TheNorthCydeRises

I told the guy next to me at the game last night, that Smoove wants to be Rashard Lewis so bad, instead of Shawn Kemp. If he'd just change his mindset, he'd be a MONSTER. After LeBron dunked on him, he just got caught up in the hype of the game. That was the 2nd time that game he'd been dunked on, and he was determined to score on the other end. SMH @ those behind the back dribbles in the post, where he lost the ball both times. Woody gave him a quick yank out the game.

I was at the game last night. Bibby played like the Bibby of old, if you ask me. His play enabled JJ to put it on crusie control for most of the 1st half. JJ was struggling a little anyway, but he was racking up the assists, mainly by finding Bibby for open jumpers. Mo Williams can't play defense to save his life, but that kid can score. He's a perfect compliment for LeBron. That game got tight after the Cavs ( and the crowd ) got energized by LeBron's dunk in the 3rd quarter. Up until that point, we looked to have complete control of that game. Actually, I thought we did a decent ( not good, but decent ) job on LeBron, because I thought he might go for 40 or 50, seeing that his shooters couldn't make a 3 to save their lives. It was good that Woody decided to throw soft double teams at him to make him give the ball up. If Delonte West makes half of his wide open jumpers he had, the Cavs might have won the game. Szczerbiak was awful as well. Only Williams was helping LeBron out with some big time shots. The thing is, you can't even breathe on LeBron when he goes to the hole. If you do, you'll get a foul called on you. The technical he got, was because he thought he was fouled going to the hole ( which he wasn't ). He's so used to getting the touch fouls, that he thought he should've gotten that call as well. Zaza was solid. Evans had virtually no impact on the game offensively, but did challenge shots on the perimeter. And Flip . . . ( sigh ). Flip is a turnover machine. His defense was decent though. I just wish Acie can get right, and step his game up to take most of his minutes. Right now though, Woody trusts Flip more than the trusts Acie. It's up to Acie to gain that trust, by playing solidly every night. LOL @ me and the guy sitting next to me in the 1st quarter. Smith took those two early jumpers, and we were both like . . "no . . no". Smith, when he stayed under control, was decent. He had one real aggressive move in which he faked a 3 pointer, and went hard to the hole and got fouled. I wish he'd do that more often. He made 2 of his 3 jumpers, so I can't complain about the 3 that he missed in the 4th . . . I guess. But he was part of the reason the Cavs got back in the game in the 3rd. After LeBron makes that spectacular dunk over Smith, he comes back down and tries to score on the offensive end. The first time, he tries to go behind his back, but lost the ball. Cavs go down and score. Then he does the EXACT same move, trying to get to the hole, and lost the ball again. Luckily, we didn't lose possession, but Woody immeadiately took his azz out the game because it was obvious what he was trying to do. That was the turning point in the game, if you ask me. Smith was real active on the defensive end up until that point, mainly by challenging the shots of the shooters. He, Marvin, and JJ did a great job in doing that most of the night. But when Woody took him out, the Cavs got going and got back into the game. Marvin understands his role perfectly as a complimentary player on this team. He had one of the better all-around games I've ever seen him play. He made a few great passes, especially the one to Horford in the 4th quarter. The 3 he made in the 4th was HUGE, because it put us up by 4 points, and gave us the lead for good. But his defense and activity on that end of the floor was most impressive to me. He didn't stop LeBron, but he didn't make it easy on him either. And he did a good job challenging shots both on the outside and inside. The one rebound he got, where he basically outjumped 5 people, was impressive as well. LOL . . I even bought me a Marvin jersey last night, after his performance. Well, in a game like that, it was important to try to preserve Horford for the 4th quarter. But Al did a good job in staying out of serious foul trouble, and actually played a lot in the first half. Zaza played decent while Al was out. Al had a couple of really good moves down on the block, and he was aggressive in going to the hole and drawing a few shooting fouls. I thought he was going to get a technical foul, on that offensive foul they called on him, when Varajao(sp) flopped and got the call. He got a few calls on him, strictly off of LeBron driving like a bull to the hole. Like I said, you can't even breathe on that cat.

You're exactly right Crime. You have to take the good and the bad with Smith. Without his activity in the 3rd quarter, we DON'T get back into that game . . . period. Hawks were down 49 - 40 after "Skip" hit that 3. In the next 3 minutes, Smith has 2 steals and a block . . . and 3 assists. We go on a 13 - 0 run, and take a 53 - 49 lead. If Smith would just accpet that he's not the 2nd best offensive player on the team, and that he's the designated "energy" guy, we'd be so much better off. He could be so much more effective if he'd just crash the offensive boards, and try to score off of grabbing offensive rebounds. But that loss wasn't all on him last night. He deserves some blame, but not more than half of it. Our bench the entire game shot 1 - 17 FG. It's a lot of blame to go around, yet, we still should've won that game after Smith hit the 3 to put us up 8, with 7 minutes to go.

And the one jumper he did make, was right where he usually makes them . . . a straight on look from the FT line to the top of the 3 point arc. Some of Smoove's internet friends, or someone on the Hawks staff, need to point that out to him. He is not a good wing shooter AT ALL. But if you get him in that straight on position, where he can properly size up his shot with the rim and backboard directly in front of him, he becomes a much better shooter. We don't get back into the game in the 3rd, without his hustle and activity though. It's a double-edged sword with Smoove.

1) When we play Boston on Wednesday night, show the type of emotion in that game, that you did during our playoff run. Do that "He-man . . . I have the power" double fist pump when the crowd gets hype over a great play, forcing Boston to call timeout. 2) Put the "Salim Rules" on Flip. If he commits 2 turnovers before he makes 2 shots, sit him down. If he hits 2 of his first 3 shots, give him extended minutes. But keep the green light for him to shoot . . ON. Do not try to limit him to playing a PG role, when his role is to be an instant offense type player. 3) Tell Smoove to only shoot 3 pointers, when he's at the top of the 3-point arc. Otherwise, take it to the basket or look to pass to an open man. 4) Tell Zaza to stop missing easy shots on the inside, just so he can pad his rebounding numbers. 5) Tell Solo to quit fouling so much. He's averaging 7.4 fouls per 48 minutes. Amongst the guys that play at least 10 minutes per game, that's 12th most in the league. Other than that, you're doing a great job Woody. Keep it up!!

Actually, you do Hot. Because if you can't consistently beat the teams you're supposed to beat, you'll ( more than likely ) not be in a position to improve as a team. That's the one MAJOR difference I've seen in the Hawks since Bibby came on board last year. We're beating the lesser talented teams about 75% of the time. What we need to do, is really start holding serve at home. When Boston and Cleveland come to Philips, we need to win at least one of those games, for us to be legit good team. I don't expect the Hawks to go on the road and beat the upper echilon teams. Not saying it can't happen, but I don't expect it. But I do expect them to beat those types of teams at least 50% of the time at home, for them to be considered a "good team".

1) I don't like Smith chucking 3's either, but he does so much more to help the team. And he tends to hit clutch 3's. You don't bench Smith, just because he's chucking up 3's . . to put a hack machine like Solo in the game. I like Solo, but people act like he's Jason Maxiell or something. 2) Anybody who's played sports, know that you only get back into shape, by playing. Smith may have been tired, but I have no problem with him playing 35 minutes last night. No problem at all. He'll need to get back up to game shape quickly, with the teams we have coming up. 3) If that's what it takes for us to win . . . YES. They've did it all last year, so the minutes isn't a big deal for them. 4) This I do agree with. If it's any game that Solo would see time in, it is a game like last night. But then, you'll have the critics come against Woody for not playing Zaza . . much like in the Washington win. So it's a no-win situation for Woody. 5) Can't argue with that too much either. But that is the luxury of having Marvin. He can play both the 3 and the 4. And Smith has routinely played the 5 last year. I guess Woody was a little concerned about the small lineup the Knicks were putting on the floor. If Horford was a low post scoring demon, Woody could play him 40 minutes, and really make the Knicks pay. I see where you're coming from on that point though. OK . . . Woody should've played Horford more. Not opt to play Solo.

I would love to see Smith develop a pull-up jumper. Catch the ball. Act like he's driving to the hole. But pull up from 15 - 18 feet, and knock down the J.

A lot of Smith's 3 point attempts come with the clock winding down. I just wish that he'd do what Marvin was doing last year, and set up a step inside the 3 point line, to give him a 21 foot jumper, instead of a 25 foot jumper. If you look at Smith's "hotspots" data ( http://www.nba.com/hotspots ), you'll see that when he shoots a jumper, you want him in an area where he's looking straight on at the basket. Ironically, the 3 that he made, was a straight on three at the top of the arc. If he shoots from there, or just outside the top of the key on the right side of the court, he's liable to shoot a higher percentage on his jumper. And that's not just been the trend for him this year, that's been the trend for him almost his entire career. The problem, is that he made that 3 pretty early, so that gave him confidence to shoot it more. Other than that, I completely agree with you.

My sentiments exactly. God forbid we lose the next 4 road games. It'll be Armageddon around here. It wouldn't shock me one bit, if we lost 3 of them though. Then we have the Cavs next Saturday. Very tough stretch of games coming up. Let's see if this board is in complete meltdown mode by next Sunday.

And the luxury of having Marvin, is that he has the ability to move to the 4, especially against run and gun teams like the Knicks. That's probably why he logged 38 minutes.

We win . . a bench player doesn't play . . and the complaints continue. Tell me, whose minutes do you limit, in order for Solo to play? Marvin - 38 Smith - 35 Horford - 29 Zaza - 13 I mean, seriously? Do you want to play Marvin 28 minutes, just so Solo can get 10? Do you want Smith to play less minutes? Horford? Zaza to not play, and give Solo his minutes? We're 12 - 6, but it's still the same ol song around here. Whine and complain about this and that. As a bench player, Solo did his job. Fill in when one of our frontcourt guys can't go. If he gets a DNP . . . so what?

Because Rondo doesn't have anyone there who can remotely challenge him at the PG position. In Stuckey's case, he can play the 1 or the 2, and was a much needed scorer when Billups/Hamilton went to the bench. He's established himself as the 3rd guard on that team. In Acie's case, he has Bibby ahead of him at the PG, and the combo of Flip/Evans ahead of him at the 2. In essence, Law is almost the 5th guard on the team, in the rotation. I have to admit, I was waaaaaaaaaay off on how important Bibby is to this team, from an offensive standpoint. Right now, he's shooting over 47% FG and over 45% 3FG. Those would both be career highs for him, if he keeps that up. No way you could limit him to 24 - 28 minutes per game, like I suggested at the beginning of the year. And when he's playing that well, Acie will see little time. The only way to increase Acie's minutes, is to get rid of Flip . . or for him to start totally outplaying Flip.

I disagree. I still stand by the Shelden pick, because we desperately needed frontcourt help ( and still do, to a certain extent ). It's too bad that Shelden didn't pan out. But if Roy was here, I seriously doubt that Woody is benching Marvin, in favor of playing the rookie Roy. Plus, Roy was a 2, who has the ability to play the one OFFENSIVELY . . but not guard the position defensively, on a nightly basis. The history of Woody suggests that the older/veteran player is going to get the benefit of the doubt. And he probably was also receiving pressure to play Marvin more, to see if he'd pan out and develop into the player that everyone thought he would be. Remember, '06 was only Marvin's 2nd year. This is our team to start the 06 season: C - Zaza F - Smith F - Williams G - JJ G - Speedy With Lue as the 6th man. And the front office had been ridiculed for drafting guys at multiple positions, instead of "need" guys. Shelden was a "need" guy. To me, I thought he'd do the same thing that Horford is doing now for us at center. If we draft Roy, BK probably still goes after Speedy to play the point. And we're one less guy short on the frontline. If I had a choice of having Paul or Roy, Paul would definitely be the choice.

Oh damn . . . you a mod now? Congrats.

I agree.

Excellent post. I gave him an 8 for those very reasons. I may have given him a 7, but since 5 = D-League, I had to boost him up to an 8. He's been preaching defense here since Day 1. Now that we finally have some people who can play it a little, all that is paying off. We'll see if this team starts blowing out people again, once Smith gets back into the mix.

Because with any other coach, we'd be 14 - 2 right now, instead of 10 - 6. That would be the only logical reason to fire Woody right now. Good is not good enough. When he was a bad coach and we had a bad record, people wanted him to be good. Now that we have a good record, people want him to be excellent. If we get to have an excellent record, people will want him to go undefeated. It's the never ending cycle of Hawksquawk at work here.

A week off? Nah. Rest him against Memphis. Maybe? Against the Knicks? Only if he can't go. But Memphis is a very athletic team. A lot of you guys who haven't seen OJ Mayo yet, are going to be impressed. I definitely don't want JJ resting on that road trip.

Come on Peoria. All of those guys handle the ball far less than JJ. JJ is 11th in the league in turnovers. The guys ahead of him? 1) Stephen Jackson - 3.9 2) Dwayne Wade - 3.8 3) Steve Nash - 3.8 4) Carmelo Anthony - 3.5 5) Danny Granger - 3.3 6) Allen Iverson - 3.1 7) Kevin Durant - 3.1 8) Chris Paul - 3.1 9) Jason Kidd - 3.1 10) Rudy Gay - 3.1 The common trait? All of those guys have the ball in their hands a lot. More than anybody else on their respective teams. If he didn't go one on one, to draw double teams, guys like Marvin, Evans, Flip or even Bibby, wouldn't be getting the open looks that they get. I understand what you're saying, but it just isn't that simple. JJ went one on three at the end of that Boston game when he drove to the hole. Then he kicks to a wide open Marvin, who hit the 3 in the corner, to put us up 1. That's why he has the ball in his hands a lot. He's made plays like that all year.

I would say something, but . . . ummm . . you know. I'll just say that I co-sign this post.

LOL . . that's always the case. And Truth . . . look what Devin did last night to the Suns. Still think the Nets aren't any good? Devin is playing like an MVP candidate these days.

Of course it's retarted to compare the 2. But isn't it ironic that when Woody finally has a competent veteran team, that the Hawks seem to have turned the corner. Yet, he caught all the heat the past 2 - 3 years, while the players got a pass. So you expect us to be 12 - 4 right now. Cool. I think that's a little unrealistic, but that's cool.

My thoughts exactly GM. This schedule is ridiculous. It's almost like the NBA said . . "we, we can't have the Hawks doing well, so let's try to kill them right off the bat." For us to be 10 - 6 right now, with Smoove out for the past 3 weeks and JJ being a little off recently, shows just how mentally tough this team and coaching staff is.

How is the current offense not playing to our strength? We're the top 3-point shooting team in the entire NBA. LOL . . it's strange as hell to say that. That's the strength of this team right now. I guess we could feed the ball to Horford a little more, and play inside out. But Horford tends to have big games against smaller frontlines, or teams that don't have a good defensive post player. Right now, I'm definitely satisfied with running everything through JJ, even if he is struggling with his shot the past 2 weeks or so. As long as we're doing that, guys will continue to try to shut JJ down, opening up the floor for everybody else to make plays. The shooting of Marvin, Evans, and especially Bibby, has been a godsend recently.