TheNorthCydeRises

LOL So is Horford the superstar the Hawks need to build around now? Horford definitely needs more touches on offense ( even more than Josh ), but he's not "the man". He played great tonight, but lets not get carried away now.

Josh will get love if he puts up 23 and 11 on 58% FG shooting in a winbut just don't expect it if he puts up 23 and 11 on 43% shooting in a loss . . from the PF spot.Frontline players need to shoot a high percentage. And the only reason why Smith doesn't shoot a high percentage is because he wants to prove to everybody that he can make an 18 footer, instead of slashing WITHOUT THE BALL toward the rim, ( like Ivan does ), and get most of his points and shots around the rim.Until that happens, people will ALWAYS complain about Smith. He needs to stop trying to be like Kevin Durant, and try to be more like Kenneth Faried.

If Ivan didn't prove he deserves consistent minutes after this game, I don't know what else he can do.Great win by the Hawks tonight. Al stepped up. Teague stepped up. And Zaza and Lou came up big in the 4th.

43% FG from your PF is bad. And he had to make 4 of his last 5 shots just to get to 43%. And of course, the shot he missed was a 3, that Teague should've taken. Josh just needs to play to his strengths. People wouldn't complain so much about him, if he just did that.

I hope it's Devin, because he's on my fantasy squad. He's getting cut tonight if he has a bad performance.

PG - TeagueG - StevensonF - KorverPF - TolliverC - HorfordReally Larry? Really?OKC startersPG - WestbrookG - SefoloshaF - DurantPF - IbakaC - PerkinsI'm assuming that Korver will be on Sefolosha, while Stevenson takes on Durant.Oh man, this game could get ugly FAST.

Question:What happens if Horford and the team plays real well today and wins at OKC without Josh? Does that mean that we're better off without him? Because that seemed to be the consensus that people had last year when Josh beat OKC without both JJ and Horford.

Harden didn't knock down his open looks and had a few shots go in and out last night. And Matthews ( who is 6-5 . . 220 ) did do a good job defending him last night. Portland also threw out different looks at him with multiple players running out at him at times. That still doesn't discount his talent as an elite guard in this league. As teams adjust to how they want to defend him, he'll adjust to them. He could've easily had 10 assists in that game had Delfino knocked down those open looks he had, but even he was ice cold. The Rockets last night honestly looked like a tired team who had played 3 games in 4 nights, traveling from Detroit, to ATL, to Houston. Let's not get it twisted though. That team is truly devoid of talent, and Harden and Lin are head and shoulders the best players on that team. There a team that shouldn't make the playoffs this year, or even finish above .500 That's why it's so disturbing that WE lost to them at home, simply because we couldn't stop Harden or keep them off the boards. That loss said a whole hell of a lot about us, Hopefully we're not nearly as bad as a talentless Rocket team with only one superstar and one good but erratic PG. As for Harden, he goes through the defensive gauntlet the next 8 days. vs Denver . . ( with Iguodala guarding him and Faried and McGee protecting the rim ) @ Memphis . . ( with Tony Allen guarding him and Gasol and Randolph clogging the lane ) vs Detroit . . ( with them probably making significant defensive adjustments ) vs Miami . . ( with Wade guarding him, and Battier and Lebron probably getting their shot at him too ) As a team, the Rockets should go 1 - 3 in that stretch. But don't be surprised if Harden does this in the next 4 games. 27 ppg 6 rebs 6 asst 45% FG 38% 3FG If he does that against those teams, he's a legit superstar already.

Man that's a bunch of bull. LOL . . anything to down Harden I guess. Ginobli does NOT have the all around offensive skills that Harden has. Manu was damn good as the #2 and #3 option in San Antonio. But in the few times that Duncan went down, it wasn't Manu who elevated his game to superstar level, it was Tony Parker. And that's why Tony is "the man" now, and not Manu's crippled self. And there is no telling how much of a better player Joe Johnson could've been, if he had a legit low post scoring option on his team, or a real good PG. Remember, JJ had neither of those things while he was in ATL. The best post player JJ played with in ATL is still Al Harrington . . and the best PG may have arguably been Speedy Claxton, seeing that JJ set up Bibby for many more shots, than Bibby set up JJ for shots.

JJ in that 2009 playoff series: 17.1 ppg ( on 15.1 shots ) 4.4 rebs 3.1 asst 41.5% FG 43.5% 3FG Had two 25+ point games, including the stellar Game 7. Meanwhile, Wade averaged 29 ppg . . but was held to 43% FG. And he had a monster Game 6. The only thing JJ did, was outplay Wade when it counted . . in Game 7 Even as a big JJ fan, this was obvious even before Harden became "the man". Harden simply has more offensive talent than JJ. He's quicker. He's a better ball handler. He's a better passer. He's a better shooter. He's more athletic. The dude is a 6-5 version of a young T-Mac . . with a better outside shot . . and possibly better court vision and better handles. Defensively he may be weaker than JJ. But Harden has always had all the offensive tools to be a SUPERSTAR. And he's proving that already. It's a reason why he was the #3 pick in the draft in 2009 ( probably should've been #2, seeing that Thabeet went #2 that year to Memphis ). And if WinScore ( Win Share ) is an indicator of who is really a good player, Harden has the best WinScore per 48 in that draft class right now 1) Harden ( .176 ) 2) Griffin ( .164 ) 3) Lawson ( .149 ) When he has his first bad or sub-par game, it won't prove that he's not a superstar. It'll simply prove that he is human. All I know, is that if Harden was doing all of this for the Hawks, people would be proclaiming him to be the next Dominique ( as a scorer ), and would stop waiting on "Midrange Shawty" to become a superstar.

???When did he sprain his ankle?

SMH - So the Hawks give up 109 points - Harden drops a career high 45 points on us . . on 19 shots - Lin goes for 21 pts - 10 rebs - 7 asst - Asik goes 0 - 7 FG, doesn't score, but grabs 19 rebounds? - And a guy who had never scored in double figures in an NBA game ( Marcus Morris ), scores 17 pts? This is why I can't invest hardly any emotion into this season. This was just a ridiculous loss on all showings, including the coach, who doesn't play one of his best rebounders in Ivan Johnson. Just a bad loss tonight. And I guess it gets worse on Sunday.

Hawks 101 . .. Rockets 92Horford: 23 pts - 11 rebs . . 2 blksSmith: 17 pts - 9 rebs - 4 asst - 3 blksHarden: 29 pts - 7 asstLin: 9 points ( 3 - 11 FG ) . . 5 asst

No way should this team lose to the Rockets. Horford and Smith have a distinct advantage, unless Asik is that good defensively. Harden could still get 30, and the Rockets lose by 8 or more points.I'd be highly disappointed if we lost tonight.

Marvin is their SF, with Milsap ( PF ) and Jefferson ( C ) on the frontline. And looks like Jamal is off and flying in LAC, with 29 huge points last night, including this ankle breaker on Rudy Gay. Good Jamal is always fun to watch. http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7EY0RzGWZM It's Bad Jamal that sends you to the toiet

I sat in front of them one time last year, when we played Toronto. An entertaining bunch I must say. Wish that section was larger, or better yet, have the end zone seats behind each basket as the "student section"

Smith has his best games when his midrange jumper is falling at a high rate. Unless he turns into Dirk, he's not going to be that "lead dog" type of player. He just doesn't have the skillset to consistently create his own offense and score efficiently. And he doesn't make FTs at a high enough rate. With all of the offensive type players on this team, I just can't see him getting 28% usage again this year, and scoring 20+ points. He'll have to dramatically improve that FG% to well over 50%, to get to 20 ppg.

And the thing is . . . he got those 37 points EASY.The number of points really isn't that significant. It's the fact that he showcased just about every facet of his game, that was significant.- he drove- he defended- he shot from deep- he shot in the midrange- off screens- spot ups- ISOs- and passed the ball extremely wellThis wasn't just a 37 point game. This was him playing at an all around superstar type level.If he goes for 23 points against us, and is efficient, it still proves that this guy is a big time talent. He will have bad games, just like every player. But if he's consistently good to great, it will validate what Houston thought of him.

I have no doubt that someone will throw a MAX or near max deal at Smith. If I'm the Charlotte Bobcats, I'd do just that. I'm definitely doing it if I'm Cleveland, now that they already have a potential superstar playing the point in Kyrie Irving.PG - IrvingG - WaitersF - ThompsonPF - SmithC - VarejaoIrving and Smith are a nice building block for a young team like that, and might elevate them to borderline playoff status within a year or two.A team is definitely going to aggressively going to go after Josh, if he has a good year.

LOL . . exactly. All around, Josh is one of the top 10 best in the league in stuffing the stat sheet. But we all know what a top 10 player looks like. And it isn't Mr. Smith. I just want him to play more around the rim at all times.

But the thing about the Heat is that their 2 best players can literally play AND defend 3 positions at a high level ( Wade - PG, G, SF ) . . ( Lebron - G , SF, PF ). And their next best player can be an All-Star at 2 positions ( Bosh - PF, C ). No one will admit this, but the Hawks last year were more comparable to the Heat this year. Smith could play 3 positions ( 2 at a high level ) JJ could play 3 positions ( 2 at a high level ) Marvin could play 3 positions T-Mac could play 3 positions Horford could play 2 positions at a high level Matter of fact, these were the starters last year at the beginning of the season when we bet Miami PG: Teague G: Johnson F: Marvin PF: Smith C: Horford With T-Mac looking like the greatest vet minimum signing ever It was the "Billy Knight Wet Dream Lineup", in which most of your starting lineup is 6 - 8 or taller, and everyone is versatile as hell. Last year's squad looked much more like the Miami Heat of 2012 - 13, than this year's.

Forget Miami . . . I'm just concerned with how we match up with Houston PG: Teague ( 6 - 2 . . . 181 lbs ) --- vs --- Lin ( 6 - 3 . . . 200 lbs ) G: Harris ( 6 - 3 . . . 192 lbs ) --- vs --- Harden ( 6 - 5 . . . 220 lbs ) F: Korver ( 6 - 7 . . . 212 lbs ) --- vs --- Parsons ( 6 - 9 . . . 227 lbs ) PF: Smith ( 6 - 9 . . . 225 lbs ) --- vs --- Patterson ( 6 - 9 . . . 235 lbs ) C: Horford ( 6 - 10 . . . 250 lbs ) --- vs --- Asik ( 7 - 0 . . . 255 lbs )

The reason why I posted a game clip of Dominique, is to show you that their games are nothing alike except in one area . . . transition offense. Nique could do it ALL offensively. He could knock down difficult midrange jumpers better than JJ. He could finish in traffic better than Josh. He could get to the FT line a ton. And he had a better post game than Al Horford. You just can't say "if Josh could shoot better and was a better dribbler, he'd be in the same convo as Nique". Umm . . no he wouldn't. That's like saying . . "if Jeff Teague had better court vision, he'd be Rajon Rondo". No . . he wouldn't. What Hawk fans, and people around Smith need to stop doing, is stop lying to that dude about what he can become. He is going into YEAR 9 of his NBA career. He just doesn't have the offensive skillset to be a superstar that carries his team. What he does have, is the defensive skillset to become known as one of the great defenders in the NBA. Josh isn't even Shawn Kemp. So comparing him to Nique ( even in a stretch ) is beyond the question. *************** @ T21 . . I just refuse to lie about what Smith is, or can become. The minute I tell a lie about Smith, make sure to call me out on it.

Josh Smith is no Dominique Wilkins. Not even close to Nique. And this isn't even young Nique. This is OLD Nique. Nique and Smith only have dunking in common. And even in that aspect, Nique is light years ahead of Smith because Smith only goes into traffic and dunks on people when he's mad ( see the Ibaka dunk ) . Meanwhile, Nique used to do it all the time. Nique did it to electrify the crowd and embarrass people.Josh is the 2nd coming of Larry Nance, a guy who was a great help defensive player who could also score the basketball. But even Nance had a better jumper and post game than Josh. Nance played on those very good Cleveland Cavalier teams that couldn't get past Jordan and the Bulls. Keep in mind that Josh had 28.4% usage last year ( superstar type usage ), and led the Hawks in shots last year . . and he still only averaged 19 ppg. And that's because he's a below average FT shooter and only shot 46% FG from the PF spot.Josh an All-Star . . yesJosh a Superstar . . no way

You sure? http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2012/10/22/Jeremy-Lin-China-Hopes-102212.aspx http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7oy6fUKuKE