We should model ourselves after the Suns-

[ATL_BALLER]

I think this is not only a winning blueprint, but a damn exciting one! We got a glimpse of what could be in the Dallas game, arguably the best Hawks game I've seen since the days of Dominique.

The good news is that we already have three of the pieces in place - Chill, Al, & Smoov -- and the system does not require a dominant center. Plus, we have depth that the Suns sorely lack...

My dream lineup next year:

Paul

Chill

Smoov

Al

Stromile

Delk, Lue, Diaw, and a signed Tyson Chandler complete the rotation.

We RUN small and fast. We attack the basket relentlessly. We block everything in site.

That, my dear squawkers, is a squad!

[Packfill]

Only problem with that plan is that we do not have the shooters that the Suns have. If Smoove and Chill improve their outside shooting prowess then that opens up a lot of possibilities.

I actually think that Josh Smith's game has alot of similarities to Marion (albeit stylistically the two are very different). Hopefully he does develop along the lines of Marion in that he is an extremely athletic small forward, with good defensive skills, strong rebounding, excellent finisher and a solid jump shot.

[TheDude]

our real problem is we don't have Nash on our team..that guy makes the rest of the team better...underrated in my opinion...

[Packfill]

Very underrated. The Hawks would be infinitely better with a Steve Nash type point guard. Maybe Chris Paul, Jerrett Jack or whomever else is drafted becomes that player.

[ATL_BALLER]

Yep - the plan is contingent on us landing a playmaker like Paul. He has to leave Wake this year...and we need that number 1 pick!

[AtLaS]

This is exactly why we should get Felton. Thats ALL UNC runs is the fast break, which would mean a LOT of dunks for Chill, Smoove, Harrington and Swift if we get him, he's a much better passer than Paul and he is just the kind of player that would get all of our other players stats, just like J-Kidd. Plus he's a GREAT on the ball defender and an ultimate floor general..

[Packfill]

Felton is an excellent player but my only concern with him is that he is not much of a shooter. Itis hard to predict which college point guard will be most effective in the pros, which is why we all have our favorites.

The thing that makes Nash so effective is (a) playmaking ability and (b) the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter - this forces the defense to guard him close opening up passing and cutting lanes for his teamates.

[Diesel]

There are a few things that the Suns have that we don't.

1. Great PG play. - Can't say enough about Nash and what he does for them.

2. Shooters.. It's no doubt that Nash, Q, and Johnson keep the floor spread so that Marion/Amare can attack the basket.

3. Dominant play from the PF. Amare is a dominant PF. I'm sorry but Harrington is not. Harrington may be one of the weaker rebounding PFs if we play him there.

So being like the Suns is out. We are also not like the Sonics either... The Sonics don't have the point play like us, but they have allstar play from Allen and 3 pt shooting from 4 positions.

I think the better Blueprint would be to try to get like San Antonio. Have you noticed how San Antonio has been dismantling all those uptempo teams outwest. Last night they dismantled the Lakers. A few nights ago, they dismantled the suns. What they do is very simple... They force you to shoot outside shots with a hand in your face. They force your best player to play defense. People think that their offense starts and ends with Duncan... It doesn't. It's starts and ends with whoever Popp calls. Against the Suns he called Parker and Parker took Nash to school. Nash was working so hard on defense, that he couldn't give 100% on offense. Last night, Popp called Bruce Bowen. Bowen put Kobe on the school bus and put up his career high. It's a very simple gameplan. Find the other team's strength and weaken it. Plus they play strong defense. Offensively, their shooters and slasher open the floor for Duncan to work.

We don't have a Duncan... However, we can get a PG. I suggest we take the PG who can be the best offensive force. I think that's probably Paul. That way, when the time comes, we can call his number. I would love to trade for a dominant PF like Howard.

[Traceman]

men to ever play the game. Tim Duncan is very underrated in my opinion and will one day go down in history as the best PF of all time. Malone probably has that title for now but only because Duncan hasn't played long enough.

People try to compare KG and Duncan all the time but I think it's like comparing Mike Vick to Tom Brady. They play the same position but they play the game entirely differently. KG is the superior all around player but Duncan is the superior post player and I think the more CONSISTENTLY impactful player.

The bottom line is that if we wanted to play like SA, the first requirement would be to find a big man who commands a double team every time down the floor. That big man would also have to be able to rebound, pass, defend and block shots. Basically, he would have to dominate on both ends.

There are a few guys out there who would allow you to build such a team but they are rare and the teams who have them are not going to be willling to let them go.

[ATL_BALLER]

And because there's not a dearth of Duncan-like big-men out there, I'd rather sign Stromile and go with the Phoenix model-

[Plainview1981]

Spurs are a boring team. I got to where I avoid them

everytime they come on TV.. like the NBA finals two

years ago, if it was good enough to really be called

a finals! The NBA defense is really overrated. A good

bit of the "defense" is by holding the ball on offense

until there are 2-5 seconds left. Those euro teams pver

seas would trash the Spurs. The suns have good defensive

players that can play defense. That's the difference be

tween a team like them and the Mavericks.

Didn't the Spurs lose to the Sonics before beating the

Suns?

[Packfill]

If winning fundamental basketball is boring, then I wish the Hawks could be as boring as the Spurs!!

[Traceman]

sounds pretty good right now and that was one of the most boring teams in the history of basketball!

[Packfill]

That team plus a healthy dose of Josh Smith and another athlete or two would be interesting in todays basketball landscape.

[Employee8]

Hmmm.....I wonder how Walker would've fit in a team like that?

Remember...Walker can flourish with a Dominating Center and back then, Dikembe was *THE* Man.

[Dakin]

he would've scored a lot of points in the first quarter and not many after, turned the ball over, and missed about half his free throws.

[Employee8]

Quote:

---

he would've scored a lot of points in the first quarter and not many after, turned the ball over, and missed about half his free throws.

---

And THEN.....THE 2ND HALF WILL BEGIN!!

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

---

If winning fundamental basketball is boring, then I wish the Hawks could be as boring as the Spurs!!

---

We already did..... And it didn't bring a championship

did it? If the Spurs didn't have Duncan the "defense"

wouldn't have them much better than a .500 team.

[Wretch]

Only because Josh Smith would have been the exact thing that the Hawks were missing. During those years we were FOREVER searching for that missing piece at the 3. We tried the Snake, Willie Burton, Hendu, all kinds of players. Finally, we settled on the ultimate journeyman Tyrone Corbin. Grant Long would have been the solution, but we shipped him off so we could afford Deke (and we could have afforded to keep him if it weren't for Norman's then crippling contract).

Josh Smith and Deke would have absolutely RULED the lane. And Mookie and Smitty would have been causing absolute havoc on the perimeter knowing there were TWO cleanup guys behind them. It would have been awesome.

We would have also had some excitement on the court. That team would have been able to run and Mookie and Smitty (once hailed as the second coming of Magic) would have fed Smoove lobs all day long.

...but we weren't athletic and we weren't exciting, and although we could stop teams from scoring, our offense got lethargic in the 3rd quarter and towards the end of games. We didn't have a real goto guy and we didn't have a real personality. We won quite consistently, but faded in the playoffs as all such teams do(save for last year's Pistons)...without some sort of offensive identity.

Which brings me to the final point...

Outside of us true fans, nobody really cared about those guys. Playoffs would come around and the entire league would look right past us as if we were nothing more than a stepping stone...regardless of our seeding. Our arena would be filled with opposing fans hijacking OUR homecourt, cheering the opposition and booing the home team - a thing unheard of anywhere in the league.

I would in no way want to go back to being that kind of laughing stock.

We need a team with flair that just kicks @ss, and a fundamentally sound squad that plays A+ defense isn't what the basketball doctors would prescribe for our ailing franchise.