HAWKS WILL BE NUMBER #3 IN THE PLAYOFFS!

[JTB]

-Let's discuss this my fellow hawksquawkers-

Teams in the East, the East playoffs, and East roster moves

Teams in the EAST:

Ok teams in the East...hmmmm...who's worth mentioning over the Hawks besides the BULLS and HEAT?!....NOBODY! Ya damn skippy!.....

-Celtics arent worth mentioning anymore. They are too old as far as main players go. With a shorten season and 4 games in nearly every week of the season they will slip in the regular season still making the playoffs of course and likely turn it up in the playoffs like they did last year. Thing about the Celtics they could care less if they are #1 or #8, they just want their foot in the door thats their mentality.

-Knicks aren't worth mentioning cause they still have two HUGE problems that they have not fixed 1. Still no PG to run D'Antoni's Offense! Baron Davis was not the answer. 2. They have not proved that they can play defense yet! Stop looking at the Star names! Amare and Melo dont like to D up. Until Woody and staff can get the Knicks playing defense, I say the Hawks are still better than them as a complete Unit....Huh and Tyson Chandler thought Dirk was a sorry defender wait until he plays with Amare!

-Magic aren't worth mentioning because looking at this team Howard is by himself. Baby Davis is a great addition but Howard knows that this team has bit the dust. They will only see the playoffs because of Howard and thats if he doesnt get traded before the playoffs get here. In other words I would love to see the Hawks play the Magic again round 1! We should beat them 4-1 this time!

-Pacers/76ers arent worth mentioning. Why are we so quick to give these young teams credit over us. Dont listen to analyst all time they always put teams over the Hawks after just a year. The year the Hawks beat the Bucks that very next season they put the Bucks ahead of us stating they are on the rise but they were at home this past year watching us give the Bulls a hard time. While these young teams are getting better you still should keep in mind that those teams just got it going! we been in this for 3 or 4 years please give the respect when it is deserved and that goes for any young team that is so called on the rise! They have not surpassed us yet! Hawks deserve some respect atleast for that! SMH

With all above said its damn near a guarantee that East Playoffs will look something like this (not saying the higher teams will win it all of course but showing most likely what the ranking will be):

1.Bulls

2.Heat

3.Hawks

4.Knicks

5.Celtics

6.Magic

7.76ers/Pacers

8. and as usual a newcomer in East contender as always probably the Wizards or the Pacers/76ers could finish at number 8.

-As you see I have the Hawks at number 3 but like I stated above I have good reason to put the Hawks at number 3 with good details that make complete sense on why they should finish at number 3. At the lowest they will finish at number 4. But I seriously doubt the Knicks will fix any of the problems they have so that EQUAL HAWKS #3

East Roster Moves:

To further support on why the Hawks will be number 3 in the playoffs lets take a look at East roster moves. There really isnt a huge significant East roster change besides the Bulls getting Hamilton other than that there are just nice signings like Magic adding Baby Davis and Pacers adding West but the Hawks are even keel with these teams just because Teague will be playing starter minutes and thats a Biggie for the Hawks cause I know Teague starting is a Upgrade more so than what fans and people think and it will contribute to the Hawks success. Teague is a go getter and that Playoffs was no fluke against MVP Rose! Teague just needed that opportunity he should have gotten the start of last season.

Well there ya go! Looking for replies! Please respond on any thought you may have with this topic.

Edited December 24, 2011 by JTB

[sturt]

Ever the optimist that I am, I don't even like the heat's roster better than ours. I know, I know... but really, I don't, and particularly in a concentrated season. If we can acquire K-Mart and replace Stack with a legit wing defender, I even think we've got a legit shot vs. CHI.

[JTB]

Ever the optimist that I am, I don't even like the heat's roster better than ours. I know, I know... but really, I don't, and particularly in a concentrated season. If we can acquire K-Mart and replace Stack with a legit wing defender, I even think we've got a legit shot vs. CHI.

I actually agree. I know our Roster isnt the best but I actually like our Roster as a whole far better than the Heat! Lucky for the Heat they have Lebron and Bosh now. getting K mart would be nice. I would take Mikel Peitrus as well....and keith Bogans too.

Fans, Analyst, and people just dont give us any type of respect. we have a older bench now it doesnt mean we can get these guys to work in fact once kirk comes back it would be great to see him operate the bench setting guys up and teague staying starter!

[sturt]

Based on Gearon's pledge, I think we'll see an attempt during the season to add one more significant player via MLE. I'd prefer that it's K-Mart simply b/c I want to see us adding talent, not trading some of the talent we have. I don't see us using the bi-annual exception, which probably eliminates Pietrus from the discussion... I think the Celtics are after him and with Green's injury status, are likely to have more money to spend.

Edited December 24, 2011 by sturt

[Joker]

3rd is what I expect but Heat and Bulls are clearly better than us. I am in doubt about NYK or Indy.

[Jody23]

It's possible for this team to finish third although anything can happen. However, as said, Miami and Chicago are clearly better. So when the Hawks fail to make the Eastern Conference finals, not to mention the NBA finals, then what? As much as I like Teague and I believe he will improve over the year, I don't think this Hawks team is better than last years. They're still going to get outrebounded and will struggle to score points in the halfcourt in the playoffs. We shall soon see.

[Diesel]

I need more information. I think you will be surprised to see how far star power can take you. Even though Amare nor Melo or Bibby plays any defense, I think together, they will win more than anybody expects. Then there are some fringe teams that might make a move (Milwaukee, Philly, Indiana). The thing that we have on everybody is that we have continuity. However, Nelson plus Dwight are still good. So is the Big 4 in Boston.

So for us, we can be as good as 3 maybe 2 on paper, but we have to have LD put in a good coaching effort and hope that Teague steps up.

[benhillboy]

If they focused and played hard as a unit night in and out, then yeah. That occured about half of the time last season, and we don't have enough talent to win games when slacking as evidenced by the many horrible blowouts last season. Hopefully the team responds better and more consistently to Coach Drew this year. I can only hope like you.

[hawkrule152]

this is way to biased.. celtics will still compete.. knicks have two great scorers and just got a GREAT defensive center.. magic still have dwight and as long as they keep him the whole season will finish ahead of us..

your forgetting we lost one of our best bench players.. our bench is flat out god awful.. i see us as a 5 seed at best

[Diesel]

this is way to biased.. celtics will still compete.. knicks have two great scorers and just got a GREAT defensive center.. magic still have dwight and as long as they keep him the whole season will finish ahead of us..

your forgetting we lost one of our best bench players.. our bench is flat out god awful.. i see us as a 5 seed at best

I think you make a good point about the Knicks and Celts.

I think the Magic will have to trade D-12 by the deadline because after the deadline, they will have far less control over where he goes and what they get back. I think they have learned from their previous miscue with Shaq that it works out better that they reload instead of letting him walk.

Finally, I think that our bench is doesn't have the concentrated scoring that we once had, but pending on their ability to improve as the season goes along, I think that we have the talent level that exceeds what we had before. If Radman, Tmac, and Zaza can be productive, then you have to like them with Hinrich and possibly Ivan the Terrible as a second 5.

[sturt]

I agree that a lot of what disrespect this team gets is based on its tendency to pretty much give up and allow themselves to get blown out on a handful of occasions over a given season. Will that change? My inclination has been that that's a maturity issue, and that, yes, assuming maturity, it's

not going to happen as often, if at all.

I also think that that disrespect might be a springboard to hasten that maturity, so in a big way, I almost welcome the disrespect.

As for the other teams, I think Boston, in particular, will be hard pressed to keep up with their reputation in a season that features so many back-to-back games. Fortunately for them, Rivers has a history of taking a long-term view, and while they may lose a few more and go into the playoffs with lowered expectations, they may still be competitive come April... it's just that, at some point, age naturally will catch up to these guys.

And the concentrated season, btw, is an aspect that I think too few seem to completely absorb.

As for NYK, I think Tyson Chandler of 2011-12 isn't much different from the TC of 10-11; he just has a championship ring now. He's always been good. He's never been great. He will help the Knicks, assuming he can stay injury-free. He cannot make up for the deficits that that roster has once you get past the first four.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Honestly . . we need to win this division or be the 2nd best team in this conference. A #3 seed will not help us.

We need home court advantage in those first two rounds.

I simply can't get excited about a #3 seed anymore, knowing that we'll have to steal a game at Chicago and Miami . . AND . . possibly be perfect at home, in order to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

We need that possible deciding Game 7 at Philips Arena, not in Chicago or Miami.

The goal for this team should be to win the division and get at LEAST a #2 seed, no matter how good "The Heatles" in Miami are.

Edited December 24, 2011 by northcyde

[sillent]

Honestly . . we need to win this division or be the 2nd best team in this conference. A #3 seed will not help us.

We need home court advantage in those first two rounds.

I simply can't get excited about a #3 seed anymore, knowing that we'll have to steal a game at Chicago and Miami . . AND . . possibly be perfect at home, in order to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

We need that possible deciding Game 7 at Philips Arena, not in Chicago or Miami.

The goal for this team should be to win the division and get at LEAST a #2 seed, no matter how good "The Heatles" in Miami are.

Agreed accept I believe the Heat are going to top the Bulls meaning our mission for home court advantage over these teams is to be 1st place in the Eastern Conference. I know it's a leap from being the under dogs we like being but it's a necessary leap for us to take the next step. Bulls did it last year. Heat will be better but like most stated about their roster maybe not better than ours.