2018-19 SEASON - SO SAD !!

[Gray Mule]

Our upcoming season is said by so many to be almost winless.  The tank, many believe, must be something that must be done for years and years.  Then, when you finally quit the tank, you simply flush the roster and begin again.  It's like a dog chasing his tail.  You just keep on and on and get a lot of work in but accomplish nothing.

Almost all our players are thought to be sub par by these experts.  In other words, almost all Hawk players could not start on any other NBA team.  That's a pretty low blow.  Then, Lloyd Pierce, our rookie head coach, has been brought in to train our players how to play, not train them to win.

Bazemore is said by some to be the Hawks best player and they are expected to give him away because of his $$$ salary.  In order to speed up our demise, Dedmon is also expected to be traded for future draft pick or picks.  Vince Carter is too old to make any difference and Jeremy Lin it too crippled to matter.  The only reason Alex Len signed with Atlanta was that no one else wanted him.

Trae Young is expected to be exciting to watch and too wild to win games.  Unless we trade away Bazemore, don't expect Kevin Huerter to see much playing time and if Baze is traded, he will not be able to carry the load and will cause many losses.  Omari Spellman is destined for the G League until he's either traded or released.

We expect that there will be several NBA teams that will not be great this upcoming season.  No playoff is in sight for them.  However, they are all far superior in every way to the Hawks.  In fact, this Hawk team would have a hard time winning in the G League!

Did I forget anything?  If so, please feel free to add them.  Now, personally, I can't believe all this I am hearing but it's out there.  Apparently some believe that super star is waiting for Atlanta to draft them next summer or the next or the next or sometime out there in the dim future.  Let's hope we find him before we have to flush and start over!

 

[KB21]

That pretty much nails it.  

Because of the decisions made this past off season, this team is doomed to be doormats for a long time.

[fitforlifedee1]

Lmbo KB. I've missed your retorts so much.

 

 

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[Sothron]

To be honest...this team isn't that bad. I mean, yes, due to the age of key players and need to tank which would result in forced DNPs later in the season for veterans we won't have a good record.

But the talent? It is definitely there. Not counting the rookies we have four solid starters and a key sixth man. Baze, Prince, Collins and Len or Dedmon are those guys. That's not chump change we are throwing out there. Solid players that play together and especially give defensive effort consistently will win games that the "experts" don't think they can win.

There's reasons to watch our team that don't include the rookie class. Prince looked like a man unleashed in the second half of the season. Baze was having a good season before he was shut down last year. Collins showed stud potential throughout his rookie year. Alex Len is criminally underrated. Dedmon is solid.

That's good enough to win some games and be close in every game.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

one star thread... too much negativity.  

1. You tank for one reason: You have hit your ceiling and stuck on the treadmill.  Wipe the slate and start over. You either have to be first or worst in the NBA.  Being mediocre keeps you mediocre.

2. Having no talent early in a successful tank is a necessary evil... It's how you tank.

3. Guys like Bazemore, Len, Dedmon, Lin, and Prince are good for trade fodder.  You draft young talent, but you trade talent for better talent.  Only guys on the roster that's apart of the future is Trae and Collins. I like Huerter better than Prince and I think Huerter could be apart of the future too, but we'll see.

4. Trae Young hasn't even played his first regular season game and it's rare that a rookie dominates out the gate. We'll see who he is about year 3 or 4. He's a piece of the puzzle though.  Huerter and Omari need time in the GL to develop.  Huerter is coming off an injury and need about 15 lbs of bulk. Omari is the 4th center on the depth chart behind Dedmon, Len, and Plumlee.

5. Why do we want to make the playoffs with the talent we have?  We have no shot at advancing in the playoffs and an 8th seed Hawks would be Bob Sura-type shit.  An overachieving Hawks team would be detrimental to the future.

6. All Hawks' fans have is hope, but one fact remains that new talent will always be there to replace old talent. Jordan, Magic, and Bird retired to make way for Kobe, LeBron, and Duncan... Now LeBron is set to retire soon and we have Curry, Harden, Greek, and Durant.

[macdaddy]

If for some reason we make the playoffs because Trae/Prince/JC/Len are ballin' out of their minds then i'm fine with it.   It's not going to happen but that's not a bad thing.  

[Sothron]

I disagree with trading a good young player like Prince just to try and get draft assets. You need solid young veterans as well as rookies on a team. Flipping Baze or guys on one year deals is one thing; trading Prince on that same mindset would be sheer folly.

[AHF]

37 minutes ago, Sothron said:

I disagree with trading a good young player like Prince just to try and get draft assets. You need solid young veterans as well as rookies on a team. Flipping Baze or guys on one year deals is one thing; trading Prince on that same mindset would be sheer folly.

Agreed. I'm hoping Prince will be a keeper.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

I disagree with trading a good young player like Prince just to try and get draft assets. You need solid young veterans as well as rookies on a team. Flipping Baze or guys on one year deals is one thing; trading Prince on that same mindset would be sheer folly.

I see Prince as the type of guy you package up with picks and talent to bring in a disgruntled veteran star... and if the Wolves or Suns don't advance in the playoffs, there may be a few there looking to come East.

[Sothron]

14 minutes ago, PSSSHHHRRR87 said:

I see Prince as the type of guy you package up with picks and talent to bring in a disgruntled veteran star... and if the Wolves or Suns don't advance in the playoffs, there may be a few there looking to come East.

So you see him as the necessary sacrifice of a good young player to try and get a superstar* level player looking for a new team. That's fair. I could see him in that light.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

So you see him as the necessary sacrifice of a good young player to try and get a superstar* level player looking for a new team. That's fair. I could see him in that light.

Exactly.  He's good, but I don't see him being good enough to get us to the Finals.  I'll gladly eat crow if I'm wrong. lol  Plus, he and Huerter have similar games.

[Gray Mule]

This Hawk team can score!  Just think, for years this team has often gone through the "sleep walk mode."  Half a quarter, scoring two points, should now come to an end.  We drafted players who can score!  All three are noted for their ability to put the ball in the basket.

Collins proved excitement last season with his ability to dunk.  He then showed us his ability, in summer league, to score from downtown.  Dewayne Dedmon showed us his ability to hit the three ball.  He's not been traded, not yet.

Prince and Bazemore can score from outside.  Jeremy Lin has been known to score a point or two.  We have all heard that it takes longer for centers to peak out than it does guards, Alex Len may just be coming into his own.  He has had good things said about his limited playing time.  He's ours now and we expect good things.

What does Vince Carter mean to this team?  Professionalism is his ace card and he will be available to play it for the benefit of all the youngsters.  Young, Huerter and Spellman were all drafted to score and we expect them to show us this season.

Hawks will lose games.  That's for sure.  But, it will not be due to not scoring!!

GO ATL HAWKS !!

 

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

So you see him as the necessary sacrifice of a good young player to try and get a superstar* level player looking for a new team. That's fair. I could see him in that light.

Your Minny team can send us KAT for Prince and a pick. 

[KB21]

You tank because you foolishly believe in the myth that you have to be very bad to be very good, which makes no logical sense at all when you say it out loud.  You tank because you ignore the fact that bad teams stay bad over a long period of time.  You tank based on the foolish belief that you will get some unicorn star that will change the fortunes of your franchise.

Now, if you truly wanted to rebuild the correct way, you would NEVER accept losing and make it a goal to be as bad as you can humanly be.  You would bring in undervalued assets from the free agent market like Atlanta did when Danny Ferry signed Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll.  You would continue to build around veteran players and bring in youth for developmental purposes.  

There is no pathway for ever being good within a 5 year period when you tank.

[KB21]

On 9/13/2018 at 2:56 PM, Gray Mule said:

This Hawk team can score!  Just think, for years this team has often gone through the "sleep walk mode."  Half a quarter, scoring two points, should now come to an end.  We drafted players who can score!  All three are noted for their ability to put the ball in the basket.

Collins proved excitement last season with his ability to dunk.  He then showed us his ability, in summer league, to score from downtown.  Dewayne Dedmon showed us his ability to hit the three ball.  He's not been traded, not yet.

Prince and Bazemore can score from outside.  Jeremy Lin has been known to score a point or two.  We have all heard that it takes longer for centers to peak out than it does guards, Alex Len may just be coming into his own.  He has had good things said about his limited playing time.  He's ours now and we expect good things.

What does Vince Carter mean to this team?  Professionalism is his ace card and he will be available to play it for the benefit of all the youngsters.  Young, Huerter and Spellman were all drafted to score and we expect them to show us this season.

Hawks will lose games.  That's for sure.  But, it will not be due to not scoring!!

GO ATL HAWKS !!

 

It WILL be due to scoring inefficiently though, because scoring EFFICIENCY has a bigger impact on winning than scoring volume.  This will be a very inefficient offense and a historically bad defensive team.

[Gray Mule]

1 hour ago, KB21 said:

It WILL be due to scoring inefficiently though, because scoring EFFICIENCY has a bigger impact on winning than scoring volume.  This will be a very inefficient offense and a historically bad defensive team.

Nope.  I agree about the scoring efficiency.  But, why believe that they will be very bad at this part of their game.  And, if our rookie head coach is a defensive minded coach, then our terrible defense should improve from terrible to bad.

Our very young team must learn.  They will make rookie mistakes that will cost them games.  We all know this.  However, smart as they are, they will learn and improve.  If they don't they are much dumber than we believe.

With the addition of two new PG's, our returning four starters should be better than last season.  Any reason they won't be?

We all hope Lloyd Pierce has a good plan for this group of players and they work the plan.  Everything may go wrong.  On the other hand, maybe not!

GO ATL HAWKS !!

[KB21]

3 hours ago, Gray Mule said:

Nope.  I agree about the scoring efficiency.  But, why believe that they will be very bad at this part of their game.  And, if our rookie head coach is a defensive minded coach, then our terrible defense should improve from terrible to bad.

Our very young team must learn.  They will make rookie mistakes that will cost them games.  We all know this.  However, smart as they are, they will learn and improve.  If they don't they are much dumber than we believe.

With the addition of two new PG's, our returning four starters should be better than last season.  Any reason they won't be?

We all hope Lloyd Pierce has a good plan for this group of players and they work the plan.  Everything may go wrong.  On the other hand, maybe not!

GO ATL HAWKS !!

It's by design.  The Hawks will play at a fast pace, which means they will turn the ball over.  They also will shoot a lot of three pointers, many of which will be bad shots.  It's all by design to get them to their goal of having the worst record in the NBA.  

Lloyd Pierce is not nearly the defensive coach Mike Budenholzer is, and Bud couldn't get this team to play defense last season.  Pierce is just a place holder to absorb the losing anyway.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Question:

If any of you had $100 ... And you were FORCED to place a wager on the Hawks that would pay out $250,000 if:

a) the Hawks won 20 games or less

OR

b) the Hawks won 30 games or more ...

which way would guys and gals bet?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

And no getting cute.  You must bet the entire 100 one way or the other.

250K on the line.  Which way would you bet?

[Gray Mule]

"B"