TheNorthCydeRises

Quote: The things worried about didn't happen. Marvin didn't even dress. Zaza played major minutes. Josh S. still can't hit a shot. Hawks start an undrafted rookie from way down toward the end of the bench. Despite all this, Hawks win!! This looked like the Hawk team we thought we had. (I don't know who that was pretending to be Atlanta Hawks in Chicago) Tonight's game once again shows the importance of having a strong, deep bench. GO HAWKS!!! LOL @ Gray. Thanks for pulling this back up before I got to it. The Hawks are schizophrenic, right along with the fan base. I'm trying to tell these guys to not take every game like it's a life and death situation. We can beat anybody . . or lose to anybody . . on any court. Until the Hawks lose 6 in a row, or win 6 in a row, I don't think anyone can say that we're a bad, nor a good team. If Chris Paul lights us up Friday night, a lot of people will start whining and crying again about this team . . and about the Marvin selection over Paul. Oh well . . that's life on Hawksquawk.

Quote: Whatever, you obviously have not seen many of his games. He is a rookie don't forget but he not a Matt Bullard. He had an off game tonight but he is already a really good player. He has a nice all around game that is going to improve with experience. Yi is a shooter. Matt Bullard was a shooter. Yi has the "potential" ( there's that word that all Hawks fans love ) to be a Detlef Schremph type player. But right now, he's an athletic, better rebounding version of Matt Bullard

Right now, Yi is an athletic Matt Bullard.

Quote: Quote: ZaZa played very well the 2nd half. Please explain the Zaza, Childres, Johnson, johnson, Lue line up in the second half. Shelden & Horford played o.k. in the first half! Good lord Peoria. During that time, Milwaukee went super small. ZaZa scored 14 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and got to the line 6 times . . and people are MAD at that? This fan base is more schizophrenic than the actual Hawks team.

Quote: Glad to see Horford did something apparently to get him benched for nearly the entire second half in favor of All-NBA C Zaza Pachulia. ZaZa played very well the 2nd half.

Need to hold the Bucks to under 23 points this quarter. We don't need a defensive letdown for one quarter, like we had last night.

Smoove with 7 assists. See, this is what I was telling you guys last night about AK47. He's changed his game up this year in that he's their 2nd playmaker, instead of trying to look to score all the time. Smoove has the ability to do just that. I think, if he put his mind to it, he could average 5 - 6 assists a game. He has a better chance at doing that, than becoming an efficient scorer.

Bucks right back in the game. (( handing the Hawks their schizophrenia medicine ))

JJ is getting some big time rest right now, because we're playing well on both ends of the floor. NIce to see.

Looks like JJ and Redd have their "superstar" icons activated tonight.

Quote: I wonder who we can find to shoot Marvin's share of the shots?? I bet you Smoove and Salim can answer that for you. Interesting to see Mario West in the starting lineup tonight. And he's ballin' too.

LOL ( my bad for laughing ), but I saw this on my cellphone this morning. Here's the thing Baller. I'm not going into panic mode about this team, until 1) I see that we still struggle with Acie in the lineup, and 2) we start losing at an unacceptable rate. I said at the beginning of the season, that the Hawks needed to have at least 6 - 7 wins at the end of the month. And to me, it didn't matter which 6 or 7 games we won, just as long as we got to that mark by December 1st. If we get that, I'm cool. The problem though, is that we came out the gate looking like a world beater, when we took out Dallas and Phoenix. That elevated expectations beyond belief here, and even amongst the major sportswriters. So it always seems worse, when we lose games to teams like Seattle and Chicago, who can't seem to beat anybody. We're 5 - 8 right now, and because of how we played last night, 75% of the fan base expects us to lose tonight. Well, this was the same thought most everyone had after the San Antonio loss. What do we do? We beat Miami. Then we beat the T-Wolves in a game we definitely should've lost. Both were ugly games, but they count as wins in the win column. This fan base should stop expecting the Hawks to "bring it" every night, and expect them to be "schizophrenic" every night. We truly don't know which Hawk team will show up on a nightly basis. I mean, what happens if we win 2 in a row? We're 7 - 8. If we lose 2 in a row, we're 5 - 10. If we split, we're 6 - 9. If we fall to 5 - 10, I won't mind Woody getting the axe one bit. The crazy thing about the East, is that only 5 teams have records above .500 . . . five. Everybody else is just a schizophrenic as we are. We're nowhere near being a good team yet. We might play well on occasion, but we can't sustain it right now. Here's something to look at though. We play 9 of our next 12, and 15 of our next 22 games at home. The season will probably be made or broken during this time. If we take care of business at home, people will definitely be talking about us, come February. If we don't win at least 1/2 of these games, Woody probably should be shown the door and at least a few trades talked about. If we can't make a major move in the standings in December and early January, we're looking at 2 Armageddon asteroid type road trips in late January and in February, that can kill the season. During that time, we'd have to play 14 out of 20 games on the road. So let's see if the Hawks can make that move in these upcoming home games. The name of the game for November, was survival. If we can win at least one of these next two games, I'll chalk that up as surviving November.

Quote: Quote: We score 21 points in the 3rd quarter, but get outscored by 15 points in the quarter. We had our best offensive output in that 3rd quarter, yet, we were down 19 at the end of the quarter. Our best offensive quarter was in the 4th when we scored 27. Unless you think 21 is greater than 27? We held the Bulls to 90 points and a fg% of 39.3. That is not far from being Piston/Spurs like. Our problems tonight were: Rebounding Shooting Turnovers Rebounding is related to defense. Turnovers and shooting are directly related to offense. We sucked tonight in those three categories, but holding the opposing team to 90 pts and 39% fg shooting should get you a win more times than not in the NBA. I should've said . . "up to that point, it was our best offensive quarter". I know that we scored 27 in the 4th, but the game was pretty much over by the start of that quarter. I'm sorry I didn't make that more clear. I agree with you about the offense in general. But once we saw that this game was going to be low scoring, it turns into a defensive battle. Think of it as if this were an NFL game, in which a good offense is stymied by their own mistakes, and their opponent's defense. Once that happens, you tend to change up the gameplan a bit, and try not to make that critical mistake, and win the game at the end. That's what the Steelers did last night to the Dolphins, on that horrible field. The Bulls score 34 points in the first half, but because of the horrible offense, we're down, but only down 4, because of the defense. Then they turn around and score 36 points in the 3rd quarter alone, while our offense picked up a little bit overall. And you don't think the defense let us down right there? This game should've played out exactly like the Miami game did, with the Hawks being in relative striking distance the entire way. Instead, the Bulls hit 6 of their first 7 shots in that quarter, and extended that lead to 13 by the 7:30 mark in that quarter. The little run in the 4th quarter that we made, when Salim was in the game, may have been enough to get us right back in the game, had we stayed solid defensively in the 3rd. Instead, that run cut a 21 point lead, down to 14 . . instead of an 11 point lead, down to 4. With a halftime score of 34 - 30, it should've been a grind it out game, in which the first to 75 points, wins the game. Even though holding the Bulls overall to 39% FG and 90 points is normally damn good . . tonight it was bad, because the Bulls were shooting sub 30% FG and only had 34 points at the half. We should've held them to 70 - 75 points, and had a chance to win at the end.

Both teams shot 39% FG. Bulls made 5 threes ( 15 points ) . . we made 4 ( 12 points ). We made 5 more free throws than they did. ( 20 to 15 ) We win . . by 2, right? LOL . . wrong !! Hawks had 68 shot attempts . . Bulls had 89 shot attempts Hawks make 27 shots . . Bulls make 35 shots I'm sure those extra 21 shots the Bulls got, because of offensive rebounds and forcing turnovers, really helped them tonight. Yes, I agree the offense was bad. But they were bad too. So it came down to who could play better defense during a certain period of the game . . and who could continue to hit the boards. And they won both of those battles.

Quote: Quote: LOL . . we even shot 7 - 13 FG in that quarter. You are kidding me! We scored 14 pts from the field in one quarter! Hell with offensive output like that the Suns should be trembling in their shoes! Dude we flat out sucked! No excuses on either end. Our defense did not lose this one; its the only reason they only beat us by 12. The Bulls should have beaten us by 20 easily. The damn Pistons could not have won this game with their D if they put up these same numbers across the stat sheet. LOL . . we had scored 17 and 13 points in the first 2 quarters . . and was getting killed on the boards. Yet, we were only down 4 at the half. We score 21 points in the 3rd quarter, but get outscored by 15 points in the quarter. We had our best offensive output in that 3rd quarter, yet, we were down 19 at the end of the quarter. Why do you think that is? Even if we'd scored 30 points in the 3rd quarter, we'd still have been down 10 points to start the fourth. Why?

Quote: We scored how many points in the first half? That is called terrible offense no matter how you want to spin it. Quote: Our offense was definitely terrible, but we lost that game in the 3rd, when we didn't play defense, nor secure the boards. This might just be a difference in what I call defense and you call defense. I make a distinction between defense and rebounding, you can play great defense but then not get a rebound and I say that does not take away from great defense at all. We had a horrible rebounding quarter in the 3rd, not a horrible defensive quarter. That is just how I define it, I don't know how you define defense so we could just be arguing definitions unless you think we played bad defense in the way I define defense. No sir, we had a horrible defensive quarter because not only did they shoot 50% FG, they got extra possessions to score via offensive rebounds. Defense and rebounding go hand in hand. That's the reason why San Antonio is viewed as the best defensive team in the league. Not only can they make you shoot a low percentage from the field, they also prevent you from getting extra possessions by securing rebounds. If we'd just played solid defense that 3rd quarter, this would've been one of those "first to 75 points wins the game" type of games. But when you're in one of those types of games, you can't afford to have defensive breakdowns. We scored 47 points in the 2nd half. The Bulls scored 56. We had 37 TOTAL rebounds . . they had 36 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS alone. 60 total. Which means they were +23 in rebounding When you fail to defend and rebound, you will always lose . . unless you have a Phoenix-type offense. And even then, they have to shoot a very high percentage, to overcome their rebounding and defensive woes. LOL @ 36 offensive rebounds. Like Horford said after the game: "We weren't blocking out," said the Hawks' Al Horford, who had 14 rebounds. "That's the thing you can blame it on. You have to be able to hit bodies."

Quote: Yeah I know, I really hate when people say that having a good defense will lead to having a good offense, because it's not true, AT ALL. It doesn't matter what kind of D you play if you can't run any kind of offense on the other end. I really haven't been disappointed in our defense much at all this year, it's our offense (again) that sucks. You guys do realize that we got outscored 36 to 21 in the 3rd quarter right? Our lack of DEFENSE in the 3rd quarter, combined with the turnovers, lost the game for us tonight. We were only down 4 at halftime. But after that quarter, we were down 19. LOL . . we even shot 7 - 13 FG in that quarter. The Bulls? They went 13 - 26 FG. But most important, the Bulls stretched the lead out, by playing great defense, and attacking the basket on offense. Defense keeps you in games when you suck on offense. If you play halfway decent offense, the defense can win a game. But as soon as you start playing bad defense, look what happens. A great defense will almost always beat a great offense. Our offense was definitely terrible, but we lost that game in the 3rd, when we didn't play defense, nor secure the boards.

Quote: Maybe I'm trying to stay in my dreamland where Josh becomes a bigtime star...but Josh is notoriously a slow starter offensively. Every year he's been in the league he shoots under 40% in November...and by the end of the year he's found his rhythm. And yes, I know that the schedule starts in November. I just don't want to give away a guy who (I may get flammed for this) has a skill set that no one else in the league has (not saying that he's the most talented player...just easily one of the most unique). The problem with this statement ( and I read where Walter was making kind of the same point over Thanksgiving ), is that in those past 3 years, Smoove was playing SF . . not PF. Even last year, when he was supposed to start at PF, he started at SF because of Marvin's injury. We CANNOT have our starting PF shooting below 40%, and expect him to be the 2nd option in this offense. Hell, we really can't have him shooting below 45%. The main problem with Smoove taking jumpers, is that he's away from the basket, thus, he can't get any offensive rebounds. If 6 of his shots were transferred over to Marvin of JJ, ( or Law when he comes back ) he might have 6 extra opportunites to get an offensive rebound that he can put right back in the hole. But he absolutely loves the perimeter. And it kills this team on nights where he, and Marvin or JJ don't have it going. More than anything else, we need his rebounding on both ends of the floor. There's no excuse for him not to be averaging close to 10 rebounds a game. NO . . we shouldn't trade him. LOL @ his stat line: 12 points ( 2 - 14 FG . . 7 - 10 FT ) 7 rebounds 4 assists 6 blocks only 1 turnover I mean, damn. If it wasn't for the 12 missed shots, that's a pretty dang good game for him. But the rebounding number should've been much higher, especially considering how cold Chicago was from the field in the 1st half. But like I said . . . what can Woody do, if Shelden and ZaZa is playing like crap, and won't mix it up as well? 1 rebound total between them in 13 total minutes. He's almost forced to play Smoove, or either start Chill, and go with Marvin or Solomon at the 4. You definitely don't trade Smoove right now though. You reduce his role in the offense. Then possibly send him to the bench, and see if that will straighten him out. If he plays well off the bench, give him his 30 - 35 minutes a game. If he's playing stupid, reduce him to 20. I've been telling you guys for a while now, that this is the exact same thing that Kirilenko was going through last year in Utah. Jerry Sloan had to get in his azz a little . . well, a lot. It got to the point to where AK was sulking about his role, but the team was still winning. This year, AK has reduced the number of shots he's taking, but become a much more efficient player. He's their 2nd best passer at over 5 assists a game. He's almost doubled his assist rate this season, compared to last. I think Smoove could possibly become that 2nd faciliator in the offense, if he looked to set up people more, instead of settling for that open shot that everyone is giving him. But until someone else proves that they can play halfway decent at the 4 with Smoove out the game, we're kind of stuck living and dying with Smoove.

Quote: Quote: Woody is the coach. He can sit him down. Absolutely. To me, this is the biggest mystery about the Hawks right now. Why won't Woody park him on the bench until Smoove gets the message? It just makes no sense. And who should play when Smoove sits down? I mean, the only alternative we have right now, is to play Marvin at the 4. Because Shelden and ZaZa are giving us squat right now. So it's either Marvin at the 4, or let Solomon come in and hack everybody.

Awww . . . Bulls got to 88 first . . and Woody throws up the white flag with JJ out. OK . . we might lose by 24 now.

Quote: Hawks down 14. LMAO @ this team. Gotta love em. Hawks were down 76 - 53 at the time Salim entered the game. Since then . . . 16 - 7 run by ATL . . in a 5 minute span. Looks like we might lose by about 5 or 6, at that pace.

Woody must hate Salim forreal.

LOL @ Woody . . . NOW he puts Salim in? and he comes in gunning ((( POW ))) . . a 3 already.

Quote: Quote: 88 points wins this game. Remember that number. Then we only need to score 27 this quarter. Actually, we need to score 37

Quote: WOW . . JJ got a tech? Please tell me it was illegal defense, and not him going off on an official? NOt JJ . . lol. Oh . . he was shooting the tech. I was about to say.