TheNorthCydeRises

Hawks will cut this dude after his 2nd 10-day contract, just like they did with Pargo.

We've done it on occasion in the past. Typical cost saving move by the ASG.

You have any seats in the 201 - 207 sections? I'll be on my way to Florida on the weekend of the 23rd, so I'm probably looking to go to the Portland game on the 22nd.

Hawks Live trying to spin this road trip in a possible light. Most of us thought they would go 3 - 3 on this trip, and that's what they did. That's nothing to be overjoyed about though.

Come on Dol. You watched that game like I did. Lawson took over the game in the 3rd quarter, while Teague hardly did anything after halftime. It may have been fatigue or what not, but Teague was bad after halftime. We needed one of our main guys to keep pace when the game was slipping away, and no one could do it. Oh well . . we got 2 home games coming up, with the battle for 4th place coming on Saturday night vs Brooklyn.

Games like these just shows how far Teague has to go to be a top 10 caliber PG. Lawson is eating him and Devin alive this game.

LOL @ Horford dribbling it up the court and losing it . . . Pass it to a damn guard please BEFORE you cross halfcourt. Game definitely about over now.

Pitiful turnover by Teague coming out of that 8 minute timeout. This dude simply must play better during critical times. Game is almost out of reach already . . down 15 . . and no Josh. I wonder if something is up.

You say that like JJ is a defensive liability, especially in one on one situations. JJ's defense is weak when running around and trying to guard spot up shooters. And he tends to have lazy stretches in closing out shooters or going after defensive rebounds. But he's always been one of the better one on one defensive guards-small forwards in the league. The Lakers use Ron Artest to guard star players for most of the game. But when the Lakers really need a stop, Kobe can and will step up to the challenge. JJ has been the same way over the years. You don't want him guarding a star all game, becvause it will take away from his offense. But if we're talking about one possession, JJ is a good defensive option to go to. And Buckeye, as far as the money is concerned, that's the difference between teams who really want to win a title, and teams who want to win a title . . . but want use the Luxury Tax as the reasons why they can't get "such and such" player. If you know that Joe Johnson is a quality basketball player that can and will help your team, and you're willing to eat the cost of his contract for a while, it doesn't matter what he's getting paid. The only thing that matters is if he can help you win a title. This is why Brooklyn is banking that the trio of JJ - Deron - Lopez can get it done come playoff time, even if they're not the best regular season team. I truly believe they're the type of team that is built for a playoff series, and not necessarily for a great regular season. Korver is a great shooter, but he can't be your main guy because he's limited offensively. That's why he's a role player. He HAS to play with good talent, to maximize his effectiveness. No way could he be on the Bobcats, and play this well. Jamal is a great scorer, but he tends to struggle big time if he's your main guy, and the problem gets worse if you have to play him at the point. Playing alongside Paul is a perfect situation for him, because he'll hardly ever get doubled. JJ couldn't be a consistently good main guy either, but he does things well enough on both ends of the floor for him not to kill you either way. Of the 3, JJ is easily the all around better option. The flaw of the Hawks is that they should've at least used the MLE and even the LLE in one of those years in which they had JJ, Jamal, Horford, and Smith in the mix . . . and went well into the Luxury Tax for at least one year. That way, we could've really seen the potential of this squad. Instead, we relied on an oft-injured Tracy McGrady . . or a Vladimir Radmanovic . . or a Kirk Hinrich to bail us out. Teams that are serious about winning titles just don't do that. They go out and get quality guys. Guys who can win you a few games with their special talents. Teams that are terrified of the Luxury Tax, will never do it.

All I know is that we could've used Mr. Johnson on that final defensive possession.<br /><br />And that's the major difference between JJ, Jamal, and Kyle. No one would put Jamal or Kyle on Kobe at the end of a game. But JJ can and has been a defensive option in that very situation.<br /><br />As for offensive play, we all know which guy is best in the clutch and a better all around offensive player.<br /><br />The only difference is the money......period. Take the money out of the equation, we all know deep down who the choice would be, even if you're not fond of him.

And then again . . . you can always go to the actual game. Just go to the game man. If I lived in ATL, I'd at least try to make one game a week, if not be a season ticket holder.

Living in TN, the only time I get Hawks games on SportSouth, is when the Grizzlies aren't playing on the same night. I'm not paying for League Pass because I'm usually at work at night anyway. And I'm already paying for SynergySports, in which I can watch the replay of a game within 24 hours anyway . . plus get an extensive breakdown of each offensive and defensive play of the game. So the streaming websites are the best thing ever for fans like me who can't see the game any other way. Shoot, if I open my Skyfire web browser on my phone, I can literally watch games over my phone, like I did last night when I was in Chattanooga, and watched the 2nd half of the Hawks - Lakers game.

Josh is an offensive liability down the stretch. Josh is a defensive asset down the stretch. The two best offensive clutch plays Josh has ever made, have both come off of offensive rebounds that he put back for dunks or layups to win the game - the put back layup he had vs the Rockets in the 2009 - 10 season . . . ( a game in he was in foul trouble all game . . and a game in which Marvin Williams arguably had one of the best all around games of his career ). - the put back slam he had to beat Orlando in the 2009 - 10 season . . . ( game in which JJ was missing a ton of jumpshots, including the shot that Josh had to put back to win the game. ) He does NOT have the offensive game to be "that guy" in the clutch who can get the ball, ISO him or post him up, and expect to get points from him in that situation. He doesn't have a "solid go to move" ( neither does Horford, by the way ), he can't be relied on to make or create a midrange shot, and he can't be relied on to make 2 FTs if he gets fouled. In those "clutch" situations, Josh is best when he's either making a pass to a better offensive threat, or if he's crashing the lane to get an offensive rebound.

And that's why he gets bashed. Because the shot selection is ALWAYS an issue.I guarantee you had Josh went 2 - 11, but had all but about 2 of those shots be taken in the paint ( and no 3 point attempts ) no one would be "hating" on Josh. Instead, we have to talk about his shot selection in a game in which the shot was obviously not falling.Like I said, it's ............ disappointing.

4 - 24 from 3 point range since the All-star break.11 total shots last night and 5 were 3's.It's ........ frustrating.

Jody . . . are you saying that Smith is going to give us a "hometown discount"? Keep in mind that the Hawks back in 2008 virtually made Smith find his own deal, instead of offering him a deal to his liking. And this year, Ferry tried to trade him before the deadline. But because he and the team is starting to have a real good 2 week stretch, he's going to give us a discount, as opposed to go to a team like Houston? A team that plays even faster than we do, has a young superstar, and is a franchise that has won a championship before. The Lakers are going to MAX out Dwight, so they're going to make him turn down that extra 30 million that they can pay him. If he stays in LA, Smith becomes Houston's #1 target. And they can easily afford to max out Smith, and team him up with Harden, Lin, and Asik. Other than playing in ATL, it's actually the perfect scenario for him. The key to negotiations with Smith in Atlanta will be if he views himself as the best player on the team. If that's the case, he'll be looking to get as much money as possible. He isn't going to settle for an Al Horford like 5 yr - 60 mill contract, just so that the Hawks can stay together. Not when Houston, and a team like Cleveland ( who also has a young superstar in Kyrie Irving ) can and will go all out for him.

And to illustrate which is more important to the Hawks . . Josh's scoring . . or Josh's rebounding Hawks are 10 - 7 when Josh scores 20 or more points Hawks are 15 - 3 when Josh grabs 11 or more rebounds. Hawks are 14 - 4 when Josh dishes out 6 or more assists. Josh . . . embrace your inner Shawn Marion/Scottie Pippen

But back to the love fest of Horford - Smith - Teague Horford has scored 20+ points in the last 7 games . . . and is shooting a blistering 68% FG during that stretch. Hawks have a 6 - 1 record during this stretch as well. By the way . . Hawks record when Horford scores 20+ points in a game this season . . . 16 - 2 . . . . With the only 2 losses coming vs the Miami Heat

No we didn't. That was the Hawks simply giving him that 6th year to keep him in Atlanta. The Hawks had already committed to give him max money ( as were NY and possibly Chicago ). They just tacked on the 6th year to sweeten the pot. I seriously doubt that JJ would've turned down a 6 yr - 110 million deal from the Hawks, and take a 5 yr - 95 mill deal to go to Chicago. JJ wasn't itching to leave the Hawks . . ever.

I think most of us would've been happy if the Hawks finished this trip 3 - 3. Now that we're 3 - 0, it's time to get greedy and try to take ALL 6 . . or at least go 5 - 1. As for this being the best game ever by Horford - Smith - Teague together, I would agree with this. Horford played about as an aggressive of an offensive game as I've ever seen him play. Teague was just steady all game, looking unstoppable at times going to the hole. And Smith played the "souped up Shawn Marion" role that I always envisioned him playing. It was definitely nice to see all 3 play well at the same dang time.

Oh . . maybe you're talking about JJ leaving Phoenix to go to Atlanta. Well . . . you ARE talking about going from 3 million a year to 20 million a year in that 1st year in ATL. And a difference between a 70 million deal and the 45 million deal that Phoenix wanted to give JJ. As for Smith, we'll see what happens. When Milwaukee or Houston or Cleveland come courting him with a 4 year MAX deal, we'll see what the Hawks will offer him and if Smith will stay or go.

They're playing great basketball no doubt. But the chemistry just came about after Smith got suspended. Since then, Horford has taken more charge and dramatically elevated his play. Teague has been ultra aggressive and really excelled in transition. And Smith has only had 3 subpar shooting games all month. It's only been a 10 game stretch, but it's good to see. That's 3 in a row for this road trip. Then the STATEMENT GAME comes Sunday

Joe Johnson left the Hawks, or was going to leave to go to a lesser team ( join Melo in NYC or join Rose in Chicago )? That's news to me. I thought the team traded him? I guess I was wrong.

I think that was Diesel's prediction of Al about 2 years ago. That he had the potential to be a Karl Malone type player. Dude is looking like a monster recently. Not quite on Karl's level, but highly efficient nonetheless. On the verge of a 20 point - 20 rebound game as I type this . . and the 3rd quarter isn't even over yet. Pistons have absoluely no answer for Al, Josh, and Teague tonight. And now even Korver is heating up.