TheNorthCydeRises

No problems on my end on my Blakjack PDA. 8 million thunbs up to the new look.

I guess Stern calls himself rewarding one of the best teams in the league with another All-Star. Plus, Wallace is a big like Garnett. When I saw that Garnett was missing the all-star game, I thought for a few seconds that the Leprechaun might give Smoove that spot. No chance at that though. If we had a winning record and was on national TV all the time, maybe. But adding Smoove would suggest that the NBA likes us. I guess Bosh gets to start now.

It's a totally different team with him in the lineup, and Shaq out of it. They're getting out and trying to run after every miss or defensive stop . . ala what we "try" to do. And from the jump, they look better defensively. Even Wade looks energized with him there. The Heat looked good in that 1st quarter vs the Lakers. This could actually be some additonal insurance for us to make the playoffs. If they improve enough to beat some of the East teams close to us, it could help our position. We still have to play them 2.0015 times, so they may match up with us a little better now too. Shawn is like a souped up version of Chill. It'll be interesting to see who goes after him in the offseason, and how much they're willing to pay him.

Quote: It does concern me though. Just like the Celts finally woke-up and realize their young talent wasn't as good as they thought. Hawks need to stepback and figure why exactly is this having trouble playing .500 ball this year. Is it Woodson alone,the players alone, or the combo of both? The Celtics were in a little different situation than we are. For one, they have so much history of wnning championships, that it was killing that organization to not even be making the playoffs. Once they lost the chance to get Oden or Durant, Ainge felt he had to do something. Even if it meant selling off the team's future, in order to win in the shot term. The crazy thing, is if they got an Oden or Durant, they probably try to trade Pierce, and build around the draft pick, Jefferson, Telfair, and Green. They have a great history and a very passionate fan base behind them. We have none of that. They also aren't worried about finances to the point that they aren't afraid to literally buy a title. The one move that changes everything for us, would be to acquire Jason Kidd. With the athletic talent we have on this team, he's the one guy who could maximize their abilities. But to get a player like that, we have to give up a talented player from our core, and be willing to spend over the cap. And it's probably not Chill . It's either Marvin, Smoove, Horford or JJ. A move like that may guarantee that we make the playoffs, but it doesn't guarantee anything beyond that. So we may be not only paying just to make the playoffs without possibly getting to the Finals, we may lose a talented player in the process. And we only have Kidd for 2 years at the max. We just have to hope that somehow, the light seems to come on for all of our young guys, like what happened with Portland. I still say the key to our immeadiate future, is the light coming on for Acie. If it came on for him, we would at least have a PG that could do a few more things than what Lue or AJ could do. And it would reduce their playing time.

LOL !! Tell em Gray. Your writing style is unique to the board. Never change that.

Quote: I find the yo yo thing a crazy maker. Actually torturous to us as fans. Build you up just to knock you down. I for one am tired of it. It's a good time to give my attention to college hoops. That's why I try to keep an even keel about the Hawks. The way they play is to be expected. As I've been saying for over 2 months now, this is how .500 teams play. When you think the season is over, they'll pull themselves out of the rut. When you think they've turned the corner, they'll do something to blow a game, and regress a little. The NBA season is way too long to live and die with every game. The Hawks need to survive February by beating most of the average and bad teams. If we could steal a game vs a good team, that'll help things too.

JB, people on here think a minor move solves our problems. That's their problem. Like Ridnour, or Petro, or Candace's brother will make everything OK with this team. If we make a move, make one for a guy that actually has some talent at a need position. At minimum, we have to trade for a guy that could be a starter for most teams. That also means that we're probably going to have to get someone who isn't worth the money he's being paid. But if the guy has actual talent . . At minimum, we have to deal for an Eddy Curry, Andre Miller, Mike Miller type. The low post scoring center is the hardest to find out of that group.

JB, keep preaching. And you"re rightm It's the exact reason why Phoenix pulled the trigger on the Shaq for Marion deal. I would only start Curry against big frontlines. But in a game like this, he could've gotten Yao in early foul trouble. Even lst night, a guy like Curry would've made a huge difference. I'm sure Isaiah would probably want Marvin in any deal for Curry though, which will kill any thought of this happening. Yes, we know he's not going to defend nor rebound, but he woild be a luxury for Woody to go to, when JJ doesn't have it going. Somebody in the media needs to specifically ask the ASG if they're willing to go a little over the cap to try to improve this team. If not, we just have to make whatever we have here now, work.

They'll probably make a run like they always do and cut the laad to 9 . . and lose by 16. Acie did hit one shot. That's one shot better than Chris Paul . . who is 0 - 7 tonight vs Memphis . . . he even picked up a tech at the end of the first half, with Memphis shooting the tech to start the 2nd. So Paul is struggling with his shot too . . . lol . . but he has 15 assists and the Hornets are up by 8.

The great Mario West got some PT tonight. Where's the celebration? Even Acie got more time tonight.

At least we're off to a good start. Woody needs to send everyone but Horford to a Rebounding summer camp. Teach these guys how to properly box out.

Quote: We will likely lose to Detroit Tuesday, and Wednesday we have to play Charlotte, who wants to beat us after a few close games we played them earlier in the year. I don't care that Yao is 7"5. We need Horford and Smoove to smother him every time he gets the ball and hope T-Mac still has the flu. Woodson needs to let Law and Mario and Lorenzen play tonight if we are going to win. Of course, we know that Marvin, Smoove, JJ, and Horford, will all play 37+ minutes. I expect northcyde to reply, saying something like "LOL. Ish, we don't have to worry about beating teams that are better than us. We don't NEED to win games, but winning is nice." LOL . . ish, we don't have to worry about . . . You partially read my mind Mr. Hayley. If we try to smother Yao, their shooters are going to light us up from 3-point range. Make Yao score 30 to beat us, and not double him every time. The one advantage we may have in this game, is the speed of Horford and Smoove. Actually, look for Smoove to go off tonight, seeing how lifeless he was for 3 quarters last night. But as JackB likes to point out, whenever Smoove has a big game, we tend to lose. But as always, a loss tonight doesn't damage us at all. If we lose vs Houston and Detroit, we need to beat Charlotte. If we do that, we'd won 4 of our last 7 games. Personally, I'd love to beat Detroit just one time this season. I'd trade a loss tonigt, for a win vs Detroit next week. Note: Marvin usually shoots well off of a back to back, while JJ struggles mightily. See if that trend holds true tonight.

Quote: It is very bizarre that Woody and BK seem to be on such different pages when it comes to basketball, and yet Woody basically got the job (and is keeping it) because he's BK's buddy. Yet his style does not match the team and he has been very stubborn (or clueless) in not adapting his style to suit the players, and he seems to be making points with some players to say that they are totally useless to him. See Williams, Shelden. Or Stoudamire. Or Solo. Etc... It's almost as if Woody hopes BK can get fired and he can survive, even though such a thing could never happen. BK & Woody's success and survival are so definitely tied together, you'd think they'd have gotten on the same page somewhere along the way. But no such luck for us. Just another fold in the madness of the hawks. I think that as long as we're a playoff seed, Woody is safe for this year. LOL . . yes, that's a weak argument to keep him, but i think that's exactly what is saving him right now. The crazy thing, is that if we'd won that game last night, we could be playing tonight to put us in a tie with Washington for the #6 spot. It would be like a college team thinking about firing a coach whose team might be on the bubble to make the tournament ( the situation Mike Davis found himself in at Indiana ), but probably makes it in more likely than not.

Gray, we have had two blockbuster deals made so far, but hardly any "roster tweaking" type deals. I think what you see going on in this league, are teams trying to either make the perfect deal, or teams reluctant to make a deal that gives up young talent or picks. There are some important questions and/or points that the fans need to know, to gague what the hell this management group has planned: - Has the ASG specifically told BK to NOT go over the salary cap for next year? I say that because if this ownership group is committed to keep Josh Smith no matter what, they may be crunching those types of numbers right now. I think that's the #1 question we need to know. And this question will affect any type of decision that will be made in the next few weeks. - While our expiring contracts are definitely attractive to teams, it really depends on how much and how long a contract we're receiving in return . . and if the team we're trading with wants cap relief AND possibly a good developing player or 1st round pick. For example, I think Eddy Curry could help us. But he's still owed over 30 million for the next 3 years. Teams usually don't trade expiring contracts in exchange for expiring contracts. So if in a deal involving Curry or Andre Miller, do we give up some of our expirings, Marvin Williams and our 2010 1st round pick, just to get Miller for the next 1.5 years or Curry for the next 3 at 10+ million per year? - If the coach thinks that Acie isn't ready to run the team, can we afford to trade either AJ and/or Lue, for a player that isn't a PG? I think the first part of the question is obvious, Woody doesn't trust Law to take over the PG duties. If that's the case, do you still trade AJ, Lue and Wright for a Mike Miller type player? I would. But that means that Acie HAS to be ready to lead immeadiately. If not, we'd have no choice but to play JJ at the point, with Acie resuming his backup PG role. - Are the Hawks looking at going after a guy in free agency, and would rather make a move for a player then, instead of now? Here's a scenario. Say the Hawks are willing to go a little over the cap next, taking the issue of money out of the equation. They let the expiring contracts fall off the books, and plan on not matching any offer regarding Childress. Smoove is matched no matter what. But the two guys the Hawks have targeted are Emeka Okafor and Jose Calderon. And they're willing to give either guy a big money deal ( Okafor 11 - 12 mill a year . . Calderon 8 - 10 mill a year ). Do you wait for them, or do you tweak the lineup now? What if teams don't want Childress as "potential talent" in a deal? A lot of us include Chill in most of our trade deals, because he's the most expendible. But what if the teams we're trying to deal with, don't want him? What if they'll only deal with us, if we're willing to give up Smoove or Marvin? If that's the case, that poses a problem. I think the untouchables right now on this team are JJ, Smoove, Al, and Marvin. None of those guys will be dealt just to balance out the roster. If they are dealt, they will be dealt for a stay type player. * * * * * * * * * * * * I personally think that whatever we do, is going to be a minor one that won't affect our starters at all. It'll be a rookie swap deal, like a Shelden for JJ Redick. Or a deal that brings in a Flip Murray or some other player that might be a little decent, but is buried on someone's bench. Or we trade our 2nd round pick for someone who doesn't play much. It'll be a deal that might get people talking, but it probably won't be significant. I just think that teams, especially in the East, aren't willing to deal with each other, because everybody except Miami is still within striking distance to get in the playoffs. And the West teams are so tight, they're probably looking for talent in a trade, and not cap relief. Even a team like the Clips are probably looking to add talent right now, even though they're out of the playoff picture. I think our only chance, is to find a team out West that can immeadiately use a guy like Chill, and give us a player we can immeadiately use in return. I'll be surprised if the East deals with us..

Quote: Its very tough coming into this league being a big man or a point guard. Which makes what Horford is doing even more incredible. I agree. Quote: Acie is still adjusting and we are all praying he gets it soon. Im still puzzled why Woody has completely given up on Shelden. I would put some serious money on the fact that Woody was in BK's ear telling him he wanted Shelden drafted because of how bad we needed a rebounding and defending big man. Im sure Woody was crying hard for Shel and now he wont even play him over ZaZa who hasnt given us anything but horrible defense and sloppy play on offense. I think if Shel could just get a lttle confidence he could give us alot more than ZaZa. Woody was very willing to play Shelden decent minutes at the beginning of the year. But he's too inconsistent to be trusted. I think the only reason Zaza plays over him, is because he's a bigger body and can be used at center. It's a shame that Chill has more "scrap mentality" in him, than Shelden. I blame the lack of PT he receives on Shelden and his play on the court.

Quote: I concur that thought; I haven't seen Mario make any key mistakes. The moment Mario plays more than Chill, is the day that we're in serious trouble. You guys make it sound like Mario is the difference between wins and losses.

I think part of what went on last night, is that we got down by double digits in that game. Like it or not, Lue is our best scoring PG. Lue can hit tough shots on occasion and knock down the wide open 3. But when he wasn't scoring a lot, and especially when the game got back tight, he should've been out of there. In the 4th qtr, Woody will tend to stay with a particular unit that is playing well.

Wow @ the percentage of his shots being blocked in close range. Wow.

Yi is getting a chance to play major minutes from the start. Skill wise, he's more similar to Detlef than he is to Dirk. He's either goin to have to become much stronger, or a deadeye shooter from 20 ft and out, to even come close to Dirk. A passing PG would help him too. Not Mo "shoot" Williams. Actually, he and Charlie V. have similar type offensive games.

Yi's ceiling as a player, is Detlef Schremph.t At least he's better than Matt Bullard.

In college, Horford's offensive game was the 12 - 18 foot face-up jumper, and the baby hook in the post. He also has a quick spin move when he gets the ball in the post. That's his comfort zone on offense. Taking people off the dribble while facing them up, wasn't part of his game. And even though he may not get pulled for his mistakes, he's still a rookie, and rookies tend to play not to mess up. Especially when surrounded by better and veteran plyers.

But to answer your question, maybe he isn't doing it for the same reason Acie doesn't look to be aggressive on offense himself . . . They're ROOKIES. And rookies tend not to do obvious things at times, for fear of messing up. Smith only learned to do that just last year. If Horford was the best or 2nd best player on the team, he might be more inclined to take more chances and do more things. It's interesting to see how highly critical you are of Al, and not of Acie. Acie was the guy that I thought would have very little problem making the transition to the league.

Here we go again.

I'm an Acie supporter, but you're right DJ, it's all about performance. Acie is just going to have to start making those lay-ups he misses an hit some jumpers on a consistent basis. I wish we could somehow acquire Sam Cassell. If not, they may have to deal with Philly to get Miller.

Quote: When Lue was pounding the ball with 35 seconds left and we were down 3, I screamed at the TV so loudly that my baby woke up. I had a big fight with my wife for that. Needless to say, all the fun I had planned after the game was cancelled. Thank you Lue. LOL . . I was at the game. The entire arena yelled for him to go at that same time. He was out there dribbling the ball like he was at a summer b-ball camp, teaching 9 year olds how to control their dribble.