Atlanta - Things you must do to win...

[Gray Mule]

Some pointers for both the Braves and Hawks:

1- Braves.  Learn to bunt.  Easy said and apparently very hard to do.  As I watch their games,

over and over I see them hit into a double play.  I believe there were five in their last loss.

A sacrifice bunt prevents this and puts a runner in scoring position.

With a runner on third, a squeeze bunt will work many times, yet, no bunt.

2- Hawks.  Today's NBA teams live and die from behind the three point line and from

the free throw line.  As we check on today's games in the playoffs, this seems to be the rule

in most games.  Example.  Cleveland's game was very close.  Korver came off the bench

and quickly hit three shots from down town. 

Now, the question for our Hawks:  How is our three point shooting?  Sometimes, it's good.

Then, we're good.  Sometimes it's bad and we're terrible.

Everyone here knows how I feel about free throws.  How was our free throws in all the games

last season?  Like the Braves and their inability to lay down a bunt, the Hawks left a lot of

points at the free throw line.  D8 was the worst Hawk, hitting just over 50 % of his shots.  But,

he wasn't alone.  Nope.  Other Hawks looked like they had never been there before.

Can these flaws be fixed? 

Maybe you don't believe these are problems for either team.  If they are not, what do you

see that really needs to be fixed?

[Thomas]

Your right on about those threes. This year's playoffs was even a more glaring example than the previous two. Last year we battled well in three games against the Cavs in the playoffs only to go ice cold very late with only one opportunity per possession to score. Question of can Tim actually score clutch in the playoffs or do we go after a pricey FA or peg a guy like Bacon in the draft as hawkman mentioned in another thread, knowing that rooks will have to be developed hard. Believe a shooter evolving for us is incredibly important this offseason, yeah its an understatement. As you said during this season we lost several games on the foul line as well, seems to be an epidemic to some extent in the NBA.

[macdaddy]

3 point shooting.   that's the deal.   There are guys in the nba who can shoot 3s consistently and we don't have any.  As much as i like Tim's all around game I don't think he's going to turn that corner and be a deadly scorer.   If this was year 3 maybe but he's 5 years in.   

[Peoriabird]

Don't forget the turnovers!  Stop the stupid turnovers

[cavsfan]

Korver was a steal for the Cavs..  How big was he in the Toronto series.  and LBJ understands this..  He is going to be a major factor moving forward..   

[ATLSmith]

Our shooting could be better but our 3 point defense is even worse.

 

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[Peoriabird]

One source said there was unhappiness among some with a lack of accountability for other players who consistently made mistakes on the floor. There was also confusion why Budenholzer kept a healthy Thabo Sefolosha out of the rotation during the Wizards’ matchup, especially after Washington’s Bradley Beal started cooking offensively late in the series.

“We had guys out there doing (stuff) they had no business doing,” the source said.

As Chris Paul would say..."Nailed IT!"  Face it guys...It ain't just the players screwing these games up!

[Thomas]

5 hours ago, cavsfan said:

Korver was a steal for the Cavs..  How big was he in the Toronto series.  and LBJ understands this..  He is going to be a major factor moving forward..   

Agreed, for three weeks.

[cavsfan]

I know we get a lot of grief for a heavy money roster...   but as I told another fan elsewhere,   teams can complain all the want   but look how Cleveland was built,  and how this could've been controlled better..

 

Lebron- drafted,  left - came back

kyrie - drafted

Thompson - drafted

JR Smith , Shumpart - traded from NY to Cleveland for dion waters

Kevin Love - traded from Minn to Cleveland for Wiggins

Channing Frye traded to Cleveland for Anderson Varejao

D. Williams and D. Williams claimed off waivers

james jones,  Richard Jefferson  free agent pick ups

kyle korver traded from Atlanta to Cleveland for mike Dunleavy and mo williams

 

the master brain behind all this was.....  GM - David Griffin...

but if other teams didn't like Cleveland stocking..then why do this ???     how many steals do you see on this list.. in helping the Cavs? Even if its for ONE year? I  mean one year could mean a championship..so to me as a fan..i take it.....   

 

[DJlaysitup]

Yep Gray Mule...Advanced Analytics basically put the last nail into the mid-range jumper as far as an effective offensive strategy.  It's 3 point shooting and the inside game - and the ability to hit free throws is key to the inside game, whether it is a pass to a big in the paint or a drive...players have to either finish the old-school 3-point play or make the free throws if they are hacked.

That's not to say that the occasional mid-range shot can't be effective if you have a guy who is good at it (see Al Horford) - it's just not a great 1st option IMO.

Of course our current center cannot make a mid-range shot nor can he make free throws consistently - which is a bit of a problem.