Finally got to watch last nights game ... thoughts

[Admin]

The 1st quarter was one of the most exciting quarters of basketball for me as a Hawks fan in longer than I can remember. We were diving for loose balls, playing the passing lanes, and being unselfish on offense. We really set the tone for the game and I am almost stunned that in his 1st game he was able to make such an impact but Horford was the driving force behind this. I had little doubt he would be a tremendous difference maker but wow in the first quarter of his first game?

We got into trouble when Horford got into foul trouble and had to leave the game. This year will be about him learning to stay out of foul trouble will still being a difference maker, like what Smoove has had to learn how to do and I expect he will learn it a lot quicker than Smoove because he is a little more even tempered and has more experience being coached at a higher level than Smoove did his first year or two.

So, Horford goes out and our energy level drops. That hurts our offense because we start to not get the 2nd chances and fast breaks. JJ does what he can but he simply cannot be the lone consistent go to scorer from the perimeter. Teams will learn to sag the paint and unless Lue can stay healthy and continue to hit the big shots (same way he started off last season if you remember and failed to stay that way) we are in trouble. I think we have an extremely talented bunch of guys but we are a real 2nd option perimeter oriented scorer away from being a real playoff threat. I think we can make the playoffs with the group we have now but we really do need someone else to scare the defense on the perimeter. Perhaps Acie will become that guy, maybe Lue will stay healthy (although he is a reverse liability because of his defensive shortcomings due to his size).

It's almost ironic but can you imagine if we were able to add JT to this team? With his ability to get the ball down the court and create scoring opportunities? That of course won't be happening so the solutions are to either hope that Acie, Marvin, or Lue will be that 2nd scoring option from outside. Maybe they will get it done, but I sure have my worries after seeing us struggle to score without JJ on the floor.

All in all it was a tremendous win last night and I think it's obvious that we came away from this draft with 2 gems in Acie and Al. Smoove has added the ability to go right, he seems even quicker this year and certainly more confident. Marvin showed some flashes last night but I am not ready to count on him yet. Shelden looked awful and I am a huge supporter of his but he wasn't protecting the rim like I think he should and for a guy lacking in height you would think he would work on his vertical leaping ability right? He might be the most blocked player in the league. JJ was awesome as usual and showed a lot of hustle on both ends of the floor. Lue was mega clutch and hopefully once he gets back into game shape he will be able to play that way night in and night out. It worries me having to depend on a guy with his size to do that though.

Can't wait for the next game! I hope it will be in HD.

[ToeKnee]

HOw can you hate on sheldens performance last night?? he was big when we needed him, we did WIN after all, and did you see how long woody kept him in there for. he got scored on by Dirk, umm that happens to a lot of guys, but he rebounded well. i was impressed.

[tmac13]

I agree, Sheldon did a great job defensively and on the boards.

[Atlantaholic]

Shelden was alright man... he missed easy shots inside and outside, and put the game in peril by missing free-throws. He did pick up important boards, which redeemed his performance from being a bad one. He was not "great" though. JJ was great, Horford was great (when he was in there), Shelden was alright, maybe even good (because of the importance of some of those boards) but not even sniffing great.

[DJlaysitup]

Quote:

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Shelden was alright man... he missed easy shots inside and outside, and put the game in peril by missing free-throws. He did pick up important boards, which redeemed his performance from being a bad one. He was not "great" though.

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Depends on your definition of "great". Shelden did a helluve lot of quality positional Defense.

Hadn't used that one yet.

[Diesel]

I'm down on Shelden for missing the free throws. However, when we needed a rebound, when we needed somebody to get Diop out of the game, when we needed a slight bit of interior defense (I'm down on him on his defense too).. Shelden showed up. He wasn't Deke or he wasn't great, but he was what we needed at that time. I think we locked up the game when Diop went out. Shelden won his personal rebound war with Bass.