Atlanta Hawks: Minicamp Day 1
Notes and quotes from League (Pre) Lockout . . .
Lighty is a live one. (Phil Skinner / pskinner@ajc.com)
- Before you ask: I didn’t get to see much live action. Media types got to see about 15 minutes of scrimmage at the end of the morning practice. So please hold your “How did [overlooked gem] look?” questions.
- I didn’t get to see Keith Benson scrimmage at all. When practice was opened, he was with a group that was off lifting weights. He does indeed look thin.
- The Hawks won’t be able to sign any players out of this camp because they have no open roster spots after signing Magnum Rolle. Their free agents technically don’t become free agents until Friday, but we know why that’s not going to happen.
- Whenever the Hawks can sign players, it sounds as if they will make a run at David Lighty. The Hawks worked him out before the draft.
- L.D.: “Lighty is a gutsy defender. He can defend maybe three positions. That is what we are looking for as we move into next summer. I want guys that can defend where it’s already instilled in him, it’s in their DNA. Lighty has been a tremendous defender throughout his career and certainly he would be a plus to have on this team.”
- Lighty on defense: “That is something where you help separate yourself from others. Everybody wants to see somebody score but the little things are what win basketball games. I try to focus on that.”
- Lighty said the Cavaliers, Pistons, Suns, Spurs and Hornets also wanted to bring him in. Why the Hawks? “It was about [looking at] teams that I would like and fit my style of play,” he said. “They have open spots and they have free agents at the two guard.”
- Lighty said he was less upset about not being drafted than were his family, friends and supporters. “For me, I’m the type of person if I have a goal I am going to reach it no matter what and I’m not going to stop until I do. I was a little down; I’m human. That was my dream and my goal to get drafted. And hear my name called, that was the big thing. I will play in the NBA one day. I won’t stop until I get there.”
- L.D. echoed Rick Sund in saying the Hawks want to bring back Twin. They seem less certain about Damien. “We are still taking about it,” L.D. said. “We haven’t made any decisions there. We will see what happens.”
- L.D. said the Hawks have “got to put a little meat on [Benson's] bones.” Benson said he’s ready: “They have good weight coaches here so I can put a lot of focus on that and plan out my meals. My main focus will be to put weight and strength on.”
- Benson said he thinks he can maintain his athleticism with another 15 to 20 pounds on his frame.
- L.D. on Benson: “He’s a really good kid. We did a background check on him and he’s one of the quality kids at the collegiate level.”
- Benson plans to hook up with fellow Detroit Country Day alum C-Webb, who lives in town. “I have his number. I’m going to reach out.” Benson played under Webber’s brother, Jason, who is an assistant coach at DCD.
- Peachtree Ridge product Jason Graham also worked out for the Hawks before the draft. “Graham can really shoot the basketball,” Drew said. “I didn’t know about him but watching some film on him and working him out, he can make shots.”
- When the topic turned to Al playing more power forward, L.D., like Sund, started talking more about versatility as a virtue than adding a full-time center: “The more versatile we are, it keeps the other team guessing a little bit. We did move Al around a lot last year. We moved Josh around. Joe played some three. Having a verstaile team makes us more potent.
- The word from multiple NBA people over the last few days is there was nothing much to that Josh to Minnesota trade rumor on draft day.
- But David Aldridge reports (about halfway down the page) there was something to that SI.com story on the imminent sale of of the Hawks.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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339 comments Add your comment
Big Ray
June 28th, 2011
7:28 pm
THIS:
He’s a 6′8 guy who bulked up to play the 4 and is the 11th best defender in the league. Hawks allow 105 ppg. Horford allows 105 everyone else (especially Hinrich at the 2) on up.
Has NOTHING to do with THIS:
Josh’s idiocy on offense and horrid inconsistency on the glass.
He’s a 6′8″ guy with a 7′0″ wingspan who can outjump just about anybody in the League. Imagine if he blocked out when a shot goes up. Dude should be leading the team in rebounding.
Strange that the new favorite whipping boy “Diaper Al” is the team leader in the category since he was drafted….
JoJo the Godfather
June 28th, 2011
7:30 pm
I’d almost be willing to take a chance on Alexis Ajinca, to go along with Pachulia & Collins. His stats in Toronto are not that far off from Pachulia’s. Needs to cut down on his fouls & work on his rebounding, but dude can block shots. He seems to be getting better with playing time.
Big Ray
June 28th, 2011
7:34 pm
Ken Strickland ,
Well, you’ve hit the nail on the head with the coaching habits. I hate that it’s true, but it’s just plain true.
To be honest (and to answer your question), I do have a hunch that Sund (or should I say Gearon) will pass on trying to acquire a quality FA defensive minded center.
It’s crazy, really, because they said they’d be drafting somebody to help that situation out (the defense, rebounding). I mean, have they not been paying attention to what goes on with rookies around here? I’m not saying that rookies should automatically get playing time, and there are a lot of factors to consider along those lines. However, don’t tell the general public that you draft a kid to help out THIS YEAR when we know better…
My guess is that we’ll just see which version of Powell or Joe Smith we get this year. Although, this time instead of Collins/Powell/Thomas it will be Collins/Armstrong/Rolle.
Benson will be investing in tweezers so he can pick the splinters out of his arse…
Big Ray
June 28th, 2011
7:34 pm
JoJo ,
Not a bad idea. That is, if Sund can grab him for minimum contract type of money. They just ain’t gonna spend more than that…
Sy and Horford for Thabeet, Hill, Motiejunas
June 28th, 2011
7:37 pm
@BigRay you’re kidding right…
Bench Mob: Hinrich to Hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO404qjQDhA
all we had to do was defend, rebound and fill the bench with average 10% players. All we get is guards who need to shoot. Str8 and narrow.
But you’re all obsessed with All Star nods.
How many All Stars nods does Jason Terry have? 2-Al? Five-Joe?
And as far as STATISTICAL EVIDENCE is concerned building around Horford is worse than building around Brad Miller who peaked at 125 Offensive Rating.
Horford is at 121 which is the peak for someone his height.
Larry Nance and Bill Lambier are the only 6′10 players in the 116 points pace for their careers. Try building your offense around them lol.
Jason Kidd, Derek Fisher, Rondo <<Garnett, Nowitzki, Gasol, Chandler, Bynum, Perkins
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
7:38 pm
I wonder if we’re lowballing players, getting the cheap ones, to make a run at Jamal? I doubt it, but just wondering.
I doubt the new CBA will actually allow us to re-sign Jamal at anything near what he wants (at least what I would expect he wants; he made 10.8m this season. I would guess he would want at least 8 m per for 4 years, more if he can get it.).
They’re talking about with this new CBA, with a “flex cap” system, a harder cap than the luxury tax, but not a total hard cap, that some teams may actually have to trade players to meet it. Would be required to trade them. Some have mentioned the amnesty provision as well, which may be included.
But if they come in with a flex cap at 72-75 m, which is what the owners want to start, teams like Dallas, Orlando, the Lakers etc., aren’t signing anybody, even there own FA’s.
They gotta do something with salaries though – and I blame the owners for paying marginal players too much money. But look at the salaries this season:
2nd highest paid player at 20+ mill. per year – Rashard Lewis – almost garbage really
5th highest paid player – 18.7 mill – Micheal Redd – really hasn’t played in 2 years
#7 AK47 – at just under 18 mil. per – Did almost nothing
#8 Arenas – 17.7 mill – Ditto – and aging, injured former superstar
#9 Yao – 17.6 mill – Hasn’t played in a while consistently
So 5 of your top 9 paid players in the League are basically not contributing or contributing very little. And that doesn’t include:
Peja making almost 16 mill per
Same with Kenyon and Elton Brand, even though they both stayed kinda healthy this season.
They do need to adjust the system somehow.
Slimjr
June 28th, 2011
7:42 pm
“he’s to arrogant, egotistical, deprived and ignorant, as far as basketball knowledge is concerned.”
Man that made my day!! I have a long way to go! Thanks and peace out…
.493
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
7:43 pm
And for those that think Rashard Lewis is playing decent basketball, consider his stats are almost identical to Marvin’s especially adjusted for time on the floor – Lewis played 32 mpg, Marvin 28.7.
But their stats are basically equal, except that Marvin shot better from the field than Lewis.
Ken Strickland
June 28th, 2011
7:45 pm
JASON-With my lineup suggestion, Marvin comes off the bench. With your lineup suggestion, Hinrich comes off the bench, and over the last few yrs, Marvin has proven to be a better scorer. Also, if you’ll reread my post, you’ll notice where I indicated we’d have to sign another PG.
You know we’ll sign someone with shooting/scoring ability to replace Jamal. If he plays good DEF, he won’t have to score nearly as much as Jamal to be effective.
Slimjr
June 28th, 2011
7:51 pm
@SteveW,
our core should have been CP3,Andre,ISO,and Josh.
Huge difference? Probably won an ECF by now you think?
Sy and Horford for Thabeet, Hill, Motiejunas
June 28th, 2011
7:59 pm
Josh’s idiocy on offense and horrid inconsistency on the glass.
“can outjump just about anybody in the League.”
“Imagine if he blocked out when a shot goes up.”
“Dude should be leading the team in rebounding.”
Josh Smith 15% 19.0 PER
Carmelo Anthony 11.8 %
Lebron James, MIA 11.4%
Kevin Durant, OKC 10.3%
Shawn Marion 14.3% If only Shawn Marion would learn how to Box out!
Gerald Wallace, 12.8%
Horford grabs 16%. That’s Josh and Lamar Odom (backup) level.
“He’s a 6′8″ guy with a 7′0″ wingspan”
Okay lets say 7′0 wingspan is Josh’s height. He plays like he’s 7′0.
Kevin Garnett is 7′6 Perkins is 7′6
Thabeet is 7′6
“Strange that the new favorite whipping boy “Diaper Al” is the team leader in the category since he was drafted….”
LOL and when you average 10 points over FORTY PLAYOFF games.
He has no shooting pocker. Go ahead watch some playoff video and some regular season video.
He has the proportionate abilities of a taller David Lee. You’d think it would make Amare Stoudemire but it doesn’t.
Horford outranks Amare in a lot of categories but Offensive Rating. Amare played in Phoenix yet he has a lower pace.
Why? because he takes the shots himself and slows the team down to get to the line. Zach Randolph Dirk are all lower than Al.
Al creates assists, passes ahead etc. He’s a center. Horford has peaked and theres no shame in saying it.
Horford has nothing to be ashamed of except that he cant play in the post or separate from his defender.
People think being bigger than David Lee= success but no. The bigger you are the more likely you are uncoordinated.
Horford plays like he’s 7′0.75 nothing bad but he’s a tweener. Motiejunas (I hate that guy’s name) is a better player.
Troy Murphy career high Team Wins Shared: 8.0, Horford last year 10.9, 2011: 10.1
Josh Smith regression= got fat??= team regression
Josh Smith = chance at a playoff title
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
8:00 pm
Rashard Lewis will be 32 when next season begins. He is due to make $22.152, 000.00 next season.
Stats – 32 mpg/11.7 ppg/ 5.1 rpg/ 1.6 apg/ .5 bpg/ .9 spg/ 43.3% shooting/ 35.7% 3’s/ FT 80.2%/ PER 12.07
Marvin Williams will be 25 when next season begins. He is due to make $7,500,000.00 next season.
Stats – 28.7 mpg/10.4 ppg/4.8 rpg/ 1.4 apg/ .4 bpg/ .5 spg/ 45.8% Shooting/ 33.6% 3’s/ 84.5 FT/ PER 13.51
Did I mention Lewis missed 8 more games than Marvin?
Did I mention Lewis averaged 1.5 turnovers per game compared to Marvin’s 1.0?
We may think we have a bad contract in Marvin, and we do. But nothing compared to Rashard Lewis.
And he’s due to make $23,790,000.00 the year after next to boot.
So it could be worse.
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
8:03 pm
Slim – I’m not getting who Andre is. I’m sure when you say it, I’ll be like “oh yeah”
Andre Miller?
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
8:03 pm
Blatchey?
Sy and Horford for Thabeet, Hill, Motiejunas
June 28th, 2011
8:05 pm
Amare 7′1.75
Jordan Hill 7′1.5
Have you ever seen Horford do a spin move? Guys think about it. have you? There is an article out there that says Horford can run the offense from the high post?
So he just stands around and passes the ball because he can’t dribble. Stupid is as stupid does.
Fire Sund Please
June 28th, 2011
8:06 pm
Looks like Lighty is locked in to be signed as soon as possible. With Powell, Etan, Armstrong, & Damien not coming back, I hope we pick up Malcolm Thomas, Lighty, Samhan, & Joe Alexander. Sund needs to find somebody willing to take Marvin off our hands for some future 2nds and sign on McCamey as well.
Sy and Horford for Thabeet, Hill, Motiejunas
June 28th, 2011
8:06 pm
Jordan Hill can barely get this dunk. Horford no such luck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giBoLFew-oQ
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
8:07 pm
Slim – Iggy? Oh, if we had any type of Center, that team would be in the ECF’s or beyond every year. No doubt.
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
8:10 pm
I have seen Al do spin moves. As a matter of fact on one of the fansites, the top 10 Hawks hilites of 2010-11 is a Al spin move and dunk.
Did on Chicago as well.
He does it occasionally.
And Al’s no Amare. Al – Stiff looking compared to the fluid Amare.
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
8:10 pm
“one of the top 10″ the above post should read
Slimjr
June 28th, 2011
8:14 pm
@Sy and Horford for Thabeet, Hill, Motiejunas
We have to run this year to make up for the offensive deficiencies with the bigs..
Start Teague and run with the wind at our backs!!
And when Hinrich goes down have role player to fill his shoes..Run Run Run..
44 wins this year and your looking at maybe 6th seed?
Get Benson in there to crash the boards so we can run like the wind..I hope this guy has some offense too.Maybe a drop step or something along those lines? Maybe he can finish with either hand? It will make it so much easier for our guards if Benson can get it going on the block?
I hope Larry does not let him ride the pines just like Woody did with Solo for his 1st 2.5 years…
Slimjr
June 28th, 2011
8:18 pm
sorry SteveW
Iquadolar
Big Ray
June 28th, 2011
8:27 pm
The Hawks showed some resolve in the postseason, but they never were the consistently rugged defensive team that Drew envisioned. Eventually Drew realized he may not get this group of players to play that way no matter how much he talked about it.
I don’t know what’s more sad…the fact that Drew can’t get these guys to play tough or the fact that the above statement is true in most cases…
And if you think that blocking shots is a sign of toughness, you’re wrong.
Sadder still that we’re looking for toughness in free ageny minicamp. Seriously? We have to get toughness out of the guys who are out there just trying to find their way to a job? From guys that won’t get to play?
Just how much is “end of the bench” toughness going to do for us? Our problem is in the core. You know, the guys who actually play…
Etan Thomas is tough…didn’t get to play.
Stop playing games, ASG and Sund…add your toughness where it counts – among the rotation players.
Quit cheaping out on us and hiring “tough guys” who won’t sniff the court.
Big Ray
June 28th, 2011
8:35 pm
Sy and Horford for Thabeet, Hill, Motiejunas ,
I should have known better than to argue with somebody who posts with a blog handle such as yours…
You’d sell off an all-star player for two low post rejects and a rookie that has been described thusly:
Montiejunas has lottery-level talent on offense thanks to his pure shooting stroke, height (7 feet) and ball-handling ability. However, Montiejunas is allergic to rebounding and every scouting report on the kid includes the word “apathetic” in bold type.
Read the link….
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/2011-NBA-Draft-pick-by-pick-analysis-Kyrie-Irving-Derrick-Williams-Enes-Kanter-062311
Big Ray
June 28th, 2011
8:40 pm
Shawn Marion 14.3% If only Shawn Marion would learn how to Box out!
I was talking about Shawn Marion in his prime, as I clearly stated .
BTW, Thabeet is the worst lottery pick since Darko Milicic. Wait, he’s worse than Darko….
And Jordan Hill sucks monkey nuts.
Have you ever seen Horford do a spin move? Guys think about it. have you? There is an article out there that says Horford can run the offense from the high post?
OMG…
Big Ray
June 28th, 2011
8:44 pm
We have to run this year to make up for the offensive deficiencies with the bigs..
Start Teague and run with the wind at our backs!!
Exactly. This team has been built to run since Billy Knight started putting it together. Too bad he didn’t know what a point guard was…
And too bad that Woody wanted to run a halfcourt offense consisting of Joe and any other scoring guard doing all the offensive work.
Then came Larry DRew and the “never before seen brilliant pentangle offense” which oddly enough is ALSO a halfcourt offense.
This team could run anybody off the court short of maybe the OKC Thunder or the Golden STate Warriors.
But we don’t run. We don’t run for a number of reasons:
1) Coaching idiocy.
2) Lack of solid and consistent rebounding.
3) Under-utilization of young and speedy pg.
4) Forward who thinks he is Magic Johnson and should run the break instead of being the League’s nastiest finisher and human highlight reel.
EmirS ("One of my main objectives this summer is to take a very aggressive defensive approach" -Larry Drew)
June 28th, 2011
8:48 pm
Good Read:
http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_110627.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1
EmirS ("One of my main objectives this summer is to take a very aggressive defensive approach" -Larry Drew)
June 28th, 2011
8:53 pm
@Big Ray
“4) Forward who thinks he is Magic Johnson and should run the break instead of being the League’s [nastiest finisher] and human highlight reel.”
I got sick to my stomach just reading that. Sigh, I miss the old Josh. You remember at tip-off if the Hawks won it, Josh would rush down to the other teams basket from mid court….and almost ALWAYS get the alley-op from Joe? At the tip-off……..
Now I go through youtube videos watching him make the NASTY dunks that would take your breath away. It’s like someone fired a gun. Just amazing.
SteveW
June 28th, 2011
8:59 pm
Well, if Sund thinks tall, skinny bigs is the wave of the future, like he said (or was it Pendegraft?), Branden Wright wasn’t re-upped in NJ and is now a FA.
And if Gasol and Odom can win two championships on the same team, basically playing the same position, I think Al and Josh ought to be just fine on the same squad.
O'Brien
June 28th, 2011
9:15 pm
Big Ray,
Co-sign.
Our top 7 players (in no particular order) are JJ, Josh, Al, ZaZa, Hinrich, Teague, and Marvin. Plus they want to bring Collins back (I’m sure he fits in their price range too). And we also have Pape Sy and Benson.
So how much difference is Lighty (or whichever player they keep from minicamp) going to make on next year’s team? LD talks about players having defense in their DNA. But that player will be lucky to get 5 mpg, so how helpful can they be? Mario West gave everything he had on defense, but what difference did he make?
The Hawks need to make a change among their core, or they need to make a change at HC. That is the best way to change the culture, and hopefully, lead to improvements.
hawksfancents95
June 28th, 2011
9:52 pm
11-12 Hawks
PG-teague/hinrich/mccamey
SG-johnson/sy/lighty
SF-smith/williams/alexander
PF-horford/benson/rolle (or mcroberts/jeffries/wilcox/j.foster, move kito back to C)
C-pachulia/gray/collins
we need to let go damien wilkins, etan thomas, and hilton armstrong. i think mccamey would be a nice option as our third option in case teague or hinrich get hurt. lighty could take wilkins spot as a specialty defender guarding multiple positions. i think joe alexander could be a decent pick up for our 13-15th spot, giving us athleticism, could u imagine a fast break where teague gets a steal up top and has joe alexander and josh smith running with him on the wings?(highlight factory) i hear everyone talking about omar samhan and aaron gray as some possible pickups. i dont think we need samhan if we have zaza kito and collins, but i did really like his game at st.marys. i think we could sign aaron gray and him and zaza would get most of our C minutes with collins only playing against orlando and kito playing more backup PF this first year or some C when we play GS NY fast teams etc. i think our best options are to sign mcCamey,lighty,alexander as backups. and to either sign a veteran PF and spend more than vet min, or get aaron gray and let rolle/benson play our backup PF spot. either way i think the hawks are progressing and even though some bloggers want immediate trades or whatever we know for sure this current team is at least 2nd round bound, heck maybe we reach the ecf..aim high
doc
June 28th, 2011
10:09 pm
emir did you notice thatread you mentioned left the hawks with no pf as josh was considered a three which he is ony part time and al as center which is where he wants to spend less time?
so much for hawks in his elite strata.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:10 pm
“Najeh I don’t understand your depth chart?”
That wasn’t meant to be a depth chart, just a list of players who are capable of playing each position.
Grandmaster JeJe
June 28th, 2011
10:20 pm
vava74,
Give me Brendan Haywood on crutches with a broken ACL before you give me Marvin
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:22 pm
“I bet we have more centers than that on this roster. Al/Zaza/Collins/Thomas(current player rep)/Benson and he might even have Hilton back. ”
I don’t know if you mentioned Etan’s status as the current player rep to indicate that the Hawks might keep him, but if you did, Mo Evans was the Hawks’ player rep until he was traded. I don’t think that figures into personnel decisions.
Ken Strickland
June 28th, 2011
10:25 pm
OBRIEN-to a large extent, Sund and the ASG have gone about the business of changing the culture of this team. First they traded MBibby and added more perimeter DEF to the starting lineup. It also eliminated the need to force everyone the other starters to compensate for his poor DEF.
Since we’ve likely seen the last of Jamal in a Hawks uniform, it will force Drew to change his approach from trying to win with OFF almost exclusively, while meerly talking about DEF. Anyone that relied on Jamal and Bibby as much as he did
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:29 pm
I was hoping Flavor Flav would give it up after the Hawks wisely decided not to make his little Thabeet trade on draft day, but I guess I was wrong.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:36 pm
“With my lineup suggestion, Marvin comes off the bench. With your lineup suggestion, Hinrich comes off the bench, and over the last few yrs, Marvin has proven to be a better scorer. ”
In what way?
Both last season and over his career, Kirk has a higher effective field goal percentage than Marvin.
I’d rather not start either one of them. I’d like Kirk coming off the bench because he’s a little undersized for a 2 guard and is ideally suited to be the 3rd guard in the back court rotation, and I’d like Marvin coming off the bench because he is generally ineffective and the more limited his minutes are, the better.
PG Teague, SG Joe, SF Smoove, PF Al, C a free agent/trade acquisition, or PG Teague, SG Joe, SF a free agent/trade acquisition, PF Smoove, C Al.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:44 pm
“He’s a 6′8″ guy with a 7′0″ wingspan who can outjump just about anybody in the League. Imagine if he blocked out when a shot goes up. Dude should be leading the team in rebounding. ”
Smoove and Al had identical defensive rebounding rates last year. Al’s offensive rebounding rate was higher than Smoove, in part because he plays closer to the basket, which in turn is in part because he doesn’t have to play small forward.
Something that often tends to get lost in the shuffle is that as athletic as Smoove is, he matches up with bigger players on a pretty regular basis, nearly as much as Al does. Athleticism isn’t necessarily going to help you on the glass if you are going up against someone who has a significant size advantage.
Of course, offensive rebounding rates are affected in a big way by whether the team’s philosophy places more value on transition defense or attacking the offensive boards. Both Al and Smoove saw significant dips in their offensive rebounding rates this year as a result of a change in coaching philosophy.
All of that is a long way of saying I don’t think either Smoove or Al’s rebounding is something to complain about. I do think, however, that Joe and Marvin can do more on the boards than they did this year.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:46 pm
“Amare 7′1.75
Jordan Hill 7′1.5″
Allen Iverson 6′0″
Najeh Davenpoop 6′0″
Sign me up.
The Truth
June 28th, 2011
10:51 pm
Clarity from Etan Thomas amidst the current drama between the NBAPA and owners. Things sure look different from the players prospective. When you have a millionaire-owners vs.millionaire-players standoff, resolution will definitely take awhile. I’m getting the impression from this article that a solution might take all year and likely a lost season. In that scenario, there will be no winners.
http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/thomas/2011/06/27/united-we-stand/
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:52 pm
Smoove’s 23.7% defensive rebounding rate this year has been exceeded by Shawn Marion twice in his career. Of course, he exceeded Smoove’s offensive rebounding rate every year in his career.
Again, I don’t know how much of Smoove’s dip in offensive rebounding rate is on him and how much is on the shift in coaching philosophy, but at least some of it is due to changes LD made from Woody’s scheme.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:54 pm
“Thabeet is the worst lottery pick since Darko Milicic.”
That is an insult to Darko. Darko is at least a marginally productive bench big man. Thabeet will be lucky to be in the league when his contract expires.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
10:58 pm
“We don’t run for a number of reasons:
1) Coaching idiocy.
2) Lack of solid and consistent rebounding.
3) Under-utilization of young and speedy pg.
4) Forward who thinks he is Magic Johnson and should run the break instead of being the League’s nastiest finisher and human highlight reel.”
1, 3, and 4 are related. If Teague starts this year I think the Hawks will run more and Smoove will handle the ball on the break considerably less often than he does now.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 28th, 2011
11:08 pm
“I love that trade, but why would Dallas do it? I’m sure they’re gonna resign Caron, plus Haywood is a rugged 7 footer in this league”
With the new CBA likely to bring more salary restrictions, the Mavs are going to be one of the harder hit teams since they have $63 million in salary committed to next year already before re-signing any of their free agents. I think Chandler is going to be their top priority to re-sign. I am not so convinced that after keeping him they will have room to give Butler, Stevenson, and Barea what they can make on the open market. With Shawn Marion and Corey Brewer still under contract for multiple seasons, I think Butler is out the door, and I think they would be happy to dump Haywood’s salary since Mahinmi filled in pretty capably for him during the Finals and is signed for a minimum salary. It would mainly be a cost-saving move for them, and also a way to replace some of the defense that Stevenson provided.
“Haywood will be 32 in November and you should all be aware that he is an old 32 since he is known for his work ethic and for taking care of his body.
He is the impersonation of the word “overrated”.
He hardly played in the finals (due to injury) and the Mavs hardly felt his absence. Cardinal was 10 times more valuable for them than Haywood would have been if he was available.
To dump Marvin’s bad contract and get an even worse? Good grief, no thanks.”
I am not a huge fan of Haywood or his contract, but he is about as useful of a player as the Hawks are going to get in exchange for Marvin. If the new CBA as rumored has an amnesty provision, the Hawks can always take a chance on Haywood and simply cut him if he doesn’t pan out.
Slimjr
June 28th, 2011
11:09 pm
Got a feeling, Larry’s gonna start Hinrich, but we know he gets into foul trouble on the regular because of the over aggressive nature of reaching with his hands and fighting through perimeter picks off the elbow and top of the key area.. et al.. Saying that to say this, Teague better be ready cause his bench time wont be long.Larry even if it pains him will be turning the reins over to Teague earlier then he probably planned in each game. Once Hinrich goes down.. Its full speed ahead SCOTTIE!!!!
Thats why its so important to have that 3rd pg to back up Teague..
@Najeh, sign me up: The lefthanded sharp shooter, range is not important like JC1.. lol
Buddy Grizzard
June 28th, 2011
11:19 pm
“If Teague starts this year I think the Hawks will run more and Smoove will handle the ball on the break considerably less often than he does now.” – Najeh
OP forgot:
5) Forward who thinks he’s Magic Johnson only thinks so because he knows if he hands it off to one of the ball-stopping guards, they’re going to pound out the shot clock and then launch a contested 26-footer that’s just as easy for a guard to rebound as him.
Therefore, forward in question, noted for outlet passes when someone actually runs, will have a new wide receiver in Teague, get the ball ahead and then trail.
Slimjr
June 28th, 2011
11:25 pm
Yes Buddy, Josh loves to throw outlet passes but when he looks up nobody’s running?? Duh…
Slimjr
June 28th, 2011
11:27 pm
never mind unitent irony^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ its late…..
ILL-Logical
June 28th, 2011
11:33 pm
Really enjoyed Etan Thomas’s cogent remarks.@Truth, thanks for the post. However, reading the comments made even more aware of the levels of ignorance and intolerance that seeps into almost every discussion on the social media. Individuals like Mr. Thomas will continue to have value to society long after they hang up their sneakers. I hope that he and his family remain/ move to Atlanta after his career is over(which by the look of things will be Friday).