Atlanta Hawks: Season’s over

Fire OBSERVER Las Vegas Lame Duck Larry Drew.

Hire Aldeman

Run the offense through Teague

Peace out Jamal, Marvin, Joe (fingers crossed)

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John Hollinger – ESPN.com:
“Atlanta has no first-round pick and limited cap space; the luxury tax, depending on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, is another potential obstacle. Finally, the Hawks will likely shop disappointing forward Marvin Williams, who finished his season with a thud by playing 15 scoreless minutes.”

Whose gonna want the ‘disappointing Marvin Williams’?

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Face down a## up, the Hawks took it laying down once again. Every team knows that if you get up on the Hawks they’ll throw in the towel. Rose keep saying after every game, “lets get ahead of them and see what happens. Chicago wasn’t better they just had heart, something the Hawks have to find.

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real changes have to be made. real depth is needed and I dont mean Etan and Josh Powell type moves

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i enjoyed the surprise post season but i’m glad it’s over. it was all FOOL’S GOLD (as JeJe coined awhile back…at least i think it was JeJe). glad to see Teague freed…Zaza showin’ heart…Josh played pretty well…LD coached better than i expected but still phucked up in the most obvious cases/subs/PT

i would luv to a full-on KA BOOM but this franchise does nothin’ big except eff things up. i expect to see…Teague, Joe, Kirk, Josh, Al, Zaza, Damien…that’s it…PERIOD!!! Marvin better not be found anywhere close to this roster next season. there are no excuses…for any of ‘em really. it’s time for real changes folks!!! KA BOOM!!! the bigger, the better IMHO…and let’s start with a new owner and GM!!!

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Hawks future looks better than it once was,Bulls was just better team with way more depth. Hawks need a new BETTER COACH ASAP,trade Al or smith.i rather them trade horford he showed me nothing in playoffs against the better teams.Keep wilkins,collins,zaza,jamal Trade marvin for a draft pick since nobdy wants him.add a legit center and sign a legit SF who can do it all and play great D.Hawks dont be ashame of yourself at least yu lasted longer then the Falcons in playoffs.Future looking better,,Add a couple more pieces with a good Head coach like Sloan maybe and we be on our way hawks.

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Joe Johnson: “Hopefully we keep adding more pieces and making moves”…

I guess this means he’s giving some of the 120M+ that he doesn’t deserve back to the Hawks to spend on other team needs ? You see Joe, the Hawks CAN’T do anything because of your over-priced arse! Apparently money does grow on trees…

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Well our future can start with us looking to draft Marshon Brooks in the draft if Jamal walks.

He is an explosive scorer (Similar to what Jordan was) who can create his own shot, get to the line, and also plays good D for a 2 guard (1.8 steals, 1.3 blocks).

Saw a tweet earlier from Chad Ford, saying he has a little Kobe in his game, that can’t hurt right? He would be a great way to redeem ourselves for letting Jordan walk…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v8W2pumHX8

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All jokes aside, the Hawks need to move Marvin Williams, if possible. I hate to see any player fail or any person for that matter but it’s time to cut ties with Marvin Williams. The Hawks’ mgmt. has given this young man every opportunity to succeed. He was given a nice contract, a starting position, and was even given a one-time, 30-minute television episode/interview entitled “At Home with Marvin Williams” to show him he was really wanted in Atlanta by Hawks’ mgmt. Marvin Williams played poorly, plain and simple. I really don’t understand how he regressed to this point because I believe in his second or third year in the NBA he averaged between 13ppg and 14ppg. Now, he’s regressing year after year and at times he seems to regress game and game. He seems to play well one out of every eight to ten games. Seriously, I hope Marvin Williams has much success in the future but it just can’t be with the Hawks.

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It’s the man right here. Here I go. I know you people missed me.

Right to the point:

I am not disappointed after this beatdown. It was what it was. I am also not impressed with the Bulls at all. I know that sounds like a sore loser but I am just being honest. The Bulls are really limited offensively and get away with a lot of impeding progress with hands and pushes on defense. It will be interesting to see what happens when the refs feel like the money to be made for the league is with Miami.

Next, there must be changes and the major 3 are as follows:

Fire LD

Let Sund go

ASG must sale the team

Finally, unfortunately for those attached to the core it must be broken apart.

They should be shopped in the following order and for the attached reason

1 Joe Johnson- Holds the ball too long and kills offense way to often, plus his contract is just not good for growth.

2. Marvin Williams- Just sorry, which makes his contract bad.

3. Kirk Hinrich- has a expiring contract which is actually good, but do you really want to be paying a guy that should be coming off of your bench $8 million next year, then crying about the cap?

4. Al Horford- If you can get a legit C for Al do it now, but there are few of those guys that exist. I am not a Al basher but my love affair with his game is over.

5. Josh Smith- Josh is a keeper IMO, but he needs a new coach that he has never had to bond with, respect, and listen to before and LD does not fit that category because he has been around Josh basically his whole career.

I have seen and looked into some decent trades for Joe as starters.

Joe and Zaza and a 1st rounder for David Lee and Monta Ellis then send Lee to Milwaukee for Boguts if possible

Joe and Zaza for Brandon Roy and Gerald Wallace, they both work on trade machine

I would also send Al for Bogut, Bynum, or Gasol without blinking.

Don’t get your spirits down people we all new this was coming.

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Awright folks;
Jordan Crawford ain’t here no more, no more.
Late 1st round pick ain’t worth Jack.
(prediction = Jordan Crawford has an insignificant NBA career)

Kirk Hinrich is currently a Hawk.
[I'm dadgum glad he is]
(vet that knows how to play)

This team doesn’t need any more young’uns.

If anything we need some addition by subtraction.

Another thing – long ago drafts are over and done with.
We traded the Bill Russell draft pick,
we traded the Pau Gasol draft pick,
we didn’t draft Chris Paul,
and worse…..we did draft Shelden Williams.

It’s a history lesson,
so don’t torture yourself over it now.

Look into the future,
and don’t relive the past.

One can learn from their mistakes,
but if you constantly wring your hands over past gaffs & blunders,
you just end up with dish-pan hands.

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@drmaryb

I wonder if a trade is possible between Marvin Williams and Hasheem Thabeet, who would be a big project and a potential bust, if not already. After all, Thabeet is 7′3″ but has greatly underachieved and has played poorly in limited action. I think Thabeet like Marvin was also a No. 2 pick in 2009.

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Dont these guys ever get tired of gettin blown in the playoffs???

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Realsquawk – yep

The sad part is;
they are all out partying.
[I suspect they haven't felt one moment of vexation]

While we are on the blog tryin’ to figure out this mess.

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What a clusterf@#k.
The offence was a total joke. I just dont think Jamal and Joe work together well. I know that sounds strange but apart from game 1 they were just terrible. Both dribbling around like headless chickens.

I agree with the basic sentiments of the above posts. Clear out as much garbage as possible…but do you really think it’ll happen? LD will coach next season (starting Teague for 3 games before benching him) and we’ll lose Jamal and gain no one. Can’t wait! Let the indifferent sulks begin!!

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I heard the Hawks party hard too. Something happened in LA over all-star break. That’s when the wheels started falling off the bus. These players don’t care, the owners don’t care. They will all get there’s in time. The true champions are still playing and will live on in eternity. These bums in ATL will just die rich.

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Watching this game over again right now. Hubie just called it. Hawks down 17 – 11 . . and Drew takes out Teague for Jamal.

Hubie Brown ( paraphrasing ) – “They took Teague out, now that’s trouble. Because it forces Joe Johnson to guard Derrick Rose”.

And in actuality, what happened was that Jamal was on him for a stretch, and we went to zone. A zone that we didn’t play well at all. We got it down to 5, and then the run slowly happens. Then gets completely out of control once Teague went down.

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

It’s kind of sad how this season ended. But if it was to end, this ending was probably the best way. Ending this way almost forces the ASG to make significant changes to this team. And it really doesn’t matter who they move.

Regardless of whom they move, they need to have some sort of plan in place. Some sort of vision of how they want this team to look. Because right now, we either need significant additions to this core, or the core must be dismantled altogether.

I’m down either way. What CAN’T happen, is that we essentially bring back the same team. That CAN’T happen. The experiment failed. We had a lackluster regular season. And while we had a better than expected postseason, significant flaws in this team still exist that will keep us from being “elite” and “championship worthy”.

So what’s the plan ASG?

- Do you keep what you have, and try to add minimum pieces like you did last year?
- Do you trade one or more of the precious “core” for a superstar player?
- Do you make trades, possibly taking on the bad contracts of some players who can ball?
- Do you fire the coach, or bring in a new experienced “voice”?
- Do you fire the GM?
- Do you completely blow it up and start over?

What do you do ASG?

One thing that has to happen, is that this team needs an IDENTITY. And it doesn’t matter what that identity is . . . just get one. Defensive . . Run and Gun . . it doesn’t matter to me. Just get a damn identity and develop a style of play that becomes the signature of this team.

Blah season . . nice playoffs . . horrible ending, making it look like everything was all for nothing.

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

Game 6 grades:

Zaza: B+
Smith: B
Bench Scrubs: C+
Collins: C-
Johnson: C-
Horford: D
Marvin: F
Teague: Incomplete

Despite us not being able to make a damn thing on offense, the defense in this game was non-existant. And it didn’t help that Carlos Boozer thought it was 2007 again.

LOL . . funny how two of my favorite teams went out in the playoffs. The Tennessee Vols lose by 30 to Michigan . . the Hawks lose by 20 to Chicago.

SMH @ my sports life, and the teams I root for.

Carmelo Anthony . . thank you for that 2003 National Title for Syracuse. That’s the only thing I’ve been able to celebrate as a sports fan in the last 10 years.

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“Sorry you couldn’t have a better ending, blog people.”

I picked Bulls in 6 so I can’t say I was surprised. It is a little disappointing, though, that the last four seasons have ended in blowouts. Game 7 at Boston, Game 4 vs. Cleveland, Game 4 vs. Orlando, and now this.

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Well, here’s to another disappointing season. I know we had more success during this year’s post-season than during last year’s post-season, but for some reason, I almost feel more disappointed now. At any rate, I think it’s time to just blow things up for the betterment of everyone. For the players, I think they need to be sent elsewhere to see what they can do under another coach and another atmosphere. I feel like the team environment here in ATL has just become too toxic. It’s to the point where I feel like these players are even a bad influence on eachother, and before it continues any further, I’d just like to see the team broken up to see what these guys are really capable of, individually.

I’d like to see what Josh could do with a no-nonsense coach who could get him to play to his strengths and work on fundamentals. I’d like to see what Horford could do on a team that plays traditional, disciplined basketball, in a place where he is given a larger, more appropriate role, with a staff to help him develop his post game. I’d like to see what Teague could do under a coach who rewards playing time based upon production, and in a system where he could run a team for an entire season. Obviously, we are not going to get those things here in ATL with our disappointing head coach and disappointing management, so we might as well just send these guys elsewhere. I think they at least deserve to have those opportunities, especially, Teague, who I feel has been severely mistreated during his time here in ATL. If I were him, I wouldn’t even think twice about resigning with the Hawks.

As for Joe and Jamal, I think the Hawks are basically going to be forced to stick with Joe for the long haul due to his contract, so they might as well just start rebuilding around him and give him the huge offensive role that he had during most of his years here. Let him isolate until his heart is content. Finally, send Jamal to the Cavaliers, who are in desperate need of a scoring guard who can create his own shot.

I think this should be the end of this “core” era for the Hawks. I truly believe that these players no longer compliment eachother well, especially not in this bolonga “motion offense” system where Josh floats around the perimeter, and Al just stands in the high post area looking for someone to pass the ball to, meanwhile the point guard is rendered useless. I think these guys would be much better off without eachother in different situation. Let’s give them that. Let’s give the fans in ATL something new to cheer about. Most of the guys on this team have already been criticized and harassed to no end on this blog already. We might as well get some new players in here, who might become fan favorites and give people on here some positive things to talk about. I say we just put an end to the negativity, false hopes, and struggles that the Hawks have given themselves and the fans for the past several years of “the core”. Let’s just start over.

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“Pretty funny how after one series the tide has apparently shifted from Al can do no wrong and Smoove has to be traded to Smoove can do no wrong and Al has to be traded. Let’s try to chill on the overreactions, people.”

That’s pretty much just the way it is with a lot of fans. They’re fickle. They change with the wind. Most of the die-hards are strongly set in their ways, but a lot of casual fans tend to overreact very quickly. At this point, it just kind of makes me laugh. I can almost guarantee you that if Josh would have had an awful night in game 6 after having a very impressive performance in his prior game, I bet most of these “fans” would have forgotten about his impressive performance and be demanding that we trade him, or if Al would have had a great game in game 6, the blog would be talking about how he is the only guy to play with any heart and how no one else cares. It really is amusing. I have to admit though, it’s kind of surprising to see some pro-Josh talk on here after such a bad loss. Usually, Josh is the guy getting torched after a blowout since he typically has bad games when we get blown out.

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My random notes:

We had the Bulls on the ropes at the start of Game 2 and LD threw the game away by not putting hustlers on the floor (he did the opposite).

He completely missed the preparation on Game 3, again, not understanding the importance of hustling.

Managed to make adjustments for game 4 and we got the win.

Then, in Game 5, we did not make any correct adjustments AND got jobbed by the refs. Thibs made the most important adjustment of the series – limiting Korver’s minutes and using Brewer more.

LD stuck with Jamal doing nothing so we had 2 pretty bad combo factors.

Game 6… a joke of preparation and joke with his “in-game adjustments”.

After this series, count me out of the “trade Josh keep Al” bandwagon.

I was never fully in, but I was inclined to buy the ticket.

Horford is the best trading chip we have and he is PERFECTLY EXPENDABLE.

Zaza would have done more with Al’s minutes.

Josh needs a coach that gets him to see the light. There might not be a coach out there with that power but our PUFF FORWARD Diaper Al was a disgrace.

Al has no heart and no balls.

Josh may be a looney but he brings it more often than Al and impacts the game positively even when he is missing shots (he also impacts negatively).

Hilton could be the semi-youngster we need to complement Zaza’s characteristics.

I know that it was garabage minutes last night but he stuck his but into Gibson’s stomach and backed into a dunk in the closing moments.

We lack that. Zaza is an energy big off the bench to provide rebounding and when match ups favor him, some points off misses or pick n’ roll plays.

Josh with proper coaching will play better and closer to the rim. What he needs is someone who is not afraid to bench him when he strays off the right path. Accountability.

Al is now strictly a finesse big, a Puff Forward, so we need physicality and shot blocking inside, which is something that Hilton – a perennial underachiever – showed he is capable of doing if he got his act together since he has a foot out of the league in no time and needs to find a home.

Strange – not really – but after using a vast array of bigs against Howard, LD sat numbly throughout this series and watched us being burned by CHI’s energy on the boards and DID NOTHING.

He under-used Zaza is some crucial games (yesterday Zaza again proved that he performs with more minutes – 13 boards in 20 odd minutes), but beyond that, LD never tried anyone else.

Why not try out Etan’s physicality? Or Hilton’s athleticism?

LD is a fracking idiot who cost us a winnable series. Also, the Diaper Al – Boozer match up was horrible for us, whilst Josh stuffed Boozer all the time when they matched up. Only a blind man missed it.

Also, how can he justify the minutes given to Jamal when he was giving us nothing offensively and was being burned on D? Wilkins should have played consistent minutes to bring hustle, D and with that more transition buckets.

Jamal shot .333 from the field and .173 from 3 point land in this series.

Still, he averaged 30 minutes per game.

In his defense, I think the refs stopped whistling any contact he got, but the hard fact is that in many shots he was trying to get the calls so badly that he became so notorious as an in-flight flopper that the refs simply don’t want to reward him and additionally don’t call when he gets really hit.

CHI won by hustling and defending like animals our best player (JJ) who even so had a passable series, given the poor preparation and adjustments made to get him more space.

Benching JJ when he over-handles should also be in the program: a quick pull, a small chat and back again.

Instead, LD watched most of the time the team perform like a small boat in the rapids… out of control and going with the flow without trying to beat it and influence direction.

LD was bailed by Hinrich’s injury: Teague proved that he deserved more minutes and that his skill set is something we are lacking, without him we would have been swept (mind that I like Hinrich A LOT and with a proper coach, we would have had Teague, JJ and Hinrich with the most minutes in the back court and Jamal strictly as scorer off the bench who would be pulled when under performing).

So, strictly a lucky event for LD, but anyone with a modicum of intelligence is forced to consider Teague’s performance an indictment of LD and evidence of how weak of a coach he is.

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As far as the auxiliary non-core pieces are concerned, to me it breaks down like this:

Definite keepers: Collins, Zaza. I have done a complete 180 on these two from a year ago or even a few months ago in Zaza’s case, but they both stepped up their games in the playoffs. I put a lot of stock into how players play in big games, and Collins and Zaza played their roles to perfection in the Orlando series as well as for big chunks of this series. Collins can be re-signed for pretty cheap, in my opinion, and ever since February 27 when Zaza stopped playing timid and started beasting on the boards again, he has turned himself from a liability into an asset and made his contract look like a bargain rather than an albatross.

Definite leavers: Marvin, Jamal, Josh Powell. It’s pretty sad and yet entirely predictable that the Hawks really only need Marvin to do two things — knock down open shots and play good man to man D — and he was able to do both in exactly one game in the playoffs. At this point I am all in favor of dumping his contract for anything. Unlike several players on the Hawks, Marvin has been handed every chance to develop into at least a serviceable role player, and six years into his career he is not even that.

As for Jamal, the Hawks are going to have to make a decision on whether to roll with Jamal or Kirk as the first guard off the bench next year. Teague and by default Joe are going to be the starters; if the Hawks are to keep both Jamal and Kirk and (as I hope) put the ball in Teague’s hands, they will end up with over $35 million on next year’s payroll committed to three guards who are not the focal points of the offense. That is way too much for a team that wants to keep payroll manageable. Since Kirk is under contract (and his contract is expiring) while Jamal is going to require a multi-year deal, and since Kirk is better defensively and better suited to playing point guard than Jamal, I’d rather roll with Kirk. As good of an individual scorer as Jamal is, I think Kirk brings more to the table defensively and as a point guard and as a result would provide a steadier, more reliable presence.

You could make a case that Powell is the worst player in the NBA, and keeping him on the roster only serves to entice LD to play him.

Possible keepers: Damien, Pape Sy. Damien plays with heart and toughness, but to me players like him are also somewhat replaceable, and as a result I wouldn’t support giving him a long-term deal. But if he’s willing to take a cheap one or two year deal to stay here that’s fine. And the jury is still out on Pape Sy, although it’s encouraging that at least in garbage time he stands out somewhat (unlike Marvin who blends into the background even when scrubs are on the floor).

Irrelevant: Hilton Armstrong, Magnum Rolle, Etan Thomas. Whether these players stay or go is going to have little to no impact on how well the Hawks do.

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As for JJ being moved . . . a team will take him, especially if they feel that they’re one player away from winning it all.

LA LAKERS

They don’t believe for one minute that they’re done. But they may be willing to make a significant trade or two to make one last run at things before Kobe goes into decline. And they do not care about the Luxury Tax.

Pau Gasol for Joe Johnson

While he sucked in the playoffs, he does represent the type of player the Hawks could use. And he’d be another much needed big on the frontline, probably the best possible big we could get. As for LA, if Bynum is ready to take over as a #2 or #3 type scorer, the Lakers may move Gasol, let Bynum play center, Odom start at PF for one more year, and give Kobe his “Green Lantern” in JJ.

But honestly, the only way this goes down, is if the Lakers truly see Gasol as a detriment than as a asset. And if they feel that JJ would give them the type of scoring punch to team with Kobe.

Hawks lineup

PG – Teague
G – Hinrich
F – Smith
F – Horford
F – Gasol

It simply gives us a different look, with more of a low post option to go to in Gasol.

BOSTON

With them being on the verge of re-signing Doc Rivers to a multi year deal, the Celtics feel that they’re not done yet either. But they do need to make a move to stay competitive. They have Kevin Garnett’s HUGE 21 million dollar expiring deal next year.

Joe Johnson and Zaza Pachulia for Kevin Garnett

When you do a move like this, you’re essentially not playing for next year, but trying to create cap room for the 2012 free agents. With KG’s 21 million and Hinrich’s 8 million coming off the books, you’re talking 29 million less in salary, and depending on what the cap is, maybe far enough under the cap to make a serious run at one of the big names or secondary names. Just understand that this is a move for the future, not for next year.

PG – Teague
G – Hinrich
F – Marvin
F – Smith
C – Horford

GOLDEN ST

This is the trade that many have kicked around over the years. Bringing Monta Ellis to Atlanta. Golden St can’t survive playing the mini-me backcourt, no matter how exciting it is. Since Curry is still on his rookie contract, you’re not going to get value from trading him. But you may get value if you trade Ellis. Even if JJ doesn’t put up the offensive numbers that Ellis does, he makes that team much better defensively. And Curry can have complete control of the team.

Unfortunately, you’d probably have to give up your “favorite son” to get him. But if the decision is made to move JJ, I think it would be worth it, just to see how athletic of a team we could really feel.

Joe Johnson and Jeff Teague for Monta Ellis and Andres Biedrins

And I DESPISE Biedrins. He’s not a top notch center. But if you want JJ gone, and to make the numbers work, we’d have to take Ellis and Beans and throw Teague in the mix. Monta is a dynamic scoring guard that drives the ball. And if you wanted the team to play fast, he’s the guy to go get.

G – Hinrich
G – Ellis
F – Smith
F – Horford
C – Zaza ( i’m starting Zaza over Biedrins )

To me, those are 3 realistic trades that could go down, if those other teams felt that JJ could help them get to the next level.

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“What do you think about Brandon Roy (bad contract) and Gerald Wallace for Joe and Zaza?”

This is a pretty good gamble to me. Wallace is a quality player, and if some rest and rehab can bring Roy back to even 75% of what he was at his peak, the Hawks would come out on top by a considerable margin by making this deal. And Roy bouncing back is not out of the question after seeing how players like Jason Kidd and Amare Stoudemire have returned to peak form after serious knee injuries.

“What do you think about Monta and Biedrins for Joe and Zaza or Monta and David Lee for Joe and Zaza?”

Monta is like a more offensively gifted version of Jamal to me — he’s individually really fun to watch, but his overall impact on the team (especially defensively) seems to me like it would be a wash at best. For all of Joe’s faults, he usually brings it on the defensive end. Monta is a big time defensive liability both due to his height and poor defensive fundamentals. I guess if you surround him with other good defensive players you can compensate for his defensive problems, but he currently has the ball in his hands a LOT in a wide open system, so it’s no guarantee he’d come close to matching his current numbers in a more structured system where he would play off the ball. As for Biedrins and David Lee, neither one really impresses me enough to make that trade worth it. Biedrins is constantly hurt and is so bad at the free throw line that it’s impossible to rely on him offensively, and I can’t stop thinking about how Warriors fans on their blog were sh-tting on David Lee after that game where the Hawks blew them out in Golden State despite Lee putting up 20 and 10. I think the Hawks made a good move by dumping one defensive liability in Bibby; I’m not sure that I’d want to see them acquire more defensive liabilities.

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Also, one last thing: I don’t think it is necessary to take sides between Smoove and Al. I think both players are versatile enough that they can coexist on the same team successfully. There seems to be a prevailing idea that since both are (supposedly) best suited to playing power forward, the Hawks will have to choose one or the other. I don’t think this is the case.

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Najeh: For as good as Curry is its not like he goes to the rack all night. Give me Teague and Monta running pick and roll all night and that is a bigger nightmare than Derrick Rose running pick and roll all night. Plus, I agree about David Lee, i think he is just a stat stuffer, he has been in the league for 6 years or so and never seen the playoffs, but I will also say he rebounds so well for his career that there is not a big difference between he and Boozer, neither do anything on D but rebound, but you see Boozer looks okay when you put him on the court with Noah, Gibson, or Asik. Put Lee on the court with Josh and he want look so bad on D.

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Now, honestly, I’ve been one of the biggest defenders of Marvin Williams since he got here. He’s 6′9, can defend on the perimeter, and his upside was always off the charts. THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, he coudln’t even start this postseason over an aging Jason Collins. Now, I’m sorry, but it’s time to move him and bring hin a starting small forward or move him and move Joe Johnson down to the three. Either way, it’s time for Marvin to go. You can only live on potential and flashes for so long.

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The problem to me is having to many guys who think they’re scorers. Our team and starters had no balance. For instance look at the bulls in their starting line-up they had 3 guys they want to get shots the rest play their role. With the normal line-up we had 5 guys expected to score which has never worked to my knowledge. We have no role players in our line-up. And the Joe talk is crazy, he won’t make 20 mil until down the line right now he makes around the same amount he made last year. And if y’all actually think no one would take him y’all are crazy. Right now as I see it you have to get complimentary prices to Joe Jeff and Josh. We need a good big man period. We need knockdown shooters we need role players. Here everybody want to be the star.

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After that big first game win over Chicago the Hawks lost 4 of 5 by double digits (13, 17, 12, 20) – sound familiar? (nice Orlando series though).

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When your late 1st rd picks(Josh/Teague) have more heart and desire than your top 10 lottery picks(Joe,Jamal/Marvin, and yes Big Al Horford, you’re asking for trouble. No heart = FAIL.

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The only coaches that can have an impact on this
core are Larry Brown and Doc Rivers. I doubt that
either will want to deal with ASG.

We will be playing “Fantasy Basketball” by coming up
with possible trade scenarios that we would like to
see for the next several months.

Al needs to hit the weight room. Jamal and Marvin need
their walking papers. We need a center. We are stuck
with Joe.

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It’s been a great blogging season which fortunately gave us a little better tasting meat in the playoffs to chew on.

Personally, my view on the Al-Josh situation is:

Soft guys don’t change. Stubborn guys sometimes do (see Z-Bo’s improvement).

IMO, you can’t coach to extract toughness out of softness, but you can coach a stubborn guy to stop doing stupid stuff (Woody made Josh stop launching 3’s and for me that is enough evidence).

Al failed miserably in these playoffs and his Puff Forward game without Nowitski’s moves and range is worthless in the playoffs.

I was blind, but now I can see. Diaper Al will never take us anywhere. He may still be useful, but I would not rely on him anymore. He looked scared, shot more airballs in the playoffs than in all 4 regular seasons together, was abused by (and failed to out play) another softie (Boozer), subs (Azik, Gibson, …) and smaller nobodies/middling players (Bass, Anderson, …).

Josh just needs true quality coaching: authority, accountability and quality x’s and o’s. He showed up in game 4, made a good effort in game 5, brought us back yesterday a couple of times with his hustle on D.

Did he damaged us as well? Yes, but as I said above, his miss guided efforts were corrected last year, so my guess is that I think he can still improve.

LD brings a bit of x’s and o’s (in comparison with Woody) but the harsh reality is that both Woody and LD are only suited to be assistant coaches.

Our most significant off-season move should be getting a new coach here.

ADELMAN? Pretty please with sugar on top?

I know it won’t happen and the consequence will be that next season, these cats will do the same number: coast during the season thinking that they can turn it on in the playoffs.

Well, it worked this year, but it was also kind of a fluke and they don’t realize it.

Our roster is actually fine IMO, with obvious problems, but fine. However, I would trade Marvin for a couple of 2nd round picks, even if they end up being worthless at least we would ditch his salary.

As for Jamal, I would not mind keeping him for the money he deserves ±3 million and provided that he got the daylight his game deserves (ie. in a series like this one against CHI, him playing like he did after game 1 and still averaging 30mpg was pathetic).

And you know why our roster is not that bad, IMO?

Look at how effective was CHI’s second team? Where those guys so much better than ours? Better than our starters? No, it was coaching, pure and simple.

During game 5 Thibs surprised me a great deal. I thought that he was a type of coach that gets too intense and loses his men after a while.

But when CHI was starting to play a bit shaky and lost the lead his instructions to his men were:

BREATHE, JUST BREATHE. Sometimes not giving instructions is the best possible route. He seems to understand that.

That is something that for instance SVG would never say to his men and that is why he loses his men so often.

A final word on Teague. I have been extra supportive of Teague. These series were very good for his confidence and revealed the kind of player he can be.

He is not there yet because I am not blind: he benefited from the attention that JJ and Jamal were getting and from having Korver checking him.

So, I don’t think it’s realistic to think he will average 17ppg next year (I am discounting yesterday since his injury took his game away), but he will certainly be able to put up 12/13 whilst filling up the rest of the stat sheet with good stuff just like Josh does.

By the way, both Josh and JJ will benefit greatly with Teague starting.

I think JJ will have no problem in giving Teague the ball handling duties and will improve from his over reliance on his ISO plays (he accumulated bad habits but proper coaching as mentioned above would do the trick).

Josh will benefit from the faster tempo game which Teague brings and could regain his J-Smash game. I can see Josh dunking alley hoops on people again just like Howard does with Nelson playing the pick ‘n roll.

Again, it’s all about coaching. We have the personnel to extract much more.

If we are forced to keep Diaper Al, I would consider this line up for next year:

Teague, JJ, Josh, Al and Hilton

Hinrich, Wilkins, Zaza as the main subs

All of the above are above average defenders/hustlers (with Diaper Al being softie but disciplined) with Hilton being the main question mark (I think he showed some skill defending Howard and could be a younger more mobile Collins for us – a spot starter).

Sy, Jamal and Marvin (if we retain him/not trade him) and Collins as spot subs.

All these have particular skills which may be useful (with Marvin being the probable exception, unless he all of the sudden morphs into a bigger version of Rickey Pierce).

People will say: Josh at the SF slot? I will say yes, a different kind of SF. Again, it’s all about X’s and O’s – Josh would post up smaller guys and would still play minutes at the PF slot.

The key would be the dynamic rotations on our front court positions, since I would continue to play JJ heavy minutes at the SF slot where he can be effective against SFs who are typically slower and have less handles to cause him problems on D.

Diaper Al would continue to play his soft game at the Puff Forward and Center slots, playing at the high post/elbow and baseline BUT I would not mentally rely on him so much.

Hopefully, with Teague putting pressure on the perimeter, we would have a lot more transition baskets and Al and Josh can fill the lanes with quickness and authority, so it’s not that Al would be worthless at all.

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Al is just really ineffective at the 4

Dunno why Drew kept him there the entire series when Josh was eating Booz’s lunch

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The sad part is;
they are all out partying.
[I suspect they haven't felt one moment of vexation]

While we are on the blog tryin’ to figure out this mess
Maybe all need to get a life!

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MC, I think LD and Hawks garnered a LEVEL of respect with their performance in the playoff…now it time to get down to business.

The decision on Jamal shouldn’t be that difficult…hopefully Sund want vacillate on that one too long.

MC, Thanks for the great commentary on the season…this should be a very interesting off season for the Hawks!!

THANK YOU HAWKS FOR DISPLAYING SOME CLASS AND PRIDE…UNDER THE IRE OF DEFEAT…they continued to fight throughout the series…I RESPECT.

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

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Teague is a player.
LD is a poor judgement of potential.
Sund is a average GM that will create average teams.
Al Hortford is simply scared or bad. He was horrible. He disappeared.
JJ needs to use his talents as a team mate. He is not someone who should dominate the ball.
JC is simply a streaky scorer who will be ok in certain offensive situations. He plays no defense.

Come on Sund suprise us.

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Tremaine – don’t joke about suicide….that’s just dead wrong.

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Please trade for D. Howard, they can have J. Smith and 4 other players, show us that you are serious about getting past the 2 round.

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PERSPECTIVE – there are 30 teams in the nba. the last three years the HAWKS make it to the second round (top 8). there are only 4 teams that make it to the next round.

this year the hawks beat orlando (a team that destroyed them last year) in the 1st round. they give the #1 SEEDED BULLS all they can handle for the 1st 5 games. game 6 hawks miss everything, chicago makes everything. nights like that happen.

if the talent can be harnessed (BIG IF, BUT IF) teague, smith, horford, and johnson are capable starters. hinrick, wilkins, and zaza are solid off the bench. know we cant afford him BUT DWIGHT HOWARD and a couple more bench players get hawks to FINAL FOUR where anything can happen. until next year.

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No thanks to Brandon Roy.

2 months ago a doctor said he had 2 years left, and that’s with playing 20 mpg every other night

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priest,

I don’t think SAS has ever gone into luxury tax to be where they’ve been at.

Sund still thinks we’re modeling our team after the Spurs/Pistons.

NO. They were PHYSICAL teams. We are not

WE DID NOT COMMIT ONE HARD FOUL THIS ENTIRE GOT-DAMN SERIES

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The same old song, I’m not suprised, I was born and raised here in ATL so what is new, we lose again, Falcons and Hawks are loosers, thank god after sooooo many years of loosing the braves finaly figured it out, but we here in Atlanta should be use to it by now, how many Titles have we won in our history? I may be wrong but i think that it is 1# WE ARE NOT A PRO SPORT CITY, and it is ashame because I love Georgia and would never leave my city or have anything bad to say about it but the Pro teams SUCK! No need to respond because I don’t give a damn what you think anyway because you know that I’m right. Peace

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After these playoffs three things became painfully obvious to me:
1) Jamal and JJ can not coexist. We can not have two shoot-first SGs that have an aversion to passing the ball. That stagnates the offense too much. Jamal has to and will go.
2) Smoove and Al can not coexist. We can not beat the elite players with two power forwards on the court because we give up too big an advantage on the boards. One of them has to be leveraged for a true center.
3) LD is not the coach for this team. It is obvious that this team does not listen to LD. He waits for players to “address their on issues”. In fact, I would say that all of our starters regressed this season; JJ had a problem adjusting to the new offense and his production decreased by 3 PPG, Smoove increased his attempts from the perimeter and his effectiveness decreased from 0.50 to 0.47 FG%, Jamal went from being instant offense from the bench to a crapshoot that scored 4 less PPG, Marvin went from being a serviceable player to being a complete non-factor and Al’s disappearance act during the post-season was mind-blowing.

I believe that our best course of action is two package Al, Jamal (sing and trade) and Kirk for a true center and a dump contract, otherwise we will be the same team next year than the 2011 version. This group is very close to their ceiling.

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I know who blew the game for the Hawks. It was their enforcer, Zsa Zsa Pachulia. The Hawks had grabbed the momentum in the third quarter and were making a ferocious comeback, they had cut the lead to 9 points, and now the Hawks had the ball. Zsa Zsa grabbed the rebound and started SWINGING HIS ELBOWS LIKE DWIGHT HOWARD and connected with a Bulls player, giving the ball back to the Bulls to temporarily stop the momentum. THE HAWKS NEVER GOT THE MOMENTUM BACK AFTER THAT AND THEN JUST QUIT AND GAVE UP. I would really be reluctant to re-signing Zsa Zsa because it is evident to me that the guy doesnt want to play basketball, but instead would rather just pick fights with other players. Zsa Zsa if you want to fight so much, JUST QUIT BASKETBALL AND BECOME AND PROFESSIONAL BOXER. This way you wont have to cost your team a crucial, critical game and instead you could just get your head beat in every bout. Thanks Zsa Zsa. Thanks alot.

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northcyde they changed it up on us and we couldnt adjust. they went inside to boozer and away from rose. it was obvious the strategy changed and we had no adjustment. we lost bad and rose had the night off in many respects figuratively speaking.

as far as what to do this summer? do what should have been done last year. get a real coach with experience(wont happen because overall LD (though he cant take us close to the promised land and has a contract that the owners wont want to swallow and didnt fair too poorly based on what he had to work with), get a big to compliment zaza, al, josh and to get someone at the three hole a a very good back up who can defend and one more shooter.

as far as josh need to figure out which position he is going to play and have him build his body for it. he played some pretty good three’s this year and held his own defensively and folks didnt think he could do it lord knows he is better than marvin at it. if he is to be the four then he needs bulk.

al needs bulk no matter where he plays either three or four and an interior game not the increase range he said he needs to do. if he had shot well from his range he thinks he has we would have been golden.

it is probably reasonable to let jamal walk if he wants a similar contract. we know what he can and cant do and he is not worth now what we are paying him as al steps into his contract.

someone needs to either have a come to jesus meeting and find out if marvin wants to pay nba ball or go back to school and send him packing. his whole game needs work and that cant be done hanging at chapel hill.

the bench is thin and was thin and has to get deeper or maybe the coaches have to get better. it is odd that our bench, sadly only zaza and jamal really, looked so good early in the series only to have everyone begin to talk about the bull’s bench. i guess when it won the game five for them it became obvious who had the better bench. get some players or develop them which is what other teams do, like denver, okc, memphis, etc.

i come to perplexing jj. he still cant stand up and deliver. nor does it seem he is comfortable saying he is the man and is going to make it happen then do it. he disappears ar the oddest of times and his shot which we need goes with him. folks without prejudice are able to see he is streaky as all hell and when it isnt there he goes and hides. as much as josh is maligned he was govong max effort when it was back against the wall. it seems jj just doesnt have that gear and neither did al. as frustraing as jsh is it is even more frustrating to watch jj and his own disappearing act. when josh finally started loading up i am sayog why not? he has challenged inside and then watch as everyone else throws air ball after air ball then why not me? i might get as hot as how cold they are.

northcyde ultimately dont delude yourself as you became a believer last year. dont go back. it is not about fans who dont care. it is about the money and this team as many will go only as far as the owners are willing to make up for mistakes or willing to spend to get quality management below them in coaches and gm’s.

najeh, say no to brandon roy, no cartilage in either knee. as tough as gayle sayers was he couldnt run and cut with one bad knee without cartilage. neither will brandon and both have games that were al about quick cuts and change of direction and i still deplore we didnt get him as he would have at the least been good trade potential. i love who he was. they were thinking cartilage transplants and the operation doesnt really even exist, real experimental. he is the reincarnation of hill who had op after op though the knee is worse to work on than the ankle problem that hill had.

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It is weird not being mad at the blow out last night.
@ On Brandon Roy/Wallace for JJ-Looking at where Portland is going, I dont see how Portland would agree to such a deal that made JJ their PG for 5 years. And, I think it is fair to say that is likely in several other scenarios involving teams absorbing JJ onto their rosters.

GM/Coach: Rick Sund needs to go, if not for the fact that change is necessary. I think LD won the battle he was asked to take on (compete against ORL and give CHI a run), but he lost the war (Transforming this team) It is time for a 3.5+ million a year coach. LD did great, but his abilities are no different from Joe’s talents on the court as a franchise player. My personal take is a GM style coach is what we need-you could even keep LD for cheap for an extra year, with the option of the challenge from upstairs motivating him to coach well.

For next year we would transform this teams identity based on the direction the 3.5+ Coach sees best as we make roster changes and institute structure we have been craving in the A. There might be better options out there, but I dont see how a Larry Brown type coach (even with his penchant for quitting) does not give us a better shot.

As for players, personnel can be worked on once management and coaching is determined. But it is safe to say that Marvin Williams shouldn’t return. I say the same for JC because of we would need to sign a contract extension.

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^Sorry for the typos..

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Good riddance to this season, to watching this “team,” to the highlight factory and hopefully to Josh watch me lose smooth Smith.

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*First off- great season hawks, even tho we didnt win as many reg season games we made a big step toward a promising future, we beat orl in the playoffs, we got rid of bibby, it is plain as day to see we need to rid marvin, teague seems to be our point of the future, josh showed he is a top nba player vs the bulls and hopefully will understand he needs to bring that energy every night, as for my offseason wish list! i’d like to see jamal sign somewhere else and i think a horford for monta ellis trade would be great for us and gs, horford is a great player but his limited offense in the playoffs hurt the hawks, if we can get joe another top scorer(not off the bench) we can get to the finals, i think every true hawks fan blogger wants us to get a legite center, horford is good on d but we could insert a bigger center and get about the same production, my hawks team 11-12
teague
monta ellis
joe
josh
new center?
bench
kirk
damien
zaza
ne ideas?
ld did a pretty good job in his rookie year i give him a B
again good season and cant wait for next year

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AL HORFORDS CONFIDENCE HAS BEEN SHOT TO HELL. Everytime Horford was getting a good look at the basket, for some strange reason he kept passing the ball to other players who were LESS QUALIFIED TO MAKE SHOTS than he was and that was ruining our chances of success. HORFORD IS A 64% FIELD GOAL SHOOTER. HAD HORFORD SHOT THE BASKETBALL EVERY TIME HE RECEIVED IT, THE HAWKS WOULD HAVE SWEPT CHICAGO IN FOUR GAMES IN THIS SERIES AND WON EACH GAME BY AT LEAST 30 POINTS. AL HORFORD WHERE WERE YOU THIS SERIES. WE NEEDED YOU AND YOU JUST DISAAPPEARED LIKE AN OLD CHARLETON MAGIC TRICK.

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I wish the bulls would have ended this is four but anyways our coaching is the best and that’s why ultimately why we won. Derrick rose is a great player and every single one of them gets along well its one big family . I didn’t see the hawks have that kind of chemistry…they arent well coached either…looks like they gave up

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The steps in this offseason:

1) Resolve the status of Sund. His contract is over. My guess is the ASG keeps it simple and ‘rewards’ him with another 2 year deal. While I disagree, this is the easy fix….the ASG don’t do anything out of the norm. They can’t even agree to be truthful to their fan base. We should expect very few improvements to appease the fan base. We will hear again how these guys really like each other and like playing together…yawn.

Right now, we are at best the 4th best team in the East. If that is good enough for the ASG, you won’t see many moves.

2) Coach Drew – yep, this postseason will allow him to come back for another season DESPITE ignoring Jeff Teague. I mean, totally ignoring him. I recall a young player named Tayshaun Prince, who was also treated this way his first season in Detroit. Prince was a late 1st rounder and couldn’t get off the bench, and, well, look here…

“In his rookie season under head coach Rick Carlisle, Prince was not a member of the team’s playing rotation and appeared in just 42 of 82 regular-season games. However, in the first round of the 2003 NBA Playoffs, Detroit trailed the Orlando Magic three games to one, forcing Carlisle to experiment with a different rotation. Prince was inserted into the lineup and received heavy minutes. He then went on to set an NBA record by being the only player in league history to score more points in the playoffs than in the regular season (137 in the season, 141 in the playoffs).”

It just seemed like JT scored more in the playoffs than the entire year, but he fell way short of that.

The Pistons rallied to win the series, and Prince had a breakout performance during the decisive seventh game, scoring 20 points in 24 minutes.[9] In the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, Prince continued to see action and made several memorable plays, including a turnaround hook shot during the final seconds of the second game, forcing an overtime period that the Pistons went on to win.

So Prince got 40 DNPs his first year in the league until Carlisle, thinking he had limited resources, went with the rookie, and he took off from there. Tay has been a steady starter in Detroit since, making 2 Finals appearances, and bringing home one trophy after the days of the Bad Boys.

This is similar in that Drew had little choice but to go with JT. While the result isn’t the same that Tay had, this guy just played his way into the conversation. I had asked too many times why Carlisle would not give Tay a shot, and very similar to Drew’s approach. Yet here was Drew in the offseason after JT’s first year saying it was his job to take.

My point in all this is you gotta go with whom you drafted. Mistakes or not, you have to give them a shot. Lord knows Marvin has had his shot, Chills had his shot, Shellhead got his shot. You drafted them for some reason didn’t you? Why in the hail were we waiting for?

We just came off the most disastrous playoff run in history and you sit JT and tell him he isn’t good enough to see the floor?

Drew said this team made tremendous strides this playoff season compared to last, but did we really? We were competitive for most of the games, but we saw some of the 4th quarter issues that plagued this team all year, especially in Games 2 and 5 of the CHI series. We had our chances, and we woke up a very good defensive team in CHI. CHI now has a very good chance to get past Miami.

Coach Drew will be back; he has proven he can coach in this league. I like what he did by asking to bring over Pape Sy, who was no factor this year, but may turn out to be useful going forward. I like the way he handled Collins, who I never thought would be of any use. He was a hired gun for Orlando, and we got good results out of that.

So Drew does good things with Collins, Sy, moves Josh to the 3, and gets us to compete successfully against Orlando. That was the big hurdle we had to climb. Beyond that, there is work to be done for Drew and his staff.

Can we get better as a unit? I think we have peaked, but it will take a new voice (GM), to make any changes of significance. The Kirk deal may help us as it would have been Bibby’s last year as well (a little too late) and you never know with this club if they can bring in a good talent from the draft.

3) In looking at the other teams in the playoffs at this point, you see DRose, DWade, KDurant, DNowitski all with the teams that got them on draft day. (Nowitski was a Buck originally). I see Memphis whose top players from draft day are Conley, Gay and Battier. The rest were non-draft deals.

We seem to need to go more of the Memphis way if we are to continue to sustain this run of playoff basketball. We aren’t going to improve through the draft.

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THE TWO HAWKS WHO RUINED THE GAME FOR THEM LAST NIGHT WAS #1:JAMAL CRAWFORD AND #2:ZSA ZSA. Zsa Zsa had that play in the third quarter where he gave up a Hawks possession by swinging his elbows for no reason. The Hawks had the ball and the momentum and they would have won the game, but Zsa Zsa wanted to show everyone how tough he was so he started swinging elbows needlessly. Unfortuntately those elbows connected with a Bulls player and we gave the ball back to the Bulls. Zsa Zsa should be find by the Hawks at least $75,000.00 for that play. It made no sense to me and I dont know what was the purpose of what he was trying to accomplish. The second guy who ruined the game for us was Jamal Crawford. Jamal made no effort at all to find his shooting rhythm and to get into his sweet spot and score points to help us win. Coming off of a mediocre performance of only 2 points from the previous game, you would think he would say ok I was embarrassed from the last game, I will make it up to the fans and players who watch us. Instead after the game he said, Did you see how great the Bulls defense was? Its impossible to score against them. You know what Jamal, thats nonsense. You already beat the Bulls at the United Center, but you were at home where the environment was conducive for a victory. INSTEAD YOU SIMPLY QUIT AND DECIDED, HEY I WONT BRING MY BEST EFFORT TONIGHT BECAUSE ITS A WASTE OF TIME. WE ARE GOING TO GET BLOWN OUT ANYWAY SO WHY SHOULD I MAKE ANY EFFORT AT ALL. I wont try at all, I’ll quit throw up the white flag and then praise the other team after the game. That my friends is foolishness and his guy needs to be run out of town on a rail.

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Najeh,

Thanks for your even handed, sensible commentary. You were kickin’ it pretty good last night. I was much in agreement on many of your ideas, particularly about Joe.

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Hate to see the Hawks lose..But, I am happy to see Marvin can now get out of ATL..i have never seen a franchise ruin a talented player like Marvin.He will be a 20 ppg player in the NBA..He has never played with adecent coach ..With the emergence of JT, the Hawks only need a CENTER..The hawks are trying their best to ruin Al by playing him at C..He was clearly wore down after having to bang with guys 3 or 4 inches bigger..we also made a horrible move by trading Jordan Crawford for a pg, when we had a better one burning on the bench..The morale of the story is this…

UNTIL WE GET A CENTER, A DECENT COACH, WHO WILL USE HIS TALENT, WE ARE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT PAST THE 2ND ROUND

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All I see is ppl trying to get rid of JJ or JJ is overpaid…JJ didn’t pay himself, ASG did, and yall fail to realize JJ was gonna get that money regardless from some other team…And do yall even watch these games…When you are constantly double/triple teamed and none of your teamates are cutting or slashing to get open, of course bad things will happen…When the Hawks trapped Rose all you seen was Deng, Boozer, Noah ect moving around to make it easier for him and our players stood around until JJ had to force it into a TO or a bad shot…I fault JJ for not being a more aggresive player, but thats where management need to see that JJ needs a sidekick..No other player on our team get that attention…Please get JJ some real help, its not HIS contract thats hurting the team, its the other contracts that seem to be useless…Remember the money JJ got was his money only!!! ASG couldn’t use that money to bring in somebody else, so it was either pay JJ or watch him leave…Anyway, I thought that topic was done….GET JJ SOME REAL HELP!!!!!

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Rio

Good season for the Hawks.

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THE HAWKS JUST SIMPLY DIDNT BELIEVE FOR ONE SECOND THAT THEY WERE BETTER THAN CHICAGO. IF THEY HAD BELIEVED IT, THEN IT WOULD HAVE COME TO FRUITION ON THE COURT. JAMAL CRAWFORD WOULD HAVE COME TO PLAY AND MADE SURE HE AVERAGED HIS 25 POINTS IN THE SERIES. JAMAL DIDNT CARE AND FELT IT WAS BETTER FOR HIM TO AVERAGE 4 POINTS AND GET THE SCORING FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. I HOPE THE HAWKS RELEASE CRAWFORD AND LET HIM FIND HIS BIG PAYDAY FROM SOME OTHER TEAM. JAMAL PLAYED LIKE A SCARED CHICKEN OUT THERE LAST NIGHT. SO DID HORFORD. SO DID SMITH. MARVIN SHOULD BE CUT FROM THE ROSTER AS SOON AS TOMORROW. THE HAWKS SHOULD ALL SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS WITH PSYCIATRISTS BECAUSE THEY NEED TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND REALIZE THAT THEY WERE BETTER THAN WHAT THEY SHOWED THIS YEAR. THINK ABOUT THIS. HOW DOES A TEAM WITH VIRTUALLY THE SAME ROSTER GO FROM 53 VICTORIES DOWN TO 44 A YEAR LATER. IT MAKES NO SENSE TO ME. ITS AS IF THEY WERE LOOKING TO GO BACKWARDS. IT JUST DOESNT ADD UP WITH ME. I GUESS NEXT YEAR THEY WILL SHOOT FOR NINE FEWER VICTORIES AND END UP WITH 35 AND TRY TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AS AN EIGHTH SEED. WHO KNOWS. THIS HAWKS TEAM AND PLAYERS NEED TO SEE PSYCIATRISTS. THEIR MINDS ARE MIXED UP. THEY DONT TRY HARD AND PLAY WITH EFFORT AND ENERGY. LARRY DREW HAS PREACHED TO THEM ALL SEASON, ALL HE WANTS FROM THEM IS 100% EFFORT AND 100% ENERGY. THEY ALL THINK THAT DREW IS ASKING TOO MUCH FROM THEM. THEY DIDNT HAVE ENERGY IN THEIR STEPS UNTIL ABOUT 5 MINUTES LEFT IN THE GAME WHEN REALITY SET IN THAT THEY WERE GOING HOME FOR THE SUMMER. THEY THEN MADE A LAST-DITCH EFFORT TO COME BACK AND WIN THE GAME, BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE COME OUT OF THE STARTING GATES WITH THAT BOUNCE IN THEIR STEPS DETERMINED TO WIN THE GAME. THE HAWKS STINK AND THEY NEED TO MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES. AL HORFORDS SHOT SELECTION WAS ATROCIOUS. HE KEPT GETTING THE BALL IN HIS SWEET SPOT AND HE KEPT GIVING IT AWAY TO SOMEONE ELSE INSTEAD OF SCORING THE BASKETBALL. AL IS PAID TO SCORE THE BASKETBALL AND HE WAS AFRAID TO DO JUST THAT. AL NEEDS TO WORK ON HIS FEAR FACTOR. HE PLAYED LIKE A SCARED OWL. SO DID CRAFORD. THE HAWKS DIDNT PLAY LIKE THE CHAMPIONS THEY COULD HAVE BECOME HAD THEY BEATEN THE BULLS AND THE HEAT AND EVENTUALLY KNOCKED OFF EITHER THE MAVS OR THE THUNDER. THE HAWKS COULD HAVE WON THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON BECAUSE THERE WERE NO CELTICS OR LAKERS TO STOP THEM. THE HAWKS BLEW THEIR CHANCE TO BE WORLD CHAMPIONS AND NOW I THINK THE FANS ARE GOING TO WAIT AT LEAST 100 YEARS FOR THEM TO GET BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE THIS SEASON. GREAT SEASON HAWKS. TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR.

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Let’s try to sign Nick Young, He’s young and athletic.
Trade Marvin and Smith for Dwight Howard

Lineup:
Teague
Young
Johnson
Horford
Howard

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CBA agreement will not be made anytime soon according to rumors that 80percent of the owners are loosing money, will there be and NBA season next year?
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The Hawks need an inside scorer on the low block who has great moves like NeNe of the Denver Nuggets. They also need a guy who can hit 3s from the outside like Rashad Lewis. Another guy who is good at making 3s when he is hot is J.R. Smith of Denver. There is also Rudy Gay out there who can be obtained, what about Baron Davis or even Brandon Roy.
The Hawks Shopping List should look like this:
Brandon Roy
Rudy Gay
J.R. Smith
NeNe
Rashad Lewis
Chris Paul

If we can get this group of players on our team and get rid of a few on our side:
Marvin Williams
Kirk Hinrich

Then we would then have a team who can compete for all the marbles. Looks good Hawks, go out and imrprove the club and make yourselves better.

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RULE #1
if you come up wit’ a trade proposal for the hawks, please explain the benefits for BOTH teams. if we know that marvin sux, why in the hell would another team give us a pot of gold for our pot of aluminum?

i get tired of readin’ marvin for k. love or marvin/2 draft picks for kobe.

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Its true that Chris Paul is on his way out but I think he would be too expensive for the Hawks. We should have had CP3 because we should have drafted CP3 ahead of Marvin Williams. Folks, if CP3 was our point guard and we had just played the Bulls, we would have beaten the Bulls and won the championship with the way our roster currently is set. OK we dont have Chris Paul, but I dont think we can afford him. Maybe if we got Trever Ariza instead and had him back up Teague and trade Hinrich and Williams for Rashad Lewis. That is a Hawks team that I could get excited about. That trade right there would give us 60 wins next year. We just missed that ourside scoring punch and Lewis is an incredible 3-point marksman. The magic went all the way to the finals with Rashad Lewis. He would look great in a Hawks uniform.

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What was different about this season than any of the others? Round two and out.

If we don’t make major changes before next year I won’t be following these Hawks anymore. Remember four years ago when everyone was thinking we were going to be like the Thunder are now? That is a joke. Trade players, release players. Anything! Just make a change.

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2010 Damion James
2009 Jeff Teague
2008 – no pick
2007 Al Horford #3 overall pick
2007 Acie Law – #11 overall pick
2006 Sheldon Williams #5 overall pick
2005 Marvin Williams #2 overall pik
2004 Josh Childress #6 overall pick
2004 Josh Smith #17 overall pick
2003 Boris Diaw #21 overall pick
2002 David Andersen #36 overall pick
2001 Pau Gasol #3 overall pick

Ten years of 1st round draft picks, and the Hawks have 2 players, Al & J Smith, and a possible, Teague, that will be a major impact on their team.

That’s a bad spades hand…1 and a possible.

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The hawks have no tru leader on this team, if the hawks bring in chirs paul he would be the perfect leader and the face of this organization that will curse out josh for not playing in the paint and also kick horford in his azz for playing so dam soft, this is what the hawks need a true leader.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!

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2011 COACH BILL LAIMBEER OR MIKE BROWN
STARTER PAUL, TREVOR, JOSH, HORFORD, TYSON CHANDLER OR DALEMBERT.
BENCH HINRICH, DAMIEN, AL THORTON, MARVIN, ZAZA
RESERVE COLLINS, PAPE SY
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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@ MASON
1. Hire a new coach Bill Laimbeer OR Mike Brown
2. Trade Joe, Teague for Paul, Trevor
3. Jamal 10mill is off the book next year so use that and sign a center.
4. Free agent sign Al Thorton it want cause that much plus he a solid player.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!

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Joe Johnson & Horford for Bynum, Artest, and filler

or

Knicks Get:

Johnson
Horford

Hawks Get:

Billups
Turiaf
Balkman
Fields
Douglas

all depends on how CBA turns out

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My Joe Johnson trade scenarios were just simply illustrating that if a team really wanted him, they would trade for him. But the Hawks may have to take a lopsided deal ( when it came to cap space ), or give up an extra piece or two, in order to get the player(s) they wanted.

But don’t believe for one minute that JJ’s contract can’t be moved. A team desperate to win a title, and thinking that they are one player away, will trade for JJ and his contract if they believe he’s the missing piece.

I mean . . Gilbert Arenas got traded, despite being owed almost 65 million over the next 3 years, and being 50% of the player JJ is right now.

As for free agency overall, the Hawks could definitely be a player in it. But you have to make the right player evaulations and use the chips we have, in order to bring in the type of players we need to improve the team.

To me, nobody is untouchable on this roster, if we can bring in the right types of players in here. This group, as is, is NOT one or two players away from being a contender. They first and foremost need Teague to really develop into a top 10 PG, if nothing else happens. Then they need to trade one of the core in order to bring a better player to give us more star power . . or trade or a collection of players to make us a more deeper team.

The lack of quality depth, especially on the frontline, really did this team in this year.

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@drmaryb . . . I’ve read all of the horror stories about people who have had this surgery and the disruptions that they’ve had in their lives, but the fact is that I’ve had very little problems since the surgery (( knock on wood )).

The only thing I’ve noticed is that I have to eat a little slower than what I normally ate. I was a notoriously fast eater though, so that’s a good thing that I’m slowing down. Eating slower reduces the possible “bile dumping” that goes on when your liver has to process and break down all of that food.

It’s been a full month after the surgery, and I feel fine. Scars healed up pretty good as well. I thank God for blessing me and enabling me to make a full recovery with little issues.

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I agree with Misspelled T-Party Sign… Sue Billy Knight for everything he has but also let the fans punish him for his negligence. Perhaps set up a dunk-billy tank or bean billy night!

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Oh hey Billy! Where’s all that money you stole from us?

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Dream on! We missed our chance to build a top-notch team!

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Slow Down!

“norty” If you were a Braves player, Bobby cox would have called you:
“NORTY”. LOL!

Yeah man, the worst thing ever invented was “Fast Foods”
& “Drive Thrus”. Remember when, Grandmother always said,
“Wait one hour before going swimming after eating.”
________________

Taking your time to enjoy a meal is something we should all do always.
In European culture, they have “siesta”. Daily and from 12 Noon to 4 PM, the family converges upon the house, after gathering fresh foods from the farmer’s market and eat lunch, followed by a long nap.

Problem is they return to work from 4PM – 8PM. The whole thing ois centered around that dinner time. Interesting? No, vital to health and longevity. This culture does not have child hood obesity issues, digestion ailments, heart problems and a host of other stressful issues that we Americans do. They live longer, better and enjoy improved health.
_________________

It’s all about that all important meal. The fuel for life is like premium gasoline to a car’s engine. No Hard Knocks in life or engines.

Anywho’ I’m glad you are doing well.

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northcyde……..” the disruptions that they’ve had in their lives ”

Just remember:

As long as -little- “Pepe Frias” still works – don’t worry ’bout any other -
minor disruptions in your life.

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I think we are good with the returning core. You dont get rid of players because they had a bad series. If that was the case Anthony would be gone as well as Duncan, Bynum, Gasol, JR Smith and the list goes on and on. I think we need to add and just let go the dead weight such as Armstrong, Powell, P. Sy, Williams and E. Thomas. Just go after Ne Ne or Lopez and we will be in good shape.

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@Grandma williams
As you can see Marvin was around the 14ppg for 3 seasons in a row..so what changed the last 2 years?..JAMAL CRAWFORD..When he came, Marvin numbers went down, because Jamal is a volume shooter and he and joe jacked up a lot of shots…I can’t wait until Marvin leaves and come back to score 20 in the “highlight factory”!
‘05-’06 ATL 8.5
‘06-’07 ATL 13.1
‘07-’08 ATL 14.8
‘08-’09 ATL 13.9
‘09-’10 ATL 10.1
This year 10.4

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The Hawks were very close to knocking off the Bulls. From what I observed it seemed to me that there were just two reasons why it didnt happen: #1:LACK OF CONFIDENCE. I dont think they really, really thought they could do it. #2:POOR SHOT SELECTION.If they were serious about knocking off the Bulls, then I know that Josh Smiths shot selection throughout the entire series would have been better. I saw on TNT prior to last night contest, josh smith had taken 31 jumpshots from 15′ or beyond and MADE ONLY 3 OF THEM. THATS A POOR PERCENTAGE BUT THE GUY KEPT THROWING THEM UP. FROM INSIDE 15 FEET TO THE BASKET, JOSH’S PERCENTAGE WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND 60%. HAD JOSH JUST MOVED INSIDE TO THE BASKET, JOSH WOULD HAVE MADE 18 MORE SHOTS RESULTING IN 36 MORE POINTS. we lost the game by 20 last night, 21 of those points would have given us a victory. The other games we lost by less than 10 points. THE ENTIRE OUTCOME OF THE SERIES MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT IF THIS ONE PLAYER HAD CHANGED HIS MINDSET. I KNOW THAT IF ZSA ZSA PACHULIA WAS CONFIDENT AND BELIEVED HIS HAWKS WOULD WIN THE SERIES, HE WOULDNT HAVE SWUNG HIS ELBOWS INTO THE CHEST OF A DEFENDER AFTER HE HAD CLEANLY GRABBED A REBOUND. THAT ONE POSSESSION OR LACK THEREOF, SHIFTED THE MOMENTUM OF THE GAME AWAY FROM THE HAWKS AND BACK OVER TO THE BULLS. WE WERE JUST ABOUT TO WIN THE BALLGAME BECAUSE WE HAD GONE ON A 7-0 RUN AND WERE ABOUT TO GET BACK IN THE GAME AND PROBABLY WIN THE GAME, WHEN ZSA ZSA’S PLAY RUINED US AND THE MOMENTUM SHIFTED BACK OVER TO THE BULLS. AFTER THAT THE HAWKS NEVER REGAINED MOMENTUM AGAIN AND THE SERIES WAS LOST. TEAGUE PLAYED WELL, BUT JOE JOHNSON AND AL HORFORD MADE SILLY MISTAKES AS WELL. What really made me laugh about last nights game was about 2 minutes before Larry Drew pulled his starters, the Hawks starters played with energy and had bounce in their step for about 1 minute of last nights game. At that point, Drew had seen enough and there wasnt enough time to make a comeback. I think this was at about the 6:00 minute mark in the fourth quarter of last nights contest. Drew pulled his starters at about 5:00 minutes left. For one minute the Hawks played with a purpose and IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN WHEN THE GUN SOUNDED OFF AT THE START OF THE GAME AT THE OPENING TIP. ALL OF THE PLAYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOSS. I KNOW THAT THEY COULD HAVE BEATEN THE BULLS. BECAUSE THEY DIDNT BELIEVE IT, THEY DIDNT GO OUT AND EXECUTE IT. YOU CANT TELL ME THAT JAMAL CRAWFORD ISNT CAPABLE OF SCORING MORE THAN TWO POINTS. I’LL NEVER BELIEVE THAT. THEY JUST QUIT. THEY DIDNT CARE. THERE MUST BE AN OVERHAUL ON THIS TEAM AND THERE MUST BE DRAMATIC CHANGES IN ORDER TO IMPROVE IT. THANK THE HAWKS FOR MAKING OUR SEASON EXCITING. COME BACK NEXT YEAR WITH A VENGENCE TO GO FURTHER AND DEEPER INTO THE PLAYOFFS.

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ESPN said the Bulls didn’t have to play hard against the Hawks. Just waited for them not to show up. Why does everyone covering sports see this team is a joke but Hawks owners?

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What’s up with a brand new blog already closed for comments?

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Al had a bad matchup – he should not be playing center! He’s the only true leader on this team.

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Hatter,

Where the f have you been?

And yeah, the way Al played in the playoffs, or actually since Griffin took him down, you can say it all you want. I’m sure you’ve seen me post over and over that I want the 07-09 Horford back, THAT’S the guy I defended so actively to you. And how the F did he make All-Pro?

And you shouldn’t “hate” to say it either. It is what it is. My best hope is for him to grow a pair and get back down in the paint. Yes, his post-up game needs a lot of work, but he STILL shows promise. If he had a left hand counter, it would help a lot since everybody overplays him to go right in the post.

But I also want to see him at least TRY to defend the rim better. I never thought you were wrong about that.

I’ll still buy you a beer if and when we ever meet.

peace

And I don’t want to hear him say “I want to extend my range” unless he’s talking about his defensive range.

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Northcyde: What you had to have surgery because you are a overweight PIG that sits at your computer all day instead of actually doing something like playing basketball for one day in your life? Big Nasty Slop Bucket

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okay ladies and gentleman – more Hawk talk less 1380 or 750

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ag, in response to your look back at past Hawks draft picks, the Marvin pick will always haunt us. But the 06 draft was just a horrible draft. In the same way I will call out Sekou Smith, Mark Bradley and Jeff Shultz for not questioning the Marvin Williams pick, I can be a man about it and say I was on board with the Shelden Williams pick.

In hindsight we’re lucky not to be in the position Portland is in, with Brandon Roy on a max contract with knees that were bad when they drafted him. The player we really missed on was Rondo, but about 20 other teams also passed on him. I remember there was alot of buzz about Rondo but who knew he would be an all star when he dropped all the way to where Boston was picking?

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Considering how awful Marvin has turned out, Rudy Gay in hindsight might have also been a good pick. Of course, if the Hawks at the time used another first round pick on a 6′8″ small forward, all 10 of us who were Hawks fans back then would have probably lost it. Not that any of us from my recollection was particularly happy with the Shelden pick.

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Sautee,

While your criticisms of Al are warranted, there’s a lot you don’t know about what is going on with him and the team. I’ll just leave it at that. It’s not just an individual problem though. Horford did not make the changes to his game on his own. Just keep that in mind.

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“Woodsons Hawks would have Crushed this bunch.”

Sadly, I actually believe this, assuming you are talking about the Hawks of last season. The offensive system, or lackthereof, was pitiful last season, but statistically, Larry Drew’s failed attempt at implementing a system which very poorly utilizes the skills of his players was actually worse. Defensively, the teams were closely similar in terms of efficiency, but truthfully, the switching strategy actually more effectively hid some of the defensive liabilities.

The main reason why I think that last season’s Hawks (the 2009-10) Hawks were better than this season’s Hawks is due to the fact that Woodson did a much better job of limiting the team’s weaknesses than Drew ever did. He had Josh staying away from the 3 point line, and he had Al (although playing a more limited role than he deserved) playing inside and attacking the paint using his athleticism. Woodson also tried everything he could to hide Bibby and Jamal on defense, whereas Drew did almost nothing to help that. In Drew’s pathetic excuse for an offense, Al and Josh spent the majority of their time on the perimeter, where Josh became convinced that he was an elite shooter from midrange and 3-point range. Drew’s offense also relinquished Horford’s role to being primarily a passer out of the high post and a spot-up shooter. Furthermore, Drew’s strategy further aided in encouraging passive play from our big men. Drew has just been a monumental disappointment and I feel like he has often put his own team in position to lose by having them play to their weaknesses.

While last season’s team was heavily flawed, and mentally weak (just as this season’s team was), I feel like the team was better last season, overall. If they would not have matched up with the Magic in the second round, I really feel like they would have had more success in the playoffs than they did this year. Woodson’s biggest flaw was his ability to make adjustments to his initial gameplan, and with Orlando being a tough matchup in which Woodson’s initial strategy did not work, that matchup just led to slaughter. The Magic were probably the worst matchup in the league for the Hawks last year, based upon Woodson’s style. However, against the rest of the league, the Hawks really were pretty good. Under Drew, the Hawks were good against the Magic due to his adjustments, but they were relatively poor or average against the rest of the league.

I just hope that one day the Hawks get a truly worthy coach. At any rate, I’m not putting my hopes up on this team anymore. I’m just hoping that the “core” is dismantled and guys like Al and Josh get a chance to flourish elsewhere in systems that better utilize their skills and hone them into the best players they can be. That’s all I am really hoping for at this point.

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Sautee,

I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus or give information that I shouldn’t. Like I said, I’ll leave it at what I said prior. I just want people who are ignorant in regards to the situation to know that there’s more to it than they may think. It’s not as simple as one guy just deciding to change his style due to self-motivation. If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. I just wanted to throw that out there.

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Oh, by the way, just out of curiosity, for those of you who care about the Eastern Conference Finals, who will you be rooting for? The Heat, the Bulls, or neither? For me, personally, I’m not a fan of either team, but I have an issue with rooting for the team that beat my team, so I’m leaning toward the Heat in that matchup. Also, from a spectator standpoint, the Heat are more interesting to watch, so that’s another factor.

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Joe,

So be it.

But let me ask you personally, would you like to see more post ups from Al?

You don’t have to tell on anyone, but what’s your personal opinion on the said change and how it affected the team’s play?

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For all -&- about Al in particular:

*[Good evening, Hatter]*

Post moves are so talked about and little understood.
I’m not talking about the knowledgeable -posters-
on this board. *(mostly talking heads at espn) – not Hubie !

For example;
Sautee was speaking of a counter-move [agreed],
but, Al does not yet possess a “Go-To Move” (post).

One must have a go-to before you can have a counter.

Al needs to spend the summer working on *Basic Post Footwork.

Another factor is players should work on Post Moves w/o the dribble
as a basic, then incorporate one simple dribble and so on.
It’s a bldg. process.

Al is much better when he uses his quickness rather than some
dribble move where he starts………..looking oddly like Marvin?

Just some observations.

I wonder what they pay the coaches for?

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Buddy,

I don’t have the heart to give it a second look. But certainly they were letting Boozer and Deng get going before Rose, no doubt. I’m guessing that would have been the strategy even if Zaza started.

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Sautee,

To answer your question about what I would like to see from Horford, I’d definitely, without a doubt, like to see Al in the post more, especially at the PF position. I think he could really excel in the post due to his strength and soft shooting touch. I’d also like to see him work more on putting the ball on the floor and driving to the hoop, since that’s another area where he could use his physical gifts (speed, agility, athleticism) to his strengths. Also, as far as extending his range, I don’t mind him doing that, but for me, the order of importance would be: post game, driving ability, and then jump shooting. I would place a greater emphasis on him working on his inside game than his outside game at this point, mainly because I believe that every great team should have a low-post scoring threat, and I feel that Horford has the physical traits needed to be a very good low-post scorer someday.

Now, as far as how that relates to the Hawks organization, it’s really up in the air at this point. I think It’s tough to say what would help this team most since that all really depends on the system and style of play that the team will use next season. I think a low-post scoring threat would aid the team more than improved jump shooting, but it really depends heavily on the offensive system. If the Hawks use something similar to the princeton motion offense next season, I don’t think having a post-up scorer down low will be nearly as effective as it could potentially be, unless a significant portion of the offense is devoted to our big men. At any rate, I don’t think it would hurt this team by any means if Al decided to place a greater emphasis on his inside game rather than his outside game, assuming he stays with the Hawks. But, at the same time, with THIS particular team and their style of play now, I don’t think it would make a huge difference if Horford worked on either his inside or outside game, since his role in the offense is very limited and he’s used mostly as an offensive catalyst by being a passer out of the high post area.

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Lionel Hollins would have beat Chicago with the Hawks squad.. I have no confidence in Larry….

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* – ag – * / – Not debating –

Sadly, few realize that Shane Battier shut down KD tonite.

There is no such thing as a shut-down / lock-down player in the NBA;
exp = nobody will shut down KD every time, but, Battier’s contributions
are somewhat overshadowed by those who say:
“they are achieving without their best player”.

Perhaps SB fits what they need / needed all along moreso than Gay.

+ Z.Randolph is their best player [scorer].

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Hatter shouts out to the Grandad…..

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“Fire OBSERVER Las Vegas Lame Duck Larry Drew.” – Hawks Fan In New Orleans, May 13th, 2011 12:56 am

Hawks Fan In New Orleans, my man. OBSERVER Las Vegas Lame Duck Larry Drew has a new nick name. He’s no longer Lame Duck because Hollinger, Mark Bradley and Big Ray have all endorsed his continuation as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks.

His new nick name is Hollinger, Bradley and Big Ray-endorsed Las Vegas Larry Drew.

“Hawks need a new BETTER COACH ASAP” – Mike W,
May 13th, 2011 1:37 am

Who was it that did the research into the finances of the ASG owners? Somebody came to the conclusion that these guys are worth billions and absolutely have the money to spend like Jerry Bus or Cuban if they were so inclined.

You may remember that during the draft last year, we actually traded down to pick JC2 and received the first pick of the second round as part of the deal. This pick was then sold to NJ for $3m in cash. Hollinger, Bradley and Big Ray-endorsed Las Vegas Larry Drew makes $1.5m next season in the final year of his contact. The ASG can ABSOLUTELY afford to eat Hollinger, Bradley and Big Ray-endorsed Las Vegas Larry Drew’s final year and go get a real coach.

The team is capped out and its ability to obtain new personnel is very limited. Spending real money on a real coach is the only option this team has to take the talent that’s already here and get the most out of it. We could have won the CHI series with better coaching.

“I used to think [Marvin's] lack of game might shame him into trying to get better in the offseason” – Kitis, May 13th, 2011, 1:40 am

The best thing Marvin Williams could do is spend the entire offseason with Jason Collins. Last offseason, Collins lost alot of weight and got himself into game shape. He obviously maintained his conditioning the entire season because when we needed him against Dwight Howard, he was there, he was ready and he was the difference-maker.

I belive that if Marvin lost some weight, he could tap into his athleticism, become more explosive and be ready to have a break out year. Remember, Marvin’s scoring average went down after JC1 joined the team and started taking alot of shots. JC1 will most likely not be back next year, so expect Marvin to once again have a larger role in the offense.

“Well our future can start with us looking to draft Marshon Brooks in the draft if Jamal walks.” – Jae Evolution, May 13th, 2011, 1:45 am

Noted… I will definitely check this cat out. He looks nice, just a bit smallish. I wonder how he plays on the defensive end.

“I hate to see any player fail or any person for that matter but it’s time to cut ties with Marvin Williams.” The Real Mandingo, May 13th, 2011, 1:53 am

Alot of people are calling for the Hawks to get rid of Marvin, and it’s understandable after the disastrous postseason we just witnessed from him. The problem, however, is that he doesn’t have any trade value right now. Wait till next season and watch what he does with a larger role in the offense in the absense of JC1. If you still think he should be traded, let’s do it at the trade deadline next season after he’s had a chance to show something and build up some trade value.

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LD should have been fired by now

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Hatter

Thanks for the *holler.
That’s country for *shout.

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“I’d like to see what Teague could do under a coach who rewards playing time based upon production.” – Brandon

Co-sign.

“Let’s try to chill on the overreactions, people.” – Najeh

I’ve written this season that the Hawks need to trade either Al or Smoove because they have duplicate roles… they are both jump shooting power forwards. After these playoffs, I now believe that Smoove is our obviously best player and that the team should be built around him. There is nothing we could get for Al or Smoove that would be equal value, and I belive they shot so many jump shots this year because LD’s system required it.

As of now I’m advocating trading JJ as soon as circumstances allow and hiring a coach who will, if JJ can’t be moved, put him in the complementary role that his talents deserve. Superstar contact or no, JJ needs to stop thinking he is the centerpiece of this team and move into a complementary role.

“Joe has been around too long as the centerpiece of this team, and the rest of the players on the team are too comfortable with deferring to him and letting him “create” — which, for all his talents, he has shown in two straight years in the second round that he is incapable of doing against good defenses who focus their attention on him.” – Najeh

Co-sign.

“Jamal shot .333 from the field and .173 from 3 point land in this series. Still, he averaged 30 minutes per game.” – Vava

Somebody PLEASE save Las Vegas Larry from himself.

“Possible keepers: Damien” – Najeh

Definite keeper in my book if he will sign a veteran’s minimum contract. I loved the D he put on LeBron. I would also keep Hilton Armstrong because he had some good moments D-ing Dwight. Co-sign that Josh Powell should be gone so Las Vegas Larry is not tempted to make the worst player in the NBA his first big off the bench.

“Pau Gasol for Joe Johnson” – northcyde

Co-sign. Let’s do it. The way Kobe and Phil attacked Pau, he may never want to play for the Lakers again. They may have to take what they can get for him. If we got Pau, he’d get a fresh start, All-NBA Al could play his desired position and we’d have the best front court in the Eastern Conference.

“Joe Johnson and Zaza Pachulia for Kevin Garnett”

Don’t see Boston doing this, but would take it in a heartbeat for the cap relief.

“Joe Johnson and Jeff Teague for Monta Ellis and Andres Biedrins.”

Northcyde you want us to give up our point guard of the future for an undersized two?

“I don’t think it is necessary to take sides between Smoove and Al. I think both players are versatile enough that they can coexist on the same team successfully.” – Najeh

Co-sign. I thought earlier in the year that one of them needed to be traded because of their duplicate roles. Now I realize that their duplicate roles came about because of Las Vegas Larry’s bad coaching. You’re right, they are versatile enough to assume complementary roles if there is a coach intelligent enough to create such roles for them.

“Northcyde: You really never make valid points. Go away, you are one of the few idiots that maintain that Hinrich move was a good trade.” – superior

I’m one of the other idiots. Glad we got rid of ADAM MORRISON, I mean JC2.

“Josh just needs true quality coaching: authority, accountability and quality x’s and o’s. He showed up in game 4, made a good effort in game 5, brought us back yesterday a couple of times with his hustle on D.” – Vava

He will never get it as long as we have Las Vegas Larry here to swing on JJ’s nuts with his double standard and selective accountability. The single most important factor for the future of this franchise is making Smoove the focal point of this team moving forward, getting him on the All-Star team and convincing him to re-sign in two years when his contract expires. His “Decision” when he becomes a free agent will be the biggest one since LeBron.

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“Look at how effective was CHI’s second team? Where those guys so much better than ours? Better than our starters? No, it was coaching, pure and simple.” – Vava

Preach. Hollinger, Bradley and Big Ray-endorsed Las Vegas Larry is here to stay though… the talking heads have spoken!

“Resolve the status of Sund. His contract is over. My guess is the ASG keeps it simple and ‘rewards’ him with another 2 year deal.” – KevinM

Ok, as the founder and president of the Rick Sund Glue Factory Committee, I am now prepared to make a statement in response to your remarks. I am prepared to recommend to the ASG that they GIVE THAT OLD HORSE A ONE YEAR CONTRACT.

Make Sund’s contract expire at the same time as Hollinger, Bradley and Big Ray-endorsed Las Vegas Larry. If you’re wondering why there’s no real move to fire LD, it’s because A. ASG doesn’t want to eat the second year of his contract B. There’s not alot of legit NBA coaches that even want to be employed by the ASG and C. There’s not a GM under contract right now to fire Vegas.

I honestly believe Vegas was imposed on Sund by the ASG. Without the coach he wanted, he was forced to react to Vegas’ disastrous player utilization by dumping Bibby’s contract and picking up an actual, capable NBA point guard for the white people.

Yes, JJ’s contract is an albatross, but what alot of us fail to realize is that JJ is HIGHLY tradeable. Without JJ we certainy aren’t one of the top 8 teams in the league. And letting JJ go for nothing and starting a rebuilding/retooling process is not the best idea when you’re trying to sell a franchise and get top dollar for it.

So yes, while many of Sund’s moves have been questionable, let’s face it blog people… this is the GM that drafted Jeff Teague.

“With Jamal 10mill of the book next here is a list of center. TYSON CHANDLER, KWAME BROWN, YAO MING, SAMUEL DALEMBERT.” – darrell starks

Darrell, keep in mind even though JC1’s $10m is coming off the books, All-NBA Al is coming off his rookie-scale contract and will start making $10m/per. So we still don’t have alot of cap room. Thus, Dalembert too expensive. Yao Ming? Oh lawd. Tyson Chandler? Yes! In a sign-and-trade for JJ. Kwame Brown? I been asking for him since last offseason. He played so well for Charlotte this year he is no longer considered a veteran’s minimum player. He’s still cheap though… we might be able to squeeze him in.

“That’s a bad spades hand…1 and a possible.” – Jay Dubu

Yes but with Teague running point all season next year, we’re going to run a Boston on some b1tches.

“But, at the end of the day, this franchise won’t do ish. They definitely won’t move the guy that they signed to a max deal less than a year ago still.” – Wabe

Disagree. They will move him if they find a good trade, and they will have offers.

“I think if he goes into next season’s training camp as the starter (as he should) and is given a role that corresponds to his abilities, 16 and 7 is a pretty realistic expectation for him.” – Najeh

Gotta disagree here. You’re expecting him to average his best game in these playoffs. If Teague averages 12 and 5 next year I will be ecstatic.

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Yes i drafted marvin, but everybody in there right mind said he was the second best player in the draft, so why people keep talking about that is ludercris, and also marvin will get his college degree this year so let’s stop hating and congratulate the young man for service well done.

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Chicago and Miami transformed their rosters in one summer to become elite in the Eastern Conference. It’s taken us 320 years with this same core to win 1+ games in the 2nd round

SMGDH

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I lol’d at the last BILLY KNIGHT post.

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I still dont see the deal with everyone wanting to trade Joe he us the only one on the team who consistently faces double and triple teams. Defenses focus on him every possession. If Larry drew was smart he would build an offense around that. If we had shooters it would not be a problem and you would not be able to double as much. Watch the tape although it helped having Collins start, in both series when Joe got the ball on the wing a double team came and the center moved over to joes side if the court totally ignoring Collins. When he got it there were no cuts no back screen just standing around. Basically what the bulls said was we will let the rest of the team beat us. They played the same defense on Joe and jamal and how many points did Jamal average, how about the points scored over the last two games. Compare that to Joe. Even on occasion they did it to Al and he didn’t know what hit him. And everyone wants to put all their marbles on an energy guy (Josh Smith) whose energy would drop if he had his same responsibility plus shooting and being the focal point of a defense. Also put it in Teague who I think can help with the current roster who outside shot is suspect which can create more problems.

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Buddy,

about this: “Hollinger, Bradley and Big Ray-endorsed Las Vegas Larry is here to stay though… the talking heads have spoken!”

I don’t think Big Ray “endorsed” LD as much as he acknowledged he was likely to return. When I read your post, I went back to Ray’s blog to check. It didn’t seem like an endorsement to me. I thought at MOST Ray was ambivalent regarding Drew, and raised several questions that we on the blogs have asked ourselves..

Was there a specific thing that made you think it was an endorsement?

And BTW, Ray is hardly a “talking head”. He’s a fan like you and me, has a day job and does the blog for fun. Does a damn good job, too, even if I don’t always agree with him.

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The Game Has Changed

May 13th, 2011
8:55 pm

I dont know what some of you were expecting this year. I know making it to the second round is not the ultimate goal but it is better than not even making the playoffs. Back in 98 we had a good team that lost in the second round to the Knicks. Instead of building on to what we had they decided to rebuild and it took us 10 yrs to get back to the playoffs. Thats not the route I want us to take again. Leave Joe alone, He has the money so let the hating go. We need a center. Not get rid of the team.

I agree that the Hawks are right now in the same boat as they were in the late 90’s where they lost to good teams and it took ten years for them to rebuild. I actually can see the Lakers trying to make a move for Gasol and I would have Atlanta get in the mix.

I would let Jamal walk. I really would. I have seen enough of Jamal’s game going back to when he was on Chicago. I never liked his game. plays turnstile defense. I would much prefer Kirk coming off the bench with the second unit. I know one has stated that Marvin’s shot distribution has gone down since JC1 came here and i think it is valid. He doesnt have any value on the trade market so let’s see how he does with the second unit with Kirk running the point. If not then trade him near the trade deadline.

Watching Memphis last night come back from the same deficit at halftime hawks had led me more to believe that the Hawks could’ve won this series with better coaching. I am not sold on ld. x’s and o’s are ok but in game adjustments are not. Unfortunately ld will be here next year.

Joe Johnson I really dont want on this team. A change has to be made. I think JJ likes how the offense runs through him. I want to see Teague bring up the ball not JJ and i dont think JJ will ever trust Teague in the offense. I would be apt to make a blockbuster move involved with moving him. moving him to LA might work. I really want to see some drastic changes made since the Hawks do not have cap room and dont have a first round pick

Also i think some credit has to be given to Nick Van Excel for helping out Teague and his play

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It’s time fellas! Time to quit pretending that this team is a contender. If you’re not a contender, what are you competing for?
If you think swapping one or 2 starters will fix this within a cap strapped group, you’re drinking the Kool-Aid. As much as I love basketball, I couldn’t justify supporting the moves of management.
“I like our team”. “Bibby is in his prime” “Coach Drew is very familiar with our guys, which gave him the inside track”.

All these types of comments tell me this organization has no idea how to make a bold move. Here are some hypotheticals:

Hindrich and/or Marvin will make up for the bench scoring of Jamal……hardly. Neither can create.
For those who justify Marvin’s lack of production……uh, Marvin is a spot up shooter. He has no go-to move. Opponents and teammates ignore him standing on the 3 pt line. If this is part of the flow of the offense, fire LD. How many times can you watch Deng and Boozer move without the ball to realize our offense is spotty at best?

Hypo #2 – trade Marvin and Josh in a package deal for a Nene or another big name. If you think Sund is disrespected by us, wait til he presents that offer.

Point is we need to blow this thing up and build with better draft picks. Keep Teague and Josh and move anyone deemed necessary. After watching Chicago and Miami get a 1 year makeover, and the success of OKC, what really are we losing here?

The future should be now, not in a 3 or 4 more limited cap window.

Look at the big names going not college this year and get in line tomtake a shot. If the ASG is already whining about losing money, perhaps we dump 2 of the 3 captains and remake ourselves.

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Joe Johnson What a JOKE,126 millions dollars for a bipolar player, Atlanta got exactly what it deserved it a losing player,team and organization.

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” Teague average 17 points per game and was the leading scorer for the Hawks in the Chicago series. ” actually joe led the team in scoring while receiving the most attention, do yall not watch the hawks. Dont confuse Joe and Jamal.

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This team will never have an NBA functioning offense as long as JJ is here.

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Most fans are still in SHOCK and are STUNG by the Hawks early exit from the playoffs. In fact, most die-hard Hawks fans will consider the Orlando Magic a better overall team than the Bulls. When the Hawks beat Orlando, they indeed did something great. Maybe the Hawks spent so much energy to beat the Magic that they ran out of gas. I dont believe that becuase I saw with my very eyes that Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford were not tired and spent. THEY JUST DIDNT CARE ENOUGH TO BRING THEIR A+ GAMES AND PLAY WITH ENOUGH ENERGY, EFFORT AND ENTHUSIAM TO BEAT AN INFERIOR OPPONENT LIKE THE BULLS. The Hawks felt when they went down in the series 3-2, that since game 6 was at Phillips they would automatically win the game and all they would have to do was show up and the game would be theirs. THE HAWKS BROUGHT NO LIFE AND NO ENERGY INTO THAT GAME 6, AND THUS WERE EMBARRASSED ON NATIONAL TV. IT DIDNT MATTER THAT EVERYONE WAS PICKING THE BULLS, THE HAWKS COULD HAVE OVERCOME THAT WITH SIMPLY A SOLID EFFORT. WHEN I WAS LISTING TO MARV ALBERT AND STEVE KERR BROADCASTING GAME 5 ON TV, KERR SAID IT HIMSELF THAT THE HAWKS HAVE MORE WEAPONS THAN THE BULLS. HE SAID IT BECAUSE IT IS TRUE. THE SAD THING IS THAT THE HAWKS DONT REALIZE THAT, THEY DONT BELIEVE THAT, AND THEY CERTAINLY DIDNT PLAY LIKE THEY HAD MORE WEAPONS THAN THE BULLS. JAMAL CRAWFORD FOR ALL HIS GREATNESS COULD MUSTER ONLY 2 POINTS IN GAME 5. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT FROM THE “SO-CALLED” SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR. WHERE DID HIS SCORING GO? JAMAL NEVER GOT GOING AND BECAUSE OF THAT THE HAWKS ARE GOING HOME FOR THE SUMMER. LOOK IF HORFORD HAD GOTTEN 15, SMOOVE 15, JAMAL AND JOE 25 EACH, TEAGUE 17, MARVIN 10, I’M NOT A MATHEMETICIAN BUT THAT IS 107 POINTS. THAT WOULD HAVE BEATEN CHICAGO BECAUSE THE HAWKS DEFENSE HELD THEM TO ONLY 93 POINTS. WE WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME HAD WE TAKEN THE GAME SERIOUS. THE HAWKS WON GAME 1 AT THE UNITED CENTER AND SCORED OVER 100 POINTS TO DO IT. ALL THE HAWKS HAD TO DO WAS REPEAT THAT SAME EFFORT IN GAMES 5 AND 6 AND THE HAWKS WOULD NOW BE PLAYING THE MIAMI HEAT ON SUNDAY IN THE ECF. TRUTH BE TOLD IF THE HAWKS ARE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS THERE IS NO TEAM OUT THERE WHO CAN STOP THEM. THE HAWKS MUST BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER TO PROGRESSIVELY GET BETTER. THE HAWKS BLEW THEIR CHANCE TO WIN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND I DONT THINK THEY WILL GET ANOTHER CHANCE ANY TIME SOON. THIS IS BECAUSE NEXT YEAR THE CELTICS AND LAKERS WILL BE STANDING IN THEIR WAY AND THE PATH WONT BE CLEAR FOR THE HAWKS TO DO ANYTHING BUT GET ELIMINATED IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS. HOPEFULLY THE HAWKS WILL LOOK AT THE TAPES OF THE SERIES WITH THE BULLS, DO SOME SOUL SEARCHING, LOOK THEMSELVES IN THE MIRROR, AND WORK HARD IN THE SUMMER AND THEN COME BACK NEXT YEAR WITH A VENGENCE TO DO SOMETHING GREAT. GOOD LUCK HAWKS YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT.

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“Ultimately the drafting of Childress, Marvin & Sheldon is what’s wrong with this team. I hate to drag up old news but it is the truth. You can’t miss on 3 consecutive lottery picks & hope to succeed.”

Let me give you Chicago’s recent history of lottery picks:

2001 – Pick 4 – Eddy Curry Atlanta – Pick 27 Jamal Tinsley
2002 – Pick 2 – Jay Williams Atlanta – No pick
2003 – Pick 7 – Kirk Hindrich Atlanta – Pick 21 – Boris Diaw – PG (ha!)
2004 – Pick 3 – Ben Gordon Atlanta Pick 6 – Josh Childress
Pick 7 – Luol Deng Pick 17 – Josh Smith
2005 – No draft pick (sound familiar) Atlanta – Pick 2 – Marvin Williams
2006 – Pick 2 – LaMarcus Aldridge Atlanta – Pick
Pick 4 – Tyrus Thomas Atlanta – Shelden Williams
2007 – Pick 9 – Joakim Noah Atlanta – Pick 11 – Acie Law IV
2008 – Derrick Rose Atlanta – no pick
2009 – Pick 16 – James Johnson Atlanta – Pick 19 – Jeff Teague
Pick 26 – Taj Gibson
2010 – No Pick Atlanta – Damion James

I agree, it has not been a good run for the Hawks, but it is obvious where Chicago got their best players. If you pick bad that many times, like Chicago did, and the run of bad teams they had, they truly deserve the success they had.

Saying that, you would have thought that Vinnie Del Negro would have lasted more than one year. But the Bulls weren’t satisfied with him, and dumped him right after the playoffs and drastically improved.

Its not the same scenario here, and our young talent is Josh and Teague.
It’s time to determine whether Sund can bring in more talented players, and move the vets we have while they have value. Joe, Al, and Jamal off this roster frees up 30M off next year’s cap.

The time to make these moves are now if such activity is allowed prior to June 30. Will there be a team out there like the Knicks who would add salary like Joe and re-invent ourselves to grow through the draft.

You have 13-15 roster slots and have to spread 70M across that roster.
We can have Zaza, Smoove, and JT (definite keeper), and move Hindrich to a contender. Marvin and Kirk have to move on to make things happen; those 2 just cost too much in current numbers. Neither does much for you where journeyman guards should be able to fill.

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I was reading a blog that charles barkley said that a decision had to be made whether this is joes or josh’s team. It looks to me from what Ive seen from the hawks the last two years, that this is JAMAL’S TEAM. jamal crawford was the leading scorer in the Orlando series that the Hawks won. Without Jamal leading the Hawks with his 24 point average, the Hawks would have lost to Orlando. I KNOW NO ONE HAS SAID IT, BUT THIS HAWKS TEAM LOOKS MORE LIKE JAMALS TEAM THAN IT DOES JOSHS OR JOES. JAMAL IS THE HIGH SCORER FOR THE HAWKS AND IS THE MORE ACCOMPLISHED PLAYER AT CRUNCH TIME. JOE HAS MORE MOVES IN HIS BAG OF TRICKS THAN JAMAL AND IS MORE CREATIVE THAN JAMAL ON OFFENSE, BUT JAMAL DOES SOMETHING SPECIAL MORE THAN JOE AND THAT IS SCORE THE BASKETBALL. JAMAL IS A SCORER AND PLAYS LITTLE OR NO DEFENSE. ITS HARD TO LEAD A TEAM WHEN YOU HAVE NO WORK ETHIC ON DEFENSE. REALLY NOW WITH THE EMERGENCE OF TEAGUE, THIS TEAM BELONGS REALLY TO FIVE PLAYERS:TEAGUE, JAMAL, JOE, AL AND JOSH. ALL OF THOSE 5 PLAYERS SHOULD BE MADE TEAM CAPTAINS. THEY ALL SHOULD HAVE A SAY IN WHOSE TEAM IT IS. THEY HAVE ALL PROVEN THEY CAN SCORE THE MAJORITY OF THE POINTS. MAYBE IF JOE DECIDES TO SHARE THE TEAM WITH THOSE 4 OTHER PLAYERS, MAYBE COLLECTIVELY AS A GROUP THEY WILL ALL PLAY HARDER, LOOK FOR EACH OTHER MORE, AND SHARE THE BASKETBALL WITH ONE ANOTHER. ITS JUST A THOUGHT. IN CLOSING, THIS TEAM IS CERTAINLY IN NO WAY MARVINS TEAM. MARVIN IS JUST HANGING ON BY A THREAD AND THAT THREAD WILL BE CUT SOON SO THAT MARVIN CAN BE FREE TO WASTE HIS TALENTS SOMEPLACE ELSE.

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If we had kept Jordan Crawford, we could have packaged him with Marvin Williams and gotten either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. Or if we wanted to part with Josh Smith we could have traded Josh Smith for J.R. Smith, or Marvin Williams for Rudy Gay. Had we kept Jordan Crawford we could have packaged the Crawford brothers (Jamal and Jordan) for Dwight Howard. There were a myriad of trade scenarious that were available and now we dont have much that anybody wants. Hinrich and Marvin Williams wont get much in return. I say if we can trade those two and get either NeNe of Denver, Rashad Lewis or Brandon Roy then we can still strengthen our team by the time next season rolls around.

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Its a shame the Hawks players didnt learn anything from the Orlando series. Orlando gave up on us because we have a very good game plan to beat them. What also helped was that Orlando wasnt making their shots. HAD MARVIN WILLIAMS NOT HAD A MONSTER GAME IN THAT CLOSEOUT GAME AGAINST ORLANDO, THE MAGIC WOULD HAVE BEAT US. Taking that into account, you think that since the Hawks escaped with a series win against Orlando, they would take the Bulls seriously. The Hawks started well enough winning game 1 and going up 1-0, temporarily taking the home court away from the Bulls. The Hawks had a chance to win game 2 as well, and I think if they had, the Hawks would have eventually gone up 3-1 in the series. I believe that would have given them the impetus to close out the Bulls in 6. THAT IS REALLY HOW THAT SERIES SHOULD HAVE PLAYED OUT. THE HAWKS WERE HAPPY TO GET A SPLIT AFTER TWO IN CHICAGO BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE COME OUT OF THE UNITED CENTER LEADING THE SERIES 2-0. THEN WHEN THE HAWKS TIED UP THE SERIES AT 2-2, IN GAME 5 WE PLAYED BRILLIANTLY FOR 3 QUARTERS AND WERE AHEAD EARLY IN THE FOURTH QUARTER 70-69. WE SHOULD HAVE SUSTAINED THE MOMENTUM THERE AND BLEW OUT THE BULLS IN GAME 5, GOING UP 3-2. WE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE PLAYED BETTER AT HOME IN GAME 6 HAD WE GONE UP 3-2 IN GAME 5. CLEARLY THE HAWKS OUTPLAYED THE BULLS IN STRETCHES IN THE SERIES AND WERE UNDAUNTED BY THE BULLS INCESSANT DESIRE TO STAMPEDE DOWN THE LANE, CRASH THROUGH THE PAINT AND DRIVE FOR LAYUPS. ROSE DID THIS REPEATEDLY THROUGHOUT THE SERIES. ONE THING CHICAGO IS PROUD OF IS THAT THEY PLAY UGLY BASKETBALL. I DONT REALLY CARE AS LONG AS LABRON, D-WADE AND CHRIS BOSH ELIMINATE CHICAGO AND SEND THEM HYBERNATING FOR THE SUMMER. I HATE THE WAY THE BULLS PLAY BASKETBALL AND I HOPE SOMEONE BEATS THEM DOWN THE LINE. IF ITS NOT MIAMI, THEN CERTAINLY DALLAS, OKC THUNDER OR GRIZZLIES IN THE FINALS. I DONT WANT TO SEE CHICAGO HOISTING ANY CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY BECAUSE I DONT WANT THE SAME FEELING I HAD WHEN THE FALCONS LOST TO GREEN BAY TO THE EVENTUAL CHAMPIONS. JUST DONT TELL ME THAT THE BULLS WILL BE THIS YEARS EVENTUAL NBA CHAMPIONS. THAT WILL BE ENOUGH FOR ME TO THROW UP.

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I thought Joe had a bad contract…man, Brandon Roy…68M for the next 4 years…limited practices, can’t go back to back and probably continues to add to his limitations…any guess where he will retire during his contract? Deep pockets in Portland fo sho! Looking at that roster, Portland really is at a crossroads…if Oden can’t come back, and the age of Miller and Camby, they have no choice but to continue to try to compete for the playoffs.
It looks a bit like our dilemna…they will need help inside to go with Aldridge, they have Wallace, Aldridge and Matthews as their best pieces long term.
Other than that, I wouldn’t touch anyone on that team. This team has had a lot of good draft day luck, only for it to not show in the results.

Gotta ask a couple of questions: with this CBA in question this offseason, do you expect to see any significant deals made prior to 6/30? I would think it would be very limited in the changes.

2nd question: with so many teams ‘allegedly’ losing money, wasn’t Stern talking up contraction and shrinking the league? I haven’t seen any discussion on that lately.

Talk about an interesting offseason, especially if Miami doesn’t complete the mission.

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Joakim is frustrating the whole Miami roster.

Horford would just take jumpshots and hide in the corner

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