RedDawg#8

Snell consistently makes the right play. The hottest hand on the team yet he will step in and get a better shot or find the big under the hoop. He doesn't just let it fly because he can. Love this guy Yes.... those boys were all locked in out of the gate. Beautiful to see

Honestly Im fine with Cam and Dunn both being given defensive stopper roles only right now. That will come in handy during the playoffs. Stretches where we need to disrupt the rhythm of the hot hand on the other team. Doesn't sound glamorous but, is an important role and hopefully will help Cam lock in on the things he does well without the added worry of having to score.

Me too, I had too much time in the offseason to dig into potential free agents and I got stuck on Dunn and Grant immediately after watching their defensive highlights. He is exactly what we need from a toughness & competitiveness standpoint and I feel like he will be a mini enforcer for Trae. Like if a PG is giving Trae the business he will come in and set things straight lol

A motivated Dunn is scary to think about. He is already a pitbull on defense similar to Beverly, but without the jawing.

I would love to see Dre face off against Jimmy in a 7 game series. That could literally be his coming out party like it was for Murray vs Mitchell, except Jimmy carries even more clout and respect if Dre can stand toe to toe. Trae is as comfortable lighting up the Heat as any team. They have nobody outside of Jimmy to guard him, and if they do that, Dre has the mismatch and would take advantage.

I think Brooklyn will inevitably take over the number 1 seed which leaves Philly and Milwaukee in the 2v7, 3v6 bracket. Miami to me will finish top 5. So as awesome as it would be for us to finish top 4 or 5, that would place us directly in the line of sight of the teams you want to avoid. Im not as worried about Miami, as we have that division rival type energy with them where it doesn't matter the records we tend to compete in close games. But yeah the pool of teams would likely be Brooklyn and Miami in the 1-8, 4-5, Bracket and Philly Milwaukee on the 2-7, 3-6 bracket. Im good with either side so long as we are top 6. If we have a chance to finish with a top 4 seed, I say do it and don't run away from the challenge.

Any day now

If Nate cosigns and advocates for Vic, then F it. Pull the trigger.

Im as hard on Kev as anyone, particularly for his clinical aversion to the rim, so the prospect of penetrating wings that draw contact does peak my interest, and I do think we need to add that element at some point. And I also have been on the sell high bandwagon for trading Kev. But I don't want us to panic when we are still approaching our potential and Kev has been a key glue guy to this unit. Dre's return, as well as the addition of Dunn, to me, represents about as much improvement as we could realistically expect from any trade thats been proposed. I say let the team play.

I was prepared for you to tear me a new one lol Thanks for the calm response haha

Any GM worth their salt is going to do their due diligence and gauge interest from the outside. I dont think its wise however to go "All in" this year though when the team you put together in the offseason hasn't had a chance to max out it's potential and yet you are still showing signs of improvement deep in to the season. Trading Kev for an expiring vet (even if they claim they would re sign) seems a little hasty when we could potentially go after said player in the offseason anyway. Travis may have seen all he needs to see from this group, but I'm really interested in letting things play out on the big stage and see exactly where we measure up before we go in to panic mode.

And just like with Milwaukee, that would be a big mistake playing the city and team cheap. You think it was worth it for them in the end to lose Brogdan just to have to trade assets to acquire Jrue because they missed having a dynamic PG on the roster? Think about this instead of just paying Malcolm 4yrs 85 mil, it cost them 2 1sts, 2 more 1st pick swaps, Bledsoe AND George Hill just to acquire Jrue Holiday. People say there is fear in overpaying a guy. But you end up overpaying in the end anyways trying to add from the outside. Better to retain and go over the cap, than have to jettison multiple assets down the line for someone that is marginally better if not virtually the same player.

Not going to lie, I was looking at Oladipo last game like "must be nice" the way he was attacking fearlessly, finishing in traffic and stroking it. Plus he can defend. (I have a similar respect for Ross' game because of this too) He would be a great fit next to Trae and would allow us to better matchup with teams with dynamic backcourts. The fact that he would resign to play with Nate is a huge item to consider. That means two things at once: We are committing to both Nate AND Oladipo with that move. Very interesting. Only negative I see is injury history.

This is why I'm not sold that we need to make any moves at the deadline. What if; Travis Schlenk actually put together a complete team in the offseason? We are finally seeing what all these additions can do with proper coaching. And the best is still yet to come with more key guys on the way back. Clearly the potential was always there for us to succeed. Once (if) we ever get back to full strength this roster has everything that you need to compete (outside of 3 HoF's in their prime). Star player Dynamic Point Guard Play Shooting at every position A Shooting Specialist Defenders at every position Defensive Specialists Wings with size and length Wings that can handle the ball Stretch Bigs Low post bigs Dominant rim protection Rebounding galore Vet Leadership Youthful energy Vet Coaching Ability to close out games Clutch play/executioN and my favorite: A chip on our shoulder. This is such a well balanced team, I see no reason to shake it up now just to get a head start on saving a buck or two in the offseason.

Huge night for us. I did not see Miami or Boston losing tonight. We needed all of those games to go our way

Facts, facts, FACTS!

For the Atlanta Hawks we are used to yes, I agree. There is definitely a bit of positive juju happening right now and on top of that, we NEED to keep up pace. Nate makes me believe that we wont see another 3 game losing streak while we are fighting for position. So even if we drop a game or two, I fully expect us to bounce back and play over our heads to get a W. The wild card is health. Our depth can be a real asset for us on the road. But if we have to go without 5 guys each game, that will be tough for such a long trip. The first 4 games, the travel isn't that bad. You get to stay in LA for 3 days, then the Bay and Sac-town are like from Atlanta to Chattanooga. So the longest flight is to get to LA, and then to Sacramento is an hour and a half, then the Bay is a 45 minute flight. If we drop both games to the LA teams, you still have a good shot to pick up the next 2 before the travel really gets to you. The back 4 games are winnable outside of the Suns maybe, but that's when travel catches up to you, so maybe you drop 2 because of that. That's why I say 4-4 is realistic. Now don't get me wrong, if you asked me two weeks ago, I would be singing the same tune about 2-6. But I think we have the right guy in charge and enough bodies coming back to get us through it.

The way we are playing, 3-5 is the worst case scenario, but 4-4 is a real possibility especially with Hunter and Dunn rejoining the team. That would have us coming home with a 25-24 record.

Dont look now Charlotte is down big AND they turn around to face the Lakers tomorrow. That's potentially 2 losses. If we can beat the Thunder tomorrow, we can head in to our road trip 21-20 and sitting in 5th place.

Im looking at the Memphis Miami game now to see if we can get another one to go our way.

Celtics game going to last another 30 mins at this rate.

Lol my bad. Still hanging in there though

Denver, Im looking at you next. Memphis, throw us bone too.

In the blink of a eye, now 12. Cavs iced it, Im shocked. And Happy!

Too close for comfort. A 4pt lead is never safe against the refs I mean the Celtics.... wait.... spoke too soon Wow Cleveland!