Atlanta Hawks: On playoff seeding

Weird rule, but as long as we’d get home court…..

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Thanks for that MC, because I wondered about this.

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Thanks for clearing this up, MC! At the end of the day, you’ve got to win 4 games, regardless of which court the 4 games you win are on. Having 4 games on the home court does not guarantee a win each time.

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The Hawks need the Home court advantage in the worst way..

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hurt me again mc as i post, you shut it down and it is never to be retrieved again because if i try to copy and paste it is gone; just like what happens when the duplicate error arrives and a post doesnt.

oh well glad you clarified what only the slowest here havent been able to accept.

ok next nagging most likely question we already know the answer to: gee mc, when is horford going to be able to play? when are you ever going to give us another follow up on that pressing issue of my day?

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Good, because i think we can beat Boston, but i dont want to play miami or chicago that soon.

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MC,
Why didn’t T-Mac see the court in the Bobcats blowout?

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I didn’t know that the team with the better record would have home court. Thanks, Michael.

I want the Celtics. Would love to see the Hawks end that team. That series would be awesome.

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Every body been screaming for the big lineup and me included.

STARTERS TEAGUE, JOE, JOSH, IVAN,ZAZA

BENCH PARGO, GREEN, TMAC, MARVIN, COLLINS

RESERVE HINRICH, VLAD, DAMPIER

IR HORFORD,

ASSIT. COACH STACK

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

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Big lineup and defense will be the key for the Hawks success.

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

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my educated guess is that it’s a kind of tug-o-war where LD wants to see T-Mac have better work habits… You mean head coaches may use practice habits to determine playing time in real games? Wow, that’s a crazy idea.

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“They get to hang up a banner.” – Josh

Shots fired at Turner Field????????? lmao

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AJ, in most seasons that would be understandable. But T-Mac is a veteran in a crazy scheduled season. If T-Mac isn’t going all out in practice, I can’t really blame him. Stackhouse and Pargo have never had the injuries that T-Mac has came back from.

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T-Mac knows how to play the game.. Let him save himself for the serious playoff war about to kickoff..This ole veteran will be ready to operate out there..He knows what he’s doing…

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MC,

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed answer. Actually, I was just being a smart-A. Not as a slight against you. Just being playful.

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slimj you are the guy always talking about winners and everything. for my edification as an illiterate soul like myself, you care to tell me when exactly tmac has had his input to help win a big playoff series? did he ever get out of the first round with any team? didnt he end up on injured reserve list with a bad back due to lack of conditioning one year?

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But Rod the Hawks savior All NBA maybe back to give them 9 points and 7 rebs per game… LMAO!

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“slimj you are the guy always talking about winners and everything. for my edification as an illiterate soul like myself, you care to tell me when exactly tmac has had his input to help win a big playoff series? did he ever get out of the first round with any team? didnt he end up on injured reserve list with a bad back due to lack of conditioning one year?”

Hate to jump in doc, but TMac not winning a playoff series had nothing to do with him. He actually upped his scoring average in the playoffs. The guy has a career playoff scoring average of 28.5ppg. Only so much you can do with the likes of Andrew DeClerq, Pat Garrity and Jaque Vaghn playing along side of you. In Houston, Yao could not stay healthy.

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Hey doc what do I know? I was a nobody yesterday and today a Knicks fan! LMAO!!!!!!

Biggie Smalls has a ego the size of Mount Everest!

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rod, around here that is only making excuses. funny how folks play that card when it is favorable to their argument and forget it when it isnt.

guess even though he was on teams that were able to get in the playoffs he wasnt able to get them any further. tmac was also injury prone. anyway it is not tem years ago or even 7 when he was at the top of his game and not sure why folks dont see that. he goes about 5 mph slower than the rest of the team. now we might have to hear how bad our guys are if they dont get to the next level as losers and posters want to say how great tmac is?

slimj i though you were a mule yesterday or was it friday then on easter you resurrected as a knicks fan? shame on you bro!

anyway i dont think he has tht in him, not even close nor is he working to be part of this team, with the emphasis on work.

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Should the Hawks rest their starters the last 4 or 5 games, or push for Homecourt?

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Larry is coaching for his job SteveW.. My bet is he’s not going to rest his starters…

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TMAC’s playoff scoring average of 28.5ppg? Nice..Now that’s extremely impressive..

even doc would probably agree…

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Is Vlad healthy again?

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Awesome – so TMac can turn it up in practice here in about two weeks, play his butt off in the playoffs and help the Hawks win!

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darrell staks

April 9th, 2012
1:10 pm

“No 1man is bigger than the band, THE MOVIE DRUMLINE.”

“GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Biggie Smalls would probably disagree…lol

46

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i think the best scenario for the hawks would be to get the 4th seed (Boston gets 3rd) and matchup with Indiana or Orlando in the 1st round. Assuming they get by, the would play the bulls, who i think they would have a pretty good chance to knock off w/ drose not at 100%

But to win in the playoffs, our lineup HAS to be
Teague, jj, josh, ivan, zaza…or else we’ll get crushed on the boards. And t-mac has to get 20-25 mins a game w/ the bench

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But doc we are only getting 9 and 7 avg in 39 playoff games from our so called very mechanical and very stiff ALLSTAR/All NBA. And he is in his prime? What is his excuse?

Maybe this is a new Hawk tradition? lol

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Boston is a matchup nightmare for the Hawks. I want nothing to do with that team in the 1st round

PG: Rondo vs Tegue . . . . advangage Rondo

G: Allen vs Hinrich . . . slight advantage Allen, seeing that Hinrich will get ran all over the place by Allen

F: Pierce vs Johnson . . . slight advantage Pierce, due to Pierce’s ability to score and get to the FT line

PF: Bass vs Smith . . . advantage Smith, but Garnett may guard Smith on the defensive end, nullifying Smith’s effectiveness

C: Garnett vs Zaza . . . advantage Garnett

Bench: advantage Hawks

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I personally want no part of a veteran team like the Celtics in the 1st round. Much rather take my chances with the dysfunctional Orlando Magic than the veteran Celtics.

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Thanks doc. TMac signed a one-year, minimum salary contract NOT because he sooo wanted to play for the Hawks but because that is the going rate for a older vet who has continued health issues. So let’s not pretend that LD is denying Hawks fans the chance to watch an elite scorer in action or a guy who would have delivered 8-10 more victories.

Ra’mon, while practice may not be important for certain individual players, it is important to set the right tone for the TEAM. If you allow any player to get away with bad practice habits by rewarding that player with consistent playing time, that sends a message to the rest of the players (who may need to practice hard) that one has nothing to do with the other. LD isn’t managing one player, he is managing an organizational culture.

The biggest issue (IMO) is if TMac has historically poor practice habits and if LD wants/needs to establish a culture of hard work with every team activity… then why did they sign TMac in the first place? That is where you want the GM and head coach to be singing from the same song sheet.

I do expect TMac to be dusted off during the playoffs and I expect that he will be a key contributor. But I personally have no issue with the way LD managed him during the regular season.

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Interesting case made by peachtreehoops as to why Josh Smith should be an All-NBA selection. Unfortunately for Josh, the All-NBA teams aren’t necessarily selected by position. A SF will get the same consideration as the PF, because all they’re going to put on each team are 2 forwards. This is why Lebron James and Kevin Durant will both be 1st team All-NBA selections, despite both being SFs.

The All-NBA 2nd team fowards will probably be Kevin Love and Blake Griffin

This would put Josh against these guys for the final 2 forward spots.

- Lamarcus Aldridge
- Carmelo Anthony
- Andre Iguodala
- Rudy Gay
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Paul Pierce
- Pau Gasol

The Hawks get no love on the national stage, so Josh will be overlooked for that 3rd team All-NBA selection. The 2 national TV games at the end of the year could be huge for the national perception of him.

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I would rather T-Mac with bad practice habits over a Vlad with good practice habits.

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Mary, you do know that you compared TMac, who was never going to play more than 20 minutes every 2 games) to two starters, right? TMac is more like Kelvin Hayden than he is like Abe or TG (IMO).

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*With this… ^^^^^^^

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wow in that case i want us to finish in 3rd place but if we can have 5th place and still have home court then lets finish 5th. that way we can get chicago 2nd round. We can beat those boys.

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excuse me i meant get out of the first round.

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“I would rather T-Mac with bad practice habits over a Vlad with good practice habits.”

Cosign. Marvin must be playing like Scottie Pippen in practice to have been a starter for the last 5 years. Cause he damn sure does nothing in the games.

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Glad we’re 34-23. Blown away by it really with Al out, TMac barely contributing, and the other injuries we’ve had.

3rd seed? I like it – hope we get it.

Playoffs – Wide open to me. I didn’t see the Mavs winning at all last season. We may have another darkhorse (pun intended) this season.

Miami is the team to beat however – but I hope somebody does.

Can we re-sign Josh is the question – and after that, can we re-sign ZaZa. It’s going to take 20 million per to sign them both I would guess. And with JJ making 20+ mill in the future, Al making 12 mill, and Teague making maybe a Conley type contract (wasn’t his 5mill, 6, 7, then 8 or something like that?) – and still having Marvin for 2 more years – the numbers are looking kinda grim as Larry used to say.

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If All Nba comes back and plays C, I think that Greg Monroe may have taken his spot as Dwight’s backup in the All Star games and in All NBA selection

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I hear a lot of people complain about Hinrich being in the starting lineup, but it is clear that he has at least indirectly made life easier for the rest of the starting five (less confusion about ball movement and definite improvement offensively) I copied this statement from the Yahoo Sports NBA Power Rankings:

Kirk Hinrich still isn’t making many shots, but the Hawks’ new starting lineup (with Hinrich at the two) has been strong offensively, scoring 109 points per 100 possessions in 311 minutes together. If the Hawks want home-court advantage in the first round, wins in Boston and Orlando this week would really help.

Yes, Kirk is only averaging seven points but he is helping Teague with ballhandling and allowing Smith and Johnson to focus on getting good looks at the basket. On defense, his EFFORT is making it easier for the frontline to play help defense and more importantly limit the other team from getting offensive rebounds (a key stat when we play Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics). Maybe we can find a better two-guard after this season but the other four starters are in the best role for the team currently. Throw in a veteran bench and we have a true chance to beat every team in a seven-game series. I say this particularly because the team is growing offensively (Teague is taking more control of the offense and Hinrich’s ability to run the team and help Teague on the court allows Teague to play through mistakes without one of the big guns (Smith, Joe)running over and dominating the basketball.

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^Correction: “The Knicks just yesterday proved it [the Knicks] can be[at]* the Bulls with Derek Rose.”

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Excellent article by the always reliable David Aldridge on the age limit controversy.

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Mary, you’re assuming that LD is asking TMac to practice HARD… which may not be the case. maybe he just expects dude to show up on time and practice. Maybe actually pay attention when trying to learn new sets. Maybe do more than walk in practice. We don’t know exactly what “good practice habits” mean. But if 10+ players on the squad can make it happen, why can’t TMac? Again, do you really want to create an exception for TMac? If he does that, does someone else on the squad ask for a similar exception?

Instead of asking the head coach to make a singular exception why not ask the player to get on board with the TEAM’s program?

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If MC’s guess is true, hard to fault T-Mac for being p-ssed at being singled out for poor practice habits when the team from the top down tacitly admits that he should be treated with kid gloves due to his physical condition. If he’s not supposed to play in back to back games — which do after all count in the standings — why should he go all out in practice, which doesn’t count? We talkin’ bout practice, man. Not a game, not a game, but practice.

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AJ, I honestly believe that LD has given T-Mac too many DNP-CD this season. I may be wrong, but I bet T-Mac had had the most DNP-CD’s this season excluding Stack. I’m not saying T-Mac should’ve played 25 min per game. But a lot of those DNP-CD, could have had T-Mac play 10 minutes at least.

LD has this team with a great winning percentage, when you consider that their 3rd best player was out all season, and their all star guard had surgery during the season. So I can’t (realistically) get on his case too much. But I would’ve liked to see T-Mac play more often in the first half of games.

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“Boston is a matchup nightmare for the Hawks. I want nothing to do with that team in the 1st round”

Not if the Hawks go with a big lineup.

With the current lineup, KG can neutralize Josh and Joe will be matched on Pierce who he can’t post up very easily.

With a bigger lineup, KG will have no choice but to guard Zaza who will annoy him, Ivan and Bass will neutralize each other, and Josh will be able to post up Pierce. If KG insists on guarding Josh even when he plays SF, that means the Hawks will have a matchup advantage somewhere else.

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ISO will not be able to post up Paul at all.. All he can do is face up and try to shoot over the top..

And hope his shots are falling but its the playoffs man..Good luck with that strategy…

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Najeh doing his “A.I.” Impersonation. LOL! My feelings exactly. 28.5Pts play off average does not need practice, esp. past his prime with poor knees and lower back history.

NO CLUE DREW!

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The Hawks are as dangerous to themselves as their opponents, but they could be formidable with a healthy Horford and home court advantage. I’d say they should beat all teams in the East with home court advantage minus the Heat and Bulls. Even then, if the Hawks can play great basketball four times out of seven, they could potentially pull the big upset. Of couse, they won’t have home court over either of those, and Atlanta may very well show more Hyde than Jekyl, but life is better when we dream.

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Najeh,

Allen will be starting come playoff time. Remember LD is the coach of the Hawks. It took him almost two years to remove Marvin from the starting lineup, and you think that he will start Ivan against the Celtics. I very seriously doubt it.

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Rod, by no means is Marvin better than Jamal. But I truthfully wouldn’t want either on my teams. And Nate Robinson and Salim Stoudemire has balls bigger than Marvin, but I’ll still take Marvin. Actually, if they both had the same price tag, I would take Marvin over Jamal. I just don’t think Jamal is a winner. If every team you go to, every one else is the probably except you, than chances are, you are the problem. The Hawks are winning more this season without Jamal (and without Al). True you could say that part of that is because Bibby was here last season. But that is canceled out by the fact that Al isn’t playing. People compared Jamal to Jason Terry. But the truth is Terry has always been a more disciplined player than Jamal, and less streaky than he. And because of this, he’s been a better winner. Out of each of the teams Jamal has played for, the Hawks are about the only team which didn’t have a worse record the year after his arrival, than they did the year before. See if the question is who should currently be a Hawk: a) Marvin Williams or b)Jamal Crawford. Then the answer is c) neither one of the two.

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lol @ doc….

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While I am not an LD is a great coach guy. He gets major props from me for removing Marvin from the starting lineup. That, and not doubling Dwight Howard are the best moves that any coach for the Hawks has made over the past 7 years.

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Ra’mon,

I not comparing Marvin Williams, and Jamal Crawford. Just responding to northcyde’s post. There is no comparison. One guy can play, the other can’t. Simple. theyy don’t play the same position. Compare Marvin to other starting SF’s.

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Rod, one guy can play, the other guy can’t. But the guy who can’t still has been on more playoff teams and started more playoff games, while the one who can play is nicknamed Mr. Lottery. Also, Marvin wasn’t stumbling in college, and he was dunking more (I’m a huge UNC fan).

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AJ

I have no clue what the problem is with TMac in practice. I was assuming he was at least showing up and being present. If what you are saying is the actual problem, then yeah! I agree with you and I can’t condone being outright disruptive in practice.

I’m just speaking from a coaching perspective on handling players that are aging and injured. Like what Doc Rivers did with Shaq and Jermaine O’Neal in Boston.

He often talked to the press about “special handling circumstances” for hi play off players that he didn’t necc. need to toll in the regular.

My comments were intended to get all up in their business. I just hope coach is not punishing TMac from a personality -vs- practice -vs- health perspective.

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* my comments were NOT intended to get all up in their business.

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SlimJr,

This one is for you. There’s no team in the NBA I hate more than the Miami Heat. I would love to see a Heat/Knicks 1st round playoff series with the Knicks winning. That will probably be the only time I cheer for the Knicks unless their win would benefits the Hawks in seeding.

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aye guys, sekou smith just posted a an article supporting jsmoove’s potential all-nba selection

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/04/09/a-top-15-spot-for-josh-smith/

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Melvin, I hear ya dude..

What an intense series that would be?

The Big Apple vs. Miami Beach

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BTW, that facial Marvelous Marvin received from from T- Prince the other night was impressive indeed.

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“I never said Marvin was better than Jamal. I’m just saying to say that Marvin does nothing positive for his team (I.e. “Can’t Play’) is false. And by the way, Jamal has been in the league MUCH LONGER than Marvin or Granger.”

No, but you did say, “But the guy who can’t still has been on more playoff teams and started more playoff games, while the one who can play is nicknamed Mr. Lottery.” so again based on you faulty logic that makes Marvin Williams better than Danny Granger in your mind. Marvin and Granger came into the league at the same time and Marvin has been to the playoffs more, so based on your statement you should think Marvin is better.

So I guess Jamal was the reason the Bulls were not a good basketball team. It had nothing to do with the Jordan, Pippen dynasty ending. I guess Jamal was the reason the Knicks were terrible. Had nothing to do with Isiah running that franchise in the ground. I’m sure you believe that Portland is bad this year because of Jamal Crawford. LOL

I did say Jamal can play, and Marvin can’t. In the NBA, Marvin is not a good basketball player. If he played at the YMCA in a pickup game, he might be dominant, but amongst his peers and coaches he is not thought of highly. Jamal with all of his faults, is respected as an NBA player by most of his peers, and coaches. If Marvin ever leaves Atlanta, that might be the last time you see him in the NBA. You can find many guys in the NBDL who can do what Marvin does. Gerald Green is one.

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Melvin,

It should also prove that Marvin is not as solid a defender as some think. Now imagine if we had a Granger type guy at the 3 or a better guy to plug in at the 2 how dangerous this team would be.

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Rod from College Park,

“You can find many guys in the NBDL who can do what Marvin does. Gerald Green is one.” – Rod from College Park

Ivan Johnson, Marvin Williams’ current teammate, is/was another [player from the NBA D-League] although Ivan [Johnson] is better than Marvin [ Williams]. LOL

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Rod, once again, check the record of the Bulls and the Knicks the season after Jamal left. GOOD players don’t end up playing for 5 teams before their prime years are even up. Jamal is a CAREER 41% shooter, but you think THAT is winning basketball? Really? Think about all of the HALL OF FAME HEAD COACHES who did not want Jamal Crawford on their team (Don Nelson, Larry Brown, and Lenny Wilkins). How do you explain the Hawks having a HIGHER winning percentage this season without Jamal, even though Al is down also? And by the way, in the playoffs, Jamal only averaged 39% from the field. And you think he’s going to be who the Hawks miss in the playoffs? To be honest, Jamal didn’t do that much more than what Flip Murray did for 15% of the cost, or Willie Green has provided. Jamal is a one dimensional player, who isn’t in the 10 ten of what he’s supposed to be great at. Jamal is 6-6 and averages just as many turnovers per game as he does rebounds. And we’re not going to go to the defensive side. If Jamal scores 15 points in a game, I’m sure he gave up 14 points on defense.

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Aj

I love that musician’s analogy – big time. I saw unsung last night featuring my girl:

Phyliss Hyman and Rueben Studdard. Nice, I didn’t know Phyliss was bipolar and quite the hand full @ being a total Diva! She and Clive Davis were like oil and water.

Arista had to drop her due to creative differences. Speaking of TMac, there may be some similarities. I agree with you – 100! Coach has to control the locker room first and foremost.

I knew TMac said some inappropriate things to the media, but I thought all that was settled. Looks like there may be some personality issues going on there. That’s too bad, because those 6 rebs and 6 assts could carry this team a very long way in round 2.

Thanks for the comments and perspective. Very enlightneing to my point of view. I just want everybody to play nice and WIN!!!! No drama!!!

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AJ!

Ohio Player’s, Mother Finest? Ha Ha … Watch it young fella, you trying to push me outa’ here in a wheel chair. I’m still in my early 40’s. LOL, my Mom’s and Cousins taught me about all the great musicians of their era. I’m not that old.

I saw what you did there.

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drmaryb, sorry had a late night! got to get some rest…..

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Marvin is a career 45% shooter from the field. And the only reason his scoring has went down, was because his shot attempts went down as well from 11.5 (he shot 46% that season) to 8.2. And while at it, Marvin has been one of the best wing defenders on the team for the last 4-5 seasons. So you’re saying a guy who shoots higher than the league average is not a good basketball player. (And don’t tell me because he’s open majority of the time, because the AVERAGE NBA player is open on most shots, because the AVERAGE NBA defense double team superstars and also the post). He still averages 5.3 on the boards. And truth be told, his production dropped with the arrival of Jamal, because his minutes dropped the same season. The season before Jamal came, Marvin averaged 14 ppg/ 6 rpg / 45% from the field/ 35% from 3/ and 80% from the line. And you say THOSE numbers are better than the AVERAGE NBA player. And the AVERAGE NBA player is a good basketball player, that is why the NBA is the best league in the world, because they have the best players in the world.

Yet you go around hyping up Jamal Crawford. Jamal is in his 11th season, and has only had 2 seasons in which he shot better than a measly 43% from the field (second seasons doesn’t count, because he only played in 23 games that season). In fact, he’s had more complete seasons where he’s shot UNDER 40% than he’s had in which he shot over the league average of 43%. Throughout his career, he’s averaged more than 15 fga per game 6 times in his career, while still only averaging 15 ppg for his career. He’s attempted 4 more fg a game than Marvin for his career, and only averages 4 points more than Marvin for his career. And while we’re at it, Marvin is averaging more free throws a game, than Jamal for his career. So although Jamal CLEARLY has the ball in his hand, more so than Marvin, Marvin is still better at drawing fouls than Jamal. So if you consider Jamal to be a better player than Marvin. And for Marvin (who stats are still better than the average player) to be a terrible player who can’t play. Than based on your judgment, Jamal is just as poorly of a player as Marvin when you factor Marvin’s better defensive and rebounding performances compared to Jamal’s.

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[...] Atlanta Hawks: On playoff seedingAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)So, to put it to rest once and for all, I e-mailed NBA spokesman Tim Frank. His reply: There it is, plainly stated. The Hawks would get home-court advantage as the No. 5 seed if their record is better than a division winner with a worst record. [...]

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Ra’mon and Rod from College Park

“How do you explain the Hawks having a HIGHER winning percentage this season without Jamal, even though Al is down also?” – Ra’mon

Check out this year’s [2011-2012] regular season current winning percentage and the winning percentage of the 2009-2010 regular season which was Jamal Crawford’s first [regular] season with the Hawks. In addition, check out the Hawks’ regular season winning percentages prior to Jamal Crawford’s arrival [to the Hawks]. You do the math; you book it!

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/

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sautee he really just went psychotic there for a moment. he really does know better.

btw those are pretty good numbers for a center. there arent too many more shaq, moses or kareem out there anymore. 12/9 is pretty solid. some people still wearing flowers in their hair, too.

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“my educated guess is that it’s a kind of tug-o-war where LD wants to see T-Mac have better work habits but T-Mac, who isn’t a practice guy anyway”

In the famous words of Allen Iverson:

we’re talking about practice. I mean listen, we’re sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we’re talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last, but we’re talking about practice man

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“Marvin is a career 45% shooter from the field. And the only reason his scoring has went down, was because his shot attempts went down as well from 11.5 (he shot 46% that season) to 8.2.”

Allen Iverson was a career 42%FG shooter, so again, based on your flawed logic Marvin is better than AI. If you like Marvin, you are entitled to your opinion, but trying to compare him to guys that are very good basketball players won’t work. He is now being used as should have been used for most of his career, as a guy coming off the bench. MArvin is not abbove average in anything he does except free throw shooting. He gets some of the best looks of any player in the league, especially when on the floor with the starters. He should be shooting 60% from the field with all of the open looks he gets.

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FTPB

DawgNole

April 9th, 2012
12:18 am

Don’t need to read the same thing you’ve posted 100 times already or read you and your reach around buddies giving each other a congratulatory yank.
_________________________

Then why do you continue to read it? So you can announce to the blog that you don’t need to? Just follow your own advice and scroll past it. We have no need to know about your needs.
********************

LOL!

OWNED. Good night Grizzard

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Did you say something JeJe? I seem to have scrolled right past it.

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My hope is that we get the #3 seed; play Indiana in the first round, then play Miami in the 2nd.
Any word on how Horford is coming along? He would be a bigtime backup for us in the playoffs!

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“The TMac, LD issues come down to this. TMac feels like there is no reason he should not be getting substantial minutes, behind a guy who is only putting up 9.9ppg,5 rebounds, and 1.2 apg in 26 minutes. Bottom line he is correct. If TMac is given those minutes he produces better numbers all around, and he makes the team better. LD is used to most of these guys, and has no one on the team other than Josh, and TMac who will question his authority. TMac did, and LD has punished him for it, at the expense of the team. Hopefully he will realize that his playmaking ability and his overall game could be a huge asset for this team who has no real playmakers in the playoffs.”

Larry better put his personal issues aside and play this future Hall of Fame player heavy minutes if he wants to possibly go deep in the playoffs.. TMAC has enough left in the tank to make a difference..

Play the MAN LARRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Give him at least 26 minutes a night!!

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Wow, I would like to chime in on some of this, first off t-Mac was a beast and a half when he was in his prime. Can’t remember too many tha was better if any at all at that’s at any position. He played D, competed every day, could pass, rebounded, scored, he was a leader, the dude could jump out the gym had mad handles, lol it was crazy!!! He had that killer instinct that very few have, like the Jordan’s, kob

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Wow, I would like to chime in on some of this, first off t-Mac was a beast and a half when he was in his prime. Can’t remember too many tha was better if any at all at that’s at any position. He played D, competed every day, could pass, rebounded, scored, he was a leader, the dude could jump out the gym had mad handles, lol it was crazy!!! He had that killer instinct that very few have, like the Jordan’s, kobie’s, kemps, Gary Payton’s, I could go on and on. He tried to make u look crazy when he played u. So let’s kill the bad talk about him. And as far as the back injury is concerned do u know how many basketball players suffer from this… It’s crazy superman is going through the same thing right now with his back, hell Larry bird had back problems that ended his career so kill that stuff to about bad workout habits it more to it than that.

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The only way the Hawks will be able to resign Josh and Ivan is to somehow trade Marvin(8 mil per yr with 2 yrs left). Unfortunately, the Hawks will have to package Marvin with a future # 1 pick in order to dump Marvin’s salary.
After next year’s season and if the Hawks don’t won ECF championship then a trade of a core player will be necessary!

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I just don’t think vlad is as bad as everybody says. I’m not saying he is great either. He has hit some big shots this year and at the beginning of the year he played the passing lanes very effectively on defense. He has played poorly of late but shouldn’t be mentioned in the same sentence as Cheeseburger

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AJ,

Although Marvin does not close out many games, there have been many games when he is the game when the other team makes a run. And he is wide open for a shot that can stem the tide. but he bricks it.

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^The 10 million dollar question^

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IMO, maybe they should look at this:

Hawks record vs. sub-.500 teams: 22-3

Perception is not reality.
***

you nees to dig deeper. I assure you not one team in playoff conention is afraid of the Hawks in a series. And many of those games vs abysmal teams were way too close (causing Joe and Josh to play way too many mins)

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“Just put your best wing on Joe in a series and let Josh take jumpshots.”

That’s about the extent of it.

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Alot can happen between now and the end of next season. But here is our basic numbers after next season salary cap wise:

We have about $41.5 million committed to just 3 players the next season: JJ, Al, and Marvin (Player Option of 7.5m, I would guess he takes it).

We will also have this season’s 1st round pick, making around 1.5 mill also.

So that’s 43 mill approx. on 4 players.

And we have as Free Agents:

Josh
ZaZa
Teague
And we’ll probably have another 1st pick – another 1.2 mill or so.

So we gotta figure out a way to sign Josh, ZaZa, and Teague for about 23 mill combined that next season. Josh 13.5 mill, ZaZa 6 mill, and Teague 3.5 mill?

That would give us 67.2 mill among 8 players, so the rest would probably be the 2nd round/DLeague types, unless the Luxury Tax line goes up pretty good.

Now this scenario doesn’t even include signing Ivan after this season.

Needless to say, the core has been together quite awhile here. But it looks like changes are coming one way or another.

Next season, at most, is probably our last run with this group of guys.

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Joe really needs to restructure his deal. Gonna be making 24M when he is 34

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Marvin would be good to ditch if we could find somebody to absorb his contract – but he still has 2 years left after this season. And I doubt we ever amnesty anybody.

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But if we are upside down on our cap numbers, and Teague does become a RFA, all somebody has to do is frontload a contract and offer him 7 mill or something his 1st season, and we wouldn’t match it because of the Tax. And the Luxury Tax gets more and more punitive the longer the CBA is in force.

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I tell you a deal that would alleviate alot of cap pressure, and maybe at least keep us competitive is Al for Derrick Favors. We would have to take Devin Harris’ expiring next season, and probably have to throw in a 1st pick (maybe not), but that move would help us moving forward cap wise immensely – not next season, actually increase salary a little then. But the next season and moving forward.

And Derrick is a hometown guy, has alot of upside, and maybe likes to bang a little more down low than Al does. Perfect 1st Big off the bench behind Josh and ZaZa.

And a PG rotation of Harris and Teague would be dynamite while it lasted next season.

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“Unfortunately, the Hawks will have to package Marvin with a future # 1 pick in order to dump Marvin’s salary.”

Doubt that, especially if they trade him after next year when he will have an expiring contract. The deal with Ivan is that he will be a restricted free agent subject to the “Gilbert Arenas Rule.” This rule stipulates that no other team can offer him more than the full midlevel exception. So we’re looking at what? $5mil a season for Ivan? That’s a bargain imo. But if we lose Kirk and Marvin, we’re going to need a shooter. And don’t talk to me about Green and Pargo. Those guys are Crawford/Bibby on defense.

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Buddy G – I don’t know where you got the giving Marvin away with a 1st pick – but maybe I did read that somewhere on this blog. But I don’t know who.

Ivan – I have no idea what it will take to keep him. I keep thinking maybe the vet min. but I’m sure that’s dreaming on my part. Ivan has been stout, I do know that.

FREE IVAN

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If Mike Conley can get $8 million per year, Teague can get at least $6 million per year.

They are going to have to salary dump one of the medium-sized 3 if they want to stay under the cap, and if they are smart it will be Joe who gets dumped, not Josh or Al.

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Al for Favors is not a bad deal at all. Al is a much better offensive player, but on a per minute basis Favors is his equal or better at rebounding and shot blocking, and has the size and wingspan to play C full time (unlike Al who has to slide to the 4 against the likes of Dwight and Bynum). If Favors can develop a reliable mid range jumper, down the road he can provide 75% of Al’s contributions offensively and surpass his contributions defensively.

Seeing as how Favors was the prize of the Deron Williams trade, though, I doubt Utah parts with him, even for Al. More likely they trade Millsap or Jefferson to open up a spot for Favors. Keep in mind they also have Kanter on the bench, so if anything they will be looking to cash in one of their big men to upgrade some other position, maybe point guard.

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Every coach TMac has had since Orlando have said that TMac has an extremely high basketball IQ. If you run the offense through him, it’s guaranteed easy baskets and good looks for the guys around him. McGrady is one of the best in the league off pick-and-roll possessions and his teammates tend to shoot very high percentages off his passes. He definitely needs to get some decent burn come playoffs.

Here’s what Tom Thibodeau said about TMac earlier this year: “McGrady is a great player, has been a great player in the league for a long time. [He was] derailed some by injury the last couple years, but he’s a complete player. Everyone always talks about his scoring; I think the best part of his game is his decision-making. Great pick-and-roll player, great passer, he’s got the size, he’s got great vision, extremely smart and like I said, the only thing that slowed him down was his injuries. This guy put up huge numbers in the league and there’s nothing he can’t do. He can play defense, he can pass, he can shoot, he can post, he can pick-and-roll.”

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Jamal isn’t even the best Crawford in the league anymore. Jordan is.

(( standing ovation @ Ra’mon’s rants earlier in this thread. ))

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Phyllis Hyman was murdered because she was not as lucrative as she once was – replaced by young upstart diva Whitney Houston. Whitney died “mysteriously” was she became worth more dead than alive – replaced by young upstart diva, Jennifer Hudson. Its a dirty game the industry – it and always what it seem – you might get fool if you are on the outside…

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“Favors is his equal or better at rebounding and shot blocking, and has the size and wingspan to play C full time.”

I will definitely check out that April 21st Jazz-Orlando game. I shot footage of Favors for CBS when he was in high school and I didn’t know he was that good of a defender.

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Something to think about if Hawks get to 2nd round and play bulls

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba … 6802.story

Rose seems as if he isnt going to be 100% this year. If Hawks match up with Bulls in playoffs with Rose not 100% Hawks will have a chance to defeat them.

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Rose seems as if he isnt going to be 100% this year. If Hawks match up with Bulls in playoffs with Rose not 100% Hawks will have a chance to defeat them.
****

our chances of beating them are extremely thin, with or without Rose

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Bulls in 5…Somebody missed that last beat down in Phillips? No shot.

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Living All Alone!

I got that Phyliss Hyman CD, had to stop listening to it, was making me so depressed. What a troubled soul with an amazing voice. A true talent, gone too soon.

The music industry is not for the weak! Like the NBA it’s a business. Regina Belle was describing how much she was in awe of Phyliss putting out those LOW notes, like a dude – so smoothly.

John Battle! Hawks running mate w/Doc Rivers, is married to Regina. She got a man face like Tischa Arnold, LOL! Love Regina too, had all her stuff.

Where have all the great artist gone? Now, all they do is rap.

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Kenneth Faried yesterday: 24 minutes, 27 points, 17 boards, 2 steals, 1 block, 12/18 shooting, +33.

Jordan Crawford yesterday: 21 minutes, 20 points, 2 boards, 3 dimes, 5/5 FT, 7/12 shooting, +14.

Seriously, when is the last time Kirk scored 20 points in a game?

Lang Greene from Hoopsworld thinks Rick Sund is an Executive of the Year candidate. LMFAOROFLOLSMGDMFHFFSKTCBBQSECFBICIANSAFCCAJC

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“How would you do if you had one of these NEGATIVE MINDED WHINNERS we have on these blogs as teammates?”

As long as they are not anal minded.

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Anyone giving too many props to LD for his coaching job this year needs to keep in mind that Sund probably doesn’t make that trade if LD makes the no-brainer obvious decision to bench Bibby and start Teague back in January 2011.

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“not really. Josh will take his mandatory jumpshots no matter what position he plays, no matter who is guarding him”

Yeah, but the point is if you go with a big lineup either Joe or Josh will have a favorable matchup in the post and thus Josh probably isn’t going to take as many of them. If you watch the first game against Boston, the reason for most of Josh’s jumpers is because he couldn’t do anything in the post against KG, so every time they tried to post him up he’d back it out to the perimeter and start hoisting. That’s less likely to happen if he’s posting up someone he can take to the basket.

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Anyone supporting LD for his decision to jerk T-Mac’s playing time around for poor practice habits needs to keep in mind that Bibby pretty much decided not to do any conditioning whatsoever after signing his new contract and yet was handed a starting job for his last year and a half here despite there being a clearly better alternative buried on the bench. T-Mac right now is a better player than Bibby was at any point last year.

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Steve W,

I think they will cost us $27 mil. I think Josh gets $16 mil (and maybe more if he has another year like this next year). Plus he is still under 30 years old, and fairly healthy. Zaza $6 mil, and Teague $5 mil.

As for Ivan’s contract, I don’t think he will go from making minimum salary to the full MLE. I think he will get about $3 mil, which I think is fair.

And with JJ’s salary increasing every year, we cannot afford to keep the medium 3 together, especially since we have to surround them with vet min players.

As Melvin points out though, it’s sad how bad ownership and management is, because we are in luxury tax, despite 8 guys making the vet min, and another guy on a rookie contract.

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“I will definitely check out that April 21st Jazz-Orlando game. I shot footage of Favors for CBS when he was in high school and I didn’t know he was that good of a defender.”

I am really just basing that on what I saw during that triple overtime game and the small handful of other Utah games I have seen this year. Favors is still young, and like all young players has a way to go as far as knowing how to use his body effectively on D, but he has the physical talent (length, athleticism, mobility) to play C full time on D. Al doesn’t have Favors’ level of physical talent and he has made All Star games as a C. It really just comes down to how well Favors develops, and what he has done in extended minutes this year makes him pretty promising.

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Superior guard play is what made the Hawks competitive in the playoffs..Its their Bigs who could not step up and get it done..

Just too small and too slow of foot on the front line..Chicago proved it and just steam rolled the Hawks..Anything changed since then?

Lose the rebound battle, lose the series…

Reality check? Yep

doc, they’re maybe a couple of others having fits of psychosis? Or would you just call them delusional? lol!

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This article from ESPN Insider doesn’t directly mention the Hawks, but provides an argument for why all the long 2 point jumpers the Hawks take may not be as bad as we sometimes think.

However, there is some counterintuitive evidence that players who have the midrange jumper in their arsenal still help teams score more efficiently while on the court. Even after controlling for a player’s own rates of possession usage, shooting efficiency (as measured by effective field goal percentage, a stat that adjusts for 3-pointers being worth 1.5 times as many points as 2-pointers) and assists, the percentage of his FGA that came from 16-23 feet was actually a positive variable when predicting his impact on the team’s overall effective field goal percentage. That finding was also true when running the same test on team turnover percentage — the more of a midrange game a player has, the more he helps his team avoid giveaways.

Why might this be? One theory is that merely having the ability to score from the midrange opens the floor up for a player’s teammates. According to 82games.com, just as 3-point attempts per minute is a positive predictor of offensive impact even after holding all other stats equal, players who can knock down shots from 16-23 feet force the defense to respect them from more places on the basketball court, which in turn creates precious space for other players. There’s value in keeping the defense honest.

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I like that idea floating around on the blog last night..Hawks should consider trading All NBA for Derrick Favors…

Favors is bigger, more physical and much more fluid..Huge upside….

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The Hawks should be able to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

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“I like that idea floating around on the blog last night..Hawks should consider trading All NBA for Derrick Favors…

Favors is bigger, more physical and much more fluid..Huge upside….”

Cosign. I like Favors a lot. He needs to put on some weight, but he is much more skilled than Al or Josh in the post. He also is a shot blocker. I think he will be a very good player in a couple of years. that would be a very good move for the Hawks, but I’m not sure Utah makes that deal.

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I guess I am just hung up on Faried because I was saying the Hawks should draft him since February, when they still had their pick. To me he would have been the obvious no-brainer choice, although like y’all point out Sund would have probably drafted Jon Leuer or something, or sold the pick to pay the phone bill.

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Slimjr
April 10th, 2012
10:11 am

Superior guard play is what made the Hawks competitive in the playoffs..Its their Bigs who could not step up and get it done..

Just too small and too slow of foot on the front line..Chicago proved it and just steam rolled the Hawks..Anything changed since then?

Lose the rebound battle, lose the series…

Reality check? Yep
____________________

Couldn’t agree with you more, Slimjr. Guess that makes us a couple of them negative-minded “WHINNERS” KS seems to love so much. Wonder if he meant “WINNERS”? Surely he didn’t mean “WHINERS”?!

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“Slimjr
April 10th, 2012
10:11 am

Superior guard play is what made the Hawks competitive in the playoffs..Its their Bigs who could not step up and get it done..

Just too small and too slow of foot on the front line..Chicago proved it and just steam rolled the Hawks..Anything changed since then?

Lose the rebound battle, lose the series…

Reality check? Yep
____________________

Couldn’t agree with you more, Slimjr. Guess that makes us a couple of them negative-minded “WHINNERS” KS seems to love so much. Wonder if he meant “WINNERS”? Surely he didn’t mean “WHINERS”?!”

Include me in that group as well. I have been one of the biggest Josh Smith fans on this blog, but the playoffs will be a different story. The superior guard play Slimjr speaks of was partly because of Jamal Crawford. The superior guard play will not be there, and teams will focus more on Josh, forcing him to go perimeter. Just put a long wing on Joe, and shut down the Hawks. No other real threats. You may get a good game from Willie Green once or twice, or Pargo, but not every game. Scoring in the playoffs will be the problem. TMac is the only guy on the bench who could really help the Hawks in the playoffs by being a distributor.

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Lol at those expecting a lot from McGrady. His best days on the court are behind him. Can he still play, yes can he give you more than what’s he done this season, no. I like McGrady, but some are asking for to much from him.

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LD is a moron. T-Mac could and should be so much more for this team.

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drmaryb, Astro Joe

dmaryb you got good taste for old school music. Astro Joe if you remember Sly and the family Stone back in the days I got lucky to perform in Rose spot on a couple of shows playing keyboards when she was unable to perform. I thought I was cool and fast back back in them days but how I was wrong. They were off the chain, so that’s why I went back to baseball. Couldn’t hang with them guys.

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“I probably would attempt to get Milsap and Favors for Horford and next season’s 1st round pick. And if that doesn’t work, then take out Milsap and put in Harris.”-Ra’mon-

C’mon Sund make it happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I think that if TMac tried to play 28 minutes in two consecutive nights, that his knees and back would implode and leave shards of bone and marrow all over the broken scoreboard at Philips Arena. Y’all need to recognize that TMac, Iverson and Marbury are the basketball equivalent of Babyface, Janet Jackson and LL Cool J.

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AJ!

LMAO! You wild boy! Love those music analogies. Janet making her rounds though with those weight watcher’s commercials. Ole’ Girl looking fabulous @ 40-ish.

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with all the photo brushing going on pictures dont mean anything anymore dmb.

oh my, can hum it but cant remember who sang it. dionne warwick got to be it baby.

summertime? who didnt sing it

who wrote it? real old school if you get yhat one.

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Najeh Davenpoop

April 10th, 2012
9:40 am

Kenneth Faried yesterday: 24 minutes, 27 points, 17 boards, 2 steals, 1 block, 12/18 shooting, +33.

Jordan Crawford yesterday: 21 minutes, 20 points, 2 boards, 3 dimes, 5/5 FT, 7/12 shooting, +14.

Seriously, when is the last time Kirk scored 20 points in a game?

Lang Greene from Hoopsworld thinks Rick Sund is an Executive of the Year candidate. LMFAOROFLOLSMGDMFHFFSKTCBBQSECFBICIANSAFCCAJC

********************

It’s depressing as hell Najeh. The ownership group is so obsessed with staying under the luxury tax at all costs and saving every dollar they can, that they don’t even see things long term.
But they go over it this year a little bit, to keep JERRY STACKHOUSE? Just clueless as hell.

With the way Faried plays, he could’ve made the potential loss of Horford or Smith less toxic to endure ( seeing that it may be inevitable that we’ll have to part with at least one of those guys ). He would’ve given the Hawks exactly what we need . . a tenacious rebounder ( especially on the offensive boards ). Faried currently has a 22.2 PER, which would be TOPS on the Hawks.

And don’t even get me started on Jordan Crawford. I’ve always thought if given the choice between Jordan and Teague, I’d take Jordan all day. Jordan is, and always has been, a baller. And he was young enough for a good coach to reign him in as an unconscious gunner. So to think that we could’ve had BOTH of these young guys on the team, that also could’ve made Joe Johnson expendible . . if we decided to do a salary dump with him, and just rolled with Horford – Faried – Smith – Jordan – Teague as the “new core”.

As much as I hate the thought of Josh Smith playing SF, you could actually get away with him doing it, if you had very good rebounders like Horford and Faried on the offensive boards.

Instead, we’re locked in a world in which we’ll have to recycle 4 – 6 veteran minimum guys every year and expect big contributions from them, just to field a team, with little hope of guys playing well over their heads.

Can’t depend on Vlad to be consistent. Can’t depend on Stackhouse. Can’t depend on Dampier. Sure in the hell can’t depend on Collins. Can’t depend on T-Mac either, because of his fragile nature and the coach being scared to play him. At least Pargo and Green gives us SOMETHING and possibly play over their heads on a few occasions.

2012 – 13 salaries:

Teague – 2.43 mill
Johnson – 19.75 mill
Marvin – 8.29 mill
Smith – 13.2 mill
Horford – 12 mill

Zaza – 5.25 mill
Jordan – 1.19 mill
Faried – 1.35 mill

8 players . . . approx 63.46 million

That would be 8 legit players under payroll, with damn near 7 million to field the rest of the roster ( minimum of 5 spots . . with one of them being a 2012 1st round draft pick ). And funny how NBAdraft.net has us drafting Terrance Jones, whom they describe as “Marvin Williams”. But that would be Marvin without the 8 million dollar a year tag.

Sund as Executive of the Year . . . GTFOH with that mess. He gets props for the Willie Green and Jannero Pargo signings, as well as snatching up Ivan Johnson when most people were still overlooking him. Sund is a minimalistic GM, as well as this ownership group being minimalistic.

You don’t get Executive of the Year votes by doing the bare minimum and afraid to make a big time move.

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I mean damn, as good as people think the Hawks bench is now, how good would they be if we could throw an energetic group at teams like this

Pargo
Jordan
Marvin
Faried
Ivan

Depending of if he’s hot or not, you could sub out either Pargo or Jordan for Willie Green. If Pargo is cold, move Jordan to the point and play Green at the 2. If Jordan is cold, sub him for Green.

These guys gotta realize that with JJ’s enormous contract, combined with the big contract of Horford, and the close to max contract that Smith may demand next summer . . that the Hawks MUST find some young guy that can begin to replace the production of a starter during his rookie contract.

You can’t just keep trotting out all of these old guys and expect them to get it done, especially the big old guys.

*************

Seeing MC’s tweet about the Hawks not fielding a summer league team yet. Of course they won’t. They don’t value ( or don’t know how to evaluate ) young talent anyway.

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yup my bad on jc2 if he can translate into a winning ball player. however, as far as i am concerned he was the first to be involved in how fragile the ego of the queen is when he dunked over him in a camp and his handlers grabbed the video to keep it off the air.

speaking of fragility in that department along with body you got to say it is hands down tmac.

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Northcyde

“You don’t get Executive of the Year votes by doing the bare minimum and afraid to make a big time move.”

Well, ummm, YES A CAN if we could finish the regular season off at seed #3, get to and pass 2nd round with the team of players HE signed, while paying a coach little to nothing, with injuries galore WHILE being the ONLY team to have beaten not 1, not 2, but 3 of the best top teams in the league..I SAY HE HAS A DARN GOOD CHANCE MY FRIEND, A DARN GOOD CHANCE!!

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Whitney Houston information is truly enlightening…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUH8eZEWCa8&feature=related

Illuminati is real whether you like it or not. Underground rappers know the truth…

This is a good song with Hopsin and SwizZz rapping against each other; Hopsin playing Lucifer.

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DawgNole:

I agree with you on the guard play for the Hawks.
ZaZa needs to dunk more to create some space and quit trying to be George Gervin with the finger roll.
Ivan can be a beast when he decides to stay in his range from the free throw line in.

Josh is the only viable inside threat which is good until he gets into foul trouble. Soon after that is when teams make their run on both ends.

Joe can post but he would rather shoot the threeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

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I always laugh when people try to point out when they THINK I’m wrong. When the game goes down to the wire, who in the hell do you think will be in the game? Avery Bradley or Ray Allen?

The main reason why Bradley is starting, is because Doc wants more scoring punch off the bench in Allen. And depending on who they play, both KG and Bass can alternate who they guard on the frontline.

But don’t get it twisted, when that game gets tight, Ray Allen WILL be in the game. If Pietrus wasn’t hurt, Bradley wouldn’t even be starting.

In the last game vs the Hawks, the Celtics went with the lineup that I put out there

Rondo
Allen
Pierce
Bass
Garnett

So save all of that backtalk for somebody who not only watches the Hawks, but watches the entire league as well.

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Bradley is starting because Allen was injured. Northcyde that has nothing to do with the solution.

I don’t see why you list the gameplan as Hinrich vs Allen… Even so it would be

Rondo counter Teague
Allen counter Johnson
Pierce counter Smith
Bass counter I. Johnson
Garnett counter Pachulia
Why allow that the game gets tight? Why not blow them out?

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And also to GMJ and northcyde

Josh at SF means he gets way less touches in the halfcourt. The motion offense entries to the PF or C at the top of the key… meaning Zaza and Ivan.

Hawks identity should become this type of team. A team that plays defense ugly and suffocates the other team with clogging the lanes.
The volume jumpshots are a function of playing the 4 position. I rather take Josh’s defense and our suffocating defensive ability in the big lineups and I consider Ivan at the top of the key a plus.

Lets Josh focus on other things. Like this. Cant wait to see him in his sleeker form + JJ + Teague in the backcourt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igvf4F_oFj4

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b-u-y^^^

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Larry is playing tonight…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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You know who’s having a pretty good season? Zaza Pachulia. Get the guy on the floor and he plays. Teague and Pachulia are evidence both Woody and now Drew aren’t all that smart. Although I think Drew learns from his mistakes.

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Whatup Rod?

Welcome to the negative-minded WHINNERS club. FYI, this makes you an ANAL-MINDED MORON too.

ROTFLMAOLOL @ Sund as Executive of the year in this weakazz Eastern Conference. Dude has done nothing to this franchise in his 4 years, including this year and he deserves it? He screwed us over with the Hinrich trade and signed 2 decent PGs. That’s it

IDK who should win it, but his smug azz doesn’t deserve jack. He signed COLLINS, DAMPIER, AND T-MAC. These 3 guys are virtually useless. 2 of them are in the top 10 for worst players in the NBA.

SMH

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Big Lou Timeline:

Big Lou
April 9th, 2012
11:57 am

“Well gents, it’s been fun. I’ll catch y’all Wednesday night. Let’s hope ATL benifits off a BOS back-to-back. Be blessed.”

Today (What happened to being off until Wednesday night?):

Big Lou
April 10th, 2012
3:46 pm

Whitney Houston information is truly enlightening…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUH8eZEWCa8&feature=related
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Cmon, Big Lou. There you go taking JeJe to task for aborting his absence from the blog–and you just did the same thing. Thought you were gonna give us a break til Wednesday night? What are you doing back on here Tuesday? And remember, it’s not negativity; it’s reality.

“Why can’t we all just get along?”

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Rod from College Park
April 10th, 2012
4:34 pm

How about them Braves. LOL
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They’re doing their part to help validate Najeh’s contention that the Hawks are ATL’s “best team.” I don’t think the Dream count (based on attendance).

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Rufus1
April 10th, 2012
5:35 pm

Good coaches WIN…That is all that matters.
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Mostly true, except that good coaches win WHEN IT REALLY COUNTS (i.e., playoffs).

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iceBIRDcold12
April 10th, 2012
3:49 pm

DawgNole:

I agree with you on the guard play for the Hawks. ZaZa needs to dunk more to create some space and quit trying to be George Gervin with the finger roll. Ivan can be a beast when he decides to stay in his range from the free throw line in.

Josh is the only viable inside threat which is good until he gets into foul trouble. Soon after that is when teams make their run on both ends.

Joe can post but he would rather shoot the threeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
___________________

Have to admit I don’t recall discussing the Hawks’ guard play, but I do agree with your observations–and I’m glad we can agree on something.

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GJM Joe vs Bradley becomes the #1 option and gets a lot of the points. Then Teague can attack off the ball.

Josh at the PF is to pump up his shot attempts. He takes jumpers because he cant get to the rim and he also cant win by just letting the shot run out.

But even if you think he’d get the high # of shot attempts he gets…
would you rather have Josh take a jumpshot and
A) have Zaza crashing the glass
Or
B) have Ivan AND Zaza crashing the glass, also Joe Johnson has size advantage for some tip outs

Clearly the answer is B. For go *Big.

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“Better Coach… LD vs Collins…”

I’ll admit I touted Collins early in the season when they were winning. And there is no question among serious observers that Collins is elite with x’s and o’s. But the 76ers are turning on each other with Iguodala telling si.com that Lou Williams “can’t guard anybody,” so their problems go beyond Collins.

It appears that LD is succeeding at personality mgmt while Collins is failing, and that may be more important than x’s and o’s.

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Does Boston just have Miami’s number? They really beat Miami pretty good the other nite.

Now tonite, LeBron is 7-10 shooting or something, DWade is 6-11, yet Miami is down by 8 at the half. At Home.

Boston has been playing great for the most part lately.

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I definitively think the Hawks will have home court in the first round, either at the 3rd or 5th seed and I think they will win their first round series. Whats more intriguing to me is who would we rather play in the 2nd round, Miami or Chicago? I would personally prefer to play Chicago over Miami, so i think the 5th seed is the best for the Hawks.

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how does lebron take Marta to the hoop and get to the line?

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I would prefer Mark Cuban owning the Hawks
and running our Hawks as his Eastern conf. minor league team,
rather than our current bunch 0` parsimonious dullards.
____________________________________________

Roster + Cap management = Forward Thinking (Red Auerbach; 101)

Josh Smith & Al Horford
-for-
The # 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

Just like Red did to us in 1956

Antnony Davis = Bill Russell / the comparisons have already been made !

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Bad day for the Hawks with both Boston and Philly on their way to wins. If Boston wins today and the Hawks lose to them tomorrow, Boston will be tied with the Hawks in the standings and would have home court advantage due to the tiebreaker.

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Astro Joe & Steve W.

No one will take Marvin’s contract without a big carrot! In order to sign Josh and Ivan, Marvin has to go Period! Next year’s #1 will be some where in the low to mid twentys. Therefore, it must be sacrificed to dump Marvin!
Please stop with the Favors dreams, he does not have the desire to be Great. We don’t need another underachiever! Can you say, Marvin!

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The Celtics have gone on a huge run in the 4th quarter here, consisting ENTIRELY of made mid-range jumpers.

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In crunch time, Miami runs isos every play, but the Celtics still manage to run plays every possession and share the ball.

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Miami fans bailed with 2 minutes left. A lot of Celtics fans in that arena even before the fans started leaving.

Bad result for the Hawks. Celtics creep closer to gaining home court over the Hawks if they meet as the 4-5 matchup. Heat lose and get closer to locking themselves in as the 2 seed — bad matchup if the Hawks get the #3 or #6 and advance. Ideally the Hawks would have home court as the 5 seed and play Chicago in the 2nd round.

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Forget credibility — if the Hawks lose this game they probably won’t have home court in the first round. They can lose their last three games for all I care, but they have to win these next two.

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This Hawks core has never lost a playoff series when they have homecourt advantage. They better beat Boston tomorrow or watch the homecourt advantage fade away.

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Cuban on Odom
”I just asked him, does he want to go for it or not. Is he in or is he out? I think he thought we were playing poker. I just didn’t get a commitment. And that was the end,” Cuban said. ”This was a big game for us, and he wasn’t connecting to that. And if you’re not positive energy, you’re negative energy.”
*******

You’ll never hear words like that out of anyone affiliated with the Hawks because our GM is AWOL, our owners have no credibility, and our coach is timid and can’t even get our guys to play hard every night

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Najeh
“They can lose their last three games for all I care, but they have to win these next two.”

This is just a baseless emotional comment which is complete nonsense.
You want to lose AT HOME to the Knicks, Clippers, and Mavs going into the Playoffs? LOL

Hawks have a very good chance of winning in the 1st round (if they stay in the top 6) unless it’s against Philly. Not too worried about homecourt. If we don’t get it, we will be in good shape. We stole a game at Orlando last year.

Of course tomorrow and Friday are crucial, but so are those last 3 games of the regular season. People begging for homecourt need to remember this is not Woodson’s team anymore. Under him, we were beating everyone at home. Under LD, we have lost seemingly more home games so that’s another thing to consider.

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Tomorrow’s game is after 3 days rest and it’s at Boston. Not a good recipe.

As we all know by now, we have to play our best basketball at an almost impeccable level to beat teams like Boston, Miami, and Chicago. Josh Smith better freaking control himself and not settle for jumpshots if we want any chance of winning this game. I can see Teague pulling a Milwaukee in this game and just disappearing

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What was that about wanting BOS in the first round? Hawks better get the 3 seed or this will be a brief postseason.

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Boston just went 4-2 against: Miami (twice, beat them both times), San Antonio (lost by 1), Chicago (loss), Indiana, and Philly. Not much rest in there, and some back to backs.

Tonite was no fluke. Boston is on fire right now.

So were the Knicks before they played the Hawks the other nite. Hope we have the same result tomorrow nite.

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The Hawks up by 4 in the loss column over the 7 and 8 seeds, with 9 games to play. I’ll pull a ‘Nique and probably curse us and say we’re probably going to be one of the Top 6 seeds. And we can really help our cause by winning the next 5:

@ Boston
@ Orlando
H – Toronto
@ Toronto
H- Detroit

All 5 are winnable games. Knowing the Hawks sometimes, all 5 are losable games also. But win them, and Homecourt is looking really good.

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The Mavs are tied for the 8th playoff spot in the West, only 1 game up over the 9th seed. What kind of upset would that be if they don’t make the playoffs after winning the Championship the year before?

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JeJe – The internet rumor board has Dallas getting both DeRon and Dwight. That would be nasty, even with an old Dirk.

Dallas would have to give up the kitchen sink to get Dwight however, unless he somehow becomes a FA after next season. I don’t know that they have the players to trade for Dwight.

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Maybe Boston is wanting to make 1 last run before they get broken up. Garnett has been beasting recently.

Doc is doing great. And Pietrus comes back for the playoffs. If they had Green O’Neal (Jermaine), they may be making a major run in the playoffs. They still might.

Dallas loses Chandler. We lose Al. I’d say we’ve done pretty good to this point without one of our main cogs.

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J’Oneal is pretty much done. He almost makes T-Mac look healthy

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Who is more respected than Pop ?

question mark ?

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“This is just a baseless emotional comment which is complete nonsense.
You want to lose AT HOME to the Knicks, Clippers, and Mavs going into the Playoffs? LOL”

Haha. Where did I say I want them to lose to those teams? I’d rather they win every game and go 66-0, fo’, fo’, fo’, fo’. Since that’s not going to happen, among the games against good teams remaining, I care a lot more about the games against Boston and Orlando than the ones against New York and the West teams.

Maybe y’all think home court doesn’t matter, and maybe it doesn’t based on last year, but the Hawks this year are a .500 team on the road and a .667 team at home. Home court certainly wouldn’t hurt, and beating Boston and Orlando is essential to securing that.

And if you are going to say home court doesn’t matter based on last year, you can’t say going into the postseason with momentum matters at the same time, because the Hawks ended the regular season on a 6 game losing streak last year and ended up taking the Bulls to 6 games in the second round.

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I still wish TMAC could do this in the ISO…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtpWVp07A14

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We are beating the Celtics tomorrow. Count on it!

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Astro Joe

April 10th, 2012
10:12 am

Jordan Crawford is enjoying a freedom to make mistakes while stil playing 30+ minutes that hw would never get on a playoff bound team. It is quite easy to wax poetic about a player like that after they had a solid performance, but when you look at the game logs, you also find more than a few stinkers throughout the season. I liked JC2 from jump and predicted that he would be better as a rookie than Teague as a 2nd year player…. dude doesn’t appear to need constant reassuring or prodding… he gets it. And i wanted the Hawks to trade JC1 to free up more time for JC2 to establish himself as the designated bench scorer. But at the same time, volume scoring SGs are a dime a dozen and can be had cheaply. I’m pretty sure JC2 makes more than Willie Green. And health notwithstanding, Willie is far more consistent. Willie may not have many 20+ games (mostly due to limited playing time), but he also isn’t as likely to have games where he shoots you into trouble. JC2 needs to have his wildness now in hopes that he calms down later. That is hard to achieve when ownership demands a steady flow of revenue from 6 home playoff games.

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Jordan Crawford was supposed to be the “insurance policy” in case JJ left us, so that we’d have Jamal and Jordan on the squad. He was also supposed to be the contingency plan to replace Jamal when the Hawks would choose not to re-sign him. But Sund in his genius saw value in Jordan, by trading him and Bibby for Kirk.

Drew didn’t believe that Jordan could play PG, and was a gunner at SG. He didn’t play, despite Jamal struggling at times last year, and Mo Evans being complete garbage, and Bibby going into an abyss. Jamal got most of the backup minutes at PG and SG, with Drew flat out refusing to extend Teague’s minutes and having Jordan buried on the bench.

The fact is that Jordan not only should’ve been getting minutes if Jamal and/or Teague wasn’t giving us anything, he could’ve been given the freedom to play both guard positions for at least 15 minutes a night. And he could’ve been reigned in, with the vets on this team.

Most important, you only play him if he’s making a contribution. You don’t leave him in for 20+ minutes like we were doing with Jamal and Bibby last year, when they were giving us nothing.

I laugh everytime we play the Wiz, and Nique talks about Jordan’s horrible shot selection. Like Jamal Crawford took good shots when he was here ( Nique loves Jamal by the way ). A good coach could definitely get a positive output out of Jordan.

( 21 pts – 4 rebs – 4 assists on 10 – 18 FG for him in the win over Orlando, by the way )

He’s still a work in progress, but it would be nice to have a young scorer on this team for the cheap, that would be under contract for the next 2 years. Would rather have him, than to worry about scavenging the garbage dump for a shooter every year. First Flip, then Jamal, now Willie. I guess next year it will be Baron Davis.

And for the record

Jordan – 1.12 million
Willie – 1.22 million ( but the Hawks probably get some kind of discount off of that, like with the Josh Powell contract )

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Also, northcyde, I would love it if the Hawks could have kept JC2 while still getting rid of Bibby. But the reality is that if Bibby was still here, he’d still be starting. Sund had to make that trade to save the organization from LD’s favoritism toward Bibby. WAS wanted JC2 to take on Bibby’s contract. JC2 got a lot of scoring opportunities and had the least efficient rookie season for a first round pick since Adam Morrison.

With Kirk gone next year, we will search for a backup combo guard who can replace him. JC2 would have been that player. But to keep JC2 on the roster so he could be useful 2 years after the fact, Sund would have had to keep Bibby and watch the Hawks lose in the first round last season. We gave up a LOT to dump Bibby, but we won a first round series. I think it was worth the cost.

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pointguardslim

April 10th, 2012
4:12 pm

And also to GMJ and northcyde

Josh at SF means he gets way less touches in the halfcourt. The motion offense entries to the PF or C at the top of the key… meaning Zaza and Ivan.

Hawks identity should become this type of team. A team that plays defense ugly and suffocates the other team with clogging the lanes.
The volume jumpshots are a function of playing the 4 position. I rather take Josh’s defense and our suffocating defensive ability in the big lineups and I consider Ivan at the top of the key a plus.

Lets Josh focus on other things. Like this. Cant wait to see him in his sleeker form + JJ + Teague in the backcourt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igvf4F_oFj4

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You keep talking about this pipe dream of Josh playing in the post at SF, yet, you think he’d get LESS touches? That doesn’t compute man.

There is no way in the world that Josh would touch the ball less if he played SF. What? We’re going to run the offense through Ivan? Do you honestly believe that?

Josh doesn’t shoot jumpshots because he plays the 4, he shoots jumpshots because that what Josh Smith does. Drew’s offense is a jumpshooting offense, so anytime Josh Smith got the ball, and his man doesn’t pressure him to put the ball off the floor, he’s taking the jumper . . . period.

Remember, Josh is supposedly our #1 option in the offense now, so he’s not giving up any shots to the likes of Ivan Johnson. Heck, he might even take more shots at SF.

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Blog Question?

Who gives the Hawks more bang for their buck this year alone?

Marvin Williams 7.5M
Kirk Hinrich 8.5M

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“Sund and the ASG coveted that $805,000 in possible savings, because it would keep them out of the Luxury Tax. At least that’s my theory.”

Interesting theory, since they went into the luxury tax anyway.

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drmaryb, the answer to both questions is obviously Marvin Williams. Kirk has been horrible (although not as bad as Willie Green and Jannero Pargo). Also, no team is going to trade for Kirk because it’s past the deadline to include him on their playoff roster. Trust me, if the Hawks want to move Marvin, they can find a taker. Kirk’s career with the Atlanta Hawks will be over in a few weeks.

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Buddy G,

I assume that the question embodies 100 tons of sarcasm…

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I think I’ll chill on dissin’ Marvin Williams and Jason Collins – not!

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boston is beginning to look ugly good. they are going to be a load for anyone they play first round on through. they are a match up nightmare for us and the heat for sure.

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My Buddy!

Thanks for your response. My trading of Marvin or Kirk was for next season, not this one. LOL! I do know the trade deadline has passed.

I just think Marvin has earned his new role coming off the bench. I like him a lot there, just not at that price. After seeing Ivan, I believe we can find a cheaper replacement.

Even in a trade, salaries have to match, maybe we can get two players and a pick, but I seriously doubt that. We should have taken Sessions and Shaq from Cleveland when we had that chance, IMO.

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“Josh doesn’t shoot jumpshots because he plays the 4, he shoots jumpshots because that what Josh Smith does. Drew’s offense is a jumpshooting offense, so anytime Josh Smith got the ball, and his man doesn’t pressure him to put the ball off the floor, he’s taking the jumper . . . period.”

Depends on where he gets the ball, though. The Hawks’ offense has evolved to the point (finally) where the team as a whole makes fairly consistent efforts to get him touches in the post with his back to the basket. In those situations, he shoots jumpers only when he’s posting up someone who is too big for him to back down.

Against the Celtics, when KG is on him, he can’t back him down at all, so he tends to pull it out and shoot jumpers. That’s why moving him to SF would work, as long as the team continues to make a concerted effort to post him up. And if KG insists on guarding him when he is playing SF, even if Josh shoots jumpers, that means Zaza and Ivan will have major size advantages when crashing the offensive glass.

The Josh-at-SF lineup’s effectiveness is entirely predicated on him continuing to get low post touches and Zaza and Ivan going to the offensive glass.

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“If that wasn’t the case, and they actually coveted Kirk Hinrich enough to give up not only Jordan, but a 2011 1st round pick as well, then they’re more incompetent than I thought. You don’t trade two young pieces for Kirk friggin Hinrich. Like Kirk was going to be the difference between us not getting to the Eastern Conference Finals.”

Well, they are more incompetent than you thought. Rick Sund was practically creaming his pants about Kirk when he made the trade, talking about how he had been targeting him since the 2003 draft and would have picked him if Seattle’s pick is high enough.

I think there may be some truth to Astro Joe’s theory about the team wanting to make it to the second round to get the extra revenue from those playoff games. Trading for Kirk didn’t do anything to get this team closer to the ECF, but with the team being incompetent enough to not know what they had in Teague, in Sund’s mind trading for Kirk was probably the difference between a first round exit and a second round exit.

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Another thing about the big lineup — Boston is a really bad rebounding team. As of right now, they are the worst playoff team in defensive rebounding percentage, and the worst team in the entire league in offensive rebounding percentage. If the Hawks go big, they should be able to dominate, not just win, the rebounding battle against them. If you are going to shoot jumpers, you can mitigate a lot of the damage by grabbing offensive boards.

On the defensive end, if you are concerned about Joe Johnson chasing Ray Allen around, I’d actually put Joe on Rondo and Teague on Allen.

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northcyde You keep talking about this pipe dream of Josh playing in the post at SF, yet, you think he’d get LESS touches? That doesn’t compute man. There is no way in the world that Josh would touch the ball less if he played SF. What? We’re going to run the offense through Ivan? Do you honestly believe that?
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response
Actually the “pipe dream” was sending 2-3 men to rebound every game, using athleticism and smarts to counter Paul Pierce, like he did 2 years ago.

Run the offense…hello Joe Johnson? Jeff Teague?

Smart guy. Last time we ran that lineup Josh went into Marvin mode. He went and stood in the corner genius.
***************
Re Najehdavenpoop:
Actually here are the matchups
1- Jeff Teague – Rajon Rondo
2- Joe Johnson – Avery Bradley (bulk of offense)
3- Josh Smith – Paul Pierce (defense, steals, run in transition)
4- Ivan Johnson – Brandon Bass (go either way)
5- Zaza Pachulia – Kevin Garnett

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And here’s how messed up northcyde is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX_M_UAtKQw

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Najeh Davenpoop maybe they are concerned about Joe chasing Ray but they start 6′3 Avery Bradley to lock down on defense.

The Josh-at-SF lineup’s effectiveness is really predicated on
* holding Boston to one shot opportunitys on defense,
* by rebounding with 2 to 3 guys on defense (SF,PF,C)
* by rebounding with 2 to 3 guys on offense (SF,PF,C)
* Usually teams run high post plays with their PF to pull Josh away from the rim. If Smith is on Pierce who roams everywhere on offense, its harder to adapt to Josh’s help defense. It could very well come to help down and block you ala his block on Dwight came at SF.
* what Josh Smith does in transition. He can post up guards. Or bump bodies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biEFVQoLmPY
^Those are the good plays vs Boston when he was around 250. Varyingly we had Damien Wilkins and Marvin Williams at shooting guard that game, Josh Powell at PF, Jason Collins at C, and Bibby at PG.

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* a CHESS move now …

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Larry has improved, but I still say our biggest mismatch against Boston is Larry vs Doc.

And if Atl really wants a Championship, I say go in the Luxury Tax and sign KG after this season. And if possible sign Ray Allen to back up JJ if Ray doesn’t retire. I know it’s a pipe dream, and some team with cap space will give Garnett a 3 year deal for $$$, but I think we are Garnett’s attitude away from seriously contending next season.

With Al back next season, we can make some serious noise

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I really really want to know MC’s thoughts on the big lineup rotation. Chances LD goes with it?
******

Cs fans are saying Hinrich is a target.
http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1174482

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Najeh,

with the team being incompetent enough to not know what they had in Teague, in Sund’s mind trading for Kirk was probably the difference between a first round exit and a second round exit..

Bingo, because what if a Teague and Bibby (who was giving us nothing) combo led to a lower seed and a first round exit? No second round home playoff revenue.

Remember, this is the same team that had to sell a second round pick to offset the luxury tax bill.

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First and for most, NO ONE KNOWS HOW OR WHAT WE ARE GOING TO GET IN THESE DRAFTS!! Northcyde and Najeh both are saying what we COULD HAVE HAD had we drafted Kenneth Faried, which came out at #22, while the Wizards ended up drafting Chris Singleton @ #18. How Sund made THE MOST STUPIDEST DECISION EVER MADE by trading for Kirk and giving up JC2 who by the way is shooting a million n 3 times to get the points he is averaging now. I mean come on, hay, its nothing wrong with getting good pieces at a bargain. Northcyde mentioned LA Clippers and what they did to get the pieces they have, from his quotes, “I think you forget who were the team that made the biggest moves this year. The Los Angeles Clippers

- traded for Chris Paul and gave up Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman
- signed Chauncey Billups ( a great move until he got hurt )
- signed Caron Butler
- signed Kenyon Martin
- signed Reggie Evans
- traded for Nick Young”

excellent trades by the way but last i checked, they are sitting at #4 while an older than old team like the Spurs and a depleted LA Laker team is ahead of them. (OKCity deserves #1). While we still have a good chance of finishing in the #3 spot with as I stated b4, having multi injuries thru-out this CONDENSED season of very old but smart veterans on this team. U make it sound like with our crew as it stands, we should be in the same position the Knicks are going thru, battling for the #8 position or something.

No, we arent ready for a championship here this year,but nothing is wrong with saving your money in the savings account to finally be able to purchase that dream home u always wanted.

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One word exemplifies those old Boston codgers, and also exemplifies Kobe Bryant.

Pride

In a good kind of way.

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What if Hinrich had helped thwe Hawks lose in 6 games to the Bulls last year during the playoffs?

northcyde, LD didn’t want JC2 to outshine Teague during the summer league. I recall that JC2 was forced to play PG for a minute and looked really good. LD said emphatically that JC2 would NOT play PG, and left things for Teague. That is one of the (many) reasons I laugh at those who think LD had it in for Teague from jump. LD bent over backwards to set Teague up for success. I recall one article/blog that suggested the summer league roster was built to showcase JT0. JC2 started to do his thing and LD put his thumb squarely down… making it clear that Teague would play PG and JC2 SG. They even made the stupid claim that Pape Sy was a PG, just to keep JC2 in his place. Teague fell down and had to re-claim his position. Kind of like the favorite son who wrecks the car and has to rebuild his father’s trust.

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The Spurs sure are aging gracefully, at least in the regular season. I doubt they have another postseason run left in them, but you never know.

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doc,

Maybe some on here need to change their mantra. The Hawks core are 2-0 when they have homecourt advantage… LOL

Northcyde,
I’ve being saying all year that the Hawks don’t want any parts of the Celtics in the 1st round.

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Najeh: “And if you are going to say home court doesn’t matter based on last year, you can’t say going into the postseason with momentum matters at the same time, because the Hawks ended the regular season on a 6 game losing streak last year and ended up taking the Bulls to 6 games in the second round.”
____________________

OK, they didn’t get past the second round–SAME AS ALWAYS–and I’m sure that 6-game losing streak didn’t help matters. Right? And it’s not like falling out at the 6-game mark of Round 2 is any sort of accomplishment after four and a half decades of the same ol same ol.

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SteveW
April 11th, 2012
10:49 am

And if Atl really wants a Championship, I say go in the Luxury Tax and sign KG after this season. And if possible sign Ray Allen to back up JJ if Ray doesn’t retire. I know it’s a pipe dream, and some team with cap space will give Garnett a 3 year deal for $$$, but I think we are Garnett’s attitude away from seriously contending next season.
___________________

. . . IF Atl really wants a championship . . . . HUGE words there.

I’m sure they really want a championship–who doesn’t? The REAL question is, are they willing to PAY THE PRICE required for a championship? And I’m afraid most of us already know the answer to that one.

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“I agree with what you, Rod from College Park, are saying about Jamal Crawford but, in actuality, the Hawks, without [Jamal] Crawford, did advance to the second round of the 2009 playoffs. The Cavs swept the Hawks 4-0 in the 2009 playoffs.”

Thanks Highsider, forgot about that year. Yeah Miami was pretty bad that year. Don’t know how I forgot, I had season tickets that year. That Cleveland series was brutal. Mo Evans and Marvin trying to check Lebron, and Delonte West shuting down Iso Joe. It was ugly.

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Ya’ll may want to check me out on this, but:

The first two years the Hawks were in Atlanta, the went to the Conference Finals. But it was the Western Conference, and not the Eastern, since that was the Conference they were in. It may have been called Divisions then also.

We are actually 0-41 since then, not 0-45 as some have said.

Also, as I commit Hawks blogosphere heresy, the ASG has only owned the Hawks for 8 full years – this is their 8th season. In that time they have gone from 13 wins to 4 straight playoff appearances, and 3 straight Semi’s.

Can we really hold ASG responsible for the 34 years of failure since they did not own them then? Of course, we can fault them for Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, Acie, Billy, Shelden Williams, and a host of other things.

But the years they didn’t own the team. Really?

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ASG’s first 7 years of ownership, besides the public dysfunction and lawsuits, which I care nothing about, it’s all about W’s with me:

4 playoff appearances
3 trips to the semi’s

Yes, historic playoff beatdowns – historic regular season beatdown’s last season.

Blame them for that.

But pretty good results to this point in rebuilding, and our best year’s in the playoffs may be the next two, especially next year if Al comes back healthy.

Maybe this year, we don’t know yet.

No Championships, but not bad. And I’m not going to equate us with the Bobcats just because we don’t win a Championship.

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How many will change their mind after tonight’s game? Jump from wanting to play this/that team after a loss. A team win a game and you want part of them. Hawks will b find regardless of their seed. (3) Enough with not wanting to play MIA, games are not decided by the names on a uniform.

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Hawks will lose tonight with smallish lineup.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

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@ Ms Dee . . . the point still stands. You don’t win Executive of the Year ( or even get fringe votes ), unless you or your team does something significant during the regular season. Just because the Hawks didn’t fall off the cliff with the loss of Horford, doesn’t mean that Sund is a great executive.

The “Dollar Tree” players that Sund acquired have been solid for the most part. But there will be no parades down Peachtree Street for those moves. Bring in a Chris Paul, however, and he’s seen as a great executive.

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The Dollar Tree!

Ha Ha … NortyCyde! The old cardboard bargain bin is brimming with talent overload. The 4×4x4 box is alive and well.

This year, a few DVD’s fell outa’ there and the eight orangutans threw a little more than feces at the fans. No sir, this year we got Green and Pargo!

That was just “too much good stuff” – a slam dunk of sorts. At that price 2 for $1 … You betcha’ we’ll be right back in line for some more of that next year. LOL!

What moves do you think Sund and ‘Nem will make next go ’round? Can’t waite!

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