Atlanta Hawks: Larry Drew studying with Euro coach David Blatt

I gotta check this guy out

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Blatt is one of the best coaches in the world, regardless of league. If the Hawks were able to bring him on, this would be monumental for the franchise.

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But if Blatt comes on, he should be heir apparent for the head coaching gig should Drew underwhelm Danny Ferry and/or Sund.

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Or maybe Drew’s just studying under Blatt, in which case, I would have to tip my hat to Drew for doing what it takes to improve at his craft.

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Did any of you watch Russia play throughout the Olympics? They were tough and the surprise team of the tournament. Blatt is a good coach, but I am not surprised he has a “trublent relationship” with his team. The guy is an a$$ buster.

NBC had him miked during a timeout, in one of Russia’s games. Blatt yelled at a player, telling him to “shutup in his (Blatt’s) huddle”. When the player offered an explanation, Blatt pulled him from the game.

Though I admire his toughness, I don’t see Blatt making it in the NBA, unless he chilled a bit. No NBA player would respond well to those tactics/reactions.

That being said, I am glad Larry Drew is studying a Euro team/coach. The Hawks are very Euro this year. They will rely on their guards and have several solid shooters. Coach Drew should benefit from being over there.

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I really like that Ferry is open to the media/fans. Rick Sund would’ve just left us to wonder.

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Enter your comments here

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Run gun equals ___ we won!!!

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This is LD’s replacement, not LD’s assistant.

This could be Ferry’s greatest and most devious move yet!

I have been advocating Blatt here since midway 2010/11. That guy CAN coach and CAN develop/recover wasted talent.

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Coach Drew flies to Israel to meet with a respected international coach in an effort to improve his craft. Too bad no story about how Al Horford spent this summer with… whoever… to try to develop a post game.

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[...] proposer un poste d’assistant coach pour la franchise d’Atlanta.A suivre…Source Michael Cunningham/Atlanta Journal-Sentinel   Posté dans » InfosRelated » Mike Scott s’engage avec les Hawks pour deux [...]

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This is nothing more than a hunch on my part, but I believe DFerry is behind this move because he want’s LDrew to get an idea of how to take charge and be more of a disciplinarian. I know Ferry saw more than he wanted to see of the total disarray that took place with JJ taking it upon himself to take over the OFF to go ISO.

Now that JJs gone, I’m certain he want’s him to be more forceful and involved when it comes to Josh taking all of those illadvised jumpers, rather than planting his hard headed A$$ in the paint where he’s most effective. However, I don’t want Drew to try and break his strong spirit, just get him to control it more.

At any rate, whoever’s behind the move has made a solid decision, and I applaud it. It looks like Ferry is definitely trying to get the Hawks away from the strictly ISO one on one style of play that’s characterized this teams OFF in the past. We’ll be playing more of a team oriented OFF and DEF, much like the Spurs have done so successfully over the yrs.

If you read the article on Blatt in detail, you’ll see where it said he recently signed a 3yr contract, so he won’t be coming here to coach, even though it also said he has a turbulent relationship with management. With a GM like Ferry in place, along with ownerships financial committment in backing him, I believe the Hawks will become a new preferred destination for big named FAs.

The city of Atlanta itself already has the country’s highest number of professional athletes and coaches living in the city, or owning homes here. I can’t wait to see how Josh, Al and Teague step up in JJs absence. With the OFF firepower we have with Jenkins, Korver, Harris, LWilliams, and Morrow, Ferry wants a DEF minded SF that rebounds his position. Any scoring we get will be gravy.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see us use a SF by committee approach with Anderson providing more OFF and James providing more DEF, although both players are know for playing solid DEF. We might end up seeing a younger more OFF capable Anderson replace DStephenson as our DEF specialist at the swing position(SG/SF).

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http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2012/9/12/3319150/hawks-training-camp-an-early-look-at-the-roster

Here’s a breakdown of our potential training camp roster. If KBenson accepts what will certainly be a camp invite, this will likely be the franchises quickest, fastest and most athletic training camp rosters ever.

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1330441-can-a-jeff-teague-lou-williams-backcourt-work-for-the-atlanta-hawks

Here’s an interesting article about our potential backcourt matchup.

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Thank you Ken for finding that article. Again, these are the type of articles we should be seeing daily on the AJC blog. I do like Teague and Williams starting and I have said that all along. I hope LD really considers this – instead of how they did JC, automatically making him the 6th man.

The highlight of JJ was in 2008. If we still had that guy, this would have been a bad trade. That JJ we will never see again.

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AG,

Check JJ’s career stats per 36 minutes.

His 2011/12 numbers compare well per 36 against almost all of his previous seasons.

News of JJ’s decaying game are greatly exaggerated. People forget that 2010/11 was an injury year.

If you want to talk about playoffs, then I would agree that 2007/8 against BOS was his best showing, but then, he was not yet the focus of opposing defenses since the Hawks and JJ were an “under the radar team”.

Basically, Doc and the Celts did not even bother scouting us and that is why we were kind of competitive.

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I like the potential of James (less so Anderson), but don’t get it twisted, Korver WILL play. The only way to get more than one abover average shooter on the floor is to play Korver at SF.

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Korver is a trade chip, potentially to land a draft pick from a contender needing firepower before the trade deadline.

Harris is the same, with the potential of landing eventually a better haul if he is playing well.

Neither of the two are remotely connected to the future of this franchise.

With this I am not saying that Damion Jones and James Anderson ARE, however, there is a possibility that they MIGHT BE.

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vava:

finally someone who makes sense, JJ was not the Hawks problem. The scapegoat is gone, now what will be the excuse when Josh starts killing momentum and Al just lets them have a free pass to the hoop or teague airballing wide open 3’s. it will take the hawks 5-10 years to get back to where they just were, if they are still in ATL…..the move is coming people.

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Too bad we haven’t read stories about (fill in your favorite Hawk name here) working on improving their game this summer.

Of course, unless they are using a SciFi machine, it won’t likely result in a significant change in the team’s fortunes. We would need for 3-4 guys to simultaneously have career years for this roster to make the second round of the playoffs.

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Too many specialty players + Too much redundancy = Too many roster spots

I was hoping Danny would make at least a two-for-one trade to free-up some roster spots to add more frontline players for depth. With this roster as currently constructed, the Hawks would be one frontline player away to becoming a certified lottery team. Losing Al (again) or Josh or Zaza in an 82-game season would put the Hawks in a terrible hole with thin depth to man the paint. A Hawks frontline depth of Petro, Williams and Scott with Ivan uncertainty sounds underwhelming to me.

Instead of a trade to balance the roster, Danny has applied a bandage-approach by inviting Anderson and James to camp. Assuming one of them makes the team; the Hawks will spend the final roster spot on a SF and add to an already crowded bunch of shooters to complete the 15 player roster. As results, the roster is still unbalance with shooters. So during the regular season, the Hawks will have capable shooters dressed-up in suits while they hope for an injury-free season to their frontline. Highly unlikely

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AG-I don’t disagree in anyway with the reasoning behind starting Teague and LWilliams. However, LWilliams is definitely a proven commodity coming off the bench, and the jury is still out on DHarris’ effectiveness coming off the bench. While both players would be at a disadvantage against bigger taller SGs, those same SGs would be at a disadvantage defending their speed and quickness.

I believe we should start thinking in terms of a 3 guard rotation of Teague, Harris and Williams, since all 3 are interchangeable. It reminds me of the extremely effective BAD BOYS 3 guard rotaton of VJohnson, JDumars, and IThomas. This is where the TEAM DEF concept comes into play, and we’ll definitely have the speed, quickness and athleticism to make it work effectively.

At this point, the success of this team actually rests with the potential of Anderson and James. If they’ve fully recovered enough to do what they were capable of doing before their injuries, then that bodes well for this team this season. They would give us 2 DEF minded swing players that can play both SG and SF. They would also allow us to go big at SG whenever the need arises, which would add more balance to our backcourt.

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“Why have you sunk to the level of our neanderthals.”

Grandad, there is irrational criticism and there is valid criticism. Sure, Al played for Coach Cal on the DR team, but when they played Team USA I saw Al getting shut down by Carmelo Anthony. Didn’t see him doing a lot of work in the post there.

Meanwhile Amare Stoudamire, who has punked All-NBA out in the past, spent time this summer with Hakeem. And for the second summer in a row, the two best players alive, LeBron and KD, worked out together. Why can’t Horford hook up with Tim Duncan… or… SOMEBODY… and work on his post game? He was rated the third best center in the NBA two seasons ago then came into camp out of shape and got hurt. I doubt he’s top three this year because other players are working on their game and will be trying to move up. I see All-NBA slipping.

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James Damion with a wingspan of nearly 7′ 1″ and a height of nealy 6′8″ he could actually be PF tweener

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can’t Big Al work out with Tito in the summer?

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Astro Joe,

“David West? Better skill set than Horford? David West?”

I’m hoping that you are joking. David West is a 2 time all star just like Horford, but at the PF position. If Horford had half of the moves, and footwork that David West has, in the post, there would be none of this Horford debating on this blog. David West has averaged over 20 ppg for a season a couple of times, while Horford has never come close. I also forgot to include Stoudemire at the PF position

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MsDee,

I like your enthusiasm but Horford at PF is a guaranteed failure and Rod is perfectly right he is NO WHERE NEAR West from a post game point of view and mind that West is not exactly Olajuwon.

I am not saying that Horford is not a good player, he is, but his biggest assets are not related to SKILL but with DISCIPLINE, which is fine, but not #1 or #2 offensive option material.

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MsDee,

OK, LOL. Averaging 20 ppg for a season is not an easy feat in the NBA. Horford has never even experienced a double team. A good pupil he is, but a jedi he is not. Horford never had a high scoring average because offensively he has always been the third, fourth, or even 5th best offensive player on the court for the Hawks. If you are that far down the pecking order offensively on the Hawks team, what makes you think that he would be able to put up 20 ppg night in and night out. I would be willing to bet you that even this year, with Joe gone, Horford will still be our 3rd or 4th best scoring option night in and night out. No Horford hate here, just the truth.

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West has better offensive skills but in no way shape or form is a better overall basketball player (or has more overall skills). He’s a one dimensional guy who greatly benefited from playing with CP3.

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“Rod, do u think if David West played the same position Horford has HAD to play since entering the NBA would averaged over 20 ppg a season???”

David West is 6′8 and Horford is 6′10. David West has always been a PF, and Horford has always been a center since he entered the league. Offensively it would not matter what position David West played, and he has always gone against guys bigger than him. His skill, footwork, and overall basketball ability would show regardless of what position he played.

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Rod, “David West is 6′8 and Horford is 6′10. David West has always been a PF, and Horford has always been a center since he entered the league.”

Exactly so why compare a PF averaging a 20 PPG game to an UNDERSIZED 2-time ALLSTAR center averaging less?

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“West has better offensive skills but in no way shape or form is a better overall basketball player (or has more overall skills). He’s a one dimensional guy who greatly benefited from playing with CP3.”

Please help me understand what skills Horford has that David West does not have. David West has consecutive seasons of 17 and 7, 18 and 8, 20 and 9, 21 and 8, 19 and 7, and 19 and 7. If Horford did that for 6 seasons straight, I sure we would all be very pleased with him. Horford is a better rebounder than West is simply because of height, and position, not because of skill. Their skill levels are really not comparable. Horford has a lot of work to do.

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Interesting Stat:

Damion James @ nearly 6′8″ has the same wing-span as 6′10″ Al Horford of 7′ 0.75″

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Interesting Stat:

Jeff Teague @ 6′1″ has the same wing-span as 6′3″ Devin Harris of 6′ 7.5″

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we already have our Sf J-smoove, Al will play his natural position of pf. and zaza will man the middle. nice combo. with teague and harris/or lou williams.

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Interesting Stat:

If the Hawks added 6′11′ Keith Benson to roster, he would have the longest wing-span on the team @ 7′ 4″

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Oh..OK, didnt notice it, u right..THIS TIME.

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“So you don’t think Horford shined because of Joe, and Josh?”

Of course NOT!! Those two ONLY passed to themselves. Horford got his points off his 18fters and Josh’s misses.

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Rod, West is a jump-shooting PF who is exceptional as a pick and pop player.

My guess is that at least half of West’s shots when he played with CP3 were from 10+ feet out. You act like dude is Karl Malone, I think he is much closer to a “stretch 4″.

And to say that a PG has little impact on low post scoring is absolutely silly. A low post player doesn’t simply hold position indefinitely (unless he’s Shaq)… he needs to get the ball in the right spot at the right time to convert. But again, I don’t think that West lives in the low-post like you make it out. When I envision West, I see him making an open jumper off of a pick and pop play.. from around 18 feet.

Horford is a far better man defender, pick and rool help defender, rebounder and at least as good at the mid-range shot.

The best PG Horford has played with was Bibby in his decline. West played with CP3 in his prime. Big difference.

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Yet I come back and all I hear once again is people bashing Horford and people bashing Josh Smith I mean just damn. -_________-

Anyways has anyone being paying any attention to Player Rankings on ESPN I’m just asking I know some players should not be ranked where they are like a Jeremy Lin at 78 and what not. Just want to know any thoughts is all.

Plus Jeff Teague was at 109(not bad really) Lou Williams at 70 something I forgot, but fun fact a twitter user also said his Defense is underrated just saying. I’ll leave my opinion on that come season time.

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Buddy, ok Horford was maybe a little out of shape BUT he was also a freshly newlywed as well. Not saying thats an excuse BUT it COULD have been a reason too.

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Al Horford isn’t just giving up height against his opponent but length as well:

Al Horford wingspan = 7′ 0.75″
vs.
Brandon Bass = 7′2.5″
Carlos Boozer = 7′2.5″
Al Jefferson = 7′2.5″
Tyson Chandler = 7′3″
Taj Gibson = 7′4″
Brook Lopez = 7′5.5″
Elton Brand = 7′5.5″

Just to list a few

Another indictment on the Hawks, they don’t seem to value size when they seach to acqure players. They still haven’t gotten the memo: SIZE MATTERS

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“Being more skilled and being the better player are two completely different things. ”

Ding!!!!!! They sky must be falling. Me a Vava agree. LOL

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AJ – from your earlier post stating 3-4 guys would have to have career years to get us into the second round, – well I certainly think it will happen. Also, the more I am reading from other sites is giving the Hawks a lot of love. One of the things we were accused of (softness) certainly adding Stevenson with ZaZa and Ivan does give us a tougher team.

Despite all the negativity, the Boss will have a career year. I can easily see him averaging 17/10. Josh, who is now playing for a contract and now the face of the Hawks will have a career season in scoring – but I am sure his rebounding may go down – UNLESS he plays down low and INCREASE his offensive rebounds. JT has shown improvement every season and I am sure the trend will continue. I can actually envision him being second on the team in scoring 17/7 ast type of player. It just depends on how much freedom he is allowed to have. Lastly, I really want to see Lou starting. He will naturally have better numbers because he is getting more looks. It would not surprise me if Lou averaged 20 ppg in a starting role.

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What’s the infatution with Al’s post-up game? He’s simply not a post-up center. Nothing wrong with that. There have been many centers that contributed heavily to their teams success that didn’t camp out in the post. Which center was killing it from the post in last years finals? Ibaka? Kendricks? Bosh? Anthony? I don’t remember Chandler or Nowitski being compared to Wilt two years ago when they won the ring.

Here is an exerpt from an article in Slam Magazine about West -
Simply put, no power forward in the League is a better mid-range shooter than West, and yes, I do realize that Dirk still plays power forward. West’s jumper is that nice. Honestly, if he had Dirk’s height, he’d be getting the same uber-love the big German has been enjoying for years.

And those complaints about West being soft are off base. Some fans see a player who won’t post up and doesn’t hit the glass and think that he’s afraid of contact, or he shrinks from the big moment. Not so with West, who loves big shots. Instead, his contact avoidance is not based in fear or laziness, but self preservation. At 240 pounds he’s actually smaller than LeBron James and Ron Artest, and as Kareem Adul-Jabbar once said, you try running into 280-300-pound men for two hours with no padding and see how much you like it.

Doesn’t sound like he’s living in the paint to me!

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jhan – wow maybe I should have said it that way. The NBA is different. There are very few post up centers. Outside of Bynum and Cousins, – can’t think of any centers with a strong post up game. Howard is pure muscle. His post up game is pathetic.

I really never followed D. West, but why did his average drop so bad this year? Was it because he was not playing with CP3?

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“Not saying thats an excuse BUT it COULD have been a reason too. ”

I think Josh, Al, Jeff, Devin Harris (contract year) and Lou Williams will all come in to camp in good shape and ready to go. That’s our top 5 players. I’m really less concerned about Al than I am about getting Ivan under contract and see if he has gained or lost weight. He would be a LOT more explosive if he dropped 10 lbs. But Ivan has been a man of mystery all summer. Have not heard peep 1 about him. So if he’s going to be a Hawk this season and build on his breakout rookie campaign, he needed to handle his business this summer.

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Buddy, you are acting a little like LD. Why do you have DH over JT? In the NBA rankings, were was DH ranked?

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109
(tie) Jeff Teague
Atlanta Hawks | PG | Age: 24
2011 rank: #187 | @Teague0

2011-12 Stats GM PPG RPG APG FG%
66 12.6 2.4 4.9 .476

5.26

Daniel Christian @DChris_Hawks

And Jeff Teague is also better than Devin Harris, which will be evident when he starts over him. #NBArank botched it with Teague

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Rod – are you sure you’ve watched West play a lot? I’ve never seen him play great defense or ever heard anyone make that claim. Do you really believe that the PG (passer) has little to do with a post-up players success? I would think someone with your self proclaimed basketball acumen would realize that where & when a player receives the pass has a tremendous amount to do with whether they are successful or not.

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So now the system a player is in can make a difference in their production. I guess that only applies to players someone likes.

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No way is Harden a max player. Max players should be able to produce even when the other teams are geared up to stop them. No way Harden produces in that scenario. He didn’t even produce in the Finals when he was the third option.

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Correction:

“There are few back-court players more skilled than Jamal but that does mean – quite the contrary – that substantially less skilled players areN’T better players than Jamal.”

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“Perhaps if our system were to designed so Horford did all his shooting from the paint his game would be different.”

Why on gods green earth would we desisgn a system to have our 4th or 5th best scoring option take the majority of his shots from the paint when he has no decernable post game. Larry Drew would be begging to get fired, and you question my understanding of the game. LOL

“What about the whole PG issue? You don’t feel that is important to an effective inside game?”

David West averaged right around 20 ppg his last three years at Xavier without Chris Paul, so no, I dont think Chris Paul had a whole lot to do with David West being able to score. It’s not like Chris Paul was throwing oops to David West like he does with Blake Griffin. David West was not out on the break finishing in transition. He was scoring out of the post, and off pick and pops, and pick and rolls.

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I expect to read about a Hawx trade any day now.
Go Horfs.

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ROD FROM CP-Once again you’re pulling statements out of you anus. If CP3 didn’t have any influence on DWest’s scoring, then why did he average only 12.8PPG the 1yr he’s played without him? I want to see what kind of lame excuse(s) you’re going to come up with.

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If the Hawks get very lucky and strike gold with FAs Anderson and/or James, like we did last yr with IJohnson, this team will definitely be better than last yrs team.

SF-James, Korver, Anderson
PF-Smith, Johnson, Scott, JWilliams or Benson
OC-Horford, Zaza, Petro
SG-Harris, LWilliams, Jenkins, Morrow
PG-Teague(Harris, Williams)
This would be our 15 man roster if no additional trades are made. I see our 3 man inactive roster being filled by Scott, JWilliams, Benson, or Petro.

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vava74

September 13th, 2012
6:33 pm

“Horford is a fine team player but his ceiling is roughly the same he had at the college level for that phase of his career.

In Florida he averaged 13 and 9 plus nearly two blocks per game.

If Horford went back to Boss Al levels of aggression his lack of developed post game would not matter he would score on putbacks and hustle plays inside and mixing it up with his mid range game.

Horford has the potential to be a 15 and 11 guy as an undersized C who hustles.

If he does not adopt this type of game, then he will not improve his numbers nor his contribution to winning.”

Brilliant!

All NBA Allstar? Right..

Can this Allstar be relied on to carry the team through tough times say like JOSH did last season for weeks on end? Pin drop-roll eyes..Whistling Dixie

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ASTRO JOE-The question is, will Josh be his usual head strong self and continue launching jumpers and try to pad the score sheet to win a big payday and make the All Star gm? Or, will he conform to what Drew and Ferry want him to do for the team? I hope he sees the big picture and plays more team ball.

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Of course there would still be a slim chance Benson makes the team assuming he performs well and both Anderson and James stint it up in camp. Benson could win by default.

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“Anderson and James stink it up in camp”

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“I never said we should design an offense around Horfords inside game – ”

You said, ” Perhaps if our system were to designed so Horford did all his shooting from the paint his game would be different.”

Again why would we design a system for him to score in the paint when he has no post moves?

“I don’t believe West can generate his own shot off the dribble consistently. That means he needs to find his spot & have the ball passed to him. So it is important for him to have someone that can get him the ball. Same goes for any post player. That is basic basetball. Not sure why you can’t get that.”

He actually can create his own shot off the dribble and create his own shots from the post. Chris Paul is a very skilled passer, and was responsible for NOH being a very good team, but he is not the reason David West scored. David West skills are the reason he scores. Throwing the ball to a guy in the post is a basic basketball play that is learned early in basketball camps. It’s called feeding the post. Marvin Williams could do that. Its really not that difficult. While Paul gets assist for a a couple of the plays on the video, David West skill set is why he scores.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ai16mJGpsM

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David West got mad skills.

West 10, Al 0

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Ra’mon

August 29th, 2012
2:58 pm

KenS, Your list for reasons of keeping Al over Josh is full of so many things not backed up by actual stats.

1-is just as good at rebounding, — Josh is actually a better rebounder than Al, but Josh has always be responsible for getting back on defense to hinder any fast break opportunities. So Al always have gotten more OPPORTUNITIES on the offensive boards.
2-can play OC and PF equally as effectively, – This is a false statement. I did the calculations (you can do them yourself if you like). In all of the games (not even including the playoffs) that Al played PF in 2010-2011 (season before he was injured), Al averaged a whopping 12 PPG and 7.6 RPG. This is at his ‘natural position’ that you claim. That sounds like all star numbers doesn’t it? And in the playoffs where Al started exclusively at the PF position – Al averaged 11.3 PPG and 9.6 RPG while shooting 42% from the field.

3-is a much more efficient and effective scorer, – You can not be considered an effective scorer if you can not create your own shot. And if when you’re at PF or C, you can’t do any better than averaging 12 ppg, that is not a ‘SCORER’. I’ve never known of an effective scorer who averaged 12 ppg.

4-is a much better option as a stretch 4, – A stretch 4? How are you a stretch 4 and only shoots 42% from the field in the playoffs at the 4 position? What are you stretching there? Also who was the last stretch 4 to win a title? (Dirk isn’t a stretch 4, he is a scorer that’s different). You don’t pay a stretch 4 $12 million a season.

5-is just as effective as a passer since he generates fewer turnovers- How is he an effective passer when he can’t facilitate for himself or others. There are assists that come in the frame of the offense. And assists that come making a play. Aside from the one regular season Chicago game, Al doesn’t make plays. Al points come off of offense created by others.

6-is far more mature and far less tempermental – Have you ever had a conversation with Al or Josh? LD stated Josh was the first out of ALL of the players including Bibby, who’s basketball iq is never questioned, to learn the playbook. And then on top of that, on the off season after getting the closest to the ECF this franchise has ever been, Al reports to camp OUT OF BASKETBALL SHAPE. How is that mature? When Josh gained weight, it wasn’t because he wasn’t working out, it was so he could defend more in the post. Al just showed up not in premium shape, opposed to Josh, Joe, and Teague.

7-doesn’t lose focus and take plays off while arguing with the refs, – Name an all star in the league who really cares, and never loses focus for a play or two while talking with referee? Lebron, Kobe, Wade, Durant, Dirk, Melo, Rose, KG, Pierce, and Duncan have all been seen taking a play to talk to a ref, and it results in the opposition scores. Guess you don’t want those guys either.

8-is far more physical and capable of defending and scoring over bigger and taller players- This one is funny. So why couldn’t he score over Taj Gibson, Boozer, or Brandon Bass? And why was he shut down after Amare called Al out? Yet, Chicago puts their best defender in Noah on Josh, and Josh still go for career numbers in a series? Boston puts KG on Josh, and Josh still have great numbers while playing on one knee after being hurt.
,
9-has been recognized by coaches, players and writers, and rewarded for his attributes, while Josh has been all but ignored because of his continued immaturity despite having All Star caliber talent and production. – Al was recognized because of injuries, and the fact that he plays a different position. A 12 pts, 9 reb center in the league, may get you into the all star game. However a 12 pt, 9 reb FORWARD won’t get you into any all star game. THAT is why Al made all star game.

10-has led the Hawks to the playoffs every yr since his arrival, when Josh and JJ couldn’t sniff the playoffs before his arrival. – Wrong. Al did not LEAD the Hawks into the playoffs. Was Al more effective than Sheldon Williams, of course. But the Hawks made the playoffs the first year more because of Mike Bibby’s presence. The Hawks were in the 9-10th seed before the all star break when Bibby was required. There’s a difference between LEADING and being an able body on a good team. IF he lead the team to the playoffs, how did they still manage to get a four seed without him playing majority of the season? I assure you, Chicago will not get the number 1 seed without Rose this season.

Al is a really good ROLE player. But making him out to be some sort of franchise savior is just wrong. I’ve never seen a player average 12 ppg for 5 seasons, and be considered so wonderful. Al is a pretty good center. I really like Al at the center position. However, Al is an average power forward. And he’s not a true difference maker.

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Wow, why did you go dig that post up? lol

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SlimJr,

I don’t understand your preoccupation with the Nephilim. I have not given a lot of consideration to who they may be other than what the Bible says in the few places they are mentioned. I will try to remember to give an extended post on the subject sometime, But I would approach the subject using the “Scriptura sacra sui ipsius interpres” principle (Holy Scripture is its own interpreter).

Regardless of who they are, I’d like to have one on the Hawks to protect the rim.

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I have no problem with Hinrich as a player.

At the same time, the price we paid for Hinrich, just kind of capped off a long run of bad PG decisions.

Signing free agent Speedy Claxton instead of drafting a PG started it all….The next step was the Bibby extension, followed by playing Bibby big minutes rather than seeing what we had in Teague….Then the Hinrich trade cost us two 1st rd picks….Then Hinrich gets hurt in the playoffs and we don’t see him again until the middle of last season….Compound all of this with the fact that Bibby accepted a cheap buyout just days after we traded him to Washington….I never disliked Hinrich as much as I was frustrated with how the position has been handled….Hinrich should not have been a starting 2-guard for any team in the league….He’s perfect for a backup PG to play next to a bench scorer like Jamal or LouWill.

Now we have two decent PG’s in Teague & Harris, but both are free agents after this year. Will we ever settle the PG position?

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is a proven commodity at 3 NBA positions.

Really? Proven after ~60 games? At 3 positions? I guess we’re all set then, who needs anymore help when we have a proven player (reigning rookie of the month for the last month of the NBA season) on our squad, capable of playing every front court position. Whew.

Headed out to get the last Ivan jersey off the shelf at Sports Authority. And I can’t wait to watch him dominate the Rookie-Sophomore game in February.

BTW, I wonder if Scott’s non-NBA career will be as long as Ivan’s?

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from our sec of state:

“We can pledge that whenever one person speaks out in ignorance and bigotry, ten voices will answer,” Clinton said forcefully. “They will answer resoundingly against the offense and the insult; answering ignorance with enlightenment; answering hatred with understanding; answering darkness with light.”

better words never spoken. wish it could be each of our daily pledge’s starting as soon as we can speak. time for ecumenism.

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DRose can say what he wants about Hinrich. He was a little over a bust in Atlanta. He made 8 mil per, never stayed healthy, is too slow to stay in front of most point guards in this league, and cost us two first round picks. Save the Orlando playoff series that we won, where he did contribute and played good defense on Jameer Nelson,, he barely contributed to this team while here. He surely did not help this teams basketball IQ, since his is so high. LOL

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DOC-AMEN TO THAT.

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The Falons are going to have to start beating up on the winners before they are considered a threat to compete for a Superbowl..

Ryan has 7x the talent surrounding him than MV7 had…

Its SuperBowl or Bust..No more excuses..

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Rod, its funny how u can post West’s youtube videos but none of Horfords TOP 10 plays of 11-12 seasons nor his AlHorford/Boss video nor his NBA Journey video. Horford is just as skilled just in different ways. There was a couple of games, can’t remember which or who we were playing but if u are truly a Hawk fan, u will have a clear mind and see where im coming from. In those few games, Horford was having a heck of a game scoring the ball in like 4 or 5 possessions in a row and/or getting fouled for an AND1 when of course Joe or Josh stopped going to him. In those possessions, ROD, Horford was posting up and actually making plays u so kindly forget. Jhan made the point earlier how it IS important how and where the guard passes the ball into the post. U not gonna see as many balls going down low to AL cause the guards (Joe and Josh) very seldom passes down to him on a CONSISTANT BASIS. Only reason Teague didnt throw down low cause he was used in pick and pops plays.

“On the David West situation for instance he averaged 12.3 ppg during the regular season on a new team, but then in the playoffs his ppg averaged went up to 15.3. The reason that happened is because he became more of a primary scorer for that team in the playoffs because he has the ability to create his own high percentage shots out of the post, and he has the ability to get to the line and shoot a high percentage from the free throw line.”

Funny how u only look at the strengths of West but very few comments on his weakness but have a million & 3 things to say about Horford weakness but very few things about his strengths.

“Also his team scored a lot off of transition points during the regular season, which is not one of his strengths, but when the game slows down (in the playoffs), his skill set becomes more valuable.”

Case-in-point, u make an excuse for West numbers to be down and now b/c his team scored a lot off transition pts which isnt his strength but guess what, IT IS A STRENGTH FOR HORFORD. Horford does well running the floor in transition for a nice bounce pass or finish to the basket.

I just cant wait til Horford Haters are proved wrong this up coming season!!

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Any player who receives individual accolades without a championship will always be subject to undue criticism. Like I heard someone say recently, his isn’t tennis or golf. Hard for a QB to win independent of his teammates and the same is true in baseball and basketball. It is almost like players who receive individual honors with a championship should deny the honor. For example, Derrick Rose should have refused the 2011 MVP award.

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slim jr dont know why you bring mv7 to the conversation who almost undid your beloved franchise. ken s can attest that i was a huge mv7 fan in his time though, preached to let the process carry through before declaring him guilty, wanting to believe in his honesty and integrity. time proved me wrong, so be it.

sad truth is, mv7 stole your money and your heart with his cavalier attitude, lack of any preparation and immaturity. you should be asking for your money back rather than give your bleeding heart to him.

though many moments of brilliance that captivated my emotions, i also believe mv7 was stoned several times on the field, specifically, a game with san diego where he thew an awful intercept for a return td, supposedly to the tight end. on a camera close up, he had that familiar far away look of the stoner he was. he pretty much did a mea culpa there too, admitting substance abuse on the field. sorry, no excuses for mv7, is more the cry i think a rationale true and fervent falcon fan might have. he was and is so flawed it makes no sense. live and let live when it comes to mv7 in my book, chapter closed.

it you want to see and cry your heart out at what mv7 could have been if with an unclouded brain and values to go with his innate abilities look at rg3, the real deal. bleed on slimj, bleed on, as that is all it is, no roar to that mouse.

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“Ryan is 0-3 in the playoffs. Manning didn’t win his first playoff game until his sixth season in the league, when the Colts routed the Broncos 41-10 in the wild-card round after the 2003 season.”

Manning never got shut out in the playoffs with 2 of the best receivers in the game, a top 5 running back, and a hall of fame tight end, against a terrible defense.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6TmJcd30II

ROD FROM CP-Watch these highlights of Al Horford and tell me what you see.

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MC: I’m faster than you with the news break!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Former Duck Ivan Johnson re-signs with Atlanta Hawks

Chris Haynes, CSNNW.com Trail Blazers Insider (@ChrisBHaynes)

The final restricted free agent left in the 2012 NBA free agent class is off the market.

Power forward Ivan Johnson has agreed to re-sign with the Atlanta Hawks, CSNNW.com has learned.

The undrafted forward who played one season at the University of Oregon before transferring to Cal State-San Bernardino, agrees to the Hawks’ offer of one-year, $962,195″

http://www.csnnw.com/pages/landingblazers?Former-Duck-Ivan-Johnson-re-signs-with-A=1&blockID=773269&feedID=5212

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After this season, the Hawks will have Ivan’s bird rights. If he continue to play well, Danny could sign him long term as a serious backup to Josh.

Checkmate to the Hawks

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“What took Johnson so long to sign? Was he looking for a better dal somewhere else?”

Yes, no doubt infuence by his agent.

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As I previously mention about the possibility of Ivan signing, makes signing Benson extremely difficult. I thought Benson showed a lot of promise during the SL. He has attributes the Hawks could use.

Too many shooters and not enough frontline depth will be problematic for the Hawks in an 82 game season.

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aj, ill make sure too not mess up your view by standing in front of you when i get there. glad he will be back and hope he has worked on his game from head to toe.

also seems like LD may have been right about the gas left in tmac’s tank. like zilch. seems he is struggling to find a job having to do what chills has done with the nets. all tmac might be offered is a non-guaranteed. he didnt go down hill in a few months and it isnt about LD.

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Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA
Ivan Johnson will sign the one-year qualifying offer with the Atlanta Hawks. He was the last restricted free agent to sign.
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About damn time. This dragged on longer than the Al Harrington trade.

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doc, yeah, Father Time remains undefeated.

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“Manning never got shut out in the playoffs with 2 of the best receivers in the game, a top 5 running back, and a hall of fame tight end, against a terrible defense.”

He did, however, lose 41-0 to the Jets with Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Edgerrin James as teammates.

Falcons fans should hope Ryan is the next Peyton, because literally every other great QB won a playoff game by this point in their careers.

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Glad Ivan is back. LouWill, Ivan & ZaZa are the start to a great bench.

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Yes astro, chipper has played this year with grace and aplomb. Quite a year. Best ever going out were musial and williams.

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Okay doc, MV7 had his faults and they are well documented as you so well explained.

MV7 in his 3rd season, still took the Falcons to an NFC Champion with all of his faults and a fraction of the talent today…Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ryan got shutout/zipped by the 27th ranked defense. Had two 4th and inches and @ 6′5″ could not make a 1st down? That’s is inexcusable…

That never happens in the playoffs[SHUTOUT]. PLAYOFFS? THAT’S just down right brutal..

This guy is 4-10 against the winners the past two years.. He still has a long way to go to right the ship..

10-4= Contenders
4-10= Pretenders

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WHERE’S THE LOGIC-Appropriate name, because if the filter is working to block anything with the words ANAL and ANUS, then why did your post get through?

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IVAN JOHNSON SIGNED HIS QUALIFING OFFER

HAWKS ARE NOW A TOP 5 EAST TEAM

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Aren’t the players acquired from the JJ trade available for trade now? I expect at leat 1 more trade any day now..

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“The other ballers from this list must play.”

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[past]^^^

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Buddy G, you must be very pleased that Ivan has signed?

Keep it coming dude.. We need more Ivan’s on this team…

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Profile talking about how Jordan Williams showed up to camp out of shape last year:

http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/09/13/atlanta-hawks-2012-13-player-profile-fc-jordan-williams/

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BIG IVAN FOR PRESIDENT

The signing of Big Ivan was the best thing I heard all day. We had too many pretty boys on the roster.

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Great news that Ivan is back. One of the few NBA forwards who can effectively guard Lebron James. He seems to have the foot speed and athleticism to stay in front of James as well as block his shot here or there.(really?) Did i just write this?

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Before making any trades for a SF, I believe Ferry will 1st spend the entire training camp observing what he has in Anderson and James. If either or both come through, it wouldn’t make much sense to trade away assets for what you already have on your roster.

James is known for being very physical, a good rebounder, especially OFF rebounding, and a decent midrange scorer.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0toy0kh20E

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Well said ken , I see this team as better than last year & certainly more exciting but we do need to get rid of LD.

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On Ivan:

About %&$# time!!

I think DeShawn is trade bait, but it will be fun to see those two beards coming off our bench.

We may have a few softies on the roster but we sure also have a couple of legitimate intimidators.

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We’ve currently signed 16 players to our roster(Teague, Harris, LWilliams, Jenkins, Morrow, Korver, Horford, Josh, Zaza, Johnson, Scott, Stephenson, JWilliams, Petro, Anderson, James), with only 2 coming off our summer league team(Jenkins, Scott).

We’re pretty certain the 1st 10 players listed will make the 12 man roster, and Ferry said Scott would make it, but that could change. So the remaining active roster spot will be filled by 1 of the 5 remaining players listed. If we don’t make a trade, and decide to keep 1 of the SF candidates(James, Anderson), it leaves us very thin at OC(Zaza) and PF(Ivan).

JWilliams is more versatile than Petro, as he can play PF and OC. Replacing Scott on the inactive roster with Williams would give us more size, depth and versatility along our frontline. I see Scott, Petro, and Anderson, if he makes a good showing and James wins the SF battle, making up our 3man inactive roster.

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@ Ken Strickland

I agree with you about the 1st 10 are guaranteed and unless injured will be in uniform nightly.

OF the remaining 6: Scott, Anderson, Williams, James, Petro and Stevenson

Petro is the most likely to be in uniform is almost a virtual lock to make the team for no ohter reason than he makes the most (3.5M)and is a 7 footer.

Stevenson is a good bet to make the team too as he has a unique skill set. He is physical and at times can be pesty on defense. Plus he is guaranteed (2M+). He might not be dressed all the time, maybe depends on opponents but might see some time in a suit on the bench.

Between Anderson and Damian, one will make the team for sure. I suspect who shows the most defensive ability at the 3 makes the roster.

The final 2 spots will be used as developmental guys. Scott has been implied to be guaranteed to make the roster. He wont see the floor, he is most likely a practice player and eventually will be sent to the DLeague to get seasoning and hopefully develop down the road as maybe a potential role player for next year. But if Scott sucks and is outplayed in camp by some other guys, his contract can be dumped and nto really cost much. Its the same situation with Jordan Williams. I dont see him seeing much time on the main roster, if he shows potential, maybe he goes to the DLeague or is a practice player. But if a guy like Benson or whoever is brought in for camp outplays him, i could see the Hawks buying him out or something since he makes only like 760K. The loser of the competiition between Anderson and D James could also be kept too over Scott and or Williams if they show potential. Though some assumptions have been made with Williams and M Scott, they could easily be dropped if other young guys flash more potential.

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Hi guys, I’m new here. I noticed that Denver got a pile of SF in their lineup. And like all of them have an average to above average skill set. I’m just wondering if its possible that danny is thinking of making a trade with denver that could bring us a serviceable Forward cause we desperately need one. And i think its possible that we can make a deal considering that we got plenty of SGs and they have many SFs.

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Glad to hear Ivan will be back. @Ken and glw, I’m a little concerned about the (lack of) size of our roster (again). Assuming we go with the big frontline of Josh, Al, and Zaza then the tallest guys off the bench are Petro then Williams. I never really liked the Scott signing, seems like Ivan 2.0 but less physical, little-no athleticism, and a jumpshooter. The big lineup has it’s advantages, but honestly I like JS at the 4 over Al right now and trying out Ivan at the 3. The only way I like Josh at the 3 is if he (along with PGs and coaches) makes better decisions to exploit mismatches. Only Lebron, Durant, maybe Melo could challenge him there physically. If Josh makes a committment to stay in or around the paint to do damage at SF, that’s one thing. I’m not ready to bank on that yet. Spending some practice time at the free throw line would do wonders too.

Not to add fuel to that fire but I really haven’t been too impressed with what I’ve seen from Al at the 4. If he added some post moves and played with that “boss” edge from the past that’s one thing, but he seems to have lost that edge. After the TJ Ford incident he seems to have went soft…little-no intimidation factor anymore compared to before. If Al shows he can man the 4 and can put up maybe 18-10 or become a 20-10 guy, maybe so. My main fear with Josh at the 3 is his love to shoot jumpers and rebounding dropping off. Of course, with a better and more demanding coach we wouldn’t have to worrry about that as much. I think many of us here would coach better than LD. There was at least 1 game where TMac and Ivan were holding it down for us and he pulled them after a missed shot or something. Not playing those 2 more in the playoffs over Collins and Damp when Zaza, Horford, and Smith were injured/off/turning the ball over/taking bad shots (in no order) along with many other instances show LD’s lake of coaching aptitude and ability to make in game adjustments.

Another thing to watch for this year is Teague. He’s GOT to show something more this year. I’ve seen flashes of it, but he has the potential to be a pretty good point guard. I’d like to see his defence improve, along with more accurate passing/assists and better decision making. I think 14 and 7 would be a good start. I’d rather Teague drop 7+ assists nightly than try to put up 20, we have Josh, Lou, and (maybe) Al trying to go for 20+ already. He needs to run the floor and demand the ball as our starting PG…he shouldn’t be as tentative about that anymore.I like Damion James over James Anderson right now, although not really impressed with either. I like LouWill coming off the bench as the 6th man with DH starting at the 2 for right now. Stevenson seems to have declinded since the Dallas run, I just see him as a defensive stopper now. I’d love to see Jenkins eventually become our starting 2, provided he can make a defensive committment and stick with it. I don’t see DH with us all year at that salary (8.5 mil?). I’ve seen him in all-star form and out of it, although his spot up shooting and 3pt shooting were improved last year. I’m also for starting DH at the 2 if it means Jenkins can get minutes early on. If DH would resign for something reasonable (possible but pretty unlikely) I say keep him to backup Teague and play alongside LouWill in the 2nd unit next year.

I don’t see Korver AND Morrow in the future of this team, but I’ve seen Korver hit some big shots from 3. Idk, not too impressed with Morrow he seems to have declined. I like James over him simply for D, hustle, and rebounding. Trying to develop Benson over Petro would be smart. I’ve seen flashes in Benson. Good length and timing. With more bulk and emphasis on rebounding, he’s close to par with Zaza (not much of an achievement)…better if he’s got some post moves. The only reason I start and play Zaza this year is because of last years OVERALL performance. I think he’s earning it. Like many of you I’ve seen him blow enough layups and dunks last year alone to know he’s not our C of the future. Backup C maybe. I like Benson over Scott with our roster…but I would like to think Ferry isn’t done making moves yet. I like the look of this team more than previous ones, but the lack of PF/C size especially off the bench will hurt. Too many G/F types.

Some initiative moves our players could make… Hopefully Zaza, Al, and Josh are working on some post moves. Zaza needs to work on his hands and finishing ability. Teague- embrace the PG role and a little shooting touch. Teague, Jenkins, Al- defense and intensity. Ivan- consistency (pts/reb/def). Energy level is excellent and very consistent. We NEED MORE players with this edge. LouWill- do what you do…consistent volume bench scoring. Josh- free throws. Less 3’s and fewer long 2’s. You’re not Kobe or KD, play to your strengths. MScott- don’t be a waste of a roster spot, show us you can contribute. I’ve left off the others because I think these are the most important to the teams success this year.

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Its something about Bob Weiss and Larry Drew together (or apart) that strikes me as commical.

So Larry “Phew” is trying to learn some thing over seas? How hard is it to figure out we need a real center not name Al Horford ?

Speaking of Al, his 4 loud fans keep saying , ” well we know Al is a liability defensively but he is shooting better than 50%…. ”

Idiots. sit down. Any one who is standing under the basket should make at the least half of his shots.Hell, Al’s Twin Jon Koncak shot 61% in 89-90.

Hell Both Dampier and Collins shot nearly 55% what a Joke How do you not make more than 1/2 of your shots right under the basket?

Last year there were 18 centers in the NBA who shot 50%. What does that tell you?

Al, Koncak, Dampier and Collins are All SCRUBS.

With Al in our front court the hawks are closer to the Lottery than a championship.

The only real player left on this team is Josh, who lead the NBA playoffs in rebounds per game. 13.5 rebounds in the playoffs. More than any other player.

Al can go to hell with that bull s hit. scrub as play

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Al horford is the new Marvin Williams .

How do you not make more than 50% of your shots standing under the basket. and yes Al was 0ne of more than have of the centers to do that. Its almost a given unless you are a long range shooter. All most all of the centers should make 45% or more and get at least 7 rebound. Thats pretty easy to do.

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“Speaking of Al, his 4 loud fans keep saying , ” well we know Al is a liability defensively but he is shooting better than 50%…. ”” T-s

Good evening, T-s.

Allow me to disagree. In Horford’s last full season (2010-2011) he received 7 votes for the NBA All-Defensive Team, including 3 first team votes. He had the same number of votes as Josh, but Josh only had 1 first team vote (which is of course, a travesty). Here’s a link for you:

http://www.examiner.com/article/2011-all-defensive-team-announced

So at least 3 coaches thought he deserved to be on the first team All NBA Defensive Team. And of course, that would be OTHER than LD, since you cannot vote for your own players.

I wouldn’t call that a “liability”. But you are welcome to your opinion.

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Oh, my bad, I see the discussion is about stats and had nothing to do with popularity Votes.

I guess what I should have addressed was that Al’s stats. Al’s 4 loud fans (of which I am ring leader), often like to site Al’s 50+% shooting and ignore that he stands right under the basket and is supposed to.

When we compare Al to Dampier or Collins we find that they have very similar stats. In fact, the one T.S. Like to compare Al to is Jon Koncak, who like Al had 1 average year and many subpar years.. Ironically, that year Koncak shot 61% far better than Al ever did.

While I am not saying Al is 100% like Jon Koncak, there are some similarities, however Al is more like Marvin than Koncak in terms of being over paid.

But the bottom line is I apologize to T.S. AL Pct stat that I brag about so much is actually the norm for a guy who stands right under the basket on offense. You are right T.S. He should make those, as does 18 other centers in the NBA who shoot 50% or better. I’ll have to find another way to defend Al.

Have a Good evening T.S.

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This is all we need to say to defend Al sautee. You and I both know he will be good one day. Until then read the link below.

blogs.ajc.com/hawks/?p=6270&cp=10

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Al committed 7 turnovers in a pivotal playoff game costing the hawks the season and ruining the heart filled and hard work of Zaza Ivan and Smoove

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Good points guys.Let me add a couple. Offensive rbs are much harder to get than defensive ones because of position. You really have to fight to get an offensive rebound. That said look at the all time hawk leaders for offensive rebounds.

Offensive Rebounds
1. Kevin Willis 2615
2. Dominique Wilkins* 2531
3. Tree Rollins 1902
4. John Drew 1878
5. Dan Roundfield 1542
6. Josh Smith 1276
7. Dikembe Mutombo 1228
8. Cliff Levingston 1177
9. Alan Henderson 1153
10. Zaza Pachulia 1115

DID ANY ONE SEE AL’S NAME ON THE LIST?

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1. Dominique Wilkins* 8752
2. Bob Pettit* 7349
3. Lou Hudson 6570
4. Cliff Hagan* 5239
5. John Drew 4545
6. Kevin Willis 4382
7. Joe Johnson 4007
8. Eddie Johnson 3801
9. Josh Smith 3480
10. Bill Bridges 3269

no AL here either guys.

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Sorry guys left this off.

Points
1. Dominique Wilkins* 23292
2. Bob Pettit* 20880
3. Lou Hudson 16049
4. Cliff Hagan* 13447
5. John Drew 12621
6. Joe Johnson 10606
7. Kevin Willis 10582
8. Eddie Johnson 9631
9. Josh Smith 9044
10. Zelmo Beaty 8727

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I know the haters are going to hate this Josh is now on the hawks 3pt list at # 10.

3-Pt Field Goals
1. Mookie Blaylock 1050
2. Joe Johnson 908
3. Jason Terry 648
4. Steve Smith 549
5. Dominique Wilkins* 500
6. Mike Bibby 475
7. Jamal Crawford 282
8. Marvin Williams 215
9. Craig Ehlo 210
10. Josh Smith 206

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Ok just 2 more

Who is there day in day out?

Games
1. Dominique Wilkins* 882
2. Tree Rollins 814
3. Bob Pettit* 792
4. Kevin Willis 753
5. Cliff Hagan* 745
6. Lou Hudson 730
7. Jon Koncak 717
8. Bill Bridges 683
9. Eddie Johnson 619
10. Josh Smith 600

Who is putting in the work, Who is making it happen for the Hawks?

That would be Josh Smith. @ # 8

Minutes Played
1. Dominique Wilkins* 32545
2. Bob Pettit* 30690
3. Lou Hudson 25825
4. Bill Bridges 23574
5. Kevin Willis 22588
6. Cliff Hagan* 21731
7. Tree Rollins 20763
8. Josh Smith 20395
9. Joe Johnson 19733
10. Lenny Wilkens* 19552

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“Al committed 7 turnovers in a pivotal playoff game costing the hawks the season and ruining the heart filled and hard work of Zaza Ivan and Smoove”

I believe that was game 5 and put Boston up 3 games to 2 If Al hadnt blown that game were up 3-2 and guaranteed to extend the Series to 7. Yea, Al fcked that up.

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IGNORANCE is a commodity that every human possesses, that’s called STUPIDITY.
+ you are an anal minded moron

Its stupid anal minded moron as s holes who come on here and say the same things over and over and then over again Muther Fckers.
When they continuously reject or refuse to accept that knowledge, no matter how many times or different ways it’s presented, and they hide their DELUSIONAL BS by using multiple names, yet continuously repeat the same STUPID DELUSIONAL BS over and over, then that’s called EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED, or INSANE. We definitely have at least 1 or 2 who fit this definition on these blogs. because they are psychologically damaged and just don’t know how to act. We’re seeing more and more of that type of mental deficiency being played out daily on these blogs by STEVEN A SMITH, and all of the various TS manifestations.

Only an extremely sick and immature mind could consistently derive any pleasure or satisfaction out of such a childish endeavor. It’s been said that there’s a thin line between genius and insanity, you anal minded moron. as s holes only sautee and I are geniuses the rest of you are truely insane, but they’re also dumber than 2 dead gnats.That is TS and Steven A. Smith and any other Anal minded as s hole moron psycho muther fcker who is not a fan of Al horford Fck you. Get some help you sick anal minded MORONS!!!!!!

and another thing go see a psycho doctor like me As s hole. Me and Sautee are the only smart ones and we are Al horford fans right Sautee?

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I am so tired of trying to defend Al horford so I sat out of this site most of the year. I just shook my head watching the hawks play so much better with out Al.

I cant defend Al any longer he has had ample enough time to deliver and has failed. Many times he did not try. I will no longer do like Sautee and Ken. I will not twist facts or ignore truths to help; Al horford.

Sorry Ken, Sautee. I agree. Al is whats holding this team back. We cant even trade Al.

Al is the new Marvin William. Id like to see Danny Ferry pull off a Al Horford Trade. Looks like he tried this summer but couldnt find any takers.

I cant say I blame the other teams. They are not stupid. Al is the new Marvin William. We cant trade him so we are stuck with him. SMH

Al is the new Marvin Williams

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That wasn’t me at 10:42 pm that was T.S.

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So many people want Al traded till this site has opened complaining about Al

http://www.talk-sports.net/nba/sucks.aspx/Al_Horford

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that wasn’t me at 11:07 pm

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How in the hell can your center turn the ball over 7 times when he doesnt handle the ball? what the fck is that?

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Cosigning Otis.

*Al’s 7 turnovers in game 6 against Boston is why there was no game 7

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Mary Townsend
September 15th, 2012
10:25 pm
So apparently this Jon Koncak and Al Horford comparison has validity. I did not know that Jon was that much better than Al on defense.

Yes Mary Jon and Al were very much alike. 2 over paid of a championship dream .

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yawn

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DOC/SAUTEE-Who stirred up the ANAL MINDED MORON?

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Unless Anderson and Korver have really outstanding training camps, both could end up getting waived and/or traded. AMorrow, who is more athletic and a better defender than Korver, duplicates the 3pt shooting he brings to the table, as does JJenkins. Only 500K of Korver’s contract is guaranteed, so we wouldn’t take a meaningful financial or cap hit if we released him.

It would definitely make more sense to release or trade him, since it would provide an extra active roster spot for a much needed Big.

SF-James, Morrow ( Anderson)
PF-Smith, Johnson (Williams or Benson)
OC-Horford, Pachulia (Petro, Williams or Benson)
SG-Jenkins, LWilliams
PG-Teague, Harris

Not keeping Korver would leave 2 active spots open for either 2 additional Bigs(Petro, Williams or Benson), or a Big and another wing player(Anderson, Scott or Stevenson).

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If you look at Popcorn Machine you can see that Al played the entirety of Game 6 except for a 2-minute stretch of the 2nd quarter. The Hawks were -5 for the game with Horford on the Bench. The Hawks lost the game by 3 points.

http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20120510&game=ATLBOS

Meanwhile Josh played only 37 minutes compared to Al’s 46. While Josh sat on the bench, the Hawks outscored the Celtics by 6. The Hawks only lost the game by 3 points.

#hardwork

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Don’t waste your time with facts – it’s only opinion that counts around here!

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my comments on the two kinda summed up well by this from bleacher report:

Al Horford is the yin to Smith’s yang, a balanced player who rarely makes questionable decisions when the ball is in his hands.

there has to be a balance between the two. hopefully, we will see this better without the third force of jj, which only brought out the effect of stagnation and loss of flow. simple concepts but so many only want or think yang is important, one always has to seek balance. for us it is easy to see yang, harder to find and respect yin.

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DOC-Well said as always. Let’s just hope the individual(s) you were directing those comments to has the intelligence and/or maturity to comprehend what you are saying. To this point, based on some of the comments we’ve seen, it’s painfully obvious that these comments are coming from someone with maturity and psychogical issues.

I feel very confident about this yrs team with the return of a strong core comprised of JSmith, AHorford, JTeague, ZPachulia, and IJohnson. There are some question marks however. We need a starting SG, as well as a starting and backup SF.We’ve signed 2 SF candidates(JAnderson, DJames), but they are both comng off injuries and have yet to prove themselves as a result.

We also have as many as 4 SG candidates in JJenkins, LWilliams, DHarris, AMorrow, and at least 2-3 backup OC candidates, other than Zaza, in Petro, JWilliams, and maybe KBenson. If both Anderson and James fail to make their mark, we’ll be in trouble unless a trade can be made for the SF we need. However, if either gets the job done, especially James, we’ll be a solid 2nd seed team.

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“Josh Smith shot 3-for-11 on jump shots in Game 6, got a technical foul while he WANT EVEN IN THE GAME and didn’t run back on defense. But Game 6 was Al’s fault.

http://espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=320510002

Strange that Al was +2 for the game while Josh was a team-worst -9. But this one was Al’s fault.”

“Don’t waste your time with facts – it’s only opinion that counts around here!”

Maybe if the guy you love had not turned the ball over 7 times as opposed to 1 turnover by Josh, and knocked down a free throw to tie the game (He is supposed to be a great midrange shooter) we could have gone to overtime and won the game.

Is that a fact or opinion? LOL

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The only thing more crazy than the obsession with Horford is the attempt by more rational bloggers to have an ongoing debate with trolls. When you play with venomous snakes you get punctured and when you play with trolls you get pages of nonsense. What’s worse, the troll or those arrogant fellows who instigate continued stupidity by engaging with buttheads?

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Al Jefferson

Center #25
Utah Jazz
STATS PPG FG% APG RPG BLKPG STLPG
2011-12 19.2 .492 2.2 9.6 1.66 0.77
Career 16.2 .501 1.4 8.9 1.38 0.67

Al Jefferson is obviously trending upward based on last season’s statistics. 19.2PPG 9.6RPG Almost “2″ Blocks per game. Let Josh walk and bring this guy in if a trade cannot be made by the deadline.

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For all you people who feel that Al and Jon Koncak are very much the same. well you are entitled to you’re opinions.

While its true that Al hasnt accomplished much in terms of production Im not sure I agree with everybody on the point that

” AL HORFORD IS THE NEW MARVIN WILLIAMS”

I really think that one day Al will be productive and a great player and center. It may take another 4 or 5 years but one day Al will be good.

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Al fcked up again. He is a Houdini in the playoffs and has a 11pt 7rbs play off career average. Whats more than than 7 turnover s hit he pulled in the most critical game of the year, Al has miss quite a few playoff games to major injuries.

NO thank you to Al the NEW MARVIN WILLIAMS.

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Enter your comments here

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T-S, not a football fan?

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slimj, not being evasive nor rude, just blog monster ate my post.

yes hoodwinked it is e all suffer.

the trade? sorry to be dismissive but it is silly to even propose it. one salaries dont match, they dont need al, or josh either is my guess. though the question may be a disingenuous back side maneuver to denigrate al, it doesnt. as we discussed earlier both of our guys are not top 5 to 10 in the league or superstars whereas westbrook acts like one if he isnt one and probably will be one. so neither guy would be acceptable to the thunder. really, even though the proposition to get westbrook would make us better, it wouldnt, this year anyway. it would weaken both teams as they dont need anyone resembling josh or al to go where they want to go. again, silly and not relevant to any discussion on basketball for those with wisdom instead of vindictive concerns.

ok, would you think we could swing a trade of josh for lbj? sure would make us a lot better and relevant quickly in the nba, no? oh, and we would have what josh wants to be instead of what he needs to be, smash josh.

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Nice to see the same people making the continuous same points. Look forward to the new season featuring both Al and Josh with a good supporting cast around them.

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Its just so funny how people who give Josh ALL THESE HIGH praises on being a better PF than Horford just cant seem to crack the ALLSTAR team year after year?? So, is what make Josh a better PF is the fact that Josh takes matters into his own hands at the wrong time of the game to throw up some wild shot in the lane that just happens to go in every now and again?? Or is it the fact that Drew babies Josh and create more post plays for him JUST TO KEEP HIM from being out behind the 3 pt line ready to hoist up a wild jumper?? ummmmmmm, I wonder if a REAL coach allowed Horford THOSE SAME OPPORTUNITIES with multiplies post plays, WHO WOULD REALLY BE THE BETTER PF??? I guess we will never know, at least not this season, since Drew is still the HC.

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I’m a little surprised that the Ivan signing did not initiate a new blog with a discussion about the 14 guaranteed contracts, impending battle between Anderson and James for a roster spot and the role of the various bigs on the team (specifically Jordan Williams). Heck, at this point, I would have been glad to read a review of Kirk Hinrich’s season (I think he is next up on the summer-long look-back). Oh well…

Anyone see that Hakeem is spending more than 2 days working with the Knicks and Amare? The notion that an NBA player can become effective in the low post game after 2 lessons with anyone is utterly silly.

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http://netsarescorching.com/2011/04/16/damion-james-work-in-progress/

Here’s an interesting take from a Nets writer on DJames and what we might expect from him if he’s fully recovered and healthy.

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vava74,

Sorry but Josh doesnt have the PROPER footwork either to be a DOMINATE PF! He has height advantage for a one drop spin in the paint, THATS IT!! Josh throws others up towards the rim in HOPES they fall end. Dont get it confused!!

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vava74

“Horford’s advantage is that he plays slower, less agile opponents when he plays the C slot and that Top 10 plays is a clear demonstration on how he can be effective (jointly with his mid range game).”

As I read your post, this came across my mind. Maybe the reason Horford might play slower at the center position may be due b/c he IS playing against defenders who are much more stronger than he is and it may take him a little longer to be able to get around them. If he plays defenders who are PF, he’s moves will be quicker. The thing is WE WILL NEVER KNOW til Drew allows him to play the PF.

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MsDee,

I am not talking about trades. Only that Horford can’t play PF effectively, which is something Josh proved already that he can.

And where does Josh have height advantage when he is only 6′9”? Josh has decent wingspan at 7′0” for a guy who is 6′9” but it’s nothing out of this world (Horford is 6′10 and has a wingspan of 7′ 0.75”).

I, for instance, never said that Horford is a bad defender, not at all, however, I do think he was successfully intimidated by Howard to the point that he shied away from contact.

For me that is not a good sign, in particular coped with several references that he needed help down low.

When Horford entered the league he did not complain about having to mix it up in the paint and actually that was his trademark in College: an athletic C who put energy and effort on defense, although sometimes he got a bit overwhelmed by bigger opponents (Oden and our very own RandMo).

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boy slimj, that is how to take things out of context and distort everything i said. who do you work for, cnn, fox news or the gov’t? or did you go to journalism school with dawgnole?

heh heh

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When do the Hawks report to camp?

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^Biting the hand that feeds you (information).

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vava74

The day Josh can just PREFECT the PF position ONLY, without TRYING to play every one else’s position on the court BY NOT STREWING IT UP, than maybe, JUST MAYBE that’s the season Josh becomes an ALLSTAR, other than that, his bad will continue to out weight his good. You and others can either choose to except that or not!!

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MsDee,

Your obvious crush for Horford makes you be as unfair as the people that say that Horford is as bad as Koncak.

Josh was our #1 guy last year. It’s that simple.

You harp away about Josh’s weaknesses – as I know and acknowledge them all – but his pluses outweigh by a mile his minuses.

Did he made substantial mistakes during games 4 to 6 of the BOS series? Sure, but he was injured and he did not have the coaching and the maturity to adapt his game accordingly. Instead, he did what he usually does, tried to take over.

We would have won game 2 if it wasn’t for his injury in the 4th quarter and that, although is not a fact, is something I have little doubt on.

Josh has exactly ZERO days of proper coaching in the NBA so far. ZERO.

Whilst Horford had 4 years of college in a well run and well coached program and now, under leisure suit larry, he has regressed as a hustle player.

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NO debate here. Josh knows the plays better than any other player on the team. Did Larry not speak those words at some point in the past?

Anyways Al could have the highest BB IQ on this roster. He does not have the skills to take this franchise to new heights. When your averaging 9 and 7 in the playoffs, PLAYOFFS and you have been picked as an AllStar and All NBA player, you have not fulfilled those lofty titles to say the least. Your just an average basketball player. Meaningful impact in an ECF way? Championship potential? I dare say not..

The two combine do not have enough firepower to get it done…

The streak will continue for sure…0-45 [ECF visits], Tragic… Yawn…

We need STARS MAN!

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silly me doc, for chewing and swallowing that trade idea from Ra’mon yesterday.. LOL!

But I could not stand the thought of cheering for just one franchise 45 straight years that has won nada..

Guess that’s why you call them [fans] which evolved from the word [FANATIC]……

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While Josh played his USUAL SELF

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While Josh played his USUAL SELF and cost us the game. Only thing I see missing in us not being able to pull out the series wasnt b/c Josh got hurt, but b/c we were missing Zaza.

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man why do we always have to knock Al or Josh. Josh and Al are on the same team, and from what i have noticed they seem to get along pretty well on the floor, and as brother Ken S mentioned, probably will get along better this year without Joe in the equation. They will be our team’s leaders and most likely team captains. So who cares which one outplays the other one. Josh has his flaws, and Al has his flaws, but they are both good players. I dont care who we perceive is a NO.1 and No.2 or even a 3rd or 4th option. Guess what this year, they are Option 1A and 1B.

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“ALL NBA AL/ 2x ALLSTAR is averaging for HIS CAREER IN THE PLAYOFFS:”

“9pts. and 7 rebs per game….. Thank you” – slimjr

You’ve done it again slim.

Here’s the link, if you even care to get it right:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/al_horford/career_stats.html

You are unceasingly careless with facts.

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GLW-Well said. It’s too bad our resident HORFORD HATERS lack the intelligence to see it that way. Rather than being a fan of any one player, I’m a Hawks fan, which means I’m a fan of every player on our team, including the ones at the end of the bench.

This stupid gm of singling out players to bash or glorify is just childish and extremely immature. This type of ignorance is NOT what a true fan of any team would do. We currently have 13 players under guaranteed or partially guarantee contracts, and they are
1-AHorford
2-JSmith
3-ZPachulia
4-JTeague
5-IJohnson
6-AMorrow
7-KKorver(only $500K guaranteed)
8-LWilliams
9-JWilliams
10-DHarris
11-JJenkins
12-MScott(partially guaranteed)
13-DStevenson
14-JPetro
We also have 2 players under nonguaranteed contacts
1-DJames
2-JAnderson
Like I’ve said before, we might end up seeing Korver or Stevenson traded or waived before the season starts. If KBenson gets an invite and accepts, we just might see them both traded and/or released. If you’re a true Hawks fan, you have to admit that this would be the most talented, versatile, and deepest lineup we’ve had in over a decade.

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Dont mean to be rude Sautee, but go ahead and amuse yourself and answer your own questions ref what Al’s points avg. should be….Have at it….

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doc got jokes today? keep up up the great work!

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We’ll all have our answer(s) on Josh and Al (and Teague) soon. Ferry has surrounded those 3 with shooters (LouWill, Morrow, Jenkins, and Korver) to space the floor, as well as quality backups (Harris, Ivan, and ZaZa). It’s sink or swim time!!!

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My two disappointments in Al’s playoff career: shooting 42% from the field in the 2011 playoffs, and the 12 turnovers in this year’s playoffs (3 games). If his “thing” is efficiency, then he can’t have these kinds of lapses.

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Ken Strickland

September 17th, 2012
5:11 pm

It is immature for “ANYONE” who cannot be open-minded enough to accept an opposing view to their own. All Al HORFORD LOVERS NEED TO GROW UP AND ACCEPT THAT HE IS
” AVERAGE AL” AND PROBABLY DID NOT DESERVE A $12MIL/PER YEAR CONTARCT!!!!!
AL HORFORD IS NOW MARVIN WILLIAMS WITHOUT A “3 POINT JUMPSHOT.”

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slim, since you seemingly refuse to clean up that pile of feces that you laid at 3:34 and 3:46, I’ll set the record straight:

Horford’s career playoff averages are: 11.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.1 bpg

This year’s playoffs: 15.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.3 bpg

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/al_horford/career_stats.html

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MsDee

September 17th, 2012
5:00 pm

Are you possibly MsHorford???

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delete[put]^^^^^

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jordan williams waived per MC, hmmm. hoped he had a future here.

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STEVEN A SMITH-Your comments about AHorford’s abilities are far more than just your OPINION, they represent SHEER STUPIDITY. You see, only a total idiot would think an AVERAGE basketball player could garner 2 All Star selections and 1 All NBA selection in their 1st 4yrs. Anyone that agrees with your BS has to be STUPID.

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“Not a savior. Not a franchise maker. But a solid piece who has a fair contract. If trading him could make us better, let’s go for it” -Sautee-

Co-sign.

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DOC-I certainly didn’t see that coming. I thought they might waive Korver and/or Stevenson, but Williams is certainly a surprise. Finally signing IJohnson may have had something to do with it. Also, the progress KBenson demonstrated during the Summer league might have had something to do with it as well.

Scott and Williams both play PF, and Ferry stated that Scott would be on our opening season roster. One thing’s certain, our coaches weren’t impressed enough with his gm and overall potential to give him a training camp invite.

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As it now stands we now have our 15 man roster, unless Benson accepts a training camp invite and has a solid showing.

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Maybe we could send KEN STRICKLAND to Europe to study BLOGGING!!!he is obviously doing a horrible job here in the United States!!!

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“Ken Strickland probably thinks that Sam Baker is a “Pro Bowl” Left Tackle, and Roddy White is better than Jerry Rice. Get a grip on reality Kenny!

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Grumpy old men

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Fat Cheeks

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man the refs are sooo terrible. scared.

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1 TD

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3 picks

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man, i have the feel there are some “fans” here hoping to see the falcons blow here on out so they can pat themselves on the back. they dont fool anyone. so far, i enjoy watching the new look falcons on both sies of the ball. true atl ball fans better see something good here rather than the snow in front of their eyes that they view their beloved hawks with.

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they only want to build their own egos.

terrible calls by refs might have ended a drive. just plain awful. so many mossed calls including defensive interference on the td drive to end the half. this is looking like the nba!!

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nice to see peyton back, he is lucky to have any arm left with the issues he had and nerve damage. he will only get stronger.

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well i guess maybe the broncos are a bit better than the chiefs but whether they are or not and only time will tell the falcons are off to a 2-0 start. nice.

ex-techie d thomas is a load bro and a future star behind calvin and jjjjjones. somewhere doggie green fits in there.

slimj know you are up bro. heh heh, silence is golden.

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