Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 101, Suns 99

first?

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I’ll take second and third.

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“After Josh got off on a steady diet of post-ups during a stretch of the fourth quarter, Drew put the ball in Joe’s hands. It didn’t go well. His deliberate style slowed what had been a crisp offensive rhythm. That’s not a big problem when he’s creating and making good shots but he wasn’t doing that at winning time.”

This has been a recurring problem for years now. I will never understand why Woody and now LD think it’s a good idea to go into the prevent offense, aka iso-Joe, at the end of games. Draining the clock is not worth getting a terrible shot. If you run your regular offense and take 5 less seconds off the clock, so what? At least you get a decent chance at extending the lead.

“Hinrich was much better than Teague with crowding Nash and fighting over screens. ”

He fought over screens better, true, but Nash shed him on picks nearly as easily as he shed Teague. The big difference was the switch to the zone, which allowed another player to come help for long enough for Kirk to recover. Teague didn’t have that luxury when trying (and failing) to check him man to man in the first half.

Hawks still could have used Teague’s threat of dribble penetration down the stretch, especially when they went to the prevent offense in the last couple of minutes. I’m sorry but I have a hard time giving Kirk too much credit for that 2nd half run when it was primarily a result of Josh going berserk, other players hitting timely jumpers, and the zone taking the Suns out of their rhythm. Kirk didn’t do much during that run that Teague wasn’t also doing in that game.

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pg jeff teague/kirk hinrich
sg joe johnson/willie green/tracy mcgrady
sg paul pierce/marvin williams/vladimir radmanovic
pf josh smith/ivan johnson
c zaza pachulia/jason collins

i smell east finals with that lineup

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I’ll take that zone all day! That’s how they beat Miami..

Good luck with that perimeter shot from Josh..It is what is is….

But I give him credit he played like a beast tonight…Won this game with his effort!! Hands Clapping!

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If we can get D12 for a half season at the price of Horford, do it. We will win the nba championship.

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Before tonight, the last time the Hawks beat the Suns was when Jamal Crawford hit that dramatic, buzzer-beating, game-winning three pointer in Atlanta back in Jan. 2010. Hawks scorched Suns that night 102-101; Jamal scored 21 points. Memories, memories….sigh

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@Rob, yeah my bad. How about just Horford for Pierce straight up?

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D12 knows this ownership is not committed to winning championships..

Hawks= write off….

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We are 4.5 game behind the lead with Horford out and at least 4 or 5 avoidable stinkers.

Constructive criticism is always valid, but I remember 90% of the bloggers saying that we would be in the lotto with Al out.

Enjoy what you get, because unfortunately this is what we will get until the end of the year, with zero movements to be made.

Oh, if only LD benched Marvin and used Green/Hinrich/T-Mac at the SG slot and JJ at the SF, with Marvin used as a backup SF and PF…

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Why oh why didnt the pizza guy buy the Hawks?

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Andrew, that works with me. Keep smoove at the 4 and D12 at the 5. Can you say defense?

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So JJ had to tell Drew to keep Josh in? Seriously?

I guess Zaza was about to come in, with Hinrich trying to make all of the plays.

Drew can’t keep making these types of decisions. JJ was awful, but he playing assistant coach for Drew was the biggest thing he did last night.

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Jamal Crawford scored his 12,000th point on that clutch 3 [point field goal] tonight. That’s classic! What a storied [field goal] make!

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Willie Green put up JC1 “nimbers” and played some defense to boot! Wow!

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Grant Hill is long and in fantastic shape for a 39 year old! Always been fundamentally sound both on offense and defense.. Ole’ duke player and a great college baller! If his ankle not failed him 7 times he would have been one of the greats in this generation! HOF for sure!

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NUNNA irrelevant look at win losses!

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He’s not going into the NBA HOF due to the injuries…But he made it back late and he’s playing good!

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High-sider
February 16th, 2012
1:40 am

Roller-coaster at his best. Look at his numbers from the previous game.

-26 in 23 minutes on the floor.

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Wonder where Joe and Josh will end up in Hawks lore…Slimjr? whatdoya think?

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Too early to tell…They will be look upon favorably if and I mean if they can contribute to getting this franchise over the hump and into an ECF for the first time in Hawks history in Atlanta!

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Willie Green> JC1………….Defense is the difference between these two..

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Vava, everybody in front of Lin had to get hurt in order for D’antoni to play him. He’d still be playing Toney Douglas.

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It was his 12th shot too. He was 4 – 11 fg for 9 points before that shot.

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“Woody must be plucking his eyebrows in disbelief because Dantoni does not pull the kid as he would certainly do (and as he did to his rookie PGs).”

Yeah, I’m sure he has this expression on his face on the sideline.

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JT 7-12 16 pts 5 ast 24 minutes. KH 2-8 5pts 3 ast 25 minutes… WTF? JJ 2-10 6 pts in 36 minutes…. Common man!

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LD is on Kirk’s jock strap for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Josh has to roll to the basket after he gives it up.. He stands there and ask for it back..He does not trust his guards..He is point guard Josh!

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Slimjr,

I don’t want to compare Lin’s apparent ability to play a more traditional PG style of play (passing, setting the tempo, …) but Teague entered the league with loads of confidence and did really well in the pre-season.

Woody and LD almost killed his confidence with those DNP-CD after every decent game he had and by pulling him every single time he made a mistake.

I don’t think he is fully healed or hardened yet from that treatment.

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vava74, agreed. I wish Larry would let Teague play and only sub him with Pargo for a little breather..

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A trap Crawford is

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“You all are just some unappreciative, ungrateful, hate-filled scubs[sic], busters, clowns and crumbs.” – High-sider

The word “scubs” should have been “scrubs.”

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LD is an idiot who made a good adjustment in switching to zone d – learn from Lin and D’Antoni let Teague play through his flaws. Stop worrying about what he can’t do and magnify what he can do! LD LD LD…great game by Smoove and Willie Green.

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Willie Green is averaging 6 shot attempts a game. he’s shooting 44% from 2 and 42% from 3.
He averages 15 and a half mins a game.

Jamal Crawford is averaging 13 shot attempts a game. he’s shooting 38% from 2 and 32% from 3.
He averages 26 and a half mins a game.

The numbers tell me that if Willie Green played as many minutes and took as many shots as Jamal, He’d average more
plus he plays better defense. I’ll take Green’s production this year over Jamal’s.

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We got buddy in for 34 mins tonight and he dropped 20. The last time we got him in for more than 20 mins he dropped 17. Give Green his props, money was better spent on him than overpaying for Crawford.

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Can we just pay JJ $237,000 a night just to stay home?

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Vava74- To be honest, Teague would have been traded instead of Jordan Crawford if Teague happened to be the rookie. The only reason Teague wasn’t traded last year was because of his label of point guard of the future. Loosing Teague and Bibby would have split the locker room in half. Otherwise, Jordan Crawford was doing everything LD expected Teague to do but didn’t have the time to develop him because of Teague, Jamal and Bibby.

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@Mac-Town(#maconchevyrider)

“Willie Green is averaging 6 shot attempts a game. he’s shooting 44% from 2 and 42% from 3.
He averages 15 and a half mins a game.

Jamal Crawford is averaging 13 shot attempts a game. he’s shooting 38% from 2 and 32% from 3.
He averages 26 and a half mins a game.

The numbers tell me that if Willie Green played as many minutes and took as many shots as Jamal, He’d average more
plus he plays better defense. I’ll take Green’s production this year over Jamal’s.” – Mac-Town(#maconchevyrider)

“Per 36 Minutes” Statistics as provided by basketball-reference.com:

2011-2012 PPG average per 36 minutes [through 29 games]:

Jamal Crawford – 19.5ppg

Willie Green – 15.2ppg [through 30 games Green's ppg average is 15.3]

Remember, if Willie Green plays extra minutes and shoots extra shots does not necessarily mean he [Green] will make extra shots. Have you ever heard of “the law of diminishing returns”?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminishing_returns

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Buddy,

Personally, I still think Lin will come back to Earth… and real hard once the league takes him a bit more seriously.

I see him become a Barea type of player at best.

Actually, on our side, Teague has been struggling a bit also on account of scouting catching up as well, just like they caught up on Horford in last year’s playoffs.

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I have a new theory/plan – PLEASE BEAR WITH ME:

Let’s clearly make the Hawks, Josh’s team.

Give him chief cog status and ALL the shots he wants. And I mean ALL.

Basically, I think Josh misses most of jumpers when he DOUBTS himself.

I think that contrary to popular belief and to what he speaks out, Josh does listen to criticism and takes it to his heart, BUT he reacts in a contradictory way:

1. He decides and wants to go against his critics and prove them wrong;

BUT

2. When he is on court, and many times when he receives the rock, he doubts himself.

He is completely unlike Jamal, who launches shot after shot without a shadow of doubt in his brain and his confidence remaining intact even after missing 10 shots.

Josh, on the contrary, feels every miss and desires profoundly that the next shot will go in and over-thinks throughout the shooting motion.

My new offense would imply the following:

Josh as the chief cog, with freedom to shoot at will from wherever he wants to (obviously, I would privilege giving him touches in the weak side block so he could play his left hand).

Basically Josh would ALWAYS have on or around 22 shots per game.

JJ would be instructed to be the Robin to Josh – play off the rock for kick out passes from Josh AND ORDERED to hit the glass on ALL of Josh’s jumpers.

With his size, he could be an efficient rebounder if he put his mind to it.

I also think that JJ would not look at this plan negatively:

He is miscast as a chief cog – he is an overachiever trying to do something for which he does not have all the tools.

But as the second cog he could thrive again and become a solid stat stuffer 18-5-5-1.5.

With the current roster, I would have JJ and Zaza hitting the glass and Teague and Marvina getting back for transition D (I can’t trust Marvina to hit the glass).

Marvin is a reasonably disciplined defender who usually manages to stay in front of guys.

Since Marvin is basically expendable as a starter, he would be ordered to foul whenever there was a transition situation in which our defensive positioning would not be good.

Also, this could work with JJ at the SF slot and Green at the SG and would be also good with T-Mac on the floor (SG slot) acting as a facilitator-pick n roll guy with Josh if his body held up.

Dampier and Ivan as garbage collectors would also see minutes and would be ordered to pursue like hound dogs Josh’s misses.

(one of the worst things about Josh’s misses from distance is that there is NO ONE REBOUNDING.

The bottom line is:

Josh is hindered by criticism because he does not react well to it.

He lives under the believe that he should be the #1 guy in the Hawks, the hometown hero, the new Nique.

Sometimes we need to give a guy with this DESIRE AND PASSION a chance at making or breaking.

If the plan failed, maybe he would “get it” and be the one realizing that he can’t do it.

And if he failed and did not “get it”, I am sure that everyone would feel a lot better about a potential trade involving him.

The “idle chatter” would stop RIGHT THERE: “he got the chance and failed, he can’t fulfill the potential”.

OR:

He could make it and this type of games 25-12-5-3-3 could become a norm.

People get caught up on Josh’s turnovers EVEN in games when he is the major factor keeping or putting us back in the game.

IMO, with Chief Cog status, Josh could POTENTIALLY become more responsible and make better decisions.

Lin is averaging SIX turnovers per game as a starter BUT the NYK won all games.

Sometimes passion, fire, desire overcome cold blooded stats.

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The issue is that Josh will not respond to reasoning so we might just simply give him the car keys.

If he crashes the car, so be it, at least he cannot think/feel/say that he was not given the opportunity.

Nique, back in the day, TOOK A TON of bad shots but we were competitive because he was always going all out every single night.

If Josh got all the shots he wanted I think that after 20/25 games there is chance that he would settle down a bit.

Sometimes people only grow up and become responsible when they are put in a position where they have no option but.

It’s 7 years now and he has never been happy: It’s a MAKE OR BREAK strategy.

Also, I really think his shooting woes are also mental and that ONE POSSIBILITY of making him get loose and shoot in rhythm is to set him free and give him the chief cog status.

How many times have you seen him hesitate 2 or 3 times before shooting an air-ball???

IMO, this strategy/plan only has about 20/25% chance of working but we are stranded as we are so we might as well go for it.

If ballclubs sometimes decide to simply go rebuild mode, why not go into rebuild mode from within by forcefully alter the balance of power???

Tell me a good reason for not gambling like this when the other option is to eventually trade Josh or lose him to free agency without TRYING all available possibilities???

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I will gladly eat crow for giving up on the Hawks last night. I could not believe what I was seeing in the late 3rd/4th quarter. Did not think they had a comeback in them. Josh went from awful to great.

I hate the iso-Joe play. In fact, I hate iso-anyone. The play does not work. I would bet, if we could get stats on that play, that it works less than 15% of the time. Having everyone stand around, watching someone dribble forever only to force up a bad shot is not a good idea.

Not only do the Hawks need a rest, but I think I need a rest from them. They were driving me nuts last night. Plus, I had just stayed up until 1 AM watching them give the Lakers a win. Will be nice to not have to watch them for a couple of nights.

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And i like how Nique played politics during the beginning of the telecast on why we didn’t see Ivan at all in the game against the Lakers,citing the size of the lakers front line.
I guess nique didn’t pat attention to all of the other times Ivan played taller forwards and even centers but did very well against them huh? Like Bosh in the triple overtime game?
I think he reads this section faithfully..
Hi Nique!!!

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AJ,

Last 8 games, JJ is 10-38 from 3 (26%), including 2-13 the last 2 games. Is he saving his stroke for the 3-pt competition?

Game Ball goes to Josh. A few more performances like this will hopefully get him into the all-star game as a reserve (if somebody pulls out).

However, if he has too many of these games between this season and next, he will price himself out of the ASG’s range.

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NUNNA!!- Gasol and Bynum are both 7ft tall and Ivan is 6ft 8. You still have to put points on the board. Ivan’s ability to get into the paint has waned with him having to face bigger guys.

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@ vava

Let’s not get carried away now. Josh did this against the Phoenix Suns, not the Bulls, Heat, Celtics, Magic, or Sixers. I will agree that if you want to run more offense through Josh, with him finding open shooters, that’s cool. But those teams in the East would’ve made us pay dearly last night. And it was Josh’s defense that kept us in that game last night. Then he took over offensively

@ O’Brien

It was just 3 games ago in which Marvin was playing good defense, rebounding, and knocking down threes vs Orlando. My opinion on Marvin is the same as Teague. When those guys are making a contribution, you reward them with extended minutes. Just don’t automatically take minutes from them because you feel you have to play other people. Especially if those other people aren’t producing either.

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vava74, you have some great points. People have always questioned Josh BB IQ – I always thought he is just to competitive. He does have the most heart on the team. We all know that JJ is Robin. By focusing on Josh will make JJ game a lot easier because he no longer has all the double teams. I will admit we are the WORST pick and roll team in the league – on offense and on defense. The person I see set the most picks is JT for JJ. But it is not a roll and it usually is an ISO Joe against a smaller guard.

On defense – you cannot go through a pick. Lopez and Nash were killing JT. The coach finally made the adjustment, but JT has to either go over or under the screen. I also would have trapped Nash (they did it a couple of times with success) at the top of the key.

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Funny, Josh has 12 DD – the Hawks are 10-2 in those games. The Hawks are 10-0 win Josh scorers 19 points or more – but have only two quality wins (Chicago and Orlando). Joe llikewise is 12-1 when he scorers at least 20 but only three quality wins (Indy, Port and Miami).

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can they just play zone for the rest of the season?

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OB, again, the home run contest usually screws up hitters and I think the 3-point contest can mess with some shooters. Obviously, a guy like Ray Allen wouldn’t be bothered by the contest (heck, they should re-name it the ray Allen 3-Poiont Contest), but Joe is (usually) a good and not great 3-point shooter. My guess is that it is on his mind and it is affecting his game. I saw very little attempts to shoot floaters int he paint last night, and that is his go-to shot.

Good to see the hawks win in an unorthodox fashion. The better teams find all kind of different ways to win games with different combinations of players on the floor. If a team can only win in 2-3 wyas, then they are more easy to defeat.

The difference last night was defense. botht he use of the zone and the general teacity brought to the defensive side of the floor. Suns were solar-hot in the first half with 67% shooting and then dealt with an eclipse and 40% shooting int he second half. LD has more players capable of playing both sides of the floor than we have seen over the past 5+ years. Being able to win an ugly road game with the bench backcourt playing the 4th quarter is nothing but really, really nice.

New heroes can emerge for the next game.

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PAUL P. PLEASE!!!!!! HE”S ON THE WAY OUT THE DOOR. I WOULDN’T TRADE AL FOR NOTHING IN THE WORLD. THEY BETTER GET SOMETHING TO GO WITH HIM.

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northcyde, Joe only had 7 or 8 FGAs thru 3 quarters last night. In some ways, I’m okay with him being a decoy when the opposing team is keyed on him. Especially if other Hawks are scoring well (Teague in the 1st quarter and Josh in the 2nd half). I’d rather see that than a player who seems to believe that he must take his allotment of shots just because he is the team’s number 1 option (e.g. Melo). My concern was that when he did shoot, he didn’t get into the paint. But I personally like the overall team-first decision to allow other teammates (including Willie in the 4th) to get their groove on and not be an “alpha dog” when you’re shot isn’t falling. No need to shoot the hawks out of a win.

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First Hawks game I’ve watched in its entirety this year. Teague,J.Smith,W.Green,Hinrich easily the best all round players (offense & defense). Marvin,Zaza,JJ look lazy & lost out there. I’d start Willie Green over Marvin every night. Split the minutes between Teague & Hinrich (keep the one in there that’s hottest if one is cold). Run the offense thru J.Smith & Teague/Hinrich (first options). Still need a bonafide center that can score.

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Willie Green plays with energy. He hits 3’s and makes good passes. Marvin does none of this. Marvin is jittery with the ball and turns it over.

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Heck yeah ! Green over Marvin all day.

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Ballers and Busters!

Josh
Willie
Drew (the zone & listening to Joe)
________

Busters – Marvin
_________

Re: Josh, this man will literally shoot himself into becoming a bona fide shooter in this league. When cold he will shoot until he gets hot …. The true test of a shooter’s mentality.

What I have come to understand about this is, Josh has a ton of confidence in his game, shot and a ton of heart! He ain’t NEVER scared and, is the ONLY player on this team that will leave it ALL on the floor. Definitely Rodman-Esque. Josh really don’t give a damn what anyone thinks and will always push the envelope. Leave Josh alone!

Each year Josh is/has added components to his all around game. At this point he can do what ever he wants, because of that. I’m buying Josh – I’m selling Marvin.

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vava the best of them like d wade or steve nash make turnovers. it may be the most overused stat on a players overall impact to a game.

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Vava, that’s Hawk suicide man. No way you would’ve come to that opinion before last night. If Josh has the advantage, we should ride him. If Teague has the advantage, we should ride him too. The way this fan base is, the first game in which Josh goes 5 – 18 with 6 turnovers, people would have a fit.

Basically what the Hawks need to start doing maybe, is ride the hot hand, regardless of who it is.

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Mold

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northcyde,

Suicide? This franchise is a zombie.

There is no real life for suicide to happen.

It’s a GAMBLE which only has upside.

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i agree w/ vava… it might be that time.

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Worried about my boy Teague Mary B. Dumbazz is starting to ride Kirk a little too much for my tastes.

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Bring Joe off the bench? Wow! He’s as boring as rainy day, but ARE YOU CRAZY?

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it just seems like Joe lost the desire to compete on the level needed against strong competition. Josh might f-up in the process, but he plays the game like he gives a damn.

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“You”

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This franchise isn’t a zombie. We’re simply not an elite team. And people hate that.

To win the title, you normally need 3 guys playing at all-star level at all times during the playoffs. We simply don’t have that here. Our only shot is to become a lights out defensive team. Josh is our defensive anchor, but he needs help. Wish we could’ve swung a deal for Iggy when the Sixers were thinking about trading him. Wish we would’ve made a play for Dalembert at last years trade deadline.

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Don’t bring JJ off the bench, trade him instead (for anything):

1) Orlando for H. Turkoglu & JJ Reddick.
2) Cleveland for A. Jamison & A. Parker.
3) Minnesota for M. Beasley, M. Webster & B. Miller.
4) New Jersey for M. Okur, A. Morrow & J. Farmar.
5) Toronto for J. Calderon & L. Barbosa.
6) Washington (with Marvin) for R. Lewis & N. Young.

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Totally agree with Astro.

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Just Joe,

Like number 6!

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northcyde/AJ,

Re-read my posts.

I only gave about 20% chance that the gamble would pay off.

The issue is:

Josh is the only guy in this team that has superstar POTENTIAL and he is UNHAPPY.

He is unhappy because he feels that he should be the leader. It’s time to see if he is delusional or if he is being held back.

What would we be gambling if it did not work out?

At max, the difference between the #4 or 5 seed and the #8 seed.

Nothing dramatic in my opinion, so it is worth the game.

The issue is:

Josh needs a chance to make or break.

If he broke he would still be valuable, either as a trading chip – with now everyone feeling less sorry if he left – OR eventually, he himself would realize that being chief cog is not what he is destined for.

IT IS TIME. GIVE HIM THAT CHANCE.

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JJ’s game log:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3520/gamelog;_ylt=Auc1n0yKS.V5QiWS9v306ryTPKB4

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Somebody got a link for that Derrick Williams(Blake Griffin like) left handed windmill poster dunk last night? He’s right handed…Huh?

This dude is going to be a Star @ the SF spot! Has the whole package! 6′8″ with a 36″ vert, with handles like a two guard and has an assortment of post moves!

A #2 lottery pick this year..It was a good pick for the Wolves…

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Good to be lucky…..

Those two huge 3’s by Josh during that 25-7 run were daggers! Unfortunately if you think that set shot from distance of his is gonna take this team to the promise land I’m sorry to inform you it aint happening in this time line…Ray Allen he’s not……

Moral of the story: don’t get used to it…

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vava, it would be a fascinating test study, I’ll grant you that. I’m just not a fan of using real life for test studies. Part of the evaluation would seemingly require LD/Sund to notify the opposing teams that “Josh is hereby our primary option, so please design schemes to stop him”. Because the difference between being a team’s #1 option vs. #2 is often how the opposing team approaches that player. For example, instead of instructing the weakside defender to double Joe when he catches the ball within 3 fee of the paint, you now need to tell that guy to go and double Josh. I keep coming back to the football analogy, if Marvin Harrison is doubled as the team’s big play threat, that should create ore opportunities for Reggie Wayne on the opposite side fo the field. But when Harrison retires, can Wayne maintain that same level of production?

I’d also add that with this compressed schedule, I’m not entirely sure that conclusions can be drawn this season with any team. Virtually no practice time, crazy travel schedules, more injuries than we’ve seen in recent history, some players stuck in China, etc. I would not want to make decisions that would affect the next 3 years based on this anomaly.

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Willie has got to get more minutes too! He’s very productive out there! He’s got it man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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AJ,

If you were coaching the Hawks last year when Hinrich went down you would have started Jamal against CHI.

100% guaranteed. So I rest my case.

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In order for Josh smith to have a easier post game, people have to be scared of his jump shots.. they don’t have to be scared but they need to respect it. The same go with Jeff Teague … Josh shoots a lot of jump shots because nobody respects it, just like Teague 3 point shooting. U have to get other teams to respect your weaknesses !!

That being said, this is Teague and Josh team… Everybody knows how Jo Johnson play … So if they shut him down , then he is just shut down , but Jeff and Josh , are super athletic , so they have to first get their jump shots respected so it will open up the rest of their game …

He should keep shooting and hitting jump shots until they respect it, then pump fake and go..

So should Teague

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AJ,

No, there is no real risk in spite of the possibility of great reward (again, I am not 100% confident – but I am 100% sure that it would what I would do).

Sports is just like any other business, you need to gamble from time to time. If you always play it safe you will not find the deal that will render you millionaire.

Let’s not kid ourselves. This team, without Horford has only a meager chance at reaching the second round of the playoffs, so I don’t see the financial risk you are talking about.

Instead of a trade with uncertain results lets TRADE WITHIN.

Josh is BY FAR the player in the Hawks with more potential and his unhappiness and his inability to deal with criticism has to be tackled.

As I said: it’s make or break and the chances that he would get down to Earth if he failed are great.

He has great heart and fire and seems to be a really good kid. Every single time he has a good game he ALWAYS praises the group. ALWAYS.

We know that we cannot get another guy which would allow us to maximize JJ’s Robin talent, so we need to gamble and see if we already have that guy in our roster.

LOW RISK, HIGH REWARD.

You don’t commit more salary, you don’t need to make major roster adjustments, you simply take a calculated gamble.

I am convinced that one the problems that we have is that Josh does not consider JJ worthy of chief cog status. He sees that JJ is uncomfortable in that role, that JJ’s game does not flow due to the excessive attention.

JJ had a 25ppg season when no one cared about the Hawks and no one cared if JJ went for 30 or 35 a few nights per month.

Now that the Hawks are a playoff team, people go out to stop JJ and he can’t handle that.

Josh’s bad jumpers are no worse than JJ’s half hearted ISO-plays.

NOT EVEN JJ BELIEVES in his own ISO plays. He no longer shoots with confidence like he did a few years ago.

He is mentally tired from OVERACHIEVING.

I am sure that he would be happy to contribute in a different way, a Robin like role, a Dumars role – he could be our silent assassin.

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vava, anything that is low risk and high reward sounds like an internet or Ponzi scheme.

Again, little risk if you can convince the owners to eat the lost home playoff revenue and convince LD that the outcome of the test will not affect his contract status in June. Other than those insignificant details related to the finances of the people who actually own and manage the team… sure, no risk.

The other option is for Josh to simply have fewer 10-13 point games, even if that means he won’t have as many 25+ games. There is a middle ground there that may not offer as much reward or risk. Looking over a 12-15 game sample, I think smoothing out some of those peaks and valleys would be a great place to start.

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“Looking over a 12-15 game sample, I think smoothing out some of those peaks and valleys would be a great place to start.”

AJ,

Re-read my post.

MY THEORY is that you will never get Josh to smooth out those peaks become that player UNLESS you take a gamble with him as chief cog.

He will NOT get there with gentle nudges.

Again, contrary to what doc says, Josh, IMO, is VERY SENSITIVE to criticism, he simply reacts differently than Teague.

Teague doubts himself and shies away, Josh doubts himself BUT presses on, either out of control or with his brain locked and hesitant, over thinking his jump shots – hence the air balls and bricks.

That is why I would give him 25 games of free reign to make or break.

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Willie Green is no fluke!

He’s got to get more minutes!

He put up Jamal “nimbers” and added tough defense to boot! What do ya know?

How bout that dunk attempt in traffic against the opposing Bigs? #24 would have got that rejected for sure…

This guys is 6″4″, but plays big!

#24 is 6′9″ but plays small!

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vava, again, interesting theory but not one that I would like to see executed. And frankly, I wouldn’t give free reign to any non-PG that immediately comes to mind.

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Term of the day:

Point Guard Josh…….

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Teague had plenty of time over the summer to improve his play, which he has. But Teague should be playing at a higher level in his all around game. The Hawks, when they get a couple of legit “bigs”, should be fun to watch. They need to get a cerebral legit coach, and a 6′3 cerebral point, that can capitalize on the “Linsanity”, by spreading the floor-and dictating the game. We also need an Atlanta celeb-like Spike with the Knicks, Jack with the Lakers; someone who will sit in their courtside seats night after night to cheer the Hawks on. We need a Jeremy Lin like player with the skill set who is humble and not arrogant-who cares less about the team and is more concerned with his paycheck, than being thankful to get paid to play this young boys game.

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Hey Walt how bout a Cerebal GM?..Dont forget this buster Sund!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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MARVIN WILLIAMS FOR CHRIS KAMAN

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When your guarding a two time MVP its going to take something out of you…Duh…

Bring in Pargo to give Teague a quick rest then get him back out there… Teague would have flourished in that zone like Capt Kirk did……

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I think that after JT has a hot shooting period LD says that fine & dandy but I want to see you getting your team mates more involved. So he goes out there not looking to get his shots & the stupid LD sits him on the bench. I often see him pulling him after making a good play. If you asked him why he played KH so much ,he would say he had a feeling and that would be rich because everything the dope does makes no sense.

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Starting lineup:

Teague(Penetrate and outside shot), Green(Penetrate and outside shot), JJ(Screen for open Js, and force to rebound in SF position), Josh(Post and force to rebound), and Zaza(Flop, make an illegal screen, and scream without finishing to the basket–brings energy though).

Off the Bench:

Kirk, TMAC(Post and Penetration), Marvin(Re-bounder), Vlad(Perimeter threat), and Ivan(Re-bounder).

Game. Set. Profit.

Fire LD. Hire Duane!

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Joe Johnson is pathetic…an all-star? What a joke.

Look at his stat line for this game….36 minutes, 2 for 10 from the field, 3 assist and ZERO rebounds. He gets shut down by Grant Hill? His old is he? 45?

When the Hawks move from Atlanta in a few years, people will look back at this Joe Johnson deal as the straw that broke the camel’s back. Johnson is not a winner and he is certainly not a leader.

Congrats to Josh for stepping up his game.

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Now Josh is looking for his shots as much as Joe seats is. I really don’t know if that is good or bad. We are seeing more iso basketball.

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As much as Joe does.

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The suns are a sub .500 team because they dont play much defense.

Stay tuned,Josh will be brought back down to earth..Rudy Gay he’s not..But I sure do love his defense!

ALL FREAKING DAY! JOSH is like Mozart on defense.. A thing of beauty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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IF MARVIN STARTE THE NEXT GAME THERE MUST BE AND CONSPIRACY GOING ON.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Imagine T-MAC’s head on top of Josh’s body= LBJ 2…..Hahahahaha

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no^^^^

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vava you may have misinterpreted that, in that i was saying, he responds differently to it by believing in himself and because of it has brain cramps or lock downs and does stupid things to prove himself or goes to the corner and pouts. yes, as anyone does, they respond to criticism in some way. jj is indifferent, it looks different at the surface but we see how ineffective it is, then to continue, teague contracts, al more focused, etc.

where josh has to be commended this year and as a sign of maturity late as it is, is how he has not been thrown off as much by officiating. there is more work to be done before he can be taken seriously by fans, media and coaches that do the voting that is emotional. josh, as i have said over and over is a lightening rod. in some ways josh is a late bloomer but he continues to work on his game. marvin? not so much. when osh is smash josh he is an all star. osh the man without a j, smmm……, cant type it, fumbling fast breaks away instead of releasing the ball to his point guard, is not.

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btw, marvin, the happy go lucky lovable smiling puppy, is oblivious to criticism by every measure i can see.

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Vava74, ok … I haven’t read page 2 as of yet. Ill go read that now to see where everyone is at on this perplexing core and team.

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O’Brien I agree. Difference with Woody is that if you were playing well, you would get your minutes. That’s how Flip took Acie’s spot as the backup PG, and eventually Marvin’s spot in the end of game lineup. Woody definitely had set substitution patterns, as do most coaches ( at least in the 1st half of games. )

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Najeh, nope wasn’t discussing the result, just the question. I figured I’d go with a more recent example than the old Michael Irvin Alvin Harper one from way too long ago. And Roddy/Julio would have likely warranted emotions about those two, when i am strictly speaking about production and not if one is better/preferred vs. the other.

OB, as i keep suggesting, ths is a whack-out season. It could easily be the healthiest teams (don;t the best) advance in the playoffs. If D-Rose is iffy, would any of us give them a shot past the first round? Again, this season is much too crazy to draw conclusions or make hard predictions.

I think the Hakws have as good a chance at advancing to the 2nd round as any team other than the Heat and Bulls (if Rose is relatively healthy). I don’t fear the 76ers, Magic, Celtics nor Pacers. And while I am enjoying the Lin story, I need to see what happens after 5-8 games with Lin, Melo & Amare together.

Melvin, but I didn’t see you support vava’s idea, either.

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The Knicks will continue to roll when Melo comes back! If Melo wants to win, then he will adjust to the team not the other way around! I believe he wants to win an NBA ring like he did at Syracuse! Lin will do what he does setup, and distribute…His scoring will obviously take a dip but his assists will rise..Cool!!! Hopefully his turnovers will drop significantly also as he gains more experience on the floor…

What a story.. 7 in a row now and counting?

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Screw the media!

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i’m sure most have already touched on this but after the quotes from last night’s game it warrants more attention.

the criticsm of LD’s substitution patterns deserve more attention. he doesn’t seem to understand the flow of the game. he has these set times when he substitutes people based on nothing except mere stupidity and he’s failed to realize it doesn’t work against good teams. i hate it when marvin and teague get pulled regardless of how well they’re playing at about the mid point of the 1st quarter. if josh gets pulled last night for whatever reaosn they most likely lose. stop with the automatic subsitution patterns and understand the flow of the game and make adjustments as necessary! please!

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Astro,

Keep shooting Josh…LOL

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@darrell starks Asst Coach Kenny Gattison is Marvin William’s uncle. I got an announcer saying it in a video. I checked and both are from NC.

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It’s it funny that so many in the media says Melo (the 6-7 time all-star) has to adjust his game to play with a 2nd year player who will be starting his 8th game of his career this weekend.

Lin has played well so far for the Knicks but i want to see him remain at or close to this level for the rest of the season before I crown him King. I think he may level off once teams have more scouting tape on him.

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melvin: i’m sure the numbers will come down, but it doesn’t take away from what he’s been able to accomplish so far. absolutely linipressive any way you want to spin it. hawks vs knicks club level tix starting at 250. sick.

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i remember salimfan. HAH!

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honest_abe,

I’m not trying to take any credit from what Lin has done. I prefer to see more than a 8-9 game sample before i say he’s the cornerstone for the team.

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Melvin,

Salimfan didn’t use straw man arguments. That’s your first clue.

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Melvin,

One benefit that Lin has is fresh legs, so it will be interesting to see how he does when 1)teams get more film on him 2)his legs get tired from the crazy schedule 3)he has to balance keeping Carmelo and Amare happy

As for taking Rudy Gay and trading Marvin or Chills, I thought the same thing about Brandon Roy. If we had drafted him, Hawks could have played him and JJ together, or turn around and trade him for a big man. Why limit yourself to the Landlord?

But the ASG likes GMs (BK and Rick) who doesn’t seem to have alot of creativity.

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AJ, Najeh,

As long as we don’t play the Bulls, Heat, or 76ers in the first round, I am confident in our ability to make the second round (although Rod from CP isn’t, because we don’t have another scorer).

I have my doubts against those 3 teams though (assuming they are healthy).

As for the JJ double team argument, #1 WR get doubled all the time, and they still find a way to get their numbers, and/or make the big catch in crunch time. I havent seen many big plays in crunch time from JJ when we play good teams.

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abe,

That’s NOT to say that LD doesn’t have plenty to learn, LOL.

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other names for jj

ambien man
tryptophan joe

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SalimFan had a totally different writing style from Leuer’s mom.

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SteveW,

Maybe Lin wasn’t a good practice player like we seen mention about Teague on this blog…LOL

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I think JJ is just tired, exacerbating the iso-problem he already has. I think he comes out strong in Portland, and closes strong against the Bulls, Knicks, and Orlando.

About old guys getting tired – they are saying in LA that after a fast start Kobe is fading fast. This condensed season is getting to alot of guys.

And Josh is making alot of Coach’s look stupid for no All Star game – what a great 3 out of 4 games since the selection – Elite numbers.

Hawks, unless you get really, really good value in a trade – Re-sign Josh!

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OB, the elite #1 receivers but not every #1 receiver. Basketball is a game of averages. If you average 16 points, you likely have a game-to-game scoring range of 12-20. Maybe you score 12 against good teams and 20 against bad teams. Maybe a math major would suggest that the range is greater for lesser players and lesser for dominant players. For example, maybe Joe’s 18 is spread acorss 12-24 but someone like Marcus Thornton (a little more erratic but also in the 18 point range) is 8-28.

Bottom line, allplayers perform less than average, it is the very nature of averages. Yes, I’d like Joe to be at or above his average against elite competition. In lieu of that, i guess we have nothing left to do but beat a dead horse about it (or consider other ways that he helps the team win). Never mine, where’s that dead horse?

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Melvin, please pay attention:

I WOULD NEVER TRADE JOSH FOR MELO, even if LaLa watched every game with me in my den (wife’s permission of course).

IMO, he may be the most overrated “superstar” in the NBA. No thanks.

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Melvin – Great line!

Najeh – I’m not sure I trade Josh for ‘Melo – ‘Melo is older, has poor conditioning, costs quite a bit more – but what a scorer. He’s one of those throwback scorers like George Gervin, Adrian Dantley and the bunch. I know his style is different – but he’s a scorer with no conscience.

Josh really impressed me with his off season work ethic – the guy wants to win and succeed in. I just hope we’re in talks with him now, and not doing the Jamal thing.

I would like to see how we do with Marvin coming off the bench, and starting Ivan (preferably) or Vlad Rad at the 4, and Josh at the 3. I think a ZaZa, Ivan, Josh, JJ, Teague starting lineup could be very effective, and with our deep bench, we could possibly make a better run than we already are.

19-11 with Horford down since game 11? I’ll take it. I’d prefer to win every game, but I’ll take it.

And I’m for re-signing Dampier for the remainder of the season if the numbers work. He looks better than Jason Collins in almost every facet of the game already. And maybe he could body up Dwight just as well.

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Melvin, who’s calling him “poor Joe”? He’s got his contract, his All-Star status and a big ole car… I doubt that he is losing sleep over a poor shooting game against the Heat, Lakers or 76ers. I’m just sugesting reasons why he may not be able to be the 25 point scorer against the better defensive teams. Everytime I ask “how” I get stuff like “step up” or “draw more fouls”. One is about as specific as “do better” and the other requires that he change his game completely.

BTW, the dead horse asked for a 10 second break so he could find a more comfortable position for the next beating.

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Break’s over… have at it (again).

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FIRE LD
FIRE SUND

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It’s being reported all over the internet that the ‘Wolves are begging LA to do a Derrick Williams for Pau Gasol swap. Maybe Williams isn’t as good as advertised? I dunno, I’ve barely seen him play, and don’t keep up with his stats.

One trade that’s been proposed on some sites I’m def. not feelin’ is Josh/Hinrich for Gasol – now Marvin/Hinrich and a 1st pick in ‘13 for Gasol I can feel – but I highly doubt the Lakers take that one.

But I am almost at the point that Vlad Rad is probably about as good as Marvin at SF. So with Dampier, you can move Ivan back to 4 to back up Josh, ZaZa and Damp at 5, and that makes Marvin expendable.

So a combo of Marvin/Hinrich, since I think Pargo is serviceable at backup Point, I wonder what they could get us? Kaman? Haywood and somebody? Somebody suggested Odom and Vince for Marvin and Hinrich – that may be nice.

Should have an interesting next 29 days until the trade deadline, especially after March 1st when so many players can be traded.

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“But I am almost at the point that Vlad Rad is probably about as good as Marvin at SF.”

Really, I reached that conclusion weeks ago.

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“What I see from Jeremy and what I hear in his interviews is he appreciates everything. He pursues his dream. His attitude is so peaceful, but there is strength to him. It is not a violent strength like fire or something aggressive. It is like the ocean, very peaceful, very quiet when you look at it. But you can never underestimate the power that is in there.”
-Yaostradamus

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Amnesty Al Horford next season..or Joe Johnson…

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If Duck could have maintained his 15 and 8 he had for a brief moment KH and Duck for Melo would have been plausible. Alas Duck won’t elevate his game for this franchise.

Hate to say it but Josh is gone after 2013. He’ll get his money and be on a better ran organization. Finally on a team that has a true point guard and competent coaching staff. Irving and Josh would be scary for Cleveland….

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Najeh, that helps the Hawks. JR is just a more athletic Crawford who will shoot a team out of a game when given the chance. And he’s not a great defender either.

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The Hawks should sign Allen Iverson before the February 26 deadline for signing. What’s wrong with that. You get an All-Star shooting guard who can play the point. Just aquiring a strong name like Iverson-will get the fans to come out to the Phillips-if only for the curisity part. He can mentor Teague and add excitement to the dead crowd/team. You can get rid of some dead wieght on the team and pay him a little som-som-in. He’ll take it, because he wants badly to return to the NBA. Ok? What are your thoughts? By the way, why is it that I read about these things on other sports pages online, and Atlanta’s own sports writers on AJC are slow to blog articles such as who the Hawks may want to sign?

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SteveW i like that starting line up, but will Coach make a change, LD have been watching Marvin for 7years i wonder what he thinking every night trotting Marvin out there every night.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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STARTERS TEAGUE, JOE, JOSH, IVAN OR VLAD, ZAZA

This is a solid starting team for the Hawks.

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I would say starte Green but then your starting back court would be to small, along with a smallish front court.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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6. Hawks get: Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson
Magic get: Al Horford, Kirk Hinrich, picks

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edit: They (ORL) hit another bad patch while we stay afloat the Magic tank and take Horford+ Hinrich. for Anderson+Dwight. That would be an automatic title!

My goodness. It wouldnt even be a question. The question is how many picks would we have to give up. 10? lol. Whats the most you can give up?

Then if Dwight leaves after we win the title he’ll be viewed as a quitter. We all want to win here and having Dwight join forces…

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2011/12/28/atlanta-hawks-dangling-for-dwight-howard/

The problem is they (85yo owner) wants to remain competitive not rebuild. So it seems like pie in the sky.

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Where are all my bitchazz Josh haters tonight? Make some noise Bitchesss…

Hinrich is much better than Teague. Its if the hawks expect to elevate their level of play it time to put Hinrich back with the starters.

Make some noise Smoove haters.

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Road Rage,

Please tell us how Hinrich is so much better than Teague?

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Hey T-s,

Are you sticking to your story that MC posted a story about a locker room fight between Al and Josh?

Give us a link, so we can relive it!

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“Please tell us how Hinrich is so much better than Teague?”

Why does that look like a statement disguised as a question?

MattP who is us? you are the only one asking the obvious question. Every body knows teague is a bone head who is to clueless to know how to run an offense.. Who the puck is Us? The rally against Phoenix was because clueless was on the bench and Hinrich was running point.
Teague is a ball hog and thats about all. Hinrich is a true point guard who can run an offense, Teague isnt and cant.

who the puck is Us?

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Sautee, I see how you twist my statements. I said that MC published that there was drama in the hawk locker room I did not say there was a fight as in someone through and punch and some one countered with a punch. MC put it out there that there was internal strife in the locker room and it supported the rumor floating that Josh JJ and Marv got in Al’s face about his running mouth thingy with wanting to play Josh’s position.. Teague was behind Al but it unclear if he was on Al’s side or he was going to Jump Al from behind.

Nobody knows.

If you doubt that MC put forth a story about the internal locker room drama, why dont you write MC and ask him. This is his site, his page. Im not going to go back months ago to help you get caught up. Michael Cunningham is an email away. Check it for yourself. Its not my fault you backed trouble maker Al.

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Road Rage,

The rally against Phoenix was because Smith and Green were hot, not because Hinrich. Yes, Teague does make some bone head plays but you also have to look at the fact that this is is first season playing heavy minutes. How many seasons has Hinrich played 30+ minutes? Hinrich does nothing better out there, I still see him doing stupid things at times. He does not drive to the basket, and he does not get fouls. Hinrich did looked better out defensive at the end but were is he defensive during the other games? I see other PG running right by him.

And there are others here that say Teague is better than Hinrich, that is why I said us.

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There are others out here that see how stupid teague is after all this time in the league. Hes had more than enough pampering and babying and still hes just a ball hog. He doesnt have the mind of a true point guard. He puts me in the mind of a Rumeal Robinson or a Spudd Webb but Spudd was better than teague. I just shake my head at all these games with teague having 2 or 3 assist and most of those come in garbage time when the game is already lost. Teague doesnt have a clue. Hinrich is much better.

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Look at that nash assist stat… Thats what you want out of your point guard. Get the guys going and the offense clicking. Dont just be a ball hog teague.

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Oh wait…the troll changed names…that’s why the argument was so inane.

Nevermind….

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COL (cry out loud) at the idea of Joe Johnson having to tell LD to keep Josh Smith in the game. Absolutely pathetic.

Well, as some of us said long before Buddy Grizzard came along – LD was the pick of the players as HC, and Gearon ran right over Sund, who actually had an original thought for once….and the rest is history.

Until ownership is changed (or lobotomized), there is not much to hope for.

Amnesty Joe….his contract doesn’t allow us to do anything, and we’re stuck with the mental limits of the super talented Josh Smith, who is carrying this team more often than Joe, this season. There’s a first time for everything, eh….?

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Nevermind….

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LOL….and the gay references are old. When are you going to come up with new material? Come on, man…this ish is weak. But then, that’s probably why your girl left you…..oops!

Later, y’all…now that I’ve stirred up the troll…..

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Big Gay Ray, now the story’s been told!

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Better off not talking to an idiot.

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This guy’s trolling big time. Dont feed him!

Shoot does anyone still think we have a chance at Dwight+Ryan for Horford+Hinrich? We finally get to move Smith to SF where he’s get more all star respect.

However, the Big Trade chip is not tradeable until March 1st.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjkPlFknaqE

Everytime I try to put 2 videos up to show you guys it says “pointguardslim Your comment is awaiting moderation.” I had to copy and paste into separate posts. So on my screen this post will make 3 posts. smh

Well thats the basic play that our offense should be making. Clear out for Josh + a talented guard. Pnr Collapses the defense, forming a situation similar to a fast break. Mismatches and scrambling, defense, switches etc.

oh yeah and GO HAWKS

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Joe Johnson: 0 rebounds in 3 of the last 4 games

Only 2 givens with this team:
1) Marvin will be the invisible man
2) Joe won’t get rebounds (he is 6″7 and the biggest SG in the league)

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“Sautee, I see how you twist my statements. I said that MC published that there was drama in the hawk locker room I did not say there was a fight as in someone through and punch and some one countered with a punch.”

Here’s some of your own words. Tell me how I twisted saying that you spoke of a locker room fight?

System Update

February 1st, 2012
7:26 pm

“With Al going down, cohesion and focus increased”,

“I couldn’t agree more. All the constant bickering about wanting to play another position, the refusal to assert in the post, the locker room fights, Tito getting involved, the leaks in the press, boy, it wasn’t about winning or playing as a team. ”

So you didn’t mention “locker room fights”, eh?

Liar.

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PG slim, there’s one slight thing wrong with your Josh at SF theory. He loves to shoot jumpers.

Even when he played the 3 last year, he did none of what you’re talking about. He stayed on the perimeter more than ever and rarely looked to post up. Instead, he’d get the ball about 20 ft away from the basket and launched jumpers.

The question isn’t where you play Josh. The question is can you change his mindset to full attack mode by playing in the paint?

You play Josh at the 3, and you’re gonna need 2 rebounding bits to gather in the misses from he, JJ, and Hinrich ( when Drew replaces Teague as the starter )

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Ton Thiboudeu just gave his team a mouthful something Drew doesn’t do when were having a bad run!

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JJ has sucked rebounding. 3 rebounds in 4 games is unacceptable. He’s letting these teams take him right out of the game and he’s living on the perimeter way too much. I haven’t liked the way he’s played this month at all.

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i see kenyon martin smiling having a good time playing on the clippers

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Dont like Josh at the 3 spot..Weak handles and broke J…

Your small forward has to be skilled like a 2 guard but larger and stronger.. He’s a special basketball player cause he can utilized his perimeter skills or post play to be productive and score the ball to take the pressure off his guards..Thats why those guys get paid handsomely! And Should”

JC1 is nailing his 3’s tonight on TNT!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_LAAjEKCVY

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fite in locker room was between jordan crawford and eton thomas.
mo evans also was envolved but it started in practice when eton was knocking jc2 aroundand
cotinued into the locker room. mo evans dont like jc2 and took etons side.
al and josh broke it up while joe watched quiet from the corner.
check my fax. thats the real fite story. look it up. etan always a fighter evan in washn ton.
wood fite with brandon hayward in practice everyday.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aexEdRP3htc&feature=related

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Hawks going to the Eastern Conference Finals

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^A real up and coming point guard!

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“If LDrew benches Teague, and hinders his development and/or damages his confidence, in favor of starting a noticeably declining Hinrich, who’s in the final yr of his contract, he should be fired.” – Ken S.

I know this sounds like conspiracy theory but I honestly think Drew let drose isolate and go one-on-one vs. Teague to try to humiliate Teague and devalue him in front of a national audience. I believe LD hates Teague THAT MUCH. Kirk will be gone at the trade deadline or won’t be re-signed so Teague is the future. Seems like LD would want to be able to take credit for Teague’s development when ownership decides if they want to pick up his option for next year.

“IVAN NEED MORE MINUTES POINT BLANK PERIOD” – darrell starks

What the hell happened to Ivan?? Dude was balling out of his mind and into LD’s dog house he goes never to return. Another asset LD is completely failing to develop. LD thought Josh Powell was better than Zaza last year.

“LD was so incompetent that it took him almost the whole game to switch to ZONE or trap Nash.” – Big Lou

The Hawks win in spite of LD, not because of LD.

“If he signs with the Bulls, that gives them a legit scorer to help D-Rose when defenses get tight in the playoffs. That would be huge for the Bulls.” – O’Brien

J.R. Smith does not fit with CHI’s team-first culture. Probably 0% chance he ends up there.

“If Melo wants to win, then he will adjust to the team not the other way around!” – Slimjr

Bill Simmons on Grantland was saying the Lin situation gives Melo a second chance to start over with New York fans. If he fits in they will embrace him. Accordign to Simmons, “if he messes it up even for one game, they’re going to turn on him faster than women turned on Angelina after she broke up Brad and Jen.”

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EmirS.

You are one of my favorite bloggers;
so I will attempt to relieve your anxiety about Rondo v Jeremy Lin.

disclaimer – I don’t know nuthin’ about fantasy B-ball

Do turnovers count or hurt in fntsy b-ball ?
* J.Lin makes a slew o’ turnovers *

Besides, as you said Rondo is Rondo.
Do steals count ? If so – go Rondo !

I think Lin is for real; but ‘`how`’ real.

Stay with Rondo.

My opinion [fntsy b-ball] is worth about a half a nickel.
Good Luck !

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You gotta love the Jeremy Lin story. I only hope he can stick with the team and keep doing decent/good things for them. Hate for him to be a flash in the pan.

But Najeh is right (which happens often)….the book will be out on Lin before he knows it.

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Earlier today I saw some Josh for Melo talk;
and folks were saying Melo was older than Josh ?

Just by one year;
someone may have already cleared this up,
but Melo [age] 27, Josh [age] 26.

If we were to do that – age would not be a factor.

I’m * Not * saying I would be *for or against* a Josh for Melo trade.
-but-
Melo would be Batman to Joe’s Robin;
forming a better dynamic.

Melo is a Great Post Scorer (something we need).

` Tis an idea with merit.

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J.R. Smith may be more athletic [jump higher]
than Jamal Crawford;
but, he is ‘`not`’ more skilled.
Both can shoot, Jamal more scorer than shooter.
Jamal quite a bit more skilled all ’round.

-only an assessment-

Not saying one better, or one worth more, than the other.

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High-sider,

“Jahii Carson!

A real point up and coming point guard!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwHYtn8iTWs&feature=related”

Kid is nice. Jamal is balling tonight. Cat is shooting 95% from the FT line this year. Think about how many more games we would have won with him shooting free throws. We have blown 2 or three games this year because no one can hit a free throw.

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Joe Johnson need some Viagra because he is suffering from performanc anxiety due to that Fat A– contract he got. He is under too much pressure to perform.

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Clippers sail past Blazers 74-71.

Raymond Felton officially sucks; 0-7 from the field, 0-1 from the 3pt. arc, 0-0 from the FT line, 2rebs., 2asts., 1stl., 5tos. [turnovers] and 0pts.

Former Atlanta Hawk, Jamal Crawford had a [Blazers] team[-tying] high 19pts. to go along with 3asts.

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Meant Amare. Not amateur

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“JR is a bad apple in the locker room.”

“Speaking of Denver, when you’re a player, JR, and can’t get along with Karl, something is definitely wrong! Karl is the most green light coach in the league, and still thought JR was a bad team guy!”

So I assume you have been in the locker room to see this. I guess you Kenyon Martin, Chauncy Billups and Carmelo were all talking on the phone about how bad a locker room guy JR is. LOL

I guess all of the hall of famers with no rings are terrible also. (Nique, Barkley, Malone, Stockton….)

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“We should be able to beat Portland with no Aldridge. Nobody else can score except Jamal.”

You know your favorite Hawk is going to be matched up on Gerald Wallace in that game, right? That’s not going to be pretty…

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“Check out my post @ 12:07am regarding Jahii Carson, if you haven’t already.”

Yeah, cat looks like the next Derrick Rose.

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Forgot about Wilson Chandler. That would be a huge upgrade as well.

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Najeh,

I don’t care if Smoove put up those numbers against Frye and the Suns and I know that Josh has flaws in his game.

The issue is not that it is guaranteed that Smoove would excel as the chief cog, the issue is that we need to give him a chance, a make or break chance.

That gamble only has upside.

I do believe that I have pin pointed Smoove’s mental status regarding all facets of his Hawks’ life:

1. We reacts badly to criticism, trying too hard to prove doubters wrong and overthinking too much when he shoots;

2. He does not consider JJ worthy of chief cog status because he sees how he struggles in that position now that the Hawks are a playoff team;

3. He feels – and feeling has nothing to do with effectively being able to – that he should be the Hawks’ #1 guy.

IMO, the gamble is worthwhile since I really believe that Josh himself would realize what is perfect role would be.

He has earned that opportunity and since a lot of people now are willing to trade him it befuddles me that they are not willing to gamble 4 or 5 wins less giving him this opportunity (I am not talking about LD and Sund who want wins at any cost to preserve their jobs).

Even if Josh failed as the #1 guy, I think that experience would take a lot of unhappiness and tension from him and that we would be the beneficiaries.

Just give him 25 games of #1 status, with clear instructions for JJ to follow suit (I am convinced that JJ would perfectly respect that).

The guy deserves a chance to make or break.

Since 1973 only he and Lebron put up a stat line like that. It’s not a mere chance.

JJ is shooting .42 and he keeps getting terrible ISO opportunities in which it seems that he himself no longer believes in and we all harp Josh because of his jumpers?

Yes, they are untimely but remove the criticism and the pressure. Give him freedom and he will have the opportunity to, in 25 games, find his comfort zone and stop trying to go against critics.

Josh’s shooting woes are mental and like many things mental there is small chance that you can solve them if you remove some stress factors.

Give him the status and see what happens.

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Gerald Wallace just put up 7 points and 4 boards in 42 minutes.

Smoove is faster this year and matches up better with Wallace.

If Smoove brings his A game he can easily win the match up.

JJ can shut down Batum and Marvin can be the Gatorade boy from the second quarter onwards.

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Big Ray,

comments please:

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-government/bill-proposes-massive-overhaul-1351904.html

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beating Phoenix means jack. they’re sub 500 so big deal. Hawks will lose the next 3.

LD continues reinforcing just how bad his subs are. taking out a red hot Teague in the first and leaving in an ice cold JJ was possibly the dumbest sub of the season so farand there’s been a few)!

josh played bad and good yet again. I wonder if u got in a good coach who made Josh attack the rim and not lead the break, I reckon he’d easily be an all-star (if he listened that is).

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Let’s be real here no matter what the Hawks do, they are not going to beat the 76’s, Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat in the playoffs. Their inability to not land a good center has hurt this team, coupled with Joe Johnson not being able to elevate his game against stiff competition. This guy Johnson simply doesn’t show up in big games…..

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Najeh,

With D-Rose out, Deng had 23 pts, 10 assists in a win against the Celtics.

Ra’mon,

Despite being a scorer, guys need to be benched sometimes (depending on game flow, shot selection, and performance), and I think that is what Karl was doing to JR. Has he had some off the court issues? Sure. But I would love to have him on my team.

Good game for Jamal last night. 7-18 from the field, 19 points. But Blazers only score 11 in the 4th, and lost.

Rod,

The Hawks were not going to go into luxury tax for Jamal (or anybody for that matter). And they painted themselves into a corner this season by keeping Stackhouse (and even Twin to a lesser extent). So now, we can’t even offer the pro-rated vet min to anybody w/o going into luxury tax at the end of the year.

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http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20120216&game=LACPOR

Rod,

Jamal on the floor from mid 3rd quarter until the buzzer, playing AT the PG (Felton came in for a short stint in the 4th).

Blazers lose the lead and the game, scoring only 11 points in the 4th.

This proves 2 things:

1. McMillan is just as idiot as LD was last year;

2. With Jamal on the floor it is not guaranteed that a team will score more points (in particular if he plays the point).

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High-sider
February 17th, 2012
8:38 am

Half of that list is comparable with Marvin.

Martel and Terence are two major busts.

Nate is basically an entertaining but unreliable player.

Aaron is questionable as a bona fide starter in the NBA.

Hawes seems to be making his mark now but its too early to tell.

Ridnour is a solid backup.

Crawford is a major individual talent but not a top grade NBA player (second tier).

Roy is a major shame.

Terry had a fine career with the ring and his clutch performance in the finals validating it (maybe Jamal will find a place before he ends his career and where he can be used within a good structure and also get his – BUT I doubt it).

Isiah is the only unquestionable of the list.

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STARTERS LIN, JR, CARMELO, AMAR’E, CHANDLER

BENCH SHUMPERT, FIELD, BILL WALKER, JEFFREIS, JORDON

NBA TITLE FOR THE KNICKS

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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darrell,

please, re-start taking your medicine.

the Knicks will – no doubt – be a much more dangerous team but they will not have neither the mind set, nor the coaching to succeed at that level.

their ceiling – with luck – is the ECF.

my preview? first round exit.

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VAVA74 WHO WILL BEAT THEM THE HAWKS ? SMDH LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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JM – In the reports, which appear credible, unlike 90%+ of the trade rumors out there – It has something to do with he being from Spain to go along with Rubio. Maybe Rubio needs help adapting to culture or something, but that’s what the reports are saying.

Or this being the USA, maybe it would have something to do with marketing, we are a commercial culture aren’t we!

I will tell you Rubio and Gasol on the same team would cause somebody some problems.

Maybe the ‘Wolves would move KLove to SF? Who knows with that dysfunctional franchise. They’ve been so bad for so long, they’re about to draft their way into a pretty good team in spite of themselves.

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vava74/darrell starks:

D’Antoni might not be the sharpest tool in the shed for saying out loud that LIN was a stroke of luck and that neither he nor the org had anything to do with it. But he was honest enough to say that LIN was pure luck……for what it’s worth.

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@vava74

“Jamal on the floor from mid 3rd quarter until the buzzer, playing AT the PG (Felton came in for a short stint in the 4th).

Blazers lose the lead and the game, scoring only 11 points in the 4th.

This proves 2 things:

1. McMillan is just as idiot as LD was last year;

2. With Jamal on the floor it is not guaranteed that a team will score more points (in particular if he plays the point).” – vava74

RE-POST:

High-sider
February 17th, 2012
1:36 am

“Clippers sail past Blazers 74-71.

Raymond Felton officially sucks; 0-7 from the field, 0-1 from the 3pt. arc, 0-0 from the FT line, 2rebs., 2asts., 1stl., 5tos. [turnovers] and 0pts.

Former Atlanta Hawk, Jamal Crawford had a [Blazers] team[-tying] high 19pts. to go along with 3asts.” – High-sider

Vava74, read the stat line for Raymond Felton [or Fatton or Fat ton or Fat one] in my re-post regarding last night’s Clippers-Blazers game. It’s “official”; Felton sucks. Are you telling me that Felton should have continued to play in last night’s game based on his performance from the first three quarters? Felton was basically giving the Blazers nothing. Jamal had to come in and handle the point guard duties. Jamal scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half. Gerald Wallace, who scored only seven points, had an off-night and LaMarcus Aldridge was out with [an ankle] injury. The Blazers had no [low-]post [scoring] presence. You can’t possibly [in your right mind] blame the Blazers’ loss to the Clippers last night entirely on Jamal Crawford.

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“They’ve been so bad for so long, they’re about to draft their way into a pretty good team in spite of themselves.”

So in other words they are the Western Conference version of the Hawks?

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Are you the same Samuel who is the blog’s #1 Woody fan? Haven’t seen you around much ever since LD proved that he is clearly better than Woody…

that’s cold man. heh

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Najeh, I figured that Samuel wasn’t coming around because a “Europunk” won the title, AND Finals MVP last spring.

even more cold. heh

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Drew a better coach than Woody? I don’t know about all of that.

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More from the link:

“Anyone who has ever enjoyed an NBA game in their entire life, save for those who don’t currently rank the Phoenix Suns as their favorite team, would prefer the Suns trade their impressive group of nice guys and incredibly intelligent basketball minds to various teams in order to enrich the league as a whole. That is to say, “please trade Steve Nash, Grant Hill, and Jared Dudley”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/the-phoenix-suns-refuse-to-dismantle-their-team-because-of-we-cant-tell?urn=nba,wp14598

The perception of the Suns as “nice” guys who will never win a title is similar to Barkley label of the Hawks. But is Suns management reactions to this perception any different than the Hawks?

“To which the Suns reply, “We’re good, thanks.” Citing the fact that “blowing up” (their phrase) a team can go terribly wrong if luck and the wrong hands are at the helm, the Suns are going to rest on their laurels as the 13th seed in the Western Conference, on pace for what would typically be a 33-win season.”

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vava74,

Marvin Williams’ “legacy” is that he [Marvin Williams] was “the player taken [drafted] ahead of Chris Paul” in the 2005 NBA Draft.

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High-sider,

Close to half of the guys you listed are on or around – both above and below – Marvin’s level in terms of NBA Value.

They may even have more skill but don’t have anything to show for either.

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Also, I don’t give a damn if Jamal goes ballistic and scores 40 points on us tomorrow.

It simply does not change anything. He is a roller-coaster, all offense, no conscience, no team ball type of player.

I never negated his talented. Merely framed him within the boundaries of the game of basketball – which, you should learn – is a team sport.

Jamal is a fine gunslinger, capable of incredible moves. A true wonder to watch if you are not too interested in the result of the game.

But as a fan of a team which completely miss used him on year 2, I know that he is just like crack to coaches.

20 minutes on average per game TOPS. And that’s it.

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vava74,

“Rod,

Jamal on the floor from mid 3rd quarter until the buzzer, playing AT the PG (Felton came in for a short stint in the 4th).

Blazers lose the lead and the game, scoring only 11 points in the 4th.

This proves 2 things:

1. McMillan is just as idiot as LD was last year;

2. With Jamal on the floor it is not guaranteed that a team will score more points (in particular if he plays the point).”

Somehow I knew either you or northcyde was going to post something stupid like this. This is a prime example of looking at stats, and coming to an incorrect conclusion. Both of you guys should seriously start actually looking at the games. If you watched that Portland game, you will realize that Jamal was actually the only guy on the team, in the second half that could score. They scored a total of 28 points in the second half, and Jamal scored 13 of those. If it were not for him, they lose by 30. Jamal was the sole offensive threat on the team yesterday, the Clippers knew that and defended accordingly. Felton was terrible. Nate McMillian had no choice, but to play Jamal at the point. The stats will also tell you that Jamal outplayed Chris Paul last night, but you failed to mention that. I watched the game, so I know what really happened, obviously you don’t.

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I don’t think LD is better than woody but they both are pretty lousy.

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Obrien, JR had a run in in the club that caused him to get suspended for some games. I just don’t think he’s a good fit there. He’ll be better in LA, and really would be best at OK City.

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vava74,

Your responses prove my point. Thanks. My statement was that Jamal outplayed Chris Paul yesterday. You responded by posting 4th quarter stats. Jamal for the game shot a higher percentage from the field, scored more points, same amount of assist, less turnovers, shot better from the free-throw line. Chris Paul was held almost scoreless until the 4th quarter, and being that I watched the game, I realize he was being guarded by Wesley Matthews the whole game, but you would not know that because you looked at the stats. Please watch the games. You get a little different perspective than playing fantasy basketball. LOL

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LD is Head & Shoulders above Woody.
Period & Case Cosed.

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vava74 and slimjr,

I know Jamal scored 19 out of the Blazers 71 points last night. I believe that’s over 25% of the [Blazers] team’s points. You do the math; you book it. I wonder where Marvin Williams will be when his current contract with the Hawks is up [expired]. Jamal is a better passer, ball-handler, perimeter shooter, playmaker, facilitator and set-up man than Felton, Teague, Hinrich, Pargo, Bibby and Willie Green. Jamal would have had more assists with the Hawks last year if it wasn’t for second unit scrubs like “hands of stone” Z-Pac[k] aka Zaza Pachulia mishandling passes and blowing [missing] easy shots.

First Round 2011 NBA Playoffs : Atlanta vs. Orlando

Game 1 – ATL def. ORL 103 – 93 [Crawford scored 23pts.]
Game 2 – ORL def. ATL 88 – 82 [Crawford scored 25pts.]
Game 3 – ATL def. ORL 88 – 84 [Crawford scored 23pts.]
Game 4 – ATL def. ORL 88 – 85 [Crawford scored 25pts.]
Game 5 – ORL def. ATL 101 – 76 [Crawford scored 8pts.]
Game 6 – ATL def. ORL 84-81 [Crawford scored 19pts.]

2011 First Round Playoff Series

Atlanta Hawks Total Team Points – 521

Jamal Crawford Total Points – 123

123/521 = 23.608% or 24% [rnd]; Jamal accounted for 24% of the Hawks total points in the first rnd.

In summary, no Jamal Crawford in the first round of last year’s playoffs for the Hawks means no advance to the second round of last year’s playoffs for the Hawks. You will feel the pinch this year from the Hawks’ lack of offense in the playoffs this year. You book it and you do the math.

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Gotta love Rod’s unconditional defense of Jamal. And if you cite stats to prove your point, you didn’t watch the game.

People who watched the game saw Jamal at the point guard do nothing but look for his own shot the entire 2nd half because he couldn’t get the Blazers into their offensive sets. That’s part of the reason why he had to settle for all of those late possession shots.

12 shots, 0 assists, -15 plus/minus in the 2nd half. . . . with him running the point. But people are supposed to overlook that when he takes 12 shots in 20 minutes?

Felton was truly garbage, so Jamal had to play the point. But he had to play it like a PG, not a 2 guard. This has been the issue with him his entire career. If people have watched his career, they’d know that.

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And once again, high cites jamal’s numbers in the Orlando series, but completely glosses over his pure ineptness in the Chicago series. If not for his game 1 exploits, his numbers in that series would’ve been truly horrific.

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IOUwr High-sider,

If both you and rod were so up Jamal’s back side you would notice that my post was:
uma
A) a criticism of McMillan;
B) an implied criticism of LD;
C) an affirmation that Jamal can’t and should not play PG

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Rod,

My statement was that Jamal outplayed Chris Paul yesterday..

Jamal: 2-5 FG, 4 points, 2 turnovers, 1 steal.
CP3: 4-7 FG, 11 pts, 3 rebs, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover.

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And LOL @ jamal’s 13 points keeping the Blazers from losing by 30. How is that when the Blazers were winning the entire game……until Jamal took over at the point?

Who really watched the game?

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