New Lineup Payed Off!!!

[emeans]

Josh Smith is starting now and that is where he should have been a long time ago. I have to give kudos to Coach Woodson for finally realizing what he has in Josh Smith. He is starting him and playing him a lot of minutes and this team has overnight because very competitive. Josh is changing the game all by himself.

I hate to say it but ......I told you all this Josh Smith was one the best picks in this years draft and was a steal at 17. He was at one time the 2nd best rated player in the nation and we got him at No. 17....WOW!!

I am starting to like Childress and I think he is going to be a good one also.

The future is Harrington, Smooth, Childress and hopefully Chris Paul. I am not sure what we are going to do to get a legitimate center.

I am very excited about the future of this team!!

[KBatPCSOM]

I'm really starting to believe that legitimate centers are a thing of the past. It is very likely that the best Atlanta will be able to do is either an undersized power forward at that spot (Stromile Swift), a duo of European big men, or some sort of conglomeration of players who bring different things to the table.

Look at the college game. All of the centers are power forward types that are either very thin or a little too short. The next legitimate center on the horizon may be Greg Oden, and he's a bit overrated at this point.

[Sage11]

Yes it did indeed, and as much as many people may not want to admit it, Josh Smith was the difference maker. The more he plays, the better it is for the Hawks. The kid is simply too talented to sprout roots on the bench. You can see it in his eyes, he is hungry and wants to play. Coach was smart to unleash him.

[Nicholasp27]

smoove is the ben wallace that pulls this team's defense together....

we held them to under .300!!!

his shot blocking and energy are contagious...he got 4 blocks, but the rest of the team also got 4 blocks, from 3 different people! and the team played defense all over and played hard at both ends, even *gasp* moving without the ball...

i attribute those to his energy and blocking rubbing off...

when ivey comes back, ivey/smoove/al/walker/drob won't be bad...

we MUST sign swift/dalembert/kwame this summer, cause we NEED that center...the blocks of smoove and one of those two above will combine for a good paint defense...ivey on the wing and chill's steals/blocks/rebounds from outside will only help even more...

[Sage11]

I hope we can sign at least one of those guys at center this summer. You are right, we need one of them in a major way.

[Plainview1981]

I wasn't able to watch the game tonight but it doesn't

look like it made a difference tonight. Oh Well. This

isn't going to be a consistant team. But it looks like

Josh Smith had some 4th period production. But when

so much of the load is on Walker and Harrington it is

going to be tough to win. Other guys have to step up.

[Employee8]

Hotlanta,

DIAW was at it again.....NOT SHOOTING WHEN HE SHOULD'VE!!

[Sage11]

Hotlanta, you missed a very competitive game tonight. I disagree, although we did not win, we had our chances to pull even but just could not make it over the hump. We simply met a team that had superior talent for now. I think this line up will rock when Ivey returns and acclimates himself to NBA ball.

Why do you have to be so negative? Give this young team a chance, last night they defeated the defending NBA champs soundly, and tonight gave the former two time East Conference champs more than what they bargain for. I am actually pleased with the way they are playing and the chemistry they are developing. I am not expecting them to torch the NBA with a 50 win season- hustle, heart, defense, and a don’t quit attitude are the things I am measuring. I see improvement in every game. Wins WILL come. One other thing you may wish to consider is how difficult it is to win back-to-back games in the NBA. Legs get a little tired in those situations. Ease up partner, this team will be ok.

[Iman]

That wasnt a negative post from Hotts in my opinion, that was fairly optimistic and on the money, we can expect to be inconsistent, especially until we get a consistent third option.

I dont think we were beat by talent tonite. Jefferson was hard to stop down the stretch but we should not have been down at home to such a weak team. And even though Diaw didnt have many shots, I dont think that was the problem either, actually I think he played a solid point guard game. We played lethargically, our third option was missing, and Harrington's foul trouble that killed us. I actually think the energy against Detroit might have came from Detroit itself, chasing down Hamilton, etc. We have to figure out how to play like that more often.

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

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Hotlanta, you missed a very competitive game tonight. I disagree, although we did not win, we had our chances to pull even but just could not make it over the hump. We simply met a team that had superior talent for now. I think this line up will rock when Ivey returns and acclimates himself to NBA ball.

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Travis Best and Eric Williams are superior talent? And

I don't see how my post was overly negitive...

[emeans]

The main thing is that we are not getting blown out by 30 before the 4th quarter. We are in the game until the final buzzer and that is a HUGE improvement. The team is much more competitive with this lineup shake up and we are getting our future superstar (Josh Smith) some quality learning minutes. He is already becoming a game changer in his 1st rookie season

[Sage11]

Never said your post was overly negative, you do tend to point out the negative though. You made a blanket negative statement in your post about the team but did not bother to watch to see how the game was lost. Kidd and Jefferson are superior talent, even if you are unwilling to admit it. NJ lost K-mart and Kittles, for the most part the rest of the team is in tact.

Losing those two players does not put them in rebuilding mode like the Hawks. The point is we played with them to the end but could not get over the hump. Whereas you view the changes as not "paying off," my opinion is that those changes allowed us to play a much more competitive game.