Scotty Now Officially Resigned/Roster Now Set

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

 

ATLANTA -- The Hawks have re-signed Mike Scott, who improved his 3-point shot in his second season and almost doubled his scoring average.

 

Hawks general manager Danny Ferry says the 6-foot-8 forward impressed the team by expanding his game.

Terms of the deal were not released, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Scott agreed to a three-year deal worth $10 million.

 

"Mike has worked hard and continues to adapt, improve and expand his all-around game," Ferry said in a statement. "We are very happy to have him with us going forward and we look forward to his continued growth with our group."

Scott, a second-round pick from Virginia in 2012, averaged 9.6 points last season, up from 4.6 as a rookie. He started six of his 80 games and also averaged 3.6 rebounds.

 

Scott made 62 of 200 3-point attempts last season after missing his only 3 as a rookie. His five second-quarter 3s in Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs against Indiana were the second-highest total in any period in NBA playoff history.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11411676/mike-scott-atlanta-hawks-earns-new-deal-scoring-surge

 

Didn't see it posted, but NOW the roster is set and these are your 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks. 

 

C - Horford

PF - Millsap

SF - Carroll

SG - Korver

PG - Teague

6th - Mack

7th - Sefolosha

8th - Scott

9th - Antić

10th - Bazemore

11th - Payne

12th - Jenkins

13th - Schröder

14th - Muscala

15th - ???

 

43-45 wins and a 7th seed IMO.  We'll play either Miami or Washington in the first round and I'll give us a 30% chance of pulling off an upset.  Winner of the Central division will be the 1st seed, so that leaves the 2nd seed to the Southeast.  Atlantic is a joke, but are still guaranteed the 3rd or 4th spot.  Even with PG's injury, I think Indiana squeaks into the playoffs.  How I see the East playing out:

 

1 - Cleveland - 60 wins

2 - Miami - 50 wins

3 - Chicago - 58 wins

4 - New York - 46 wins

5 - Washington - 48 wins

6 - Toronto - 44 wins

7 - Atlanta - 43 wins

8 - Indiana - 37 wins

 

How the playoffs play out:

 

Round 1

Cleveland sweeps Indy, (4-0)

Atlanta over Miami, (4-2)

Chicago over Toronto, (4-1)

Washington over New York, (4-3)

 

Round 2

Cleveland over Atlanta, (4-1)

Chicago over Washington, (4-2)

 

Eastern Conference Finals

Chicago over Cleveland, (4-2)

 

NBA FINALS

Chicago wins the title over San Antonio, (4-3)

 

 

I wanted to put OKC in the final, but I just can't convince myself to.  Bookmarking this page too!

 

[thecampster]

In what universe is Miami a 50 win team without Lebron?

[thecampster]

Let's just try an eye test comparison

 

PG

 

Teague v Chalmers - This is laughable.  Teague by a mile.

 

 

SG

 

Korver v Wade - Five years ago, this was no contest. But Wade is no longer Wade. This is at worst a tie and probably a win.

 

SF

 

Carroll v Deng -  Last year, Deng shot 41.7% at 14.3 and 5.1 for Cleveland. His Chicago numbers are inflated due to having no other real options.  Last year, Carroll shot 47% at 11.1 and 5.5.  Carroll is a better defender but a 5th option on this team. Deng is only a minor win for Miami here.

 

PF/C

 

Al Horford, Paul Milsap, Antić, Muscala, v. Josh McRoberts, Chris Bosh and Chris Anderson

 

Horford v Bosh is a win for Atlanta. Sap v either of McRoberts/Anderson is a major win. 

 

Our bench is once again superior.  Bazemore, Sefolosha, Muscala, Antić', Mack, Scott are superior to anything Miami trots out there.  There is a real possibility Miami wins less than 40 games and misses the playoffs. They only won 54 games with the best player on the planet on the roster last year. Bosh and Wade are another year older. 40 wins might be their ceiling.

 

Honestly, Charlotte scares the crap out of me. I am no Al Jefferson fan, but he is the perfect compliment to Marvin Williams and Lance Stephenson. One of the few bigs that draws a double down low that can kick to a shooter/slasher.  Charlotte is the team nobody is pointing at that got miles better in the offseason.  Lance Stephenson will be on a mission, Kidd-Gilchrist is maturing.  They are a solid 8 NBA players deep, with a good inside out game.

[thecampster]

Okay let me see if I can revise that list. Also, without Paul George or Lance Stephenson, Indiana is at best a 30 win team. They're in real trouble.

 

Cleveland - 65

Chicago - 55

Washington - 52

Atlanta - 50

Charlotte - 50

Toronto - 44

Detroit - 42 (I expect them to make moves and Van Gundy to right the ship).

New York 41

 

The Hawks, Wizards and Bobcats will fight for the top spot all year, I just think the Wizards are too talented. Probably a little homerism in my ATL expectations. But the Bobcats are young and scary. They can score the ball from all 5 positions consistently and are now made up of players at all 5 positions that play unselfishly. They effectively exchanged Stephenson for Ben Gordon (a joke) and Marvin for Josh McRoberts.  Marvin is no world beater but he is better in every facet of the game. Charlotte's average point differential last year was a -0.2 and they won 43 games. Saying that Stephenson and Williams = 7 games is not a stretch. Scary version, they still have cap room.

[ViperXX79]

Let's just try an eye test comparison

 

PG

 

Teague v Chalmers - This is laughable.  Teague by a mile.

 

 

SG

 

Korver v Wade - Five years ago, this was no contest. But Wade is no longer Wade. This is at worst a tie and probably a win.

 

SF

 

Carroll v Deng -  Last year, Deng shot 41.7% at 14.3 and 5.1 for Cleveland. His Chicago numbers are inflated due to having no other real options.  Last year, Carroll shot 47% at 11.1 and 5.5.  Carroll is a better defender but a 5th option on this team. Deng is only a minor win for Miami here.

 

PF/C

 

Al Horford, Paul Milsap, Antić, Muscala, v. Josh McRoberts, Chris Bosh and Chris Anderson

 

Horford v Bosh is a win for Atlanta. Sap v either of McRoberts/Anderson is a major win. 

 

Our bench is once again superior.  Bazemore, Sefolosha, Muscala, Antić', Mack, Scott are superior to anything Miami trots out there.  There is a real possibility Miami wins less than 40 games and misses the playoffs. They only won 54 games with the best player on the planet on the roster last year. Bosh and Wade are another year older. 40 wins might be their ceiling.

 

Honestly, Charlotte scares the crap out of me. I am no Al Jefferson fan, but he is the perfect compliment to Marvin Williams and Lance Stephenson. One of the few bigs that draws a double down low that can kick to a shooter/slasher.  Charlotte is the team nobody is pointing at that got miles better in the offseason.  Lance Stephenson will be on a mission, Kidd-Gilchrist is maturing.  They are a solid 8 NBA players deep, with a good inside out game.

I had no idea we had so many stars.  Good to know Korver and Al have magically become better than Wade and Bosh.  Rings should be coming fairly often now.

[ViperXX79]

Probably a little homerism in my ATL expectations. 

 

You think?

[Gray Mule]

Wade & Bosh vs Korver and Horford.  W & B  are very good but, unfortunately,

there is something gaining on them that they have no control over.  Old age.

 

Now, they are not there.  Not yet.  But, they are getting there and this is bound

to make a difference in their game.

 

Korver is a sharpshooter, a sniper.  Age will slow him down but I expect him to

still have that magic touch from beyond the arch.  Horford is returning from an

injury and how he does and how his body holds out is a big key here.

 

As good as?  Question.  Would you trade, even, with no other players involved,

our two for their two?  If we are afraid of Horford's health, yes.  If he comes back

100 %  healthy, then no.  We believe that he's going to be fine but we just don't know.

 

[macdaddy]

I had no idea we had so many stars.  Good to know Korver and Al have magically become better than Wade and Bosh.  Rings should be coming fairly often now.

 

I'm a huge Bosh fan but with Wade hurt 70% of the time Bosh is going to find a lot of double teams that he hasn't seen in a while.   Hawks matched up and played the Heat well last season.   You think our chances aren't a hell of a lot better with Lebron gone?

[AHF]

Let's not bury Wade too quickly here.  He put up a 22 PER and .149 WS/48 last season.  

 

Number of Hawks who did that?  Zero.

 

You have to discount him some for missing games but the guy can still play.

[Wretch]

So, I'm trying to understand the seeding...
 

The team that has the best record in each of the three divisions in each conference is declared division champion. The three division champions, and another team in the conference with the best record, are seeded one through four by their records. This guarantees the division champions no worse than the fourth seed, and also guarantees the conference's two best teams (by record) will be the top two seeds even if the second-best team doesn't win its division.

 

 

So I'm taking that to mean that as long as a division champ has one of the top 4 seeds, it doesn't matter if higher seeded teams (i.e CLE/CHI) play in the same division?  Correct the shit out of me if I'm wrong...but I'm not reading that any other way.  

 

Anywho, I know Cleveland will be good and most likely headed to the ECF's...it's just hard to say that they'll mesh into a dominant team right away.  I'm gonna give Chicago the edge record-wise, but in the long run...I don't think it matters.  Cleveland and Chicago should be the two best teams in the East (barring Rose being injured).

 

1) Chicago

2) Cleveland

3) Brooklyn (18-12 vs. the West, with injuries, 4-3 over Toronto last year in the playoffs.  Health is a concern...)

4) Miami (Wins SE - still a very good team and people are sleeping on Chris Bosh.  Wade's health will be huge.  They could go higher.)

5) Toronto (16-14 vs. the West and a much better team post-Gay)

6) Atlanta

7) *Charlotte

8) Washington

 

Charlotte is my wildcard team.  They could be really good and take the SE or Lance could screw the whole thing up.  I just don't know what to make of them.  I don't think we'll win the division, but it's not impossible to see us at #4.

 

 

Chicago over Washington, 4-2

Cleveland over Charlotte, 4-2

Atlanta over Toronto/Brooklyn, 4-3 (We'll escape the 1st round)

Miami over Brooklyn/Toronto, 4-2

 

Cleveland over Atlanta, 4-1

Chicago over Miami, 4-2

 

Cleveland over Chicago, 4-3

...aaaand POST!  Let it be written in stone! lol

[Vol4ever]

Korver over Wade?  You gotta be kidding.  Korver is nothing more than a slow footed shooter, great shooter gives you nothing else.  Wade will put up 22 a game this year and eat any guard we have alive.   Horford if healthy is better than Bosch period.  Deng over Carroll big time and the season will show this.

 

I think we win 42-44 games.   We are a shooting team with very little low post and wing athleticism talent.  If we are not hitting our shots from long range we dont win, that is why we needed Deng to be able to put the ball on the floor and slash to the basket.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

So, I'm trying to understand the seeding...

So I'm taking that to mean that as long as a division champ has one of the top 4 seeds, it doesn't matter if higher seeded teams (i.e CLE/CHI) play in the same division? Correct the shit out of me if I'm wrong...but I'm not reading that any other way.

Anywho, I know Cleveland will be good and most likely headed to the ECF's...it's just hard to say that they'll mesh into a dominant team right away. I'm gonna give Chicago the edge record-wise, but in the long run...I don't think it matters. Cleveland and Chicago should be the two best teams in the East (barring Rose being injured).

1) Chicago

2) Cleveland

3) Brooklyn (18-12 vs. the West, with injuries, 4-3 over Toronto last year in the playoffs. Health is a concern...)

4) Miami (Wins SE - still a very good team and people are sleeping on Chris Bosh. Wade's health will be huge. They could go higher.)

5) Toronto (16-14 vs. the West and a much better team post-Gay)

6) Atlanta

7) *Charlotte

8) Washington

Charlotte is my wildcard team. They could be really good and take the SE or Lance could screw the whole thing up. I just don't know what to make of them. I don't think we'll win the division, but it's not impossible to see us at #4.

Chicago over Washington, 4-2

Cleveland over Charlotte, 4-2

Atlanta over Toronto/Brooklyn, 4-3 (We'll escape the 1st round)

Miami over Brooklyn/Toronto, 4-2

Cleveland over Atlanta, 4-1

Chicago over Miami, 4-2

Cleveland over Chicago, 4-3

...aaaand POST! Let it be written in stone! lol

Oh okay. I understood it as a non-divisional winner could only be at best a 3rd seed. I still think it's Cleveland/Chicago ECF. Thanks for the clarification.

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[Wretch]

I think we win 42-44 games.   We are a shooting team with very little low post and wing athleticism talent.  If we are not hitting our shots from long range we dont win, that is why we needed Deng to be able to put the ball on the floor and slash to the basket.

 

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

Al's return is going to make us better, but people are really romanticizing his play in these previews. He doesn't provide low post offense.  He's fast and he's active (without the ball) in the paint.  When we face big/tough teams, he disappears sometimes.  That'll be a problem in the playoffs.  Especially if and when the jumpshots stop falling.

 

This is why Teague's play is so important.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

In what universe is Miami a 50 win team without Lebron?

Wade/Deng/Bosh is still a great tandem. Don't count Miami out. The Southeast will be an interesting division this year for sure.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

My thing about Charlotte is Lance Stephenson and who else they have besides Big Al. I think Lance goes out like a hot dog with own agenda in mind and ends up destroying that locker room. Lance with a chip on his shoulder and feeling like he has something to prove will be his undoing.

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[PSSSHHHRRR87]

After Wretch's clarification, PSSH preview v2015.1

 

1 - Cleveland - 60 wins

2 - Chicago - 58 wins

3 - Miami - 50 wins

4 - New York - 46 wins

5 - Washington - 48 wins

6 - Atlanta - 44 wins

7 - Toronto - 43 wins

8 - Indiana - 37 wins

 

How the playoffs play out:

 

Round 1

Cleveland sweeps Indy, (4-0)

Atlanta over Miami, (4-2)

Chicago over Toronto, (4-1)

Washington over New York, (4-3)

 

Round 2

Cleveland over Atlanta, (4-1)

Chicago over Washington, (4-2)

 

Eastern Conference Finals

Chicago over Cleveland, (4-2)

 

NBA FINALS

Chicago wins the title over San Antonio, (4-3)

[Wretch]

My thing about Charlotte is Lance Stephenson and who else they have besides Big Al. I think Lance goes out like a hot dog with own agenda in mind and ends up destroying that locker room. Lance with a chip on his shoulder and feeling like he has something to prove will be his undoing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Lance's place is 2nd option, but you can just see it in his eyes that he wants to be considered an "elite" in that top tier of players.  He's got game, no doubt...but dude hasn't shown consistency.  His numbers are just all over the place.  If he holds to form, but comes out like he's trying to prove he's their alpha...then Charlotte's going nowhere.

 

I'm a Jefferson fan though and Charlotte has some guys that are still developing.  They could be good, they just have a lot of question marks for me.

[macdaddy]

I've got no faith in Chicago.   They'll be quality because they have a good coach but Rose, Pau, and Noah all have physical issues.   I expect them all to be out a decent number of games.   If they get lucky they'll all be there for the playoffs but I'd say there's about a 50/50 chance of that.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

I've got no faith in Chicago.   They'll be quality because they have a good coach but Rose, Pau, and Noah all have physical issues.   I expect them all to be out a decent number of games.   If they get lucky they'll all be there for the playoffs but I'd say there's about a 50/50 chance of that.

 

My argument for those they claim injury on Miami and Chicago is that they are all 100% currently.  Rose/Butler/Gibson/Gasol/Noah and Chalmers/Wade/Deng/Bosh/McBob are really good lineups when healthy, which they are.  Not saying they'll be 100% come playoff time, just that aren't injured now.  We could pull the same injury claims on Horford and KK.  Benefit of the doubt.

[AHF]

My argument for those they claim injury on Miami and Chicago is that they are all 100% currently.  Rose/Butler/Gibson/Gasol/Noah and Chalmers/Wade/Deng/Bosh/McBob are really good lineups when healthy, which they are.  Not saying they'll be 100% come playoff time, just that aren't injured now.  We could pull the same injury claims on Horford and KK.  Benefit of the doubt.

 

But my [iNSERT FAVORITE TEAM]'s players don't have that issue.  Our guys with major injuries as part of their history are healthy and will probably never be injured again.  Our guys suffered freak accidents that won't happen again.

 

The [OTHER TEAM]'s players have systemic health problems from which they will never recover.  They are done...it is just a matter of getting injured again before they realize it.