gsuteke Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 might not be such a bad idea. The more I see Al shooting 6 for 15 and the Hawks giving up 35+ in a quarter with Josh Smith on the bench the more I think this team would be better off without Al Harrington. Now I see how certain people will reply that Al is becoming the scapegoat for poor performances as of late, however I believe there is no denying that if someone else were on the floor that gave more effort on the defensive end the Hawks would be better off. After all the Hawks have a defensive problem, not an offensive problem. Al takes jumpers just like the rest of the team vs scoring down low, removing him from the offense would not cost the Hawks much offensively in the long run IMO. let's couple that along with two other factors. 1. the Hawks can actually GET something in return for Al Harrington such as a mid first round pick. 2. Al will be overpaid this summer to the tune of 9 to 10 million per. I believe an unproven player such as a Sheldon Williams would be a step in the right direction over Al Harrington at this point. As I have previously stated if given more shots the Hawks already have the players to replace the majority of Al's offense. Aldridge/Williams, Rondo/Williams (Sheldon is being used for lack of a better example) would immediately put the team in a better position to win, if nothing else due to Harrington NOT being on the team. the chemistry looks bad now, I truly believe it is time for the Hawks to move on without Al Harrington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff_Man Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Quote: might not be such a bad idea. The more I see Al shooting 6 for 15 and the Hawks giving up 35+ in a quarter with Josh Smith on the bench the more I think this team would be better off without Al Harrington. Now I see how certain people will reply that Al is becoming the scapegoat for poor performances as of late, however I believe there is no denying that if someone else were on the floor that gave more effort on the defensive end the Hawks would be better off. After all the Hawks have a defensive problem, not an offensive problem. Al takes jumpers just like the rest of the team vs scoring down low, removing him from the offense would not cost the Hawks much offensively in the long run IMO. let's couple that along with two other factors. 1. the Hawks can actually GET something in return for Al Harrington such as a mid first round pick. 2. Al will be overpaid this summer to the tune of 9 to 10 million per. I believe an unproven player such as a Sheldon Williams would be a step in the right direction over Al Harrington at this point. As I have previously stated if given more shots the Hawks already have the players to replace the majority of Al's offense. Aldridge/Williams, Rondo/Williams (Sheldon is being used for lack of a better example) would immediately put the team in a better position to win, if nothing else due to Harrington NOT being on the team. the chemistry looks bad now, I truly believe it is time for the Hawks to move on without Al Harrington. What is funny is the notion that if Smith was in the game that teams would be shut down. His difference might be worth 5 points or so...so instead of giving up 35+, they give up 30+? Defense is a team effort, and the team is not playing defense well. We have to try to outscore everyone we play, so the best offense is on the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathway23 Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 5 points is a big difference in the NBA, even for a bad team such as ours...we have had some close losses...in fact one loss was directly attributable to the lack of the presence of Smith, it was in the game where Woody admittedly had the brainfart where he and his staff "overlooked" Smoove on the bench not in the game. At least Smoove and Marvin, don't forget him, actually try to play D. Al doesn't even try. It is like he is saving all his energy for offense and even that part of his game is not consistent. He has a 10-15 point game for every 20-25 point game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff_Man Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Quote: 5 points is a big difference in the NBA, even for a bad team such as ours...we have had some close losses...in fact one loss was directly attributable to the lack of the presence of Smith, it was in the game where Woody admittedly had the brainfart where he and his staff "overlooked" Smoove on the bench not in the game. At least Smoove and Marvin, don't forget him, actually try to play D. Al doesn't even try. It is like he is saving all his energy for offense and even that part of his game is not consistent. He has a 10-15 point game for every 20-25 point game. I agree that there have been some close games where I said to myself "why is Smith on the bench??" But in games like the one against the Pistons, people were begging for Josh to be in, and it was an unstoppable force running through us. We could have put Jebus in and he couldn't have stopped them. The notion that Josh Smith is some sort of savior is just false. Yes, he can help, but he is not yet a game changing player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern_Bred Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 On defense Josh he is a game changer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsuteke Posted January 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 the post is not about Josh Smith, it's about NOT having Al in there. once again the amount of shots Al requires along with his pedestrian effort on D is making him expendable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrawDaddy Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Al should be let go. Yes, he's "the leader" in the lockerroom. Yes, he's arguably our best player on offense. But NO, he does not make the team better. He is our worst defender next to Lue, and he takes shots away from our younger guys. Bad defense from a veteran player will breed bad defense from younger guys who look at Al and say, "Well, I guess it's okay not to play defense since Al doesn't." We need to cut bait, get what we can for Al, and play for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Packfill Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Quote: Al should be let go. Yes, he's "the leader" in the lockerroom. Yes, he's arguably our best player on offense. But NO, he does not make the team better. He is our worst defender next to Lue, and he takes shots away from our younger guys. Bad defense from a veteran player will breed bad defense from younger guys who look at Al and say, "Well, I guess it's okay not to play defense since Al doesn't." We need to cut bait, get what we can for Al, and play for next year. If that is the case then the place to start is with the coach, who is disinterested in making defense a priority for the team. That is the thing, I could understand a young team having difficulty scoring, have difficulty with consistency, etc. But lack of effort on defense? And dude, we are already playing for next year, if not two years down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrawDaddy Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Oh, I didn't know we were playing for next year already. As far as I know, we are holding on to Al so that we can continue our winning ways this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exodus Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Quote: As far as I know, we are holding on to Al so that we can continue our winning ways this year. LOL yeah we want to keep Al so we won't give Phoenix a lottery pick next year, according to Diesel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff_Man Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Quote: On defense Josh he is a game changer. Not 30 points. Sorry. He is a nice player and can make some good plays, but it takes an entire team to play cohesive defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kooshdoctor Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 so if it takes a team to play defense, we need to change the coach, and it's not necessarily al's fault. but if al isn't playing defense, the coach should bench him, that's all there is to it. i'm sure there are players on this team that would love to take al's shots, all we'd need to do is ask. i think the change needs to take place with the head coach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exodus Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Personally I think BK is the one to blame. he is the one who brought in Woody and the players. If anyone deserves to get fired it's him. I don't think the Hawks will ever get a good pg in here until BK is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Diesel Posted January 22, 2006 Premium Member Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kooshdoctor Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 maybe steve smith or dominique will pull a bird or isaiah and become our gm! haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff_Man Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Quote: so if it takes a team to play defense, we need to change the coach, and it's not necessarily al's fault. but if al isn't playing defense, the coach should bench him, that's all there is to it. i'm sure there are players on this team that would love to take al's shots, all we'd need to do is ask. i think the change needs to take place with the head coach I am keeping quiet on that one. I think Woody is in over his head here. Have him coach a team like the 76ers and he may have a good team going there. But who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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