TheNorthCydeRises

I've always thought that lethalweapon was Sekou Smith. His articles and info is too good for just an average Joe to pull off. Or maybe lethal is just that talented, without the media credentials.

Oh Lord. Please don't make me root for this dude again.

Thats because he was the only one balling in that game. I'd be mad too if my teammates wilted to Yale.

They'll calm down once they see the draft picks in Summer League. Prince will be the real deal.

I can post vids easy on my smartphone. But when I try to the same thing on my laptop, there are issues for some reason.

Don't worry. We'll be in the top 6. This is still an elite defensive team that might even be better defensively now. That alone will keep us in the top 6.

No worries. We can still sign and trade him for another capologist. Or give one of yall his spot. @JayBirdHawk is good with the numbers. I nominate her as interim capologist.

Your dad will be partially right. We can survive without Horford, because we replaced him with another competent big man on his level ( albeit with different skill sets ) He'll be wrong about Teague, because Dennis will take his game to the next level, just like Teague did when he finally got his shot.

LOL . . . this dude. Pops up out of nowhere.

Dennis or Baze. Although it'll still go to Millsap at the beginning of the season.

I need to take a refresher class on how to post vids on here. Testing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R5CetUX6LE

Atlas, thank you for the level-headed post. The big thing for me, is that we not only FINALLY get a true center here, we get to see if our two young players can take their games to the next level. Schröder I originally said last week that he would average 14 ppg - 6 assist. With Dwight here, I'm going to up that assist total to 7.5 With Dennis' speed, and his ability to pass in the pick and roll, the Schröder to Howard pick and roll could be absolutely lethal, with Dwight being one of the best around the rim finishers in the game. The other thing I want to see, is if Edy Tavares is ready to contribute spot minutes. If he is, the Hawks, all of a sudden, have a center rotation of 6-11 in Dwight . . . 6-11 in Splitter . . . and 7-3 in Tavares. But Dennis is going to get a big time chance to really lead this team. Despite the sweep by the Cavs, his play in Games 1 and 4 have to give everyone hope for the future of this franchise. Like when Teague made his splash in the 2011 playoffs vs Chicago, and proved he was ready to lead the Hawks at the point, I think Dennis is ready to take the lead and excel next season. Game 1 <youtube> https://youtu.be/ELWSzhcfh7o </youtube> Game 4 <youtube> https://youtu.be/I30SS982Jzg </youtube> Bazemore Now that he has the "baby Joe Johnson" contract, let's see how hard he works to improve. For a while, he was hovering around being a 40% 3 point shooter, until he had that horrible February and March. He struggled during the playoffs. But now he has a chance to prove his worth, hopefully, by playing the 2 full time, instead of having to play spot minutes at the 3. With Kent, improving his defensive awareness, while also not being so wild with the ball ( especially when driving to the hole ), will be key to his development. And if he can become a consistent 37%+ 3 point shooter, he may find himself averaging 15 ppg and worthy of that contract. Don't be surprised if he becomes our #2 scorer, behind Millsap or Horford. You see the flashes of potential in Baze, if he can keep his game under control and really develop that 3 ball. <youtube> https://youtu.be/vC7CuX98Q28 </youtube> <youtube> https://youtu.be/xuQK34saXqA </youtube> Taurean Prince He's the wild card for next year. He has enough talent to immediately crack this rotation, and be productive. His NBA comparison is Demarre Carroll, but he's much more athletic and has more versatility to his offensive game than Demarre. If Kenneth Faried had a jumpshot with 3 point range, he'd be Taurean Prince. Athletic. Legit NBA 3 point range. Straight energy guy. He's a protypical 3 and D guy at SF . . who is quick enough to guard 2s and strong enough to guard smallish 4s. When you talk about Bud and how he develops players, Prince is a guy who could develop rapidly and contribute to this team. He's going to be good, and a fan favorite. Watch <youtube>https://youtu.be/-e316Z7-lOg </youtube> <youtube>https://youtu.be/6R5CetUX6LE</youtube> If people would just calm down and look at the team, they'd see that we have a real chance to be a very good, athletic team that can play a variety of ways. Now granted, we'd be good if we had Horford, but that means playing Millsap some at the 3, which could limit the development and impact a guy like Prince could have. With no Horford here, a guy like Prince will get a shot to crack the rotation immediately, and make the Hawks an extremely athletic team at times. Let people talk that doom and gloom stuff. The same was said about Portland last season, when they lost Lamarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, and Nicolas Batum. They took a step back in the overall win total, but pulled off a great upset of the Clippers and played Golden State competitively in the 2nd round. The big thing is that Lillard truly became a guy who is worthy of being called a top 15 player in the league, along with CJ McCollum developing rapidly into one of the best young SGs in the game. They may be the 2nd best backcourt in the NBA, next to Curry and Thompson. The Hawks are going to be alright. Better than people expect.

It IS partially the fans fault though. Can't keep blaming the transient nature of the city, the traffic, the "so much to do" ( which is greatly overblown ), and the ownership. Fans create the atmosphere in the arena. At the end of the day, you have to decide as a fan if you're going to ride or die with the Hawks or not, regardless of what ownership does or the makeup of the team. As an out of towner, it used to piss me off to see all of those opposing fans in our arena. The biggest thing is when the Hawks are down or are struggling, the crowd at Philips will not pick the team up . . . unless Ryan Cameron ( PA announcer ) tells them to. You have to support this team UNCONDITIONALLY. That's hard to do as a fan. Here are the win totals during the Horford era 37 47 53 44 40 ( strike year . . . 50 win equivalent ) 44 38 ( Horford missed 2/3 of the year ) 60 48 That's 9 consecutive playoff appearances . . . five 2nd round appearances . . . 1 EC Finals appearance . . . 7 winning seasons That's "playoff mediocrity" but not deserving of fans not showing up to games or being totally apathetic to the team. Yes, we want them to be on that elite status. But because they're not elite, means that fans shouldn't show up to games and support the team. If they like NBA basketball, and the Hawks, go to the games.

LOL. Right. At least Joe and Jeff didn't voluntarily leave. Marvin and Josh didn't either. Nor did Jamal. Only Chill and Al left on their own. While I'm not as mad as everyone else for Horford choosing to leave, he DID leave on his own. It will be interesting to see what kind of response he gets, when he comes back to Philips.

No. I want to play them in the Eastern Conference Finals. Let the venom be at an all time high. This I DEFINITELY agree with.

I can agree with this. But look at this from the player's perspective. They're playing their butts off on most night. Yet, whenever we're playing a popular team, Philips Arena gets taken over by the opposing team's fans. It's nothing to see 30% of the crowd cheering for their favorite non-Hawk team or superstar. The star players around the league see and know this about Atlanta. So when it's time to come here, they think . . . "well if they'll cheer for the opponent, they may not cheer for me", That's part of the reason why they don't come here. The Hawks need a Blake Griffin type of player. Someone who can excite the crowd with dazzling play, while also winning game. You just can't be good in Atlanta. You have to be good, with some flash or swag to you. Dennis is the hope of the franchise, because he plays that way. And if he turns into the leader of the team, fans in Atlanta will latch onto him. Personality wise, he's the anti-Teague and to some extent, the anti-Horford. Even Millsap to most Hawk fans, is "boring".

Here's the problem with that. Other teams around the league have had similar, if not worse situations. And their fans aren't nearly as fickle as Atlanta fans. The front office knows that Atlanta fans responds to star play ( if not flashy star play ). That's one reason why they had to get rid of Teague, and couldn't fully commit to Horford. Dennis plays the type of game that can and will excite the fans, if he can get himself under control. And from a star standpoint, acquiring Dwight Howard will increase the visibility of the Hawks in Atlanta, and might bring more fans and excitement to the games. When you go to a home game in Memphis, compared to Atlanta, Memphis has a better atmosphere hands down. It's not even close. And they don't have better or more flashy players than we do. They just appreciate the game better. That's why I say if it's any way we can acquire a disgruntled Dwyane Wade, you do that in a heartbeat. Trade whatever bench assets you have, to get the type of star player/personality that the Atlanta fan base will come out to see. Having said that, Celtics fans don't respond well to bad teams. They'll support mediocre and playoff level teams. But when you are bad and not making the playoffs, they won't come out. Ask Mike Bibby . . . . ( Boston fans comment starts at 3:37 ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpjRmxLkLCM

Actually Watchman . . . it's Splitter that's screwing us. And those mid level long term contracts that Ferry dished out. We have around 17 million tied up in Splitter, Korver, and Sefolosha. Bud traded a 2nd round pick to get Splitter and his 8.5 million a year deal. Korver got a 4 year deal at age 31 from Ferry. And Thabo signed a 3 year deal, coming off of the worst year of his career. That's Ferry too. Bud and Wilcox obviously believed that if push came to shove, that they could survive without Al. But they wanted to leave enough room to add another player ( possibly a PG ).

Nay. Stop being childish .... please.

LOL ... stop it

Wow. Yall are in full hater mode I see. I won't mess with you guys. Get it all out. Bud will bring back Mack to fill the backup PG spot. And the rookies are far better than any of you realize. They'll contribute right away.

If Al could do this ... ... we'd definitely have a championship by now. Still wish that dude well in Boston

Fake outrage from the same fans who were throwing him under the bus during the Cleveland series. Called him soft and weak. Not worthy of the max. Wanted him gone. Etc. Now that he went to Boston, yall are mad and butthurt? LOL. Give that man his props. He decided to move on to a fan base that will celebrate him unconditionally, when he plays well. Hopefully Dwight will sell more tickets and bring us more success than Horford did. But I'm not mad at Al. Here's a preview of what is to come next season. LET'S GO !

I definitely understand. And I'm sorry for your loss. My mother was in ICU for 14 days and on life support for 10 of those days, trying to recover from pneumonia. I put her in a nursing home on Wednesday to do a week or two of physical therapy. But as she is recovering, her younger sister, who has been in the same nursing home for two months, passed away last night. I can't bring myself to even tell her that her sister is gone. Trying to wait until she's a little stronger to break the news to her. I couldn't imagine my feelings if I lost my mother. But I'd probably doing a little of what you're doing right now. And as fellow Vols fans/alumni, this week wasn't helped by the loss of Pat Summitt. Once again, sorry for your loss.

Thank you for the most successful 9 years in the history of Atlanta Hawks basketball. When you arrived in 2007, you were the final piece to a young team that would finally put us into playoff position. You solidified the center position for us and really brought extreme athleticism and versatility to the position. After JJ left, I latched onto you as my favorite Hawk. And for the most part, you gave it your all. Despite what others may say about you in the heat of the moment right now, I thank you for doing this ... No other person who has put on a Hawk uniform in Atlanta, can say that they made the game winning play to put us in the Eastern Conference Finals Not Pistol Pete. Not Lou Hudson. Not Dominique. Not Smitty. Not Dikembe. Not Joe Johnson. And not Josh Smith. YOU made that play. The biggest play in Atlanta Hawk history. And for that, I thank you. A few fickle fans at Philips may boo you on your return, but I will at least give you a standing ovation in your first game back. After that, you become the enemy ... and rightfully so. It won't be any hard feelings though. I hope you have a wonderful season in Boston next year. See you in the Eastern Conference Finals. Dennis, Dwight, Baze, and Trillsap will be ready. Thanks man.