TheNorthCydeRises

Wretch . . that's only if the GM picks the right player. If you have a chance to pick between Doug McDermott and Rodney Hood, who would you take? Would one of them be better than the other here in Atlanta? Is there a significant difference between those two players, as far as team impact? As for the playoffs, I say the benefit would be for the young guys like Schröder and the new guys that are here, who will get a real taste of what NBA basketball is all about. It will also be an opportunity for Millsap to really put his name on the map as one of the top 30 players in the league. Players normally make their name in the playoffs. If he plays well in the playoffs, that will personally give him some levelage in 2015, when his contract is up. It will also give some of them a real sense of what a true Atlanta crowd can be like. As bad as that city can be when it comes to attendance, the one thing I can say about the A, is that they do come out for the playoffs. Game 3, if we play Miami, will be like a high school rivalry game, with bandwagon ATL Heat fans rooting hard for Lebron, and with Hawks fans trying to match their enthusiasm. If we win Game 3, Game 4 in Atlanta is ALWAYS a pro Atlanta crowd in which the fans really get into it. Like I said, if the GM wanted to be in the lottery, you don't build a team strong enough to make the playoffs. You don't do stuff halfway. Either go all the way or don't do it at all.

If you want Dennis to truly develop, Lou has to go. It's the same scenario that Jeff Teague was in, when Jamal Crawford was here. As long as Jamal was here, a coach would not give complete control of a team to Teague, if he were playing with Jamal. The same goes for Dennis and Lou. Lou needs the ball in his hands, to be effective. If the ball is in Lou's hands, it is out of Dennis' hands. Move Lou, get a LEGIT 2-way SG, and give Dennis complete control of the 2nd team. We really need to see if this guy can do it, in order to see if he could be the future PG of this team. If he can't, cut your losses sooner than later, and get an upgrade at the PG position.

This is not a 3rd seed squad. With all of the complaining about injuries this year, the Bulls and Nets were pretty much decimated by injuries in the early part of the year. Even the Bobcats played without Jefferson in the first part of the year, and he really didn't get healthy until around mid December. We were healthy and we still were only 3 games above .500 when Horford went down. And the only way we add a #9 pick is if we basically lose all of our games, and the teams that are with us, pass us. Better go look at the schedules of Denver, New Orleans, NY Knicks, and Atlanta . . . then tell me which team has the weakest schedule. Most everybody thought that this year's version of the Hawks would be a 6th - 8th seed this year, even when healthy. Only a few people had this team winning more than 42 games.

I think it's hilarious that you guys are depending on Cleveland and NY to give us a lottery "gift". Just like some of you were praying that Brooklyn would stay bad enough so that we could swap picks with them. It's just sad, honestly. Looks like the Hawks got called out in the media and they took it personal. Nice to see Mike Scott have the game that he had Friday night. Because he could easily be one of the casualties in the offseason. So instead of just going through the motions and not helping the team win, he actually played his game, balled out, and got the victory. We ALL know that it is probably in the team's best interest to not make the playoffs. As a player though ( especially if I were a free agent ), there's no way in hell that I would scale back my game, just so the team could draft someone that could possibly replace me in the offseason. The GM is the one who built this team. If he wasn't interested in the playoffs, he shouldn't have built a borderline playoff team to begin with. The fact that the only thing he did was to acquire Antwan Jamison in a money grab at the trade deadline, showed me that the GM is sticking to his guns about building a "system", than to acquire more talent. So go ahead an root for the enemy ( Knicks ) today all you want. Hope JR Smith has a career high today to keep the "tank" alive. It just makes the fan base look as crazy as ever. Is there really a significant gap between #12 and #15 to warrant not giving some of these guys playoff experience? Because it's not like the Nuggets and Pelicans are going to actively try to win games either down the stretch. And both of their schedules are absolutely brutal. And you have to depend on the Knicks . . . the KNICKS . . . to beat high quality playoff level teams and pass us. Then you need the Hawks to play like dogs vs dog teams like Boston and Detroit? So what then? We miss the playoffs, and pick 12th instead of 15th . . and end up with a 2% chance of getting into the top 3? And this is what all of the cheering is about? The GM simply F'd up when he didn't build the strongest team he could this year . . . or weakened it enough to almost be guaranteed of a top 5 pick. And honestly, if he's picking 12th or 15th, he'll probably F it up again with some project pick anyway, instead of getting a NBA ready player that can help us immediately.

Pretty much everything you said - Hate the main banner. A cleaner, professional graphic would be better - Glitches galore - Front page has too much on it. Probably need to put some of those categories in a drop down column - Definitely didn't like "The Latest NBA Dope" heading - Liked the content of the articles I clicked on - Liked the variety of subjects offered on the site Scale of 1 - 10 Content: 8 Functionality: 5 Look: 5

I think it's very important to the vets that they make the playoffs. Millsap has busted his azz all year. Korver has been solid. Teague has been up and down. DeMarre has been one of the surprises of the season. Brand is in the twilight of his career, but has played his role. The other thing people need to keep in mind is that the GM may not do a drastic roster turnover next season. "He likes these guys". If not making the playoffs wasn't a priority this year, he shouldn't have assembled a team that COULD make the playoffs. Because when you assemble a team with Horford, Millsap, Teague, and Korver, they're going to be good enough to get in . . even if one of them goes down. The GM tried to straddle the fence. When you do that, you're probably going to be mediocre. But hey. At least we're "flexible".

How is making the playoffs embarrassing for this team? Now is it in our best interest to make the playoffs? Probably not, from a draft pick standpoint. But I'm sure that our vets don't want to see this year as a waste, after being a playoff team from Day 1. You guys are really cheering for your favorite team to lose . . . for what? To move up 4 slots in the lottery? To have like a 3% chance at a top 3 pick? It's funny that all of you just expect the team to get rolled off the court when the playoffs come around. Sure, they won't win the series, but they may win a few games. Remember, the goal of the GM is to be "competitive". Being "competitive" does not mean laying down and dying, and missing the playoffs.

Is Deke in before Chris Webber? If you say yes . . then Chris belongs in too. Because there's no way in hell that Dikembe was a better player than Chris.

So sad.

Seeing that we DO need an upgrade in talent, why worry about how the lesser talent on the team feels about that statement? This is not Little League. This is the NBA . . . professional sports. If a player gets demoralized because a GM or coach says that we need an upgrade in talent, then that player doesn't need to be on the team anyway. You would think it would have the opposite effect, if a GM said that about the team. You would think that players would play even harder, to prove the GM wrong. That effort on defense last night was atrocious for about 3 quarters. If the Hawks couldn't even thoroughly handle the Sixers at home, a team that has lost 27 out of 28 games, why lie about the talent? Saying that he "likes our players" means that these guys are doing a good job and everything is OK. No it's not.

The Hawks had played a bottom 5 schedule at the time Horford got hurt . . and we were barely over .500. The excuse back then was . . . "oh these guys just need time to learn Bud's system". Calling the Hawks "really good", just because they beat some good teams at home, is misleading as hell. Heck, even UTAH has beat OKC and Miami at home. Does that meant that they're "competitive". I would respect the GM more, if he just came out and said that we haven't played well at all in these past 2 months, and that we need an upgrade in talent to get to the level we want to be at. Instead, he says "I like our players". He likes our players huh? The players that can't win games if just one rotation player is out? "We like our players" = "We like our core" Remember that statement from Rick "Status Quo" Sund?

This team when healthy was no more than a .500 level team, on par with the Wizards. We were horrible on the road, but pretty good at home. We even caught a few good teams that were injured ( since he wants to use the injury excuse as to why we're not better than we are ). Indiana didn't have Stephenson . . Miami didn't have Wade . . and Houston didn't have Parsons or Asik when we beat them back in January. But those teams don't make excuses to their lack of success in those games, just because those players were out. Saying a team is "competitive" is one of the most bland statements you can make in this league. New Orleans is "competitive". Denver ( who have REALLY been devastated by injuries . . 4 rotation players out for the season ), have been "competitive". heck, even CLEVELAND is competitive. \ So what does "being competitive" really mean, in the grand scheme of things?

People must have forgotten what playing "well" looks like then. Even last year's team, with Josh Smith's dysfunction on offense, was better than this squad when healthy.

Playoff money = 1 million a game on ticket sales alone.

This dude is a used car salesman. He'll tell you anything to get you to buy what he's selling.

No we wouldn't. The Hawks had played a bottom 5 schedule in the NBA, and was only 3 games above .500 at the time of Horford's injury. The schedule was going to get significantly tougher in January, February and even through March, with it easing up some going into April. No way would the Hawks be at the 40 win mark right now. We'd be fighting Brooklyn for 5th place, with a decent shot to win 43 games.

His offensive game is good, but not good enough to consistently carry the team. Ironically, he's putting up Josh Smith like numbers.

Cleveland's record vs these 6 teams Atlanta: 0 - 2 Boston: 0 - 2 Charlotte: 0 - 3 Detroit: 2 - 1 Milwaukee: 2 - 1 Orlando: 3 - 0 So if they go 4 - 2 vs those 6 teams, would that be good enough to pass us? Or better yet, what is the number that a team has to get to, in order to get that 8th seed? 35? 36?

It wouldn't shock me to see the Hawks take at least 1 game at home. I wasn't a believer that the Hawks would get swept by that dominant 2008 Celtics team either. Only Miami has the ability to just completely blow us out of the water. Indiana will keep us within striking distance in most of those games, before pulling away. So total point differential? . . . I say 55 if we play Miami . . 42 if we play the Pacers. We'll win Game 3 or Game 4, regardless of who we play. We'll get destroyed by 20+ points in one game, especially if it's Miami. But one of those games will be close ( within 6 points ). Hawks lose in 5, and will not get swept.

Also, when dealing with scalpers, don't tell them right off the bat what you're willing to pay. Only tell them where you want to sit ( which is 100 level, if you want to be in the lower bowl ), and let them set the price. When that price is too high, just walk away. At that point, they will negotiate, or someone else will come up to you. Then you play them against each other, and pull the one you want to deal with away from that group so that you can get the ticket your want. At that point, you may can even low ball them, and they may give you the ticket you want. Once again, make sure that they don't switch tickets on you, because a few of them may be shady like that. Most are on the up and up though, and they know the market for tickets is bad right now in Atlanta.

With the Hawks on another losing streak, getting an under $50 lower level ticket should be pretty easy. You might even be able to play $50 for a Club Level ticket, which is the lower level on the opposite side of the court. That section has been real empty lately. Seeing that the game is on a Wednesday night, you shouldn't have any problem getting a lower level tix for under $50. Just watch some of those scalpers though, and deal with them one on one. Do not deal with them in a group, because they may try to do a switcheroo of tickets. Just make sure you're paying for the right ticket and the right game. Most of the time though, you can get some good discounted deals from the scalpers right after halftime.

People hated overpaying for Jefferson, a guy who is a legit center, low post beast, and defensive rebounding monster . . . but are in love with Spencer Hawes? Wow. The GM had his chance to get a real good center, but couldn't wait to make Kyle and Sap his first signings. So we get what we get, when it comes to helping out Horford in the middle.

That would be the worst case scenario for this team . . . to lose to a team that would have lost 28 games in a row . . on our home floor. God only knows what the attendance for that game will be. On a Monday night vs Philly? 8,000 maybe?

This is if both teams tie with the same overall record: 1) Division winner . . . . neither team will qualify 2) Head to Head . . . . series tied 2 - 2 . . no more games 3) Conference W - L % . . . ATL: 21- 20 . . NYK: 21 - 24 - remaining games vs East teams: ATL: 11 . . NYK: 7 4) W - L% vs East Playoff Teams . . . ATL: 8 - 13 . . NYK: 5 - 12 ( 7 - 14 if you add Atlanta to their record ) - remaining games vs East playoff teams: ATL: 6 . . . NYK: 7 5) W - L% vs West Playoff Teams . . . ATL: 2 - 14 . . NYK: 2 - 12 - remaining games vs West playoff teams: ATL: 0 . . NYK: 2 6) Net Points ( Differential ) . . ATL: ( -1.3 ) . . NYK: ( - 1.5 ) This will give all of you an idea of what is to come for both teams. If the Knicks pass us, they will have earned it, seeing the schedule they play to close the season. The ONLY easy out they have, is @ Utah. And all of those playoff teams are jockeying for playoff seeding position.

Good game tonight Jeff. Can't say that about the rest of the team.