TheNorthCydeRises

Quote: Quote: Quote: No it's not DH....it is absolutely a failing of management. WTF - we have had draft picks out the ---- becuase we have sucked (record-wise) and all we have in the clutch is Freije? C'mon man - it's phookin ridiculous. You are just trying to aggravate people right? You are not serious I hope. Serious?...did you see Matt last night? I came from a military family and my Dad always told me the quote from Robert E. Lee..."ametuers think about tactics - professionals think about logistics" We obviously have screwed up as far as logistics - meaning having reasonable backups when we need them. LMAO !! You need to be in a comedy club or something. If anything, fault Woody for playing the Deep Freij 22 minites last night. When this team is at full strength, Freije is at best the 11th man on this team. No team expects the 11th man to be a key contributor to a team. But when 3 of your SFs are out, and your only other alternative is to play JJ at the 3 ( which would force him to guard LeBron, plus be the main scorer on the offensive end ), you can't blame management for that. Woody went with the Deep Freij, hoping he could provide some offense, and the move backfired. Don't be surprised if Freije is cut as soon as Childress is healthy. LOL @ not having reasonable backups when we need them.

Frankly, I think a lot of you guys were scared of the Shelden pick because some of you truly believed the hype that guys like Roy or Foye were the 2nd coming of Jordan and D-Wade. Both of those guys still may be very good pros, so the jury is still out on them. But it's pretty obvious that the NBA scouts were dead on about Shelden. "He's the most NBA ready player in the draft." And one of the reoccuring points that I made over the summer, is that a lot of you STILL weren't sold on JJ becoming a potential superstar player for this team. And even further, a lot of you didn't trust the kids to improve their overall games ( Smoove, Marvin, and especially Childress ). Because if you truly believed that JJ would be a star player, then there was no justification for taking Roy or Foye, and try to play them out of position. This team desperately needed help on the interior MORE than they needed a PG or a floor leader. I loved the Shelden pick and had no problem taking him where we did. And I'd seen about 4 South Florida games last year to know that Solomon Jones was a Keon Clark clone. Keon played almost the same type of game Solomon did while at UNLV. And he was a good energy guy to bring off the bench during his 5 or so years in the NBA. So it doesn't surprise me one bit that Solomon can step into an NBA game for 10 minutes or so, and grab a few boards, score a few points, and provide a spark on the defensive end with his shot blocking. We're 6 - 7 . . which could EASILY be 9 - 4 right now. - Marvin has been out the entire season - Speedy isn't close to being right - Chill has been hurt the past 6 games And not only are we still competitive, we have a dang good shot to win EVERY NIGHT. And we're not even close to full strength yet. And a big part of the reason why we're in the position we're in right now, is because of the defense that this team plays on a nightly basis. If we can survive December, the East better watch out for us.

The teams that tend to be patient, are the teams that didn't have a superstar on their team. I played on a high school team that pretty much had equal talent, so we all shared the ball at times. But when you have a superstar talent on your team, the coach tends to just put the ball in that kid's hands, and let him go at people. That's why you see a lot of these kids that came straight from HS to the NBA, trying to do everything themselves, instead of working within a team structure. In high school, a superstar player is far and away ( on most nights ) easily the best player on the floor. In college, the talent level is a little closer, so even the superstar player has to learn how to play within a team structure. This is why most of your 3 - 4 year players in college turn out to be decent pros. But most of those guys don't have "superstar" talent level, so their games really don't drastically improve much, in most cases . . not all, but in most cases. But the NBA game is predicated on beating your man in one or two man situations. And the 24 second shot clock isn't really favorable to a lot of ball movement to find a good shot. So when you do get an open look, and if you're a decent shooter, you probably need to take that shot. And if you know that you can beat your man off the dribble, you might want to do that regularly.

Quote: Not to say that Woody should be fired... But in the way of OJ... If he was fired, here's who I want.... NINO Brown from New Jack City... Here's my ten reasons why Nino!!! 1. The immediate response to things not going his way. Like when he shot up the dons and all their friends after the shootout at the wedding. 2. He knows how to make a plan come together. The Carter was a stroke of Brilliance. 3. He's Smoove... The "hi mom" comment after he won the court case! 4. My most favorite... I want to here him tell Salim to go to the bench.. then when Salim opens up his mouth, Nino would say " sit your five dollar a-- down before I make change". 5. The Hair style... he would set a trend for coaches. 6. G-Money. Can't you just hear Armond Hill saying The Hawks " We all we got!"... 7. Everytime we trade a player, in the press conference, Nino would say " I never liked you anyway... Pretty m.f." 8. The complete lack of trust. Players would hate him but would work hard. 9. Unlimited cash flow. 10. Everytime, he'd send Smoove to the bench, the crowd could yell " am I my brothers keeper... Yes I am!"... LMAO !! Hilarious. Let me add 2 more. 11. Nino would have inactive Hawk players looking sharp as a tack on the bench . . . dressed in all black with a black Kangol on their heads. Of course, NBA dress code rules would prohibit the signature gold chain that each player would wear. 12. Nino would make a player like Smoove a little more tough. He'd play one-on-one games with Smoove after practice, tossing the ball hard into his chest, yelling . . "CHECK!! . . . CHECK!!"

If the decision is to bring Marvin or Smoove off the bench, I have absolutely no problem with that. To me, both Marvin and Smoove will continue to get 30 minutes a game anyway, with Shell and Chill getting around 25 minutes a game, regardless of who starts. One of the advantages of starting Shelden, is that it gives us a little more balance to the lineup at the beginning of games. But we do need a capable 2nd scorer to compliment JJ at the start. If the Hawks could go to Shelden, and he can get us a quick 4 - 6 points in the first 6 minutes of the 1st quarter, that'll take some of the scoring burden off of JJ to start a game. It'll be nice to see Shelden or ZaZa provide early offense for this team. But a 2nd group featuring Lue, Chill, and Marvin could be potentially lethal. That group could also reduce the number of minutes that JJ has to play every night. JJ is playing almost 41 minutes a game. That's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many minutes. Even Smoove is having to play 37 minutes a game these days. The question isn't who starts. The question is . . who will be the finishing group? By late December, could this be our finishing group? G - Speedy G - JJ F - Chill F - Marvin or Smoove F - Shelden or Smoove When you look at those guys, you're talking about a squad that can provide offense, plus play pretty good defense at the end of games.

Tell that to Michael Vick. And no . . a fan does NOT have the right to say what he wants to say to a player, just because he paid some money to see him play. If the situation was reversed, that fan would cry like a baby and would try to sue the player .. . talking about "emotional distress". Fans should act like fans . . not idiots. LOL . . some of you guys act like NBA players or pro athletes in general, are robots that don't have any feelings. The "Shellhead" nik is a moot point anyway, because none of you would have the guts to call Shelden "shellhead" to his face anyway. It's funny that MW24 brings up a thread illustrating that Shelden is the #3 rookie on nba.com . . . but people immeadiately resorted to making jokes about Shelden, instead of giving him props on what he's done in the past 5 games or so. LOL . . just think what will happen, if Marvin becomes the clear cut SF on this team, pushing Josh Smith out of the mix as a starter. This board would be in full Marvin hate mode. I, for one, give Shelden his props. And he's doing all of this playing limited minutes. If the guy was getting starters minutes, he may very well be averaging 10 - 12 rebounds a game right now. But he's doing exactly what he should be doing for this team right now. He's rebounding on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. He's holding his own defensively by not letting his man get a bunch of easy shots. And he's even showing the ability to knock down the 15 - 18 foot jumper on occasion. He started horribly, but he's now even shooting 50% FG and 80% FT. So much for him being a bust.

And for those of you who don't think that the 39% FG that Smoove is shooting isn't a big deal, consider this. He's 2nd on this team in shot attempts. And 37% of his shot attempts are 3 pointers. Contrast that with JJ and Lue, who see 31% of their shots being 3 pointers. That's why Woodson keeps stressing to Josh to take the ball to the hole. Smoove needs to develop one post move that he can use on occasion.

Quote: Smoove's lack of basketball knowledge also reflects on coach Woodsen. We brought him in to teach young guys like Smoove to play the right way. So it looks like if you are young and don't have muuch or any college or professional experience then Woody can't help you become a better player. We might as well stay away from real young players as long as Woody is heachcoach. In this case Cenk Akyol should stay over in Turkey until coach Woodsen is fired or leaves. Whichever comes first. Blunt, do you see Woodson on the sidelines when Smoove makes those mind boggling plays? It's not like Woodson is just letting this kid do what he wants to do. He tries to correct him and teach him how to play the game the right way. But it's like GoDawgs said . . the kid makes a lot of good plays, but he makes a lot of bad ones too. And with this being his 3rd year in the league, you'd think that he wouldn't keep making the same mistakes over and over. GoDawgs mentioned that Smoove went coast to coast on a play with Lue and JJ running with him and Smoove turning it over trying to split a double team. He actually did the same thing earlier in the game. But on that play, he was able to get around the defender on the left side, and draw a foul as he was throwing up a wild fade-away bank shot from 12 feet. The 3 on 2 drill that every b-ball player has done since grade school, pretty much tells you to either get the ball to a guard and fill the wing . . or . . you keep the ball and make one of the defenders commit to you or one of the wings, and make the correct decision with the b-ball once you get to the top of the key. The pros aren't the place to be teaching basic fundamental basketball. I guess Woodson gets the blame for Salim's ballhandling and turnovers as well. ( LOL @ Salim's lazy pass on the Dorrell Wright missed dunk. He acutally had the open shot, but decided to pass it. But it was a weak pass and he turned it over. ) I would love it if Smoove could shoot 45 - 47% FG . . and produce a consistent 13 - 17 ppg while grabbing 7 - 10 rebounds a game. Consistency is his biggest problem. And it could very well be the thing that could make him be the one that is expendible, especially if Marvin comes back in December, and proves once and for all that he's the better option at SF.

I'd much rather lose 3 close games, than to get blown out. When you get blown out, the perception is that you're not even in the other team's league. When you play teams close, you can at least look back and say "if we'd done this and this, we'd won the game". You can't say that if you get beat by 25 points.

LOL @ all of these people bashing Woody for last night's loss. This team missed a ton of wide open jumpers and AGAIN missed a lot of free throws. Even our best player went 5 - 11 from the line. So how is that the coach's fault? A lot of you are giving your "expert" opinions on why we can't win close games, but what would any of you do differently down the stretch? Ray Allen hits an impossible shot with his opposite hand to beat us. Michael Redd got an "And-1" off of a phantom foul to beat us. And Dwyane Wade gets every touch foul in the world, and beat us with a turnaround 3 pointer ( a shot he NEVER makes ) to tie the game . . and made a nice pass to J-Will in the corner to put them up 3. Sometimes, you have to place the blame on the players for not doing the fundamental things that they've been taught to do since junior high school. I mean, good Lord. We only had 10 turnovers last night, which is incredible for this team. But we shot 3 - 24 from 3 . . and 19 - 30 from the FT line. But that's the Squawkers for you. Place ALL of the blame on Woody when we lose. And give him NONE of the credit when we win. As far as this team being more aggressive in taking the ball to the hole, I agree with that. But it's not like we have a lot of players who can create off the dribble and make a play. JJ can at times, but that's not the strength of his game. Smoove definitely can't. Lue can, but would always rather settle for the 3 pointer or 15 footer. ZaZa can, if he doesn't turn the ball over doing his patented high post spin move. What is hurting this team right now, is something that Diesel has always eluded to when all of the talk of getting rid of Harrington was the hot topic last year. With all of Al's deficiencies, he was the only guy who can go to the low post and create his own shot. Right now, we don't have a low post option to toss the ball to, and let him go to work, when the outside shots aren't falling. Hopefully, Marvin will somewhat fill that role when he comes back. But until that time, we're like a poor man's version of Phoenix. We're going to live by the jumper, and die by the jumper.

Right on time Mr. L I was planning on driving from Tennessee to attend the TOR vs ATL game ANYWAY. I was going to wait to purchase my $60 club level seats on Monday . . but this deal is too sweet to pass up. Thanks again.

Walker is always the X-factor for the Heat. He's not going to change the way he plays. So if he's on, the Heat will stay in the game and have a chance to win at the end. If he's off, they may lose by 10+ points. Smoove will probably be guarding Toine, so he must stay out of foul trouble, and make him take difficult shots. I think J-Will getting another game under his belt, will help the Heat as well. We don't need him scoring 15+ points tonight. The Hawks don't make anything easy, so I expect one of those typical nail-biter games that they like to play. Should I predict a score? Nahhhhh . . no sense jinxing them.

Quote: Quote: i hope many of us aren't taking them for granted. the are still the defending champs and although shaq is hurt are capable of burying us.. If this Miami team beats us at home without Shaq after playing last night and us resting comfortably having had 3 days off with younger legs, then we should stop any talk of playoffs immediately because they are not that good. LOL . . there shouldn't be talk of playoffs anyway. But a loss against the Heat isn't necessarily an indictment against us. You have to remember that the Heat still has one of the top 5 players in this league, in Dwyane Wade. Don't be surprised if he takes his game to the next level while Shaq is out, and tries to go for 35 ppg. Hopefully, it won't start with us . . but it very well could. Having said that, I do expect a Hawks victory tonight.

LOL @ Bus . . . exactly !! OMG . . we're 1/2 game out of 1st place in the Southeast. The Hawks are DOOMED !!!

(( tossing you a box of Kleenex )) Good lord man, get a hold to yourself. We lose 2 close games, and it's the end of the world. LOL. LOL @ we have the worst coach in the league . . but we're two shots from being a 6 - 1 ballclub. Amazing.

Quote: I had a bad dream last night, i saw the standings and it showed that we are 4-5 . I hope it's not true. LOL . . that's a very good possibility of that happening. vs Miami . . . @ Detroit . . are the next 2 games.

Quote: We do not put Marvin on the bench when he return. That kid has been coming off the bench for the last several years in college and pros. It is time to get him used to starting. Getting him major minutes is more important than making him a starter. He'll eventually be a starter, no doubt on that. But it wouldn't hurt one bit to bring him off the bench with that 2nd team. My point is that he's probably going to be in the game at the end anyway, and playing 30 minutes a game. So whether he starts or not really doesn't matter. He'll be there to finish. That's what is truly important. Now if Josh Smith is still playing inconsistent basketball, then you may want to think about starting Marvin and Shelden, and brining Smoove off the bench. But to me, it's not a big deal who starts. Marvin and Smoove will more than likely be the starters, so it's all good either way.

No need to change Lue's and Chill's roles. They're both playing heavy minutes anyway and are in the game at the end. So starting them isn't going to make much difference. We came out slow last night, but eventually got to the point to where we were up 10, and should've kept control of the game. Shots don't fall . . people start turning the ball over . . and we lose. The Hawks aren't the first NBA team to lose like that. We just can't make it a habit. Sure would be nice to be 6 -1 right now though. But 4 - 3 is OK.

I say you sit Marvin . . and bring him in with the Lue and Childress group on the 2nd team. Keep Shelden in the game to start the game, then rotate the minutes from there.

Plus . . . Woody doesn't have time to play favorites on this team. If he got out to a slow start, his job would probably be on the line. So he has to put the best group of players out on the floor, in order to win games. We have enough offense. Boze provides defense. And since Salim will never become a better defender than Boze, he's out the loop right now. I don't think it was anything Salim did. I think he's just a victim of circumstance. The fact that he can't even get time with Speedy out, speaks volumes about how good Boze is to the team, and how well Lue has been playing offensively.

LOL @ cody. Have you ever played an ORGANIZED TEAM SPORT before? If you have, you'd understand fully why Salim is in the dumps. Last year, he was a key cog off the bench and contributed on a nightly basis until he got hurt at the end of the year. This year, the Hawks bring in 2 guards that can replace him, and he's relegated to being a "cheerleader" on the bench. The problem with fans, is that they expect their players to be robots. They expect Salim to just be happy to be on the team, and cheer like nothing is wrong. LOL @ that. He's a competitor and he wants to play. Unfortunately for him, he has 2 guys in front of him who are better defenders and ball handlers ( Speedy and Boze ). And another guy in front of him who is a better ball handler and a better offensive player ( Lue ). Plus he has a combo SG/SF getting minutes at the 2 as well ( Childress ). You see this all the time in sports . . and it has nothing to do with being "selfish". It has everything to do with "wanting to play". From Woody . . in talking about Bozeman: "He's a guy with all the intangibles," . . . "The guy can defend, and that's the thing that excited me. He's a big guy that can defend three positions, handles the ball well enough to make point-guard plays. I've told him to run our offense and play hard. And he's done that. He's been good for us. The reason why I started him is that I have trust and faith in him and what he can do. We're not playing him big minutes but they're very productive minutes." That fact alone doesn't bode well for Salim, because he doesn't have nearly the versatility that Boze does.

This was the first game that I had a chance to attend live this year. What an interesting game. Of course, if we make our free throws and hit open jumpers, we might have scored 120 points. If JJ is on in that first half, we had a shot to blow that game wide open. Instead, we had to keep coming back in that game, just to stay in it. The Hawks found themselves in one of those run and gun games where everybody had to execute on the offensive end, while play some solid defense, to stay in the game. And the game went back and forth so much, that you didn't know who would win until the very end. Overall, it was a very entertaining game that we definitely could've won. And I'm glad to see most of our fans give the Hawks a standing ovation at the end of that game, for the great effort they put forth. Observations: JJ - He's willing to keep shooting, even when he has an off night. That's either the mark of a true gunner, or a guy who understands that he's the superstar engine that makes the team run. I think at one time, he was 7 - 19 from the field, but kept firing away because he had open looks. What impressed me the most about him Saturday night, was the way he took up the slack on the defensive boards. He really helped in limiting the 2nd chance points that Seattle could've had. If he didn't rebound the way he did, Seattle may easily win that game in regulation. The major weakness in JJ's game, is getting to the FT line. He's so good as a jumpshooter, that he doesn't try to get to the line even when his shot is off. The true superstars in this league find a way to score, even if it's from the FT line. Once JJ fully understands that, he may be a top 5 player in this league. Smoove - Becoming more and more comfortable in being that consistent offensive threat. It does concern me that he takes the 3 point shot when open, even when he's off. He shot 3 - 10 from 3, but before he made those 2 in OT, he was 1 - 8. Even with that, he's rapidly maturing as a player. He even took the ball to the hole on occasion and forced the defense to either play him, or get out of his way. When that kid gets you 24 and 7, you have to be elated. Childress - What a smart ballplayer he is. The more you see this kid play in person, the more you realize that the Hawks CAN'T be without him during this time of team maturation. He knocked down open shots. He stayed aggressive all night. He even got to the line. But the most important thing, is that he harrassed Ray Allen all night, and forced him to take very tough shots. ZaZa - Probably played as good of an offensive game I've ever seen him play in the 1st half. He was the reason why we stayed in the game, when JJ and Smoove were off. And you can tell that his defense, especially when going to help others out, has improved. Lue - Played a good, under control game. And even Lue's defense has gotten better. Woody had to play Lue heavy minutes, because Seattle didn't have any trouble scoring the basketball against us. So Lue did exactly what he's supposed to do . . score himself, and get the ball to others in great position to score. Good job TY. Shelden - Shelden would be more of a scorer on this team if the Hawks ran plays for him. But they don't. So the only thing he can do to contribute, is defend and rebound. But he definitely had his hands full with Chris Wilcox. Wilcox was a demon on the boards. Shelden did hold his own in the 20 or so minutes he played. And you can see the impact he has on the overall team defense. When he's in the game, this team rotates beautifully from side to side to shut off driving lanes. Bozeman - I'll say this about Boze. Seeing him in person made me fully realize why Salim and Ivey isn't playing. Boze can handle the ball and bring it up court with relative ease. And he can defend very well . . if he's guarding a smaller guard and if he's not guarding a superstar 2-guard. He did a great job on Ridnhour, but Ray lit him up. It got to the point where Boze had to get off of Ray, and just let bigger guys like JJ and Chill try to handle Ray. But Boze can guard the smaller PGs in this league. Ray Allen - What an excellent player he is. This was my first time ever seeing Ray play live and in person. That guy needs maybe 12 inches of space to get his shot off. And he's much quicker than what I thought he was. And the left-hand shot he hit over Smoove to win the game was just incredible. If he shoots that right-handed, Smoove blocks that shot, and the Hawks win. But because he went opposite hand, it barely got over Smoove's fingertips and fell through the hole. Rashard Lewis - single-handedly kept the Sonics above water in that 1st half. You would've thought that Lewis was the all-star on the team, and not Ray. Smoove plays a lot like Lewis in the fact that neither of those guys look to use their size to post people up. They both would rather shoot the 15 foot and beyond jumper. It's going to be REAL INTERESTING to see this team, when they are at full strength. This is definitely the type of game in which we could've used Marvin and Speedy in. Right now, this team can still play just about any style of ball we want. It'll just be interesting to see just how good we are on a nightly basis, come mid-December/early January.

Mule, for us longtime people that have watched the NBA, it isn't a big deal at all. There have been plenty of 6th men in the NBA who have been vital cogs to their team. The most important thing to those guys who don't have superstar talent, is to have the ability to contribute on a nightly basis. A lot has been made over the fact that we can't keep Chill and Smoove and Marvin on the same team for too much longer. Some believe that these guys would want to branch out to another team, be a starter, and make a name for themselves. And that may very well be true. But the history of this league has shown that, for the most part, the guys who do that, are usually guys who are touted to be potential stars in this league. T-Mac is a good example of a guy with superstar talent, who chose to leave a good team to make a name for his own. But Detlef Schremph ( probably the first great European player in the NBA ) is a perfect example of a guy who had the ability to be a starter, yet, didn't cause a stink with whatever team he was on, because he knew that he was going to get his minutes. The great thing that Billy Knight has done in regards of the salaries of this team, is that he's positioned the Hawks to be able to resign Smoove, Chill, and ZaZa if need be in the near future, without killing the cap or mortgaging the future of this team. But if one of these guys feel that they can be better players somewhere else, or get more money from somebody, he's also in position to work out a nice sign and trade deal to still keep us right where we need to be. The Squawkers that hate Knight will never admit to that, but that is the truth. Shelden . . . a Hawk at least through 2010 JJ & Speedy . . . signed through 2010 Marvin . . . a Hawk at least through 2009 ZaZa, Chill, and Smoove . . Hawks at least through 2008 So our core players are locked in for at least another 2 years. Plus role players like Lue, Salim, and Solomon Jones are locked in for another 2 years. And how big will it be if an unsigned FA rookie like Bozeman plays his way to a 3 year - 5 million deal, to solidify the bench even further? Plus we'll have a 1st round draft pick in the 2007 draft. and 2008. and 2009. It's clear that Knight had a plan here that extended far beyond the immeadiate season. If JJ keeps playing like a superstar, and if Chill, Marvin, and Smoove progress into being very good young players, people will be worshipping the ground that Knight laid down by 2008. But back to the topic. It's all about playing time. The reason why Lue doesn't complain, is that he knows that he'll get 25 minutes a game as a backup, and he'll be able to do what he does best. Plenty of guys in this league have flourished playing that 6th or 7th man on a team. - Adreian Dantley - Dell Curry - Detlef Schremph - Vinnie Johnson - Robert Horry ( for a plethora of teams ) - Mario Elie ( almost his entire career ) - Bobby Jackson ( almost his entire career ) - Michael Cooper ( for those great Laker teams ) - even a young guy like Kevin McHale for those early Celtic teams. Playing time is more important than being a starter, unless you have undeniable superstar talent.

I thought the defense would slip a little with Marvin gone. But good lord. What happens with this team when Marvin comes back? We'll not only gain another guy who can defend out on the perimeter, we'll regain another scorer. Woody made a unpopular decision by some, to play Bozeman over guys like Salim and Ivey. But Boze is doing a great job in the limited minutes he plays. All of these guys seem to know their limitations ( with the exception of Smoove at times, but even he is getting better ), and they don't try to play above their heads. Great team defense is a great thing to watch. Keep it up Hawks.

I thought that we had a good chance to get off to a good start ( I thought we would start 3 - 0 . . then slack off toward the end of the month ). I said that we'd be 7 - 6 by December. But I had NO IDEA that we would be this improved on the defensive end. Right now, we have a realistic shot at being 8 - 5 . . possibly even 9 - 4, if we take care of the winnable games.