benhillboy

I'm proud of Joe, although if it were my team, I couldn't justify him going over Ray or Vincent. Of course, casual women fans know that A.I. should be nowhere near Phoenix. Rashard Lewis is well beyond a stretch. But as far as coaches' selections go, when the argument is so close in terms of who's having the better season, who's on the better team, who's has the least amount of help, injuries on the team, etc., you always go with the better players. Ray and Vince are simply better players than Joe, always have been, always will be. I can't see Joe taking a team deep into the playoffs like Ray and Vince have done. No one has been more critical of Joe's explosiveness or lack thereof at the rack than I have. I am quite impressed with his efforts over the past week, though. He's driving with conviction, using his body, and actually getting off the ground in traffic. I was impressed with him missing a dunk shortly after the whistle, just because I didn't think he could actually attack the rim anymore. Hopefully he will keep it up and his shot chart will show considerably more attempts 1-3 feet neart he rim instead of all of the X's from 19 feet. The Hawks will be okay as long as my dude Flip is playing considerably well with considerable minutes. You can return at any time now, Al, but it's not like we need you or anything. Take your time. (No, really though, homeboy. Rush back.)

To answer the question, which Josh are you talking about? I'm convinced that there are identical twins playing for the Hawks. There's one who attacks the rack on both ends and plays off instinct. The other one thinks entirely too much and doesn't know his own game and skill set.

I routinely point out Joe's glaring flaws on numerous blogs, win or lose. We could win by 20 and he wouldn't record a single and-1. What's wrong with wanting more when your focal player has a max contract yet leaves more to be desired? We could have a town hall debate every day on how effective Joe is, crunch numbers like nerds, evaluate the players around him from night to night, and whether you like him or don't particularly care for him. But that's the thing: he's not a player who invokes much emotion from fans. I certainly don't hate the guy, as I'm sure most detractors don't, but I simply will never love him as a Hawk. Opposing coaches of upper-echelon teams certainly don't lose sleep over the guy. They recognize he's highly skilled, which is why he is voted an All-Star by them. But to a man behind closed doors, I 'm sure they'd tell you his desire, will, and competitiveness is no match for their respective leaders, which is a testament to the team play that has the Hawks currently among the top 8 teams in the league.

Joe is a very good player, but seriously, how many passionate fans would be considerably sad to see him go? I certainly wouldn't. The guy is simply too weak near the rim and totally disappears too often. At 6'7, 240, his weak attempts inside make me literally levitate off my couch, much higher than he can jump. Who cares if he's logging huge minutes? He's getting paid huge dollars. This is basketball, people. He isn't hauling furniture or molding iron. What do you want Woody to do? Sub Speedy Claxton? (Why does he come to the games? To model?) You have to realize that the ghost of Billy Knight is hovering over this franchise and will continue to do so for some time. When injuries occur, we don't have veterans to step up from man 8-10. Deal with it. I'm not talking to those who think we have a bench past Mo and Flip. You guys are hopeless. We're talking about a guy who has never been known, in a Hawks uniform anyway, to over-exert himself or show an All-Star caliber motor. The argument that he has to guard the other team's best perimeter player is invalid: He's considerably larger than most guards in the league and easily absorbs contact from them. For a two he is considerably slow and deliberate from end to end. Leadership seems to be non-existent. While putting up nice numbers, I never considered Joe to be the driving force behind the impressive win clip earlier this season, or at any time in his tenure, for that matter. He has yet to impress me a great deal against a quality team. I love my squad, win or lose, healthy or banged up. There was enough blame to go around tonight. As far as Woody, I certainly would've liked to see Flip down the stretch, as he drives to the hole with 10 times the tenacity of Joe, at crucial junctures. Face it, Joe apologists. He has a nice skill set, but he simply doesn't have "It." You will never catch me riding Joe's jock, even if he dropped fiddy. I am convinced that many of you Joe lovers don't remember the NBA in the late eighties and early nineties. A team sitting at 4th place in the East wouldn't dream of featuring him. Think Ron Harper. As a #1 option, he put up close to 20-5-5, on dreadful Cavaliers and Clippers teams, neither having the supporting cast of the Hawks when at full strength. As a second to fourth option, the Bulls and Lakers cruised to 4 championships. That's Joe. I won't go as far as to say trade him right now, but if he is extended past 2010 with the abundance of more dependable, consistent, aggressive free-agents on the market, I will be highly upset unless he takes a dramatic pay-cut, enabling the GM (contingent on Sund convincing the morons in ownership to do so) to acquire a quality, mid-level, impact player. Now that he seems to have his conditioning issues solved, I occassionally dream of Dwayne Wade in a Hawks uni. Josh, I beg of you, STOP SHOOTING JUMPERS!!!!!!!!! When will he realize that they lead to wasted possessions and extremely quick points on the other end at least 80% of the time. One minute he looks like an All-Star, the next, he's the poster child for straight-out-of-high school players, and not the LeBron type. The Jermaine O'Neal type that languish at the end of the bench for two years. I've never seen a player who can go from smoking to sickening within 8 minutes, mainly due to lapses in focus and decision-making. With that said, it's cool. The Pistons lost, too. Hopefully we'll pound the Heat. "Al Horford to the front desk, please. You're expertise is needed."

I agree with those who want to see him play this way consistently, not just a trend, as our last three wins have come against struggling teams with struggling defensive interiors at best. As long as he doesn't take 19 + footers, dribble behind his back/ legs, or try to lead the break, everything he does is a plus for this squad. He needs to realize that he can bang with and jump over most average-sized forwards in this league. Taking it to the rack and defending it is his niche.

I have been known to go on a rant concerning this topic, which I am very passionate about, but I 'll keep it short and sweet. Joe has more skills than many outsiders know and is one of the most underrated on-ball and man defenders in the league. Three-ball stroke sweet as honey. But as a guy blessed with a 6'7, 240 lb frame, I feel that Joe is arguably the worst/ weakest/ least explosive finisher in the league at his size and skill set, leading to less fouls drawn, missed oppurtunities at the line, less pressure on the Defense, less motivational plays, etc, etc. There are about 15-20 players I could name around his size and smaller who finish higher, harder, and more frequently at the rack (no one quite has a frame like Joe's, with Carmelo and Pierce most comparable at 6'8, 230 and 6'7, 235, respectively). This observation over his years in Atlanta are becoming increasingly problematic to me, seeing as how he caught alley-oops, routinely challenged big men at the rack, and finished fast breaks in Phoenix until his horrific eye socket injury. Then poof, the max contract, new city, rarely seen with his hands around the rim banging bodies. I think Flip is invaluable to this squad, because he drives hard and challenges at the iron, something our starting backcourt can't/ won't do. Does anyone else feel/ see the same? If anyone says they saw Joe dunk in traffic in a Hawks jersey, I need hardcore video evidence, and I'll eat my words, because I've maybe seen it once.

Good game from the boys. Sure, Bibby's looking like an All-Star (Allen Iverson?!?!), but when Flip is on, we're hard to beat.

"Billy Knight took my lunch money." Classic! I guess you have to laugh to keep from crying considering how he crippled our franchise for years to come.

I'm new here. Just wanted to get some poster histories on watching the Hawks. What's your best and worst memories of the Hawks? Anybody remember when 'Nique used to lag around the backcourt and wait for Mookie to steal? He'd recieve the pass, all alone, and brisk walk in the paint, only to windmill, basically flatfooted? Kinda like a George Jefferson walk, then boom. Crazy. I will never forget that guy once double-pumping backwards, in traffic from that little black block that used to be on the side of the paint. I swore he was on steroids, hard. We'll never see a dunker as passionate as him, ever. Vince, Mike, Josh, Julius. None hold a candle, although Jason Rich did admirable impressions for a few years. My lowest memories are all the years that Shareef led the team. I did not like that guy. At all. How bout yall?

Nothing fires me up more than the silly phrase that countless "analysts" and "experts" seem to love using. Watching TNT'S Pre-Game show (watchable for me now that Charles is gone), Kenny abuses "makes his teammates better" or "look better" when referring to Kevin Garnett starting the All-Star game despite paltry numbers and less than dominant performances all season (44th scoring, 26th blocks, 12th boards, 13th %, 80th minutes.) Other than having one of the most buttery J's of any 7 footer in history, I see him as a liability a little too much on the offensive end, as he routinely is forced out of the paint. But I digress. What do you guys think about the philosophy of "making teammates better?" Personally, it makes as much sense as shooting extra shots after practice for a teammate. When he knocks down a wide open 17 footer when you're doubled, just tell him "you're welcome." Sure, you can stay in the weightroom overtime, pump, and pass that strength along to your big man who's looking a little soft on film. Inject your stem cells into him. It happens all the time. No problem with studying extra film while your back-up is out for drinks. He can just copy your notes on paper and in your mind and apply it at the beginning of the fourth quarter while you're sitting, with great success! Hey, you're making your teammates better! Chauncey makes himself into a leader. Even Ben Wallace flourishes, makes All-Star team. Chauncey goes to Denver, is an MVP candidate. Meanwhile, Detroit searches for their primary guard, benching Rip and Ben Wallace is mostly invisible in Cleveland. Chauncey sure made those guys better, didn't he? Yeah, right. And Tim Duncan teaches agility and quickness drills to Tony Parker. LeBron has uncanny court vision, finds Wally for the most open 3 in NBA history. If he hits, "LeBron lifts his teammates." If he misses, "That's a shot Szczerbiak needs to make." What a service. If you're KG, you can just scream and yell at your boys until they cry. Wow, all of a sudden, Big Baby is so aggressive! Thanks KG! Because he plays with two possible H.O.F.s and his team is atop the league, he's making players better and should be regarded higher than Al Jefferson, who plays on an up-and-comer but "He doesn't do as much for a winning team," despite outrebounding, outscoring, outblocking, and out-everything else-ing KG on any type of minute basis. What's wrong? Telfair and McCants haven't made strides, so fault Al? Astounding. There's five stiffs on the floor, all looking at Steve Nash's dribble, and he finds Amare wide open for the dunk. Doug Collins: "He makes his teammates so much better." Really? Amare's game has been stagnant since dominating Duncan in the playoffs, what, 3 or 4 years ago? Kobe will never measure up to Michael in Magic's eyes because Mike programmed Paxon and Kerr's shooting motions into their brains. Not to mention, he stretched out Scottie's arms for better on-ball defense and reportedly slapped Horace Grant into becoming a clutch rebounder. Apparently, Kobe has some work to do with Bynum, Vujacic, and Odom. Newsflash: Players make THEMSELVES better by WORKING at it. Chris Paul finds more open guys than anybody, but I see Tyson Chandler digressing in all areas, David West is no more solid in the paint, and Devin Brown, Peja, and Mo Peterson are all averaging below their career points standard, and are nothing to write home about defensively. Nearly every player in the NBA, even the Nesterovics and Kwame Browns, dominated their high school circuits. Now, a few years later as a man, you need a star to improve your game? Nevermind you're making more money than everybody you know combined. I would consider it a slap in the face if I were referred to as being made "better" by an outside entity other than myself. These are grown men. Benefiting from another player's prowess is the product of good coaching, management, and strategy. These guys act is if a winning or losing record isn't affected by scouting, trainers, ownership, schedule planners, dieticians, assistants, crowds, surgeons, therapists, luck, and 1,000 other things that I can't think of. As many times as I've heard this catch-phrase, I have yet to hear it explained intelligently. I'll go out on a limb and say that Charles Barkley would fail to do so, although if I hear it out of his mouth one more time I'll flip in a chair. Most of the people who love the phrase cannot analyze basketball critically (Michael Wilbon), and even those who can still beat the term into the ground (Mash, Legs, Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Doug Collins, Bill Walton). I take what Hubie Brown says as gold, but cringe when I hear him say it occassionally. Can someone help me out, because maybe I'm missing something.

'Preciate it, ex.

"Showcase" Acie? To whom, Kevin McHale? You can't showcase a guy who can't administer a proper screen, running off of it before his big man sets, forcing a moving screen foul and a turnover. Everything I 've seen from Acie screams amatuer. His best career game by far was in a loss. Like I say, McHale took Shelden, and last time I checked, he never plays. If he takes Acie, I will try to call him personally and thank him for making the same mistake twice while improving our squad. While not a Hinrich fan, I would welcome him. He rarely slacks, though I percieve focus issues. I am not the type to speculate as to how well someone would fit in, so we shall see.

What it is, people? My first post on Hawksquawk, as I was looking for a reputable, active blog. The AJC blog is silly, as are the conversation blogs on ESPN. Looks like I found it. I expect stimulating convo on my hometown squad. Allen Iverson? I haven't been a fan since his first season when he used to catch alleys and put-back dunks in traffic. Unless Larry Brown is coaching, he's a detractor, short and long-term, mainly because he, along with Steve Nash, are easily the worst defensive MVP's in the history of the Association. Rip Hamilton? Not a shooting nor combo guard: try complimentary. On another note, sure, the fan voting for the All-Star Team is jacked up enough, but how about some of these coach's picks? How much of a travesty is it that Szczerbiak (soft), Peja (soft), Ben Wallace (offensively offensive), Brad Miller (who?), and to a lesser extent, Okur (wierd), David West (work in progress), Jason Richardson (erratic), Ilgauskus (molasses), Rip (complimentary), and Yao (baby-bottom soft) have about 20 appearances between them, yet JASON TERRY AND MIKE BIBBY HAVE NONE!!! As a Hawks guy, I remember Jason Terry leaving limbs on the floor while his teammates (like Sha-weak Abdur) were out for drinks by the fourth quarter. Goes to Dallas and directly impacts their deep playoff runs for years to come. Then there's Mike Bibby, who helped lead the Kings very deep every year as a baby (and robbed of a Finals appearance), sees his team disband, has injury trouble, reinvents himself and comes to Atlanta and helps change the culture of a franchise. I know that certain positions are stacked and some guys have "breakthrough"/ fluke seasons, but the coaching fraternity as a whole should be ashamed of the facts stated above. Both of these guys should recieve lifetime achievement nods, and could likely light it up for about 15 or 20 and excite the game, while the guy's mentioned above could only dream of doing so.