More Off-Season Rankings

[Thomas]

On August 29, 2016 at 9:21 AM, macdaddy said:

They're happy to get Marvin signed ?   That's not exactly swinging for the fences.  I know Marvin has been great for them but still.  

During the season Marvin was good but against Miami in the playoffs he shot under thirty percent from the field and averaged five points a game. Disappeared offensively. Don't see how he helps make them the two seed.

[Diesel]

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For now, though, one wonders whether Atlanta has enough. Even in the best-case scenario—Howard stays healthy and plays like an All-Star, Millsap keeps chugging along, Schröder steps seamlessly into the starting role, Kyle Korver enjoys a shooting renaissance—Atlanta probably didn’t do enough to hop out of the East’s thick middle.

 

What this idiot just said is if we revisited a time when we were the best team in the East (two years ago) but this time with a better Center and a more defensive PG and more depth.. that we would struggle coming out of the middle of the East?

[Gray Mule]

Woe s us!   We is expectin to end up outta playoffs and in the lottery.  9th place is in

the lottery, ain't it?  Yet we're so far above last place that our lottery pick will be

nothing but a D-League cast off.

All the top teams in the east improved so much, except for Atlanta.  Hawks are expected

to win just enough to avoid the playoffs altogether and get no worthy pick in the draft.

[Guest]

More...

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The 2016 offseason has been dissected from virtually every angle in this space, but the reviews keep coming for the Atlanta Hawks. Chad Ford of ESPN ($) released his Eastern Conference offseason grades this week and the draft expert provided a “C-minus” mark for Mike Budenholzer’s team.

First, Ford took on the swap from Al Horford to Dwight Howard, leaving the Hawks in a generally positive place.

 

The Hawks replace Horford with Dwight Howard. While Howard won't fill Horford's shoes offensively, he's an upgrade as a defensive rebounder and, given the other potential free agents out there, he was probably as good as they were going to get to replace Horford.

Then, the Kent Bazemore contract appeared, and while Ford wasn’t exactly complimentary, some backhanded optimism came to light.

Bazemore's $70 million contract appears to borderline on absurd at first glance, but given some of the other deals that went down this summer, I'm not sure he even qualifies for the list of 10 most overpaid free agents.

Because the piece is Insider-only, we won’t provide the entirety of the Hawks clip here, but Ford’s overarching takeaway was that Atlanta “took a step back” and that the team will be “fighting for their playoff lives in April”. This isn’t the first time that a pundit has made this claim, but with various Eastern Conference contenders earning higher marks (including an A-minus for the Boston Celtics), it isn’t terribly inspiring.

What do you think about Atlanta’s offseason with a bit of time to reflect on what transpired? Is Ford right? Too high? Too low?

(someone with ESPN Insider can post the entire article)

http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2016/9/2/12772308/atlanta-hawks-offseason-grade-espn-dwight-howard-kent-bazemore

[AHF]

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Atlanta Hawks: C-

Key additions: Dwight Howard (FA); Kent Bazemore (re-sign); Taurean Prince (draft); DeAndre Bembry (draft); Kris Humphries (re-sign); Jarrett Jack (re-sign)

Key subtractions: Al Horford; Jeff Teague

The Hawks lost their starting point guard and center from last season. That's rarely a good thing. They had been eyeing Dennis Schröder as a replacement for Teague at point guard for a while, and landing a late lottery pick for Teague was a terrific return. The player they selected, Baylor's Taurean Prince, seemed like a stretch with the No. 14 pick.

The Hawks replace Horford with Dwight Howard. While Howard won't fill Horford's shoes offensively, he's an upgrade as a defensive rebounder and, given the other potential free agents out there, he was probably as good as they were going to get to replace Horford.

Bazemore's $70 million contract appears to borderline on absurd at first glance, but given some of the other deals that went down this summer, I'm not sure he even qualifies for the list of 10 most overpaid free agents.

Bembry was one of my draft sleepers, and I love his long-term fit in Atlanta.

Overall, it looks like the Hawks took a step back this summer and will likely be fighting for their playoff lives in April.

A couple of comments:

• Hilarious that a guy that specializes in the draft doesn't even know what pick we acquired and used to draft Prince;
• I love that we'll be fighting for our playoff lives after signing Dwight Howard and adding Prince / Bembry but the Knicks are secure:

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New York Knicks: B-

The net result, if everyone stays healthy, should be the playoffs next year. I'm sure Knicks fans will deeply appreciate fielding a winner again. 

Well, at least Ford can edit his article to make himself look smarter after the fact like he does with his draft analysis.

[Guest]

On 8/29/2016 at 10:14 AM, Spud2Nique said:

@JayBirdHawk That article was written by Alan Cho, Rich Cho's dad who was a former journalist who has now retired and enjoys smoking hash and writing articles on how the Hornets are the biggest challenge to the Cavs.

Smoking hash?  Nah, that dude be smoking tire shavings or something.

("Tire shavings"?  Really, kg?  Man, I'm off my game with the MIL in town.  Let's all pray the hurricane doesn't keep them from heading back to America's butthole aka the state of FL.)

17 minutes ago, AHF said:

A couple of comments:

• Hilarious that a guy that specializes in the draft doesn't even know what pick we acquired and used to draft Prince;
• I love that we'll be fighting for our playoff lives after signing Dwight Howard and adding Prince / Bembry but the Knicks are secure:

Well, at least Ford can edit his article to make himself look smarter after the fact like he does with his draft analysis.

He'll never live that down and I hope folks never forget it.

[Guest]

This is a first........

NBA

NBA PM: Should We Believe the Hype?

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These three teams are prime examples of why you shouldn’t put too much stock into preseason hype and rankings. Heading into this season, there are three teams that fit similar circumstances. Will they be able to take the next step or will they crumble under the heightened expectations like the previous examples? Here are the teams:

Boston Celtics
2014-15 record: 40-42
2015-16 record: 48-34

The Celtics had plenty of draft picks and cap room this summer. The team’s mission was to add a dynamic piece that could push them over the hump and get them back into title contention. While Boston was unable to leverage any of their draft picks into a mega deal (despite Danny Ainge’s best efforts), they still came away with quality talent.

In free agency, the team was unable to sign superstar forward Kevin Durant. However, Boston was able to lure four-time All-Star center Al Horford away from the Atlanta Hawks. The presence of Horford has now pushed many to believe the Celtics have become a legitimate threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ supremacy in the East.

But is this an accurate assessment?

The Celtics lost to the (Horford-led) Hawks in the first round this past season, and also finished with an identical record as Atlanta. Common sense says adding Horford to a 48-win team should push them into the mid-50 range next season. But the team the Celtics are trying to be dethrone in the East swept Horford and the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Easily. Horford was largely ineffective in the series versus Cleveland and even dating back to the Eastern Conference Finals of 2015, the Cavaliers have routinely found a way to bottle up the veteran center.

Boston should be headed to more wins, in theory, but the team also lost two role players in Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger who combined to average 20 points and nine rebounds per night. Horford is a dynamic, All-Star level talent, but his presence alone has not been able to put a dent into Cleveland’s recent dominance in the East. Will a change of scenery do the trick for Horford or is the early optimism for title contention unfounded? Time will tell.

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-pm-to-believe-or-not-believe-the-hype/

[Guest]

Wow...the writer here might have half a brain...lol..kudos...

[Gray Mule]

Everyone speaks about who and what the Hawks lost from the roster at the end of last season.

Very little, if anything, is said about who and what we've added, except D8.  Lets look:

Tiago Splitter ------------ Returns after back surgery.

Taurean Prince --------- Draft pick from high lottery choice.

Deandre Bremby ------ Draft pick  Our own 1st rounder.

Malcom Delaney ------ Free agent - A sleeper PG from over seas..

Jarrett Jack ----------- Free agent PG -- recovering from injury.

Add to this our great big center who may have now matured enough to contribute occasionally.

Some here still have hopes that Walter Tavares will become our #3 center.

With those veterans we have returning, this appears to me to be a pretty good group to fill the bench.

Our starters are not crap, despite what others may think and we have other bench players returning.

Besides all this, we have a coach who is pretty good at fitting the pieces together to make the puzzle

into a complete, nice looking picture.  Out of the playoffs?  Bah !  Humbug !  Get real !

GO ATL HAWKS !!!

 - - - Love My Hawks !

[Guest]

Hoopshype NBA season preview: Atlanta Hawks

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STAYING: Kent Bazemore, Tim Hardaway Jr, Kris Humphries, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Mike Muscala, Dennis Schröder, Mike Scott, Thabo Sefolosha, Tiago Splitter and Walter Tavares.

 

 

ADDED: DeAndre Bembry (Saint Joseph’s), Matt Costello (Michigan State), Malcolm Delaney (Lokomotiv Kuban), Dwight Howard (Houston), Jarrett Jack (Brooklyn) and Taurean Prince (Baylor).

GONE: Al Horford (Boston), Kirk Hinrich, Lamar Patterson (Sacramento) and Jeff Teague (Indiana).

STRENGTHS: Paul Millsap–Dwight Howardshould be one of the strongest big man duos in the NBA this season … Millsap is an underrated two-way player … He has quietly become one of the top defenders at the power forward position and continues to put up solid scoring and rebounding numbers … Howard is a reclamation project for the Hawks … If he doesn’t get his mojo back with his hometown team, it won’t happen anywhere … While much-criticized, Howard remains one of the best centers in the game … Even moreso if you keep him involved, which didn’t always happen in Houston … Pretty explosive perimeter withDennis Schröder and Kent Bazemore… Schröder has shown glimpses of greatness and should be super motivated now that he’s a starter … Bazemore’s athleticism and toughness are nice assets to have … Solid froncourt depth with Tiago Splitter and Kris Humphries … Even better if the promising Walter Tavares takes a step forward … Under Mike Budenholzer, the Hawks have usually played unselfish basketball … Defense should not be a problem for Atlanta … Opponents shot a mere 43.2 percent against them last season.

WEAKNESSES: There’s not a go-to scorer here … It’s a pretty noticeable issue, especially in the playoffs … Putting the ball in the basket is just not this club’s strongest suit … They were the 21st team in the league in Offensive Rating in 2015-16, which doesn’t really scream “contenders” … A lot of key players on the wrong side of 30 … Three-point sniper Kyle Korver really declined last year … At age 35, perhaps we should not be expecting a bounce back … Staying healthy has been a challenge for Howard … His energy level and mobility are not what they once were … Trading Jeff Teagueand giving the keys of the team to Schröder is probably the right decision long-term, but it could hurt them this season … Not a lot of depth on the perimeter … They look stuck in the good-but-not-great zone.

 

[Guest]

This is not a ranking but a Fantasy PodCast regarding all our players.

It's long...but a good listen, the most interesting thing:

Horford does not think he will be booed when he returns to Philips........

 

Brad Rowland aptly pointed out that Joe was traded and got booed, how does Horford who signed with our biggest rival think he will not.

[macdaddy]

29 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

This is not a ranking but a Fantasy PodCast regarding all our players.

It's long...but a good listen, the most interesting thing:

Horford does not think he will be booed when he returns to Philips........

 

Brad Rowland aptly pointed out that Joe was traded and got booed, how does Horford who signed with our biggest rival think he will not.

I won't boo Horford myself but yes he is most definitely getting booed.   There's only one Hawk who  can show up in green and not get booed.

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, macdaddy said:

I won't boo Horford myself but yes he is most definitely getting booed.   There's only one Hawk who  can show up in green and not get booed.

Sorry bro, i gotta boo - if he went to OKC I would understand - going dirty green burns me man!

[Guest]

Everyone needs to boo....BOOOOOO.. Lol

[Sothron]

The problem with the initial report is that they conclude the Hawks didn't do enough to close the gap with the Cavs. If that is the criteria then every team BUT the Warriors failed just as much as the Hawks did.

[Thomas]

Booing Al and his sib Anna both will just seem natural for most Hawk fans I think.

[macdaddy]

Anyone going to boo Teague?   I'm not.    I felt like he handled himself well. 

[AHF]

28 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

Anyone going to boo Teague?   I'm not.    I felt like he handled himself well. 

Other than the injury leak as he was being shopped, I agree.  No boo.

[macdaddy]

http://thebostonbackpage.sportsblog.com/posts/25526158/2016-2017-hawks-team-preview.html

So this is the second or third article i've seen claim that we still have Kirk Hinrich???

Other than that pretty optimistice for thebostonbackpage.

 

[Dejay]

20 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

This is not a ranking but a Fantasy PodCast regarding all our players.

It's long...but a good listen, the most interesting thing:

Horford does not think he will be booed when he returns to Philips........

 

Brad Rowland aptly pointed out that Joe was traded and got booed, how does Horford who signed with our biggest rival think he will not.

Oh really? Really???