Atlanta Hawks: Camp Report Day 5
The Hawks want to run more often than they did last season. It makes sense when you look at their personnel.
“They call can get up and down the floor, which gives us I think a tremendous advantage in transition if we commit to the run, which I am really trying to get these guys to do,” Larry Drew said. “Jeff [Teague] can really exchange ends. Joe [Johnson] can run. Marvin [Williams] can run. Josh Smith is a deer and Al [Horford] is probably as fast as any five man in the league.
“Running, to me, it has to be habit-forming. It can’t be just a sometimes thing. When you develop that habit it becomes a part of who you are.”
We’ve heard this before. Before last season the Hawks said they would run more often. And then, according to Synergy Sports Technology, they ended up ranking 11th among Eastern Conference teams in the percentage of their total possessions used (shot, free throw or turnover) in transition and tied for sixth in points per possession in transition (1.14).
Turnovers were the biggest reason the Hawks weren’t a more efficient running team: 13 percent of their transition possessions ended with a turnover, worst in the East. Josh Smith was the leading offender with 20.6 percent of his transition possessions used ended with a turnover. Al Horford wasn’t far behind at 18.2 percent but he only used 77 transition possessions while Josh used a team-high 223.
I looked at the video of Josh’s 44 turnovers in transition. It confirmed my subjective view that the vast majority of his turnovers in transition are by way of bad passes: 32 of the 44 by my count, with eight coming on the dribble (though I thought two of those should have been credited to others for bad passes to Josh) and four on charging fouls.
Josh is a pretty good ball-handler in the open court but he often tried to make what Larry Drew called “hero” passes that got swallowed up in traffic, sailed out of bounds or clanged off the backboard. (Frequently heard from Dominique Wilkins during those clips: “There’s where Josh needs to give the ball to a guard. I can’t say it enough.” And oft-repeated by Bob Rathbun: “Josh with the rebound. . . throws it away.”)
Josh would be better off finishing the play himself. He shot 69.8 percent in transition, induced fouls on 14.3 of possessions used and had 15 and-1s–all team highs–and his 69.8 field-goal percentage was second to Al (76.8).
Al, by the way, also led the Hawks with 1.3 points per possession used in transition, suggesting that he should be involved in the fast break more often. So should Marvin Williams, who was second on the team in the percentage of fouls drawn on transition possessions used (13.8 percent) with a low turnover percentage (5.2)
This is where Teague comes in.
“It’s perfect for me,” Teague said of the plan to run more. “That’s the big thing I tried to come in and preach to the guys when I got here is I want to start pushing the ball. We are still young. We are a young team we’ve got to use that to our advantage and use it.”
I’m thinking Al and Marvin should benefit from Teague making more of the decisions on the break. I’m thinking Josh will give it up to Teague because he knows Teague will run with him. It’s not hard to imagine that combination regularly ending with lob dunks, especially since Josh is lighter and faster.
“He looks a lot more explosive, too,” Teague said. “I see him dunking the ball every time now.”
Teague looked to run more than any other Hawks player Last season he had the highest percentage of possessions used in transition among Hawks regulars (23). He turned it over on 9.6 percent of those transition possessions used, drew fouls on 11.4 percent and scored 1.13 points per possession.
Just 10.8 percent of Mike Bibby’s possessions used were in transition, though he was efficient (1.29 points per possession) in large part because he made 16 of 33 3-point attempts on the break, and 13 percent of Jamal’s possessions used were in transition with a good foul percentage (10.7).
To run, the Hawks will have to rebound. Look at how each player’s s defensive rebounding rate ranks among NBA players at their position with more than 15 minutes per game, and it’s not hard to see who needs to pick it up (all rankings according to Hoopdata.com): Al (13th among centers), Josh (15th PFs), Teague (tied for 13th PGs but played less than 15 minutes per game) Joe (25th SGs), Marvin (23rd SFs)
The 6-7 shooting guard with the chiseled body and the 6-9, athletic small forward should not be average or slightly better at defensive rebounding for their position.
“I’m going to challenge both of those guys this year to be better rebounders than they have been in the past,” Drew said. “There is no reason those guys can’t become better rebounders. They have the size. They have the bodies. Rebounding is a dirty job. We are going to challenge them. When we can get the two or the three on glass, they can initiate a fast break effectively. They’ve got to pull more weight in that area. We’ve got to get more rebounding from those spots.”
So, to summarize how the Hawks might improve their transition offense: Run more often, let Teague makes the decisions, send Josh to the rim, get Marvin and Al more involved, and prod J.J. and Marvin to rebound more so there will be more opportunities to run.
Camp report
- Got to see more scrimmage action today. The thing that stood out was Pape Sy’s defensive aggressiveness. He made hay chasing around J.J. and didn’t back down.
- Is there a chance Pape can help the Hawks this year? “There’s a chance,” Drew said. “He really looks good thus far. It looks like playing in the D-League and playing over in Europe helped him because he’s playing at a different level from a confidence standpoint. When he came in for the first camp he might have been a little overwhelmed. But now he looks more comfortable and doesn’t have that deer in the headlight look in his eye.”
- Physically, Sy has the potential to be a good defender. “He’s got the quickness, the size, the length to be a pretty good defensive player, particularly at the top of the floor,” Drew said. “Playng against Jeff every day really helps him out a lot. He has to adjust how to defend guys with the kind of speed. You are not going to go against a guy with that speed every day so if you can keep [Teague] in front of you, then you have a pretty good chance with everyone else.”
- Drew said he still views Sy as a point guard. Teague, Sy, Donald Sloan, Brad Wanamaker and Tracy McGrady are taking turns. “We have to look at this thing realitsicaly,” Drew said. “God forbid that Jeff is out, then we are scrambling at the point guard spot. We have to make sure that we look at each guy individually and very seriously. Hopefully one of those guys will break away from the pack.”
- Kirk Hinrich shot baskets after practice. He said he asked his doctor for clearance on Monday. Hinrich still can’t move his left arm from side to side and can’t lift it very far above his head.
- It looks like the market for Jamal Crawford softened once Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Richard Hamilton and Gilbert Arenas became available. Mike Wells of the Indy Star reported Crawford turned down a two-year, $10 million offer (with opt 2012-13 opt out) from the Pacers and SI.com’s Chris Mannix says Crawford is considering similar offers from the Kings and Blazers and less money from the Knicks.
- Check my Twitter feed for comments from Chris Webber, Steve Smith and Kenny Smith about why they think none of the superstar players include the Hawks on their lists of preferred destinations. I’m writing a story on the topic for Sunday’s AJC.
- To those who asked in last blog: Posted late because I had to break down these transition stats. I also heard Hawks were trying to somehow get back in the Jamal sweepstakes and had to check it out (they’re not). But glad to hear you missed me.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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354 comments Add your comment
Slimjr
December 14th, 2011
10:24 am
Marvin is fixed! He is going to have a positive impact on this team for sure..
Big surprises coming your way from the #2 Lottery pick!
Rufus1
December 14th, 2011
10:25 am
vava74
December 14th, 2011
8:42 am
Co-sign
I also think he made a mistake in game 5 when he took Zaza out in the 4th. Zaza was providing the physical presence we needed againt the Bulls to win the series….I don’t think he will make those mistakes again this year.
I think they looked at the film of the games in the offseason and realized how bad JC1 was on defense…..That is why this roster looks the way it does….IT IS ALL DEFENSE!
doc
December 14th, 2011
10:27 am
what still comes to mind to me is how ineffective bibby was as a finisher on the break as he missed lay ups regularly much less being a part of it. open ones! geez.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 14th, 2011
10:27 am
Just Because!
“Via @jwquick POR offered Jamal Crawford 2 yrs, $10 million. Agent says Crawford considering, doesn’t want LT deal. 14 hours ago”
________________
That’s just because Jamal knows he will never get one. The ASKG will not receive what they consider “tax worthy” player(s) in a trade scenario for Jamal. They are letting him go like a glass Coke Bottle.
Not recyclable
No Deposit
No Return
Nada
That was the “master” plan all along. Had Jamal been paper, plastic or aluminum – he may have had a chance.
Falcons4Eva
December 14th, 2011
10:27 am
If the Hawks sign Tim Tebow, hey would be a better team…its called having a HEART of a Champion!
Dept. Of Unintended Irony
December 14th, 2011
10:33 am
“thats right rick sund, sit on your butt, let dwight howard get away to the another team, then you will be praising that team for being tough”
You mean one of the teams that Dwight said he’d go to? It’s now SUND’s FAULT that Dwight didn’t list the ATL as one of his destinations?
I guess it’s also SUND’s FAULT that Stern vetoed those CP3 trades.
Sund is an awful GM, but this line of thinking is absurd.
SaintSparky
December 14th, 2011
10:37 am
For me the guy to add would be Sammy Dalembert. I know he wants quite some money, but by maybe shedding one or two contracts, or a sign and trade with SAC (I’m not sure if that works), sending Jamal and maybe Marvin westbound could solve it
Starting lineup: Teague, JJ, JSmooth, Al and Sammy. Up tempo attack, should be fun to watch !!!
Slimjr
December 14th, 2011
10:39 am
Falcons4Eva
December 14th, 2011
10:27 am
“If the Hawks sign Tim Tebow, hey would be a better team…its called having a HEART of a Champion!”
How bout Tim Tebow for Matt Ice Melt Ryan? Now the Falcons “have a better team” with “the Heart of a Champion”..lol
Oh thats right Ryan is a proven winner..I almost forgot he has over a .600 winning % in the “regular season”….. Regular QB he is, Elite? Nada………………………
How bout them thar playoffs? PLAYOFFS?????????????
Rod from College Park
December 14th, 2011
10:40 am
Slimjr,
“Marvin is fixed! He is going to have a positive impact on this team for sure..
Big surprises coming your way from the #2 Lottery pick!”
Wake up!!!! The dream is not real. A repaired back, does not fix 2 left feet. LOL
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 14th, 2011
10:40 am
You Pick ‘Em!
SlimJr darling, I sure hope you are right about Marvin. I’m from Missouri though. One can only hope and pray. LOL!
Here’s my point: after seven years of seeing Marvin play, I have no dreams of Marvin living up to the hype. But, as a role player and a glue guy Marvin should figure who he really is and be that guy.
Hopefully, that will be defend, rebound and make the open shot from his range. Of course, all of that is predicated upon Marvin staying upright and off the floor.
Perhaps some: ballet, yoga, pilates or P90X. Anything to achieve core strength stability would work miracles. Strength only comes from the gut, the abdomen region and pelvic stability, balance. Line that sacrum up.
Slimjr
December 14th, 2011
10:48 am
Show me State:
Hey Marvin show’em will ya???? lol
DMB: ballet would be good for him.Stretching out that 6′10 inch frame would work wonders? Strengthening his core could only help him..Then he could post up these pip squeaks and eat em up…….
Astro Joe
December 14th, 2011
10:50 am
vava, messing up 20% of fast breaks when you are likely one of the top 5 finishers in the NBA is inexcusable. I don’t care if Bob Cousy (the 2011 version of Bob Cousy) is your PG. Opposing teams delighted when Josh took away an elite finisher on the break by pretending he was Michael “throw-a-way” Richardson. When you consider that Bibby played less than 28 minutes during his abbreviated time with the Hawks last year, it is hard to put that 20% rate at his feet. That would suggest that Josh was around 30-35% TO-rate in the first few months and then he went to around 5-10% once Bibby left. We all know that wasn’t the case. Josh has never needed another player to justify his bad decisions.
ryan
December 14th, 2011
10:50 am
Just saw on ESPN that potential three team trade involving D12 to Nets could happen in a couple of days also Paul to the Lakers is back on looks like Clippers are scared to give up Gordon .
Slimjr
December 14th, 2011
10:50 am
Hey Rod: like Jesse used to say ” KEEP HOPE ALIVE”….HaHaHa!
Section 303
December 14th, 2011
10:51 am
KevinM, I am planning on going to the practice on Friday night. Looking forward to it. Anxious to see the guys play.
Also, there is a season ticket event, prior to the scrimmage. Anyone going to that as well?
Mike
December 14th, 2011
10:53 am
It is not Sund fault for nothing trying to make trade for superstar. But it is that ownership is tha problem. They are like the Pink Elephant in the room.
I am hearing that Nets want to do a four-way trade to get Dwight because if they lose Dwight, then D-Will will be asking for a trade after that.
ryan
December 14th, 2011
10:57 am
That what i have been saying i don’t think its all Sund’s fault the ownership group is holding him back it would be hard for any GM to make a big trade with the ASG .
cdog
December 14th, 2011
11:06 am
if they can’t make moves then why have a team? how can a team like the lakers, celtics, heat and mavs make moves to get stars and the hawks can’t after years of losing? with stars on their rosters, you’re going to tell me they are not over the cap with their big salaries like joe johnson? its the asg and rick sund’s stupidity that is holding the hawks back.i want be keeping up with the season.without a big move, nothing is going to change. it will be the same old same old, losing and failure to make the playoffs and if so, failure to make it past the first round.got better things to do.get rid of rick sund and you’ll see the team start prospering.
Mike is Back
December 14th, 2011
11:09 am
MC, is just me…or is anyone else already getting tired of SHAQ…nothing wrong with a little promotion…but jeeeeeeze.
I will be the first to admit…it drove me crazy watching Josh making silly turnovers on the break TOO…no excuse for that…now that Teague has garner a little respect from his teammates…I see no reason why the Hawks can’t perform better in transition.
LD is actually sounding like a HC going into this season…hopefully it’s not all lip service this time…he has hold everybody accountable…or the team will regress back to their old ways.
Just from the sound bites I’m hearing from different guys…there seems to be a higher level of comments this season…but you would expect that after a lock out.
GOOD FOR THE HAWKS…IT’S TIME FOR THESE GUYS TO STEP TF UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
J.J.M.
December 14th, 2011
11:12 am
*yawns*
vava74
December 14th, 2011
11:16 am
Mike is Back,
LD sounded perfect last year, around this time (pre-season).
Then… ha!
AJ,
I was not making excuses, merely explaining the wrong mind set on Smoove’s mind: Bibby did not command his respect as a ball player because he looked like a dead turtle out there.
It’s a highlight reel mentality: they guy did not feel good about handing over the rock to someone who could not finish on his own if necessary.
vava74
December 14th, 2011
11:28 am
Buddy,
Another striking issue about Jamal:
His “help value”, which is rebounds+assists+steals+blocks-turnovers frequently were negative and seldom were close to 10.
Rufus1,
Yeah, that game 5 is still stuck on my mind. After all that effort to get even at the end of the 3rd LD messed up when he took Zaza out.
And again, he used Jamal from the end stretch of the 3rd all the way until the end of the 4th (2 minutes to go, the bench came in to close the loss).
Jamal is a guy who is effective/ineffective in spurts. If he is NOT SCORING is doing nothing on the floor.
You have to take him out when he is not impacting the game on offence since its the only thing he does.
And you can ALWAYS put the guy back in to give him a new chance to make a splash. He is just like the basketball version of a designated hitter (bear with me on this analogy).
He is always hot in his mind, so you can put him in and take him out 6 or 7 times in a game, if necessary until he makes a dent.
I always said that Jamal is like a drug for a coach: the coaches can’t stop overusing and chasing that elusive “high” and quickly forget the lows.
That imbecile LD tried to stop runs by opposing teams with MORE OFFENSE for crying out loud!!! And people got surprised that we had so many horrendous losses…
vava74
December 14th, 2011
11:31 am
http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/rosen/
Charley Rosen on the worst FA signings and… we are in it with V-RAD!!!!
(So are the Knicks with Bibby)
Najeh Davenpoop
December 14th, 2011
11:43 am
““Look Atlanta and possibly Miami are the only Southern cities where there is active campaign to undermine the image of the city within the respective region(s)… The city of Atlanta is the enemy, there is a whole subculture built around it…””
This is true, but I don’t know that it necessarily extends to the sports teams. People out in the boondocks seem to support the Braves and Falcons just fine. They will just whine every step of the way as they drive into and out of the city.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 14th, 2011
11:46 am
“But do you honestly think the Hawks are closer to an NBA championship than the Falcons to the Lombardi? And do you think the rest of the Atlanta believes the same?”
I don’t think either one is all that close, but any given NFL team at any point in time is closer to a championship than any given NBA team, because of the nature of the sport and the deeper talent pool. Winning one game against a superior team is more likely than winning four, and beating a team with superior talent is much more likely in the NFL than in the NBA. Both those factors weigh heavily in favor of the Falcons and any other NFL team for that matter.
Melvin
December 14th, 2011
11:48 am
•MT @NYPost_Berman: Mo Evans’ agent says @jcrossover is all style but Mo is all substance. #Knicks http://t.co/Pb6ZQ9r8
Man please. I’m so glad that Hawks #1 jersey will not be worn by Mo Evans again…
Najeh Davenpoop
December 14th, 2011
11:52 am
“Drew won New Orleans a Super Bowl championship and those fans STILL wouldn’t desert that team if Saints FO tossed him out. Most Atlanta fans are simply not that loyal to teams, only to individual players.”
Your point about ATL fans being more loyal to players is somewhat true. But your point about fans deserting a team doesn’t really apply to attendance. Look at the 49ers for example. For about two decades, they were one of if not the most consistently successful team in the league. But at the end of the 90s, Steve Young retired and ownership turmoil started, and from 1999 to 2008 they only finished in the top half of the league in attendance once. That doesn’t mean their fans deserted them; it just means they chose not to pay for a mediocre product. If two decades of goodwill wasn’t enough for the 49ers to sell tickets during a down decade, why should we expect five decades of mediocrity to inspire Hawks fans to sell out Philips Arena?
Fans everywhere are the same. Put out a good product and they will come.
Ken Strickland
December 14th, 2011
11:52 am
Here’s a reality check. The Hawks finished last yrs regular season as the Eastern Conferences 5th seed. The Bulls, Heat, Celtics and Magic finished ahead of them in that order. I expect the Bulls and Heat to remain in their lofty positions this yr, but not the Celtics and Magic.
An already old Celtic team is now a yr older, with no depth to speak of, and no solid dependable Bigs, unless you consider a past his prime injury prone Jermaine Oneal dependable. The Magic also have very little depth, and we all know DHoward will be traded before the trade deadline passes.
And for those of you who keep insisting that we need to make big trades in order to improve, take a look at the Magic and see how silly that approach can turn out to be. Since making it to the 08-09 NBA finals, they have soought to get better through making trades and a lot of FA acquisitions. And keep in mind that they already had the NBAs most dominant big man.
They’re about to lose DHoward, their franchise player, and they don’t have a single player on their roster that they can build around, or that’s worth much in trade. I also took a look at the impact some of the so called true centers in the East that some of you are so desperate for us to acquire.
Here’s another reality check for those who insist on claiming AHorford is UNDERSIZED, TOO PASSIVE, TO SOFT, PLAYING OUT OF POSITION, AND/OR CAN’T LEAD THIS TEAM ANY FURTHER ETC. We’ve heard a lot of ABogat trade suggestions. As great as some of you seem to think he is, he’s yet to elevated his team above the Hawks in the 4yrs Horford’s been our center. It took JNoah 4yrs to elevate the Bulls above the Hawks with Horford at Center. BLopez has yet to elevate the Nets above the Hawks. If fact, the Nets don’t seem to think he’s as great as some of you do, since they’re more than willing to trade him, and some others, to acquire DHoward.
Even the DHoward led Magic have been on the decline. They’ve gone from 08-09 NBA finalists to being a 1st rd elimination by a depleted and injured Hawks team. What did these teams have that the Hawks didn’t have, besides a BIGGER/TALLER center? They had better interior and/or perimeter DEFENSE?
The absence of Bibby and Jamal, and the addition of Teague as a starter and primary contributer, will eliminate the advantage they had in perimeter DEF, and greatly reduce the advantage they had with their interior DEF. The Hawks will no longer have to compensate defensively when teams consistently run pick and rolls to create mismatches by specifically targeting Jamal or Bibby.
None of our current guards are DEF liabilities, and all have the ability to fight over picks, and/or the speed, quickness and athleticism to recover. That means our frontline players won’t have to compensate for DEF liabilities like Jamal and Bibby by switching off on PGs and SGs who’ll take them out on the perimeter.
Having our C and PF near the basket guarding the oppositions Cs and PFs, instead of being out on the perimeter guarding PGs and SGs, is a hell of a lot better than having our PG fighting Cs and PFs for rebounds. That change alone will drastically improve our rebounding capability, and eliminate one of the major reasons we got outrebounder so often last yr.
DRMARYB-What’s up PYT? Eliminating Jamal’s $10M+ contract was more important than anything we could get back for him in trade. Dumping is salary allows us to sign draft pick Benson, add FA’s TMac and Radmanovic, and still remain under the luxury tax threshold.
Considering where we are right now salary wise, we can get FAs, or maybe UFAs, who can do as much as anyone we’d get back in trade for him. It would be stupid for us to pay luxury taxes in order to take back in trade what would amount to no more than filler, or bench warming material.
Truth
December 14th, 2011
11:56 am
“It would be stupid for us to pay luxury taxes in order to take back in trade what would amount to no more than filler, or bench warming material.”
It wouldn’t put us in the LT because we have a trade exception to use
Melvin
December 14th, 2011
12:02 pm
Truth,
I’m not exactly sure but I don’t think the trade exception would prevent a team from paying the luxury tax. It allows a team to acquire a player for the amount of the exception and his salary would count towards the team payroll as well.
O'Brien
December 14th, 2011
12:03 pm
Bibby had good court vision, and did make good passes. But quite often, the Bibby fast break was make a pass, and then run to the 3 pt line, and wait in case somebody passes it back. At least with Teague, he will be forcing the tempo, and attacking the rim,
AG
December 14th, 2011
12:14 pm
I tend to agree with one of the people who posted earlier. With JT in the starting lineup and a slimmer Josh, I think we improved the team. JT should average about 15 ppg, and he certainly will speed the team up and help reduce the turnovers. I would like the team to add one more vet we can take a gamble on like Mike Redd or GIlbert.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 14th, 2011
12:15 pm
I Got Jokes!
“Slimjr,
“Marvin is fixed!” -SlimJr-
_________
Does this mean he can’t father kids?
____________
PMA
Ken Strickland, my tent mate! I just love you positive mental attitude on here, you give us eternal hope and, when you are MIA, the whole blogs goes down in flames and negativity. Keep the underlying facts coming babe.
AG
December 14th, 2011
12:34 pm
Great observation Ken
vava74
December 14th, 2011
12:39 pm
The playoffs should be revamped: back to the 5 game series on the first and second rounds.
That would allow for more upsets and with upsets comes a (justifiable) sense of “competitive balance”.
Rufus1
December 14th, 2011
12:56 pm
How did we win????
No perimeter defense, undersized frontline, poor rebounding, a rookie coach, no 3pt shooters, no low post presence, no bench and Marvin… HOW IN THE HELL DID WE WIN????
Now we have better perimeter defense, better bench, 2nd year coach, better PG, better 3pt shooters and MAYBE a better Marvin….HOW IN THE HELL WILL WE LOSE???
I WILL SAVE SOME OF YOU A SEAT ON THIS BANDWAGON!!!
Go Hawks!!!
Section 303
December 14th, 2011
1:07 pm
vava, just because some writer says Vlad was a bad free agent pickup does not make it so. Seems to me the national press almost refuse to give the Hawks credit for anything. As much as we all p#ss and moan on this blog, the Hawks have still been better than most teams in the past 4 years. No taking that away from them. Are they title contenders? Probably not. But, they’re still a decent team. And they will be in the playoffs. Can’t say the same for a lot of teams.
So…before we just buy that Vlad is a bad signing, let’s remember that the Hawks get credit for nothing. So, here’s hoping Vlad plays well enough for us to all tell that clown of a writer to go F himself.
Ra'mon
December 14th, 2011
1:09 pm
VAva, the problem is with 5 games series, come less TV money. So they won’t do that.
Astro Joe
December 14th, 2011
1:13 pm
OB, true, but the notion that fast breaks is solely PG driven is false and shouldn;t be used as an excuse for some of the decisions Josh made in that situation. Bibby didn;t play enough for the issue to be related to his time on the court.
Astro Joe
December 14th, 2011
1:13 pm
For those ho live outside of Atlanta:
With the NBA season set to tip off on Christmas, NBA Digital is giving basketball fans a three-point play by combining its NBA League Pass linear, broadband and mobile offerings for one price. The league’s out-of-market package, which will offer up to 40 games a week, will retail for $169 for the league’s abbreviated 66-game 2011-12 regular season schedule, according to industry sources. For the first time NBA League Pass will include mobile access to live games — last year the mobile package was an additional $39 on top of the $189 NBA League Pass package — along with broadband access of the games, according to NBA Digital general manager Christina Miller. NBA Digital will also run a free, two-week preview of NBA League Pass beginning the day after Christmas and ending Jan. 8, Miller said.
Astro Joe
December 14th, 2011
1:17 pm
Bibby was slow as heck, couldn;t shoot, and couldn;t defend. but let;s not blame him for everything that went wrong. He wasn’t responsible for guys not boxing out, making poor decisions in transition, teammates shooting jumpers ad nauseum, Joe’s shoulder problem, LD’s 2-foul rule and Zaza’s 2 months of lethargic play. We can lay plenty at his feet but let’s not blame him for the global economy (just for the sake of piling on).
vava74
December 14th, 2011
1:20 pm
AJ,
Yeah, they are now bundling the mobile access BUT for me, the package is worse:
For an international user, there were two packages:
1. Full access (including mobile and the ability to watch all games played during the whole season, including all past games since day 1 of the season);
2. 24 hour access (no mobile and the ability to watch all games played in the last 24h), which was excellent since it was cheaper (about 33%) and allowed me to watch the Hawks AND any other teams/games I found interesting.
Now, they only have:
1. Same full package at a whopping price.
2. Single team league pass (at 33% discount). Which for me, is a major bummer…
Astro Joe
December 14th, 2011
1:22 pm
Section 303, a few days ago, someone posted that any team could have earned the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. The funny thing, of course, is that only one team DID earn the 5th seed and did it with room to spare. Folk just sometimes get into the “I can make this look worse than you” competition and lose all reality about the accomplishments of this team. No, we’re not competing for the ultimate prize but we’re still doing far better than most. Heck, far better than all but 3 other teams in our conference for the past 3 seasons! I know it is unreasonable to ask for a modicum of fair perspective, so I won’t even waste the key strokes.
vava74
December 14th, 2011
1:23 pm
Whopping price for international users = USD $219.90
%&$#”$&%!!!!
Astro Joe
December 14th, 2011
1:25 pm
vava, I guess I should have said outside of Atlanta but inside the USA.
Locally, all games will be braodcast on 93.7 FM now that the ASG have “disposed” of the Thrashers.
vava74
December 14th, 2011
1:34 pm
Section 303,
I respect Rosen’s opinion and consider him one of the best writers on bball and V-Rad had been on his dog house for ages.
If MIA, NYK, or whatever other franchise had signed him, his opinion would be always the same, which is something that is not guaranteed with so many other writers.
Ken Strickland
December 14th, 2011
1:36 pm
The reason I’m so doggone excited about this yrs team is since I’m not focused on promoting a personal agenda, and I’m not focused on promoting any personal hate campaign against any of our players, I can remain openminded enough to realize how much we accomplished while overcoming 2 extreme DEF liabilities and an extremely exploitable perimeter DEF.
I also know enough about basketball to understand how much of an impact having a solid perimeter DEF can have, especially with the absence of a shotblocking center to compensate. I understand how much Teague’s speed, quickness, athleticism and DEF will improve the Hawks on both ends of the court.
There was a Denver Nugget situation that represents the best example of the importance of having a solid perimeter DEF over having a big shotblocking center. Denver had Allen Iverson, a high scoring DEF liability at PG. They also had MCamby at center, who was the NBAs DEF player of the yr, as well as the NBAs leader in rebounding and blocks.
They got rid of both Iverson and Camby, traded for PG CBillups, who was an exceptional perimeter DEF player, and promoted backup C Nene, who wasn’t in Camby’s league as a rebounder or shotblocker. What was the end result of them improving their perimeter DEF by giving up Iverson’s scoring an poor DEF, and giving up MCamby’s premier shotblocking and rebounding? They immediately realize a very noticable improvement in overall team DEF.
I see the same situation with the Hawks, who will lose 2 DEF liabilities, one of which was a scoring DEF liability, much like Iverson.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 14th, 2011
1:44 pm
The Truth of the Matter is:
“It wouldn’t put us in the LT because we have a trade exception to use” -Truth-
____________
the real Truth is it would matter, because, the whole point in a SNT from Jamal’s perspective is to get a contract worth more than a teams MLE (approx 5M) oe a teams vet min (appox 2.5M) using Jamal’s Bird Rights helps him and his agent get closer to his prev salary of 10M or at least 7M.
Problem for Jamal is, the ASKG are satisfied with their core and bargain chips.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 14th, 2011
1:50 pm
Trade Exception
Isn’t the whole purpose of a trade exception is to take back a player of it’s value up to one year later and not have that salary count towards the cap? Thereby, avoiding the luxury tax, otherwise, what would be the exception?
Can some explain the benefits of the TPE if, I’m wrong?
Rick D.
December 14th, 2011
1:53 pm
It’s hard to get excited about this season. A lock out extended into regular season, A new owner.. then same old tired owners, another season with the same team minus Jamal… geeze… go figure the logic in that? The spirit group decimated the Thrashers and they are well on their way to doing the same with theHawks. This franchaise will never soar above just being good as long as these tired, do nothing, cheap owners own this franchise. We need boldness and real say with a real commitment to winning a championship… not these tired wimp for owners. They are all talk, hot air and no substance. Get out of the way and preferably out of town Spirit Group.