thecampster

https://www.nba.com/hawks/hawks-pick-contract-options-bembry-collins-and-prince Give you some insight on who Pierce likes on the roster (ie Bembry). Tells me they may have a future dance partner for Baze.

Hunter, Robinson and CJ Anderson waived. No surprises. https://www.nba.com/hawks/news/hawks-request-waivers-anderson-hunter-and-robinson Current roster Justin Anderson Guard-Forward 1 GAMES 0 3 FULL BIO Kent Bazemore Guard 24 DeAndre' Bembry Forward 95 Vince Carter Guard-Forward 15 John Collins Forward-Center 20 Dewayne Dedmon Center 14 Tyler Dorsey Guard 2 Daniel Hamilton Guard-Forward 5 Kevin Huerter Guard 3 Alex Len Center 25 Jeremy Lin Guard 7 Miles Plumlee Center 18 Alex Poythress Forward 22 Taurean Prince Forward 12 Omari Spellman Forward 6 Trae Young Guard 11 C = CAPTAIN FA = FREE AGENT Not sure why it cut off the names, but top 2 and Adams and Justin Anderson.

Caveat - the trade one is hard because injuries will determine that more than performance/fit.

1) Prince first 5 games. 2) Len opening night 3) I don't see it this year, we are too balanced. Nobody will be the focal point enough to get that (Prince close but he'll be capped at more like 20/7/7. 4) Plumlee will be gone by the end of December if we are even close to 500. Baze by the deadline. 5) Toronto - Nov 21.

Then you aren't watching man. There are things to get excited about...most of it is scouting our future potential, who will be here going forward. There are story lines. Its not all about the basketball you know. Part of being a fan of the Hawks is about being a fan of the individuals, their stories, their personalities. Pierce is an interesting guy. Collins, Trae, Len, Prince are all very likable guys. Lin's redemption, Carter's last hurrah before he steps into coaching. There are story lines. At least you can be interested in some of that.

AHF's link is to the official predictions compilation last year. Capstone was the one right though most of us were fairly close and some of us didn't give an exact number last year but a range or in my case I said 30 max (sue me, I was pretty pissed at the Hawks this time last year and wasn't playing nice but tried to be optimistic).

Question for the board, try to stay on topic. What one thing are you most excited about for the new season? For me its Coach Pierce. I have been extremely impressed. From the way he's handled draft workouts, summer league, preseason, interviews to what I've heard about his preparation from well before he got the job. Pierce has been so refreshing. The way he's got guys motivated is off the charts. On Pierce, he says that as a part of his position as a defensive assistant, he studied the offense of every team in the league before they played that team. He took notes and specifically noted what he could use in the future from each team. What we are seeing from this Hawks team is his notes on the other 29 teams in the league. That is so forward thinking, so deep when you think about it. He didn't model himself after Pop or Spoelstra or legends like Jackson. He believed there was something good in each coach, each system and tried to build from all. I am very excited to see Coach Pierce as the season progresses.

He's playing like a typical rookie right now....scared. It's real obvious he's timid. Only playing time fixes that. It'll happen in practice. Something good will happen, he'll get the right moment, right feedback and he'll relax. He's 19. Trae is just otherworldly with his poise...its not normal. What Huerter is doing right now is normal. I'm thinking summer league would have really helped.

Poythress missing 2 back to back passes to him that should have been layups. 2 turnovers for prince/trae that have nothing to do with them.....smh.

9th 0/1/1 Prince (17.5 ppg) Len (9.5 rpg) 36-46

Oh wow...tough call....Johnson did have some skills as a mid-range shooter/pick setter. I think Zaza would the guy...I have to agree. I mean we made a Rocky video with him starring after all.

I'm not comfortable calling Spellman (not sold on Poythress) a goon. I'm okay with enforcer and bruiser but I don't think he's a goon. Goon's (hockey term) usually aren't skilled. I see Spellman as a bruiser and I'm cool with that.

Trae Young through 4 preseason games... 16ppg, 5.5 apg and a +19 +/- (average +4.75/game) in just under 27 minutes per game. Per 36 averages 21 ppg, 7 apg.

As a few of you know, I haven't been very high on the Hawks the last few seasons or the decisions they made that got us into the tanking mess. But I have hope, real hope for the first time in a long time. Chris Domino from 680 the fan often says about other teams players, that he always looks at other teams and says, "I wish I had me one of those but I never look at Atlanta and see players other teams say, they wish they had what we have". I've coveted Len for a few years now and hated how he was treated in Phoenix. I loved the Prince draft pick and openly campaigned for the Hawks to skip the big names and to draft Trae Young. I would look at other teams and say, "why don't we have a big who can do XYZ" or "None of our guys finish like "that guy" or play hard like "him"". I am losing it over this team's potential. Not only does this team look "different" than Hawks teams of the past. Not only do they look more fun, faster, exciting, but they're nice guys. They are good guys who like each other and who the fans can relate to. I don't see a thug culture. I see tats, I hear music but I don't hear then dropping F-bombs on missed layups, missed foul calls. I don't see them yelling at the refs and I do see them running back on D. I don't see the personality conflicts like existed between Dennis and Al, Dennis and Dwight, Smith and Woodson, Delaney and anyone else who could shoot while he was on the floor. Our coaches first act was not getting a DUI but getting in the gym and challenging a potential draft pick to see what he had. Gone are the days of a coach sitting on his hands when getting a tech for his guy is exactly what he needs to do (not 2 quarters too late when the game is already out of hand). Gone are the days of walking next to a rolling ball all the way to half court because you think it looks cool, all the while the defense has all the time in the world to set up. No, these guys give up a basket and they're moving like its a fast break. Even Steve Holmann was having a hard time calling the game on the radio last night, caught between excitement and no time to set up to call the next possession. These guys are fun, they like each other and they look like good representatives of the ATL. But wait...there's more. Going forward, we are extremely cap friendly. Gone are the days where we can't afford a free agent or can't afford to resign our guy. We're in great shape for the next 3-4 years. We're not winning any championships this year, but I like us. Even during the 60 win season, I had doubts, saw flaws. For the first time in a very long time, I like us. I really like our guys.

Like x50!!!

It is very hard to learn anything from preseason games though as the referees trying to enforce the new point of emphasis usually runs counter to each coach's game plan. There were offensive fouls every few plays on screen setting at one point in the game and the teams just couldn't even run their normal screen sets at the top of the key.

Preseason is not about basketball but about concepts. Coaches experiment with lineups, sets. Referees experiment with the new focus (this season is offensive fouls...there were tons in the game). There is no "trending" in preseason games. Trae has been forcing not shooting 3's in the first half the last 2 games and they've been working hard on Bembry, Prince, Baze as playmakers on the floor. They are running sets you probably won't see in the regular season. They've let pretty much everyone shoot 3's so they can watch tape and see who should be relied on and who shouldn't. This is really evident in defensive sets where they play more 1v1 then they normally would, less trapping. Its all about coaches seeing what they have and players getting used to seeing each other's faces on the floor. In these cases, experience players (like Paul George, Mike Conley) don't need this and their NBA experience, play making shows out hard. Effort and size/athleticism also shows up (hence why Len has done so well as has Spellman. Len size, Spellman effort). It is also why low IQ players look so bad...Poythress, Plumlee. They can't adjust to the plan.

Uhm...that's actually thinner than Summer League. He was beefy during the summer. Just look at the left arm when he played at Nova. He's much thinner than this time last year and could still stand to drop 20.

Game 2 was no Taurean, Game 3 was no Collins. I'd really like a game where we know the starting 5 and get to see them play together. I'd also like a game where Lin starts and Young comes off the bench to see how he performs. Side note, I really don't like Poythress. He spends a whole lot of bad energy, gets out of position. Seems to be giving effort but has very little feel for the game. As opposed to Spellman who always seems to be giving effort at the right time.

The fouls on Len were interesting, especially the early calls. At the time they were blowing the whistle, it looked like an easy foul call on Len. But if you wind back tape to a few seconds before, the techniques used by Adams were clearly fouls and Len was just trying to get position back. Really was a case of a vet knowing how to work it down low but felt bad for Len. He kept trying to fight back instead of being savvy and letting Adams aggressiveness carry him out of the play. He was fighting for some rebounds that didn't need fighting for. Adams really got in his head.

Gotta be patient with Jeremy Lin's recovery, but a -18 in 9 minutes is rough.

I've been telling people he could shoot the 3 but was not allowed in Phoenix. They wanted him to play the traditional center like Tyson Chandler. Make him fit the offense, not play to his strengths. He can do everything but defend the perimeter and jump..the man cannot jump.

Man do Lin and Huerter look like they are playing scared/tentative. Positive note, Memphis is terrified to go inside when Len is in the game.

I need a throwing shade emoji. That said, I predicted this thread would happen.

Len > 3xMuscala