TheNorthCydeRises

Quote: You want loser mentality? You sound like a woman who stays with a man even though he is beating her and cheating on her. Sure, he is nice sometimes and maybe one day he will not be a good for nothing druggy/womanizer, but chances are he is not going to change. He may shine up one day a year to go to your mothers birthday party, but he will get drunk and be hitting on your underage cousin before the end of the night. I think if missing the playoffs is the only thing that guarantees getting rid of BK and Woody then the teams long term health is better served by missing the playoffs. With BK and Woody this team is on the slow boat to mediocrity - at best. With all due respect EDS, this is BASKETBALL, not The Young and the Restless, or some episode of Cheaters. No non-bsketball analogies can compare with making and not making the playoffs. And even if we DO make the playoffs, but get swept, a great case can be made for Woody and BK STILL being fired. Hell, Marty Schottenheimer got fired for losing a playoff game, even though he won 14 regular season games. So if we win 36 games, and barely squeak in, then get swept in the playoffs, the ASG should STILL pull the trigger on both guys. But this is about the players, not the FANS expectations on where the team should be. It's just like a bubble team that hasn't made the NCAA tournament in 8 years, finally squeaking in the big dance, but drawing a #13 seed. Let a team like Georgia somehow win the SEC tournament, and get into the Big Dance. Now they'd have no shot at winning the tounament, and they'd probably lose that 1st round game. But the experience those freshmen, sophomoes, and juniors would get, could be built upon for next season . . regardless of whom the coach is. You could still make a good case for firing the Georgia coach. And most of you can't even agree on what coach to bring here anyway. So it's not like some messiah coach is gonna come hre, and instantly transform us into 55 game winners anyway. If you know of one, fire Woody right now. Even I'm for a coaching change these days. But I'm not going to wish against this team making the playoffs, if Woody is still the coach. That's anti-fan to me.

This is a LOSER'S MENTALITY. Now I'm not directly calling any of you "losers", but you're really not looking at this from the players' perspective. You guys do realize that sometimes, there is more to sports than just winning it all. Sometimes, just making the postseason, ESPECIALLY if you're a young team, gives you tremendous confidence going into next season. Ask the Tennessee Titans. Ask the Colorado Rockies. Ask the Tornto Raptors last year. When most of your young team have never played in the postseason, the EXPERIENCE gained from playing in the playoffs, is immeasureable. Right now, the only Hawks with playoff experience are JJ and Bibby. So for everybody else, the EXPERIENCE of just making the playoffs, will be a great benefit to them in the future. It my also elevate their game as players, much like it has done for Chris Bosh As great of a season as Portland has had, it's going to hurt that young team badly, if they don't get to experience what it is like in the playoffs this year. To make the playoffs without Oden, then add him to a core that has already had a playoff battle under their belts, would be great for them next year. That Denver team in 1994 that beat a 65 win Seattle Supersonic team ( arguably the 2nd best team of the 90s . . and the team that almost EVERYONE had winning the title, with Jordan retired ), should have easily gotten swept. But that young Nugget team scrapped and clawed for 5 games, and won that series. That series was Dikembe's national coming out party as a defensive force. What if the same thing happened for Josh Smith? I don't give a damn if we get that #8 seed with a 33 - 49 record. Once you're in, you're in. And your win/loss record during the regular seasn dosn't matter one bit. The only thing that matters, is how you play against your opponent for the next 4 - 7 games. Some of you guys hate Woody so much, that you'd sacrifice and/or delay this young team from getting valuable playoff experience, just so that the coach can be fired. To me, that borderlines on being an anti-Hawk-fan. Ish, do you know how many fans would be rooting for the Hawks to beat Boston, if we had a game 6 in ATL with us up 3 - 2? We'd be the media (( bleepin )) darlins. Once the playoffs start, anything can happen. That's why New York, Chicago, Philly, Indiana, and especially Charlotte would GLADLY take that #8 slot, no matter what their record was during the regular season. There's no way you can tell me how those teams would be better off not making the playoffs, than us making it. I know one thing. All of you guys who are convinced we'd get swept, would watch Games 1 & 2, and might even attend Game 3 in ATL. Why even watch, if you KNOW that we'll lose the series anyway?

No defending Woody at this point. But like Hotlanta said, some of these players have to take responsibility for out situation. One of the most irritating things about this team, is the fact that Smoove and Marvin refuses to mix it up on the inside on a nightly basis. These guys have to help Horford on the boards. But neither one puts a body on somebody, which enables our opponents to get rebounds they probably shouldn't get. Marvin not grabbing 7 rebounds a game, is almost unacceptable. Ditto goes for Smoove, and grabbing 9 rebounds. When these guys are grabbing 5 and 6 rebounds, we're going to lose. I'm always more impressed with Smoove's 11+ rebounding games, than his 25+ point games.

Maybe we could trade Bibby, Chill and Salim, for Marion and Jason Williams. J-Will JJ Marion Smoove Horford Law, Marvin, J-Rich and Zaza off the bemch

While it wasn't an official bet, Hotlanta and I were "discussng" what the Hawks record would be, at the all-star break, right after the Hawks went on that 5-game win streak. I believe that he suggsted that we'd be 2 or 3 games under .500 . . . I think I said that we'd be a few games over .500" I wished that Hot was RIGHT !! If we were 24 - 27, we'd be in the 6th spot. Turns out, the Hawks were a lot worse than what i thought they'd be, and even worse than what Hotlanta thought they'd be. How dare I dispute the great infinite wisdom of Hotlanta.

Quote: Billy Knight is not going to fire his friend. You're probably right. But there is one scenario that could possibly go down. Both Woodson and Knight are fired by the ASG. And Larry Brown gets TOTAL CONTROL of the Hawks, by being both the coach and the GM. Of course, that's usually a recipe for disaster in sports. But if the Hawks really want Brown, that's what they might have to do.

Quote: OMG, does JJ really have to sit as soon as he gets his 4th? The only player on this team who fouls out is Josh Smith, and Horford gets in foul trouble, but just let them play. It's not like we're winning games. I wish we had a week till the deadline. This team is not ready. We have seen the best of our Hawks--long losing streaks and the occasional 3 game spurt. I sure hope we win at least 1 game on this trip, come home, and JJ explodes, because this is looking pathetic So what happened in the Charlotte game, in which Smoove picked up 2 quick fouls in the 1st, and Woody does something he almot never does, and put him back in the game in the 2nd? He quickly picks up foul #3. Don't blame Woody for trying to protect his best players by sitting them. The players coming in for JJ and/or Smoove, have to start stepping up. It's funny though. People always talk about how the ball movement is much better with JJ out of the game. But from my perspective, the Hawks almost always break down when JJ is out of the game. That's why he plays 40+ minutes a night.

I think 35 wins might get us in. Philly is playing good b-ball these days, but I think they have 2 games vs Orlando coming up, then they start their west coast trip once March comes around. For us to get to 37 wins, we're going to have to go 16 - 14 the rest of the way. The only way we do that, is if we make a big time run against the weaker teams in the East ( lol . . but we can't even beat Chrlotte without Greald Wallace ). The December win vs Miami, that the league took away from us, is GIGANTIC now. To find a way to blow that game, might be the first nail in our coffin. We need every win we can get these days.

Woody refuses to shake up the lineup a bit. The one move he could make right now, would be to start Chill over Marvin. Right now, Marvin is playing quite a bit at the 4. If this is going to continue to be the case, he might as well start Chill at the 3, and bring Marvin off the bench, instead of vice versa. You don't reduce Marvin's minutes with him coming off the bench, but you do try to give people a possible different look and give your own team increased energy to begin games, with Chill starting. You also possibly protect Marvin from picking up early fouls ( like Smoove and Horford do ). I would also start running more post isolations for JJ down on the blocks. Surround him with shooters ( Bibby, Marvin, maybe a Jer-Rich ), and give him the option to score or pass out to the shooters. Woody keeps doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. That's one of the definitions of insanity. If Woody got fired after this road trip, It may be for the best. Hopefully the interim coach could ignite sme sort of spark in these guys. ( LOL . . i was hoping for 2 wins on this road trip, but now, I'd take even one win )

There is no way in HELL the Lakers would do that. NONE. ZILCH. NADA. Laker fans and their front office would think they're on an episode of punk'd. They already have an all-star MVP candidate at the 2 ( Kobe ), a very good versatile player at the 3 ( Odom ), and another all-star caliber player at the 4 ( Gasol ). So when Bynum comes back to play the 5, that team instantly becomes the best team in the league. Ish, they might be the best team in the league WITHOUT Bynum. So when he comes back, the Lakers become a juggernaut that I think, only the Spurs have a chance to bat. And you'll telling them to trade their young emerging center, and their defensive PG off the bench, and maybe a 1st round pick, just to add JJ? It would be like asking us to trade Acie + Smoove + 1st for Michael Redd or Chauncey Billups. No way you do a deal like that.

Quote: I don't even know where to begin... it is an insult to the coaching profession that he still has a job. Same [censored],different day with this clueless joke as our coach. At halftime, our starters had 19 points . . 11 fouls . . and 13 turnovers. Yet, it's Woody's fault? LOL. I think we were down 13 - 12 in the first quarter . . then the Lakers go on a 60 - 25 run. And that ish would've been much worse, if Jeremy wouldn't have hit those late 3s. LMAOOOOOOO @ this game. Incredible. This looks like an exact repeat of Kentucky - Vandy last week, when Kentucky only scored 11 points at halftime. Question now is . . will we lose by 25 or 45? 19 first half turnovers and 17 fouls. This has to be one of the worst played halves in basketball history.

I think Eldridge Recasner and Ennis Whatley has started games at the point as well.

Quote: If Shelden's nba career doesn't work out, he could always get a job busting bricka like Mario. Shelden: "Oh you got jokes huh?" Pimp: "Damn right I got jokes." Shelden: "Well, I got the baddest chick in the game, wearing my ring. ( Candace holds up ring to Pimp, as she tuns and kisses Shelden ) What you got homie?" Pimp: ( silent, with head down ) "ummmm . . . " Shelden: "That's what I thought . . lol. Keep the jokes comin' playa."

The question I want to know is . . what team out there is willing to pay Chill upwards of 7 million a year? I see Chill getting a 5 yr - 30 million a year deal that increases incrementally. I'm not a capologist, but that means that next year, he may only be making a little over 5 million. As for Smoove, the same thing may go for him as far as his max deal. He only gets the max, if someone signs him to an offer sheet. I see him as a 5 yr - 60 million a year guy. So that potentially starts him out at around 10.5 - 11 million. I guess this a question that mrH can better answer. If Chill is signed for 5/30 and Smoove is signed for 5/60, what would their 1st year salaries look like?

Quote: I was saying exactly that during the summer and labeled a hater. After all horford is the same size a Zo and Amare so he can be just as good as them. That is what people were saying last summer. You were also making the point that Shelden could do exactly what Horford could do, before the season. I guess people were just mad that you were immeadiately talking down on a guy who played center on a 2-time national champ. Expecting Horford to be a Zo-like scorer, is unrealistic though. Especially when he'd come here and not be the main guy. In Seattle, his scoring numbers might look a little better, but his FG% would be lower. I could see Horford shooting a lot of those 12 - 15 foot jumpers, if he were one of the main scoring options. Quote: You do realize that Bibby shoots a lot right? Where are Horford's shots going to come from when he is on the floor with Bibby, JJ, Marvin and Smith? He will be the distant 5th option. Yes sir, I know Bibby shoots quite a bit. But he can also set up people. Bibby likes to shoot, but he isn't a chucker. He'll pass it to Horford when open, instead of doing like Lue used to do, when he'd dribble the life out of the ball, then shoot the ball. Expect his offensive production to go up a little, not dramatically though. Horford's assist numbers may go up though, because he can now kick it out to Bibby for potential wide open jumpers. Quote: So who should be playing the 4 when Smith isn't in the game? Well right now, that guy is Marvin Williams. We could go with Zaza at the 5 and Horford at the 4, but we can only do that when Zaza isn't playing like garbage. So the alternative is to play Marvin at the 4, and someone like JJ at the 3. So as the team is constructed now, Marvin should play the 4 when Smith isn't in the game, while you keep Horford at the 5. People shouldn't be upset though, because this lineup is set up to run more than ever now. Even if a guy like Solo starts getting spot minutes at the 4, he can run the floor to As long as they get the ball in Bibby's hands most of the time, our running game should look better than ever.

I'm at the club reading this ish. You guys have me rolling. A female asked me what was I laughing at? Easy answer to this question. As the team is comstructed right now, Horford has to play the 5 as much as possible. I truly believe if we had good passing PG, Horford ofensively would be a lot better. We'll see the impact that Bibby has on his game. Defensively, he is solid most nights Most important, the production he gives us at center, isn't significantly different than if he played PF. If he played PF full time, i don't see him being no more than a 13 and 10 guy, because he's not necessarily a polished offensive player. He wasn't the go to guy in college. He was more of the do everything to help the team win guy. That'll probably be the type of NBA player he'll be. I think Horford would be 25% better at PF, than at C. If he played center his entire career, he could still be a goood center. But because of his rawness offensively, I'm not sure if he'll be great if he played PF anyway. Meanwhile, the dropoff with Smoove at SF, is dramatic. Put him at SF, and all of his flaws are exposed. That's not necessarily the case with Horford at center. If Smoove's potential at PF is a 22 and 8 guy, and Horford's potential at C is a 15 and 12 guy, I can definitely live with that combination on the frontline for us. That's the best of both worlds in my opinion.

Quote: Well, Andris Biedrins(The guy many think would come our way) has better numbers than Al right now. I havent seen many Warriors games though, so I cant tell how good or bad he really is. Horford could definitely become a better PF than Josh Smith though, why do you feel he can not?? Also, im not advocating the trade of Smoove, maybe Marv, maybe some other players. I dont know. Plus, if Smoove can post up guys bigger than him at PF, watch how easy it is for him to post up these SFs. Horford might average 15 pts and 12 rebs @ Golden St at the pace they play at. Biendrins scores almost strictly from put backs, lay ups and dunks. As for Smoove scoring on SFs via the post up, look at what happened to him in the Cleveland game. Ira Newble virtually shut him down. The PFs have to respect Smoove's quickness, and he still gets by them at times. He also gets wide open shots at times because of that. SFs try to get right up on Smoove and force him to put the ball on the floor. Guys like Newble, who are strong, can handle Smoove's post up game. I mean, if a guy like Travis Outlaw can easily score on Smoove, it's not a good idea to play him at SF. We're better off using him as a Diaw-like center, than as a SF.

Quote: I think is also make Salim expendable, with supposed to be traded in this deal. I think it's he the one being shopped not Marvin or Smoove like some morons here are saying. After the jason kidd deal is done, I could see a Salim Stoudamire for Dasanga Diop swap. Salim for Diop? LOL . . I wish. That's almost too perfect.

Quote: 1) What the deal with Bibby for this year?? I see he's only played in 15 games and is only averaging 13.5 ppg and 5 assists...Hopefully we can expect a bit more than that...also he is only shooting around 40% from the field (even though his 3 pt % is awesome). What can we expect from him? Is he healthy? I would suspect that he'd average close to 15 ppg and a little over 6 assists here. The big asset with him, is that he's still capable of having big scoring games. If he's still favoring the thumb, we'll definitey know it. He might bot be 100%, but he's close. Defensively is where you should see the difference though. He's more active defensively than both Lue and AJ. He's not Speedy-like defensively, but he's solid. Quote: 2) I am under the impression he is a shoot first PG, but how good of a passer is he? He is definitely a guy that looks fo his offense first, but he does look for his teammates. Bibby will jack up 4 - 6 threes a games. Offesively, as far as his mindset, he plays a lot like how Mookie used to play. Mookie wss more of an assit guy though. Quote: 3) Is he a good penetrator? Does he use penetration to score? No. Will he drive to set people up? Sometimes. Overall though, he's not a penetrating PG for the most part. Quote: 4) I also am under the impression he is a pretty weak defender...Is that right/wrong?? I think that's wrong. He shouldn't be a liability for us defensively, like AJ and Lue were. He's not great, but solid on defense. Quote: 5) Does he go well with a running offense? Is he good at pushing the ball up the court? A running offense is no problem for him. He can play both the running style, or the halfcourt. He and Smoove on the fast break should be interesting. You might see a lob dunk, or even Bibby pull up for a 3. Quote: 6) Where would you rank his overall skill out of all the PG's in the NBA? He's not better than: Nash Billups Paul Arenas Deron Kidd Parker Iverson ( if you consider him a point ) Baron So if he's not in the top 10 PGs, he's cloe.

To Catch a Predator is the scariest, funniest show in TV history. Scary, because it shows just how many wackos there are out there . . and your teenage kids are probably conversing with some of them online . . and don't even know it. And a lot of those guys have careers. Funniest, because all of those men are complete idiots. LOL @ the looks on their faces when they get caught. And Hanson is just so calm, cool, and collective about he whole thing.

A team would have to do what we did with JJ, to get Smoove away from us. The ASG definitely matches any offer for Smoove. It'll be interesting to see if a team even makes an offer for Smoove, because of this. Daly + 1st does not equal or is greater than Smoove. Smoove is rapidly improving as a player and may be at an all-star level next season. The trick for Woody, is finding a defensive big on the cheap, that can help us for 15 minutes a night. That big could also enable Horford to play a little PF in stretches.

Or any big for that matter. Zaza is going to have to step his game up big time now. On those nights in which both Smoove and Al are in foul truble, he's going to have to give us solid minutes. I'd be shocked to see Woody all of a sudden trusting Solo for 10+ minutes a game.

Starters: Bibby JJ Marvin Smoove Horford Bench: Chill Law Zaza with Mario, Solo, and maybe Salim getting spot minutes, but not guaranteed to get time every night. Sub patterns assume no one is in foul trouble in the 1st half. 1st quarter TIMED 6 minute mark substutution: Bibby JJ Chill ( in for Marvin ) Smoove Horford 1st quarter TIMED 3 minute mark substitutions: Law ( in for Bibby ) JJ Chill Marvin ( in for Smoove ) Horford ( Note: Woody likes to give JJ a break right before a quarter ends, so this is the time where Mario MIGHT get into a game. If he does, it will be at less than 2 minutes to go in the 1st quarter ) Start of 2nd quarter TIMED substitutions: Law Chill Marvin Smoove ( in for JJ ) Zaza ( in for Horford ) 2nd quarter SEMI-TIMED 8 - 9 minute mark substitutions: Law JJ ( in for Chill ) Marvin Smoove Zaza 2nd quarter SEMI-TIMED 6 - 7 minute mark substitutions: Bibby ( in for Law ) JJ Chill ( in for Marvin ) Horford ( in for Smoove ) Zaza 2nd quarter SEMI-TIMED 3 minute mark substitutions: Bibby JJ ( once again, this a spot where Mario could play with under 2 to go ) Marvin ( in for Chill ) Smoove Horford ( Mario, Solo, and Law will be used for foul trouble substitutions ) Projected 1st half minutes: Bibby: 15 minutes JJ: 21 minutes Marvin: 18 minutes Smoove: 18 minutes Horford: 18 minutes Chill: 12 minutes Law: 9 minutes Zaza: 9 minutes In a perfect allocation of minutes, you'd like to see our bench give JJ more rest, so that he only have to play 18 or so minutes in the 1st half. That can only be achieved by Law or Chill playing more . . or by the fringe guys like Mario or Salim stepping up in the 3 or so minutes they might get. I'd personally like to see a Bibby - Salim - JJ lineup for a small stretch, just to see if we can stretch the defense out a little. 1st half minutes aren't necessarily reflective of how the rotation will go in the 2nd half. In the 4th, Woody may elect to keep Chill in more than Marvn, if he's playing better that night. It'll be interesting to see who Woody trusts, now that his favorite toy ( Lue ) is gone.

It's all about winning the games we're supposed to win from here on out. No more blowng home games when we're up late or losing road games to real bad or crippled teams. That ish has to stop. If we win 15 - 18 games the rest of the way, we're probably making the playoffs. I know people don't want to see that, because that puts us at 36 - 39 wins, but that is reality. Anything above that, means that this team has some serious momentum heading into the playoffs, and whomever we play better take us seriously. The team to watch, is Philly . . if the Kidd trade finally goes through. They're the team with a lot of momentum now. They're beating the teams they're supposed to beat these days. You would think Jersey will fall, but the Kidd trade might actually make them better. Adding Diop and Harris should make them a lot better defensively. I think I heard something about Washington, that they still have a lot of games vs the West in March and April. So they may fall too. We might have to string together 5 or 6 wins sometime in late March - early April, to solidify a spot. By that time, teams should be tanking, so those games should be a little easier. If they play .500 ball the rest of the way, we're definitely in. It'll be nice though, if they could win 20 or more games to close the year, and have some big time momentum.

Even though they're focusng on the dunk contests of the past, it's great to see some of the highlights of those late 80s Hawks teams. Spud was soooooo fast. He was the Monta Ellis of the 80s. And the clips of the different ways that Nique could score was just incredible. Barkley is right . . Nique got robbed twice in the dunk contest. Spud was great, but won only because he was so little and dunking the ball. And Jordan won only because he was in Chicago. Nique said that his last dunk, the 2-hand windmill tomahawk dunk, was the best dunk he did all night . . . and he got a 45 for that dunk. That left the door open for Jordan to win it with the great free throw dunk. The show is half over, so you've missed the good Hawk stuff. Vince Carter's dunks are coming up.