Atlanta Hawks: Heat 89, Hawks 77

Great job by Mo to call it like it is. Jamal was definitely hogging the ball too much down the stretch and I’m glad that Mo had the balls to call him out like that. If L.D. were a respectable coach, he’d address those types of issues, but this guy is too much of a coward to man up and admit his mistakes.

Once again, Drew acts as though the players just made mistakes down the stretch and completely ignores his poor decisions. Where is the accountability for the coach? Man up, L.D. I’m so sick of hearing this guy just pretend like he does everything right and team just doesn’t execute. His coaching was awful down the stretch tonight, and someone needs to come out and say it.

I’ve tried to cut this guy some slack but I’m tired of the letdowns due to his poor decisions. It’s one thing to lose when you play hard and play to your strengths and your opponents just outplay you, but it’s entirely different when your coach puts you in situations that set you up for defeat and take away your strengths. Enough of this all-knowing preacher. Let’s get a coach who actually knows what he is doing and who will own up to his mistakes.

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Why doesn’t LD just let Mo call all the plays? He knows everything. Dude, get a clue. You contributed ZERO IMO. Your would-be “dunks” were stuffed about 5 times. Get over yourself.

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From the previous blog:

“I’m not sure if your comment is hinting about the Hawks potentially picking Murray up, but if that’s the case, I have to wonder, would you really want to see another guy on the team whose greatest strength is isolation basketball? ”

Nah, I was just responding to the guy who suggested the Hawks trade for him. The last thing the Hawks need is another shoot first combo guard, at least until they trade Jamal.

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I dont like LD’s substitution patterns at all. I also hate the 2 foul rule. I used to hate it when Woodson did it. LD has to realize that ZaZa just aint got it. This dude is flat out terrible. Ive been saying for the last few blogs that Collins needs Pachulia’s minutes. Dude has terrible hands and cant finish at the rim even if he was there alone…I see Duck went right back to the invisible man. This was a game they could have and should have won. No more starting Mo. Dude usually has one good month out of the season and stinks it up the rest. I dont know who is worse at finishing at the rim, Mo, Duck, or Pachulia. If Jordan isn’t going to play then send the kid to the NBDL.

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The Real Truth

I was unable to see the game;
please elaborate?

“Jamal was definitely hogging the ball too much down the stretch and I’m glad that Mo had the balls to call him out like that”

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For the record, I think that a lot of the complaints that I’ve read about L.D. on this blog so far have been consistent, regardless of whether the Hawks win or lose. People just don’t seem to be happy with his rotations or his foul management. I definitely agree that he’s made some questionable and some bad decisions, particularly down the stretch. I’m hoping that this is just a learning curve for him and something that he will do away with once he realizes what works for the team. However, one of my biggest worries is that L.D. will never own up to his mistakes and these annoying trends such as the two foul rule, giving extended minutes to bench players who clearly aren’t producing, and isolation plays for contested jumpers down the stretch will be around all season long. I hope that is not the case, otherwise, we are in for a very disappointing season.

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Grandad,

Basically, what we saw during the last few minutes of the game was a lot of the typical top-of-the-key, everyone clear out, 1. vs. 1. guard isolation that so many of us were so annoyed with last season. The only difference is that it was purely jamal this time around, not Joe and Jamal, nor Joe alone. Jamal attempted to break his man down and score on a long string of possessions while the Hawks were within 3 -10 points behind. As usual, the defense keyed in on this and as soon as Jamal got into the paint, he had 3 defenders around him and either missed his shot, had his shot blocked, turning the ball over, or making a bail-out pass at the last second. Needless to say, it didn’t work out very well.

Worst of all is the fact that the Hawks had had lots of success running the offense through Horford in the third quarter with pick-and-pops and pick-and-rolls, as well as hard drives to the basket, and yet, they seemed to totally abandon this idea, as well as any significant motion plays down the stretch. To me, it looks like Jamal trying to play hero basketball. I’m not sure if the blame goes more toward Jamal or L.D. for this though. We all know that Jamal’s most comfortable style is 1 vs. 1 isolation ,but at the same time, Jamal seems like the type of guy who will do what the coach asks him to do. He (Jamal) showed that in the Philadelphia game when he kept his shot selection and attempts under control and didn’t really isolate that often. This makes me think that it was likely Drew’s idea to run those isolation sets down the stretch.

As far as Mo Evans was concerned, L.D. decided to go with Mo down the stretch at the SF position, instead of Marvin. Needless to say, Mo wasn’t very effective, and was almost invisible on the offensive end, but to his credit, he didn’t have many opportunities, and the shots he took during the game were mostly contested.

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Can we start trading for the future now? This team is once again a second round (at best) playoff team. Sorry Woody. It was not all your fault.

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Im not sure why all yall are doggin LD’s decision making…I have no problem, and many other coaches in the league, with him pulling AL with 2 fouls early on in the 1st quarter. Horford is our ONLY smart and very affective center we have. If we loose him to early foul trouble, YALL WOULD TRULY BE ANGRY WITH HOW LONG LD KEEPS HIM OUT THE GAME..SO PICK YOUR POISON, you rather LD pull him with 2 fouls with the ability to put him back in or leave him out there to get 3 or 4 more and have him sit basically the rest of the game??? My only problem with him was not playing Damien ALL 4th quarter!! The dude was handling LeBron, and if yall noticed, Miami didnt really wake up til Lebron had that Monster Dunk in the 4th..after that, the Heat was playing crazy defense and caused us to get away from what was working and that was setting up AL. This, again, is why we need a SMART, VETERAN PG LIKE STEVE NASH!! The min LD would have call a play, when the game is on the line, for Josh Smith to post up when Josh obviously couldn’t throw a penny in the ocean, Nash would have IMMEDIATELY GONE WITH HIS VETERAN MENTALITY and told AL to get ready for a pick n pop for ya, cause NASH knows who is HOT(Horford) and who is NOT(Josh Smith)!!

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@SUPERIORBLOGMAN,

I couldn’t agree more..at 1st, I was gun-ho on keeping Josh Smith NO MATTER WHAT but I’m starting to see that Josh actually could be replaceable. I would do what it takes to get a guy like Nash here BUT ONLY with the exception we get Nash, Hedo, and a draft pick for Josh Smith and Jamal..not sure if the money make sense but just saying…

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MsDee,

I’m okay with coaches taking out their starting bigs when they pick up two fouls early in the second half, but only when the situation calls for it and the risk is smaller than the reward. Tonight definitely was not the case. L.D. didn’t assess the situation correctly at all. If we were close in the game or had a lead when Al picked up that second foul, it would have probably been okay to sub him out, if we had bench guys that could continue to produce while he was out, but that was far from tonight’s scenario. In the case tonight, we were already down close to double-digits when Horford picked up that foul and the bench had played poorly up to that point. It was a much greater loss to take out Horford and get down by an even larger amount than take the gamble and stick with Horford to try and make up some ground. The worst case scenario would have been for Horford to pick up a third foul in that first half, which is highly unlikely, considering Al usually tones it down when he picks up two. Al is a smart player, and I think L.D. needs to start trusting him more.

Even if Al would have picked up that third foul, he would have been able to play without constraints in the third quarter with 3 fouls, and couldn’t have played less than than he already did in the game tonight even if he would have had 3 fouls. On the opposite side of that, the Hawks may have been close to tied with the Heat by the end of the half if L.D. would have stuck with Horford. I can almost guarantee that other coaches, whether rookie or veteran, would have stuck with their star big man in that situtation, when they knew what was at stake and the way the game was going. L.D. caused us to dig yet another hole with that move. Horford almost dug us out of that hole, single-handedly, in the third quarter with the help of some good playmaking by Bibby and some lockdown defense from guys like Damien Wilkins. However, after those players got us back into it, L.D. got the team back out of the game by going with a lineup featuring extremely weak perimeter defense, and almost pure isolation on the offensive end.

On another note, just as Najeh mentioned earlier, it’s one thing to take Al out early in the first half with two fouls, but it’s really not necessary to sit him for long stretches in the fourth quarter when the game is getting out of hand. That’s just bad coaching, plain and simple. I don’t see anything positive in that. I really don’t think Al was so fatigued that he had to sit for the end of the third and halfway through the fourth quarter. He’s 24 years old and doesn’t log heavy minutes as it is, he looked like he had plenty of energy even when he was taken out. I just really disliked what L.D. did down the stretch, and I hope that he makes the correct adjustments in the future and rewards guys who deserve minutes, like Damien Wilkins. You should never completely abandon something that is working great for you for something that has mixed results, even if you feel more comfortable with the mixed results approach.

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Really hate to say it…but its time to shop “Smoove!” Seven years in this thing and he just doesn’t CONSISTENTLY provide us with what we need game in, game out! Valiant effort by Al but he can’t do it by himself! Josh spends way to much time arguing and complaining instead of playing smart, physical basketball! Seems to me he only gets a hard on when its against subpar competition! But when we play top teams hes not aggressive and only wants to complain about fouls! Tonite, and like many others that we lose, we lost cause we didn’t have much inside presence and Josh failed AGAIN to provide us with ANY physical toughness. Yet, he sets up out on the perimeter shooting 3’s when he doesn’t have a consistent post game at the PF position, unbelievable! He clearly doesn’t WANT TO GET IT! He clearly doesn’t understand what REAL leadership is. Its more than being a rah, rah guy! Or, flexing your muscles when things are going your way! AGAIN, SEVEN YEARS IN THIS THING AND NO POST GAME!! TIME TO GET RID OF HIM!!! Al is already better, more consistent, has a winning attitude, and the REAL leadership qualities to build around! I wish Josh the best but he’s just to immature and problematic for us!!! And GREAT D by Damien! Another note! We make our comebacks when no. 5 is on the bench! That Hawks fans says alot! Arguing with coaches, teammates, pouting in public….BYE JOSH! Instead of getting back at the competition who fouled em’ cry to the refs and bark at teammate for their mistakes when he ain’t gettin the job done!! Enuff! GOOD RIDDANCE!

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“I’m not trying to be negative or disrespectful toward anyone when I say this, but sometimes I wonder if anyone who really matters cares what any of us on these blogs have to say. ”

They probably don’t care, and for the most part they shouldn’t.

The people who should be reading these blogs and taking note are Rick Sund and the DASG, since they are in charge of the short term and long term direction of the franchise, and if they would read these blogs they would understand why fans are dissatisfied and attendance is spotty instead of just continuing to parrot their “we like our core” line.

But as for LD and the players? Hell no, they shouldn’t be reading these blogs. I would like to think LD (and for that matter even Woody) knows a hell of a lot more about the game than any of us do, and if not it’s Sund’s job to find someone who does. I mean, for crying out loud, EVERY TIME Smoove has a bad game people whine that he needs to be traded, never mind that he is primarily responsible for most of the wins this team has so far this season. For every player on the Hawks, there is at least one blogger who thinks they suck and one blogger who thinks they are good. If the players and coaches read these blogs (which apparently Jamal does) they would drive themselves crazy.

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Hawks fans LD is a good coach! Its his first year so, hes got some things to improve on like everyone else in our organization! Only gripe we should have is coach not abjusting the lineup to match the oppositions strenghts! Clearly our vets need to play more! We need more of their leadership ON THE COURT! Coach also, needs to send a message to the guys that their are no favorites and playing time is available for anyone who EARNS IT AND NOT BY HOW MUCH YOU MAKE! And play the rookie more! Especially when the offense gets stagnant! But other than those issues coach has to experience his growing pains too, but I’m riding with him though! LETS GO HAWKS!

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ASG must sell the hawks, but i guess there trying 2 hold on and see will player take less in next year salary negotation.

Wow football and basketball lockout before 2012 something is getting ready 2 happen and the owners no LOL!!!!!!!!!!
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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Najeh, I think I agree with you on that trade. I just hate giving up Jamal Crawford, though. Would rather make it Teague and Marvin. Maybe the Pistons want a crappy backup for Stucky?

Prince would be a guy who would not fold down the stretch. Wallace might bring an edge and toughness that is really missing on the Hawks.

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Wallace is a completely washed up banger, who happens to be… UNDERSIZED (6′9”)

If he were with us you guys would be complaining 9/10 games about him.

We have to accept that the season is long and there is a learning curve and that life without JJ is much more difficult. Last night with JJ we would have had a very good chance of winning.

So far LD has improved some areas and has made some interesting and bold decisions, like benching Josh and relying on Powell’s offense keeping the hot hand in play.

There were also some poor decisions by LD and tonight there was a good example since Wilkins was so successful against Lebron that he should have kept him for the 4th quarter and I believe that Teague should have gotten more minutes against Chalmers.

Jamal proved again that his “clutchness” is overrated and that his ISO play is less effective than JJ’s.

Nonetheless LD has proven, IMO that he is a much better coach than Woody. A good example was the play that gave the 2 + 1 to Al against Philly (and the above mentioned decisions).

I really think that Damien could be a very important piece for us in the future and taking in consideration what he did against Lebron we may have found a perfect replacement for Mo.

Mo is clearly struggling, with a great probability of his knee being the cause.

Whenever he was called to fill in as a started last year and the year before, he always produced very well. Just check his stats as a starter.

Everyone has off games and bad patches and these guys are still learning how to mesh all things new that have been incorporated.

Provided that we keep ourselves within striking distance (#4/#5 seed) I think we will evolve as a team with JJ out, then struggle a bit to incorporate him back and the finish really strong.

With JJ, Marvin, Damien, Mo and Teague we now have 5 players who keep themselves in front of perimeter players and that fact will improve our defense and our rebounding automatically.

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Jon B.

Say whatever you need. That was a winnable game. These Hawks start games like they are still on the Bus! Real Centers play in the Paint and DOMINATE!

Al is a terrific PF and is the hardest working team guy we have.
But, we have NO SIZE in the post and Dwight eats our lunch in the POST.
No penetration on this team PERIOD!

You pull the stats IF you want to claim our PG & C was great last night! I don’t care to waste my time after seeing what I saw. A ton of missed lay-ups, too many bigs taking jumpers. No rebounding and too many T.O.’s is what I saw.
I didn’t see Horford shooting any jump hooks or make any low post moves dominantly. All jumpers! A few Jumpers is great but 9 for 10 is too many baskets far away. What happened to driving and finishing at the rim for And-1’s?

Blame Sund for not making ANY off-seasons move! Blame the players for NOT executing and then Blame the Coach if you want.

Phil Jackson couldn’t win with this team either, he wouldn’t even come here for this! They won The Obrien Trophy with talent! Not coaching!
Coaches need players! We ain’t got no PG nor size in the paint! Regardless of what system we play, we don’t have the right players.
We lose at home now and are 1-10 against good teams!
We only beat Indiana so far, with and W/O Joe!
That is a personnel issue regardless of who is coaching.
Look at that bench! Its turrible! LOL!
I’m done watching this garbage! Blame sund! There was talent available to help this team and ASKG ignored that! This is NOT an elite team!

Damien Wilkins was AWESOME! A keeper! This wasn’t LDrew’s best game, the Ref’s were awful, but these players have to START theses games with energy and make plays and not turn the ball over. I saw no Motion!

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Inside Peanut Butter – Outside Jelly!

If our BIGS played inside, create contact, play aggressive IN THE DAMNED PAINT for once? Maybe we make the REFS call some fouls!

This whole team is shooting JUMPERS! Let the guards do that!
All Bigs should be inside for offensive rebounds! Say what you will about Zsa at least his big butt is in the PAINT! Too bad he and Marvin can’t FINISH a lay up or DUNK! Draw contact and get fouls!

This is a terrible team w/o Joe in there. Play Jordan – Puh-Lease!

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Oh brother, let me guess the sky has fallen. SMH

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I am EXTREMELY disappointed in the substitution patterns for tonight.

Mo Evans playing all those minutes in the 4th? WTF? THE GUY GETS ALL HIS SHOTS BLOCKED AT THE RIM.

DAMIEN WILKINS WAS PLAYING MAGNIFICENT LOCKDOWN DEFENSE ON A TOP 3 PLAYER IN THE NBA ON MULTIPLE POSSESSIONS. WHY THE HELL WAS HE NOT IN IN THE 4TH QUARTER? IT DOES NOT MATTER IF HE DOES NOT KNOW THE OFFENSIVE SYSTEM. MO EVANS BRINGS NOTHING TO THIS OFFENSIVE SYSTEM.

MARVIN, BIBBY, AND SMOOVE: WHAT THE HELL DID U GUYS DO TONIGHT? MARVIN THAT WAS FREAKING HORRENDOUS. YOU ARE GOD AWFUL

WE COULD HAVE WON THIS DAMN GAME. THEIR STARTERS’ CHEMISTRY DOES NOT IMPRESS ME.

WE COULD HAVE WON THIS DAMN GAME.

LET DAMIEN WILKINS PLAY. THE GUY IS HUNGRY AS HELL AND SHUT DOWN AND PISSED OFF THE 2ND BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD

GOD DAMNIT

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IT DOESN’T APPEAR TEAGUE IS THE FUTURE PG OF THIS TEAM. FIRE SUND

AND LET DAMIEN PLAY DAMNIT. BENCH MO FOR BEING USELESS. HOW MANY TIMES DOES HE GET STUFFED AT THE RIM?

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dr mary b, what’s this about Joe chasing strippers?

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i wonder what avery johsnon is thinkin’ now that he turned down the atl job for the garbage azz nets. lol.

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Noooooooooo……….let Marvin stay sleep (he plays like he don’t want to be here anyway), and let DW have his minutes. Marvin’s a big bust here (he may pan out somewhere else), but management cannot/should not be afriad to trade his sorry ass. For whatever reason, some guys just don’t work out, and all this waiting for a guy to come around can hurt a team more. Somewhere on another team, is a guy (it might be DW) who is having a hard time just like Marvin, that might benefit from a change. It’s the GM job to get on the horn and work out a deal.

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Not to make excuses for LD, but he probably felt that with DW not being too familar with the plays that he would have been too big of a liability late in the game. Didn’t DW play with LBJ in Ceveland? I’m thinking he did, and if so, he knows what LBJ don’t like and a few of his weaknesses.

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Why is it that half or more of the posters on this blog only show up after a loss?

Do they realize what that says about them?

And do they realize that apparently many harbor negative hopes for this team they claim to be a fan of?

It seems to be a case of “well here’s a chance to let the world know that if the Hawks would only do things exactly as I see fit, all would be well”

LOL, if only. Like Gearon cares.

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we may have a chance to beat orlando. 4 key players are out with the flu bug

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5883098

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This is LD’s 1st, I REPEAT, 1st Head Coaching job. What do you guys expect from a rookie Head Coach? There’s going to be ups and downs. Hopefully he’ll learn from his mistakes. But give the man a break for goodness sakes. With that said, LD, if your reading this: ZAZA SHOULD NOT BE ON THE FLOOR, UNLESS IT’S A BLOWOUT. PERIOD!

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Mo is less. I just don’t get Mo’s skills or lack there of. With his contract we were stuck with him and I don’t see the value (nor does the rest of the NBA).

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Damien has played ON SEATTLE, MINNY, AND OKC

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Told yall about Damien. The guy plays hard. We need that. Should’ve been here all along. Now put Marvins azz on the bench. Damien has wanted to be a Hawk for years, but noooo, we had to to have Mario West. lol! Fools!

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I dont know about trading Josh Smith. Better be getting Chris Paul in return.

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Steve Brown ,what true center would you trade Josh for?

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In two years, Josh Smith will still be Josh Smith.

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i am a die-hard homer, love the hawks, braves, falcons, thrashers, tech, bulldogs. the HAWKS don’t have the gumption to trade jsmoove to make this team better.

pittsburgh traded santonio holmes and was willing to trade big ben to make team “better.” hawks don’t have the balls (pun intended) to trade smoove to make team better.

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alot of y’all mf’s keep sayin’ “jsmoove have so much UPSIDE.” dude been in the league 7yrs. when is the UP goin’ to catch up with the SIDE? there are only a few players who are UNTOUCHABLE to a team…duncan, kobe, lebron, wade d rose. josh smith IS NOT untouchable (unTERCHable, as my country cousin would say).

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Terrell you are probably right, they (true centers) are hard to find. I just see Smith as not growing up and as our best chance to get real value in a trade.

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I like Smith, but I’m not trading Horford. And Smith is the only player with value. If we could move Smith, Jamal, and possibly Mo, we could backa lot.(pg, c) Not sayin I want Josh gone. Just sayin. And we all know nobody’s touching Marvin’s contract with a 10 ft pole. And no GM in their right mind would want Zaza Pathetica. So we’re basically stuck with them. If we make a BIG move it’ll have to involve Smith. Dont see it happening though.
How bout Smith/Jamal/Teague for Mo Williams/Boobie/Verajo
Or Smith/Jamal/Teague for Andre Miller/MarcusCamby

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*STARTS

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boxscore?

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lol.. they out sniffing drawls..?

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I agree with ant banks, except for the players he mentioned. Kaman is good but always hurt, Camby is old as hell, and Baron is a joke.

I’d rather get a Kevin Love-type guy who rebounds all day

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how about josh smith, marvin,crawford, teauge , zaza and 2 1st round picks and our 3 mil trade exception to denver for, nene ,anthony, j.r smith birdman and lawson…. our new line up lawson,jj,anthony,horford,nene, bench, bibby, jr smith, wilkins, jordan craw, evans, powell,birdman, collins, etan,

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Our schedule this month blows, but we can still do well. If we win vs. all teams worse than us and steal a game from Orlando and Boston it will be a very good month.

So how did Joe get this elbow injury? Did anyone ever explain? I thought his non-shooting hand was hurt, now his right elbow is hurt
SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED

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he said it was bothering him last year, so it had to be something that happened then. so maybe thats whats been hurten him and why hes be slumpen thru the playoffs last year and now i mean if he was hurt always down plays it untill it became a unbearable as he said it became.. but he probally hurt it jacken off all summer in his 124 million dollar gold and diamond incrusted jacuzzi

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and its time as hawks fans we all look in the mirror, the hawks are playen better on the road bc the feed of energy and every other arena has pple in but ours 3rd best in the east and we have 5 pple in the stands how pumped up r the hawks supposed to be , when they have no fans showen up, and the opposing teams, wont struggle bc it feels like an open gym, even when the good teams have been there this year nobodys there, so maybe if pple wud show up maybe the 5 games we lost by 4 this year .. of em at home wuda gone the oother way with some energy in the arena, thatd wud put us at 16 and 5 rite now …if your not a loyal fan who goes to the games, and doesnt support them bt talk about how they need to improve as a team all the time, and who sucks and who doesnt do this, maybe if the fans showed some love things wud be diff we dont get tv time not bc the team sucks its bc esn is not putten an empty arena on air, the nets get more fans then we do .. the trades ive posted are purley trades that should happen.., but this team is capable of dominating if bibby got more shots horford stayed in the post marvin got 15 shots a nite jamal stayed steady and let jj have the green light hes obviously strugglen let him get him self in rythm.. if your a jumpshooting team you got to find rythm its not hard you just gotta get into it..we need marvin to be flyen in dunken with the power and explosivness he does have, and smith needs to learn to take shots bc he will open the floor up , and force the defense to stay true, horford needs to man up and do his thing, boykins dont bitch that hes smaller he goes out and plays use it to your advantage when yoou play a bigger center i.e howard you gotta do ur work early, you gotta catch the ball and back down quick and learn a sig post move, force contact somthen go to the line 10 times a game..foul the other guy out we arent dominating we need to, bibby clearly is better in this offense just like in sac hes driven to the rim hes taken contact hes leaden the nba in 3pt % give him looks..

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Team Dime!

Said: “but this team is capable of dominating if bibby got more shots horford stayed in the post …”

HELLO! Thank You! TEAM DIME! Tell that ISH to the punk: John B!

That idiot was prescribing me MIDOL for saying the exact same thing!
I don’t need my CENTER playing outside the CENTER of the court!
CENTERS dominate the paint, NOT stroke 15 Jumpers, even if he is hitting 9 for 10!

Does any of these dumb azz fans know what a POSITION is?

Al and Josh ain’t gopt no business playing OUTSIDE the PAINT!

PERIOD!

This team sucks! We got 12 players playing ALL over the damned place!
Whatever happened to ORGANIZED basketball?

I’m a GIRL and even I know that! John B needs a condom, IF I need a MIDOL!

Where is that PUNK?

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what’s the K stand for in ASKG? ha

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Theres no more stings on the violin. The Hawks have definitely taking steps backwards and are clearly headed in the WRONG direction. This team suck and stinks to watch. Cant beat any body significant. Who’s idea was it to change course from the past 4 years.

Lottery in 3

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This may be the worst coach since Bob Weiss

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Fire Drew AKA “the experiment”, now!

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You’re right – I’m completely wrong.

Kobe was lazy for resting over the summer too
SMGDMFH

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Im better than Drew. At least I understand the problem is in the defense and the low post in particular.

Wheres the D ?

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Venting about the Falcons…

The Falcons are in Tampa, my 16 year old daughter is on the second row in the endzone under the pirates ship with her friend’s family, and I am sitting at home listening to the game on the radio (blacked out for TV) for another ten minutes until I go to the church Christmas musical. I am tempted to put my daughter on restriction out of pure spite.

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Yao Ming is coming back, wish the Hawks would trade for him, then move Horford to PF, Smith to SF trade Marvin he plays when he wants to, otherwise he is wasted potential

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thats why we need a true center like Yao Ming, will drive and shoot and rebound, let Horford get his shots away from the basket.

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ld is making a lot of stupid moves, it is not because he is a rookie coach.he is just seeming to have much common sense. i loved what he says but not what he does.stop taking horford out with 2 fouls & let the game get away from us.leave him in even if he fouls out, so what we still will get a lot more minutes out of him. stop playing mo all them minutes he will never bring us any thing.if you dont give jc2 time this year we will be in the same situation as we are with teague this year. he can do a hell of a lot more for us than mo. what in hell did you pull out wilkins in the 4th quarter for mo,that was pure stupity,why the hell was horford on the bench.start sitting mw if he is still sleeping.pull bibby if his shots are all.sit js if he woulnt keep his azz under the boards, cant josh dunk any more

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I’m with rusty on L.D.’s coaching.

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Mo Evans got way too many minutes last night

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Seriously, out of all of the coaches who were available this offseason, could the ASG have picked a worse one? All of the other new coaches are actually helping their teams, meanwhile our preacher wanna-be is hurting ours.

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JeJe

I don’t give a damn about your anger management issues!
You need to read and listen before you shoot your mouth off!
You never know what the hell you are talking about, you sound like a 7 year old little boy, so STHU!

Get a Life! And stop posting all your stupid crap! You are great exercise for “Scrollin’” anyways. Cheerleading for who? The Hawks suck!

Next … Blogger please!

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drmaryb,

GTFOH.

You are a clown.

I don’t know what I’m talking about? Point out some example please.
Stupid crap? Elabourate.
Go cheer for the Nets and GTFOH

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“There needs to be an 80/20 Rule:

Inside shooting 80%
Outside shooting 20%
If your azz is BIG? Go inside and offensive rebound! Box Out!
If your azz is a Guard? Shoot it and get the long rebounds!

Al and Josh need to be glued to the paint poeriod! We ain’t got no other bigs with athleticism! At least Woodson did do that!

”

Did you even watch the game last night? Horford was DOMINATING in the 3rd quarter like a winner should. He hit every jumpshot in the quarter (at least 5). We might as well get rid of Smoove if he continues to take those hideous 22 footers and commits idiotic turnovers. His triple doubles against horrendous teams really don’t mean much to me.

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How bout them Falcons. Good GM, Good coach, good owner, and some good front office moves with the right mix of players.

Hawks can learn alot from them…

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JeJe

Suck my T!tty! You are a PUNK azz b!tch! I scroll past all your capped azz posts anyway. If I read one? I read them all – you say the same thang every day – all day! B!tch! (*_*)

Andre

Because I have been a season ticket holder since 1986 and I have paid for the right to b!tch about the team I LOVE! 24 years worth of Love and I ain’t seen a PG since Mookie! If you don’t like my post then: Get your b!tch azz to Scrollin’

Let’s Go Hawks!

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ASKG: Atlanta “Spirit-Killer” Group

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I’d do the Teague for Thompson trade, cut Etan, and sign the best PG available

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Team Dime:

That’s old newz! You three weeks late, check the blog archives.

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All these talks about Al Horford is good and all, but I don’t really care whether he is playing in the paint or shooting 15 footers, so long as he is effective either way, that’s all I care about.

I say this especially when we all know the Hawks NEVER gets calls versus the ‘elite’ teams. Hawks might get whacked and beaten to high heavens vs Miami and refs will swallow their whistle. Lebrat shot 13 free throws while the entire Hawks team shot 12? If I was a Hawks player, I would be like, why take it to the hole, get beat up, possibly injured and not get a call?

Remember, Al is a true power forward, aka Karl Malone, and not really a center. So when he plays centers taller and as skilled as him, he is not so effective in the post. Taking those jumpers makes sense then, especially if he is making his shots like last night.

I certainly do not agree with the 2 foul rule. I think it’s dumb. Yeah, take out players if they have two fouls in the first, but bring them in early in the 2nd and only yank them if they get 3 before the half ends.

And what is this grim fascination about not letting players fouls out anyway? If Al has 4 fouls going into the 4th quarter, leave his ass in until he fouls out. Better than having him sit out almost half the entire game, and not helping his team! NBA players have 2 fouls to give each quarter, LD has to take advantage of that.

When was the last time a major Hawks player fouled out of a game, anyway?

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drmarbyb,

I bet it sucks even more when you get banned…

Have fun.

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Guys, seriously, can we keep all of the kiddy arguments to a minimum? People talking trash to eachother and trying to be e-thugs isn’t really entertaining for most Hawks fans to read. I think we maybe need to up the moderation on here. I’m fine with people criticizing the team and the players when it’s productive, but when the discussion turns to people cussing eachother out, it’s really pointless. I’m not try to police people, but I’m just saying, try to act mature on here and give the fighting a rest. I’m sure you have better input to contribute than that.

Like O’Brien said, can’t we all just get along?

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“And what is this grim fascination about not letting players fouls out anyway? If Al has 4 fouls going into the 4th quarter, leave his ass in until he fouls out. Better than having him sit out almost half the entire game, and not helping his team! NBA players have 2 fouls to give each quarter, LD has to take advantage of that.”

YES

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O’Brien,

I think Drew is still living in the Woody era pertaining to some issues. Like the two foul rule, allowing too much Jamal or Joe iso’s, the occasional switching, bad substitutions patterns… I just hope he grows out of it. Lots of times, I am totally uncomfortable with the line up he has on the floor.

As for the players, they have to take some accounting as well. Time and time again, regardless of who Hawks point guard is, I have seen them give up on their man, and hope Josh Smith will erase their mistakes. It doesn’t work that way booboo. You have to be responsible for keeping your man in check, and not allowing him to get deep into the paint where he can cause major havoc.

Hawks perimeter players have to step up their defence, man, an not put Josh and Al in terrible positions. I just hope Damien Wilkins can provide some of that.

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haven’t posted on here in a couple of days because,even though i like what ld is doing he is also too much like woody punkazz, and it is making me sick to my stomach.
mo evans is not a starter and is killing our offense.
jordan crawford should be the starter he is a stud and can manufactor points in na bunch, d wilkens played very well , where was he in the forth when we neeeded a lebron wade stopper i don’t know, oh mo was there, he always got something to say ,but doesn’t produce enough to back up his talk, hell he the reason we always give up points because the refs will not respect him even when he makes a good play? ever notice him get a call in three years, no.
bibby still has a shot, but the problem is THE HAWKS ARE BUILT TO RUN, THATS IT AND UNTIL WE GET A POINT TO INNITIATE THAT TYPE OF OFFENSE WE WILL SUCK,PERIOD.Teague can run the offense and in time , matter of fact the time is now let dude run the offense,bring d wilkens, jamal, twin, and collins off the bench.the emergence of Al ,the baby tim duncan what i call him is really playing his game, i’m finally in agreement trade josh smith,but not for the reasons you all say trade him, one thing i don’t like in any sport is a coward and josh will never man up,plain and simple, bibby,and jamal too. they just don’t bring any type of nuts or heart in the game,yeah maybe josh just hates too lose but too have that much potential and waste it without any real desire is just so pu$$y to me,i would rather keep marvin who doesn’t have the potential that homeboy has but who at least strives to play defense than dude,str8 up,i don’t even care about him cursing out ld in the heat of the moment. but dude playing like a str8 coward and i hate a coward.so josh has to go, bibby has to go cause we need a point guard who can be a point guard cause of his ability not size, and jamal has to go because we have jordan who will penetrate and make opportunities for others and will play defense!!! plus if jamal doesn’t shoot the rock he is greatly ineffective.but on a possitive note, isn’t matty ice like the new peyton manning,i know we got an allstar tightend, runningback,wideout, and matt get the credit, but aren’t we ready to go to the superbowl and win it. if we can beat vick we can beat the patriots

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Ron,

Sorry for the kiddy stuff, I usually scroll past the personal attacks, but today I felt like engaging the attackers. I will keep it on topic – I promise.

Some days it’s hard to look the other way. Besides, who are these people.
I have never seen all these strange new I’d’s on here the past for years.
Yourself, included. My conversations have a very long ticker tape.

The real bloggers know me and know all my stances.

1. I – NEVER bash the Coach, no matter what!
2. Drew did not put this team together and does not make personnel decisions, nor draft players. He is working with what he has, like Woodson did.
3. This roster is extremely flawed and every player is a hybrid out of natural positions, with not one adequate back-up.
4. These players will be called out for a lack of accountability and no one is exempt from criticism. They come out flat and turn the ball over with careless passes and poor fundamentals! I will call out their names – period.
5. I will BASH the owners and GM with a baseball bat, whenever I feel like it.

Aye! Sund, build your team: See Boston!

I don’t care who is in a Hawks uniform, get us some winners in here!
We the fans and this city, deserve a winner! We don’t need no excuse making losers!

Build it and we will come! I’m outy! See yall next week or thereafter!
I got to go pay some bills… See you at the games – Fans!

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Jamillion

This Blog has 99 B!tches and I’m NOT one.
I haven’t posted one word until last week about this team, I have been sitting back and analyzing the games from afar. I have seen enough to make my assessments! I waited for 20 games to be played before I cracked my lips!

I am not impressed with nor without Joe! Joe has been injured since last season, he should have spoken up sooner IMHO. When he is healthy, we should be alright. But we will NOT win 53 games this year. As long as we get competetive in round 2, then I’m good and that would another year of improvement.

Until then, I just pray we remain entertaining and FUN to watch. What happened to all the HIGHLIGHTS? Jump shooting might make the “Smitty under the Rim”. Reels, but where has the POWER in the PAINT game gone?

Again, I need to see our BIGS patrolling and controlling the PAINT, not shooting jumpers. I don’t care if the go in, that style will NOT win us a TITLe ever!
We need to DOMINATE the PAINT people! Have an IDENTITY!

I don’t want to be UTAH! I want to be ATLANTA!

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MC, GREAT ARTICLE ON DAMIEN. NOW LET’S SEE THE GUY GET REAL MINUTES. NOT THIS 13 MINUTE GARBAGE WHILE MO GETS 27.

AND I SAW BROOK LOPEZ GOT CALLED OUT IN FRONT OF THE TEAM FRIDAY NIGHT FOR ONLY GETTING 2 REBOUNDS.

I WISH LD WOULD CALL PLAYERS OUT. LIKE HORFORD FOR NOT GETTING REBOUNDS
OR SMOOVE FOR THINKING HE’S LEBRON

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drmaryb,

You mention that you want the Hawks to dominate the paint. I’d like that too, but for that to happen, there’d have to be some significant changes in the offensive philosophy. Like others have said, the motion/flex offense is mostly based upon jump shooting, with occasional cuts to the basket. With an offense like that, you’re not going to get much in the paint, unless it comes from cuts to the basket for lay-ups, dunks, and floaters. If you look at the personnel we have, we only have 1 or maybe 2 guys who are effective at scoring in the paint: Horford, and to a lesser extent, Joe Johnson.

Horford takes about 40% of his shots in the paint and converts on about 67% of those attempts. It’s pretty clear that he’s effective in the post, so we have that. Joe, when he uses his isolation tactics, is actually pretty effective in the post against most defenders and pretty good in the lane with his floater. Some people might say Josh is effective in the paint, but I think Josh has a tougher time creating his own shot inside than either Al or Joe. Josh definitely can be effective in the paint with his quickness and athleticism, but for some reason, he’s shying away from that.

Now, in terms of Joe and Al scoring the paint, with the way L.D. is running things right now, you’re not going to see much of either one in the paint, unless the offense changes. Al doesn’t get nearly as many post-ups as he should, due to the fact that a lot of what he is asked to do on the offensive end is to set screens to free up either Jamal, Bibby, Joe, or Marvin for a jumpshot. Occasionally, the Hawks will run pick-and-pop for him, or in extremely rare cases, pick-and-roll. Obviously, they should be running more for Al, but for some reason, L.D.hasn’t figured that out.

Now, as far as Joe is concerned, L.D. hasn’t run as much isolation for him, and when he has, it’s mostly been high-pick-and-roll based or top-of-the-key isolation for Joe which ends in a jumpshot outside of the paint.

Outside of those two guys, you really don’t have many guys who are going to be able to score inside, unless they are set up by someone else for an easy basket inside. Jamal, occasionally, attacks the basket and can score on drives, but Marvin is a terrible finisher, Zaza is horrendous inside, Powell is really a perimeter player, and Collins is basically invisible on the offensive end.

So, overall, I think we’d need quite a few changes to be made to our offensive philosophy if the Hawks are to be dominant in the paint with the same group of players that we have now. Also, L.D. would need to stress for his players to attack the offensive glass, which is something that Woodson did. L.D. has gone away from that, in hopes to improve the perimeter defense and not send everyone to the glass. So, if the Hawks go back to attacking the glass, you’ll probably see an increase in opponent’s fast break points. Personally, I’d take that tradeoff, but that’s just me.

At any rate, with Joe out of the lineup, the Hawks need to make Al the #1 option on the offense end when it comes to the starters. They should be running things through him and play inside out, rather than outside in, or settling for jumpshots all of the time. I’m fine with the jumpshots being taken if they are open, high percentage looks for guys like Jamal, Bibby, Marvin, or Al. I still think the Hawks should start out the possessions playing inside though, to establish Al in the paint, rather than using him as the team janitor. Playing inside-out does wonders for you, and once you have established yourself in the paint, the jumpshots become wide open, not contested.

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@JeJe

For the record, Horford’s rebounding percentages are up from last season. He’s actually rebounding better than last season. The only reasons he’s not at double-digits in terms of his rebounding average are due to this reduced minutes and the style of play L.D. has the Hawks playing, where he keeps Horford and Smith further out, and less likely to get offensive rebounds. Horford is 12th in the league in rebouding, while playing just over 30 minutes per game. he’s also top 10 in defensive rebounding. I don’t think he needs to be called out for any rebounding problems.

Lopez is another story. He’s barely averaging more than half as many rebounds as Horford is, and Lopez is playing about 5 more minutes each night than Horford. Lopez needed to be called out for clear reasons. Horford is getting it done.

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Bailey’s and Cream!

That was a beautiful post, very insightful and easy to understand. Based on that, I guess I don’t like the motion offense 100% of the time. Maybe run that primarily, but mix in some ISO at key times based on personnel chaanges, like for Jamal and Joe. I like the high pick and roll/pops a lot too!

Just run some different plays, like in footbal. Put in a 2-minute offense for the ISO plays to close out the 3rd and 4th Quarters if we have a nice lead.
Throw in the pick and roll/pops when the opponent go to the zone defenses.

Then, just run the motion when Jamal is resting and when personnel does not lend itself to the motion. To Zsa Zsa credit, he does stay in the paint for offensive rebounds and put-backs. We need to do something different though, rather than just sit there and explain losses that are win-able.

But, I loved your post. I never really thought about it that way.

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STARTE MONTA, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, BIEDRINS
BENCH BIBBY, MOE, DAMIEN, POWEL, COLLINS
RESERVE TEAGUE, JC2
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!

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Here’s a quote to summarize L.D.’s failures thus far as a coach:

“You can’t strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.”

Think about how he treats certain starters and how much he over-utilizes the bench and I think it will make sense to you.

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No spell check in that last post – sorry!

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HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING THE SEASON?

I think some people on this blog wait until the Hawks LOSE, so they can post negative comments. They don’t like certain players so they wait for a BAD GAME or LOSE, so they can express their negative points.

We lost to a GOOD team without our best player……SUPRISE!!!!

I THINK SOME OF YOU WANT THE HAWKS TO LOSE, BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER SEEN A POSITIVE POST FROM SOME OF YOU!! How can you be a fan, if Hawks can do nothing right in your eyes?

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TAKE DEEP BREATH!!!

Can we please let Wilkins play 10 to 20 games, before you make him the starter…….I know Marvin is SLEEPING with so of you bloggers Woman, but he is a VERY GOOD defensive players.

GO HAWKS

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drmaryb

I agree with you a 100%. Keep piosting

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WOW, u guys constantly doggin LD and I just cant see why..1st of all, IS IT NOT LD 1ST SHOT AT COACHING IN THIS LEAGUE??? Allow him to make HIS OWN mistakes, HIS OWN adjustments, HIS OWN corrections..u guys have NO IDEA WHAT HE IS TRYIN TO DO WITH HIS TEAM EARLY ON IN THE SEASON. I have to agree with Najeh when he said, “As questionable as some of his substitution patterns are, I think he’s planning long term..He could continue trying to develop the bench without unnecessarily limiting Horford’s minutes beyond what’s necessary, but the general idea of trying to see what he has to work with early in the season is a good one.”

Just like Woody had HIS opportunity to make mistakes after mistakes after mistakes after mistakes after..well u get the point, allow LD HIS 1st year to makes some, the only difference I hope is that by mid-season, we will see a different line-up to start with, with Damien starting at SF..allowing Marvin to come off the bench with Jamal and also have a better 3 guard defensive unit in the end of ball games with Teague, Damien, & JJ..

Oh and quit crying about Horford AND HIS MINUTES..GOSH!! When he’s out there, NOBODY AND I MEAN NOBODY SEEMS TO BE SMART ENOUGH TO CONTINUE TO GO TO HIM ANYWAYS. Horford played his BUTT off in the 3rd qr but did Jamal, Bibby, JOSH SMITH, MO EVER CONSTANTLY PASSED THE BALL TO AL IN THE 4TH?????????????????? HECK NAW, cause Jamal and the crew was TOO selfish to give the game to Horford. Jamal needed to look good for a contract next season so he wasnt giving it up. Josh Smith wanted to be LeBron himself so HE wasnt giving it up. Bibby was looking like a rookie out there, with the horrible/costly TO in the 4th so again AL didnt get the ball..so quit hate-in on LD and hate on the players surrounding Horford cause trust me, if the players on the floor with AL would CONTINUE to go to him for 6-8 back to back buckets, LD WOULD NEVER TAKE AL OUT WITH 2 FOULS IN THE 1ST QTR!!! IT WOULD BE TOOOOO STUPID FOR HIM TO DO THAT WHEN AL IS OBVIOUSLY ON A ROLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

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There goes another fake blogger, hiding behind a new name.

LOL! It’s all the same guy people.

Yawn! Roll Over and back to sleep.

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Except for Orlando and Boston, the rest of the East is close together.

And we have seen the Hawks play tough on the road at Orlando, and at Miami. And we have seen them struggle at home.

I know its early, but these factors combined make me believe that the Hawks are capable of winning a first round series even if they dont have homecourt advantage.

We’ll see how the rest of the season plays out.

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rofl@middle aged women who want “cool” points for how long they’ve blogged.

It’s even worse than middle school kids who want to act cool for being “king of the arcade” when they’re losers at school or in the streets.

“Dr.” MaryB you a lame.
What your OLD a.s.s. going to do about it?

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“Dr.” MaryB, hiding behind what? I’m right here, do you need a link to a social network? I keep it 100. I’m pretty sure most of your “blog homies” who keep it real with themselves can agree with me that it’s unprofessional and silly for any adult old enough to have adult children to carry on in the way that you do, let alone a so called doctor.

Speaking of hiding, do your patients know you go around on internet blogs telling people to suck your unmentionables???? Nice to be on the internet where you can have the ghetto trash persona you cant display in person, right?

Anybody can read back through this blog and see YOU intiated insults with one guy calling him a “Hater” and then with another guy by calling him a “Little Boy” then you reply back on this page saying you usually “scroll pass personal attacks?”

Are you that dumb and delusional? YOU STARTED IT with those guys. Airheaded broad.

This is Carlos Smith from Columbus, GA attending school in ATL at GA St. Trust, it’s just me calling out something I’ve noticed reading these blogs, your old a.s.s. dont run nothing.

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“Dr” MaryB, the people who you brown nose on here in your imaginary world of “Blog Hierarchy” agree with me, whether they type it on the screen or not. I know this because I imagine most of them arent dumb, have common sense and decency. They also dont go around telling others what they can and cant say on a blog based on how long they’ve been blogging.

It’s not OK for some guys to complain about the team, but it’s OK for you to do it based on how long you’ve blogged or had season tickets?? HELLLOO you dont OWN the HAWKS or THIS BLOG. We all have the same rights.

I’m sure they also dont agree with middle aged professional women telling people to suck her unmentionables over a debate about basketball.

Work on your people skills. Learn to show some respect for the blog, yourself, other people and stop brown nosing.

All your “yyeeeaaah girl you said it!!” and “you tell em, preach brotha” and “yeea go head boo” dont mean squat. Everything I just said is keeping it 100% true, so just take this “L” and shut up.

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Well I’m late…but I seen the Heat…I KNOW there is no solace in moral victories…however…you have to at least acknowledge that the Hawks fought back and made it a game…so why I share the disappointment of the Hawks continues struggles against the elite teams in the East…I think the slow start was the biggest contributing factor to the Hawks lost to the Heat.

As for as LD’s substitution pattern…I think Dude is still trying to figure it out himself…they have enough big games in the month of December for us to get a good feel for where the team is at. One thing I will give LD credit for is his emphasis on the team’s slow start…again I felt that was the biggest contributor to Hawks lost…you can’t fall behind early to these elite teams and expect to win.

I must admit…the explanation LD gives MC to our questions are puzzling at times…Cuz it’s almost as though you are listening to Woody…now that’s very disappointing.

BTW, love the pick-up of DWilkins…I hope he is signed for the remainder of the season.

CMON JOSH…PICK-UP…TOO MANY JUMP SHOTS…you are letting your opponent off the hook.

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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