Hawks' upcoming week...

[flava]

Our boys are going to get some badly needed rest in the next few days before playing Utah (Wed at home), Indy (Fri at home) and Det (Sat on road).

I'd say we've been on the losing side of close games more than the winning and we're still having trouble integrating returning players (unlike the first 5 games of the season, our roster is in a constant state of flux making playing rotations, plays and scoring responsibilities unclear).

I'd love to see this team go 2-1 during the span (Utah and Indy) as Indy is playing poorly on the road, but I think 1-2 is more realistic with 0-3 a definite possibility.

Anyone think we get 2 wins this week? If so, which games and why?

flava

[thesheedera]

They're all winnable. I wouldn't be at all surprised at 2-1. Indy is the most likely one, but I wouldn't count us out in the other two games either.

If we're an improved team, we should be due for a couple good wins soon.

[gutz]

IF Speedy can play like he has the last 2 games there is no doubt in my mind we can win all 3 especially with Chill possibly returning for Wed. game against Utah. We played Detroit tough the first time and should have won. That was another game where we blew the lead. Utah is the game that scares me the most but we should be well rested at least and its at home. We need to really win all 3 here and get closer to .500

[Dragitoff]

the problem teams I see us having is ones with physical big men. Zaza is not a great, physical defender, and while Shelden is, he fouls alot (same thing I said was his weakness coming out of Duke). Both Utah and Detroit have physical big men (Boozer and Wallace). O'Neal is a physical guy at times, but we somehow seem to play him relatively well. Here's hoping for a good week. 2-1. The way Marvin and Speedy are playing, getting Chillz back give more energy off the bench.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Psychology, I think the only way this team wins 2 games this week, is if they beat Utah. Beating one of the league's elite teams would go a long way in restoring the confidence of these guys. But lose to Utah, and you're asking this team to win 2 games on consecutive nights against teams that know us very well.

Frankly, the only way we're beating Utah, is if they have a bad shooting night. Even if we have a great shooting night, they could still beat us if they also shoot well. But Utah is going to have to be off a little offensively, and we're going to have to be very sound defensively, to win.

The other game we can win, is probably the Indiana game. Harrington will be looking to have a monster game in his return back to ATL, which may mean that he'll try to do too much and hurt his team. And we match up well with Indy.

Personally, I think we'll lose against Utah and Detroit, but beat Indy. Hope I'm wrong though, and win 2 of 3.

[jerrywest]

We'll probably go 1-2. If we go 2-1 people will realize right away that our slump was 100% due to injury. If we go 3-0, which is not impossible, can you imagine what Ford will write?

Good part is we don't have to give Chillz too many minutes. Just having him as an option will elevate the team a lot. The bad part is, unlike MW & Speedy, his injury is on his foot. You can't blame him if he is out of shape. Does anyone know how bad is SW's shoulder? Is it a tear of just a shoulder instability? If its instability he'll be back to 100% just with some physical therapy.

Eastern Conference, get ready to be scared.

[flava]

the concern with getting childress back is roles - with constantly changing roles no one is quite sure who they need to be (with the exception of Joe and Speedy). i think it's both a boon (short term) and a blessing (long term) to get guys back. hopefully we can make the short term pay off...

flava

[jerrywest]

Quote:

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the concern with getting childress back is roles - with constantly changing roles no one is quite sure who they need to be (with the exception of Joe and Speedy). i think it's both a boon (short term) and a blessing (long term) to get guys back. hopefully we can make the short term pay off...

flava

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Looks like everytime someone gets injured, someone else blooms. Speedy found his groove when JJ was down. Lue was at his best when Speedy was gone. Chillz bloomed with MW out. All those forward injuries helped Shelden to get some minutes and grow quickly. Even Solomon started to play well when Zaza and Wright missed action. Ivey has started to look like a player. Now that everyone is coming back roles are the farthest thing I am worried about. Let the season begin.

[BusBoyIsBack]

All I know is that whoever designed our month of December is one sick SOB.

[DrReality]

Sekou scouted Indy and Utah and weighed in here.

Spent Sunday in Indiana doing advance work on the Pacers and Jazz. Both come to Hawksville this week. It was interesting to attend a game not involving the Buzzards, my first non-Hawks games since the NBA Finals. Quick review of both teams: The Pacers are a sputtering bunch still trying to figure it out. The Jazz, on the other hand, appears to be a monster in the making. I’m not predicting any titles or that they’ll even win the Western Conference. But if you think you’re going to see them in the playoffs and not get a bloody nose, you’re dreaming.

They’ve always played harder than everybody else (Jerry Sloan’s influence no doubt). They’re young and athletic and extremely talented, too. And they play with a confident, hard edge that I’ve yet to see from any other team this season (Phoenix and Dallas play wildly different styles compared to the Utah’s lunch pail set up). They’re going to be a force the rest of the way.

[DJlaysitup]

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...They’ve always played harder than everybody else (Jerry Sloan’s influence no doubt). They’re young and athletic and extremely talented, too. And they play with a confident, hard edge that I’ve yet to see from any other team this season (Phoenix and Dallas play wildly different styles compared to the Utah’s lunch pail set up). They’re going to be a force the rest of the way.

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Starting PFs will be Josh Smith against Boozer.

It will also be interesting to see Shelden go up against Paul Milsap (or Mansap as they call him in Utah) - I still like SW but he is apparently hurt - Mansap isn't.

and Mansap may be tough enough to break even with him anyway.

[DJlaysitup]

I really think we have two spots where we can do some damage. 1 - JJ is superior...2 - Speedy can shut down Deron. Otherwise...our bigs are goona haveta play.

[gutz]

Well the Kninks SOMEHOW beat the Jazz last night with only 8 players in uniform. So the Jazz are beatable and we really need to win this game. Were falling too far behind .500 and the next 5 games are rough as hell.

[flava]

i think this makes it a little harder for the hawks to pull off the upset, but as folks have pointed out, we do have some favorable match-ups including JJ (particularly if he is completely healthy) and speedy. should be an interesting game....

flava

[Joker]

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I really think we have two spots where we can do some damage. 1 - JJ is superior...2 - Speedy can shut down Deron. Otherwise...our bigs are goona haveta play.

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lol, JJ is not superior in any sentence, this is a 100% fanboy comment.

2. Speedy couldn't handle Deron in a million years.