carr, Rivers, Webb, Willis, Wittman etc. and we were just supposed to grow from there.

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Ryan, that’s not such bad news. But it would be 1 more great player in the East from last season – Boozer, Amare, and now maybe ‘Melo. The East is certainly rising.

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Grandad – I didn’t know this, but the Nuggets may waive Billups at the end of the season according to ESPN. The only have to pay 3.7m of his 14.2m contract if he’s waived after this year, which they may do to begin rebuilding. Would you be up to signing Billups for a couple of years, even at the end of his career? i would.

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You have to be some what worried about Harris as a Bobcat when he is healthy he one the best point guards out there and he being coached by Larry Brown who knows a thing or to about PGs if this trade goes through .Oh and forget Bobcats are a playoff team .

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SteveW

With a resounding ~Yes Sir~!
*[on Chauncey]*

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Originally posted by Obrien

We have a good idea of what we will get from Josh, Al, Jamal and JJ, although they can still raise their games. But the biggest impact will be determined by Marvin, PG play, and defense.

If Marvin can knock down the open shots more consistently, play even better defense, and improve his rebounding, this team will be that much better.

Obrien: No disrespect but if you are still counting on Marvin in any sense you are stupid, bottomline. This deep in his career and people admit that you don’t know what you are going to get from him but you still have some hope. How stupid does that sound? Sounds like you are waiting on the messiah or something. That’s just stupid bottomline. Get rid of his bad contract.

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Marvin “The Team-Glue” Williams

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Sign Me Up!

Grand-Daddy said this to SteveW:

SteveW

“With a resounding ~Yes Sir~!
*[on Chauncey]*”

I got 5ive on it!

Like I said last nite/this morning: patience is a virtue on all
these guys! Wait till the off-season.

Make them “Nubby Little Fingers wait to sign them dotted lines!”
Give them a reason to play harder this next season!

They only show up when they want something anyways!
Never let them see you Sweat! Never That!

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Nuggets to get Kirilenko, Favors and maybe a couple of 1st picks for ‘Melo if this deal goes down between the Jazz, Bobcats, Nuggets, and Nets. No wonder Dampier may want to sign with the Nuggets. That’s a good deal in my opinion for the Nuggets. Bobcats giving up Diaw for Devin Harris? I’m missing something there. I think I like Diaw too much or something, or I’ve missed Devin Harris good games last year – something. Maybe Devin is better than I think.

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The Hawks are ranked 10th in preseason rankings. What does it mean?
http://dealingdominiquewilkins.blogspot.com/

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I mean Devin Harris put up some decent stats – but Shooting % of 40.3, 3 P shooting % of 26.7. That’s some poor #’s right there. It just seems like he’s regressing from early in his career.And Diaw just seems solid – 48.3% shooting, over 5 boards and 4 Asst. per game. Just solid.

But we signed Pape Sy to atone for trading Boris away – the French will like us again.

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Tim – we’re 14th in those rankings – the Bucks are 10th, the Bulls 5th, Magic 4th, Celts 3rd, and Heat 2nd. Notice we are ranked 6th in the East now – and 3rd in our division. But they don’t play the season on paper, but on the court – so we’ll see.

Also notice we have to play 2 of the top 4 teams 8x this season. We’ll be doing good to go 1-7 in those matchups – but again, who knows? We may sweep them….

KenS – Here’s hoping your correct in your assesment of the the Heat and Bulls. We shall see. I think Boozer getting injured is more of a chance in Chicago.

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Camp starts Monday

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Steve. Thanks. I looked at the wrong number. Change made on the blog.

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HoosierHawk @ 4:56 pm

You took Utah out of the equation
+
all tghe draft picks!

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This is called an unintended player’s bait and switch routine:

“Dampier issue with Heat not necessarily what he wants, but also Heat commitment, financially and otherwise, to Anthony, Z, Magloire, Pittman”

http://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat

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Truth wouldn’t that mean Atlanta likely wouldn’t be his choice either, because we have 4 centers on the roster as well.

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Grandad,

I dido that on truthspitter!! Based on his STUPID comments on Marvin this WHOLE ENTIRE OFF SEASON, Im truely rootin for Marvin to break out!! Can’t wait to hear what he would to say on Marvin then!!

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I would love for him to goto Denver or Houston. Especially if it meant him not being on another team in the East.

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A man can dream:

If the aforementioned trade goes down
-&-
NJ truly wants a [pt g] then here goes::

Bibby + Marv to – Jersey
Troy Murphy & Q.Ross to – Hawks

*works on trade machine.

*we get two expirings with the ability to re-sign
both Jamal + Al.
*possibly could re-sign TM to a reduced sal.???

*NJ gets [pt g]
*plus NJ gets versatile young forward
to counter loss of Favors.
*Marv a better perimeter shooter than Melo.
*Marv a better defender than Melo
*Melo could essentially play the [4] on *offense
*Melo is ssuperb in the post.

Alas…It’ll never happen…but…

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Troy Murphy is garbage and way too soft to help the Hawks in the long run. We don’t need a second white guy on the team just for the sake of appeasing the republican, KKK, tea party red necks of Atlanta

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Devin Harris 3 years ago – yes. Now? Is it just because he’s been in NJ he’s tanking? 40.3% shooting is horrible. 27.6% from 3pt land – horrible. .Devin Harris PER is 16.3, while Jamal’s is 18.5. Just sayin’ – and he’s also injury prone – he missed 18 games last year, 13 the year before, 18 the year before that.

Devin’s shooting % has declined in each of the past 5 years
His 3 pt.% has declined in each of his last 4 years.

Now all that being said, let me clarify myself: Jamal wants out – I would trade him for Devin Harris straight up. But Jamal is a better player in most aspects of the game than Devin. Even Devin’s steals are down – he averaged the fewest steals he had in 4 years last year – and that’s playing over 8mpg more than he was playing when he last averaged that few of steals.

But we do need a PG, and if they would take Bibby’s contract along with Jamal, then yes, I could see us starting Harris, Teague off the bench, moving Mo’ to 2, and signing Stackhouse to back up Marv. Works for me. I just needed to clarify the scenario’s a little bit.

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“Devin is in decline”

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Devin would fit in with the up tempo style however. One reason I like Mo Williams over Harris, is he shoots 42% from the 3 pt. line as opposed to 27.6% for Devin. Those 3 pointers are what you want in the motion offense.

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truthspitter that political junk is uncalled for if you don’t like Troy Murphy fine that other crap is nonsense .

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truthspitter:
“Man I tell you, I am glad you guys are mere bloggers who sound lost and uneducated on the game of basketball

“So, I would offer Marvin and Mo for Devin Harris in a split second”

Lost -&- Uneducated:
Okay why would you add Mo;
*(an asset) which could be used in a later trade. [perhaps]
*[whether you like him or not)!
Marv for D.Harris works straight up. [trade machine]

So, why give away assets when you don’t have to.

This particular blogger researches all his proposed trades.
[ahead of time]

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Guys like truthspitter is why this country is divided can we have a talk about sports with out some moron who has an agenda .

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Where are you at truthspitter? I’m calling you out. You owe everybody on this blog an apology.

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This will unite everyone GOD BLESS AMERICA GO HAWKS .

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yes Murphy is soft and we don’t need him other than to add another white looking guy to the team for those who want that, which there are many

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I consistently talk about adding Biedrins so you can go somewhere else if you think I am racist. I just don’t see the need for Murphy other than the obvious

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Why not just a Team who wins, regardless of skin color. Racism is almost dead in the circles I run in, which are many. Let it die, and lets get along and love each other regardless of skin color. It’s the best way.

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Allow me to illustrate an example of some seriously flawed thinking, and someone with some personal issues. Under various names, this one individual has promoted his single issue opinions about C AHorford. He says the Hawks will never get past the 2nd rd with him at center.

Now, here’s where the ignorance and stupidity comes in. He doesn’t mention, or seem to feel, we’ve been hindered in any way by the fact that Horford and his teammates have to compensate offensively and defensively for the NBA’s least productive starting PG. In fact, Bibby ranked 45th among all PG’s in overall production, and since there are only 30 teams, it means 15 BACKUP PG’s were more productive.

SO, THIS FOOL BELIEVES A YOUNG, ATHLETIC, QUICK, FAST, AGGRESSIVE AND IMPROVING ALL STAR CENTER, WHO RANKED 9TH OVERALL, IS A FAR, FAR BIGGER HINDERANCE TO THE HAWKS ABILITY TO GET PAST THE 2ND RD THAN A SLOW, NONE ATHLETIC, NONE PENETRATING, RAPIDLY DECLINING, AND PAST HIS PRIME, 45TH RANKED PG. STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES!

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Truthspitter, I’ve heard you speaking, but haven’t seen an apology.

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KenS – Very good point. Hoping Teague fits the bill. He’s definitely an athlete. I’m really warming up to the idea of trading Jamal (if he wants out and will be a disruption) and Bibby for the best possible PG we can get. Move Mo’ down to 2, and sign Stackhouse, Wilkens, Hayes or somebody as the backup 3.

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Atlanta is the city of chokers Bobby Cox is a choker and his teams are also. This dark city is cursed with guys who don’t have heart and Troy Murphy certainly fits that build. I see why the losers of the world want him. He fits in.

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Can someone bring me up to speed with the 4 way trade in talks for Melo, has it been stated that Atlanta is going to be involved in this 4 way trade or is it just speculation on everyone’s part? Thanks in advance.

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JE – Just speculation, and wishful thinking I believe. Still between Nets, Bobcats, Nuggets, and Jazz – Nuggets get Favors, Kirelenko, and a couple of 1st picks – Jazz get Diaw – Bobcats get Devin Harris, and of course the Nets get ‘Melo. They say ‘Melo doesn’t want to go to NJ, and that’s the hold up. Still wants Bulls, Knicks, or Heat.

And Dampier has backed away from the Heat for now….

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Sund is also a horrible GM and noone calls him on it but everyone pointed the finger directly at Knight even though he was responsible for Al and Bibby who helped the team make the playoffs. Furthermore, what is Sund doing Washington just resigned Blatche. Where is the extension for Al so we can move on with the Jamal situation?http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-wizardsmoves

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5612296

Get Demp and dump some salaries at mid-season.

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Truthspitter i do agree that the Hawks have the worst owners and the Braves and Liberty group are terrible but to bring up George Bush and the KKK is not needed on her do that at those political blogs .

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Truthspitter – I have found racists of every color. And it’s been my experience that their are far more racists in the North than in the South. And I know of no one who votes KKK. David Duke was in the KKK or something, and almost nobody voted for him. If you vote for Biblical morality, freedom, and less gov’t interference and less taxes, that doesn’t make you a racist. And this is a basketball blog, so let’s stick to B’ball.

Signing Damp: Pros – The best big body we have down low for defense. Yes, better than ZaZa.
We could start Al at C, bring ZaZa and Damp off the bench at C, and every 3rd or 4th game let Collins get off of Reserve and get some minutes.
We could have Josh Powell and Etan back up Smoove on a nightly basis, and allow, Horford to play more 4 and Smoove some 3.

Negatives: We are at 15 if we sign Damp. If Bibby or Teague breaks a leg, no wiggle room to acquire another legit PG. Or if Marvin goes down, how do we get another legit 3? Having an open roster spot helps for the just in case stuff.

It may disrupt chemistry. If Collins and Powell are expecting more playing time, Damp certainly puts the kabosh on that idea.

I say sign him – but not everybody here thinks that way. I think it makes us a better team. We match up better with the Magic, Heat, Boston, Bulls – really just about everybody with that extra low post prescence.

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Aw man – now the Bucks want Dampier with Bogut out – either get him out of the East, get him on a bad team in the East or let the Hawks get him – not the Bucks! It’s cold Milwaukee Eric – your from Mississippi – stay in the south where it’s warm! ATL – Go Hawks!

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I don’t want to to talk about politics i dont like republicans or dems DC is corrupt and so is congress thats why i have sports to escape to .

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Good for you Steve my sister is a republican and I love her but not her politics or beliefs. She loves playing the blame game like all republicans. She only thinks about her well being which is centered around advancing levels in society and economic status like all republicans. Bush was not in offense a full year and he had us going into a war that the republicans still have not explained what we went to war for, and all the republicans care about is money. They want to paint the current president as doing a bad job even though he has not had any major hiccups unlike Bush. I guess they don’t care that he got there kids killed just because he could. They only care that there pockets are fat. What immoral pieces of manure the republican, KKK, tea party members are.

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Dad was President of the UAW in ATL back in the day – Brother co-writes books with Thom Hartmann of Air America Radio (now Cumulus I believe). Yeh, some raving tea bagger I am.

If anybody criticized Billy Knight for any other reason other than them feeling he was a bad GM – shame on them.

And if somebody won’t criticize Rick Sund because he’s White – shame on them.

And if somebody feels that Billy Knight was a bad GM, but defends him because he’s Black – racist

And if somebody feels that Rick Sund has done a good job, but criticizes him because he’s White – racist.

And if two people can do the exact same thing, but you defend 1 based on skin color – racist. Get over it, and let’s be part of the human race man. All this division is not caused by George Bush, but the devil, to keep us from coming together and doing what’s best for the country – regardless of skin color. Love Truthspitter.

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“Love Ya too Steve” but its all true.

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This Nov 2 the US is at the crossroads to we take same path we have been doing for past 30 years or is a change coming that all i have to say about that no more .

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The only teams in Atlanta we can count on to make the playoffs are the Hawks and the Dream.

SHAKING MY GOT DAM HEAD

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SteveW

“All this division is not caused by George Bush,
but the *[devil]* to keep us from coming together
and doing what’s best for the country”

Steve – you’re only half right.

*It’s the devil -&- **Rush Limbough**

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Grandad – Ha!

Dampier – don’t let him go to the Bucks – the Rockets or the Nuggets – or even the Hawks – but not the Bucks or Heat.

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What has happened to this blog? smdh…. Lmao@Clyde though. Clyde what about the Falcons or have you given up on them. I wont ask you about the Braves smh.

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Sund is waiting on the market to die out before making Dampier an offer. Remember 2 years ago when Randolph Morris made the call to Sund to tell him he wanted to play here? Well Sund didn’t pursue him either. Damp would have to beg to join this roster.
No surprises on how Sund operates. He keeps it simple and is no risk, and little reward as well.

There is a reason Sund states we are fighting for a Top 4 seed this year.

And Avery Johnson has surprised me twice now. He had just been quoted that Favors would be going nowhere and also stated how there was no conflict between he and Devin Harris, his first PG in Dallas.

Can’t trust anyone making quotes these days can you?

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KenS – I agree. Great points. Do you think Jamal would do a Carmelo type thing – pay me or trade me? That was the initial reports concerning his contract status. Wish he would just play hard, and let the chips fall where they may at seasons end.

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Ken, I wholeheartedly agree with you 12:36 post.

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Truth, if the Hawks were to do that deal, and Teague breaks a leg in preseason, where does that leave us? Or if Teague starts off as a turnover machine, what would we do then?

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Ok, how did Sund ‘build’ a playoff team? The team was a playoff team when he got here! And 6 of the top 7 players were brought in by Knight, not by Sund. So if Sund is 12th, Knight should be 12th A. Because this team is his model.

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Ramon,

Agreed. Sund inherited a playoff team…

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Blog Clown!

Big Ump
Rev in Tampa

Thanks for the shout outs!
Hey, if you don’t know me by know?
You will never, never, never know me.

I am The Comedian and The Entertainment Reporter.
I see all things as funny, especially in sports.

I Love this Game!

I think someone jacked truthspitter’s I.D. though.

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Throw in The Towel!

Here is the Article by David Aldrige of the BK interview:

I googled this and there is a photo of BK donning grey Hawks
T-Shirt and sweating on a tread mill with a towel around his
neck: enjoy!

”
Posted Nov 23 2009 9:49AM

A lot of thoughts about the mess in New Orleans, the re-birth of the cool in Milwaukee, a huge jump in the Top 15, the Kings’ shocking start, T-Mac’s progress, Steve Nash’s disgust with last season and other stuff this week, but before all that, a few thoughts about a guy who isn’t in the NBA right now, and should be.

Watching the Hawks in Boston on Friday night, I saw Joe Johnson taking over in the fourth quarter, and Al Horford putting up another double-double, and Josh Smith filling up the box as always (which is why he was my second pick in my fantasy draft, after Kevin Durant; feeling good about the Timorous Poltroons!) and Mike Bibby looking fresher than he’d been in the last few years, and backup center Zaza Pachulia coming off the bench and throwing his body around.

And I wondered where Billy Knight was, and if he was watching.

As it turned out, he only saw part of Friday’s game, because Friday night is Date Night in the Knight household (been there), and he had been out with his wife, Danita. By the time I caught up with Saturday afternoon, he had a chainsaw in his hands, outside his Atlanta home. Not what you may be thinking.

“I’ve remodeled my basement,” he said. “Now I’m working on landscaping for my wife, taking down trees. That’s not my forte. I’m gonna have that chainsaw and I might chip off part of the house.”

It was good to catch up, but not good, because, at 57, Billy Knight shouldn’t have all this free time. With a lot of horrible teams bringing down the quality of play in the Association, Billy Knight should be someone’s general manager this season, doing the same thing that he did in Atlanta and the same thing he started with Memphis: finding young talent that is NBA-worthy and allowing it to grow and mature. But he’s clearing trees instead, waiting for a call from somebody 18 months after stepping down as the Hawks’ GM in May, 2008.

At the time, Knight probably jumped before he was pushed, a victim of the infighting in what had to be the most dysfunctional front office in the league. The Hawks’ ownership group, Atlanta Spirit, is a collection of massive egos living in Atlanta and in the Washington, D.C. suburbs that has spent much of the past decade fighting with one another, plotting one coup or another to replace this minority owner with that one, with the ultimate goal of controlling the NBA’s Hawks and the NHL’s Thrashers, as well as Philips Arena.

The only time they spoke with one voice was when they were trying to remove Steve Belkin, the team’s former (for now, anyway) owner that had 30 percent of the team, but who — with the league’s blessing — was forced out before he could buy out his ex-partners. (Years of legal wrangling have left the various parties pretty much where they were in 2005, when the fight began.)

The Hawks’ 8-2 start this season, which already has included wins at Portland and Boston, and a rout of Denver at home, continues the team’s upward arc — a playoff appearance in ‘08 for the first time since 1999, which led to that crazy seven-game first-round series with Boston; 47 wins last season, and a postseason series win for the first time in a decade. And it’s the maturation of Atlanta’s core group — Johnson, Smith, Horford, Marvin Williams — that made that possible. (The Hawks also still have the NBA rights to Josh Childress, a Knight 2004 first-round pick who is in his second season in Greece after being unable to reach agreement with Atlanta on a new contract the past two summers.)

“I’m proud of those guys,” Knight said. “I’m very proud of the way they played this year, and all the way through. I was proud of them that first year … each year has been a progression when they were getting better and better, and that’s what we were trying to do. You know the constraints that were put on us in Atlanta, where we had to do it with a smaller budget … but a lot of teams are. A lot of teams are doing that. And I didn’t have a problem doing it that way.”

By the way, this has nothing to do with Rick Sund, who replaced Knight in Atlanta, or the group he’s brought in. They have adeptly added to the foundation Knight laid, acquiring Jamal Crawford from Golden State, drafting guard Jeff Teague and signing veteran power forward Joe Smith, making the Hawks that much deeper. But it was Knight that did the heavy lifting.

“I think he did it at two places — Memphis and Atlanta,” says Knight’s longtime friend and former boss in Indiana, Donnie Walsh, now running the Knicks. “He went in there when it was at its lowest, slowly built it up with talent, and then he was fired before that talent had the time to emerge. That may be a decision the owners have to make, but it should be stated that he really did a good job down there.”

Waiting is the hardest part for a general manager. There is always a face-saving trade out there for a veteran that could squeeze three or four more wins out of a season and constitute job-saving “progress.” Despite the hard knocks, Knight never took the easy out.

On a rebuilding team, young players are looking to establish themselves, to make a mark that will get them that next, big contract. Sacrificing numbers for team success is a difficult concept for them to grasp. And the Hawks had a team full of young players — like Josh Smith, one of the last high school prodigies, and Marvin Williams (more on him later), who played just one season at North Carolina. Johnson was trying to live up to the $70 million free-agent deal Knight gave him in 2005 to leave Phoenix.

Says Walsh: “It’s one thing to get the right players. Then you have to let them play for a while. Josh Smith today is a different guy than Josh Smith was last year. Totally different player. And so are some of the other guys on the team.”

Coaches aren’t patient, either. Their jobs are on the line if they don’t win, and it was no different for Mike Woodson, who has survived in Atlanta long past the time most coaches that won 39 games their first two seasons would have. Woodson is a Larry Brown disciple, who taught defense today, defense tomorrow and defense forever, and didn’t care who didn’t care. (It led to clashes with players and with Knight — who wanted to fire Woodson during the 2007-08 season. Things are better now; they have dinner occasionally.)

That it took all of them several years to coalesce was understandable, but it hurt Knight’s chances of survival. Yet he stuck with his plan and stuck with the players through their mistakes.

“It’s wonderful if you can get a great young player, like Shaq in his prime, or a Dwight Howard, or LeBron,” Knight says. “But if you can’t get one of those kinds of guys, or even then, you have to have a good player at every position. And that’s what I tried to do. I wanted good players who could be multi-dimensional at every position.”

Any general manager worth his salt works long enough to make his share of mistakes, and Knight wasn’t perfect, either. It’s clear now that although Marvin Williams has become a solid NBA player, Knight still should have taken either Chris Paul or Deron Williams with the second pick overall in the ‘05 draft, and addressed the Hawks’ decade-long search for a top-shelf point guard. (Utah traded up from the sixth spot to take Deron Williams at three, and Paul went to the Hornets at four.)

Knight says today that Marvin Williams hasn’t come close to reaching his potential. As for Paul and Deron Williams?

“I don’t really think about that,” he says. “That’s not how you look at it when you’re building a team. When you look back … the fact is, that’s the team you had and you’re happy with the guys you have, and you keep building the team and you go forward. Sure, if you had taken one of those guys, there could have been a whole domino effect of things that happened. But that’s not what happened. And it’s still a good team.”

That same summer, Knight ran afoul of Belkin when the co-owner objected to Knight’s plan to give Johnson the offer sheet. Belkin now says he only objected to the Hawks giving up so much — two first-round picks and forwards Boris Diaw and Royal Ivey — to the Suns. Knight says now that Belkin just didn’t want to put that kind of money onto the payroll. At any rate, when Diaw had a brilliant 2005-06 season in Phoenix (and was the runaway Most Improved Player award winner), Knight was excoriated for having been taken.

Four years later, though, the trade doesn’t look as lopsided.

Johnson has made three All-Star teams, become one of the league’s best closers and will cash in next summer as one of the prize chips in the 2010 free agent class. Diaw hasn’t replicated that first season in Phoenix, has struggled with his weight and was dealt to Charlotte with Raja Bell last year for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley. The Suns, facing financial problems of their own, dealt one of the two first-rounders from Atlanta to Boston in 2006, along with Brian Grant, for a future Boston pick. (That pick Phoenix sold turned out to be … Rajon Rondo. If you want to make a Suns executive cry, come up behind him and yell “Rondo!” in his ear.) The second pick from Atlanta was used by Phoenix in 2008 to take center Robin Lopez.

Ultimately, then, the Suns got Richardson, Dudley and Lopez for Johnson. A good deal for them, but hardly a steal.

“Joe Johnson has been better than advertised,” Knight says.

Yet despite the Hawks’ success, and despite the success of another Knight draftee — name of Pau Gasol, acquired by Knight over the objections of some in the Grizzlies’ front office on draft night 2001 — Knight hasn’t been close to getting another job. His name was mentioned in connection with a possible front office job with Walsh and the Knicks, but nothing has come of it. Other than that, there hasn’t been much interest. There have been calls of praise — from Pat Riley, from Mitch Kupchak, from Danny Ainge. But no job offers.

“I’d like to get back to work. I’m anxious,” Knight says. “I’m waiting for a call to put my plan back into action … I look forward to getting the opportunity to work with another organization. You move full time into that city. You live there full time. I always move my family with me. You immerse yourself into that team. You spend 24 hours a day, every day, doing that. I’ve got a team of people in mind to bring with me.”

For now, he waits.

“He doesn’t tell me,” Walsh says. “But I think he’s really hurt.” ”

BTW, this is one reason I am glad were are not limited to
1500 typed characters. Never give in to a T R O L L E!
Never That!

- drmaryb The Entertainment Reporter -

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I just read another article where JJ called Teague aside during informal workouts and told him to take charge. Correct me if I’m starting to read too much into this. But it seems like LDrew and his coaching staff aren’t the only ones wanting Teague to replace Bibby as the starter, or at least replace a major portion of his mins.

Since their hasn’t been a single complaint or comment from anyone about any phase of his PHYSICAL game, it appears the only complaint among his peers and coaching staff, is with his lack of aggressiveness in taking charge. After being beaten down for an entire season, and not being allowed to make a single mistake without being ridiculed, benched and ignored, it will take a little time for him to adjust.

Whether you like Bibby, and some do almost solely on his low turnover ratio, it’s time to recognize that’s not enough to compensate for him otherwise being an almost total liability, especially on DEF. We need speed and quickness to be a team that consistently plays solid DEF and uptempo fast break basketball.

For us to get to the next level and get past the 2nd rd, we need a PG that can:
1-penetrate, break down DEF’s, and create easy scoring opportunities for others,
2-fight over screens, recover and pick up his man if picked off,
3-protect his front line players by staying in front of his man and preventing easy penetration,
4-be a threat to take a rebound or outlet pass and run a one man fast break,
6-disrupt the DEF by pressuring the ball and causing deflections and steals,
7-be such a threat that he makes DEF’s think twice and/or pay for double teaming, in ways other than hanging around the 3pt line launching 3’s,
8-consistently collapsing the DEF, drawing fouls and getting to the FT line(getting opposing front line players in foul trouble limits their mins and aggressiveness, and really helps our front line players).

There isn’t any one thing that’s going to make the Hawks a much better team and allow us to get to the next level. It’s going to be a combination of things, like:

1-Expanded and more consistent coaching,
2-more OFF structure with more options,
3-the reliance on a more traditional DEF system that involves player accountability,
4-adding more speed, quickness, versatility and depth(JTeague, Pape Sy, JoCrawford, JPowell, EThomas,
5-eliminating most if not all of the handicaps that hindered the team and caused the players to quit giving 100%,
6-getting more production from underachieving players by playing to their strengths, rather than covering up and/or forcing them to play to their weaknesses,
7-getting more overall production by significantly expanding the bench rotation,
8-reducing the mins of our starters, but maintaining similar production from last yr by having each starter become more efficient in their scoring,
9-increasing the overall DEF effort, variety of DEF options, and utilizing players with positive DEF skills, will increase our ability to score and reduce the PPG allowed.

All of these factors, plus a few others, will result in a tremendous overall improvement for the Hawks, and will allow us to be far more competitive against the elite teams, especially the one’s in our division that’s dominated us in the past.

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