TheNorthCydeRises

I tell ya. People have REAL short memories on this site. Without JJ, we're not a playoff team. Ish . . without JJ, we might not be a 35 win team. He's that important to this team on both offense and defense. He's going to get paid according to how much a team THINKS he's worth to THEIR particular team. Not necessarily what he is worth, compared to other players. Whether the fans believe that he isn't worth at least the money he's being paid right now, is irrevelent. There are going to be teams out there who will be in position to start JJ out with a 2010 - 11 contract that pays him at least 15 million . . and possibly 80 - 90 million over the course of a 5 year contract. The only way he DOESN'T get big money, is if he plays the way he played during the playoffs, and the Hawks miss the playoffs altogether. If not, the Hawks are going to have to pony up the money, or risk losing him altogether. Teams that would potentially give JJ a huge contract when 2010 comes: - NY Knicks: People keep talking about them making a move for LeBron, but don't be surprised if D'Antoni is still the coach, that they go ALL OUT to get JJ. He kjonws the system . . he's EXCELLED in that system . . and he's the scoring/passing/defensive presence that a team like the Knicks need, to get back to playoff level. Nobody is talking about them, but I think they're the biggest threat to make a run at JJ next summer. This summer, I think they'll give David Lee a decent deal, but let Nate walk ( if he gets more than a MLE offer ). If they let Nate walk, they're definitely coming after a guy like JJ, if they can't get their paws on one of the major superstars. - Detroit: 34 million coming off the books this summer with them pretty much cutting ties with Iverson and Wallace. Rip Hamilton is a UFA in the summer of 2010. While Maxiell will get a deal this summer, they still don't have to worry about paying Stuckey until 2011. LOL . . I personally think that the Pistons might go after Marvin this summer, with a 5/45 or a 6/60 deal with a team and player option. Even if they do that, they still may have enough money to go after JJ in 2010, if they don't decide to retain Hamilton. - Minnesota: They have a nice future frontline in Jefferson and Love ( who they don't have to worry about giving big money to until 2012 ). They'll probably try to re-sign Foye to a modest deal in 2010, or try to give him an extension next year, so they'll know exactly what kind of money he'll be making. They won't retain Shelden, or Rodney Carney, or maybe not even Corey Brewer, by the time 2010 comes. They won't bring back bad contract guys like Mike Miller and Brian Cardinal ( will make a combined 16.5 mill next season ). So you're looking at a T-Wolves team with one major contract ( Jefferson ), and a bunch of guys either still on their rookie deal, or vet free agents who make less than 5 mill. They'll have plenty of money to make a play for JJ. - Oklahoma City: Like Minnesota, they're going to be in position to throw a lot of money at one of those free agents in the market in 2010. Pretty much their entire squad is going to be made up of guys who are either in their rookie contract, or are vet guys who make little to no money. If they luck up, and get the #1 pick in the lottery ( to get Blake Griffin ), you could be looking at a team with Griffin, Durant, Westbrook, and Green ( as the 6th man ). Add a guy like JJ to that mix, and you have a pretty lethal offensive ballclub. - Toronto: This will be dependent on if Bosh doesn't take his player option of 2010 - 11. If he opts out, they'll now have enough money to make a run at a guy. They will have to make a decision on Bargnani that summer, so they could even have MORE money to throw at a guy, if they balk on any big money deal offered for him. The Raptors got lucky, because they made a deal to possibly get them over the hump this year. Then somehow duped Miami into taking J-O'Neal, for Marion's contract . . which expires this summer. They may have to make a trade, in order to free up some money, but they could become a player in the JJ sweepstakes as well. - Sacramento: I've always called JJ the 21st century version of Mitch Richmond, with better passing skills. Well the Kings could put themselves in position to get a player like that in 2010. They desperately need some kind of frontline, so they'll probably toss the bank at a player like Bosh, if he opts out. If not, JJ could be their target. Like Minnesota and OKC, they're going to be a team full of rookie contracts and/or modest mid-level deals going into 2010. - Phoenix: LOL . . wouldn't that be some ish. Scenario: Suns decide not to retain O'Neal nor Nash, who are both aging rapidly. Amare opts out of his deal, to become that 3rd guy ( along with LeBron and Wade ) that teams may go all out to get. So now, you're looking at a squad that only has Jason Richardson left, as possibly a big time player. And even his contract expires in 2011. Would JJ go back to Phoenix? Ish . . if they started him out at 15 mill a year, with other teams wanting to pay him less than what he made in ATL . . he DEFINITELY would. - New Jersey: To me, this is the ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE SCENARO for the Hawks. Devin will get his money ( probably a deal similar to Calderon's, or maybe a little better ). They could be stocked with a ton of rookie level contracts, with the only guys making big money are Vince and Devin. If the Jay-Z influence doesn't lure LeBron, Wade or Bosh to the Nets ( who should be in Brooklyn by then ), then JJ could be a definite target. They'll play JJ, Carter, and Harris together for two years, seeing if they can make a run with those as the Big 3. All a team like would need, is either a guy to bang the boards or a shot blocker, to make them very dangerous. These are just the 8 teams that I think will make a major move for a guy like JJ. You guys are fooling yourselves, if you don't think this guy is going to get big money from somebody. Like I said, if the Hawks believe that JJ can still get it done here, but only needs another player added to THIS MIX to get us to that elite level, they need to sign JJ to that extension this summer. If they balk on Marvin, they should DEFINITELY sign JJ this summer. If not, take your chances on the market, and see how much he is worth. They're not going to like the price they may have to pay for him, and other guys, once 2010 hits. If Lebron, Wade AND Bosh opt out of their deals in 2010, it's going to set off a firestorm in this league like we've never seen. The superstar/star player turnover that will happen that summer, will be unbelievable.

I disagree totally. Now I'll admit that Nique was HIGHLY SCHIZOPHRENIC as a player during that season. He'd have games in which he'd look like the best player in the league. Almost unstoppable. Then he'd have games in which he would be straight garbage, and still jack up shots. Come to think of it, the best way to describe his last season in ATL, would be to compare him to Gilbert Arenas, with his off and on azz. But even when he had an off night, the Hawks were still able to overcome his horrible shooting at times, because the team was solid defensively. Not great, but solid. The biggest thing with losing Nique, is that we lost the one offensive player that could score in a number of ways, at almost anytime we wanted to. Even though he'd lost some of his explosiveness, he still had a knack of getting to the FT line. And that season, he shot a whopping 85% at the line. Nique, while nowhere near a great 3-point shooter that year ( 31% ), was still a guy that you had to accont for on the outside. When the Hawks traded him, it only left us with 2 legit shooters from the arc ( Mookie and Ehlo ). Ish, they were the ONLY guys shooting 3's. Nique was also a guy, because of his versatility on offense, that you had to double team at times, especially when he has a smaller 3 posted on the block, or a slower big man trying to guard him out on the perimeter. And I'm going to give Nique the benefit of the doubt, from an intangible standpoint. Nique was 34 at the time he got traded. And he was playing on the best team he'd played on in about 6 years. I'm thinking that Nique would've really elevated his level of play during the playoffs, because this would be essentially his last shot to win a title. We'd had trouble with Indy that year, so they may have well beat us in that 2nd round. But the Knicks sweeping us? Hell no. We split the season series 2 - 2 that year. ( Nique and Manning each had 1 win vs the Knicks ) We matched up pretty well with the Knicks. And once again, we were a DOMINANT HOME TEAM that year. If anything, if we kept Nique, we'd swept the Heat ( because with Nique, we were 2 - 0 against that team ) . . and maybe had been up 2 - 0 against the Pacers, which may have given us some room for error when Willis got hurt during that series. It's funny. We lose 5 home games total that year ( the last one being when Nique came back to ATL and dropped 36 on us, while Manning scored 6 whopping points. ) But once the playoffs came around, we drop BOTH Game 1's, and lost control of both series. Babcock betrayed Nique with that trade, because he denied him a shot at a title for all the years of service he'd given ATL. And he betrayed the fans with that move as well, by trading the most popular player in franchise history for some complimentary azz punk. It's an unforgivable sin, if you ask me. And I still get mad every time I think about that ish.

WOW @ how much Nique signed for with the Celtics. What a totally different league we have now, as far as how much these guys are paid. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m135...86/ai_15710262/

You're right. He's not going to abandon it, because I think he desperately wants to prove to people that he can make outside shots on a consistent basis. As far as changing his fundamentals, his shot is simply that Sam Perkins-like set shot. I don't ever think I've seen him take someone off the dribble, and pull up for a jumper. He has to be stationary and completely set, to take a jumper. I'd much rather him take a closer in jumper, so that he could possibly get to the hole and get his own offensive rebound, or develop at least ONE go-to post move. LOL . . actually, I'd rather him take people off the dribble, and go hard to the hole every single time, to either draw a foul, or dunk on somebody's head. He went hard like that on a few occasions in the Miami series, and it shocked the hell out of me. He should do it more often.

Nique's last game with the Hawks, was the Seattle game on Feb 23rd. Hawks record: 36 - 16 ( .692 winning percentage ) Manning's first game in a Hawks uniform, was the Philly game, on Feb. 26th. Hawks record w/Manning: 20 - 9 ( .690 winning percentage ) While the ball spread around more with Nique gone, you could definitely see what the potential problem in the playoffs was going to be. As we've seen this year, in the playoffs, you need a guy who may can score in bunches, to get you over the hump. Manning was NOT that type of player. He was a complimentary type, glue guy, when he came to the Hawks. He got a lot of shots when he was with the Clippers. But in Atlanta, he was nowhere near the scoring threat he was with the Clips. That ish almost bit us in the azz in that Miami series, but the defense was good enough to pull it out for us in those final 2 games. Just think, that year, both the Hawks AND Seattle ( both #1 seeds ), could've lost in the first round of the playoffs. By the time we play Indiana, it was evident that Manning couldn't carry us offensively when we needed it. If the team didn't shoot well as a whole, we lost. Still the worst trade in Hawks history, because that was easily the best Hawk team we'd ever assembled. Plus, there was NO JORDAN IN THE LEAGUE. That was our shot folks. Instead of rolling the dice, and seeing if Nique could get us a title, they trade him, to insure that they'd at least get a quality player for next season. Then his ( Manning's ) bytch azz bounces out of ATL, and leaves us looking like fools ( much like how Boozer did Cleveland, when he went to Utah ). (( BLEEP )) DANNY MANNING. I still hate his guts.

It's a problem because he's our PF. PFs and Cs are supposed to shoot much higher percentages, because their shots are supposed to come closer to the basket. That's why offensively, Zaza is a problem. You can't have your center shooting in the low 40s, no matter how many offensive putbacks he gets via offensive rebounds. When Smith was great, he was scoring because his shots were coming close to the basket. If he didn't score, he'd get fouled. When Smith was bad, it was because he was settling for those outside jumpers in which you say was the "best option we have on offense." Unless the shot clock is running down, he should ALWAYS look to take the ball to the hole for a closer shot. Excuses cannot keep being made for this guy's outside shooting. He is one of THE WORST outside shooters in the league . . period. It was amazing to be at Game 3, and literally hear the crowd moan and groan everytime Smoove took an outside jumper. EVERYBODY knows that he shouldn't be shooting from the outside. Everybody. Even the little kids at Philips know it. Sekou is exactly right. If Smoove just started to hit 40% of his 16 foot jumpers, and completely abandon the 3-point shot ( like Marvin did after his first year ), he'd become a much more efficient player. Even if he gets the ball way away from the basket, he should look to get closer for a better shot.

You mean like this? Hawks trade Speedy Claxton and Mo Evans to Chicago . . for Kirk Hinrich ( who will be under contract until 2012, at about 8.83 mill/yr ) . . trade works under RealGM trade checker. Reason for the Hawks: Hawks need a PG that can run a team, plus play defense at the point. Hinrich can also knock down a few outside shots if need be, plus get to the hole. Offensively, he wouldn't take shots away from JJ, Smith, or even Marvin, if we re-signed him. Hinrich can also play and defend the 2 spot, which may enable a guy like Acie Law to get more PT at the point, even when paired with Hinrich in the backcourt. Reason for the Bulls: Trade enables Chicago to potentially get an additional 5+ million off the books by 2010, to make a run at a big time free agent. Hinrich is owed 26+ million in the next 3 years. Rose is the starting PG. Possibility of Eric Maynor, Johnny Flynn, Ty Lawson, or Jeff Teague being available for Chicago at #16, instantly gives the Bulls a chance to replace Hinrich at the PG spot. Evans gives Bulls an additional 3 point threat coming off the bench, and he can adequately defend 2 positions.

The reality of the situation is that unless he completely falls off the map next year, he's going to get a contract from somebody, for that amount of money. He made less than 15 million this year, and was still not in the top 25 of highest paid players. People better realize that while he didn't necessarily have a good playoffs by any stretch of the imagination, he did come up HUGE in the 2 biggest games of the season. Game 5 and Game 7 of the Miami series. JJ will easily get an 5 year . . 80 - 90 million deal from somebody. If he doesn't get it from us, we damn well better have a player, or a team that can make up for all that he brings to the table. And keep this in mind. The superstar players ( Kobe, Wade, Lebron ) are ALL going to be making 20 million + from somebody. - Bosh will get paid - Michael Redd ( if he opts out ) will get paid - Amare ( if he sucessfully comes back, and opts out ) will get paid - Boozer ( if opts out ) will get paid THIS SUMMER If the Hawks win 50 games, gets to at least the 2nd round, and if JJ is still the main reason for that success, he's going to get paid. Imagine this scenario: Miami goes all out to retain D-Wade. Let's say they sign him for 5 yrs - 110 million ( 22 mill a year ) Even if they do that, Miami could still potentially be a full 16 - 20 million under the cap in 2010, depending on how they structure the contracts. While it would make more sense for them to go after a guy like Bosh, what if they went after JJ? Maybe tossed him a 5 yr - 90 million deal? They decide to go small, and play: PG - Chalmers G - Wade F - JJ F - Beasley C - random defensive stiff Plus still have coming off the bench . . Cook James Jones vet free agent ( probably another stiff C or PF for rebounding/defense ) 1st rd pick ( '10 ) 2nd ro pick ( '10 ) 2nd rd pick ( '09 ) 2nd rd pick ( '09 ) If the Hawks couldn't woo anybody to come to ATL, we're then banking on Smth, Horford, possibly Marvin, or whomever we retain off the current Hawk roster, to make up for all that JJ brought to this team. Personally, I'm throwing him that 5 year - 90 million deal THIS YEAR, so that this isn't even an issue come 2010. I already know the guy can play. None of that show and prove contract games that we played with Smoove, Chill, and now this summer with Marvin. In this NBA, JJ is EASILY worth 17 million. Ish, look at the contract Elton Brand got from the Sixers. And he's never won ANYTHING!!

What the NBA shouldn't want, is a situation like what you see in Major League Baseball, in which you have a ton of "star" players playing on about 10 teams, while the rest of the 20 teams in the league, have unknown good or star players that no one sees. MLB used to be the ish back in the 80s. You had your major market teams that would win from time to time, but the star talent was scattered all across the league. You could pretty much name a big name star from about 75% of the teams in the league back then. At team like the Minnesota Twins were watchable, because they had star players. And they were promoted too. The same with Kansas City with George Brett. The same with Cincinnati with Eric Davis The same with San Diego with Tony Gwynn The big market teams in LA, NY, Chi all got their airtime, but they were still showcasing the lesser teams and their stars, mainly by showing games in which those teams played the major market teams. But in baseball, you don't see that now. Toronto is 22 - 12, yet, I bet people can't name 3 players off the Blue Jays Kansas City is 18 - 14, and they probably won't have one single national TV game this year The fuggin Rangers are 17 - 14, leading the AL West, and I can't name a single player on the Rangers. My Reds are 17 - 14 . . but since Griffey left, I bet people can't name 2 Reds players. The NBA does NOT want to end up like this. The great thing about the NBA playoffs, is that you do get to see some of the teams who are up and coming, but don't get a lot of national TV time. The playoffs are great, and it lessens the need for a star player like Lebron to HAVE to play in a major media market. Cleveland could easily be what the small market Steelers are in the NFL. Yeah, it definitely helps if the major market teams are winning, but you need those other franchises making noise every now and then. I think the NBA would be better off with Lebron in Cleveland, with major market teams like Boston, NY, LA, Detroit, and Houston chasing them. That's why the NFL is damn near perfect. A team like Arizona can still draw interest, if you have them playing a popular team on the other end. The true NFL fans aren't turning off the TV, just because the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl. It's those fickle fringe fans in those major markets, that may be turned off by it. The NBA is a star league. And it really doesn't matter where that star is playing . . as long as they have the stars playing against each other. People would much rather see an LA / Cleveland final . . than say . . a Hawks / Nuggets final. And it really doesn't have anything to do with market. It has to do with the lack of superstar players.

How many national TV games did TNT, ABC and ESPN show of the Knicks this year? How many did the Bulls play this year, when it was viewed that they weren't going to be all that good? Boston, before they got KG and PP last year? The thing about the NBA is this. If you're a team with a popular player, and that team is good, it pretty much doesn't matter what media market you're in. That team will get a lot of national TV airtime. The Hawks, if they keep everyone together, and/or if they add another star caliber player, will get more national TV time next year. Denver, because of the run they made this year, will DEFINITELY get a ton of coverage next year. And Denver is a smaller TV market than Atlanta. If Kobe opts out of his deal in LA ( which won't happen, but he does have a player option ), and goes to Charlotte, you better believe that the Bobcats will not only get a ton of national TV games, their value as a franchise will skyrocket. Meanwhile, teams like the Knicks and Lakers, unless they're just god awful, will always make a ton of money, based off of their local tv deals and the luxury suites that they can sell at a ridiculous rate. Diesel isn't out in left field with this. Another interesting thing about that Forbes chart, is to see the effect that the JJ trade, along with the development of our young players, had on the Hawks value as a franchise. 2005: we had a value of $38 million 2006: that amount doubles, to $76 million 2007: $83 million 2008: $111 million . . which directly coincides with us making the playoffs. 2009: I don't know, but I would suspect that we may be around the $120 - 130 million mark when it's all calculated. Revenue wise, we've gone from 87 million in '05 . . . to 102 million in '08.

I don't think the Hawks have come to a point to where they need a "new voice". I just think they need guys who can do some of the things that we can't do right now. - a guy who can score down on the low block, with his back to the basket - a guy who can penetrate and get to the hole and finish. Acie is the guy who can penetrate and get to the hole, but his finishing ability hasn't been consistent at all. And we don't have a back to the basket scorer. I was watching the Celtics - Magic game last night, and wondering what a player with Big Baby Davis skill set would/could do for the Hawks. He not only has a nice mid-range game, he has a decent post-up game as well. I remember one play in that game in which he had someone down on the low block ( I think Rashard Lewis ). He caught the pass down low, did a quick pivot then spun back the other way, and got an easy lay-up. I mean, damn. Even if we had a guy who could do that coming off the bench, would be a godsend for the Hawks. And if someone like Smoove or Horford learned to do moves like that on a consistent basis, we'd be a well balanced team. But it is what it is. Hopefully, both Horford and Smith will work extensively on their post games over the summer.

See, this is what I was talking about. Now I voted for Avery Johnson, because he's known as a defensive coach, and I think he'd really get in people's azzes if they didn't play defense. But he definitely won't solve our offensive woes if the core of this squad stays as is. The emphasis would be what it is now . . getting stops and rebounding the basketball, to ignite the offense. But Eddie Jordan . . . really? Did Eddie look good as an offensive coach because he ran a great system? Or did he look good as an offensive coach, because he had 3 players who could create their own shot at any given time and get 20+ a game ( Arenas, Jamison, and Butler ). And I'm not even going to remind people how inept those Wizards team were defensively. That's part of the reason why they only got to the 2nd round once, in four tries. ( lost 3 straight times in the first round ). And those Wizards teams never won more than 45 games in a season. We won 47 this year. And Fratello? Fratello was basically ran out of Memphis, because he desperately tried to get that team to play better defense, at the expense of the offense. Memphis fans and management thought his style of play was "boring". Once Pau Gasol wasn't available at the start of the 06 - 07 season, and they got off to that horrible start, they got rid of him and hired that assistant coach, Marc Iavaroni from Phoenix. Yea . . they now have an offensive coach. Iavaroni, in about a season and a half, posted a 33 - 90 record, and they got rid of him. Coaching in the NBA is a tightrope folks. Be careful what you wish for.

Well . . somebody will putt an offer sheet on the table for Marvin this summer, you can believe that. And it'll probably be a team like Detroit or Toronto. Then everybody will be crying about how weak we are at SF.

Close. Cavs 97 . . Hawks 82. Switch the 9 to an 8 on the Hawks score, and you're the Hawksquawk Nostradamus. But maybe you were seeing the scores from Game 3 and Game 4. You got the Cavs score exactly right, and maybe just misread the Hawks 8, for being a 9. So maybe the Hawks win, was the Game 4 score. You saw a 110 - 102 score in your dream. But of course, it'll be our luck that iyou'll be one number off again somewhere . . . 110 - 112 . . . or 101 -102 . . Cavs win.

Teke, the fan base just wants to believe that Woody is totally clueless to what is going on. That man knows the game of basketball. It's just that this team isn't used to driving to the hole, because most of our players are soft. SportSouth should start mic'ing Woody during regular season games, to see what he talks about during the season. I only want a coaching change for a PROVEN better coach. You DAMN SURE don't make a change, just to be making it. I don't want to end up like we have here in football at the U. of Tennessee . . when Phil Fulmer is fired, because the program have slipped . . and we go out and hire Lane Kiffin, who has been a COMPLETE DISASTER since he's come here, with all of the dumb comments and actions. If that coach is Avery Johnson, or someone of his caliber . . then yeah, make the change. If it's some assistant coach from another team . . HELL NO. If it's some coach who failed miserably somewhere else . . HELL NO. If its a college coach . . . HELL NO. I mean, really? Would anybody on this site be happy if Woody is fired, and we go out and hired - P.J. Carlisemo - Kurt Rambis - Eddie Jordan Would people REALLY be happy and estatic if Bernie Bickerstaff was the next coach of the Atlanta Hawks? Really? People toss around the names like Hubie Brown, and Avery, and Mike Fratello, like Hawks management would be willing to pay either of those guys top dollar. Not one of those guys have even been rumored to say . . yeah . . I want to coach the Hawks.

I agree with 90% of your post. It was an excellent analysis of our team, from an outsider's perspective. But I have this quote highlighted for a reason. And I want to get your take on Smith at the 3. With how poorly he shoots the outside shot, why would you ( in particular ) play him at the 3, instead of having him play the 4, and tell him to strictly take people off the dribble to get his points? I myself would rather see Smoove play like Shawn Kemp used to play. I think he has the ability to be a little more dynamic than Kemp, if he made the commitment to get tougher on the inside and play the 4 like a PF should. But if we keep him on the outside, he'll revert into a Rasheed Wallace type player, that takes way more jumpers than he should be taking. But I want you to convince me why you would play Smith at the 3, other than for allowing Horford to play the 4.

There are only 4 superstars in this league: - Lebron - Kobe - Wade - Duncan Everybody else are just star players, because they don't consistently do it on a nightly basis.

As for Arenas . . I'll take JJ every day of the week. Gilbert Arenas is so good, that the best record he's ever amassed in Washington, was a 45 win season. And his teams lost in the 1st round of the playoffs 3 out of 4 years.

I was at the game last night, and I completely agree with you. JJ was excellent on Lebron, even when Lebron was STILL making tough shot after tough shot. JJ was definitely up to the challenge of guarding him. LOL . . it's amazing that people make a thread about Marvin, when the guy is OBVIOUSLY hurting. It's just too bad that this team isn't at full strength. But I forgot, we can't blame the injuries.

It's funny. Everyone says that JJ isn't a superstar, and I agree with that. But tell the coaches that play against us that he's not. This guy sees about the same amount of double teams as Kobe and Lebron. The difference, is that JJ will tend not to force his offense, and keep playing the team game. Every coach around the league speaks highly of JJ, except Hawk fans.

You can definitely see that if you're at a game live. I was there last night, and it was ridiculous the amount of rebounds we didn't get. - Horfort boxes out, most of the time - Zaza only does it, if a man is leaning up against him - Smoove and Marvin never do it, strictly relying on their jumping ability to get the rebound. - None of the guards do it, if they happen to be around the lane.

(( note to Northcyde )) . . . READ some of these topics first, becaue you might save yourself a lot of typing. Excellent post teke. With all the talk about Boston and LA before the year, it was Cleveland who won 66 games. I think every team since 1990, that has won at least 65 games, has gone to the NBA Finals. That Cavs team is good . . very good.

Maybe it's just me. Or just me and AHF . . and a select few others. But as a fan, I can't ever envision ANY SCENARIO imagineable that I would want to see the Hawks lose ANY GAME . . . ESPECIALLY in the playoffs. I know everybody is disappointed in how this is going to play out, although I do hold out hope that we pull off a miracle in Game 3, with some inspired play from our reserves. But let's keep some things in perspective. (1) The 47 wins we won in the regular season, was NOT solely because of our play against the Eastern Conference. We were only 8 games above .500. The truth is, that not only did 3 of the 4 BEST TEAMS IN THE NBA, played in the East ( Cavs, Celtics, Magic ) . . 6 of the 7 WORST TEAMS IN THE NBA, played in the West ( Kings, Clippers, Thunder, Warriors, T-Wolves, and Grizzlies ) Hawks record against the West: 17 - 13 Hawks record against the bottom 6 West teams: 9 - 3 Hawks record against the top 9 West teams: 8 - 10 So what is the argument? That the Hawks would've been a worst team in the West? Even though we EVERY West team, except Phoenix and San Antonio at least once, and would've continued to feast on those bottom 6 teams? Sorry folks. Can't use the "west is stronger" excuse. (2) What we're going through right now, is usually the NATURAL PROGRESSION of a team trying to win the title. Unless some team makes some blockbuster trade, the scenario is almost always that you HAVE TO LOSE FIRST in the playoffs, before you can learn how to WIN IN THE PLAYOFFS. Look at Cleveland's progression since KING JAMES arrived. ( 03 - 04 ): 35 - 47 . . missed playoffs ( 04 - 05 ): 42- 40 . . . barely missed playoffs ( 05 - 06 ): 50 - 32 . . . lose in East semifinals ( 06 - 07 ): 50 - 32 . . . lose in NBA finals ( 07 - 08 ): 45 - 37 . . . lose in East semifinals ( 08 - 09 ): 66 - 16 . . . to be determined That team had to go through a lot of trials and tribulations, before becoming the team that we see now. The 03 - 04 Cavs were essentially what the 07 - 08 Hawks were. A team that wasn't terrible, but just a little too inconsistent to get it done. They had to mix and match, and trade some people away who didn't quite work out ( notably Larry Hughes and Ricky Davis ), before they could turn the corner. The Mo Williams acquisition was probably the best thing they ever did for LeBron. ( 3 ) To get to elite level in this league, you need at least 2 all-star caliber players, and a 3rd player who can play great at times . . . and/or a supporting cast that ALWAYS shows up. The Hawks have an all-star in JJ, although he's not playing like it in the playoffs . . and an almost all-star in Smith. Bibby would be that 3rd guy, who could play at a high level at any given time. To get to the next level, a trade may indeed have to be made. But it has to be made for the right person, at the right position. The Hawks either need a PG that can penetrate and score + run the team . . and/or a low post player who can CONSISTENTLY score on the inside AND play defense. Adding any other type of player to this mix, probably won't improve us much, unless the current core players improve. If we trade JJ or Smoove or Horford or Marvin ( and make no mistake folks, a trade will HAVE to involve one of those 4, to bring in the caliber of player that we need ), then so be it. If we keep those 4, then we simply have to add the type of role players to the squad that will make the team even stronger. As a fan, you have to believe that we can add better players to the team. - 2 draft picks - a boatload of money if Bibby and Zaza isn't re-signed, to sign a free agent, or two And the current young players on the roster ( Smith, Horford, Marvin, possibly Law ) should ALL BE IMPROVED going into next season. (4) Getting to the 2nd round, no matter what happens the rest of the way, was HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT for this team. Unless something crazy happened, this current team was never going to reach the NBA Finals, or the Eastern Conference finals. So just getting past Round 1, was really the goal. That's not lowering expections. That's being realistic. Next year, if we add the right pieces and get around the 52 - 55 win mark, the bar should be raised . . to getting to the East finals, if not the NBA Finals. But you and I know that it wasn't going to happen this year folks. All I know is that I will make my trek to ATL around noon Saturday, and support MY HAWKS @ Philips at 8 pm est. (5) Injuries. Our coach and some of the players say it's no excuse. But what would the Cavs look like, if they had to play without Big Z and say Varejao? Now you're looking at a Cleveland team forced to play aged vets like Ben Wallace and Joe Smith MAJOR minutes. If either of those two got into foul trouble, the Cavs would have to go very small, with possibly even having to play the KING at the 4. Da hell injuries AREN'T a factor. (6) I've said this before, and I'll say this again . . no matter WHO DOESN'T LIKE IT. When you support your team, your support has to be UNCONDITIONAL. Get behind the Hawks, and support them . . NO MATTER WHAT. You sink or swim with your team. Even if you don't like a player . . even if you don't like the coach . . it's the TEAM that should be supported. One thing about Hawksquawk though. If we do win later tonight, there will be jubilation on the board . . at least for one night.

LOL. I hate to say it, but you're right. That song by Joe Smith is 10x better.

That's one of the nicer playoff songs I've ever heard. That beat was nice, and the lyrics weren't corny. I'll give it a 4 out of 5 stars.