Atlanta Hawks: Bobcats 79, Hawks 77 (exhibition)
11:25 pm December 19, 2011, by Michael Cunningham
- The regulars were kind of besides the point in this one, so let’s go straight to the other guys.
- Donald Sloan had some shaky moments. D.J. Augustin blew by him on Sloan’s first and second defensive possession (though Josh Smith slid in to take a charge on the second play).
- “To be honest, I was nervous at the beginning when I first got in,” Sloan said. “But [Larry Drew] surrounded me with the guys that have been doing it for a while and made me calm down a little bit. Second half, I was as comfortable as I’ve been all year.”
- In the closing moments, Sloan let Kemba Walker rub him off a screen too easily before Walker made that floater and Sloan also didn’t immediately foul Walker after the long rebound. Sloan does have quick hands and he had some nice pick-and-roll action with Al Horford.
- “Sloan looked pretty good at the point guard position,” Josh Smith said. “Wanamaker looked pretty decent defensively and offensively making sure everyone was set and getting us into our plays.”
- Pape Sy alternated moments of impressive athleticism and aggressiveness with displays of shaky ball-handling and decision-making (though that was a nice baseline drive with a bounce pass to Ivan Johnson for a layup). Sy’s jump shot was pretty brutal.
- Sy still looks like a two to me, and that’s where LD played him all night. “I didn’t play him at the one but he was in situations where he was handling the ball,” Drew said. “He seems to be a little bit more comfortable playing the off-guard position. But I rotated the guys with who was handling the ball and initiating plays.”
- Brad Wanamaker isn’t very quick but he was able to contain the speedy Augustin for the most part. He again showed his knack for using his body to get in the lane and create space to get off shots. He had a couple bad turnovers in the fourth quarter. “Wanamaker, I was very impressed with him and his poise and his ‘chippiness,’” Horford said.
- I thought Keith Benson looked pretty good defensively. He seems to have pretty good help-side instincts and even defended well away from the basket. Benson had trouble holding his ground physically but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
- Vladimir Radmanovic got in early foul trouble and never really resurfaced. He made his first shot, a 3-pointer, after Joe Johnson drew attention and swung it to him.
- Tracy McGrady was just kind of out there.
- Jerry Stackhouse still hasn’t shown anything. It looks like this could be it for Stack.
- Marvin Williams showed some real grit around the basket and made his man work for shots. There were no negatives in his stat line. “I feel really good,” he said. “To be out there and be able to run and jump–I took a few falls and was able to get up–so, yeah, I feel really good. I’ve done a lot of things, training and rehabbing in the summertime, so I know in teh back of my head I can take a beating.”
- Jeff Teague is going to get into the lane all the time. It’s going to be a matter of how well he finishes and finds teammates once he’s in there. He didn’t have a turnover.
- Magnum Rolle fights for rebounds and has a nice face-up J. He looked pretty good to be playing on a sore foot and still out of shape.
- Horford didn’t really go inside but the Bobcats were giving him jump shots and he’s among the best at making them so that’s what he did. No rebounds, though, on a night where Charlotte’s bigs were fighting for them. “For me, I was just happy to be back out there playing against somebody else,” Horford said. “I think once the regular season starts we will be ready to go.”
- Josh locked up Tyrus Thomas, ran the floor well and cleaned up the defensive glass.
- The starters look pretty sharp on offense already. “We knew we weren’t going to get that many minutes so we wanted to make sire we played them as hard as possible,” Josh said. “The starting five played well together as far as sharing the basketball and getting each other open looks. We’ve been together for so long we just know and trust each other on the court.”
- “Zaza came in and did a good job, too,” Drew said. “Our starters, we are pretty set on the top eight guys. Those guys understand what I am expecting from them. In that regard, we are feeling pretty good about ourselves. But we are looking to solidify that backup point guard spot.”
- Joe Johnson treated the Bobcats like he treats Atlanta’s second unit in scrimmages.
- The starters weren’t so great on defense. Charlotte got lots of open looks on 3-pointers and I didn’t see the Hawks closing out very hard.
- The scoring stopped once the Hawks went to their second/third unit. Atlanta’s reserves were pretty good on D but hard to know what to make of it considering the competition.
- Jannero Pargo’s contract will not be guaranteed. The league guarantee date is Feb. 10.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
226 comments Add your comment
JaeEvolution
December 20th, 2011
3:06 am
What exactly makes him garbage? He isn’t a stiff big, shows good skills around the basket, good athlete, legit 7 footer and one of the best Centers in college.
Also if he is garbage to you, who do you see as fitting in the college game that we could potentially get?
tony
December 20th, 2011
3:07 am
people , don’t put your hopes in this team.
superiorblogman
December 20th, 2011
3:25 am
He is garbage to me because I don’t see anything in him that was not seen in Kosta Koufas or BJ Mullens whom both are complete busts and jokes.
37GMS 27.1Mins 14.4PTS 50.8FG% 34.9 68.0FT% 0.5STLS 6.7REBS 1.8BLOCKS 0.4
Those are Koufas numbers, very similar to Leonard and Koufas did that his first year. Leonard was garbage 1st year, 2nd year he is basically doing what Koufas did his 1st.
There is nothing in the college game as far as Center goes people.
Festus Ezeli is garbage: He is a Senior who never average more than 6 rebounds.
Andre Drummond is even over-rated. He is not dominating, even at the college level. Would not surprise me if he is Olawakandi.
Players worth drafting at this point:
PG
Marquis Teague-1st round
Dee Bost-2nd round
SG
Jeremy Lamb-1st round want happen
Jeremiah Rivers-1st round
Tim Hardaway Jr.-1st round
William Buford-2nd round
SF
Perry Jones III- 1st round want happen
Harrison Barnes-1st round want happen
Quincy Miller-1st round overrated though
Terrence Jones-1st round overrated
PF
Arnett Moultrie-1st round
Jared Sullinger-1st round, I promise he will drop Dejuain Blair #2
Mbawake- 2nd round
Herb Pope-2nd round
C
Ezeli-2nd round
Leonard-2nd round
Center is the worse position to try and fill through the draft. Any 7 ft guy can impress but they are all suspect.
JaeEvolution
December 20th, 2011
3:46 am
I don’t agree with your speculation that he will be a scrub because his stat line is similar to an NBA bum, big men are tough to scout for I agree with you on that though.
As far as your list William Buford, Trevor Mbawake, and Arnett Moultrie are all solid prospects, I doubt any of them fall to the second round though they are all skilled upperclassmen who have improved their games over the years.
Reality Check
December 20th, 2011
3:46 am
What’s funny is how many people were underestimating Chris Paul when he was supposedly headed to the Lakers. Saying the Clips and Lakers were “giving up too much” for him, or it’s wise to give up big for small in trades. Those folks are going to look pretty stupid this season.
Prison Mike
December 20th, 2011
3:48 am
Without seeing the game you can’t really comment with all due respect. Marvin rebounded well but he did his Zaza thing where he missed point blank layups thus rebounding his own shots. He missed, rebounded and scored but on another possession he gets his shot blocked by Thomas, get his blocked rebound and trips over an injured Tyrus. He manages to pass the ball to Josh under traffic and he misses wildly under the basket.
All his offensive rebounds resulted in his own lay up misses. Fixed back or not, he still has no burst taking it up and still displays that patented clumsiness. With that he will be more of a plus from last year I hope.
Reality Check
December 20th, 2011
3:48 am
What’s funny is how many people were underestimating Chris Paul when he was supposedly headed to the Lakers. Saying the Clips and Lakers were “giving up too much” for him, or it’s not wise to give up big for small in trades. Those folks are going to look pretty stupid this season.
Reality Check
December 20th, 2011
3:51 am
Harrison Barnes reminds me a lot of Big Dog Robinson. Not sure I’d do it.
superiorblogman
December 20th, 2011
3:55 am
JaeEvolution
December 20th, 2011
3:46 am
I don’t agree with your speculation that he will be a scrub because his stat line is similar to an NBA bum, big men are tough to scout for I agree with you on that though.
As far as your list William Buford, Trevor Mbawake, and Arnett Moultrie are all solid prospects, I doubt any of them fall to the second round though they are all skilled upperclassmen who have improved their games over the years.
I agree about Moultrie not falling to 2nd that’s why I listed him as a 1st round option because he is only a junior. Bost and Mbawake are both seniors if I am not mistaking and Mbawake got hurt this year also so that could hurt his stock. They normally discriminate against college seniors for some reason.
vava74
December 20th, 2011
3:59 am
Rod from College Park
December 20th, 2011
1:51 am
We won’t be able to score this year. All of the Jamal haters will see how important he was to this team. Was he worth 10 mil per, no, but is he worth 5 mil per, yes.
Rod,
I assume that you include me on the Jamal hater’s group, however, I am on the record for a long time stating 2 things:
1. He is worth 4/5 million per;
2. He is valuable IF the HC knows how to use him (limited minutes, never at PG).
Basically, my problem with Jamal is that HC deal with him as if he was a hard drug: they don’t seem to know how to handle him and end up overusing him and get hooked on the highs and losing focus on the many lows he gives you out of those excessive usage.
superiorblogman
December 20th, 2011
6:19 am
JaeEvolution:
Also, Reggie Johnson from Miami is probably the most underrated big man in the NCAA. He would be a great 2nd rd or undrafted pickup. He does stuff that a lot of 1st rd picks can’t.
Bonafide Big Man
December 20th, 2011
7:00 am
Marvin was a beast in the paint. Sloan and Wanamaker may be a close call to make the team. I like what I saw from Teague.
SG
December 20th, 2011
7:21 am
“Tracy McGrady was just kind of out there.”
Well he wont risk anything for an exhibition game nonetheless he looks hella quicker
gained his first step quickness back. Thru mid season or after 10 to 15 games you will probably see what Mac daddy is capable of doing.
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
7:28 am
Preseason games are no indication of anything (snark), but….
- Hawks don’t look any different on defense. But they’re saving it all for the regular season.
- Hawks still taking a lot of jumpers, not making a respectable percentage of them. But they’re saving it all for the regular season.
- Teague’s jumper looks a slight bit better. He’s saving it all for the regular season.
- Stack looks like he’s done. There’s nothing to save for the regular season.
- Marvin, my boy….you’re supposed to GIVE a beating, not prove that you can take one. Sigh
- I see I’m not the only retard who noticed that Al Horford with no rebounds is not the best thing in the world. But I hear he’s saving it all for the regular season. I see his jumper ain’t hurting at all, though, which is good. Now if only we can get a center who is actually interested in playing in the paint.
- I like Kirk Hinrich, but given the fact that he’s hurt, we traded JC2 away, and we let JC1 walk for nothing….that spark off the bench is GONE. Look, you can get away with one debatable transaction, but not two. Not with this team. I was okay with Jamal going, as long as we got something useable in return. But no, we couldn’t even do that. I forsee 40+ mpg for Joe Johnson, and that is definitely not good, even in a shortened season. Why? Because we gotta score. And sorry, but to help make up for it, we’d need Marvin to do more than the 15 ppg some are saying he should put up (I have my doubts about that, even), plus Teague would need to do something close to what he gave us against Chicago in the playoffs last season. Any guarantees? What happens when Teague can’t get to the basket as much as he’d like?
- T-Mac could be just what we need as a 2/3. Or, he could be “past it”, and/or become disillusioned with this team if they exhibit chemistry problems? Who knows. I hope we get the ‘08-’09 McGrady. We need that one. Otherwise, we’re looking at depth problems at the 1, 2, 3….
- Somebody put Keith Benson on the old Jason Collins plan, then stop him about halfway through it. Should work. Let’s not waste this guy the way we did Solomon Jones.
terrell
December 20th, 2011
7:30 am
Get well Kirk. You look like a world beater compared to Sloan and Wannabe.
joBjo
December 20th, 2011
7:38 am
rookie lit up Teague.
we need a guard.
terrell
December 20th, 2011
7:57 am
LD is still LD(uncle Larry), Marvin is still Marvin,(no comment), Josh is still Josh(shootin jumpers), Al is still Al(scared too bang), and Joe is still Joe(good, but not great). I see the SAME team as last year. Maybe a little better defensively, with Teague/TMac/Kirk gettin all of Jamal’s min, but the “core” is maxed imho. Cant wait to see how Teague plays this year. Thats basically all Im looking forward to.. I’ve seen about enough of the other guys. I already know everything I need to know about them. Playoffs? Yes. Making noise in Playoffs? No. With that said, I’ll still be rooting for em.
J from the A
December 20th, 2011
8:00 am
Does anyone here actually think that any of the camp invites are going to be able to help the Hawks? I just don’t see it.
On another note: Pargo is awful. But I’ll try to remain optimistic and hope that he can fill in the gap until Kirk comes back.
terrell
December 20th, 2011
8:22 am
Clippers pg depth to start the season
CP3
Billups
Eric Bledsoe
Hawks pg depth to start the season
Teague
Wannabe
Sloan
Tmac?
Now that’s the ASG for you. Thought it was the Clips who were supposed to be the laughing stock??
STRETCH
December 20th, 2011
8:28 am
J from the A,
I dont see it either. Someone said earlier, Sund let JC2 go when he didnt have to while knowing that they were not going to be able to keep JC1 this season.
Its really hard to tell because of the shortened pre-season. A few things i saw last night:
They needed to get bigger and thats something management has refused to do over the years and will once again prevent them from taking a step foward in the East.
JJ is going to have to play a lot of minutes and score. They gave him Superstar money, he’s good but not great.
Josh Smith? Well, its just a matter of time before his train goes off the track. I still think he needs to mature, but i dont see it happening. The Hawks should have moved him for a legit center already, but Sund “likes the core.”
Stackhouse is well done!
Zaza still has the worse hands i have ever seen!
This team will win 37 games at the most.
Trojan
December 20th, 2011
8:33 am
It is an absolute joke that an NBA team is going into a season with a PG who has started only a handful of games who is backed up by the pg’s in our camp. All fans should feel insulted at that poor product on the court. There is not even an attempt at getting a vet at the minimum.
The Hawks are the worst managed team in professional sports. And that is not even debatable.
Geemack
December 20th, 2011
8:42 am
CP3’s words at an introductory press conference for the Clippers:
“I’m excited to bring a championship here to L.A. in a Clippers uniform,” Paul said. “Knowing that they’ve never won a championship here, I wanted to be a part of something like that.”
Read more: http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/319974-cp3-already-talking-title#ixzz1h58luCIm
and we passed on him to get Marvin Williams.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
8:48 am
So LD talks about Sy being his backup PG, but then he plays him at the 2. IF he is going to be your backup PG, this is the time to get him reps playing the point.
As for Pargo, I don’t know good (or bad) he really is, but I assume he is better than Sloan and/or Wannamaker.
hawks_4_life
December 20th, 2011
8:56 am
http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba/register/joinprivateleague_league_select?jsubmit=1&league_id=113455&password=cheer4hawks&.scrumb=
WE NEED MORE FELLOW BLOGGERS TO JOIN THE LEAGUE
slydog
December 20th, 2011
8:57 am
#1 The Hawks deserves no one’s support until ASG sells this team.
#2 No matter what anyone says, Billy Knight made one of the dumbest choices in sports history, especially in basketball. This the #1 reason why the Hawks, just like Portland, will be an also-ran for another decade or so. We already know for a fact this team will not win anything before 2005, almost a decade after the 2005 draft.
#3 The Hawks did not have one player as talented as Kemba Walker was when he was on the floor. And he is only 5′11, maybe 190 lbs.
#4 They suck and will continue to suck until Joe Johnson and that bad contract either runs out or he is run out of town.
slydog
December 20th, 2011
9:00 am
#5 The best thing for this team is to suck and suck bad. Rebuild this team. Or trade whatever you have left for Dwight Howard NOW!!!
Mike is Back
December 20th, 2011
9:08 am
MC, after my passionate plea for Stack…I agree with you on Stack…after what I seen last night…if he made the roster…it would have to be as an assistance or mentor or sumin…you can see the end of his career is upon him.
Benson is definitely a shot blocker…also despite his lack of weight…dude was down in the paint battle…on a couple of possessions…I would love to have seen Josh feed Benson the ball in the post…just to see what he can do…dude is full of promise.
First time I got to see Rolle…I didn’t see enough to make any observations…But I think both Benson and Rolle are keepers…we should invest some time to develop these guys…no sense in signing any more project young Bigs…absent the signing of a VET BIG…I think Rolle and Benson is the way to go.
With the investment the team has in Sy…I say give Sy another year of DLeague play before we pulled the trigger.
Looking at Walker last night…I think Cleveland GM may have finally out done BK on the draft…They had a chance to Draft DWilliams and KWalker…man they are going to be sick.
Anyway, I never put too much stock in pre-season games…they had my BIRDS left for dead…after the preseason.
As far as backup point…I think Wannemaker was the most impressive…although his handle looked shaky in the fourth quarter…PG is such a pivotal position…we might have to bring in a Vet to backup Teague.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PMC
December 20th, 2011
9:09 am
No, there won’t be ANY drop off with TMAC vs Crawford….
wooo. 2nd round exit!
Ken Strickland
December 20th, 2011
9:18 am
I loved the ball movement from out starters at the beginning of the gm. I also loved the way our parimeter DEF, and DEF overall, kept them out of the lane, especially considering how quick and explosive their PGs were. For the most part, our DEF turned them into jumpshooters, although they were certainly making their share in the beginning. I wouldn’t be too hasty in judging Sloan and Wanamaker at this point.
Benson seems to be athletic, aggressive, a very effecient shotblocker with a decent outside shot. However, his lack of size and strength will definitely be a liability for him at C. However, he might be more effective and productive at PF, until he gains the necessary strength and size needed to be an effective C. If this had been a regular season gm, anyone with a clue, or without a personal agenda, knows Horford would have rebounded effectively.
It’s amazing how some of you HORFORD HATERS can ignore the fact that he’s been the teams top rebounder since his arrival, yet you are quick to put him down for not getting a rebound during a doggone exhibition gm. Oh well, STUPID IS S STUPID DOES! Even though Radmanovic got into foul trouble, he certainly did hustle and put forth a lot of effort towards playing DEF. I agree with NAJEH, TMac seems to be coasting. Since his contract is guaranteed, he knows he’ll be on the final 12 man roster.
MRolle has been impressive, considering he’s playing with pain and discomfort from a sore foot. I don’t see Stackhouse make the team, at least not the 12 man roster. For someone that’s 6′7″ and over 210lbs, Pape Sy is lighning quick and athletic. He appears to be a bigger, taller, quicker, faster, and more versatile and talented version of former Hawk Mario West. His DEF and versatility alone should win him a spot of the final 12 man roster.
MWilliams seems like a new person physically. If anyone has ever had any kind of back problems, you know how difficult it is to do anything. When I was young, I used to drink those 16oz RC colas instead of water. Well, one day after winning a pickup gm, I laid down on the ground while the next group of suckers got their team together. When they were ready, I wasn’t, because my back locked up and I couldn’t get up.
I was walking around just like Marvin until that carbonated acid released its hold on my back. It happened to me a 2nd time, and that’s when I realized it was being caused by the heavy intake of RCs. Back then RCs were so heavily carbonated, they we’realmost as effective as Alka Seltzer for relieving gas, or causing it. Although Teague is having some trouble finishing once he gets into the lane, which he does at will, he’ll create a lot of put back opportunities for our frontline players.
J from the A
December 20th, 2011
9:20 am
O’Brien
December 20th, 2011
8:48 am
“As for Pargo, I don’t know good (or bad) he really is, but I assume he is better than Sloan and/or Wannamaker.”
THE TRUTH. As bad as Pargo is, he HAS to be better than Sloan and Wannamaker.
Here is to hoping that Kirk has a speedy recovery, that he actually fully recovers, and remains healthy.
Peter
December 20th, 2011
9:22 am
Go JJ .. he is really a great baller. HA HA HA !
J from the A
December 20th, 2011
9:22 am
And on a positive note: Josh looks quicker, and Marvin, well, he doesn’t look like a duck anymore.
In all seriousness, I would not be surprised if Marvin has a very solid season this year. He has the opportunity to really help out on the boards, be a solid defender, and maybe even rack up a pretty decent PPG.
tyger
December 20th, 2011
9:29 am
- Pargo is a decent signing for a 3rd PG…
- Sloan appears to have the most upside…
- Stack has to be a knock down shooter…oh, well…
- Marvin looked strong, fundamentally sound…glue guy…
- Benson blocking shots early very good sign…room to grow…
- Radi-dadi can shoot, thats his skill, not to worry…
- Rolle pleasant surprise, looks the part…let him heal, think we stole one finally…
- Teague’s quick hands on D, that’s better, still diving thru 2 hole w eyes closed…
- Hope Tmac saving it for game time, not wishing for greener pastures already…
Peter
December 20th, 2011
9:30 am
Kemba Walker 19 minutes 18 points.. JJ 21 minutes 6 points……. what else do we need to know ?
The Hawks will continue to slide backwards……No way will I support the Atlanta Spirit !
hawks_4_life
December 20th, 2011
9:37 am
People are so rilled up over a preseason game lol
Astro Joe
December 20th, 2011
10:04 am
I haven’t watched the game yet but the analysis by MC and the fans is fairly consistent with the scrimmage from Friday. It sounds like the starters (if they had played the entire game) would have won big. That’s the thing about his compacted season, it will be foolish to believe that the starters will be able to play as many minutes/game as in a normal season. Depth is more important than ever. Zaza, Vlad, TMac and eventually Hinrich will need to be ready to play 15-18 minutes of really productive ball every game. The starters shouldn’t play more than 35 minutes on most nights (IMO).
Trojan
December 20th, 2011
10:05 am
Go get a vet PG and get a vet big man. If the ASG does these MINIMUM signing, the Hawks could be a very deep and talented team.
terrell
December 20th, 2011
10:08 am
Oh I forgot. Clippers also have Randy Foye and Mo Williams at pg.
Astro Joe
December 20th, 2011
10:10 am
As hawks_4_life mentioned in the wee hours of the morning, the annual AJC Hawks Bloggers Fantasy Basketball League is looking for more members. Feel free to check it out, it is a Yahoo league and we have had it for 2-3 years with participation from many of the “old heads” from the blog. With the season starting Sunday (YEA!!), we will have our live draft tomorrow evening. So get on board and let’s see if you all are as good as Rick Sund in forming a championship team. (Pape Sy will surely be one of my PGs in the draft tomorrow
).
In order to join the league, follow the link below or go to game front page, click the “Sign Up Now” or “Get Another Team” button and follow the links to “Join a Custom League”. When prompted, enter the League ID# and password below.
League ID#: 113455
Password: cheer4hawks
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
10:22 am
Kemba Walker 19 minutes 18 points.. JJ 21 minutes 6 points……. .
To me, this has always been JJ’s biggest weakness, and what separates him from guys like Paul Pierce. His inability to draw fouls and get to the line. Kemba was 9-11 on FT.
JJ will have nights when his shooting is off, and when that happens, we need him to get to the line.
swatguy
December 20th, 2011
10:31 am
MC what about Ivan?
moboman
December 20th, 2011
10:49 am
Yeah,
Clippers cant keep 5 pgs. Bet the Hawks are looking to harvest one of those 5 PGs from the clips.
BigTimeTECHFan
December 20th, 2011
10:51 am
Starting lineup
PG Teague
SG Johnson
C Benson
PF Hortford
SF Smith
Benson can play with this lineup, will impact Defense as he grows and get confortable, by mid season he would be facture but he need playing time.
Bench is very nice
Hinrich
T Mac
Willaims
Zaza
Collins
Key is how good a coach L Drew is, if he’s good coach that team could win the east. I’m giving Drew a pass on first year, he did ok for 1st year coach, but now it time to make a difference
Another GM
December 20th, 2011
10:51 am
If you are ok with the Hawks being a pretty good regular season team then your ok, but if think the Hawks are a contender you are going to have a bad year. Just the facts folks!
Another GM
December 20th, 2011
10:53 am
Trojan – forget about it……the Hawks are not going to go out and get anyone over a vet minimum contract, they have already told us that. What we have is what we have, and they have basically said like it or lump it!
Rev in Tampa
December 20th, 2011
11:02 am
“I took a few falls and was able to get up–so, yeah, I feel really good.” – Marvin Williams
Glad to see Marvin is in mid-season form…
Rod from College Park
December 20th, 2011
11:02 am
Ken Strickland,
“DOC-Say it aint so. Did I actually lose you at the end? Well, allow me to explain. I was saying that I believed Wannamaker was a better PG than Jamal, but Jamal is definitely the better OFF players/scorer, while Wannamaker is definitely better defensively, He’s capable of beating his man off the dribble without taking over the OFF, pounding the ball while using a series of tricky dribbles to get past his man, and is a better facilitator.
If DEF, consistency, and PG skills are what you want, Wannamaker is the better choice, but if scoring and excitement is what you need, Jamal is the better choice. We’ve managed to do well in the past with inconsistency, OFF limitations, and absoluterly NO DEF from the PG position. If DEF win championships, it’s about time we embraced that concept and see what we can do with those issues resolved.”
To actaully compare Buttermaker and Jamal in the same sentence might well be the most absurd post of the year. You are getting farther and farther away from reality.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
11:11 am
Man when the Hawks meet the Clippers later this season. It will be a slaughter house to say the least..
Gearon you have to defend your way of thinking as to why the casual fan wont spend his hard earned money to see your product or waste their time..Just stay tuned..
Clippers by 40………………lol
PEDRO EL GITANO
December 20th, 2011
11:12 am
No voy a juzgar por lo hecho en primer partido de pretemporada,pero lo que vi ayer no me gusto.Con la excepcion de la velocidad de Teague,el atleticismo de Pape Sy y la entraga de Ivan Johnson quede horrorizado principalmente por 2 razones:1.La falta de cerebro en la posicion de base y 2.(la mas importante):Rolle y Benson no son cuerpos para la nba.No se quien va a coger rebotes desde el banquillo…en fin,respecto a T-Mac y Stackhouse no me pronunciare aun por respeto,pero estare atento al proximo partido.happy hannukah!!!!
Ken Strickland
December 20th, 2011
11:14 am
PETER-How much basketball do you understand? Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t KWalker a PG, and isn’t JJ a SG” . And considering we didn’t play last yrs switching DEF, they very likely didn’t play each other. Now GHenderson is the Bobcats starting SG, and he and JJ are the one’s who most likely played each other. Henderson scored 8pts in 28mins. to JJ’s 6pts in 21mins. Anyway, anyone that would judge the outcome of a team’s entire season, based on the 1st of 2 exhibition gms, isn’t likely to support something he can’t comprehend anyway.
It was understood, and also made public, that this EXHIBITION GM would be used to evaluate our newly acquired guards and Bigs. Therefore, JJ and our other starters took a back seat to those players to allow them an opportunity to prove what they can do. God, some of you are so lacking in comprehensive ability, especially when it comes to understanding certain things, and/or putting things together.
NAJEH DAVENPOOP-It was really refreshing to see you admit to being wrong about your predictions last yr. Hopefully, it well incourage certain others to follow suit. There are a few opinionated loudmouths who refuse to admit that their guesses, opinions, and projections are anything but facts, or that anything they say, or have ever said, could possibly be a mistake. Rather than admit to being wrong, mistaken, or in error, they would rather make an absolute ass of themselves trying to defend their BS, which is what usually happens.
I applaud any person who’s mature and self confident enough to admit to being wrong or making a mistake, and I have nothing but respect for anyone who does. How can anyone gain access to the truth/facts, when they refuse to relinquish their self serving lies? I don’t know whether the Hawks will make it to or past the 2nd rd this yr, and neither does anyone else. There are simply too many unforeseen factors at play.
An injury to LeBron, DWade, Camelo, Dwight, DRose etc, could put the Hawks in the NBA finals. By the same token, an injury to JJ, Josh, Horford, or Teague, could keep us out of the playoffs. Unless one of our starters suffers an injury in tomorrows gm, this will be the 1st time in 3yrs that we’ll start the season with 5 healthy starters.