Kirk Hinrich - IMHO - Wow

[DJlaysitup]

I'm VERY impressed. I see NO reason for anyone (who is not a pure fan/hoper of another pg) to be anything other than totally pleased with the first game for KH. It was an impressive debut. While we were doing well already - the speed of the game increased quickly with KH in charge at PG. We went up 8 more points in 4 minutes.

More impressively to me that we were just coming off a bit of a run when KH came in. That's normally a time when the other team gets their breath and gets some points back. But instead we pushed the lead further and basically got it out of reach. The way the ball was pushed up the court was impressive.

It quickly became obvious that KH can MOVE this team in a fast-paced game......and very effectively.

Now this is not to take away from the fact that Jeff Teague (while limited...currently) can also do good as a backup if he keeps the turnovers down.

As I said before on another post.....it is silly to think that the plan is for JT to be our starter and Kirk Hinrich to be the backup.

Kirk Hinrich is our starting pg....by a mile...as he should be.

[tbhawksfan]

I've always liked his game. I wanted him when the bulls traded him and now. Have to admit I also want the other guys for their talent and youth (Harris, Deron etc..).

Agree that he's our clear starter. too important to use as a bench reinforcer. A quality PG......finally.

30 PG minutes for Hinrich

18 for Teague

0 for JC

[DJlaysitup]

I've always liked his game. I wanted him when the bulls traded him and now. Have to admit I also want the other guys for their talent and youth (Harris, Deron etc..).

Agree that he's our clear starter. too important to use as a bench reinforcer. A quality PG......finally.

30 PG minutes for Hinrich

18 for Teague

0 for JC

Agree totally tbh. +1

[Superiorblogman]

Teague played better than Hinrich. Teague set the tone. He defended without fouling, got to the rack more than Hinrich and had more assists than Hinrich. Hinrich is a better scorer and combo guard than Teague, Teague will have trouble with Andre Miller because of size that will be the true test rather Hinrich is this defensive worldbeater that some are claiming.

[TheTruth]

What amazed me was how EVERYONE pushed the ball up the court and moved the ball around. It was truly a sight to behold. Whether it was Teague, Hinrich (especially Hinrich) or our bigs, we looked to push the tempo. Hinrich came in, played great D, and hit some shots. With his D and my predicted 12 pts/6 assists avg for us, we should go a long way to playing better D and getting better overall PG play. If we could play EVERY night with the energy, ball movement, and defense we did for those 3 epic quarters against GS, we wouldn't look like clowns against the good teams in the league.

Now I just want Drew to do two things regarding our PG situation:

1. Take away Crawford's PG duties. No longer should Craw bring the ball up the court. If you want to develop Teague as a [backup] PG, make HIM bring the ball up the court, initiate the offense, and tell Crawford to work OFF the ball to get his points. Trust me, Craw will still be able to get his. (Same for JJ too when Hinrich/Teague is on the court).

2. Finally, once Hinrich becomes the full time starter in a couple games or so, give Teague consistent minutes. What TBH posted above sounds about right. Hinrich will get his 30+ a night, but make sure to give Teague his 15+ as well...most every night. I don't want to see Crawford/JJ at the 1 unless we just absolutely HAVE to have offense at that time. Teague may not be all that great, but if we are going to develop him, give him consistent playing time, and do it in non-garbage time. Giving him 15 mins a night likely won't hurt anything.

[DJlaysitup]

What amazed me was how EVERYONE pushed the ball up the court and moved the ball around. It was truly a sight to behold.

I'm pretty sure they knew they were auditioning for a new PG...the guy who runs the show.

[Atlantaholic]

The Bibby trade is looking great. Hinrich looked excellent in limited minutes, I mean, wow, finally defense from the PG position. I can't remember the last time I've seen that from the Hawks. The Celts, Nets, and Knicks will get all the pub from their trades but I'm starting to think there may have been no trade that will pay off more immediate dividends than this one. Our defense looks like it can be amazing when Hinrich Wilkins and Josh + Horf are all in the game.

[thecampster]

The Bibby trade is looking great. Hinrich looked excellent in limited minutes, I mean, wow, finally defense from the PG position. I can't remember the last time I've seen that from the Hawks. The Celts, Nets, and Knicks will get all the pub from their trades but I'm starting to think there may have been no trade that will pay off more immediate dividends than this one. Our defense looks like it can be amazing when Hinrich Wilkins and Josh + Horf are all in the game.

I was talking about this in the trade quotes. We are so used to seeing Horf/Marvin/Josh rotate to help Bibby that we didn't realize how much more effective they would be when allowed to man their positions normally.

[bird_dirt]

it's a shame we can't just play golden state in the playoffs or some other sub .500 team. next month when we play the bulls 3 times, plus the lakers, heat and magic will be interesting to see how well this team steps up before playoff time.

[Wretch]

The Squawk has coveted Hinrich since he came into the league. He was just a guy though that we felt we had NO chance of prying away from Chicago. It's funny how situation forces a player like that out of the rotation and they end up forgotten on a basement dweller. Same thing with Devin Harris. Both of those guys are VERY good PGs and if this was 2-3 years ago, these players were untouchable. Should tell all these haters something when a team like the Lakers were hot after him. Could you imagine?

That being said, I hope this doesn't turn into a dumbass "well he makes our bench so much better" situation. Just because he's good, doesn't mean we need to bring him off the bench. Teague needs to be playing behind this guy, hungry for minutes and LEARNING. The start of the game and the start of the 3rd quarter are pretty damn important parts of the game. Kirk needs to be in there because he's going to make the team better.

Teague may be the PG of the future, but right now, Kirk is too good and too good of a fit to bring off the bench. Guy is a starter and should be getting starter's minutes.

Lord I hope this doesn't turn into a Jamal situation..............

[Nicholasp27]

Teague played better than Hinrich. Teague set the tone. He defended without fouling, got to the rack more than Hinrich and had more assists than Hinrich. Hinrich is a better scorer and combo guard than Teague, Teague will have trouble with Andre Miller because of size that will be the true test rather Hinrich is this defensive worldbeater that some are claiming.

he WAS 2nd team All-D...not like we're just making up his defense

[Bawse]

Teague played better than Hinrich. Teague set the tone. He defended without fouling, got to the rack more than Hinrich and had more assists than Hinrich. Hinrich is a better scorer and combo guard than Teague, Teague will have trouble with Andre Miller because of size that will be the true test rather Hinrich is this defensive worldbeater that some are claiming.

Hinrich played 18 minutes in his debut(which, most of the minutes were garbage cleanup minutes in the 4th) with the Hawks and scored more points and had more rebounds. Teague had more assists because he played nearly 30 minutes in this game. While Jeff had 3 steals, Hinrich still has a higher IQ than Teague and it was easily shown in the little time he played last night. Kirk got into foul trouble early, but the first foul was a BS call and the other was probably because he was amped.

I see no problem with Teague getting minutes, but ultimately it's going to come down to Hinrich starting, he is a better overall player in all areas at this point.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Boss

[Outlaw]

How much better did Hinrich look than Bibby? Sorry i was wasted at a friends last night.

[hawkshomer]

How much better did Hinrich look than Bibby? Sorry i was wasted at a friends last night.

300% better. Made his first shot as a hawk...which was a 3pt. It was like they passed a torch or something. No disrespect to how bibby helped us when he first came here.

[DJlaysitup]

How much better did Hinrich look than Bibby? Sorry i was wasted at a friends last night.

Well Outlaw....he did pretty good.

[Bawse]

How much better did Hinrich look than Bibby? Sorry i was wasted at a friends last night.

Miles better. Hinrich came in and immediately started pushing the pace. With him at the point with the rest of our starters, our offense looked so fluid.

Horford himself said in an interview after the game that Hinrich told the team to "Keep going, push the pace" in his first game as a Hawk.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Boss

[High5]

I was already happy about the trade but more so when I saw just how quick Hinrich runs the offense. That's not something I really paid attention to when he was on other teams, but he was constantly moving and shooting quick or getting the ball out quick. He's pretty much the anti-Bibby in that respect. The whole team was very active last night on both ends and it was a joy to watch. For 3 quarters anyway. If they played with that level of activity every night we'd be in contention for the 1 seed.

[DJlaysitup]

I was already happy about the trade but more so when I saw just how quick Hinrich runs the offense. That's not something I really paid attention to when he was on other teams, but he was constantly moving and shooting quick or getting the ball out quick. He's pretty much the anti-Bibby in that respect. The whole team was very active last night on both ends and it was a joy to watch.

For info: (from wikipedia)

Kirk James Hinrich (born January 2, 1981) is an American professional basketball player, currently a guard for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. He has also been a member of the USA National Team. Growing up in Sioux City, Iowa, Hinrich was exposed to basketball at an early age. His father, Jim, coached him from the third grade through high school.^[1]

As a high school senior, Hinrich was named the 1999 Co-Iowa Mr. Basketball, along with future college teammate and roommate Nick Collison.^[1] Hinrich originally committed to play basketball at Iowa State but when the coach at the time, Tim Floyd, took the head coaching position for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, Hinrich changed his mind and decided to attend the University of Kansas.^[2] While playing college basketball for Kansas, Hinrich helped his team reach the Final Four in the NCAA basketball tournament in 2002 and the championship game against the Carmelo Anthony-led Syracuse University in 2003.^[3] Hinrich played all four years at Kansas before being drafted into the NBA. He is often referred to as "Captain Kirk" because he has been voted a team captain for the Bulls for four consecutive years.^[4] Hinrich is the Bulls' all-time leader in three point field goals.^[5] After seven seasons with the Bulls, he was traded to the Washington Wizards on June 8, 2010. He then was traded to the Atlanta Hawks on February 23, 2011.

Early life:

Hinrich was born to Jim and Nancy Hinrich of Sioux City, Iowa. His father had played college basketball at Briar Cliff College and later became a coach for Sioux City West High School. When Hinrich was about seven years old, Jim Hinrich visited Ray Nacke, his old college coach, and asked if Kirk could enroll in Nacke's summer camp for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Despite Nacke's hesitations, Hinrich was allowed to attend the camp, and played well against the older children. After just two years, Hinrich advanced to Nacke's camp for young teenagers, and excelled there, as well.^[6]

Hinrich also played football at the quarterback position, and baseball as a pitcher. However, basketball was Hinrich's passion. His role model was Seattle SuperSonics star Gary Payton, a player known for his strong defense.^[6] With his father as coach, Hinrich's basketball team at Sioux City West High School achieved an 82–9 record over four years, and won the Iowa state championship when Hinrich was a senior. When he graduated, Hinrich was West High's all-time leader in points, steals, assists.^[6]

Edited February 26, 2011 by DJlaysitup

[benhillboy]

Gotta love wiki. Didn't know he was Bulls all-time threes made leader. Would've thought Paxson. His quarterbacking skills show, and Gary Payton is a damn good role model. Unquestioned leader with the Bulls. Hit his first shot from three last night. Hopefully has another All-NBA Defensive Team year in him, with us of course. I'm liking this guy.

Edited February 26, 2011 by benhillboy

[mrhonline]

For info: (from wikipedia)

Who is Kirk Hinrich?