Thoughts from a Hawks Fan

[jr_3421]

I don't really think you can call the Hawks a bad team. You guys are a passing pg away from being legit. You guys have a lot of good defenders (Smith, JJ isnt bad), so I think lack of defense you guys have shown can attributed to the your coach. Since PHX has your pick, a possible solution for your pg problem might be in Memphis. I really think with a good defensive scheme, smith and horford can be a solid frontcourt.




All of this said the celtics are winning this series

[Roy Hobbs]

The Hawks 2008 draft pick, No.15, is owned by Phoenix too. That'll hurt their ability to add to the roster. Does anyone recall why they owned Phoenix that pick? I forget.

Joe Johnson sign-and-trade.  They still haven't conveyed the second pick yet.  The pick was top-3 protected last season, so the Hawks really lucked out by moving up in the lottery and getting to choose Horford.

[Who]

It'll be interesting to see what the Hawks do with Josh Childress. He'll likely be a target for several teams looking to spend their MLE on him. I don't think Atlanta should spend much on him for two reasons:

(1) A long term contract at substantial money will really limit their long options. Especially when considering they'll likely have to pay Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Al Horford significant contracts and they're all forwards. Joe Johnson is on a max deal at shooting guard so no large role for him there either.

(2) He's nothing more than a garbage player. He lives on the baseline feeding on scraps. Cutting well off the ball, getting fed of dribble penetration, getting on the offensive glass. He's a poor jump shooter (only 40% on jump shots) and has no three point range. Which is a big deal because neither does Marvin (probably will in time though), Josh or Horford. Solid rebounder. He's also a very weak defensive player who doesn't guard any perimeter player well. Very mediocre.

I think they should let him go.

[Who]

The Hawks 2008 draft pick, No.15, is owned by Phoenix too. That'll hurt their ability to add to the roster. Does anyone recall why they owned Phoenix that pick? I forget.

Joe Johnson sign-and-trade.  They still haven't conveyed the second pick yet.  The pick was top-3 protected last season, so the Hawks really lucked out by moving up in the lottery and getting to choose Horford.

Ah yes, a very worthwhile move. Very lucky on Al Horford, Al's really given them a good foundation to build off of. A low post scoring big men who cleans the glass, those guys are nice to have.

[Chief]

The Hawks 2008 draft pick, No.15, is owned by Phoenix too. That'll hurt their ability to add to the roster. Does anyone recall why they owned Phoenix that pick? I forget.

Joe Johnson sign-and-trade.  They still haven't conveyed the second pick yet.  The pick was top-3 protected last season, so the Hawks really lucked out by moving up in the lottery and getting to choose Horford.

Never fear, Phoenix will probably sell the pick!!!

[Who]

I don't really think you can call the Hawks a bad team.

Well they only won 45% of their games this season. That sounds like a bad team to me. They're a bad offensive team and a bad defensive team, that's not a team that's close to contending. That's a team that is a long way away and in need or serious restructuring. The only reason they're in the playoffs was because the East was so poor.

They didn't even have any injuries this season. This was their best effort with this game plan.

You guys have a lot of good defenders (Smith, JJ isnt bad), so I think lack of defense you guys have shown can attributed to the your coach.

Two good defeners isn't a lot. They have only one/two other average defender(s) in Horford/(Zaza). The rest of the rotation players on the team are all below average (Marvin, Childress) to abysmal (Bibby).

They're a bad defensive team because they only have one good perimeter defender and give up dribble penetration every single night. Check the game logs, 8 out of 10 opposing team's point guards desyroy this team.

They're a bad defensive team because they have no good post position defender. Josh Smith is a good help defender but he isn't much of a man-to-man defender just yet. Either is Horford. They're also terrible at protecting their defensive backboards ranking 5th worst in the league for percentage of defensive rebounds grabbed versus offensive rebounds given up. They regularly get beaten up in the paint because of their lack of size down low.

This is not coaching. This is personnel.

[jaketwice]

The Hawks 2008 draft pick, No.15, is owned by Phoenix too. That'll hurt their ability to add to the roster. Does anyone recall why they owned Phoenix that pick? I forget.

Joe Johnson sign-and-trade.  They still haven't conveyed the second pick yet.  The pick was top-3 protected last season, so the Hawks really lucked out by moving up in the lottery and getting to choose Horford.

Never fear, Phoenix will probably sell the pick!!!

...the Joe Johnson trade was the trade that single-handedly destroyed the Atlanta ownership group.

I wonder whether Steve Belkin is sitting around biting his nails each time Johnson scores, "Turn the ball over kid! You're making me look bad!"

[Raygus]

atl needs a good point guard - whats the story with that acie law kid? is he just young and needs some burn? i remember liking him coming out of a & m, but havn't really had the chance to follow him this year at all...

[Who]

The Hawks 2008 draft pick, No.15, is owned by Phoenix too. That'll hurt their ability to add to the roster. Does anyone recall why they owned Phoenix that pick? I forget.

Joe Johnson sign-and-trade.  They still haven't conveyed the second pick yet.  The pick was top-3 protected last season, so the Hawks really lucked out by moving up in the lottery and getting to choose Horford.

Never fear, Phoenix will probably sell the pick!!!

...the Joe Johnson trade was the trade that single-handedly destroyed the Atlanta ownership group.

I wonder whether Steve Belkin is sitting around biting his nails each time Johnson scores, "Turn the ball over kid! You're making me look bad!"

If it wasn't that it'd probably be something else. Belkin wanted to run the team and make the decisions. I have no idea why they even hired Billy Knight if they weren't going to let him make the calls.

Belkin couldn't have been more wrong about Joe Johnson either. (I wasn't wild about the deal at the time either, brilliant move by Knight, great foresight). He's been superb down there in Atlanta. Pity he doesn't have more around him.

I think Phoenix lost their chance to win with small ball the minute Joe left. It was the loss of his versatility offensively (shooting, penetrating, passing, creativity) that made them predictable and one dimensional. Remember he was injured when Phoenix were swept by San Antonio that year. If they managed to hold onto him they would have been frightening to stop because they could have created and scored from anywhere.

[Who]

atl needs a good point guard - whats the story with that acie law kid? is he just young and needs some burn? i remember liking him coming out of a & m, but havn't really had the chance to follow him this year at all...

Acie Law hasn't looked like much. He miles away from even being a weak starting point guard. He's not even a capable backup right now. He should improve because he does have some skills.

But a starter quality point guard? Eh, definitely not any time soon.

A good starting point guard? Unlikely.

He's got a very long way to go. It's all about work ethic and development for him. He's got some things going for him and he could still come but he's got a big uphill battle to overcome.

I wouldn't be betting my team's future on it happening. Marcus Banks and Sebastion Telfair both showed more than this kid which ain't good.

[nickagneta]

I think the Hawks are a good, young, team with bad direction and poor leadership. As someone else said they need a pass first PG. I also believe their coach is among the worst in the league. But they are not that far away.

If KG were to be suddenly put on to the Hawks team with no other changes, how many games does that team win. My guess is a ton more because KG would lead the team to a better defense and allow for greater offensive spacing. He would also help to overcome some of the shortcomings of their coach, much like what he has done here.

No, this Hawks team is good, but very raw and sorely lacking in guidance both on the floor(PG) and off(coach). If Elton Brand goes the FA route a sign and trade with the Clips giving them Bibby, Williams and something would make this Hawks team very, very interesting.