Atlanta Hawks at Hornets: Game thread

Jeff Teague will start at point guard for the Hawks tonight against the Hornets. Teague said he felt “fine” despite the sprained ankle that limited him during Friday’s win against Pistons.

“Jeff is a go,” coach Larry Drew said before the game. “He was moving around on it pretty good yesterday. He hasn’t mentioned that it is bothering him to the point that we have to limit him. We’ll keep an eye on him. Right now, he is a full go.”

Drew said he would split reserve minutes between Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo.

“He has been playing really well for us,” Drew said of Pargo. “That’s why we got him.”

Hinrich, who played 31 minutes against the Pistons after Teague left late in the third quarter, said he is working to regain form as quickly as possible.

“I want to get my game back,” Hinrich said. “I feel rusty and I just want to help any way I can right now and get my rhythm back.”

* Austin Barker, a 17-year-old high school student from Mississippi scheduled for a bone marrow transplant this week, was the guest of Hawks trainer Wally Blase Sunday.

Barker, who is at Tulane Children’s Hospital, attended the game with his father and two friends. He received a hat signed by the Hawks.

The non-profit organization Sunshine Kids brought Baker’s situation to Blase’s attention. Blase worked with the Hornets to organize the outing.

1,578 comments Add your comment

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
2:26 pm

Melvin, I’ve resolved not to question too many decisions that result in victory, therefore, I won’t question the personnel used during the Magic series. Seems pretty simple to me. If you think he is a level X player now and could have been a level X player a year ago, then isn’t that a bad thing, that 12 months later, he is still stuck at level X? And does that suggest that this time next year he’ll be at level X? If so, then the better comparison sounds like Devin Harris, a guy who never got significantly better after becoming a starter. I’m hoping that last year, he was less than level X, is now at level X and next year will be better than level X. But I’m not as focused on blaming someone because it took a whopping 2 years for him to receive consistent playing time. Poor baby.

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
2:34 pm

doc, Scola, Odom and Kevin Martin would have helped them compete in the next year or two, but that core is not going to do anything more than stay firmly in the middle of the pack. He’s trying to get that team sold and get the NBA out of the ownership business. Instead of a new owner having to knock down walls, remove old carpet and replace the avocado-colored kitchen appliances, he has gone ahead and done that himself (while leaving them with 2 probable top 10 draft picks and Eric Gordon).

Najeh Davenpoop

January 30th, 2012
2:40 pm

Teague reminds me more of Tony Parker than Rondo or Rose, but on the defensive end I can see the Rondo comparison.

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 30th, 2012
2:42 pm

Schofield High School!

“drmarb i am a grad of schofield high. what about you?” -morehouse man-
________

WOW! Morehouse Man … My Mom and Dad graduated from Martha Schofield High School in 1961. Myrtle and Eddie. Back then the school was segregated, I attended there in my 9th and 10th year. But, I graduated from Aiken High School 1981 with William “Fridge” Perry who won a Super Bowl his rookie year with Walter “Sweetness” Payton and Jim McMahon of the Chicago Bears 1986.

Have you seen Schofield High School now? It’s remodeled and looks like a college campus. Nice.

Thanks for asking morehouse man … You just took me back. Do you know, Augustus Thirlow Stephens, III? He attended Morehouse School of Medicine and is an Opthamologist in downtown Atlanta now. We graduated together and also dated in high school.

What year did you graduate HS, Morehouse Man?

Najeh Davenpoop

January 30th, 2012
2:45 pm

” If you think he is a level X player now and could have been a level X player a year ago, then isn’t that a bad thing, that 12 months later, he is still stuck at level X?”

No, because nobody improves by sitting on the bench watching.

He was a level X player as a rookie, a level X player a year ago, and is a slightly higher than level X player right now thanks to playing in the second round series last year and starting every game this year. As he plays more, he will continue to rise from level X.

Nobody improves by sitting and watching. Your contention to the contrary is a pretty obvious attempt to justify your previously indefensible position in support of Woody and LD burying him on the bench. The last two years it was “LD/Woody is sitting him, I trust LD/Woody, so Teague must suck.” This year it’s “Teague is good, so LD must have known what he was doing by sitting him.”

The correct answer is “LD/Woody leaned on the veteran point guard as a crutch instead of playing the obviously better young player and living with the occasional mistakes.” And this weakness cost the Hawks several wins over the last two years and cost Teague valuable development time. There is no defense for the way they handled Teague. None.

Najeh Davenpoop

January 30th, 2012
3:00 pm

Lakers looking at Ramon Sessions, which would make all my three way “Kirk to the Lakers and a 3rd team’s big man to the Hawks” trades irrelevant.

Najeh Davenpoop

January 30th, 2012
3:00 pm

In other news, no game recap, C-Viv?

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
3:14 pm

Najeh, I’m curious why Nick Van Exel is on the payroll. I’m interested in how Clifford Ray was able to effectively teach D12 while yelling from courtside. I don’t understand why 30 NBA teams hire position coaches if the only learning takes place during game time. Seems like a gross waste of money to me. Is NVE doing his position coaching from the sideline? Was he teaching Teague how to get off a shot in the paint against taller opponents during the game against the Hornets last night? Is Marvin shooting over 45% from deep because he has used real games to improve his 3-ball shooting in the past few years? Funny, some of us have been wanting to Hawks to hire a quality big man coach for the past few seasons, when all we really needed was someone to yell louder from the bench. Maybe we should hire Roseanne Barr to yell to Josh to pass the ball to the PG on fast breaks. She definitely has a super-loud voice that can slice through the crowd noise.

No wonder Pape Sy didn’t make the team this season, he never had a chance to play in real games. I wonder why Gerald Green, Salim Stoudemire and Rashard McCants didn’t make it? Clearly, maturity was not a factor and they did more than “sit and watch”.

KevinM

January 30th, 2012
3:14 pm

Are C-Viv and MC having their hands tied by their ownership group? They seem to be off course a bit lately.
Big Ray needs to get his blog back and pick up between the down time.

Any Hawks talk is good talk and don’t shut down the lines of communication AJC.

“Bigman needed

January 30th, 2012
12:07 pm
I heard hornets are reportedly gonna buy out kaman, then he could sign wherever he wants to for vets minimum?”

It would not surprise me in the least for Sund to go in this direction or no direction towards Kaman at all. He doesn’t know a potential good opp when one is thrown in his face!

“Attention NBA GMs: We want to rid ourselves of Kaman…text bigfishcommish with your best offer!” Those of you who aren’t up on texting, just send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the attention of Grand Poobah Stern and present your offer to him and insert a proposal signed by all your owners! Should you not be able to all of your owners to sign, just wait and see if our asset is waived and you can go through due process at that time.

This would not be a reach with the management group.

Melvin

January 30th, 2012
3:17 pm

Najeh,

Co-sign your 2:45 post in response to Astro.

Astro,

If we could have gotten his level X play prior to the trade deadline then maybe we could have traded for a quality big instead of Hinrich (whom I like).

Najeh Davenpoop

January 30th, 2012
3:19 pm

“No wonder Pape Sy didn’t make the team this season, he never had a chance to play in real games. I wonder why Gerald Green, Salim Stoudemire and Rashard McCants didn’t make it? Clearly, maturity was not a factor and they did more than “sit and watch”.”

You must have a giant one of these in your front yard.

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 30th, 2012
3:20 pm

Level X!

“The last two years it was “LD/Woody is sitting him, I trust LD/Woody, so Teague must suck.” This year it’s “Teague is good, so LD must have known what he was doing by sitting him.” -najeh-
___________

I admit I was chirping that same song, but I didn’t know any better and now? I have seen the light and am loving – drinking the Jeff Teague kool-Aid. It is so delicous!

And, he is such a great kid. My Donatello! LOL!

Buddy Grizzard

January 30th, 2012
3:24 pm

“Their games are identical to me, except Jeff has a better outside shot and a better floater.” – drmaryb

Come one now Mary, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You saw the game where the Hawks blew a 27-point lead over the Bulls. The way that lead was erased was because Drew allowed the Bulls to isolate Rose at the top of the key and didn’t send Teague any help. This happened at least 15 times in the third and fourth quarter and no adjustment was ever made. My theory is that Drew did this to humiliate Teague.

If Drew had bee trying to win that Chicago game and trying to win the home game against the Heat, the Hawks would be 2-0 vs. both of those teams and would be viewed in a completely different light. But we got to see Teague 1-on-1 vs. Rose 15+ plays in the last CHI game and the difference in talent level was there for all to see.

“…which would make all my three way “Kirk to the Lakers and a 3rd team’s big man to the Hawks” trades irrelevant.”

But we always appreciate the effort Najeh! ;)

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 30th, 2012
3:27 pm

Yard Art!

Najeh! Stop it boy … You are one SICK puppy. What in the hell was that? A straw man? Leprechauns … Crackheads … What’s next? I can’t wait. LMAO

Melvin

January 30th, 2012
3:29 pm

Doc,

The Lakers/Hornets trade that Stern veto was only going to make the Lakers better. Kobe and Paul in backcourt would be a heck of a tandem. Hornets would have been a mediocre team at best (like the Rockets are now). And that’s the worst spot for NBA team to be in. Good enough to make the playoffs but not contend for a title and not bad enough to get a high lottery to acquire a franchise top player. I agree with Stern on that one. I don’t want to see no more Gasol to LA or KG/Allen to Boston type trades were the big franchises rip off/strip the small market teams for their most talented players. Hornets, Timberwolves, Grizzles and OKC have not won a title from those trades. Although OKC is a legit title contender now but it was from the Ray Allen trade.

Buddy Grizzard

January 30th, 2012
3:34 pm

“Attention NBA GMs: We want to rid ourselves of Kaman…text bigfishcommish with your best offer!” – KevinM

LOL… Big Fish Stern hoping there are GMs out there who, like Najeh, would trade multiple rotation players for a guy who has had one healthy, productive season in the last 4 years.

Buddy Grizzard

January 30th, 2012
3:39 pm

“The Lakers/Hornets trade that Stern veto was only going to make the Lakers better.” – Melvin

Well, it was going to make the Lakers a team wholly dependent on three players, Paul, Kobe and Bynum, who all have knee issues. However, it would have given the Lakers a better chance of landing Dwight, who isn’t going to want to prop up the Kobe farewell tour without Paul or Deron Williams on the squad.

GulfwavesGary

January 30th, 2012
3:40 pm

I am very surprised at the success of the Hawks without Al Horford. They have beaten both Chicago and Miami already( almost beat both twice), and the bench is crazy hard playing. Seeing Tracy McGrady flashing with pure talent and Jeff Teague being great, and the Hawks mostly winning ( over 700 percentage) is really exciting. No expectations for the future of this year, but Team Play has been great. GO HAWKS.

Slimjr

January 30th, 2012
3:48 pm

“Come one now Mary, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You saw the game where the Hawks blew a 27-point lead over the Bulls. The way that lead was erased was because Drew allowed the Bulls to isolate Rose at the top of the key and didn’t send Teague any help. This happened at least 15 times in the third and fourth quarter and no adjustment was ever made. My theory is that Drew did this to humiliate Teague.

If Drew had bee trying to win that Chicago game and trying to win the home game against the Heat, the Hawks would be 2-0 vs. both of those teams and would be viewed in a completely different light. But we got to see Teague 1-on-1 vs. Rose 15+ plays in the last CHI game and the difference in talent level was there for all to see.”—-Buddy Grizzard

Hey Buddy thats what drives me nuts about Larry Leisure Suit! His in game adjustments, or lack there of..Rose is a MVP for a reason! He has gifts man, over 48″ vert, lighting quick, and and extremely strong at his size of 6′3″! No on man can guard him 1 on 1 @ the top of the key, thats like a kid with an open cookie jar..He’s going to keep eating em up..

Now if Larry purposely wanted to humiliate JT than fire his azz yesterday the buster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melvin

January 30th, 2012
3:49 pm

Go ahead and re-sign TMAC, Green, Ivan and Vlad for next year…

Ra'mon

January 30th, 2012
3:49 pm

I don’t understand why the Lakers wouldn’t attempt to offer Pau Gasol to the Nets for D. Williams. Deron would surely sign an extension in LA. And New Jersey has nothing to get D12 with. NJN already know they’re going to lose Williams this off season. And pairing Gasol with Lopez going forward, would be the best front court in the east. And I truly believe Williams is just as good as Paul in long term, because he stays healthier.

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
3:49 pm

Melvin, I understand the debate that says he should have been played earlier. I’m rejecting the clairvoyant argument that we would have been watching a comparable level of performance. I personally didn’t see a comparble level of offense shortly after the Bibby trade. He was good defensively but couldn’t convert at the rim. I gues he practiced his shots in the paint during the Chicago series, huh? i also recall a player who often tried to steal the ball from behind as opposed to use his quickness to stay in front of his man. he picked up a bunch of fouls that way. Seemingly, that is another thing that can’t be taught outside of real games, the whole idea to defend with your feet and not your hands.

That Nick van Exel is STEALING money from the Hawks.

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
3:54 pm

I’m not sure if this was previously reported, but Kamen CAN’T be traded before 2/15. So unless folk just want to beat a dead horse for about 2 weeks, he ain’t leaving the Hornets anytime soon regardless of the GM.

BTW, that’s probably why they told him to stay away from the games, because they need him to remain healthy until he is eligible to be traded. It is essentially there way to keep him in bubble-wrap and away from any contact. It would be kind of messed up if he gets injured in a pick-up game while keeping himself in shape.

KevinM

January 30th, 2012
4:00 pm

If you know the Bulls are going to DRose, shouldn’t you run some flavor of a zone at him? Have 2 guys converge in one area instead of island defense with Teague.
Our backline isn’t strong enough to make up for DRose, but we should at least have 2 bodies around him at all times and force a Korver or Boozer to beat you. With Deng out, the Heat really didn’t impress me with their defense as Rose found a seem to slice through.

Now if you had an ‘Anthony Davis’ type player lurking in the paint, then you can go one on one with Rose and depend on your shot blockers.
He is like a Camby who can protect the rim and have his hands on a lot of rimmed out shots.
How does Sund go about getting us that rim defender if he even wants us to protect our rim?

Buddy Grizzard

January 30th, 2012
4:05 pm

“I don’t understand why the Lakers wouldn’t attempt to offer Pau Gasol to the Nets for D. Williams.” Ra’mon

All that trade would do is keep NJ from getting top draft picks. The Nets without Deron Williams are going to be terrible, but with Gasol, Brook Lopez and Mr. Kardashian they wouldn’t be terrible enough. The Nets franchise mortgaged its future to bring Deron Williams and hope he would attract Dwight Howard. Until they know for a fact Dwight won’t be signing with them as a free agent, they are not going to let go of Deron’s Bird rights, hoping that he will re-sign since they can pay him more money.

Slimjr

January 30th, 2012
4:09 pm

Elite NBA Pt. Guards will continuously probe the defense of the opposition looking for seams(weakness) to exploit and in the blink of an eye attack, attack,attack……That’s what make CP3 and D-Rose so special.

Teague is just about there! What a thang of beauty when he’s clicking? Huh…………….

KevinM

January 30th, 2012
4:15 pm

AJ, what is the 2/15 rule? This guy has not just signed a new contract with his current team? He should be able to go immediately if current team chooses such.
Here is another twist: “New Orleans Coach Monty Williams said before Sunday night’s game against the visiting Atlanta Hawks they are looking to improve their depth, and they wouldn’t object to acquiring another center in a trade as long as he would accept playing limited minutes behind starter Emeka Okafor.

“We probably always wanted a guy with some length that can play that five spot, but it has to be a guy the can accept the role,” Williams said. “It would be good if that guy could play with Emeka like Jason Smith, who can stretch the floor but also has a defensive concept to his game.”

Kaman was unwilling to accept playing a diminished role as a backup. He said last week that it was hard for him to play 15 to 25 minutes when he’s used to playing 30 to 35 minutes.”

Seriously, for Kaman to get 30 minutes here, you would definitely have to move Zaza and depend on Collins. I will say that Kaman would probably produce some good numbers with that much playing time.

To me, including Zaza makes sense for a couple of reasons, but I have read nothing that says Sund is even using his mobile minutes to inquire.
This makes sense in the opportunity to boost the interior on both ends of the court and I would think Demps/Stern would prefer to deal outside their division if given that option. Kinda like Otis saying the Hawks or Heat would be the last place I would try to negotiate with to move D12.

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
4:18 pm

The Bulls needed 6 games to beat the hawks with one seldomly used PG and very little defense when that PG went to the bench. Now, Teague will be better and hopefully, some combination of Hinrich & Pargo will still be around to give us 48 minutes of solid PG defense. I’m more worried about the Bulls ability to secure rebounds with Noah, Gibson, Deng, Boozer and Brewer than I am about Rose. No one is capable of stopping that guy from scoring 24+ each and every game… the real issue is getting the rebound when they miss shots (and scoring against their outstanding defense).

Slimjr

January 30th, 2012
4:22 pm

GulfwavesGary

January 30th, 2012
3:40 pm

“I am very surprised at the success of the Hawks without Al Horford. They have beaten both Chicago and Miami already( almost beat both twice), and the bench is crazy hard playing. Seeing Tracy McGrady flashing with pure talent and Jeff Teague being great, and the Hawks mostly winning ( over 700 percentage) is really exciting. No expectations for the future of this year, but Team Play has been great. GO HAWKS.”

I’m not surprised. All NBA went down when the strength of schedule got softer. Plus the bench is deeper this year..And of course Teague, Da Blur is rising fast! But here comes February as Doc has alluded to in previous blogs and its about to step up big time….We will see if they can maintain w/o All NBA.
One thing about this abbreviated season there is no where to run and hide..The schedule will expose you as a contender or pretender eventually for sure……

Melvin

January 30th, 2012
4:24 pm

Astro,

I understand the basis of your argument that Teague was coached up but it’s funny how we didn’t see the labor of this coaching until Hinrich got hurt. Were they not being coach up for the last two years? I disagree with your viewpoint. I clearly think his improvement came with the increase playing time. Are you going to over look his play during the west coast trip last season prior to Hinrich joining the team or what about the Boston game last season when Bibby was hurt (i think that was the game)? So he had good practices during those periods then resorted by to having sub par practices which effected his playing time for games. Najeh already hit the nail on the head when he stated that LD/Woody preferred to play their vets and live with the consequences instead of taking the lumps and letting Teague develop on the court.

KevinM

January 30th, 2012
4:30 pm

The only complaint I have with Teague is his interviews at halftime with Jeroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome Jurnevich! He looks like he has zero interest in participation, but I marvel at what this guy does on the court with the resources he has to work with. And now Al is down and so far, Teague is doing just fine.
Could he get a look come all-star time? He is playing excellent and with Rondo down, you’ve got DWilliams and DRose and there’s probably no room for the blip! But he is playing as well as DWilliams and impacts this team as much as Rondo.

Buddy Grizzard

January 30th, 2012
4:32 pm

KevinM I think you might have missed this from the previous blog”

Chris Kaman:

2007-2008 56 games played
2008-2009 31 games played
2009-2010 76 games played
2010-2011 32 games played

Zaza Pachulia:

2007-2008 62 games played
2008-2009 77 games played
2009-2010 78 games played
2010-2011 79 games played

List of players who have been in the top 10 in postseason rebounding rate at least two of the last three years:

Marcus Camby
Dwight Howard
Joakim Noah
Carlos Boozer
Zaza Pachulia

That’s top 10 at every position vs. playoff competition for the last three years. Only 5 players in the NBA are in the top 10 in playoff rebounding rate in two of the last three postseasons. Zaza Pachulia is one of them. Chris Kaman is not.

Rufus1

January 30th, 2012
4:35 pm

Why the Hawks are still winning…

Teague is as at least as good a PG as Al was a Center…So our weakness has shifted from the PG to the Center. We still have a “Big 3″ and when Al returns, we will have a “Big 4″++++ A team capable of winning a Title

Buddy Grizzard

January 30th, 2012
4:39 pm

I feel pretty confident that New Orleans made the decision to hold Kaman out of games not just to prevent the inevitable injury that would destroy any trade value but also to avoid a Kaman vs. Zaza matchup. Such a matchup would have likely resulted in Kaman getting shut down worse than Bogut did, which would have also further eroded his trade value.

Rufus1

January 30th, 2012
4:43 pm

The Difference in the Power Rankings…

PPL that the watch the Hawks and PPL that don’t….Beacuse anyone that thinks the Mavs or Celtics are better than the Hawks, need to go back to AA.

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/powerrankings/01/30/week5/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

Ray

January 30th, 2012
4:44 pm

It’s official though Teague is the reason this team is held together now that we have at least a above average PG that’s beginning to become consistent it’s going to get better from here.

Plus every position seems to be locked down except the C position we get an above average C along the lines of a Brook Lopez then it’s over we can finally contend with anyone. We already can now, but I just feel like the hawks would take over.

Sautee

January 30th, 2012
4:50 pm

AJ,

I think that as far as practice vs. game time, that it’s not possible to separate the improvement of the players skills. What IS easier to quantify (at least with an eye test) is the confidence with which a player takes the court. I just don’t think you get that kind of confidence on the practice floor (think about it – Teague would have guarded / been guarded by Bibby or JC1 – that wouldn’t give you confidence anything like beating Rose off the dribble would, IMO). And that confidence makes a huge difference in the results.

So my contention is that playing Teague more over his first two years would have given him more confidence earlier in his career. Ask George Hill or DeJuan Blair what it did for them. And before you say “give him minutes without EARNING it?” I’ll just say that yo-yo-ing a kid in and out with no apparent regard for his previous performance is NOT a way to inspire confidence. There’s a right (Pop) and a wrong (Woody / Uncle Larry) way to inspire confidence. His good outings should have been rewarded by equal stints, but more often were rewarded by a dnp-cd. That was my beef.

honest_abe

January 30th, 2012
5:00 pm

the great teague mystery.

and the debate goes on and on and on and ……………

there’s obviously no right answer and as this argument is hardly quantifiable. but for every teague there is another salim. just because someone looks good for a 2 minute stretch hardly qualifies them for more playing time. i still remember the game last season where LD wanted a time out and so jeff dribbled lackadaisically trying to cross half court and call a TO. the ball got stolen. might be the first time in my life i’ve ever seen that happen. if the pg who’s supposed to “lead” the team doesn’t even have his head on straight to call a timeout without turning it over then he’s obviously not ready. teague looked lost for the majority of the season last year so it doesn’t surprise me that he didn’t play more.

some say more PT gives a young player confidence to go out and get better. that isnt’ always the case. take acie law for example. he got pt and sucked. and continued to suck until all his confidence and game had left.

simply putting talent on the court doesn’t translate to success and that’s something everyone should ponder.

vava74

January 30th, 2012
5:00 pm

Buddy Grizzard January 30th, 2012
4:39 pm

I tend to agree with most of your opinions but you must be smoking seriously good weed.

Zaza is a very good back up but he never shuts down anyone. He will give you up and down effort and on the good days he will do most of his damage on the offensive glass and with scrappy D. Scrappy is the key word.

His defense is “voluntarious” but seldom consistent and due to his reduced lift his 6′11″ translates in a 6′8″ player at the rim.

IF healthy, and here I do agree 100%, a big if, it would be a no contest in favour o Kaman who his longer, better finisher, better shot blocker and more resourceful.

Another factor is that he likes the paint which is a rare commodity nowadays.

KevinM

January 30th, 2012
5:01 pm

Buddy, I see those stats and what Zaza does in the playoffs, but truthfully, is Zaza going to help lead us to victory in those series?
We have won 2 games out of those 18 in Round 2 and Zaza was a part of them or he was just sitting and watching.
I have seen what Zaza brings; I have seen stats that Kaman would be better and make us a better starting 5. I read where Kaman doesn’t want limited minutes. I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to be behind a guy in NO that is learning how to play the game. Kaman wants to win games after being in the ‘clip-joint’ for so many years.
You get me Kaman; I get you a better player on both ends of the floor. He isn’t Bogut either and I would have liked to see him play against Zaza last night. We would have seen a very good post player.
Is he going to get us beyond Round 2? Who knows? Sund and LD play to the opposition as opposed to having the opposition play against our strengths.

Kaman might only be a band-aid to helping us get a better seed than without him. But we have a presence in the lineup that scores and gets you rebounds.
Zaza’s last 3 games with big minutes: 29 mpg / 8.6 ppg / 7 reb
Kaman’s last 3 games with big minutes: 27 mpg / 11.3 ppg / 7.6 reb

We have more options with Kaman in the lineup and I don’t think our defense goes down that much.

honest_abe

January 30th, 2012
5:03 pm

zaza ain’t a very good defender but he does show hard off screens and will take a charge (or flop depending on your pov) the best aspect of zaza is that he gets in the heads of other players and throws them off their game. other than that and his energy he’s borderline scrub. heh

i like zaza btw.

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
5:07 pm

Melvin, I saw a stark difference between the Teague that played on the west coast and the one that played against the Bulls. It was night & day.

Sautee, I agree with your confidence argument. But isn’t there a relationship between confidence and preparedness?

Grandad

January 30th, 2012
5:09 pm

Enter your comments here

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
5:10 pm

Kevin, I can’t find the source but I think there is a 60 day “cooling off period” between trades for a player. Kamen was a Clipper who was traded to the Hornets. He signed his contract several years ago as a Clipper (he was NOT a free agent signee for the Hornets). He was traded back on 12/15 as part ofthe CP3 deal. Again, I read it earlier today but can’t remember where I read it.

Rufus1

January 30th, 2012
5:12 pm

PG by accident…

Woody was the coach for 6 years= 0 PG’s developed
LD is here 2 years= 1 PG(By accident)

LD’s dream was to have a Derek Fisher/Kirk Hinrich vet savvy PG to run his team. After watching the effect of an athletic PG on his team, both offensively and defensively….HE HAD AN EPIPHANY!!!!!……

YOU CAN’T BEAT THE BEST TEAM IN THE EAST, WITHOUT A PG WHO CAN PUT PRESSURE ON DROSE, OFFENSIVELY AND DEFENSIVELY! SO…..

LD built this team in offseason with the thought of giving Teague/Joe space to operate….

LD’s acceptence of Teague and the concept of “defense first”, has made him a better coach and the Hawks a better team.

Najeh Davenpoop

January 30th, 2012
5:21 pm

“I feel pretty confident that New Orleans made the decision to hold Kaman out of games not just to prevent the inevitable injury that would destroy any trade value but also to avoid a Kaman vs. Zaza matchup. Such a matchup would have likely resulted in Kaman getting shut down worse than Bogut did, which would have also further eroded his trade value.”

This made me laugh out loud. On par with Marvin’s grandma’s best posts. The only people who care about the result of a Kaman vs. Zaza matchup post on this blog. NBA GMs know better than to judge Kaman based on this season’s stats when he has been playing out of position at power forward for most of the season, on a terrible team that understandably wants to give more minutes to its young players.

Astro Joe

January 30th, 2012
5:23 pm

Kevin, from David Aldridge (and it is 2/14, not 2/15 as I said earlier):


The Hornets’ unusual step of publicly acknowledging they were shopping Chris Kaman creates a buyers’ market for the 29-year-old former All-Star. With Kaman’s agent, Rob Pelinka, working on potential deals as well, New Orleans won’t lack for potential suitors. It also helps that the Hornets have recalibrated their initial demands of an expiring contract, a young player and Draft picks for Kaman. League sources indicated this weekend that the Hornets — and, by extension, the NBA, which owns the team — now realize they’ll have to at least take some salary back for Kaman. But New Orleans is still looking for a first-round pick, and Lottery-bound teams that might be interested in Kaman aren’t going to give up those kinds of picks. That would leave good teams at the bottom of the first round as more likely trading partners. (Also keep in mind that Kaman, having been dealt to New Orleans on Dec. 14, can’t actually be traded under the CBA until Feb. 14.)

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/david_aldridge/01/30/business-of-76ers/index.html

Rufus1

January 30th, 2012
5:24 pm

Zaza best attribute….

He is VERY, VERY, physical. PPL underestimate the value of battling with a CLUMSY, HARD BOLDER all day…. It wears you down you down and he makes it HURT.

Ken Strickland

January 30th, 2012
5:24 pm

DOC-I believe Stern is trying to make the Hornets more attractive to potential buyers by getting rid of as many large contracts as possible, or he’s trying to set them up to be moved to another location. Moving the Supersonics from Seattle to Oklahoma City has proven to be a long term bonanza. This is the 2nd franchise that’s failed to make it in New Orleans. The Utah Jazz was orginally the New Orleans Jazz, just like the New Orleans Hornets was originally the Charlotte Hornets.

Shinn proved to be a selfish, greedy and incompetent owner, and now they have Stern.

Grandad

January 30th, 2012
5:24 pm

Sautee:

” We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit ”
-Aristotle-

” Confidence is born of demonstrated ability.”
-Bill Parcells-

Aristotle = practice
Parcells = games

For what it’s worth.