TheNorthCydeRises

Exactly. People like Teague, only because he's the newest guy on the team. When you watch him, he's obviously lost out there. That's why Woody doesn't trust to play him when the game is tight, and especially if we're behind. We're much better off going with Bibby and Crawford, and letting Teague sit and learn . . or play him when we have a safe enough lead. But your assessment of all 3 PGs are dead on.

Mad? No. Disappointed? Yes. He came out on fire in that game, but couldn't buy a shot after the 2nd quarter. He missed a couple of wide open 3's in that 2nd half that could've really swung the momentum in that game. That was the type of game where he really needed to try to get to the FT line. But that's not his game. He's going to live and die by the jumper, or by the ability to create for others. Last night ( after the 1st quarter ) just wasn't his night at all. I was more upset with the 3 turnovers he had in the 4th quarter, than the missed shots. Those turnovers were absolutely horrible. JJ's scoring in our "big games" ( Games vs the top 10 teams in the league ) @ LAL - 27 @ POR - 19 @ BOS - 24 vs DEN - 22 vs ORL - 22 @ DAL - 31 @ DEN - 16 vs CLE - 15 average ppg: 22 We're 4 - 4 in those games. If he comes out and has a real good night tonight, people will be right back on the JJ bandwagon. Sp I defiitely agree with coachx's post.

We got wide open looks in that 4th qtr, but they didn't fall. The defensive effort in the 2nd half was great. And I can't reinterate how good Marvin's one on one defense on Lebron was tonight. He looked like a bonafide defensive stopper tonight. Overall though, this loss is on the Captain. He missed a ton of open looks adter looking like he was going to go for 30 pts. He had a few defensive lapses as well. This was a game in which we needed people trying to draw fouls, but the refs were letting both sides play. LOL @ some of you going into negative mode overall about this team. The one thing about the Hawks this year, is that this team has played with tremendous focus on the road against good teams all year. Be careful about you say about this team tonight. They just may shock you tomorrow night.

JJ selling us out tonight. Too bad, because the defense, for the most part, has been excellent. Crowd want to cheer so bad, but they keep blowing it on offense. Hawks will have to get red hot down the stretch to pull this out. Down 11 . . 3:21 to go . . . game is probably over, but let's see what happens.

Hawks playing very sloppy ball offensively, but great defensively. Still in the game, but JJ needs to step up. Refs not giving Smoove a break at all.

Well . . the refs must not like Crawford's hop step move. That was pretty though. Nice to see the old Zaza back, scrapping hard. Now . . we need JJ to wake up and come alive in the 4th. He's been stuck on 13 since the 2nd qtr

Marvin is playing EXCELLENT DEFENSE on Lebron. And Crawford carrying us offensively.

SCORE: cavs - 37 . . . hawks 35 That damn bench that supposed to give us a big advantage over teams, let us down again.

Of course it's a packed house. And most were here at the start of the game, which is almost amazing for any atlanta sporting event. Score: 26 - 21 . . . and we got 3 of the bench in.

Great start by JJ so far. Hawks being ultra aggressive right now.

Exactly. And I know 30,000 isn't a lot of fans when you talk about baseball. I was just making the point that if 30,000 can make it to Braves games to a stadium that is basically in the downtown area, then the only thing keeping 17,000 PAID fans from making it to Hawks games on average, is their desire to see the team. Not anything else. Not the location or anything else like that. If we play the Cavs on a Tuesday night, it's going to be packed. We all know that. And we all know why it will be packed. If we play Golden St. on a Friday night, it may or may not be packed. That's the mentality that has to change. If adults and parents say that they can't make it to the weekday games . . . fine. Make a point to make it to the weekend games, no matter who we play. The people that call themselves "Hawk fans" need to want to go see the Hawks . . . not the Hawks only when we play someone major.

Well why do 30,000+ go to Turner Field during the spring and summer every night? Turner Field is what . . . 5 minutes outside of downtown? The excuses simply have to stop, when the Hawks are this good. Maybe they'll come during the 2nd half of the season.

This is one of the few things you and I agree on. Shoot, even in the last game we played against Indy, the bench was horrible. They single-handedly lost that 17 point lead that the starting unit had built up in the first quarter . . and they lost it almost instantly. The PER of the bench is due to Woody ONLY playing them extensive minutes when we're up in games. Fortunately for us, we've blown out a lot of teams this season, allowing the bench to get extended minutes against the other team's 2nd unit. The only people I trust off the bench this year, is Joe Smith and Crawford. And at times, I don't trust those two either. Woody already knows all of this though. Having said that . . . the Lakers are currently down by 12 going into the 4th quarter at Phoenix. No Artest . . Kobe has played the ENTIRE GAME so far ( and scored 32 points in 32 minutes ) . . and Adam Morrison has 5 of the bench's 11 points.

Interesting trade right there. Chicago is about to implode, because Del Negro is about to be fired at any time now. Deng is balling, but I don't know how Chicago fans would receive Marvin and Jamal back into the mix. Jamal would be a good scoring guard to play alongside Rose though. And Marvin is good enough so that he won't be a liability. For Houston, that would be a GREAT MOVE. Damn. They get Deng plus a outside shooting center in Miller? I think they'd have no problem doing that deal. Of course for us, we're the ones that has to worry about how healthy T-Mac is. If he can give us 1/2 a season + the playoffs . . it could be the move of the year. If not, it's a chemistry and depth killer. @ Benhillboy - You may be right man. He looked real bad last year health wise. Acquiring him would almost insure that the core of JJ - Smith - Horford stays together. I'm not the type that is willing to give up on Marvin, but I don't believe he's going to be a star player in this league either. His destiny is to be a solid starter for the next 7 - 10 years. If I were the GM, I wouldn't do it. LOL . . but I would do EXTENSIVE RESEARCH into it, before I made that decision. That's almost a Pau Gasol-like gift to a team, if T-Mac is at 80%.

That should read Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw

I think Miami would DEFINITELY do it, if they decided to play small ball. Joel Anthony gave us fits when he got extended minutes against us in the playoffs, with his shot blocking ability. He leads that team in blocks, despite playing just 15 minutes a game. At the pace he's on, he'd be the leading shot blocker in the league, if he got 30 minutes a game. So if that team did something like start Anthony at center, but also play Haslem extended minutes at center ( he's already playing spot minutes there now ), they may make a move for T-Mac. If this dude is 80% healthy, he immeadiately improves that Heat team. He can shoot the 3, and he's a great playmaker. The only question is his durability. And it's not like Jermaine is an iron man either. So to me, that's the obvious team that would make a move for him, that wouldn't hurt either team from a financial standpoint. A straight on, one for one swap.

One more thing. . . Woody would probably still try to play T-Mac off the bench, in the super 6th man role, like how he does with Crawford. He'd use T-Mac to dominate the middle of games, while JJ rested ( hopefully ). Then his lineup of Bibby - JJ - McGrady would try to kill people and end games, much like the Bibby - Crawford - JJ lineup does. Bringing him off the bench would limit his minutes and possibly preserve him. (( checking feesibility of this )) . . . I see that Marvin is a BYC player, which limits his value a little. That means it would take Marvin, Jamal, and Zaza to get T-Mac. Nevermind then. That's giving up way too much on an very good, but injury prone player. LOL . that means that we'd have to count on Morris AND Teague to play key minutes off the bench. They'd go from our 10th and 11th players, to the 7th and 8th players. Houston probably wouldn't take that much back in guaranteed salary anyway. I'f I'm them, I maybe want a decent player, plus some expiring contracts. But if we did do it, this would possibly be the lineup: G - Bibby G - JJ G/F - Evans ( 18 - 25 minutes a game ) F - Smith C - Horford Bench 6th - T-Mac ( 30+ minutes a game ) 7th - Joe Smith 8th - Teague 9th - Morris/Collins Ish . . I don't know. Maybe I'd still deal Crawford, Marvin, and Zaza for T-Mac. Woody is going to play the starters 33+ minutes a night anyway. And it's not like Zaza is playiing worth a damn these days. LOL . . nah. Too much to give up. Tempting as hell though. And I don't know if I'd be real upset if we made a 3 for 1 move like that. That would be a hell of a gamble . . but a championship-type gamble, if T-Mac played anywhere near his capability. No way could we survive if our starters got hurt though.

Told you. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6789894.html I DO NOT want to see this guy in the Eastern Conference, especially on Miami or Cleveland. The last thing we need is for them to add a guy who can occasionally play at a real high level on occasion, to compliment either Wade or Lebron. His contract situation is going to make the guy REAL ATTRACTIVE, especially if the Rockets are willing to take back a decent player with a few years still left on his deal. The team taking McGrady would simply be renting him for one year ( if they like ), and let his 23 million fall off the books. What I'm thinking, is that Houston may take back a contract(s) that still have years on them, to upgrade the team. They may take some expiring contracts as well, to balance out the deal. I hate to say this, but I think it may be CHARLOTTE. Would they part with Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw, to bring in McGrady. Houston could use a center, seeing that Chuck Hayes currently starts at center. He still has one more year on his deal after this year. He'd also represent a worst case scenario player, if Yao can't come back. Larry Brown doesn't like Diaw, so he'd gladly get rid of him. If T-Mac didn't work out for them, they could simply let him go, while ridding themselves of 20+ million in contracts. ( which would all of a sudden make them a player in 2010 free agency ) Question is . . . does Houston basically want to re-add 20 million back onto their payroll for next year. And do they see any potential value with Chandler and especially Diaw, seeing that he'd have 2 more years on his deal. The Diaw of 2005 that played for Phoenix, would be a real good fit in Houston. I don't know about the Diaw of 2009 - 10 though. The other team may be the Knicks, believe it or not. Once again, this is based off of Houston's possible need for a center. Would it hurt to bring in an Eddy Curry to that team, along with an expiring contract, in exchange for McGrady? Yeah, Eddie sucks, and he still has a player option on his deal in 2010 that will pay him 11 million next year. But if the Rockets are a playoff team, and they could use a big guy in the middle for added offense ( even if it's for 10 - 15 minutes a game in spot minutes off the bench ), do you bring in a guy like that, plus say a Cuttino Mobley ( who has been out all year ), in exchange for T-Mac? The move for the Knicks would simply give them a marquee type player to play in D'Antoni's system to see if he can function in it, plus allow them to shed Curry's contract. If they choose not to re-sign T-Mac, they'd REALLY be under the cap, and could easily offer 2 guys near max level deals. Just keep that dude out West. I don't want to see him in the East.

I started a thread a few days ago, thinking that they may trade T-Mac, that was moved to the "Around the NBA" forum. The Rockets have already said that they're not buying the guy out. It wouldn't make any sense for them to do that, seeing that this is the last year of his deal. They are willing to do a trade for him though. The Hawks, I think, could trade Marvin and Jamal Crawford and possibly get T-Mac right now. No way I'd do that though ( lol @ me saying that . . . because a healthy T-Mac would make us instant title contenders ). But the health is a concern. If he were to get hurt again, that would absolutely kill us depth wise. Mo would have to start and Teague would be forced to contribute right away. That's a HUGE gamble to take. However, this would put the Hawks, all of a sudden, in a great situation. They could possibly acquire the ultimate complimentary player to JJ. A guy who offensively can be very explosive and be the same type of playmaker that JJ is at times. Defensively, he's better than Crawford but maybe a little less active than Marvin. If the experiment failed, you now, all of a sudden, have enough money to give JJ a good deal, because T-Mac's 23 million falls off the Hawks payroll when you renounce his rights. And if we were to do something crazy, like get to the NBA Finals, we could possibly retain T-Mac for a few years at a very reasonable price. Possibly a Marvin-like price ( depending where his skills as a player are ) A move like this does force Woody to play Teague, unless Woody becomes a real mad scientist, and plays T-Mac at the point. One thing about this though, SOMEBODY will acquire this dude, injury prone or not. He'd basically be a rental type player for 1/2 season. And if a team didn't have to give up vital pieces to get him, they'll make a move to do just that. Cleveland: Big Z, Daniel Gibson, and Jamario Moon Miami: straight swap for Jermaine O'Neal New York: Eddy Curry & Cuttino Mobley ( or Nate Robinson + a filler ) Charlotte: Tyson Chandler & Eddy Curry The thing is, Houston does need a big man, because they currently have Chuck Hayes starting at center. So even if they traded for an overpaid scrub big man, the move may be justified to round out the roster. As long as he doesn't go to Cleveland or Miami, or to any other East team, I'm cool with it. Maybe Golden St will get him. But watch Mark Cuban try to add him to the Mavs. But surely Houston wouldn't trade with a division rival. LOL . . it's definitely something for us to think about from our perspective. But way too big of a risk to take, in my opinion. Marvin and Crawford for an 80% healthy T-Mac . . . . hmmmmm.

Well if those are the sentiments in Atlanta, fans in and around that city shouldn't get mad when people call the city as a whole a "bad sports town" or a "bandwagon fan base". I'm sorry, but if people in that city are using the past "failures" of the Hawk teams in the 90s, as a reason for them not supporting this current Hawk team, then I don't know what to say about them. If they are fans of the Hawks, those are the ones that I don't want to see crying about the product on the floor, or our supposedly "cheap" ownership. The Braves thing always amazed me. When the team was absolute garbage, they hardly got any support. When they became good, EVERYBODY all of a sudden were Braves fan. But then, when they were good, but not great, the fans got complacent as hell, even during playoff time. Like they were the Yankees or something, and expected to win titles every year. Please. That's why I kind of feel sorry for any Hawk fan that refuses to completely enjoy this team in 2010, simply because they feel that the Hawks can't win a title. Really? After all the crap this franchise has been through since we traded Mookie and Smitty? After basically being a laughingstock for 9 straight years. Really? As good as last year's team was playing at this time, they weren't doing what this year's team is doing. This team not only is good, they play a much more exciting brand of basketball. Anybody that watches ESPN on a regular basis, should know that the Hawks are a real good team. Like I said, NO EXCUSES for the Atlanta fan base. NONE. If people won't come out to watch a top 10 NBA team, and one of the best home teams in the league, then shame on them.

Woody on Jamal Crawford: ( from Hoopsworld.com article "Best NBA Trade of the Summer?" http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14767 ) "He's been a big part of (our success)," said Hawks head coach Mike Woodson. "We knew coming in that he wasn't going to start for our team based on the nucleus of our team and how the makeup of our team was already set. So I approached him and he and I sat down and I told him, 'You should try and lead the league in scoring off the bench.' If somebody gets hurt in the starting lineup then we will possibly move him into the lineup, but he's played his role beautifully for our team in terms of coming in and scoring." **** For everything that Crawford has done right this season, his new head coach in Atlanta is still pushing him to try and expand his game. "I'm pleased with him, but as a coach I'm pushing him to defend and help us rebound because that's where the game is won. I don't know how much he's ever been pushed in that category, but here he's going to be held accountable to have to defend. He better fake it or do something, but he's going to be accountable to defend and help us rebound." LMAO @ "he better fake it or do something" That last line is classic. And it just shows how much of a footprint Woody has on HIS TEAM and HIS PLAYERS.

The owner who sold the team to the OKC businessmen should've never sold the team to them anyway. Schultz was the Seattle owner that sold them out. He was just trying to get the best deal possible. And even though he "thought" that the OKC owner was acting in good faith, he should've known better. Unless he DID know better, and just didn't give a damn. He made over 100 million over what he bought the team for. He knew what he was doing. It's a sad story. Almost as sad as when the Browns moved to Cleveland. If any team will move, it'll probably be Memphis. But if that team starts playing better, they'll pack the place. The FedEx forum is REAL NICE.

What makes Boston great, is that they're a scary defensive team. What they did against Orlando yesterday, without Pierce, was impressive.

Plus, Maynor was in a similar situation that Jeff Teague is in, outside of the money reasons why Utah dealt him. He was playing behind a more than capable PG in Deron, who is going to play 37 - 40 minutes a night, no matter what. And with Ronnie Price back in the mix, Sloan probably trust him to play the spot minutes needed at the point behind Williams, rather than trying to develop Maynor.

Mods . . . go ahead and move this, if you don't think this is relevent to the Hawks ( although I'll try to make it relevant ) http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4772672 It's almost like the Houston organization wants to make McGrady mad enough to ask for a trade request, so that they could work out a deal to get rid of him before the trade deadline McGrady is an expiring contract at the end of the season, that is going to free up a ton of cap room for Houston in the summer ( although maybe not enough to sign a max player ). Houston OBVIOUSLY likes their team without McGrady ( and even without Yao ). They've opted to "bring back McGrady slowly", by bringing him off the bench in limited minutes. And that article states that he won't play at all this weekend. I think they're trying to deal him. The may take a combination of expiring contracts and a decent player, in exchange for McGrady. Now I don't think Boston or Orlando will bring a guy like that in. We obviously wouldn't do it. So that leaves 2 teams in the East that would possibly do it. Cleveland and Miami. Cleveland could send Big Z, Daniel Gibson, and Jamario Moon to Houston for T-Mac. If McGrady isn anywhere close to what he used to be, he'd be the perfect sidekick to Lebron, and would give the Cavs a chance to play LeBron more off the ball. Miami could do one better though. They could simply do a lateral trade of expiriing contracts. McGrady for Jermaine O'Neal . . straight up. In either case, the acquisition of T-Mac by either of those teams could just give us an another headache to deal with, in our quest to get the highest playoff seed possible. At this stage in his career, he would be a perfect complimentary player to Lebron or Wade. He would also be a possible worse case scenario type insurance policy for either team, if they happened to lose their superstar.