Hawks Roundup: What We Saw

[jaywalker72]

http://hawks.realgm.com/showarticle.php?artid=464

Future Looks Good for the HomeTeam

Our Roundup begins and ends with our first real look at the newest Atlanta Hawks (Al Harrington excluded). How did we think the Joshes looked? How about Royal Ivey and Donta Smith? Did anyone else look like they could make the roster?

Also, recent trade and free agent conversations are reviewed, team needs are speculated, and we have some unkind words for a local chain restaurant.

Let’s Roundup!

First Look Not too Bad

Watching our first 2004-2005 game of the year, we saw some unmistakable reasons for the Hawks loss to the Utah Jazz summer team. But even though the Hawks were hardly ever in the game on the scoreboard, there were plenty of reasons to be glad we watched.

1. Josh Smith Was Smooth

We’ve been calling him “The Guilty Pleasure” because you know you can’t get enough of this kid, and tonight proved why again. Looking very much unlike the overmatched high school player we were told we picked, Smooth showed a keen defensive instinct, especially in shot blocking, where he plucked a number of shots early on before the impetuous whistles of the nervous summer league officials reigned in the new Rain Man. He also seemed to stay with either guards or the big men with equal ease.

Smith showed a good handle from either hand, and used it to get to the hole and play some with his back to the basket. On one play, Smith charged from the right side into the lane and dared Curtis Borchardt to stop him. Smith was fouled by the seven footer, but it was Borchardt who took the worst of it. Smith looked very comfortable out there and we were mesmerized every time he was on the floor.

We may have to change his nickname to “The Draw”, as in he draws people closer when he is playing. And the “experts” might have to revisit this pick as Smith develops into the strong forward we think he will become (Think: Pre-Fat Elvis Shawn Kemp).

2. Athleticism Galore

The Hawks were severely outsized by the Amazonian Jazz, as Smooth was the only guy who looked like he could hang with the Utah frontline. But what the Hawks didn’t have in size, they made up for in athleticism.

At some times on the floor, it looked like Hawks GM Billy Knight had found more athletes in one fraction of an offseason than the previous regime uncovered in over a decade. The team flew around the court, attempting to deflect every shot and every pass.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, it wasn’t enough tonight (more on that later). But it did display a far more exciting brand of basketball, a glimpse into the greater picture to come.

3. Donte and Royal

Donte Smith showed some of why he is thought to be able to contribute at the point down the road a bit. He looked comfortable with the rock, and his long arms make it tough to defend him with smaller players. He had a couple of rim rockers also, as he finished with a flourish from the open floor.

Ivey was a little more mixed, looking fine as a whole, but having maybe the toughest assignment of any of the Hawks tonight (again, more in the next section on that). But Ivey didn’t looked overmatched on the offensive end, even displaying a nice little touch on his shot.

Both players looked good as rookie second rounders, and it will be interesting to see how they do as the Hawks move into Training Camp in October.

4. Anyone Else?

Travis Hansen showed a lot of confidence in playing in front of the home crowd. The jump shot that we heard much about heading into last season emerged here in a number of medium to difficult shots that dropped. He also showed his usual hustle on a number of plays, including a nice run down on a loose ball that he turned into a very athletic dunk. If the Hawks had been more serious about winning, we would have seen a lot more of Travis, because he was playing that good.

Junior Harrington was off tonight, not looking even as confident or efficient at the point as the rookie Ivey. On one fast break, Harrington cut off Josh Childress on a 2 on 1, rendering the break over immediately.

The other players were as ineffective, including Cory Violette, who had been putting up decent numbers. The free agent frontline of the Hawks was overwhelmed by the massive size of the Jazz, who didn’t even have Kris Humphries, and looked worse than they probably are because of it.

So why were the Hawks out of it most of the night? Wha’ Happened?

Glad you asked:

A. Raul Lopez

It’s probably not fair to have a guy that has so much pro experience in a summer league game, but the Jazz didn’t seem too care too much about that as they played Raul Lopez continuously against the inexperienced Hawks guards.

Now, to be fair, the Jazz had been playing free agent PG Moe Williams this summer, but Williams was not available for the game against the Hawks and Lopez was pressed into extended duty.

Lopez dominated the game with his tempo control and his ability to score and get other in better position to score themselves. We said while we did the RealGM Power Rankings that we couldn’t understand why Carlos Arroyo got more playing time that Lopez, and we stand by our own frustration.

Lopez is lightning quick with handles, which made it impossible for the Hawks to contain him in the backcourt or in the halfcourt. Lopez frequently made things happen for the Jazz with his speed and passing, always pushing the Hawks back when they got too close for Utah’s comfort.

For Royal Ivey to have to match up with this proven pro was a tall task. And while Ivey battled well, Lopez controlled the game and the eventual outcome.

Hopefully, Billy Knight got the “point”.

B. Who Put all These Trees Here?

The Jazz three, we believe, 4 seven foot types at the emaciated Hawks frontline, leaving some Hawks fans to wonder if we could borrow Erick Dampier for a few minutes just to grab some boards.

That size deficiency created a lot of second chance opportunities for the Jazz, and didn’t really let the Hawks do more than launch jump shots, which isn’t this group’s strong suit. Every time the Hawks would go inside, the ball would radically change direction, through block or bail out pass.

C. Kirk Snyder

You’ll have to believe us when we say that we really told you so about this Nevada product.

During our award-winning, and controversial collection of pre-draft workouts, we lavished big time praise on Kirk Snyder, calling him a tenacious defender, excellent athlete, and all around mean man.

We feel vindicated on all three counts.

Not only was Snyder tough defensively on Josh Childress, and not only did Snyder use his athleticism as a means to score (usually from the free throw line), but even Snyder inconsistent shot seemed to fall from longer range.

We believe that Snyder is the second best defensive player in this draft behind Emeka Okafor, so it came as no surprise to see his constant harassment of the ballhandler, his shot blocking instincts inside, and his flashbulb quick hands causing mayhem. He never stopped, not for a possession, and he seems to be perfect fit in Utah’s backcourt.

That Childress couldn’t get a good shot with Snyder on him shouldn’t faze him, when Snyder worked out for the Hawks, Cavs first rounder Luke Jackson totally gave up on trying to drive around Snyder, settling for quick jumpers every time. And JR Smith and Ricky Minard met similar fates when trying to score on Kirk…it just wasn’t happening.

How do Rumors Get Started?

Who cares? Let’s just talk about them!

The Erick Dampier case gets stickier and stickier, since all parties involved seem to be holding their ground.

The Warriors maintain they are not motivated (yet) by any potential sign and trade possibilities, which is one way that Dampier can realize the big money offered by the New York Knicks.

The Hawks, who have the most money to offer, maintain that a 3 year deal is the best that they can do while keeping the future of the franchise in mind. This may be Dampier’s best shot at getting at least as much money as he opted out of, while potentially maintaining the hope that the Hawks can trade him in December to a team that he might really want to play for.

Dampier and agent Don Fegan maintain that they would like a longer term deal, and considering his age (30 when the season is underway), this may be his last chance at such a deal.

The other team currently involved, the Grizzlies, maintain they don’t want to part with restricted free agent Stromile Swift, whom both the Hawks and Warriors are interested in.

So what will give?

We believe it will take another team to jump in, one with enough money to sign Dampier outright and be a contender next year, to get some of these teams to begin to give a little.

One such team might be the Phoenix Suns, who might have a little more than 5 ½ million to start a long term deal with Dampier with. The Suns are currently sweating out the 15 day waiting period with Quinton Richardson, but the Clippers are expected to match at the end of that time, leaving the Suns with some money to burn.

Even if the Suns jump in and take the lead on Dampier, the Hawks might still benefit. They might be able to take a younger player off the Suns roster for a future second rounder (like the Clippers did with Bobcats for Ely and House) in order to free up some more first year money for Dampier.

Hawks Needs

We know that the Hawks don’t have to address every franchise need in a single offseason. Rarely do the available options for improvement yield every solution in one year.

But it was clear as Lopez was torching the Hawks what a difference a point guard makes, even for a team expected to get up and down like the Hawks. It would be nice to see such a player wearing a Hawks uni, and one wonders if the Jazz are so committed to Arroyo (4 years, 16 million), that they might turn Lopez loose eventually.

The front court was obviously exposed in this game, but Harrington will help a little, as would Collier, but the Hawks may not get either Dampier or Swift this offseason, leaving one to wonder if this game would be foreshadowing future games in which the Hawks can’t get out and run because they can’t get a hold of the ball.

ESPNZone Doesn’t Include the Hawks

We sincerely apologize to anyone who made the trek down to the Buckhead ESPNZone to join us for the Hawks/Jazz tilt. Even after establishing via phone call that the game would be on there, we were infuriated after we arrived there to find out that they claimed they didn’t even get NBATV, with no apologies for their mistake.

Doubling this with the horrible triple booking of the joint on Draft night, leaving hoards of Hawks fans crammed into a third of the building, and you can bet the ESPNZone, much like SportsCenter, has seen the last of the HFO.

Oh, By the Way

Jason Terry and Dominique Wilkins are scheduled to take part in NBA Rhythm 'n Rims presented by Sprite.

NBA Rhythm 'n Rims is the NBA's interactive basketball and music tour which brings the excitement of the NBA and live concerts to fans of all ages. Activities are FREE and open to the public.

NBA Rhythm 'n Rims is scheduled to run on Saturday, July 24th from 12:00 (noon)-to-6:00 p.m at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta.

Terry is set to take part in on-court activities from 2:00-3:00 p.m. and sign free autographs from 3:00-4:00. Wilkins will appear from 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Musical acts slated to perform include: Nappy Roots, Pastor Troy, 3LW, 6th Day, Small Change, Kali Fam, and Remedy.

The event includes a customized 18-wheel vehicle, which transforms into a 30,000 square-foot basketball theme park featuring a concert stage, two basketball courts and a wide variety of contests and basketball activities.

[Blunt91]

Thanks for the info Jay. Looks like we were just too small for the Utah team. I agree I liked Lopez from the few games I saw last season. He really made JT looked bad in one game against the Hawks.

[Sage11]

Thanks Jay, I guess we are still in the need of a "point" and one of two "trees" are in view.

[Vafan]

Jay, thanks for the report. In your opinion, is Josh Smith ready for extended minutes on the court this year? Smith is the steal of the draft. Remember, his HS coach said that he is the most athletic player he coached. This includes the likes of Ron Mercer, Jerry Stackhouse, Carmelo Anthony and a host of others I forgot.

[jaywalker72]

Summer league is a different world from real games, as Dion Glover proved after he couldn't back up back to back MVPs in the Shaw league with anything substantial consistently during the regular season. With that, I'd say that while we are going to want to see a lot of him, he's not ready for prime time yet.

I think the path Knight/Woodson has laid out for Josh is good, and that is not to put too much on the kid too soon. That he is understanding that he can produce for the team without having to score should be good for his development.

I've said it often, this is the perfect situation for Smooth, in that Billy and Mike are going to be good parents to the kid, with his best interests (and the team's) taken care of.

[Blunt91]

The real question is Josh Childress ready? He is figured to be a starter this year, but if he can't hold his own against Kirk Snyder how will he fair against more season vets like Kobe Bryant or Ron Artest?? It might be a wise thing to sign Jon Barry or Bob Sura because they want get pushed around or bullied like Childress. Donta Smith or Royal Ivey might have to be stashed away on the IR list at the beginning of the season if we still plan to sign them.

[TROUBLEMAN69]

On the defensive end, Childress looked to be more out of position than anything else. He has good defensive footwork, and he is strong enough, but he needs to learn to get his body in front of the man, also he looked lost on some of the back door cuts. As far as his shot is concerned, I don't think he quite has consistent NBA three point range yet. I didn't see any open midrange shots, it was either three pointers or short shots in the paint, most, if not all, that were blocked. We still have about 3 months before training camp starts, so that gives him time to work on these things.

D. Smith didn't get enough court time in my opinion. He made some nice passes, and his ballhandling is very good for a 3. I don't believe there is any doubt that he and Ivey will make the squad. J. Smith looked to be the most ready to contribute on a nightly basis, even if it's only for his defense. None of the rookies looked ready to start, but again this is their first taste of any NBA action, and they still have time to work on some things before training camp.

TROUBLEMAN

[Diesel]

Yep, I have to agree with Jay. Utah's size, Raul, and Snyder made me a bit Jealous. Rod Hunley was the biggest Homer. Anyway... Even Cornwell looked like he had great post moves against us. Farmer didn't look bad either. They were just huge. They blocked up the lanes and we forced up some ugly shots.

J-Smooth!!! He seems like he has more tools than previously mentioned. There's a star quality difference between J-Smooth and J-chillz.

J-Chills is very learned as the game goes. He knows how to do everything from practice and experience. Part of why he didn't look so good was that the game at times lost it's organization and J-chill is a structure type of player.

J-Smooth has the instinct for the game. PERIOD. His motivation will have to rise before he can be a star in the game but he definitely has the instincts. On his first dunk, he slipped his man and found the open lane. On his second attempt, he showed what we all (Atlanta fans) have craved since nique left.... Somebody who is not afraid to take his man off the dribble and dunk over whoever is in his way. Had Brochardt not fouled him, it would have brought the House down.

KB was wrong in his estimation, J-Smooth can put the ball on the floor and he can shoot. He still needs to work on his total game. He did a lot of standing around when he knew the ball wasnt coming to his side. And J-Chill knows how to move without the ball.

Donta Smith is bigger (more muscular) than I thought. He has a good outside shot and can handle the ball some.

I was really impressed by Kirk Snyder. Although he picked up a lot of fouls, some I disagreed with, I think he has all the tools. when Utah started running the offense through Snyder and Snyder was finding Raul off the dribble, I knew we were in trouble. Because Raul is short but he sees everydamnthing. That's why they won.

Ivey looks good. I think he's serviceable right now as a person to run the offense through. defensively, he Ok. I couldn't tell if Atlanta was running a zone before they started pressing... I think it was a 3/2 or a 1/3/1 zone we were running. I hope it was just for Summer camp.

The bottome line is that we need a big man. Utah proved it for me. I like the thought of medium ball, but we need a Big man too. If we don't get a big man, we need a dead eye Shooter.

Lastly.

Travis Hansen!! Is he a star or what? Even the broadcast team had nice things to say about Hansen. If it were possible to trade Hansen for Kris Humphries, i would do it.

[emeans]

I watched the entire game last night.....

Quickly,

Josh Smith and Travis Hansen were in my estimation the best players in a Hawks uniform.

Childress flatout didn't impress me. He couldn't get his shot off and when he did he missed most of the time. His saving grace could be on the defensive end. He looked good defensively and was solid shooting free-throws. I can tell he is more polished that Josh Smith moving without the ball.

Ivey showed me no reason why he should make this team. Sorry Ivey!!

Donte Smith is a keeper!! Long athletic build. He ran some very impressive breaks that lead to scores.

The Hawks just got man-handled on the boards. There was a distinct size different. Not enough big bodies to handle the Utah size attack. The perimeter defense was solid but let Utah little sharp shooter get open too much for threes.

Kirk Snyder is the truth. I wouldn't have been mad if we had drafted him at 6.

To be competitve this season Dampier may be a must. We need some big bodies to compete with bigger teams. Our focus need to be totally on getting big bodies now. It showed tremendously in this game. We have no bangers.

J Smooth is a very nice player who will be our star in a few years. He is too RAW right now and gets out of control sometimes and has some things to work on, but I think everyone sees the potential talent we have with this kid. It is TREMENDOUS!! And he can shoot the 3 better than I thought!!

[TROUBLEMAN69]

Quote:

---

Ivey showed me no reason why he should make this team. Sorry Ivey!!

---

I totally disagree. I was upset because we didn't see enough of Ivey. He was much more impressive than Harrington, who in my opinion should not receive a training camp invite.

TROUBLEMAN

[Lascar78]

Yeah I agree. My impression of Ivey was that to my surprise I would be confident with him being our backup point guard.

[ATLien_]

This is a repost from another thread I posted in the early morning after the game, it fits better here.

My take on the Game. Travis Hansens simply looked excellent. He came off curls and screens and was knocking down J's easily. His jump shot has surely improved. As always his defense was very solid.

Josh Smith- I can't explain how good this guy is going to be. He already has the Agressiveness that Demarr lacked, but he gets out of control and throws up wild shots. He knocked down a couple of long jumpers also, but desperatley needs to work on his midrange game. If he doesn't take a long jumper he will drive. He showed a nice hook shot out of the post in traffic. He had several low post touches, but again he gets out of control and needs to be more fluid. On defense he did pretty well. On the occasions where someone got by him he made up for it with his athletcism and came back and blocked the shot. If this guy gets atleast 20 mpg this year he may lead our team in blocks. He has excellent timing on his blocks. He is not a great on ball defender if I remember correctly, at this time. He kind of gives the other guy room to keep from getting blown by, but has the athletcism to jump and block the shot if they pull up.

Josh Childress- He looked absolutley terrible. I thought I was watching Demarr Johnson all over again. He did nothing but stand at the 3 point line and pass the ball to scrubs. I saw no desire what so ever. Snyder and other Utah Guards absolutley ate his lunch; they blew by him with little effort and he was easily lost on screens. If his defense was suppose to be one of his strong suits I don't see it. Actually I see good defensive foot work, but I don't see the speed necesarry to guard NBA sg in his sliding of the feet etc... Alot of his struggles probably came from playing Utah, for Utahs offense was ran very well. Snyder was coming off double screens and curls and Josh just doesn't know how to get by them yet. However, I didn't see any fire on defense or offense and that bothers me.

Royal Ivey- the guy looked very solid and I think he will make the roster. He was much more in control of himself then the Harrington PG. His defense was good on lopez, but he many times got lossed in the fluidity of the Utah Jazz offense. He handles the ball alot better than I expected him to. He didn't shoot the ball much, but when he did it was under control and in the flow of the game. Nothing was forced by him.

All in all the Hawks lost this game because besides our rookies and Hansen the rest of the team is just terrible. The loss of Kyle Davis really hurt this team. The big men on this team are just terrible. They don't rebound they don't box out, and they don't score. Utah had so many second chance points. We gave up a ton of offensive rebounds. Kirk Snyder absolutley destroyed our big men in rebounding. Overall Utah was just much bigger than us and their big men had their way with our team. When are guards started to try and help rebound, and Utah got the offensive board it left Lopez,Snyder and others wide open for easy shots. The other reason we lost was Utah had wide open jump shots all day. Ill have to watch the tape again to pin point the exact problem, but it reminded me of the Big Dog and Sar days.

The stars were just aligned wrong tonight it seemed everything Utah threw up went in. I didn't discuss any other players because it would be a waste of time. If you have a question about a specific guy I'll try and answer it.

Just to clarify I'm not down on Childress, but he looked a lot less NBA ready than I expected. He shot air balls because he rushed shots. He got his shot blocked in the paint because he put shots up to soft. He really didn't handle the ball like I expected him too. Normally he dribbled 2 times and passed it. Childress looks like he really needs to adjust to the speed of the game just like he stated. On defense and offense.

Also both Josh's, and Ivey showed good passing ability. I was suprised with J-Smooths ability to find cutters and hit them in stride. Childress also was good at this.

Donta Smith looked good to, but I will have to watch the tape again to really give an accurate account of his game.

[Lascar78]

Childress looked tired to me. It's typical for these guys to have off nights in summer league, it just sucks that it was our first look at him. The only good thing I saw was his footwork without the ball. Other than that his shot looked bad, his defense looked average, and again, I just got the feeling he was tired. Hopefully it was nothing more than a bad night for a rookie

[ATLien_]

Thats what I was thinking also this morning. Childress looked tired or sick. He just didn't seem to have any energy at all. However, I hadto report what I saw and it didn't look to good.

Hansen looked really good. Man I love the fire and passion he plays with.

[emeans]

I may be totally wrong on this, but I saw him as a very average point guard. Nothing special in terms of running the offense. He didn't look comfortable at all on the free throw line and if there is one thing I want my Point Guard and my Shooting Guard to be able to do is shoot free throws. I think he was like 2 for 6.

His shooting percentage was okay and his Asst/Turnover ratio was good so I have to give him credit for that.

I guess I need to see more of him to give a thumbs up or down on Ivey, however I would rather have Bob Sura taking that roster spot as the backup point this year.

[TheDude]

i agree with emeans.

[jaywalker72]

I am willing to give a pass to Chill because I know, first hand, what Kirk Snyder did to Luke Jackson, JR Smith, and Ricky Minard. He stole their offensive souls during that workout, and he did the same to Chill last night.

It was unmistakable...You can't outrun him, you can't out quick him...The only thing you can do is shoot over him or pass the ball, and that's what Chill tried to do last night.

Snyder is the 2nd best defensive player coming out of this draft class, and we'll see more than one guy look bad against him as he goes along.

[Traceman]

I was REALLY impressed with both Raul Lopez and Kirk Snyder. Those guys played HARD and they played very well.

Lopez is great with the rock and he simply didn't miss open shots. He did a terrific job of running the team, finding his teammates and getting them involved. I'd LOVE to have Lopez on our team. If Arroyo is better than Lopez, UT is going to be a VERY good team.

Snyder is just a competitor who NEVER took a play off. He hustled on both ends of the floor and generally made life miserable for J. Chill all night. That kid just has an attitude that I like. He's like a poor man's Ron Artest.

For us, J. Smooth looked like the best player on the floor. He is still a little raw but you can see the talent just oozing out of him. The thing that pleasantly surprised me the most was his ability to dribble to his right and then elevate and get his shot off. After hearing he could only go left, that was great to see. He might not be quite ready for prime time but he's already one of the best athlete's in the entire NBA. And he's BIG. I knew he was big but he is already bigger than most SFs in the league and his frame looks like he could EASILY put on 20-25 lbs without any problem as he grows into a man. As many have said, he may end up being a PF but based on what I saw last night, he will be more than fine at SF as well.

J Chill looked like he had an off night but that was probably caused by Mr. Snyder. Snyder was just so d@mn disruptive in that environment that Chill never could get into a flow. The refs in an NBA game won't call the game the same way so the game will have a lot more structure and flow versus what we saw last night. As Diesel said, I think Chill will be just fine in that environment. I wouldn't worry much about his shot as his last 5 shots came in the last 3 minutes or so as he was trying to hit difficult 3's to get us back in the game. Even though he didn't play well, I could see the skills that led Billy to draft him. He has a nice all around game and I still fully expect him to be our starting SG on opening day.

Hansen looked great to me and for the money, Billy definitley needs to bring him back. If he can shoot the ball like he was shooting it last night, he will be a TERRIFIC player for us off the bench this year.

Donta Smith looks like a keeper to me. Good athleticism, good ballhandling and good D. He looked very impressive leading the fast break and I can see why Billy thinks he might be able to play some PG down the road.

Ivey looked overmatched against Lopez but I would imagine that most rookies would. Still, I can see Ivey becoming a solid backup PG with more experience. No way is he ready to take over for JT though.

[emeans]

Excellent accessment....Trace, you saw exactly what I saw in each one of those players. Good report!!

[swolehawk2]

I was going to post about the game...but i would just say everything you just said....scary