TheNorthCydeRises

Quote: Ah, so Dirk gets the calls when he isnt touched, but our guys dont when we are hacked???? Gotcha! I'm surprised Smoove didn't get a tech when he complained after he got hacked. In an evenly called game, we'd be down by 8. Instead, we're down by 18. Oh well. If it's a blowout in the 4th, I want an extended look at Acie at the point.

This year, the Hawks have had a knack for coming out strong after halftime, in the games they've been down in. The defensive intensity usually goes way up. LOL . the opposite tends to happen when we're up. Great defense + someone coming out hot, will get us back in the game. If not, sit JJ the entire 4th quarter and fight another day.

I love watching this team because they are mentally tough. Evn when they eff up, they still play hard and try to regain focus. If we're under 10 at the half, we'll make a run and make this a very interesting game in the 4th.

This move puts Philly in better position to go after those 4th year restricted free agents that didn't sign extensions. That includes Josh Smith. It'll be interesting to see if they go for a rising star like Smoove to pair with Iggy ( whom they also have to re-sign ), or go after 2 solid players on the level of Childress and a Jose Calderon. They might be better off going that route.

Quote: I guess this is talking bad about Joe Quote: Why is Joe taking all of those D_mn Shots???? Marvin, Horfort & Smith are 14-18 from the field and Joe is taking all of the shots!!! This is what bugs me about Joe Johnson. I'm sorry, I'll never question a Joe Johnson decision again on this board since I detect some sensitivity! I'm just saying man. There's a mountain of evidece against you, when it comes to JJ. In that particular game, you were critcizing JJ for not passing, even though most of his misses that half, were shots he normally knocks down. And he had 5 assists that half as well, so it wasn't like he wasn't passing the ball. I was going to post a thread on here right after the Detroit loss, that took a look at JJ's shooting in the first 21 games of this year and the first 21 games of last year. I was going to break his shooting games into 5 categories: 50% + shooting 45% - less than 50% shooting 40% - less than 45% shooting 35% - less than 40% shooting and less than 35% shooting I don't have all the data in front of me, but I do remember some key findings. JJ had 4 games in which he shot 50% or over this year. Last year in Nov/Dec, he had 13 games in which he shot over .500, which is flat out incredible for a jumpshooter. He also had 4 games in which he shot less than 35% this year. Last year at this time, he only had 1 game like that. The big difference between JJ this year and JJ last year, is that this year, he's had a ton of games in which he shot between 38% - 42% FG. That's your typical 8 - 21 . . . 10 - 23 . . . 7 - 18 type shootng games. Last year, those games would've been 11 - 21 . . . 12 - 23 . . . 8 - 18 shooting games. I think the fan base had been spoiled by JJ's superman shooting last year. Most guards who have to create their own jumper, do great to shoot 44% - 45%. Most of your guards who create their own shot, routnely shoot in the low-40% range. So for JJ to shoot 47% last year, was absolutey ridiculous. This year, he just shot like an average shooter, until like the past 6 games. And go check his Nov - Dec numbers. There really isn't much difference in his numbers across the board. It's just that he's recently starting to become the steady mid-40% shooting version JJ of last year, instead of the stready low-40% shooting version JJ of this year. All he needed was time to break out of his slump.

LOL . . you were talking bad about him last week. Be careful Peoria. Don't proclaim your innocence like Roger Clemens, knowing that you might be guilty of being a JJ hater.

Quote: How do we have a best commentator thread with no mention of Hubie Brown? He's the greatest ever. No dispute. If you want to learn basketball, listen to Hubie. Totally agree. I can listen to a Hubie broadcast all day. Hubie explains the game so clear, that even a 10 year old could understand what he is talking about. Kevin Harlan is vastly underrated in my opinion. I think he's the best play-by-play guy right now. Gus Johnson is good to, but I think he's best when he does a college game.

Quote: Lue will get some time but not a lot. We need another 3 pt shooter. And that's why he'll get a lot of time, especially if he's shooting well. Lue is that other 3pt shooter.

Can't have both ways. You can't want JJ to play less minutes, so he won't get worn out toward the end of the season, but also want to keep T-Lue out the game at the same time. If you want to get JJ rest, T-Lue has to play.

The Closer will definitely play. He'll take about 5 minutes away from AJ, and maybe 5 minutes from Acie at the PG spot. And you'll definitely see the Law - Lue or the AJ - Lue backcourt. Lue will play the point, and also serve as the offensive alternative at the 2 when JJ takes a breather. It's just that now, we don't have to leave him in if he's not shooting well. Don't forget guys, he was pretty big in the first Dallas game.

Question: Who are the teams ranked ahead of us in this category?

Quote: I am expecting a loss at Dallas. We have at Cleveland and at Indy after that, followed by a nice home stand. I am hoping we can come out of these three road games with 2 wins. Would be nice to come home with 2 more wins. The 5 home games are all winnable games. Best case scenario: 6-2. Worst case: 4-4. 6 - 2 will put us at 21 - 14. That could easily have us either tied or leading the Southeast. If JJ doesn't have a sub-40% shooting game, we'll at least be there at the end of both the Cleveland and Dallas game. I think Barkley is the one that always says that role players play better at home, than on the road. JJ may have to put up superstar numbers like he did in the Indy game, to pull both of those games out. And we may need either Smoove or Marvin to elevate their games as well. The one thing that we must do, is rebound. Can't afford to give up a ton of offensive rebounds when you're on the road. I'd be shocked to see the entire team play solid ball in Dallas and Cleveland. If they do, this team may be A LOT better than we all realize.

They just showed a stat about JT. In the past 2 games, he's not even averaging 6 ppg and is shooting 13% FG. Dallas might be ripe for the taking on Saturday. Smoove constantly attacked Dirk in the opener and made him play on both ends of the floor. Hawks just need to keep it within striking distance by halftime, then see what happens.

One of the major complaints about Woody from some of you, is how he doesn't stress for the Hawks to go 2 for 1 at the end of periods. For some of our younger fans, going 2 for 1 means that you try to get 2 possessions at the end of the quarter, by taking a quick shot on your first possession, so you can take another shot on your 2nd possession. Say there's 40 seconds left in the 3rd quarter and the Hawks have the ball. If you want one more possession before the quarter ends, you'd have to shoot the ball early enough in the shot clock to make sure you get the ball back after your opponent shoots. It'll probably be best to take the shot before the 30 second mark to make sure you could get the ball back with at least 5 - 8 seconds left to get another shot at the end. Sounds like a good plan right? Well, I've always thought going 2 for 1 was overrated. The reason why I say this, is because the team trying to go 2 for 1 routinely takes a HORRIBLE shot, just to shoot the ball early enough to get the ball back. Then, by the time they get the ball back, they have to take another rushed shot just to get the shot off before the quarter ended. That's exactly what happened in this Celtics - Sonics game tonight on TNT. Sonics have the ball with like 36 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Delonte West races down the floor for Seattle, looking to get a 2 for 1. TNT announcer Doug Collins, who was also a former player and coach, mentions that they can get a 2 for 1 right here. He throws up a horrible shot that barely hits the rim. Celtics go down and miss their shot. Seattle gets the rebound, but there is only like 2 seconds left to shoot. Seattle throws up a 3/4 court shot that falls short. Woody gets criticized all the time for not instructing the Hawks to go 2 for 1 at the end of quarters. In a situation like the one Seattle was in tonight, Woody would've preferred for the Hawks to play for a good shot, even if it meant sacrificing a chance for the 2 for 1. I'd love to see a stat or study on how successful teams are when they go 2 for 1. I even e-mailed the guys at 82games.com to see if they could study this back before the season started. I bet the success/number of points scored, are a lot lower than what people think it is. To me, it's like going for 2 in a football game in the 2nd quarter, when you're down 14 - 12. Ever hear about that "coaches chart" for when to go for 2? The success rate of going for 2 in football is low. Just kick the extra point and make it 14 - 13. And in basketball, teams should just run their offense, and get a quality shot, instead of worrying about getting 2 shots.

So who are the good teams in the NBA? Name them all.

Quote: did anybody else see seldon williams start to dominate the paint last night. there were a couple times where he just bullied everyone else and got a putback. then again candace parker was in the building. she must be the anti-jessica simpson:) I can see Candace now . . . "See baby, you gotta put your azz on your man when boxing out . . like this" . . . (( Candace demonstrating the technique on Shelden )) . . . "then you fling that arm around, and clear him out." Shelden would be like . . "umm, could you show me that again, especially the azz part?" I think the Vols play Gonzaga in Knoxville on Saturday. I'm seriously thinking about seeing that game. If I see Candace, I'll tell her thank you, for working with Shelden during the holidays.

LOL @ GoDawgs. That thread is classic. You and Sothron going back and forth was hilarious. LOL @ Walter's idiotic post about a room full of African-Americans, not being diverse. So say we have 5 Afrcan-Americans in a room, ages 18 - 22. - one is a 20 year old black female college student, wanting to become a doctor - one is an 18 year old male street thug - one is a male 22 year old male who recenty got his degree in electrical egineering - one is a 19 year old female who has one child and is receiving governmet assistance. - and one is a 21 year old female who already owns her own business as a hair stylist. The ONLY common denominator in this scenario, is that they're all African-American. But in no way, shape, and form are they the same. This is a very diverse group. Just like all the forwards on the Hawks. - JJ is the playmaker who can do it all - Marvin is the deadeye jumpshooter - Smoove is the athletic freak of nature defender - Chill is the relentless slasher and energizer Technically, all are SFs. But neither are anything alike.

Quote: Wretch, you're not looking hard enough. JJ is that guy. He dominates the game period. Even when he's not scoring, he can do other things to make the team better. Recently, Johnson & Johnson has been ripping other teams defenses because for a long time, JJ had nobody consistent to throw it to. Now, JJ has a few people... AJ, MW, and on occassions even Smoove. Everything is keyed off of JJ. He might not wake up until the 4th, but when he wakes up, he's got the best midrange game in basketball. He doesn't have the charisma of a Lebron or the outspokeness of a Kobe... but for us, JJ is our dominate player. I say we start calling Joe Hypertension. Because he's the Silent Killer on this team!! LOL @ Hypertension. I like that. Ex, I guess you and I are the only ones that are really fans off JJ, and can really see how he makes everyone else better on this team. That guy accounted for almost 50 points last night via points and assists, yet, some STILL don't realize just how good this guy is. Even the play he made last night on Smoove's 3 pointer, was set up all the way by JJ. Smoove knew he was goin to get the ball, just in the way that JJ was slowly drifting away when that weak double team came. He's driftng away, looking at the shot clock the entire time. Then he whips the ball to Smoove, who is already set to shoot the 3. Smoove calmly knocks the shot down, even with a man running at him. And the entire play was set up by JJ. When JJ starts to go off, I like to call him "Joe-zilla". He's like Godzillla wreaking havoc on Tokyo when he's on. But I like hypertension better.

Quote: Back when I used to argue/namecall/posture about our beloved Hawks, someone brought up a point - that we build our team like the Pistons. Naturally, I scoffed at the idea of a halfcourt, non-superstar led, plodding defensive team... I can't remember who it was, but dude may have been right. When you look at our squad, is there really a guy on that superstar level? Do we really have that one guy that is amazingly special? We've got REALLY good players - guys that can get things done all over the court. But I don't see that one guy on our team that just dominates. I love JJ and he is as clutch as they come. The secret to JJ though is not that he's so gifted. Guy is simply a workhorse. He's a talented, strong, smart player who takes good shots. He doesn't dominate the game the way a superstar does, he is just SO good at letting the game come to him. Really, all of our players are like that. And on any given night, anyone will step up and hit shots for us. Reminds me of the Pistons. Are any of those guys individually THAT good? No... IMHO, they're all just pretty damn good and when they play unselfish, they can beat anybody. Sound familiar? Yes, we are a HELL of a lot more atheletic. But factor in our defense, the way we rebound...and it makes you wonder. Is that our identity we've been looking for? A few people on this board have made the Pistons comparison over the past few years. I made it recently, when a lot of people were wondering why we weren't running more. A big deal was made about the pace that we were playing. I stated that we resemble the Pistons, more than any other team in the league, and that we were built like them from the jump. There's no way we could transform into a running team, without a point guard that could run the team at that pace. And without a decent low post player, we'd have to win games because of defense instead of by running. Our athleticism is more of a defensive asset, than an offensive running asset. If you want to make player comparisons . . . JJ = Billups: He's the guy that runs the show and will usually take the big shots. Marvin = Rip: The jumpshooter on the team that kills you from midrange Smoove = Rasheed: The "wild card" of each team that can play at elite levels on both ends of the floor at times. Also makes questonable decisions at times on both ends of the floor. Chill = Tayshawn: Similar type games as far as the way they attack the basket. Not afraid to mix it up inside. Horford = McDyess: Serves as the anchor in the middle to help out Smoove/Rasheed. Can rebound, defend, and hit the 15 foot jumper. AJ = Lindsey Hunter: Veteran PG that knows how to play. Not afraid to mix it up defensively and will knock down the open 3. Shelden = Maxiell: LOL, I wish, but that should be who he should play like coming off the bench. Last night, he did just that. As a defensive group, the Pistons length bothers people tremendously. People also say the same thing about the Hawks. For the mot part, the Pistons don't give up too many easy shots. We're slowly getting to that point. The 2 big differences between us and them, are Rasheed's ability to score in the post, and their overall experience. And when they get their rookie Rodney Stuckey back up to speed, they might become impossible to beat.

Quote: But I will give us one thing that I noticed last night. JJ is like an uninjured Steve Smith. He's got the strength to dominate the little guys. He's got the smooth to score over everybody else. He just needs to continue to build the smarts to know where everybody else is supposed to be!! The one thing that Smitty had/has on JJ is that everytime Smitty matched up with Somebody, he knew what he had to do to beat him. I'll never forget PTL vs. LAL in the playoffs. Smitty abused Kobe because Kobe was a young fella. Smitty knew the young fella was easy to post up. Once JJ gets to that point where he has a book on everybody, we will be the most dangerous team in the league. 11 assists would suggest that he knows where everybody is supposed to be. An uninjured Steve Smith? More like a less athletic Clyde Drexler.

Yep, we've played them 3 times already. I think Stern and the NBA purposely tried to take us out with that schedule. That schedule to start the season was definitely unfair for any team, let alone the Hawks. Damn schedule makers were probably lauging their heads off, composing the schedule. We're getting the last laugh.

Whati if we'd won the 3 games we had no business losing? ( 1st Washington game, Seattle, and Chicago ). We'd be sitting at 18 - 9, and tops in the Southeast. Even with just one of those 3 games, we're 16 - 11. ESPN Radio did a segment about 2 hours ago, in which they evaulated a few NBA teams. The question was: are they better, worst, or right what they record says they are. They said Phoenix and Boston were worst, while the Hawks are right what our record says. Their reasoning was that we'd more than likely stay close to the .500 mark, because a lot of the teams in the East wll do the same. 9 of our wins are against the "M-teams" and Charlotte. A case can be made that we're beating up on the horribe teams. But good teams do just that. It's the schizophrenic teams that would post a 5 - 5 record against those teams, instead of the 9 - 1 record we've posted. If we lose to Dallas on Saturday, that would make the Hawks 12 - 6 in their last 18 games. That's a 67% winning percentage. Play like that the rest of the year, and we'd have a 52 - 30 record. But say we only win 10 out of every 18 games from here on out. That will put the Hawks around 46 - 36. I think I said 45 wins before te season. So that pace even exceeds my expectations. Gotta love it.

Quote: Quote: Decisive losses to Detroit ( twice ), Boston, and San Antonio. Beat Phoenix, Dallas, and Orlando. How quickly we forget the "phantom foul" called on Marvin against Chauncey. That was certainly NOT a decisive loss. Subtract one. That loss burns in my gut. How do you ont remember that? How quickly you forget that we've played Detroit 3 times.

This team just has to avoid the killer losing streak or stretch. As long as we do that, we're going to be fine the entire year. Going into this month, I thought the most we could hope for, was a 15 - 13 record going into January. I would've definitely been happy with a 13 - 15 record. To even have a shot at that 16th win, is impressive as hell in my book. The great thing about our positon, is that the teams behind us amost have no chance of beating the good squads in this league, unless they play great offensively. We're winning more with defense, than offense. And average teams that win with defense, have a much greater chance of continuing to win, than those average teams that win with offense. Mini road stretch coming up for the Hawks. Let's see if they can steal two or three of these road games, and keep their heads over .500 Good lord @ Beyonce on this DirecTV commercial. And people says shes "overrated". "Overrated" like Tom Brady I guess.

Are we good? Hmmmmm . . . let's see. Good teams normally play defense. We've been doing that all year for the most part. Another good defenive performance tonight. Good teams consistenly beat bad teams. Hawks are 7 - 1 against the "M-teams" vs Memphis, Minnesota, Miami, and Milwaukee. Bad losses vs Washington, Seattle and Chicago when those teams were playing bad. Good teams can at least hang with other good teams, and even beat them on occasion. Decisive losses to Detroit ( twice ), Boston, and San Antonio. Beat Phoenix, Dallas, and Orlando. Good teams take care of business at home. 10 - 6 home record. Only Celtics and Pistons have better home records in the east. Good teams can win at least 1/2 of their games on the road 5 - 6 road record. 2 losses to Detroit and one loss @ Boston among the 6 road losses. Good teams avoid long losing streaks and stretches, while putting together long winning streaks and stretches. Hawks longest losing streak is 3 games. Longest losing stretch is 2 - 7 ( right after the opening night win vs Dallas ). Longest winning streak is te current 5 game streak. Longest winning streak is the current 12 - 5 stretch ( which began with the comeback win @ Miami ) Yeah, we're good. We won't know how good, until we go on that first west coast road trip in January.