TheNorthCydeRises

No. This is my source. http://www.82games.com/0809/FGSORT7.HTM The detailed player shooting stats go from 3-point shots, inside shots, and 2 point jumpshots. But like I said, this will not be accurate for everybody that doesn't take a decent number of 3-point shots. The key is to ONLY look at the 3 point attempts and 2-point jumpshot attempts. You can't look at this from the eFG perspective, because the eFG can skew how well someone shoots, if they make a lot of threes. The NJSI doesn't measure points coming from those shots. It simply gives a decent idea of who shoots well, who is inconsistent, and who is horrible. I'll ask again. Is there any player that seems to be out of place when looking at the NJSI?

Hawks playoff NJSI: Bibby: .903 Evans: .812 Johnson: .790 Murray: .704 Williams: .439 ( .167 from 3-point range & .272 on 2-point jumpshots . . sample size very small though ) Smith: .390 ( NOTE: Only 9% of Smith's shots came from 3-point range, so that would disqualify him to be ranked in the NJSI. He shot .133 from 3-point range . . and .286 2-pt jumpshots )

Woody would definitely play Sheed, until he proved that he couldn't be effective. Ish . . Woody played Lorenzen Wright. People don't go to Woody's Doghouse, if they are effective. It's when they prove that they are ineffective, that they go to the "doghouse".

Nope . . it sounds like our current starting PF.

You mean the 20 foot jumper that Kobe kills people with? The 20 foot jumper that Dirk kills people with? The 20 foot jumper that has made Deron Williams into one of the best pick and roll PGs in the game? The horrible thing about the 3 point line, is that bad shooters are encouraged to shoot that shot, and not take the 20 fooot jumper that they can make, because the 3-point shot is worth more. That's why you see all of these streaky shooters in this league, instead of the mid-range assassins that used to kill this league.

That's why adding a Josh Smith to this list, would be unfair to him, because his game doesn't necessarily depend on the outside shot. Although if I were to do a NJSI on him, it would be .621, and the reason why people are so against him shooting jumpers. Rajon Rondo is the same way. His game isn't an "outside" type game. But if you do a NJSI on him, it would be .672, an accurate reflection of his horrible jumpshooting.

If this isn't somewhat accurate, do you think there any person that you think is ranked too high or too low?

No and No to both of you. This is totally different from the eFG. While the eFG is a good way to adjust 3pt shooting to actual scoring, it does kind of skew how good of a shooter someone is. Because in reality, 2 - 6 FGs is 2 - 6 FGs. It may have a different point value if you made 2 threes compared to 2 twos . . . but you still missed 4 shots. If you hit those first two shots, but then missed your next 4, those 4 missed shots become potential killers. Those 4 missed shots could lead to 8 - 12 points on the other end. The reason I gave those parameters about only listing those guys who take 65% via jumpshots, 7.5 points, and 10% of shots being 3's, is to eliminate those players like a LaMarcus Aldridge, who takes 65% of his shots from the outside, but only 2% of those shots come from 3-point range. If anything, I should probably raise the parameters of the minimum 3-point shot percentage to 15% or 20%, to really address those guys who are "shooters", or who think they are shooters. 15% is probably the optimum number. Another tweak is to raise the minimun number of outside shots to 70%, but that would eliminate a few people who take a lot of shots from the outside. JJ was inconsistent this year with his jumper, mainly because he took a lot of tough shots. This index accurately points that out.

What is the Northcyde Jump Shot Index ( NJSI )? The NJSI is compiled by adding what a player shot from 2 point range via non-inside shots, to what a player shot from 3-point range. Those percentages are then added together, to give an indication of how well a player shoots from the outside. For example, If a player shot .419 from 2 point range via non-inside shots, and .364 from 3-point range, his NJSI would be .783 To qualify to be listed on the NJSI, a player must have: - had 65% of his total shot attempts be non-inside shots - scored at least 7.5 points a game from these shots - had at least 10% of his shots come from 3-point range * NOTE #1: Exceptions will be made to add star players who may not qualify, or well known shooters who may not have the required 7.5 points per game from the outside. I'm not trying to give the NJSI for a player like JJ Redick, because he doesn't score enough from the outside per game, to qualify. ( LOL . . although his NJSI is .732 - - - and you'll see why his .732 index number keeps him on the bench. ) * NOTE #2: This is NOT an indicator of how great of an overall player that a certain player is. It does, however, give you insight on which guys can consistently make jumpshots, and what guys struggle to make them, for whatever reason. To give a value to the NJSI, I've come up with this grading scale for the percentages: Great: .900 or above Highly Consistent: .850 - .899 Somewhat Consistent: .800 - .849 Somewhat Inconsistent: .750 - .799 Highly Inconsistent: .700 - .749 Horrible: below 700 When you see a player's name typed in GREEN, it indicates that he is close enough ( within .010 of the next category ) to be considered to move up into the next category. Next to a player's index number, you'll also see how many points he scored from non-inside shots in parenthesis. Hawks players are in BOLD. Having said that, here is the Northcyde Jump Shot Index for the 2008 - 2009 regular season: GREAT J. Nelson: .957 ( 11.3 pts ) Morrow: .934 ( 7.7 pts ) Nash: .926 ( 10.5 pts ) HIGHLY CONSISTENT Mo Williams: .899 ( 13.2 pts ) Ray Allen: .896 ( 12 pts ) Okur: .884 ( 9 pts ) Fisher: .873 ( 7.8 pts ) Korver: .865 ( 6.9 pts ) House: .864 ( 7.6 pts ) Gordon: .861 ( 13.2 pts ) Calderon: .859 ( 7.8 pts ) Terry: .858 ( 13.7 pts ) Kapono: .854 ( 7.2 pts ) SOMEWHAT CONSISTENT Hinrich: .846 ( 7.6 pts ) Paul: .841 ( 11.7 pts ) R. Mason: .841 ( 9.6 pts ) Murphy: .840 ( 9 pts ) Finley: .839 ( 9.1 pts ) Bell: .836 ( 10.5 pts ) Nowitski: .833 ( 16.3 pts ) Blake: .833 ( 8.9 pts ) Pierce: .832 ( 10.4 pts ) OJ Mayo: .830 ( 12.2 pts ) JR Smith: .823 ( 9.8 pts ) Durant: .821 ( 12.4 pts ) Bibby: .816 ( 11.6 pts ) Delonte West: .815 ( 7.6 pts ) Jack: .813 ( 7.5 pts ) Bargnani: .811 ( 9.2 pts ) Outlaw: .811 ( 8.2 pts ) Roy: .808 ( 10.3 pts ) Salmons: .806 ( 9.2 pts ) Lewis: .802 ( 11.7 pts ) Granger: .800 ( 14.5 pts ) SOMEWHAT INCONSISTENT Kidd: .798 ( 6.7 pts ) R. Wallace: .798 ( 9.4 pts ) Billups: .794 ( 10.1 pts ) Bryant: .790 ( 15.3 pts ) V. Carter: .789 ( 11.9 pts ) Kevin Martin: .789 ( 12.3 pts ) R. Jefferson: .787 ( 9.9 pts ) Hamilton: .787 ( 11.7 pts ) E. Gordon: .787 ( 7.8 pts ) A. Parker: .786 ( 7.3 pts ) R. Butler: .785 ( 8.2 pts ) J. Richardson: .779 ( 8.4 pts ) Barbosa: .777 ( 6.9 pts ) Villanueva: .774 ( 8.2 pts ) Joe Johnson: .772 ( 13.2 pts ) Gay: .771 ( 9.9 pts ) D. Williams: .765 ( 8.8 pts ) Flip Murray: .765 ( 6.9 pts ) Josh Howard: .761 ( 10.3 pts ) Gomes: .760 ( 8.4 pts ) Mo Evans: .760 ( 4.6 pts ) Marvin Williams: .754 ( 6.1 pts ) Stoyakovic: .754 ( 10.4 pts ) Harrington: .753 ( 10.8 pts ) C. Anthony: .750 ( 9.8 pts ) Redd: .750 ( 11.1 pts ) HIGHLY INCONSISTENT Wade: .748 ( 12.7 pts ) N. Robinson: .747 ( 8.9 pts ) Foye: .744 ( 9.2 pts ) Artest: .742 ( 10.5 pts ) Jamison: .741 ( 10.1 pts ) Ginoboli: .739 ( 7.2 pts ) Crawford: .738 ( 12 pts ) Turkoglu: .737 ( 8.9 pts ) W. Chandler: .737 ( 8.4 pts ) Green: .735 ( 7.6 pts ) McGrady: .726 ( 9 pts ) L. James: .719 ( 10.9 pts ) Cook: .717 ( 7.9 pts ) Alston: .712 ( 7.5 pts ) C. Butler: .711 ( 9.6 pts ) Felton: .702 ( 7.8 pts ) HORRIBLE S. Jackson: .697 ( 10.3 pts ) Iverson: .681 ( 8.3 pts ) Iguodala: .655 ( 6.9 pts ) Baron Davis: .635 ( 8.1 pts )

Yep . . just like Salim used to do. Salim once scored 24 points in the 4th quarter alone, and almost beat the Hornets . . after the Hawks were down 26. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?g...03&period=4 Unfortunately, Salim was highly inconsistent, too small to play the 2, and not fundamentally sound enough to play and guard the 1. But we got a taller version of Salim ( Crawford ), so we'll see how that works out. Like the others, I'll root for Acie. But it's not like Acie is the guaranteed starting PG with the Warriors. If the Warriors keep Curry, he's going to be in a similar situation with the Warriors, that he was in with Atlanta, unless he fights for playing time. If he doesn't prove thathe should be playing, the Warriors will play Curry at the point, but trot out Ellis at the point for spot duty. He'll even have to battle C.J. Watson for the backup PG spot. Ish, I don't know if Acie is in a better situation or not.

OK . . as for my take on this entire situation. LOL You do this trade in a HEARTBEAT. The only way you don't do it, is if Amare doesn't sign an extension . . or if you truly believe that Josh Smith is going to be better than Amare is right now, in 2 years. If not, you HAVE to do this deal . . and don't look back. It's been evident for a long time, that a select few of Hawk fans are more loyal to their favorite player, than they are to seeing thsi team possibly winning a title. They want to see the Hawks succeed WITH their favorite player here. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that most of the time folks. We all like Josh Smith for the most part. But this is Amare Stoudamire we're talking about. THIS is the type of deal you move Smoove for, to give yourself a chance at a title RIGHT NOW. Those of you who are against moving Smith for Amare, you need to be reminded of what the Celtics did by moving their young future star PF in Al Jefferson. As good as Jefferson was looking, Boston HAD to make that move, in order to get where they needed to be to become a championship caliber team. Boston gave up almost ALL of their young pieces, to add Garnett to the Celtics. And when Jefferson left, he blossomed into a MONSTER of a PF/C in his 2 years in Minnesota, like everyone thought he had the potential to do. But Boston got their NBA championship. Remember what the formula for winning a title is folks: You need at least 2 All-Stars ( with one of them preferably being a Hall of Fame caliber player ), plus another player who is a very good player that can step up at times. - Lakers: Bryant, Gasol, and Odom - Celtics: Garnett, Pierce, and Allen - Spurs: Duncan, Parker and Ginoboli - Detroit: Billups, Hamilton, Wallace When you look at the moves the Magic and Cavs just made: - Magic: Howard, Carter, Nelson - Cavalliers: Lebron, Shaq, Mo Williams Jamal friggin Crawford doesn't make us a championship caliber team, becase he'll end up being the 2nd scoring option and shot taker on the squad . . which is NOT GOOD. But if you add an Amare Stoudamire to the mix, to pair with JJ . . now you're talking about a situation in which a Crawford could be a HUGE 3rd option scorer who should get a ton of open looks because of the attention that JJ and Amare would draw. Or maybe Horford becomes that 3rd reliable guy, that complements JJ and Amare. Maybe even Marvin, if he's kept. - Hawks: Amare, JJ, Crawford/Marvin/Horford That's the reality folks. Most important though, you now have a player that puts EXTREME PRESSURE for other frontline players to try to defend. Play Amare at center, and he uses his quickness to possibly beat people off the dribble. Play him at PF, and he shows that he's one of the best jumpshooting big men in the game. People ragged Barkley for talking ish about JJ during the playoffs, but this is exactly what he is talking about. When he said that JJ can't be your best player, we didn't like it, but he is right. JJ is not Kobe or Lebron. What JJ can be though, is a great 1a or 1b scorer, when teamed up with another all-star caliber player. Especially if that player pretty much plays 15 feet and in. Some nights, JJ will be the man. Other nights, he'll be the decoy. And on those nights in which he's the decoy, Amare would STRAIGHT UP KILL PEOPLE. And if you have to ship off Teague and Smoove to get Amare . . lol . . you do that ish too . . IN A HEARTBEAT. As much as people talk about how great Teague is, Acie was an even MORE DECORATED coming out of college as a PG. Acie was the one who was a 1st team All-American. Acie was the one who was known as "Mr. Clutch" as a PG. Acie was the one who took a virtually deceased program in Texas A&M, and turned them into a top 15 caliber program almost overnight. Teague may have more skill than Acie, but people shouldn't act like he's a sure thing. He's FAR from sure thing. So if you have a chance to move him for an All-Star, especially an All-Star frontline player like Amare, you do that without blinking. It's time for the fan base to stop looking at the "potential" of players, and start looking at ways to get to the NBA Finals, to at least give us a chance to play for a world championship. That's what the Vince Carter move to Orlando was partially about. As good as Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston were at times during the playoffs, they couldn't pass up a chance to get an All-Star caliber player in Carter, to possibly put them over the hump to win a champioship. Damn some potential, they're playing for NOW.

As solid of a citizen as JJ is, you cannont overestimate the power of money in professional sports. Here's a scenario for you. - Wade stays in Miami and LeBron stays in Cleveland, by signing extensions before the season starts. If that happens, you now have a situation in which JJ becomes the #1 guard, and possibly one of top 3 players available in free agency in 2010. If I'm a team like Minnesota, with a ton of rookie and expiring contracts . . I'm throwing the entire bank at one of those free agents. And because they already have Kevin Love at center and Al Jefferson at PF, who do you think they are going to target? Joe Johnson. And how much money do you think they'll throw at JJ? Probably ALL OF IT. Is JJ motivated by money? Well . . we can believe all we want that it was the desire of him wanting to be "the man" that brought him to Atlanta. But in reality, it was the multi-million dollar balloon payment he got upfront that season, that brought him to us. Make NO MISTAKE about that. Don't forget, he was on a championship contending team in Phoenix as well. But the dollar signs coming from Atlanta ( which was then widely regarded as the worst franchise in the NBA ), was too much to ignore. You leave a champion to go to a perennial cellar dweller? NO . . . unless someone throws a ton of money at you. I don't know what the max contract that JJ could get next season. But whatever it is, a team like Minnesota, and now New Jersey ( since they got rid of Vince ), may pay just that. Don't forget the Nets will be in Brooklyn by 2010. So JJ then potentially becomes the media darling of NYC. Potential Minnesota lineup: PG - Flynn G - JJ F - Brewer PF - Jefferson C - Love Potential New Jersey lineup: PG - Harris G - Lee F - JJ PF - Yi C - Lopez LOL . . that's why I keep saying . . throw JJ a 5 yr - 90 million deal RIGHT NOW, to see if that's enough to keep him here. You'll have a few teams that will have NO PROBLEM making him one of the highest paid players in the league, once 2010 gets here. (( still reading thread ))

Excellent post. (( still reading this thread. On page 6 right now ))

Damn . . I haven't watched Sportscenter since Friday afternoon, so I missed all of this talk. And I'm still reading this thread. But I will respond to this particular post, before giving my take on this situation. If the Hawks don't re-sign Marvin, I think he'll be a Detroit Piston next year. And I think Marvin could easily get a 5 year - 42 to 48 million dollar deal from a team. I think the Pistons may try to move Tayshawn Prince to a veteran team that needs a defender at the 3, in order to make this happen.

If this is true, then that means that Jamal or Flip will be our starting PG. Because if we don't re-sign Bibby, surely we're going to keep Flip? Right? Is this REALLY what people wanted? You REALLY think a rookie PG taken in the lower part of the draft, is good enough to run a playoff team as a starter? Fug . . we may have to bring Lue or AJ back here forreal.

I mean damn . . even Salim in his rookie year, in which he played 1200 minutes, had a TS% of .545 and an eFG% of .497 Those percentages didn't mean anything though, because Salim was HIGHLY INCONSISTENT as a shooter. The same goes for JC. What JC will do, is give you a tremendous game one night, and flat out stink it up the next. This stretch of 8 games he had last December, is typical Jamal. vs HOU ( 4 points . . . 1 - 7 FG ) . .0 - 2 3FG . . 2 - 2 FT @ DEN ( 25 points . . 11 - 19 FG ) . . 0 - 4 3FG . . 3 - 3 FT vs ORL ( 16 points . . 6 - 17 FG) . . 1 - 6 3FG . . 3- 3 FT @ INDY ( 29 points . . 11 - 26 FG ) . . 4 - 11 3FG . . 3 - 4 FT @ ATL ( 6 points . . 3 - 15 FG ) . . 0 - 4 3FG . . 0 - 0 FT @ CHA ( 50 poings . . 14 - 26 FG ) . . 5 - 8 3FG . . 17 - 18 FT @ ORL ( 18 points . . 7 - 21 FG ) . . 2 - 4 3FG . . 1 - 2 FT vs LAL ( 22 points . . 7 - 12 FG ) . . 6 - 6 FT Total: 170 total points ( 21.3 ppg) . . . 60 - 143 FG ( 42% FG ) . . 15 - 45 3FG ( 33% ) . . 40 - 43 FT ( 93% ) ( check my math ) eFG% formula: [FG + (0.5 * 3FGM)] / FGA [ 60 + (0.5 * 15)] / 143 [ 60 + 7.5 ] / 143 67/143 eFG% = .469 TS% forumla: pts / [ 2 * ( FGA + 0.44 * FTA )] 170 / [ 2 * ( 143 + 18.92 )] 170 / [ 2 * 161.92 ] 170 / [ 323.84 ] TS% = .525 So you look at his stats, and he averaged over 21 ppg . . with a 47% eFG and a TS of 52.5% But when you look at the actual games, what do you see? - 1 GREAT game, in which he not only shot the ball very well, but also got to the line 18 times - 2 games in which he shot over 50% FG - 1 medioicre game in which he shot around what he normally shoots as a player ( 42% ) - and 4 games in which he shot 35% or lower, including 2 games in which he shot 20% or less. When I first was looking at this, I was merely going to see what Jamal shot after he had that 50 point game. But then I looked at the games around the 50 point game, and just shook my head. Like I said . . if Woody can turn this guy into a consistent player, I'm moving him into the top 10 in coaches . . and NO ONE on Hawksquawk bet not ever say that he's a horrible coach ever again that doesn't develop players.

I agree . . Kaman or Camby. I'd take either one. I mean ish . . one of the mocks had us taking Jodie Meeks in the 2nd round. He looked like a superstar at Kentucky at times. But he's nothing but a one-dimensional player. But if he can consistently knock down shots, I'd rather have a guy like that, than Crawford. I guess it's a first for everything Hot. This is the first time that I've ever agreed with every word you've said on this board. Every single last word.

Exactly. Because even if we re-sign Bibby, we're still going to be a team that only sees JJ and Crawford being able to consistently create a shot on the perimeter. That means that Woody will almost have no choice to give Crawford the green light to try to score points. Because JJ is so unselfish at times, he'll swing the ball to Crawford if he's open. And Crawford WILL SHOOT THAT MO-FO, you can believe that. It won't matter if he's 1 - 8 . . he's jacking up that shot. It wouldn't surprise me one bit, to see Crawford being 2nd on the team in shot attempts, at the end of November. And if he is, it'll be very interesting to see what his stats are, and what our overall record is. I'll have to elevate Woody to a top 10 coach, if he can get Crawford to play efficient basketball.

We did get a great deal with the Bibby trade. Bibby was a guy who could make shots, and knew how to run a team. Bibby throughout his career has proven to be a clutch player. Jamal Crawford? He has clutch "moments". And he does jack up a ton of bad shots. It's not the people we traded Crawford for, that is the problem. It's the fact that we traded for him in the first place, that was the problem. But if we don't make any more moves, just watch how Crawford plays. You'll start having Salim Stoudamire flashbacks. He'll be great on some nights, flat out horrible on others. And I tell you guys this. If Woody can get Crawford to be an efficient player, NO ONE should EVER talk about him being a bad coach ever again.

What's wrong, is that this is NOT the player that we need. Hotlanta explained this perfectly yesterday, when he said that all he is . . is a chucker that provides inconsistent outside shooting. We're already an inconsistent outside shooting team, so you go out and get ANOTHER ONE, just because we don't want to pay Bibby more than what he's worth? As for Hinrich, at least with him, you'll get good defense out of the guy when his shot isn't going. LOL . . and even though Hinrich is an inconsistent shooter himself, he's STILL a better shooter than Crawford. Plus he can guard 2 positions, unlike Crawford, who can barely guard the towel boy. Like I said, I hope I'm dead wrong about Crawford. But this guy is like those fake Prada bags that a man might buy his girl out on the street for $30. Yeah, it may look like Prada . . but it ain't Prada. More like Nada.

And for all of you that believe that Crawford gives us a guy that takes the ball to the hole, look at this stat from 82games.com This is the percentage of his shots that are jumpers, and the percentage he drew a foul on shot attempts, in the last 7 years 2003: 81% . . . drew foul 6% 2004: 85% . . . drew foul 5% 2005: 85% . . . drew foul 5% 2006: 79% . . . drew foul 12% 2007: 78% . . . drew foul 9% 2008: 86% . . . drew foul 9% 2009: 86% . . . drew foul 10% As a Hawks fan, I have no choice but to root for this guy once the season starts. And it won't deter me from going to games. But I think Sund just bought a nice looking, but bootleg Rolex . . thinking he was buying an actual Rolex. This article says it all about Jamal. http://www.cosellout.com/?p=229

I was on my way to work yesterday afternoon, listening to local sports talk radio yesterday, when I heard the news. ATL and GS has a deal pending . . . Speedy and Acie . . for Jamal Crawford. To say that I was in shock, was an understatement. More like disbelief. And I tried like hell to post something yesterday about this topic via my phone, but it didn't go through each of the times I tried to post. So before I really get into this, let me say this right off the bat. I ABSOULTELY AGREE WITH HOTLANTA with his opinion of Jamal Crawford and what he could do negatively to this team. I really do . . with everything in my heart. To me . . this trade is like finding out that an asteroid is about to hit Earth, and we have 10 months to avert disaster. Woody knows this. He's seen Jamal play for the past 8 years. He knows that this guy, while not a bad locker room guy, is a straight up CHEMISTRY KILLER on the court . . on both ends of the floor. I've ragged on JC for years . . . YEARS. To me, he's a poor man Gilbert Arenas. And that my friends, is NOT a good thing at all. JC's shot selection is horrible. He's not a good defensive player at all, because he can't guard 1's or 2's. And he's one of the most inconsistent players in the league. So that means that if his shot isn't falling, his presence on the court will negatively affect the entire team. Just like how when Arenas is having a bad shooting game, the Wizards will almost always lose. Why? Because the fool KEEPS SHOOTING. It's funny. If Sund would've somehow got his hands on Allen Iverson, this board would be a sesspool of negativity right now, saying everything that Iverson shoots too much, to he can't play defense, to he kills chemistry on the court, because he needs the ball in his hands all the time to be effective. But doesn't that same description fit Crawford? And the catch with Crawford, is the same with Iverson. The catch is that when he's on, he's REALLY on, and you have to keep playing him and letting him shoot. But when he's off, can you afford to sit him, seeing that he has the potential to get hot? So a coach is always walking a tightrope with a player like that. And look at some of the coaches that Crawford has played for. - Tim Floyd and Scott Skiles in Chicago - Larry Brown, Isaiah Thomas, and Mike D'Antoni in New York - Don Nelson in Golden St. And he's still basically the same player that he was when he came into the league? Wow. I have 2 big fears with Crawford: - Because of his streakiness, he may not be effective at all taking 10 - 12 shots a game, functioning as a role player. He's always been a player that has been able to have the opportunity to shoot himself out of a slump within a game, because he's playing 35+ minutes. Plus he's always been the guy with the ball in his hands. If people don't want him to start here, and we have Bibby back, you're talking about Jamal playing 25 - 30 minutes a game. If we have no Bibby, then he'll have to play 35+ minutes. That's not good. In a lot of ways . . JC reminds me of Salim Stoudamire. If Salim were 6-5, he'd play EXACTLY like Jamal Crawford. He'd settle for long jumpers too much. He'd take very difficult shots. He'd go through stretches in which he misses 5 - 8 jumpers in a row, then hit his next 4 - 6 in a row. And like JC, Salim could be very explosive . . if and when he got major minutes. But his deficiencies everywhere else would FLAT OUT KILL YOU, if he weren't making shots. Don't believe me? Look at the per 36 minute numbers for Jamal last year, compared to Salim in his best year as a Hawk . . which was his rookie year in 2005 - 06: Crawford: 18.6 ppg . . 2.8 rebs . . 4.2 asst . . 0.8 stls . . 2.1 TOs . . FG: 41% . . 3FG: 35.7% . . FT: 87.2% . . TS: 54.5% Salim: 17.2 ppg . . 3.4 rebs . . 2.2 asst . . 0.8 stls . . 2.4 TOs . . FG: 41.5% . . 3FG: 38% . . FT: 90% . . TS: 54.5% - And 2nd, because he HAS TO SHOOT in order to help this team ( like Salim was when he was here ), he's actually going to take away shots from the very guys we're tryiing to develop . . namely Smith, Horford, and Marvin ( possibly ). If his shot is on, it won't be a major problem . . unless Smith, Horford, and Marvin start jacking up shots because other players are shooting too much and they can't get touches. I can definitely see Smith doing just that ( like he did in the playoffs at times ), if JJ, Bibby, and Crawford are trying to carry the team offensively, and Smith has to depend on himself in creating his own shot, to get shot attempts. But if Crawford is off, he's not going to stop shooting. And because of that, he won't make that extra pass to an open teammate who may have a better chance of making a shot. That'll hurt the team, and start to pizz people off. That's when the Salim effect will be seen in its true light. A lot of you are elated because the Hawks did "something", and got a player who can be great a times, into this mix. But for the first time in a long time, I'm scared that we just made a move that will kill our progress as a team. I know that a player like this is NOT a good guy to add to a team that preaches balance on offense. You saw what a player like that did to the Pistons. Crawford may not prevent us from winning 45 games next year, or making the playoffs, but he's not going to improve us either, because he adds an element that isn't going to get us to that next level. We need a BIG MAN. I also think that Sund may have made this move, as a possible worst-case scenario move to compensate for possibly losing JJ after next summer. If we lose JJ, we'll at least have a player who has shown the ability to create his own shot and be explosive. LOL . . it won't make us a better team though. I'll end this post with this. Crawford on his problems with defense ( this is a quote from this past January ): http://48minutes.net/2009/01/16/warriors-t...om-ground-zero/ “On the ball, it’s not so bad, unless it’s a pick and roll and we’re doing coverages or whatever,” Crawford said. “I think I have to get better off the ball, honestly. I think off the ball sometimes I can get caught up watching and then a back cut happens, or something like that.” So he has a problem with pick and rolls, and he gets caught up watching the ball, and gets beat on a back cut. LOL . . isn't this the exact issue we have with Bibby? Woody . . you better fight this trade TO THE DEATH, if it hasn't been finalized yet. This guy is going to get you fired. When the Hawks start the 2009 season with an 8 - 10 record, the fan base will blame YOU for not using JC right, instead of looking at the fact that JC is shooting 38% FG, taking 14 shtos a game in 25 minutes of PT, and taking way too many long jumpers. Fight it till the bitter end Woody. Don't let Sund do this, if you can help it. Sund . . please trade JC tonight, with the #19 pick, and get us a quality big man to add to the rotation. With Shaq going to Cleveland, addressing the frontline is now a bigger priority than ever.

It's a great move by the Wolves for 3 reasons: - they get the #5 pick - the acquire 3 expiring contracts, to give themselves more cap room next summer - they get rid of Foye, whom they would've had to pay after this year This is one of the teams that I said may make a play for JJ in 2010. I knew they wouldn't pick up the option on Shelden. They probably won't pick up the option on Carney and/or Brewer ( if not this year, definitely next year ) They have Jefferson and Love on the frontline. They could potentially add 2 guards in the draft. So all they would need is another big guard or a wing. That's JJ folks. The Hawks need to re-sign JJ before the summer ends. Show that man the money. Because some of these other teams have begun to move their chess pieces around, to make a real monetary impression in 2010. The price to sign JJ WILL NOT BE CHEAP!!!

No way yoiu should let one man beat you in a game like that. If you see a guy trying to use a guard like JR Smith to beat you, adjust your defense. and send .. . . . - auto double teams at him every time he gets the ball. - Control Smoove at all times on Defense. - contest EVERY jumpshot - give hard fouls by putting Zaza in the game - run a spread or 3-point style offense, and put the ball in Bibby or Law's hands, - run pick n roll, possibly freeing up JJ for wide open 3s - use Smoove's speed to take it all the way to the rim, and try to dunk it - remember that Marvin, and especially JJ, are excellent mid-range shooters - if playing against a guy who is good at running and gunning, slow the pace completely down, to limit his possessions - don't be afraid to give fouls - learn the art of drawing offensive fouls. - as far as cherry picking goes, change your defense to one of the zone defenses. If you're good enough, you can make in game adjustments, and still beat those cats That's if you're good enough though.