Packfill

Quote: I'd like to see where you get this from. I haven't heard/read/seen one thing that would suggest this. Just watch him play, he doesn't have the vision or court awareness that a point guard needs. There is a reason he has played ownly sporadicly for a few years. What makes you think he is a good player other then his draft position?

Quote: Quote: Banks had one good game, lets not get carried away. I'll keep this in mind, though I believe your statement may come back to bite you on your @$$. I doubt it. He is another shooting guard trapped in a point guard body, no different then Delk, Lue and Salim.

That is an interesting take but no way are the Hawks that lucky, and I don't know if I can stomach another year and a half of futility.

Quote: so what? we suck one more year and then we get Oden. I would take a front line of Williams, Aldridge and Oden. We are going to have to suck pretty badly because we owe the pick to the Suns otherwise!

Hawks should pound them, they are also missing Rush and May. It would be like playing the Hawks without JJ, Al, Marvin and Salim.

I agree, but I would settle for either a point guard or a center.

Quote: you must not know how it works we could outright sign any domestic player that was available with that pick; so the only way to get anything of value with that pick was to sign a young euro and stash him overseas for a few years cenk is playing very very well and looks to be a STEAL if he continues to progress if u have the 40th-50th pick in the draft, you go for BPA...when you have one of the last 2-5 picks, you go for the best potential in euro since u can leave them there to develop and any domestic players you can just sign the next week I would much rather have the rights to Randolph Morris then Cenk.

Quote: Quote: LeBron is too big of a star for the dunk contest, he knows it, the league knows it, and we as fans know it. But he is perfect for the world-famous superstar phenomenom that is the PG skills challenge? Probably, but I have never heard of that skills competition.

Hunter sucks. There is a reason he is a career back-up/journeyman.

Quote: i call it cowardice...not just cowardice to lose when you're a big name...but cowardice that you're afraid you're going to get some mythical stigma as just being a dunker.. it's ignorant...how can you be labeled something if you already do much more than that?..why is it for the "lesser minute" guys?... it's a diss when you say basically that your holiness will leave some crumbs for the lesser players to fight over with just a slam dunk trophy... just like kobe and the rest... why can't people be honest? why not just say i don't think i'm one of the top dunkers in the league..i can hold my own but not in a competition... tell me this Lebron...you think if you get beat by say, hakim warrick, that when you're playing each other, anyone's going to say something...it's going to tarnish your legacy? that's why noone will ever be the next michael jordan..he didn't care, he wanted to compete, he was a competitor..i hope josh smith reads that and takes it to heart and gets fired up.... i also hope he doesn't back out the next couple years because of this attitude that is spreading.. i miss Jordan, Dominique, Barkely, Bird, and Magic. The reason why none of the top players participate in the dunk contest anymore is because it really isn't that important anymore. It was much newer and exciting during its first ten years - there was much more buzz. Now it is not as novel a concept and there is far less fan appeal. Most of the dunks are rehashes of what has already been done by the dunk pioneers like Dr. J, Dominique and Jordan. Prior to the 1980's there was very little attention given to dunking as an art form - heck in most high school gyms you weren't allowed to dunk. Interest in the dunk contest was somewhat revived when they brought it back after a few years without, but that interest has waned now. As such, the league has essentially set the dunk contest up as a vehicle to generate interest in some of its young stars. This makes sense because it introduces fans to a new generation of players. LeBron is too big of a star for the dunk contest, he knows it, the league knows it, and we as fans know it.

Quote: You can't play for ping pong balls. The odds are against winning the lottery even with the worst record. They have a realistic shot at finishing ahead of NY, Tor, and Cha and personally I hope they do. They need to start developing a winning mentality. I agree, I was more making a point over people quibbling whether the Hawks win 23 or 27 games. Doesn't matter much.

I don't know, Jaric is anything but consistent and his own coach has stated he is not a point guard in the traditional sense. Seems he is similar, though much less skilled, to JJ. Also, Jaric has a pretty hefty contract for his level of play, so I am not sure that helps the team in the long run. Banks had one good game, lets not get carried away.

That is what I hear as well. Maybe we can trade him in a few years for a point guard.

Quote: we will have 27 wins we will win at a higher rate after the all-star game than before; that's normal as we both get better and teams in the playoffs coast more we are halfway done with the season, so we would win 24 just by doubling our wins (23 since we are 1 game over half) that's with us being as HORRIBLE as we were in november however, in december we went 5-9 however, in january we went 5-10 that's 10-19 or 34.5% .345*41 games left = 14.145 14.145+12 wins already = 26.145 i'd say we are right on pace for my 27 wins Who cares if it is 23 wins or 28, it still stinks. Plus, winning more gives the team even less of a chance at the number one pick, which is likely Aldridge - the one big guy in this draft that fills a serious need (defensive player taller then 6'9").

Quote: There's a bunch of noise on the GS blog about trading Murphy. He would be a big man and Ellis could be included for a p.g. Any takers on this one? No. Murphy is a very good rebounder and can shoot to a degree, but the Hawks need some tough minded interior defenders. I don't think Murphy is that guy. Monta Ellis is a throw-in, the Hawks already have three similar players on their roster in Salim, Lue and Delk. He serves no purpose.

I think he is making the right call. The dunk contest these days is about young players, the days of Jordan and Dominique fighting it out are long gone. LeBron is too big a star to compete in the dunk contest.

We shall see, he could be great. But from my uneducated position, I would not touch him in the drafts top 10 picks. Plus his buyout is scary. Bargnani is really a small forward permimeter shooter which we definitely don't need.

Quote: Splitter offering little to no defense? What are you guys talking about? Yeah most of these guys might end up being PF's, so what? They are PF's in the same way that Zaza is. But given the state of the C position in the NBA, they will be fine at the 5. We need bigs, not just one center. A talented big would be huge for us. Aldridge or Splitter would give us the talented defensive big we need. Bargnani would be more of an offensive player, but either way he's a talented big About Splitter from draftexpress Quote: Defensively, Tiago is very solid, and quite intense. He's rarely banged in the low post despite usually being lighter than his rivals, and he enjoys accurate lateral quickness to stop his matchups and even to contain (to a certain degree) smaller rivals after defensive changes. He never forgets team defense, and generally shows very good positioning. He's a decent shot blocker, but he rarely risks his defensive position to get the block , so in the end he's not very prolific. The clips I have seen of Splitter show him to be extremely thin and not particularly athletic. I just don't see how he will be a viable defensive presence in the NBA. Obviously I have only seen snipets of his game tape, but it did not leave me wanting to see more.

Quote: Bargnani is no more of a center than I am. Splitter is a 4 too and will get pushed around there until he beefs up. It is funny listening to people try to discredit Williams. Sounds a lot like what I heard last year about Paul being too small to play the point and a defensive liability and on and on. How good does a guy have to play at a top ranked school to get some credit? Does he have to average 25/15? Agreed with respect to Splitter and Bargnani offering little to no defense. Both are forwards, not centers, so I don't see how they help. Aldrige would be the guy, but I am not even certain he is a center. It is just not a good year to have the number one pick.

It truly was amazing how poorly the Knicks played. The Hawks match up well against the Knicks though because the Knicks don't play defense either so it just comes down to who has the better shooters.

I still don't understand why Ivey doesn't get more minutes. I easily think he deserves 20 a night - just take the time from Lue and Stoudamire.

Quote: Quote: would say, in addition to the Knicks, Portland is probably worse off then the Hawks. Their best player (Randolph) is really not that motivated and their young players are intriguing but even further from contributing in a meaninful way then the Hawks youngsters. Of course, if Webster, Outlaw, Jack, Kryapa, Monia, Telfair, etc. get a clue then they always have a chance. It just seems their collection of young forwards is less talented then the Hawks collection of young forwards. Portland's core players are Randolph and Miles, neither of whom are all that good. None of their other players really has the chance to be that good. Plus they are capped out. That is why I am saying they are probably worse off then the Hawks. The thing is though, they do have a ton of young players and one or two could blossom, so you never know. Martell Webster could be the next big thing.

If you combined Charlotte's roster with the Hawks roster you would have a pretty good team - they have what the Hawks need (big men and point guards) and Atlanta has what Charlotte needs (shooters).

I would say, in addition to the Knicks, Portland is probably worse off then the Hawks. Their best player (Randolph) is really not that motivated and their young players are intriguing but even further from contributing in a meaninful way then the Hawks youngsters. Of course, if Webster, Outlaw, Jack, Kryapa, Monia, Telfair, etc. get a clue then they always have a chance. It just seems their collection of young forwards is less talented then the Hawks collection of young forwards. One big advantage they have though is two good point guard prospects in Telfair and Jack. Another team that is in trouble is Toronto. They have an advantage in that they have their star - Bosh. The Hawks are still trying to figure out who their star is. The Hawks have much better depth though - Toronto has Bosh and Charlie V and not much else for the long run.

Maybe he is just not willing to work hard enough?