Sit down Wizards, John Wall, and Isiah Thomas...

[volman]

This is my "sit down" rant this afternoon.

 

I was pretty ticked to see on NBA.com the coverage about the Wizards "rolling over" the Bulls, when the Hawks "barely" beat the Pistons.  Of course, they are still trying to push their agenda of superstars and the teams that were selected as elite at the beginning of the season.  The Hawks will have nothing of it.  I would assume Sekou Smith would push the Hawks a bit more since he has come over to NBA.com, but he really hasn't.  I remember on Friday night hearing Jon Barry speaking about the East's elite teams, and Atlanta wasn't even mentioned.  Again it was Cleveland, Washington, and Chicago.  SIT DOWN NBA.COM AND ESPN!!!

 

That said, I have a little beef still with the Isaiah Thomas comments on Teague and the Hawks in general.  Nobody will go watch the Hawks play because they "don't have a superstar".  I will take the two crowds we have had against freaking Memphis and Washington this week.  Unbelievable crowds!  Atlanta wants a winner, and we have one right now with the Hawks.

 

There was a lot of MVP talk for John Wall, and I think that Teague easily outplayed him today, and arguably this season.  Yes, Wall almost had a trip-dub, but that consisted of 8 turnovers to Teague's 0. Will this head to head play today against Wall ease the mind of these "superstar" razzle dazzle ex-players turned commentators/experts? Teague is playing within the system, is a smarter player, and I would take his contract:productivity mixed in with some Baby Rondo any day over Wall.  We have flexibility to pay elsewhere for other valuable assets while not having to pay $10mil+ for a top PG.

 

Again, apologies for the rant, but this needs to be pointed out.  Wizards "steamroll" the Bulls, and we beat Washington like they stole something.  At some point we have to be thought of as contenders.  I don't want to be under the radar.  Our time is due, and our time is now.  I want the exposure for this city, fan base, and the organization.  

 

[Guest]

Rant on son, rant on!!

[JETSET]

Wheres all the folks that were doubting me when I said Teague is better than wall? Teague runs his team and keeps them in line and is far more efficient. Wall puts up better points and assists solely because of higher minutes and usage.

[NBASupes]

John Wall is better than Teague but the Hawks are much better than the Wizards. Nothing today changed that in my view.

 

As for Zeke, i don't agree with him. Let Jeff be Jeff.

[benhillboy]

Wall and Rose both suffer from Calipari-coddling. He's great at developing his Bigs for the league, but his PGs never master a true team game without a PG teacher (Kidd, Knight). Just because they have double digit assists they think they did their job, when it possibly couldve been done better with less. They only pass to flash anyway. They think they can do it all, smart coaches allow them to beat themselves because they're so predictable with so many isolated exploits on film and neither has a dependable jumper (I know Wall has improved, still mediocre). Without world-class athleticism, you wouldn't have heard of either. They have a long ways to go in terms of playing the game between the ears, not sure how much progress they can make in that area. What did Rose make on the SAT?

The superstar-ball-dominating-max-player model is dying quickly. I wouldn't expect any members of the media to realize it anytime soon. It was exposed like a weirdo in a children's park in last year's Finals, guess they weren't watching.

Edited January 11, 2015 by benhillboy

[MaceCase]

Leave Isaiah alone, he has a hard enough time getting burn out in Phoenix.  Your beef is with Isiah.

[volman]

John Wall is better than Teague but the Hawks are much better than the Wizards. Nothing today changed that in my view.

 

As for Zeke, i don't agree with him. Let Jeff be Jeff.

 

I think Wall has a better skill set, but is he a better overall player?  I think there are intangibles that Teague is starting to learn, that is moving him up above Wall.  You can't just look at points and assists to compare the two players-- both are averaging pretty much the same.  Would I like to have Wall on the Hawks?  Probably.  But, the Hawks would have drop-offs in other intangibles with Wall.  

[volman]

Leave Isaiah alone, he has a hard enough time getting burn out in Phoenix.  Your beef is with Isiah.

 

My beef is with the ex-NBA players, who were Superstars, and think that the only way to be successful is to load up with Superstars and "Robin" talent around a Batman. The Hawks are a ragtag, under the radar bunch, who are just outworking and out coaching their counterparts.  They play smart basketball and do not rely on isolation plays and off-balance shots at the end of the shot clock.  The establishment of the NBA doesn't like the Hawks, and they will do WHATEVER they can to keep this quiet.  The NBA became popular off of showcasing superstars and marquee match ups.

 

For goodness sake, they showed a 5 win Knicks team on Friday night on ESPN, who went on to get destroyed by 30+ points on national television. 

 

This is natural-- you have an establishment, and another group comes in and is successful while disrupting the "norm".  It is difficult for most folks to understand and accept what is happening, but it's happening.  The Hawks every. single. day. are putting these top teams on notice and not barely winning, but winning by 10+. 

[MrMeltdown]

Wall is definitely a better individual player but I am not sure he is more of a winning player than Teague in this system. If Teague had to be the undeniable best player of a team, he will look much worse than Wall.

[MaceCase]

My beef is with the ex-NBA players, who were Superstars, and think that the only way to be successful is to load up with Superstars and "Robin" talent around a Batman.

I get that, but this guy is neither of those things

 

 

 

(The joke is about the spelling of their names)

[volman]

I want to add that I KNOW there is a media bias against the Hawks, and this is specific to them not having any superstars.  

 

You think Houston is a great free-agency destination?  Houston is a dirty city with nothing going on sorry Dolf ;)   and they were absolutely lucky to land Harden, which subsequently helped land other top free agents.  The thing is that there were no "road blocks" in the way. 

 

The coverage over the past DECADE of Atlanta has been that Philips is a mausoleum, Atlanta is only good to travel into for strippers and hookers, and that the ownership is terrible, racist, whatever you want to say.  There has always been some kind of roadblock, while some of it is true, some of it has been manufactured by the media to keep this city and franchise down.  

 

You have teams like the New York Knicks who are constantly propped up as this top market in basketball, when Atlanta is top-5.  Why is this not discussed ever?  Atlanta used to be a rockin' place and the Hawks were a great franchise.  They had great players and great coaching.  Why must the media try to keep Atlanta down?  Wouldn't it be of benefit to help prop up this organization?  Golden State and Portland are probably terrible NBA markets (don't know the exact numbers) but they have great season ticket numbers.  Is that all ESPN and TNT are worried about?  They just want to be at games with large crowds? 

 

I am tired of Atlanta's success this season being downplayed because it is the fly through city where you party and show up to the game hungover.  That was maybe in the late 90's/early 2000's, but no more.  Atlanta has so many great things going for it from a growth standpoint, and even with Tyler Perry's empire, that I do not see why players would not want to be here.  I haven't even said anything about Turner turning a blind eye to the city it is based out of.  Really, no love?  Really?  

 

Folks, perception is reality here.  The perception is that this team will falter, and the Hawks will just simply be the Hawks in the end.  I am tired of the media forcing the perception on what they want Atlanta to continue to be, when Atlanta has morphed into this incredible city with a great basketball team that should be luring the top talent.  We lured a great GM, will have new ownership, and have a solid team that plays together.

 

Go Hawks

[gsuteke]

That GM is gone Volman. I feel like the Ferry situation is going to pop my balloon. We are Hawks fans afterall. Something bad is bound to happen.

[volman]

That GM is gone Volman. I feel like the Ferry situation is going to pop my balloon. We are Hawks fans afterall. Something bad is bound to happen.

 

Don't do it brother... come back off of the ledge.  Enjoy the run right now.

 

It won't stay forever like this, but let's have some fun while we're rolling!

[Spursfanpeacemaker]

Phillips arena was packed again today, 5th straight time sold out tickets!!! 

[cam1218]

Preach on, Volman. Good stuff!

[Dejay]

Hawks are the Uber/Tesla of the NBA...

[tonegully]

John Wall is better than Teague but the Hawks are much better than the Wizards. Nothing today changed that in my view.

 

As for Zeke, i don't agree with him. Let Jeff be Jeff.

No Wall isn't. Wall has to be the most predictable PG in the league. I cant even tell if they are even running plays. If you keep Wall from running fast down the court then you have already won the battle.

[bird_dirt]

Ok ok. Let's put all of the Superstar talk to rest here and now. For all of those who say we don't have a Superstar haven't been watching the Hawks. We have a Superstar. His name is Coach Bud. Take him of this team and see how quickly we will crumble.

[Gray Mule]

Is it all right for me to smile (Grin great big) after this evening's game?

 

In reading the pre game preview on ESPN, their quarterback (P.G.) told

everyone that Washington is now a much better team than they were

when they last met the Hawks.

 

Much was said about them swamping Chicago.  Good for them!  I was

hoping that they would and they did it.

 

After reading this preview, one had to feel, "There goes our winning streak."

Washington was just "so much better" and where did that leave us?

 

In the second half they cut our 20 point lead down to 2.  Time to begin

to really worry.  Nope.  No sweat.  Hawks exploded on Washington.

They ran away and hid!

 

On a side note, their all star P.G. had 10 turn overs.  Our P.G. had none.

 

So, forgive me if I have this big, silly looking grin on my face tonight!!

 

- -

[cam1218]

In reading the pre game preview on ESPN, their quarterback (P.G.) told

everyone that Washington is now a much better team than they were

when they last met the Hawks. ]

They probably are a better team now, GM. Only problem is their quarterback didn't realize that we are a much, much better team since we played them in Washington.

After beating them we then let Toronto score 126 on us in Philips. I don't see that type of defensive effort happening anymore.