TheNorthCydeRises

I know JJ will never equal those guys. But just about every scorer on every team in the NBA can be labeled as "selfish", if your idea of being selfish is when a guy goes into modes in which he's looking for his own shot. If the main guy on the team makes it a priority to shoot the ball on certain possessions, then even guys like Jason Terry and Ray Allen can be labeled as "selfish". And JJ still passes more than the vast majority of SGs in this league. Way more. While JJ's 3-point shooting is down, his overall FG% is up. Now why do you think that is? He's missing the wide open looks, but is actually converting on the tougher shots, because he's making it a priority to drive the basketball ( even when he's going one on 2 or 3 ). When he does that, he has a better chance in drawing a foul. That's the reason Crawford has been so successful, because he's doing the same thing JJ is. JJ's shooting wasn't the reason why Charlotte and the Lakers beat us down. Even when JJ went cold in the Laker game, we were right there. I believe JJ was leading the team in points, assists, and rebounds in that Laker game, before the meltdown happened. So JJ should average 6 - 8 assists a game on bad nights? That shows just how highly you think of JJ, because I don't know of another SG in the league outside of D-Wade, that you would expect that from. But once again, to achieve that, people have to make shots and convert lay-ups.

The dude has been criticized for not playing as aggressive as he should be in the past ( as recently as last year's playoffs. ) So now that he's looking to drive the ball and shoot more, he's playing selfish? Nah . . not buying that at all. That's like calling Smoove a "cancer". Even if there's friction between he and Woody ( and possibly even JJ ), and because he may pout at times, labeling Smith a "cancer" is far from the truth. I hate when the national media still tries to put that label on Smoove, when they haven't had a public blow up in years. LOL @ JJ being selfish, when he's still averaging over 4 assists a game, with 2 extra PGs on the team, and Smoove passing like Lamar Odom ( and he would be averaging more if Marvin started knocking down jumpers ). And that's another thing. If it's anybody that will pass the ball to Marvin, it's JJ. Just because he didn't do it on that one occasion, doesn't mean he ignores Marvin. Marvin pretty much depends on Bibby and JJ to get his open jumpshots. By the way, Marvin is shooting 33% eFG on his jumper this year. Scorers are scorers in this league, because they can score in a variety of ways. And the true scorers CAN go 1 on 3 and get the job done. But if JJ passes the ball, and guys don't convert, what should he do? In the playoffs, people were literally begging JJ to shoot or "take over" . . not pass to a cold Flip so he can shoot it. Now he's selfish because he's trusting his own shot a little more? Hogwash.

The hilarious thing about all of this . . . is that JJ is saying EXACTLY what the fan base is thinking. But for some reason, the fans don't want JJ to say it? If it's any consolation, JJ has spoken out after the last 3 losses . . because we got the hell beat out of us in each of those losses. I don't count the preseason loss, but since he did speak out on it, you have to include that game to the 2 regular season beatdowns. The Orlando game I excuse, because we just ran into a buzzsaw that night. But in the Laker loss, we were right with them, until the team got into a little trouble, then we melted down. While JJ had a great 1st quarter in that game, he went cold the rest of the way because of the increased defensive pressure. But what happened in that game is exactly what JJ talked about. Their frontline punked us ( mainly Smoove and Marvin ), and we did play soft. But the fan base doesn't want JJ to say that, even though it was true? And in that game JJ was the only one rebounding for most of the game. So we go to Portland and play a good game. JJ and Crawford did their jobs from a scoring standpoint, while everyone else played to their strengths and did their jobs. And we played decent defense. In Charlotte, that definitely looked like a team suffering from jet lag. But while everyone is supposedly getting on JJ for not doing more in the Charlotte loss, don't forget that he had 9 points in that 1st quarter alone. But the other guys didn't do their jobs from a rebounding standpoint. In that game though, JJ was guarding Raja Bell most of the time, and the switching defense left him open far too much that game. So he has to take some of the blame for Raja's performance. Here's what I don't get from the fans. On one hand, some fans want him to play like Kobe and Lebron. But to do that, he has to be a somewhat selfish offensive player and take a lot of tough shots ( even when they're going 1 on 1 . . . or 1 on 5 ). The "elite" guys ARE SELFISH from that standpoint. You saw that firsthand with Carmelo last might, because although he was playing horribly, he didn't stop shooting for one bit. But because his main role is to score the basketball, it is expected from the rest of the team to do other things to help the team. When JJ mentions that guys started to go one on one, it's because their offensive skills isn't made to do that. Only JJ and Crawford have the skills to score one on one ( or even two on one ), in a wide variety of ways. Then on the other hand, some fans want JJ to pass and play more team ball. But for that to be successful, his team has to convert when he passes to them. Isn't that why all of these threads about Marvin surfaced last week? Isn't that part of the reason why people want Bibby's minutes cut? If he plays the facilitator role, the guys around him must convert. So people can't have it both ways. If you want the scorer JJ, in which he's in attack mode, even if he has to go 1 on 3 sometimes, he has to be a somewhat selfish ballplayer ( in terms of jacking up shots ). If you want "team player" JJ, the guys around him have to convert when the ball is in their hands. About the only thing JJ isn't doing these days, is knocking down the open 3 pointer. He's missing a lot of those. If he were doing that, he may be close to averaging 25 ppg. But his intensity level on the court this year is definitely higher. - he's taking the ball to the hole more than I've ever seen from him - he's taking a lead to guard the opponents best perimeter scorer at times - and maybe most surprising, he's really looking to help rebound the basketball. So when this team gets beat down in a game, I have no problem with the Captain expressing his displeasure. God knows he fans will do it in a heartbeat. @ busboy . . . some of them hate on JJ for 3 main reasons: - they're mad at him for not accepting that extension, even though none of the other top 5 UFAs accepted one from their team. They'd rather for him to just take a lowball offer for less years, than for him to get all he can get ( either from us or someone else ) - they've never respected ( or accepted ) JJ as being the best player on the team, so they get irritated when people talk about him like he's a top 15 player in the league and deserves to be paid big money. - if they can build up some hatred for JJ, it'll be easier for them to emotionaly let go of JJ if he signs somewhere else.

Definitely the best I've seen Smoove play in his career. He showed flashes of the Shawn Kemp-like power player that I think he can be. And once again, after JJ calls "the team" out, "the team" responds with a good game to produce a win. 7 games in, and Smoove hasn't attepted a single 3 pointer. That's amazing to me. And that has dramatically improved his FG%. 57% FG? For Smoove? Even after 7 games, that's incredible for him.

Haha . . I was thinking the same thing at that exact moment. That would be too funny. But even over the TV broadcast, you could hear some dude just going off. I think it happened on the JJ phantom foul when he bodied up on Melo. The fans immeadiately started booing, and you could hear a guy going off on the ref. Haha . . then the ref calls for the police. As for the game, it's amazing the energy Josh Smith plays at home, compared to how he plays on the road. I think that was the best I've ever seen him play. The effort and energy were all there last night. The most impressive play in my mind, was when he faced up Balkman, drove past him, and DUNKED the ball even though he'd only beat him by a little. THAT'S A SHAWN KEMP-LIKE PLAY. That's the aggressivemess I wish he'd show all the time when going to the hole. I thought I'd never see the day where Smoove would play like that. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new, powerful Josh Smith. If he keeps this up, he's going to shoot well over 50% for the year. Great energy by Marvin as well. He knocked down open shots and was aggressive in going to the basket. JJ was JJ when we needed him to be. Crawford was great again. Horford battled his way to another double double. Bench played well in the 1st half. And the defense was so much improved last night. Tyrone Hill said at halftime that coach just keeps telling these guys to drive the basketball more. I knew it had to be a reason why Crawford was trying to drive more, rather than settling for the long to midrange jumper 90% of the time. Just a good all-around win by this team. 5 - 2 start to start the season. I'll definitely take that. If we can get to the end of November with an 11 - 6 record, I'll take that all day.

I wouldn't say it was an oversight, because they drafted a PG. When they did that, plus trade for Crawford, I think that pretty much said that Flip wasn't in the plan for this year. But would I like to have Flip here? Hell yeah. At least for this year. I would've gladly sacrificed a year of development for Teague, in order to have Flip here. Flip is a better man defender than Teague, but not quite as athletic. But a Crawford - Flip 2nd unit would put tremendous pressure on the opposing team to stop the both of them. And you're right, it may allow JJ to get that 15 w 17 minutes of rest per night, that people want.

Joe Smith has a better midrange jumper than Zaza . . and that's it. He's not a better rebounder, or a better defender, or tougher than Zaza . . oe hustles more. Remember, this is a guy that pretty much no one wanted, not even his own team. And Cleveland could definitely use him, you'd think. But he's being sold here like he would be a vital part of our bench. In a regular game with everyone healthy, he should never play more than 10 minutes a game.

He's much more of an aggressive player when he plays the 4. That's why I say that he'd be better as the backup 4, than Joe Smith is. The same goes for JJ at the 3 over Evans, and Carawford at the 1 over Teague. Woody will figure it out soon enough. And when he does, I think only Zaza and Crawford will be playing more than 15 minutes a game off the bench. I've said from the jump that Joe Smith shoudn't play more than 10 minutes a game. Horford and Marvin should be seeing more time at PF, with Joe Smith playing spot minutes or when Smoove and Marvin is in foul trouble. Being able to play 10 guys, doesn't necessarily make you 10-deep We're more like 8 deep ( Crawford, Zaza, Evans ), with 2 guys who should get no more than spot minutes on most nights ( Joe Smith, Teague )

JJ is right Game. You may not like him expressing it that way, but he's right. To beat Denver tonight, we're going to have to play team basketball with guys looking for each other. But guys also have to know that JJ is the scorer on the team. So if other guys are better at doing other things, then they should be doing those things. Having said that, if JJ keeps calling out the team, someone on that team ( that is taking offense to what he's saying ), is eventually going to take a shot at JJ and his play. As the captain of the team though, JJ is doing exactly what he should be doing. He's probably simply reinterating everything that Woody is telling them after losses.

In the "old days", a team might have done the opposite of what you suggest. Because if that were the case . . . - Kurt Rambis never starts with the 80s Lakers - Vinnie Johnson would've started in a 3-guard likeup with the 80s Pistons - Stacey Augmon wouldn've started with the 90s Hawks - The 90s Bulls wouldn't have wasted time starting Bill Cartwright - Greg Oestertag sure in the hell wouldn't have started in Utah in the 90s Teams win in the NBA by playing defense. Offense will only take you so far. But if you don't stop anybody, you're still going to be at risk for losing games. There are plenty of teams in this league that can score the basketball. But they won't win jack, because they can't stop their opponent. While the defense of the starters have sucked, the 2nd team is even worse. The Bibby - Crawford backcourt is only viable if they're scoring the basketball. And even then, the defense will suffer. No matter how many people hate Marvin starting, his presence in the starting lineup is a defensive necessity . . unless you start Evans. It may take a few weeks for Woody to get the right mix in the lineup, as far as the rotation. And I agree that the entire 2nd unit shouldn't all be in the game at the same time. They've been overhyped here since Day 1. In reality, this rotation should only go 9-deep, with Crawford and Zaza the only guys being assured of getting decent PT off the bench. Everybody else should get spot minutes at best. If we hold serve at home, Woody will still willingly play 10 guys. But if we"re playing .500 ball, he's going to shorten the lineup. Everybody, including me, wants Teague to get decent minutes to get his feet wet in the league. Bu he and Crawford have to start playing better together, especially defensively. Right now, both of them are matadors on defense, with Teague maybe getting the occasional steal off a loose ball. If people want to start Crawford so bad, Bibby is the guy you bench, not Marvin. Or you can bench both Bibby and Marvin, start Crawford at point, Mo at the 2, and JJ at the 3. Starting Bibby and Crawford together though, should not be an option.

That steal by Smoove at the end of the quarter is potentially huge. 15 points is doable, if they play lights out defense. The first team to 96 wins this game.

LOL . . yeah Hawks. The starters don't rebound and the 2nd unit don't play a lick of defense. This is the type of game in which Woody may have to reduce Craw's minutes in the 2nd half, and keep whichever PG that is playing the best defense out on the floor. Look for heavy minutes for Marvin and JJ, if we get back in this game.

Crawford will have his hands full with DJ Augustin tonight. Chandler isn't Okafor, but he'll still pose a problem for our frontline, especially with keeping him off the glass. Wallace, if he plays the 4, always has his way with Smmove, because he's the one guy that is just as quick and athletic as he is. This game should probably still be relatively close late in the 4th quarter. Hopefully, we'll eventually pull away, like in the Sacramento game. We definitely don't need the ex-Hawks ( Diaw and Fip ) coming up big tonight.

I hope people don't think this will be an easy game. Usually, Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace are the usual Hawk killers, along with some other guy. Last year ( or in 2008 ), it was the 3 point shooter ( Matt Carroll? ), knocking down all kinds of shots from 3 point range. Hawks have lost 5 of the last 6 games in Charlotte. Josh Smith, in particular, seems to not play well there. Remember, Charlotte was the scene of the infamous double-bird shot that Smoove flipped to the Bobcat crowd. And after the 2007 blowout loss right before the All-Star game, this board EXPLODED with Fire Woody posts. Even I was for FIRING WOODY after that game. But I think that game was the turning point for the Hawks. I think that's when the decision was made to go get Mike Bibby. But that loss in Charlotte was a night of hopelessness for Hawk fans. Yes, we're a different team. A better team. But I don't like that arena.

I see we're on a merry-go-round, so I'll re-state my position one last time, and you can have the final word. - I'm not against Teague playing 10 - 20 minutes a night. I just know that with the talent on this team, and the talent at the position he plays, that it may or may not happen on some nights. And the only way he plays close to 20 minutes in a game, is if it's a blowout . . Crawford and/or Bibby are in foul trouble . . or if he's having a very good game. People shouldn't be too concerned if he isn't playing steady minutes at the start of the season. - It's the 2nd week of the season and JJ is averaging 37 minutes a game. 35 minutes should be the target. Anything less than that is probably detrimental to the team. JJ's minutes will balance out, as long as Crawford isn't stinking it up at SG. So I'm not going to freak out if the guy is playing more than 36 minutes in some games early in the season. But we do have some very tough games coming up this month, ( Denver, Boston, Orlando, etc ) so I wouldn't be surprised if JJ logs some more 37 - 40 minute games. - If Crawford is playing like a star, I have little problem with him being on the court for extra minutes, outside of his defense. But I have said that Woody can only play him major minutes if his offensive game is on. If not, then Bibby or Teague has to be in, because Crawford will shoot us out of games. - Bibby is a veteran PG that can shoot, pass, and has basketball smarts ( on offense ). I trust him more than I trust the rookie. So if Woody opts to play him 16 - 18 minutes in the 2nd half of games, instead of the 12 - 14 minutes he's been getting in the 1st half, I have no problem with it. As the coach has said . . he's not sacrificing games, just to give guys minutes. I don't disagree at all with that philosophy.

Did you watch that game Ex? I did. Cleveland was actually kicking Boston's azz in that 1st quarter. They were down 13 - 15 points I think. It was actually Boston's 2nd unit ( which Shelden is a part of ) that got them back in the game during the 2nd quarter. He had to have played about 9 minutes during that stretch alone. So there's 9 of your 13 minutes right there. Then he played the 1st part of the 4th quarter. 13 minutes. So let's translate that to Teague. If Teague has an impactful 1st half, or if he's part of the group that extends a lead or gets us back in a game, he'd probably be rewarded with at least 13 minutes too. But if Crawford is playing like a top 10 player in the league, and the game is tight, and you have Bibby rested on the bench . . there's no question who you're going to call on down the stretch. And it ain't the rookie. I mean, if Woody really wanted to, he could go with a solid 9-man rotation ( with Evans and Joe Smith as the 8th and 9th men ), with Teague completely out the mix. And the team wouldn't suffer from it AT ALL.

I mean . . it's a no-brainer. Bibby's intelligence, veteran savvy, and his shooting are all reasons NOT to reduce his minutes for a rookie. Since they won't do it . . I'll set a rotation that'll get Teague 10 minutes. PG: Bibby ( 28 ) - Crawford ( 10 ) - Teague ( 10 ) G: JJ ( 24 ) - Crawford ( 18 ) - Evans ( 6 ) F: Marvin ( 30 ) - JJ ( 12 ) - Evans ( 6 ) JJ - 36 Marvin - 30 Bibby - 28 Crawford - 28 Evans - 12 Teague - 10 See . . . that wasn't so bad. Now here's the question. During those times in the 2nd halves of games, in which we're behind, do you really want to stick with the rotation that sees Teague and Evans get the rest of their minutes . even though you know that JJ and Crawford can extend themselves past the 36 and 28 minute mark that they're set to play? Shelden averages 17 minutes a game. But in a game against a "bad team" ( T-Wolves ), the Celtics found themselves in a battle. So Shelden saw his minutes cut in half, playing only 9 minutes ( as the 9th man on that squad ) But I guess Doc Rivers was supposed to reduce the minutes of Perkins, KG, and Rasheed, just so Shell ( the guy with the 22.5 PER ) could get his extra 8 minutes in a tight game against a bad team on the road? Right.

Simple. Boston is beating the hell out of people, so bench players like Shelden can get more playing time. The Big Baby injury helps too. Otherwise, he may be in the same boat as Teague. You're not going to play Shelden 17 minutes a game, if your frontline consists of KG, Perkins, Rasheed, and Big Baby. If Big Baby is healthy, he's the 4th big man and Shelden is #5.

Will you guys stop it about the PER of a bench player who plays limited minutes. You know good and well his PER in limited minutes isn't an indication of his actual production, if he got significant minutes. You know the bench player I listed but did not name in a previous post . . who if you took his PER 36 numbers, he averages 16 pts - 12 rebs - has a TS% of 70% - and has a PER of 22.5? Do you know who that is? IT'S SHELDEN WILLIAMS !!! So are you now telling me that Shelden deserves significant time in the Boston frontline . . a frontline consisting of Perkins, KG, and Rasheed Wallace, simply because he has a high PER and he's been very productive in garbage time for the Celtics? His PER is higher than Perkins and KG, so Shelden should definitely be playing 25 minutes a game for them . . . right? Well list how you will give him 10 minutes a game then. It isn't hard to do. Just list the people in your rotation of minutes, and how long they will play in each position. It can easily be done . . yes. I just want to see whose minutes you're going to reduce, in order to play Teague his 10 minutes.

The front row of any section is A. Now, which front row, depends on which level you're sitting at. - 100 is lower level - 200 is the small middle level - 300 is the large upper deck section. If your ticket is row A on any of those levels, you'll have a decent view of the game. Personally, I like sitting at the 200 level, because it gives you a TV like view of the action. Also, they're cheaper than the 100 level tickets, which are the prime seats. 300 level is good, but just a little too high for me. Have fun at the game. You'll like the experience.

OK . . well break the minutes down by position. Just do it for the PG, SG, and SF spots ( seeing that you're going to have to play JJ at the 3 to make this work ) Teague hasn't done anything noteworthy to take minutes from Bibby. The one thing that could get him more PT, is to play good defense in thr 5 - 7 minutes he may get in the first half. If he does that, he may get more time in the 2nd half. So go ahead and break down the minutes at those 3 positions, and who will you give them to.

Marvin won't get recognized for his defense until people start seeing us a lot on national TV games. If he starts making life miserable for stars like Melo, Paul Pierce, and possibly even Lebron, he'll be labeled as a good defensive player. As for his offense, he simply needs to start scrapping. Get those offensive rebounds and go straight back up. Get some steals that might lead to easy lay ups or dunks on the other end. Fill the wing on the fast break and finish the play if you receive the pass. There's a lot of things that he could do to generate points, without having plays called for him in the halfcourt set. He simply has to go out and do those things.

The only thing Teague has done, was play well in a blowout in LA. You cite his PER 36 numbers like it makes a case for him playing more over a guy who the Hawks are something like 14 games over .500, with him in the lineup. What if I told you about a guy who is a bench player, but has a PER 36 of 15.8 pts and 12 rebs . . with a TS% of over 70% . . and a PER of 22.5? Would he be making a case to ger more playing time, or is he simply getting those numbers because of a blowout situation?

Well that means that your boy Smoove wasn't worth what he got either. The fact is that in sports, it's not necessarily what amount of money he is worth . . it's what the market thinks he's worth. The market thought Smoove was an 11 million a year player. So if the market thinks that JJ is worth 16 million a year, that's what he is worth. The Hawks can play the game of "chicken" if they want to. But they better remember what happened to 2 playoff teams 2 years ago . . LA Clippers and Golden State. The Warriors played around with Baron Davis, thinking he wasn't worth the money he was asking for, and he left them to go to the Clippers. In that same season, the Clippers did the same thing with Elton Brand, and they ended up losing him. Now granted, both players aren't playing nowhere near what they got in money, but the Clippers and Warriors slipped significantly, because they lost their best player and the guy the team was built around in the first place. The Hawks better be careful as to be a little too cheap. I'm not for trading Marvin, but if that has to be done in order to keep JJ at an inflated price, I'm definitely doing that. When the T-Wolves come at JJ with a 5yr - 90 million deal, the Hawks better counter with something somewhere in the ballpark. Either give him a 5yr - 80/85 mill deal . . or add that 6th year, and give him 100 mill.

EX, the problem isn't necessarily with Teague individually. The problem is the backcourt collectively. Offensively, they're fine, but not as good as the Bibby - Crawford backcourt. Defensively, the Teague - Crawford backcourt ( right now ) is no better than the Bibby - Crawford backcourt. And you definitely need to play the Crawford - JJ backcourt at times, because that's the most potent group to play together. So if Crawford is playing like an All-Star in a game, do you really want to cut into his minutes to play Teague? And in the 2nd half of tight games, wouldn't you rather have Bibby on the floor, than Teague? And as far as JJ goes, he SHOULD be playing 36 - 40 minutes a night in a tight game. That shouldn't even be a debate. The sure fire way to get Teague some minutes, is to build a lead in a game, and see if he and Crawford can sustain it with the 2nd unit. Then, if we're up 7 or more points going into the 4th, he should get another chance to play. But in that scenario, you better believe that our opponent isn't going to sit their starting PG too many minutes for a break ( especially if the starting PG is a significantly better player than the backup ). I don't know why everybody is so down on Bibby these days. All the dude does is keep the offense in check and make shots. Teague is the 10th man. He's not even the backup PG . . .Crawford is. Sacramento was a "bad team", but that "bad team" played us like the Blazers last night.