Atlanta Hawks: Bobcats 79, Hawks 77 (exhibition)
- 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
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226 comments Add your comment
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
11:15 am
The Lakers are an ELITE TEAM. And were destroyed by the CLIPPERS @ HOME!!!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Clippers by 50!!!!!!!!!!!
Melvin
December 20th, 2011
11:16 am
Get Wannamaker,Sloan, Ivan Johnson and sorry to say Stackhouse outta here. Hopefully Pargo can contribute valuable mins until Hinrich is healthy. Sign Bogans or DeShawn Stevenson as a backup 2/3 guy.
Would have been nice to have Jordan Crawford or our #19 draft pick on the team. This team went from having the SG (Joe,Jamal,Jordan) being the strength of the team to not having an adequte backup SG for Joe. I like TMac better at the SF so he want have to chase the smaller guys around.
Melvin
December 20th, 2011
11:24 am
Slimjr,
The Clippers did look good last night but that was only a preseason game. I wouldn’t make regular season perdictions from one pre-season game. Howevr, the clips are exciting but I notice they have no backup bigs. If Jordan or Griffin gets injuried, they are screwed. Better yet, they really don’t have a good backup to rotate in to give those guys a rest. With this tight season schedule, those guys legs may be shoot playing 4 or 5 games in a week.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
11:28 am
Melvin,
As AJ mentioned, the big concern for JJ will be his minutes played. LD will need to keep it at 35 or so, because with 66 games in a compressed schedule, it will be easy for JJ to wear down at the end of the season going into the playoffs. And if that happens, it wil be difficult for us to advance (imo).
One concern for the team, which Rod mentioned (and I agree with) is scoring (especially in the playoffs).
Some of my early projections for the season.
JJ – 20 pts, Al- 16 pts, Josh – 18 pts, Marvin – 14 pts, Teague – 12 pts.
That’s 80 ppg right there from your starters. Can we get a consistent 15 – 20 points from TMac and ZaZa?
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
11:30 am
Its plain and simple if our guards cannot score the ball in the 3rd and 4th quarters,we lose…
Keep working Marvin! Nothing new to write home about our starters at the #4 and#5.
Like Benson big time in the paint..Our new designated Shot Blocker!
Gearon its great that your team does not play out in the Western Conference…enough said..
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
11:39 am
For the Hawks to have a chance at the ECF, and most of this is obvious:
LD must be a very good Coach
Very limited injuries
TMac, Sy, Pargo must all play Ok or better. Same with VladRad
Teague needs to play within himself, and be the ok PG he is in the NBA.
ZaZa and Collins need to perform.
Kito and Rolle probably need to be mild surprises.
And I’ll say it again – Kudos to Pendegraft, Sunds talent scout – the guy has a philosophy of 1 NBA talent with marginal draft picks – he got us JC2 – NBA talent scoring; Sy – NBA talent getting to the hoop and D; Benson – NBA talent is shot blocking.
Ken Strickland
December 20th, 2011
11:40 am
ROD FROM CP-And you seem to have reached the point where you can no longer comprehend the difference between a Krispy Kreme donut and a rattlesnake. You are one of the true masters of mistatements and misrepresentations. If I needed a starting PG who plays solid DEF, can facilitate, run an OFF without dominating it, and penetrate without the need for clearouts and pounding the ball, I’d take Wanamaker over Jamal. If I needed a scorer off the bench, I’d take Jamal hands down. Unlike you, and certain others, I won’t buy the sizzle rather than the steak.
As valuable and exciting as Jamal and his OFF production was, his nonexistent DEF caused a lot of pts in the paint, as well as a lot of unnecessary fouls along our frontline. For those who insist on judging our players, team, and the seasons outcome, based on 1 scrimmage and 1 preseason gm, it’s obvious you’re just looking for excuses rather than explanations. That’s why you can’t seem to see the forest for the trees, and just can’t seem to figure out what in the devil is going on.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
11:42 am
Pendegraft also bird dogged Rolle for us – cheap, athletic big – and Ivan Johnson, Wanamaker, Alexander, Malcolm Thomas etc – McCamey in that group as well. The guy is doing an excellent job, and that’s why he’s in the running whenever a GM vacancy comes up like Denver and Portland.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
11:44 am
Call it what you want Melvin. I have never seen the Lakers get completely dismantled like that!
It was thoroughly impressive…
If Joe Johnson goes down injured the Hawks don’t even make the playoffs!
If the Lakers lose Kobe, the Lakers are done too. So what are you talking about?
IF?
I’ll take the Clippers squad over the Hawks squad any and everyday of the year..
Ken Strickland
December 20th, 2011
11:51 am
I don’t know how much of an impovement RHamilton is for the Bulls. He’s not any better the Bogans defensively, if as good. With Dang, Boozer, and Rose, he’ll only be their 4th scoring option. And they’re definitely not going to restructure their OFF to create scoring opportunities for him, like they did in Detroit, especially for a #4 scoring option.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
11:54 am
About LD – 1 reason i have such a hard time figuring out what this team will do, is because I’ve never seen a Coach on any level have so little control over his team.
I’ve seen Coach’s not have control over say a LeBron, or a Shaq, but everybody kind of knew. But LD doesn’t have control over Smoove, JJ, or Al. Now I think JJ and Al are pretty low key and coachable really. Last season, he didn’t have control of Jamal or Bibby either. And that causes friction on a team.
The reason he sat Teague and Jordan Crawford? Because he could
The reason he was trading ZaZa? Because he could. Sund was only doing what Gearon’s guy wanted in that trade, which fortunately didn’t occur.
The reason he got into a fight with great locker room guy Josh Powell? Because he could.
So I have no idea how to read this team, when the Coach has control over so little of it. We could be the 30 and 40 point blowout loss team, headed towards a high lottery pick. Or we could be a legit Top 5 seed, headed for the second round of the playoffs again. I really don’t know.
Starts with the Coach. And yes, Adelman would have been good for this team. As would Casey, Avery Johnson, and maybe Mark Jackson.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
11:56 am
I actually liked the Clippers better before the trade. Could you imagine Jordan and Kaman at C, Aminu backing up Caron, and Gordon and Billups at the 2?
But maybe Chris Paul will be worth it, and worth losing that 1st pick in 2012 also. IDK
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
11:59 am
KenS – The Bulls have a great D with Coach TT. They needed another scorer that could create his own shot, which Kyle Korver could not. Rip will give them some of that. And Championship experience also. But I’m not sure he’s a difference maker, but a slight improvement in what they need.
Yep, and I’ll say it again – give me Bogans on this team all day long. He could help the Hawks.
Called the Pargo signing, or at least suggested the possibility. I get about 1 in 10 right.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
12:00 pm
CP3 is going to remind everyone like the exhibition he put on last night how great he really is!!
The way he attacks the basket off the dribble against those 7 footers was surreal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
amnestygearon
December 20th, 2011
12:01 pm
Big Ray – “- Somebody put Keith Benson on the old Jason Collins plan, then stop him about halfway through it.”
Great stuff!
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
12:03 pm
Miami and Chicago look like the Head of the Eastern Conference class. And Philly and the Pacers are deep. The Knicks will be better, but I’m still not sold on them yet. Baron Davis at PG? He’s still pretty good. They may be a top 4 or 5 seed also. Had them lower than that until they signed Baron.
I was sure hoping the Hawks could have gotter Toney Douglas in a S and T with the Knicks – He’d be looking good in a Hawks uni about now.
UGA
December 20th, 2011
12:04 pm
Bogan, Redd, Willie Green……………pick and sign one…………….
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
12:23 pm
And congrats to Chris Bosh for doing what Al should have done the past couple of years – adding 10-15 lbs of muscle in the offseason to help his team towards a championship.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
12:37 pm
Hey SteveW don’t sleep on All NBA, he did add a turn around fade away jumpshot to his arsenal..Didn’t see it last night though?
Ken Strickland
December 20th, 2011
12:37 pm
SLIMJR-JJ has gone down twice and we made the playoffs both times. We’ve also lost Josh, as well as Horford, and made the playoffs both times. While losing either of them would make it considerably more difficult, it wouldn’t automatically eliminate our chances. It would depend on when either of them went down, and for how long. There’s also the injury factor on other teams as well, which is too often overlooked.
A lot of fans keep making an issue of the condensed schedule and how it will affect us. But what about how it will affect a team like the Clippers? CP3 has bad knees, and a lot of mileage on them. CBillups has a lot of mileage as well, and is past his prime, although still productive. BGriffin missed his entire rookie season due to a serious season ending injury.
They appear to be a guard dominated team, and like MELVIN indicated, they are very thin in backup bodies and talent at PF and C. Is there anyone who thinks they won’t be adversely affected by their lack of frontcourt depth, as well as the condensed schedule? Remember, ALL THAT GLITTERS AINT GOLD!
Do any of you HONESTLY feel the centers for the Lakers, Bucks, Pacers, Celtics, 76ers, and Mavericks will be able to handle this brutal schedule better than Horford? Do any of you think Boozer will be able to handle it better than JSmith? Do you think PG DRose will be able to carry the Bulls OFF the way he did last yr while playing this yrs schedule? Do you think this schedule won’t take a toll on DWade, considering how he plays and the number of injuries he usually has to play through in a normal season? We’re not the only team that has to play this schedule people.
It could, and in some cases it definitely will, end up taking a much bigger toll on other teams than it will on ours, and that could work in our favor.
vava74
December 20th, 2011
12:45 pm
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-is-model-for-american-success-jason-whitlock-121911
CrαZy
December 20th, 2011
12:49 pm
I don’t know about all you but the signing of Jannero Pargo has got me all jacked up I can’t wait till the season starts!!! The Highlight factory is gonna be on fire this year!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
December 20th, 2011
12:50 pm
AMNESTYGEARON-You have to be careful how you deal with an undersized Big like Benson, our you could end up taking away his quickness, athleticism, shotblocking, and a number of the things he does best. He needs to work more on getting stronger rather than bigger. I think his best chance of becoming an impact player will be at PF rather than C, although he could be used against none offensive and less physical centers like TChandler or Noah.
CrαZy
December 20th, 2011
12:50 pm
↑↑ sarcasm ↑↑
Mike is Back
December 20th, 2011
12:52 pm
It’s no do doubt…THE CLIPPERS are a much more potent team…heck, I was going to cheer for them anyway CUZ…they drafted…Travis Lester…he went to school with my daughter…he is a good kid.
However, no team ever won a championship in the preseason. IT’S A WAR OF ATTRITION…we will see how the Clips hold up…once the playoff roll around…very exciting team though.
AJ, I agree…as for as the Hawks…if LD don’t mange the starters minutes efficiently…it will be very DIFFICULT come playoff time.
Sund, and ASG could help out LD by bring in a Vet PG…to serve in that capacity. It’s one of those positions where you have to have a capable backup.
I heard Pargo name mention several times…I think he is more than capable of filling in until Kirk gets back.
I’m looking forward to seeing some more of Rolle and Benson…those two young cats has peak my interest.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Section 303
December 20th, 2011
12:53 pm
I like Wannamaker over Sloan, but would not be willing to bet on that at the moment. That’s one the downsides to the shortened camp. Guys like Sloan and Wannamaker only have a short window to show what they can do.
I still think Benson can help the team. I’ve said that since he was picked. I watched him play in person twice against Michigan State. Benson can play. He needs to get stronger, but he can play.
Starters looked good.
I agree with Najeah on T-Mac. I simply do not think he gives two sh#ts about preseason games. I’ll assume he will be better when the ball is tipped for real.
vava74
December 20th, 2011
12:53 pm
If anything, Jannero’s signing will be huge contribution towards the Hawks’ wives roster.
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
12:54 pm
SteveW ,
Right on about Larry Drew. No control. Thing is, he doesn’t seem to have a good handle on his own self, if you ask me. Refusing to play JC2 at the point, then insisting that Pape Sy is a pg (what?) and then playing him mostly at the SG position.
Drew is inconsistent, and guess what? So is the team. Yet they can win 45 games (in an 82 game season) and make the playoffs. I don’t know how many they’ll win in a 66 game season, but if it’s 45, then it’s a damn good regular season.
By the way, I was rooting hard for Dwayne Casey when the HC position was up for grabs. I heard (can’t tell ya where) that Sund was, too. But Gearon listened to his precious core (something you should never do when you have a batch of chemistry-challenged guys) and yielded to their demands for Uncle Larry.
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
12:57 pm
Ken Strickland ,
True. The idea with getting Benson stronger will assume some weight gain because muscle weighs more than fat. But because it will be useable weight (muscle), it will be okay. If the kid gets stronger and ends up adding 10-15 pounds, it’ll be fine. It’s when that weight gain becomes 20 pounds or more that I think some of the problems can get started. 20 pounds is a significant chunk of weight, especially in proportion to a body that weighs between 200 and 225 pounds.
We need to get him stronger like Marcus Camby, who was never a heavyweight, but was a prolific rebounder and shot-blocker.
mountain_jim
December 20th, 2011
1:04 pm
I watched alot of the game, and thought our rebounding looked terrible. I agree that size and rebounding will be one achilles heal. Lack of quality depth at PG until Kurt gets back the other.
darrell starks
December 20th, 2011
1:04 pm
Last year i said the Hawks would finish 7seed, i was wrong.
Here is my prediction this year.
1. BULLS
2. HEAT
3. PACERS
4. KNICKS
5. CELTICS
6. HAWKS
7. MAGICS
8. SIXERS
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
1:14 pm
Steve W,
When Teague was drafted, Toney Douglas was still available, and he was coming off a defensive POY in the ACC.
Knowing what you do now, who would you rather have if you had a choice?
Rod from College Park
December 20th, 2011
1:21 pm
“ROD FROM CP-And you seem to have reached the point where you can no longer comprehend the difference between a Krispy Kreme donut and a rattlesnake. You are one of the true masters of mistatements and misrepresentations. If I needed a starting PG who plays solid DEF, can facilitate, run an OFF without dominating it, and penetrate without the need for clearouts and pounding the ball, I’d take Wanamaker over Jamal. If I needed a scorer off the bench, I’d take Jamal hands down. Unlike you, and certain others, I won’t buy the sizzle rather than the steak.”
It really hard to misrepresent someone when you quote them. Again, to compare Wannamaker and Jamal Crawford in any way is absurd. Your post are actually quite comical these days.
Peter
December 20th, 2011
1:24 pm
Hey Ken Strickland.. I watch and understand basket ball plenty….
How many games will Paul Pierce score 6 points in 21 minutes……… how about Kobe Bryant, or Duane Wade ? Gee they all get about the same money, and are paid to do the same thing.
Tell me he is saving himself for the season, or some malarkey like that. The guy is way over rated, over paid, and really what is wrong with the entire organization.
He is NOT a winner and in the end neither will the Hawks be.
Please Kemba Walker has way more heart, and I would bet will have a better scoring average come the end of the season then lazy JJ.
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
1:28 pm
I just about don’t see the point of bickering about Wannamaker vs. Sloan. There’s a reason why Pargo is being brought in.
1) He’s an NBA vet, journeyman who can shoot some.
2) Sloan and Wannamaker are not NBA ready. And if you think either is going to “develop” while on this roster and be serviceable backups in real games, you’re crazy. Unless of course you thought Teague’s “developement” went smoothly…
tony
December 20th, 2011
1:29 pm
HAWKS SIGN JANNERO PARGO
ATLANTA, GA (December 20, 2011) – The Atlanta Hawks today signed guard Jannero Pargo, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, terms were not disclosed.
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
1:32 pm
Another issue is floor spacing. When Radmanovich and Horford are on the floor, who takes the jumper? Neither guy is going to be looking to score inside. If you don’t have Josh Smith on the floor with them and flashing to the basket or trying to post up, then everything will be coming from the perimeter.
Your only other low post option becomes Zaza Pachulia, and bless his soul, but he’s not what I’d call a guaranteed thing when it comes to scoring on the block.
Hawks have plenty of bigs, but no real pivot men. Nobody to score on the block in real NBA games. This could be very problematic. It’s the reason why the Raptors couldn’t win with Bosh and Bargnani. Both guys were pretty much perimeter oriented. It’s all well and good if you have a guy to do some work down low.
hawks_4_life
December 20th, 2011
1:32 pm
Four spots open in the AJC Bloggers fantasy basketball league. Prove you are a better GM/Owner than the ones we have lol.
http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba/register/joinprivateleague_league_select?jsubmit=1&league_id=113455&password=cheer4hawks&.scrumb=
Ra'mon
December 20th, 2011
1:32 pm
How are people complaining about Joe’s point total, Josh’s misses (though he still shot better 40% for the night), and the same people aren’t saying a single thing about Al playing 16 minutes and not having a SINGLE rebound.
By the way, to me the best performance I saw last night on the Hawks, was Ivan Johnson! I really hope he makes the team as the 12th guy. I’d rather have Johnson over Stack Wanamaker, and Benson. This guy seems like the DuJuan Blair type of player who will do anything for a loose ball! He seems like the type not afraid to commit a hard foul. And I believe he and Zaza would work good together on the second unit with being physical, and having a presence. The guy had 7 rebounds in 19 minutes. That says enough, preseason or not!
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
1:34 pm
Poor Chuck Hayes. I hope its nothing serious. And if you’re the Kings, dont you have to give Dalembert a call-back now?
The Sacramento Kings voided Chuck Hayes’ $21.3 million, four-year contract Monday, saying the forward-center failed a team physical that forced his release.
The team announced last week that a heart exam on the new Kings big man showed an abnormality that would require further testing..
I will say that I hope Horford develops some of Haye’s mentality though, because Chuck is 6′6″, and is not afraid to bang in the paint, and has not said anything (to my knowledge) about playing PF.
Ra'mon
December 20th, 2011
1:36 pm
Big Ray, your comments is why I lobby behind the idea of the Hawks offering Al Horford and Marvin for Pau Gasol. Gasol is probably the best offensive player on the block in the league (even better than Dirk on the block). Gasol has started over 100 games at center in the last two seasons with Bynums injuries. A lineup of Teague, Joe, Josh, Vlad, and Gasol would be pretty well balanced on the offensive end. And Teague, Kirk, Joe, Josh, Gasol on the defensive end.
Ra'mon
December 20th, 2011
1:38 pm
O’Brien, if I’m the Hawks, I’m on the phone with Hayes’ agent seeing if he would sign for a 2 year $2 million deal with a player option for the 2nd year.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
1:38 pm
Ra’mon,
You know how it is. Some people have their favorites to pick on, no matter what anyone else does.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
1:43 pm
From si.com; NBA preseason rankings. Hawks are 12th.
Upsetting Orlando in the first round of the playoffs last season could be a significant psychological marker for the Hawks, who otherwise seem unenviably frozen into being a very good — but a long way from great — team.
They have $58 million on the books for five players this season — Joe Johnson ($18 million), Josh Smith ($12.5M), Al Horford ($12M), Kirk Hinrich ($8.1M) and Marvin Williams ($8.05M) — but only Williams’ deal and the top third of Johnson’s salary seem like wasted money or bad value.
The rest of the roster is necessarily threadbare, although Jason Collins is a tremendous defender against Dwight Howard and a few other big men, and Tracy McGrady, playing for the veteran’s minimum, should ease the loss of Jamal Crawford. Atlanta’s hopes of getting to the next level rest with the scant chance that third-year guard Jeff Teague blossoms into a star..
Just reading the preview sounds like one of the bloggers on here wrote it, because there wasn’t anything new. They all see what we see.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
1:45 pm
OB – I still take Teague – I think LD would have waived Douglas by now. He’s that bad with PG’s for whatever reason.
Slimjr/KenS – I’m still an Al fan, I just have to be realistic – we need that guy in the low block some and crashing the boards. I know he’s undersized. So was Dwight when he came into the League. But some hard work changed that.
Ra'mon
December 20th, 2011
1:47 pm
Al is becoming a 6′10 RIP HAMILTON right before our eyes. (though he did have a really nice block on Thomas last night, lol).
Najeh Davenpoop
December 20th, 2011
1:57 pm
Darrell Starks got balls picking the Pacers to finish 3rd, but it’s not too far-fetched. They could be this year’s Grizzlies.
I think this is the year the Celtics fall out of the league’s elite though.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
2:03 pm
There is a coaching problem when your #5 is shooting 22 foot long 2’s and of course missing!@#$%^&
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
2:04 pm
Ramon ,
I still really like Al as a player, and so I voiced (yesterday) my disappointment in his showing, albeit in a preseason game. Maybe it was my memory of similar (but not exact) results in some regular season games last year that sparked my vitriolic response.
But I was accosted by a Byzantine who wished to revisit the battle of Carthage and I decline to continue after a brief affray, considering his total lack of knowledge about my previous 2+ years of adamant defending and championing of our current starting center.
Fact is, we’re a bad rebounding team and our best big man and rebounder is fading further away from the basket as we watch. I’d be okay with that if we had a double figure rebounder who had no problems banging and being otherwise rugged in that hallowed paint area. Alas, we do not, and this causes a problem for our team as currently constituted.
Al’s heart and mind are not in that paint, and it shows. No, I’m not talking about one meaningless preseason game. I’m talking about performances from last season, and trends that are apparently continuing. It will be hard for us to win games without rugged post play and prolific scoring from talented guards. We no longer have the 20+ ppg tandem of rescuers, we’re down to just one of those, and while I’m okay with Jamal being gone, I’m NOT okay with us not addressing losing scoring like that and simultaneously not bracing for a needed change in the frontcourt by bringing in the kind of person that two team captains and top players on the squad keep crying out for.
So here we sit wondering who will do what’s necessary in the paint (and at the moment, there is NO answer), while also wondering could we get the kind of scoring Crawford used to give us between McGrady and Radmanovich (the two most likely candidates).
I would love to have Pau Gasol. But I don’t think we can get him without relinquishing Horford. I don’t see Smith as being acceptable to the Lakers in such a deal. Gasol is better right now, and will always be a better low post guy. But that’s a 2 year buy in, if you ask me.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
2:08 pm
You as a coach has to explain to the man one on one, I need 10-15 boards a night from you! No exceptions. If Blake can get almost 13 a night @ the PF out West why cant you @ the 5?
C’mon Larry Leisure Suit…………..