Atlanta Hawks: Afternoon notes
Notes contemplated while waiting in an empty gym . . .
- Stopped by Philips Arena today. No players showed up during the couple hours I was there and none were expected. Again, I wouldn’t read too much into it, especially since guys have access to the facilities at any time and don’t need to work out at Philips.
- It turned out Joe and Al were at Philips yesterday to get their physicals but didn’t take the court.
- As you hear the Hawks connected to one free agent or another keep in mind that, like a lot of teams, they can’t be sure of their plans until the CBA is ratified and they know the rules. So take all these rumors with a grain of salt.
- Also, I don’t think the Hawks have decided on their financial plan yet. Hawks officials aren’t commenting because they still are concerned about league fines but I’m hearing they haven’t yet ruled out spending into the luxury tax.
- I wouldn’t look for the Hawks to use the amnesty this year. In fact, I don’t think many teams will use it now unless they are looking for major relief from the luxury tax or can gain cap room (and some teams in the latter category can’t use it because they would drop below the new minimum team salary). The Hawks don’t qualify on either count. They can save it for J.J.’s deal down the line.
- It’s true Josh still is unhappy, and the reasons go beyond internal and external criticism of his play and extend into concerns about team chemistry. It seems as if he simply could use a change of scenery. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
- From what I can tell, none of Atlanta’s players have been declared untouchable for trades. So, at the very least, this would represent a shift in thinking by the Hawks about their proverbial “core” group. But if they do decide to pay the tax to add some significant pieces then it would seem to decrease the urgency of seeking a trade.
- The Hawks will play two exhibition games against the Bobcats, Dec. 19 at Charlotte and Dec. 22 at Philips. The Hawks will hold a free public scrimmage Dec. 16 at 7 :30 p.m. at Philips. If you see me there, come down and holla.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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426 comments Add your comment
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
7:12 pm
Michael Cunningham another journalist said that the Bucks would not consider Horford for Bogut and the perimeter forward Jon Leuer.
The perception is Bogut has a set role and position against the playoff giants and Horford does not. So while Horford could win you some more games across the league come playoffs he does not hold much value to the Bucks.
Is this really how the Bucks feel about Horford vs Bogut? If so how many other teams feel this way about Horford?
Do the Bucks regard
darrell starks
December 2nd, 2011
7:14 pm
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3nq8yg5
Grandmaster JeJe
December 2nd, 2011
7:19 pm
“I think we could wind up seeing a Josh Smith trade to the Clippers for Chris Kaman, Eric Bledsoe, and Minnesota’s first round pick. Hawks get assets and cap relief. Clippers get to boast a young, athletic front court of Smith, Griffin, and Jordan. Would not surprise me at all.”
——–
If we did this trade, we would be ADDING salary. Check out the salaries
Grandmaster JeJe
December 2nd, 2011
7:20 pm
Why would any trade ever trade a legit 7 foot center (albeit injury-prone) for a 6″9 immature tweener?
FreshFromATL
December 2nd, 2011
7:20 pm
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut,
Dude, what is your angle? Lmao…you’ve been spewing this same nonsense since the blog reopened.
darrell starks
December 2nd, 2011
7:21 pm
IF NO TRADES 2011 ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTER TEAGUE, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, ZAZA
BENCH HINRICH, DAMIEN, JOSH HOWARD, MARVIN, COLLINS.
RESERVE PAPE, BENSON
im okay with this team
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grandmaster JeJe
December 2nd, 2011
7:24 pm
I don’t understand why LAL has been so reluctant to trade Bynum for Dwight. It’s like 2 years ago when the Cavs were reluctant to trade Hickson for Amare (around the All Star break). Cost them LeBron.
Bynum is ALWAYS hurt. They won titles without him. Trade his @$$ already (plus he’s suspended 5 games to start the year)
Just Joe
December 2nd, 2011
7:25 pm
JeJe, the Clippers trade frees up cap space beyond this year. Kaman is on a twelve million dollar expiring contract.
As far as your next question, why were they close to swapping Kaman for Iggy’s huge contract?
Just Joe
December 2nd, 2011
7:28 pm
Darrell, don’t forget Magnum Rolle. If his foot is healed, he should be ready to contribute five to eight minutes a game at the forward positions.
Astro Joe
December 2nd, 2011
7:28 pm
Back to my latest mantra, “trade them when their value is high”, let’s see what a trimmed down Josh can do with Teague running a more uptempo pace before we consider trading him. What many of us decided not to discuss last season was Josh’s diminished explosiveness. If the knees were an issue (along with maybe some unneeded poundage), then let’s see what happens in the first few months of this season. Here’s hoping that between Josh and Marvin, that one of them gets other teams excited and we get back a little more on the dollar than we normally would.
Of course, that assumes that Josh doesn’t go all pouty mouth on us.
Big Ray is BACK! Cool!!!
kwooden
December 2nd, 2011
7:29 pm
If Josh is not happy because other players don’t get the scrutiny that he gets, it sounds like he has a problem with the fans and not the organization. And I don’t just mean the fans in ATL, but fans everywhere. MC, useless you’re saying that coaches and players are getting on him (which you didn’t say), then I’m not sure if saying Josh is unhappy is the same thing as saying he wants to leave. Charles Barkley criticized Josh’s shot selection, but not Joe’s, which probably bothered him. But that’s not going to change if he moves teams, which I’m sure he understands. So again, I’m not exactly sure what Josh “not being happy” means. Sounds like a lot of nothing.
GO HAWKS!
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
7:35 pm
the Clippers Kaman idea has been bounced around a lot.
Clippers don’t like the idea of Blake Griffin and Josh Smith together in the halfcourt. Not enough spacing.
….
Also, Michael Cunningham does anyone know if Smith, like Horford, has said in the past, he prefers a certain position?
kwooden
December 2nd, 2011
7:38 pm
Starks, I like your comments, accept if we can get Dwight in a trade. I don’t think Pape is going to be that good, but I do want to see what he can do with actual time on the floor. He’s not a great leaper, but he’s got a lot of speed and is aggressive going to the basket. Seeing Jeff as a starter should completely change how this teams plays, which I really would like to see also. The trade for Hinich really looks bad now because of how good Jeff played, but I think the issue was LD wasn’t going to start Jeff either way and Sund was forced to make a move. It does bother me that LD couldn’t figure out how to get Jeff time, until Kirk got hurt. A good coach will get the most out of all their resources. Hopefully LD learned from last year also, and will be a better coach this year.
GO HAWKS!
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
7:39 pm
@Grandmaster Jeje lol
LAL has not been offered Dwight Howard for Bynum. They probably have not reached out to Otis Smith because they dont want to appear desperate.
bigdave
December 2nd, 2011
7:40 pm
smh. if we had a system in place where guys knew where their shots were coming from and when, internal conflicts would be a non issue. just naming your 3 most productive players captains wont get the job done. accountability comes from responsibilities set by coaching staff in the form of roles.. those have yet to be defined. yet this dude as to clean up half hearted efforts on the defensive end. i hope i dont have to see homegrown talent come into his own for another city b/c of mismanagement on a few levels.
bigdave
December 2nd, 2011
7:40 pm
*has
Najeh Davenpoop
December 2nd, 2011
7:42 pm
Flavor Flav, I am just glad you have moved on from wanting Thabeet to wanting Bogut. At least Bogut is a good player. Much better than that steaming pile of excrement you wanted in return for Horford before the draft.
Red Robin
December 2nd, 2011
7:43 pm
If you dont want to see Smoove behind the ach put him back at this natural power forward position and let Al star at power forward on another team. This city loves Josh Smith. The Players love Josh Smith and the Marketers love Josh Smith.
Seen any AL Horford commercials lately? Ever?
Just Joe
December 2nd, 2011
7:49 pm
Teague / ??? / Hinrich
Johnson / ??? / Sy
Smith / Williams
Horford / ??? / Rolle
??? / Pachulia / Benson
Is it too much to ask the ASG to find us four veteran players to fill these holes?
Red Robin
December 2nd, 2011
7:49 pm
You would think that Al would have better chose his words than to demand that he be given the power forward position, with out thinking about that would move josh to the perimeter and out of his game, thus weakening our defense. My hope is that Al will adjust his attitude and man up and fight to defend the center spot. He doesnt come across to me as a team player. Rather selfish in fact.
Has he showed up to to practice yet? What kind of shape is this guy in? Is he going to help us this year or Whine about what position he plays?
Rev in Tampa
December 2nd, 2011
7:54 pm
This is from a NY Times article:
“On a Hawks team that is committed to the inefficiency of long 2-pointers and tough pull-up jumpers out of isolation, Teague brought a .514 playoff field goal percentage while committing few turnovers. He went from playing marginal minutes to doing 40 a night, and led the Hawks in playoff P.E.R. (Player Efficiency Rating) in the process. If you’re looking for a compelling reason Atlanta was able to play effectively against Chicago in the postseason, I see few more valid explanations than Teague’s performance.”
You can read the article here: http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/give-teague-a-chance/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nyt%2Frss%2FSports+%28NYT+%3E+Sports%29&utm_content=ESPN
Rufus1
December 2nd, 2011
8:06 pm
Amen Rev…..Teague may be the answer.
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
8:08 pm
Has he showed up to to practice yet?
No practices yet. Only physicals and you can use the facilities. He took his physical.
What kind of shape is this guy in?
good shape, he was in FIBA tournament for his Dom. Rep
Is he going to help us this year or Whine about what position he plays?
His rebounding always helps. The passing helps. The media thought that he’d be dominant if he was guarded by smaller players.
Quite the opposite. Those smaller players are A) smarter than your average center B) contest shots better than your average center.
Al Horford is not built to create shots inside the paint. Smith has quickness. Amare has length. Duncan length. Gasol length. Randolph girth. Boozer strength and length.
I read somewhere even Hasheem Thabeet gets fouled 20% of his shots his rookie year. His size lets him get in the paint.
Josh Smith 18% in 2010. Al Horford was at 14% with less shots now he got more shots and now he’s at 8.6%.
Dude is terrible at getting hoop and harm or creating foul situations.
Couple with the fact Smith’s a tweener best playing inside (18% drawn fouls) and I don’t think there is a center in the league that can help a Horford and Smith lineup.
Horford is going to be a pick and pop player till he dies. If he can stand in the corner and hit 3s and pull ups he would have been doing it by now.
Hes moving more and more away from what he was drafted to be (a legit defensive center) and why? Because he failed at it.
Jason Collins, included.
EmirS.
December 2nd, 2011
8:10 pm
Anyone else gets to scrolling when this guy pops up?
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
8:14 pm
The only reason Josh will see “incremental” gains is his weight loss. Against the elite teams he is who he is.
Horford as well. He is not a fluid perimeter player. Not a fluid nor effective post player.
His only Hope is that he expanded his pick and pop range to 3 point territory. And becomes some sort of Laimbeer-Rasheed without the post game.
Otherwise I see him dominating rookies and low IQ players but same old same old not even squaring up against guys like Joakim, Garnett and Pau who can crowd his shooting pocket and attack his lack of dribbling ability.
Red Robin
December 2nd, 2011
8:14 pm
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
Good answer!
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
8:23 pm
A) missing out on Shaq was a good move
B) the negative PR and lack of $$ means we will only attract bottom-feeder free agents from now on
Q: Was there any realistic scenario that could have landed you here in Atlanta as a Hawk?
A: Yes, I could have. But [Hawks General Manager] Rick Sund wanted to give all that money to Joe Johnson last year.
Q: Was that a good move you think in retrospect?
A: Good move, bad move, I don’t want to talk about it. I just wish the franchise well.
ryan
December 2nd, 2011
8:25 pm
I think Dwight Howard is a much bigger need than Paul the Hawks have been in need of a big body like for ever i would go over the tax for Howard .
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
8:30 pm
I know Orlando does not want Horford for Dwight. They rather rebuild outright.
Although ASG would pay for Dwight, don’t think the CBA allows the Hawks to sign Howard outright.
Can they?
Slimjr
December 2nd, 2011
8:30 pm
ALL NBA ALISHA KEYS has a weak game come playoff time…Package this Overrated Allstar asap!
Oh thats right Sund is on vacation for the rest of the season….lol
Slimjr
December 2nd, 2011
8:32 pm
“Horford is going to be a pick and pop player till he dies. If he can stand in the corner and hit 3s and pull ups he would have been doing it by now.
Hes moving more and more away from what he was drafted to be (a legit defensive center) and why? Because he failed at it.”
Dude you nailed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slimjr
December 2nd, 2011
8:35 pm
Alisha for Chuck Hayes!
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
8:59 pm
^ Chuck Hayes is not the “Center” you want. He’s 6′7 and said he wants to play PF in the past.
Joe.Jeff.Marvin.Smith.Hayes
no thanks. I suspect we missed the boat on Horford’s trade peak. We drank our own kool-aid on his potential.
And did not actual use video of him trying to score against elite players or measurements to see if he fell in that elite range.
We drank our own Kool-aid.
Slimjr
December 2nd, 2011
9:06 pm
“I suspect we missed the boat on Horford’s trade peak. We drank our own kool-aid on his potential.
And did not actual use video of him trying to score against elite players or measurements to see if he fell in that elite range.
We drank our own Kool-aid.”
Agreed, that was some strong Koo-aid drank down here in these woods! lol
Three sorry GM’s in a row can do more damage then good. Thats for sure…..This team should have been one of the elites already..But it cant even sniff it…
Red Robin
December 2nd, 2011
9:12 pm
Smith has said it doesnt matter to him, hes a natural powerfower, but will play where ever he can to help the team.
Rufus1
December 2nd, 2011
9:14 pm
Teague for President….
Teague will change the future for the Hawks. He will make the Hawks contenders, because he makes our offense dynamic, he will make our defense much better and make our team more efficient….. Teague will better than Steph Curry this year and he will carry us to the ECF..
Trade Josh for Odom- He will flourish in LD’s offense because he can hit those jumper that Josh took last year…This will force teams to guard all 5 players on the floor….++++++ Isn’t he what we wanted Josh to be.
Red Robin
December 2nd, 2011
9:24 pm
Not only doesnt Al have the heart for the low post but he doesnt have the heart of a power forward. He is a 6′ 10 1/2 ” small forward. Thats his position and thats what he wants to do and play. ]
The hawks should accommodate him and Move josh back to the 4 where he flourishes on the inside defense and offense.
Slimjr
December 2nd, 2011
9:25 pm
“Loophole could get Chris Paul to N.Y.
2011-12 Season, Collective Bargaining Agreement, Free agents | Comments
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Chris Paul, a potential 2012 free agent, has reportedly asked to be traded to New York. (Derick E. Hingle/US PRESSWIRE)
The NBA was open about its goal of restricting the ability of superstars to move between teams, even if neither side in the lockout negotiations seriously considered the kind of dramatic changes that would accomplish that goal — an NFL-style franchise tag (a non-starter for the union), unlimited maximum salaries for individual players and a true hard salary cap. What resulted instead was a compromise atop a compromise: an adjustment to the old Larry Bird Rights system, which allowed teams to offer their own free agents more money, bigger raises and longer contracts than rival suitors.
Those tweaks matter, and they’ll matter more in 2013-14, when some of the harsher provisions of the new CBA go into effect. The league made Carmelo Anthony-style extend-and-trade deals more awkward mechanically for the teams involved and less lucrative for the star seeking a new home. The league did the same with sign-and-trade transactions, and it generally increased the gap between what incumbent teams can offer free agents and what the other 29 teams can offer. The general goal is to force star players into a choice: Stay with your own team or forfeit some money, possibly something like $10 million over a five-year period. Possibly more.
And yet, Chris Paul’s agent has informed New Orleans that he will not re-sign there, that he will decline his player option at the end of next summer, and that he would like the Hornets in the meantime to trade him to the Knicks, according to Yahoo! Sports. The Knicks do not have valuable trade assets, unless you are high on cap relief (Chauncey Billups’ expiring deal) and a rookie who has not played one NBA game (Iman Shumpert). Even so, if the Hornets feel backed into a corner, they could work an extend-and-trade in which Paul would take a financial haircut. And if Paul is still a Hornet when he enters free agency, the Knicks will not have the money to sign him to a maximum-level contract – either the five-year, $100 million he could receive with New Orleans, or the four-year, $74 million deal he could get from another team with room for a max deal.But Paul could still force his way to New York and secure that five-year, $100 million contract, according to a draft of the league’s new CBA and a few cap experts I consulted. How? The steps:
• Force the Hornets to trade him to the Knicks without signing a contract extension in the process. This is the tricky part. The Hornets don’t have to trade Paul, and if they decide to, they don’t have to trade him to New York. Other teams have better assets, and Paul will be counting on those teams to bow out of the bidding if they think he will not re-sign there. Does this sound familiar?
• If the Hornets eventually surrender and deal him to New York, Paul’s Bird Rights go with him. He must then become a free agent, either by declining his player option for 2012-13, or accepting that option, playing that season and becoming a free agent in the summer of 2013. By entering free agency as a Knick, Paul would escape the limitations in years and money that would come with engaging in a Carmelo-type extend-and-trade deal under this new collective bargaining agreement.
• The last step is easy: Sign a five-year, $100 million extension with New York. The Knicks would have his Bird Rights, so they could exceed the cap as much as they wish to retain Paul.
This is the superstar-movement loophole the league could not close. In theory, this series of steps is difficult to pull, because teams would be hesitant to acquire a superstar and then watch that superstar enter into free agency; this is why teams prefer the certainty of extend-and-trades, and why the league threw some obstacles onto that path. But the uncertainty of free agency vanishes if Paul tells the Knicks, “Don’t worry, I guarantee I will re-sign with you if you trade for me, keep Melo and Amar’e and allow me to slip into free agency for a token minute.”
And even there, some tiny potential for uncertainty exists. Once a player is a true blue free agent, a team with cap room can theoretically make a pitch. Perhaps the superstar will grow unhappy with the new team, or one key teammate will get injured, or another superstar will get traded in the interim to a city Chris Paul really loves — and a team that has maximum-level cap room.
All unlikely, which is why the smart money is on Paul ending up where he wants. You cannot legislate market appeal out of the NBA — or friendships, or free will, or smart cap management, or beaches or whatever else. Not without a dramatic rule change that would really restrict superstar movement.
People will judge Paul for this, and if the Yahoo! report is true, it’s certainly disingenuous for him to put on the “my heart is in New Orleans” public face one day and have his agent tell the Hornets goodbye the next. But the Hornets got six prime seasons out of Paul, just as the Cavaliers got seven out of LeBron James, and the Magic seven (and counting) from Dwight Howard. The combination of the draft, rookie contracts and extension rules for young players gives the teams lucky enough to draft a superstar plenty of time to win and convince that player to stay forever. The Spurs managed it with Tim Duncan, and the Thunder appear to have done so with Kevin Durant.”
If CP3 wants New York, he’s going to play in New York and become the next Walt Clyde Frazier!
Sautee
December 2nd, 2011
9:26 pm
bigdave,
I would have Horford play the 5 for 28 min. a night, at least. Give him his other minutes at the 4 when Josh needs rest. Like Najeh, I see absolutely no need to choose between them. If Horford has a bad matchup at center, adjust game by game (or by quarter). As far as your original question, I think Josh RIGHT NOW has quite an advantage on Al at the 4, partially because he has played that position for years, and knows his opponents strengths and weaknesses better. If the roles were switched, and Josh had to guard centers, he’d need some time as well to find out the nuances of the players he guards.
I think we are best when Al is the 5 and Josh is the 4. If LD wants to go big at times, fine, but for me, the baseline should be Al – 5 and Josh – 4. That gives us one of the the quickest, and best passing frontcourts in the league. I also think that a heavy dose of Teague is going to cut down dribble penetration this year.
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
9:26 pm
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut (might be possible if we’re aggressive)
I don’t see how anyone is “forced” to guard Marvin or Jason Collins. Do you really want to give the Lakers a 26yo Smith for 31 yo Odom.
Joe.Jeff.Marvin.Odom.Horford (Marvin lineups)
Joe.Jeff.Odom.Horford.Collins (big lineups)
Rufus1
December 2nd, 2011
9:40 pm
“I don’t see how anyone is “forced” to guard Marvin or Jason Collins. Do you really want to give the Lakers a 26yo Smith for 31 yo Odom.”- Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
Yes,I do….Lets ask the question another way.
Do I want a 6′11, Shot blocking, rebounding, jump shot making, can finsh with either hand, pass like a PG and world champion 31 year old players…..YES!…Hell YES!
PS. He is also 3mil a year cheap with a team optin in his 2nd year.
Sautee
December 2nd, 2011
9:41 pm
Red Robin,
about this nonsense:
“You would think that Al would have better chose his words than to demand that he be given the power forward position, with out thinking about that would move josh to the perimeter and out of his game, thus weakening our defense.”
This idea has been discredited about a dozen times on this blog, but somehow it keeps on coming back. It’s like hearing Dick Cheney talk about WMD’s.
OK, Red Robin, your task is to find where Al Horford actually said he “demanded to be given the power forward position”. You won’t find it, because it’s total BS. He never said that, or anything close to it. But go ahead and look. If you are going to accuse Al of being over the top selfish in a public forum, then at least have the stones to actually back it up with a source or a link. Like I said, good luck.
Here’s what I remember: Horford was asked about playing bigger players, and mentioned that he is more of a natural 4. That’s all. He ALSO said he knows he will play a lot of 5 and that he and Josh have an advantage at the 5 and 4 because of their quickness. I don’t give two half sh!ts what his daddy said. Do you control what comes out of YOUR daddy’s mouth? And does ANYBODY think that the Hawks paid any attention to Tito’s nonsense? Or that they should?
brigadierjerry
December 2nd, 2011
9:43 pm
I think the feeling why Smith gets criticized by fans and media is because Smith has a higher ceiling than Horford but Horford I think is pretty close to his ceiling. Horford is a jump shooter. Who would you rather have Paul Gasol or Horford even if both are finesse power forward. One thing that is somewhat goes unnoticed is a lot of how Smith is playing now is because of coaching. Smith and Horford played much better under Woodson, although he had his faults as well Teague reminds me of Jamar Nelson but I like Teague I think he has potential and will be put in the spotlight from jump.
Now Smith can get his potential but he needs a strong coach to do that. With his offense capabilities he needs to be coached to play to his strengths. That falls on LD who I am not in love with as a coach. Defensively he is a good off the ball defender but not a great man on man one and he needs to work on that. He should be a defender such as what Stacy Augman was although Augman had very good length and long arms
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 2nd, 2011
9:44 pm
Sautee Dwight Howard and the Bulls outclass your small lineup. And this is why everyone hates the Hawks. Players want to get traded. Why?
They f****n deny they have a problem. Season in season out. Without fail.
A) Horford is 6′ 9 3/4”
B) small forward: ? google “Horford @ PF: Flawed vs Quickness + Length (6′8 LuolDeng sequence 1) Hawks”
or “Horford vs Henderson”
We played Horford at the “4″ for 3 years now. Zaza Pachulia has never played with Al before? hello?
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Horford.Collins/Zaza
what the hell did you change? Nothing. If Horford is not able to get a frikkin oft injured defensive center and a former 2nd round pick from Wisconsin then
Josh Smith will choose for you and sign elsewhere when media complains that he’s somehow “stealing shots over Damien or Marvin or Horford or Zaza or Collins”
northcyde
December 2nd, 2011
9:44 pm
LOL . . Grandad always finds a way to put the blame on Joe, when the blame rests SQUARELY on Josh Smith.
He’s the only player on the team that doesn’t play to his strengths. He’s the tweener on the team that doesn’t shoot well enough nor have the shot creating abilities to be a top notch SF . . while not having that toughness and lacking a good post game to be a top notch PF.
So we get what we get, a very good combo forward whom ( on this team ) need him to play more like a PF than as SF.
But Smith WANTS to be the leader. But it’s hard being the leader when everybody is criticizing your game on a nightly basis.
Sautee
December 2nd, 2011
9:49 pm
“Not only doesnt Al have the heart for the low post but he doesnt have the heart of a power forward. He is a 6′ 10 1/2 ” small forward. Thats his position and thats what he wants to do and play.”
Wait, didn’t you JUST tell us some BS that he “demanded to be the power forward”? Now you say he wants to be the 3?
You can smell a hater a mile away.
KevinM
December 2nd, 2011
9:57 pm
If Josh isn’t going to play down low for us, then I agree…you got to move him. I don’t like his perimeter game; it consists of facing the basket and hoisting.
If Al is going to pick up the defensive load, I’m all for it. But Al may be 1/2 the defender Josh is. And Al is getting all the accolades. Maybe that is the real reason Josh is okay with moving on?
I remember how many years it was watching Josh and Marvin play together. They never seemed to work well together. Well now we have SF Josh and PF Al in the same scenario. Perhaps it is Josh who has a tough time working with others. Dunno, but I do know 2 things:
1) Without Josh, we are a defensive wasteland.
2) With Marvin, we never know what we will get night in, night out. For some reason, his jumper falls when the game is not on the line.
This team just needs changes and some depth. Our starters are not efficient enough to play mega minutes every night.
FreshFromATL
December 2nd, 2011
9:58 pm
I find it amazing/amusing that you guys have turned on Hordford all of a sudden, lol. MC should tell Josh to read the blog if he doesn’t believe any other Hawk gets criticized.
Sautee
December 2nd, 2011
9:59 pm
“Sautee Dwight Howard and the Bulls outclass your small lineup.”
First, Howard will be in LA before the playoffs start. Second, the Bulls DO outclass the Hawks, but much more at the role players level (Asik, Gibson, Brewer, Watson). Our starters, except for Rose, match up well enough. It was the Bulls bench that made the biggest difference in the series.
brigadierjerry
December 2nd, 2011
10:00 pm
slimjr whats up long time no speak on the blog?Was in your old hood in NYK the other day