DavidSomerset

Quote: Quote: Quote: Quote: I do know one thing, the Hawks and Thrashers will never truly succeed as long as there is a Widespread Panic banner hanging from the rafters. That just ain't right. WTF? Where is it at? You have totally enraged me now, Lascar. I effing hate dirty meth'd out hippies with an Eric Cartman like fervor! first of all you need to relax there bub and secondly you need to grow up. Lots of my friends like Widespread Panic (i don't however), I have long hair (i'm a guy) and go to rock concerts (as well as other types of music) and you know what, i smoke weed on occasions. my friends and I all have good/great jobs (some probably make more than you and work harder than you), married with families (married myself) have degrees (including me) have houses (i have 6 acres with horses, cows, etc...) and are good people who offer more to this country than many so-called nonhippies (i don't categorize myself as a "hippie" but if you saw me, you'd call me that and again many of my friends listen to widespread panic). so when you learn to get that 3rd grade mentality out of your head about who and what people are and do, then get back to me and we can have an adult conversation. i should have known from the last time i put you on ignore. and yes, the widespread panic banner needs to removed. there is no reason for it to be there. as far as the thread is concerned, i love smitty but he's not banner material..he was great for us, but only hofers or bordlerline hofers should get banners...word. Quote: first of all you need to relax there bub and secondly you need to grow up. Where do you get off telling me I need to grow up? You don't know me and I never interact with you on this board. This is not about weed. Guess what, dirty hippies don't have the market cornered there. I myself am what some people would consider a hippie. That's why I can't stand Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread, etc fans. I'm nothing like them. I don't want to hear about your 1 out of 10. I want to talk about the 9 out of 10 hippies that will lie and steal so they can not work and follow the band. Look, I was just joking, but if you want to get into how that music is in no way psychedelic and for losers that can't maintain focus long enough to respect an actual "song",then we can some other time. Funny thing is, I respect Widespread Panic. They are a much better band than the other two I have mentioned. However, they are still a one trick pony and bore me tremendously. But that's beside the point, I was talking about their "fans", most of which consist of college kids who just want to get high and possibly laid and have no real moral compass. WTF are you trying to tell me, that there are no dirty hippies that steal? Please. No, what you're really trying to do is insult me, which you have. Or maybe you just have no understanding about the difference between a hippie from the sixties and a hippie of today. Either way I don't care.

We are playing some great defense.

What the heck am I going to do? Oh well, at least our team will be rested.

Quote: Quote: Great to see we pulled out a win ON THE ROAD against one of the better teams in the East. We are just playing AWESOME right now! Actually they really aren't playing that great but they are still winning. That is what makes me think that this run, unlike past winning streaks, is legit. It still doesnt look like they are really clicking although they are getting better. That is kind of what I meant...This string of wins is not luck...We have had to grind them out...Those are wins we could not get before. We have that will to win and killer instinct that this team hasn't had in forever.

I believe the way Woody has this team playing disciplined D, we can keep up this pace. It all comes down to coaching and our players actually executing it, and the way things are going now, with the players giving it their absolute ALL every night (which is such a hard thing to motivate players in the NBA to do), we could be a #5 seed type team.

Great to see we pulled out a win ON THE ROAD against one of the better teams in the East. We are just playing AWESOME right now!

Quote: Quote: Even Zaza is stronger than him. What good does strength do for Zaza when he bites on every single pump fake and doesn't know how to play zone defense? Solomon makes up for his lack of bulk with athleticism. The dude has the highest extension on paper in the entire NBA. Even higher than Dwight Howard. He is a longer version of Tyrus Thomas basically. He also is a fouling machine, and isn't really good for much except how fast he can run from one end of the court to another. There's a reason he gets no PT.

Quote: I know Solomon can be just as effective as Zaza and Shelden on D. And he's athletic enough to run the floor on O. No way, he is WAAAAAY too weak. Even Zaza is stronger than him.

Quote: If we want to get this team in gear - seriously in gear - we play Al at PF. Find a center - somewhere - just find him. and a PG wouldn't hurt. I don't see any reason to move him.

Hey Traceman, do you have a broken arm...I think I looked down at whatever section you said last night when I was there and saw a dude sitting by himself with his arm in a sling, figured it might be you.

Very solid win that I was not expecting us to get. Way to go Hawks!

Is he expected to play tonight?

Quote: Not only that, just because YOUR PERSONAL expectations are 38 wins, doesn't mean everyone else feels that way. I feel this team could win 45 games easily, and we have the talent to do so. Yeah we are young, but most of the players are already MORE than capable NBA players. Our young players have lots of experience, our youth is no longer so much that it deters us from making the playoffs IMO. I agree that we are too young to be a contender, but we are NOT too young to make the playoffs. Obviously you don't think we are a playoff team by only expecting 38 wins, which is really underrating our talent IMO. Hey man, as I have said before, I have no doubt that most people on this board are smarter basketball fans than me. However, I am just giving MY personal opinion on what I would expect out of a team with this much NBA ready talent. When I look at our roster and compare it to our schedule and other NBA teams, I come out at about 38 wins and a 7 or 8 seed in the very weak Eastern conference. I welcome other opinions, however, that is mine, and as long as Woody has playing great defense, and winning around 50% of our games, I am going to be happy with him...At least this season.

Quote: Quote: In the world of sports, wins and losses are literally the only thing that matter. Yes, but there are things that coaches do and don't do that DETERMINE wins and losses, and you are ignoring that. You aren't evaluating Woody on what he ACTUALLY does. Again, in 04-05 most Chicago fans would have been happy with 35 wins (at BEST), considering how young they were and starting 0-9. So you would have applauded a coach that achieved 35 wins that season, even though we now know that they were a 47 win team?? Obviously you would have. The problem is that you would've overlooked that hypothetical coaches' fallacies just because he won as many games as you personally expected. When if you actually looked back at some of the things he did wrong, you would realize that more games could have been won. Not only that, just because YOUR PERSONAL expectations are 38 wins, doesn't mean everyone else feels that way. I feel this team could win 45 games easily, and we have the talent to do so. Yeah we are young, but most of the players are already MORE than capable NBA players. Our young players have lots of experience, our youth is no longer so much that it deters us from making the playoffs IMO. I agree that we are too young to be a contender, but we are NOT too young to make the playoffs. Obviously you don't think we are a playoff team by only expecting 38 wins, which is really underrating our talent IMO. The Bulls clearly overachieved in 2005 by winning that many games...It was a great coaching job. For the record, I think we would still make the playoffs in the Eastern conference with 38 wins. My expectations at the beginning of the year were to win 38 games and be the #7 or #8 seed in the Eastern conference. We are on pace at the moment, with A LOT of easy games coming up...I have no complaints.

Quote: Quote: BUT as long as he continues to exceed my expectations of WINS and LOSSES for the roster than he is given, I am not going to complain one bit. You predicted about 38 or 39 for this season so he is pretty much on pace. I am not sure what you predicted for the last few seasons seasons but I imagine the win totals weren't much lower than the 13 (worst in the entire league by 5 games); 26 (third worst in the entire league); and 30 win (4th worst in the entire league) results. Yep, I said 38 for this year, but I did NOT see us being 11-12 at this point...I was figuring we were going to have to play catch up. Last year, I said the median number of wins should be about 33 ...+-5 on either side to accommodate luck/injuries/etc. We had a terrible injury situation last year, therefore I think 30 is about dead on what we should have expected. I believe the 26 wins in 2005 was actually OVERACHIEVING relative to the team we had. 13 wins in 2004 was probably about right. We have been the youngest team in the league the past 3 years...There is no way any fan should expect anything more than near the bottom of the league production when we are that young...No matter how much raw talent we have. Now that "raw" talent is being molded into productive NBA talent.

Quote: Quote: as long as he continues to exceed my expectations of WINS and LOSSES for the roster than he is given, I am not going to complain one bit. That's just not a way to measure a coaches ability. Because you aren't evaluating anything other than wins and losses, you aren't evaluating games that COULD have been won, and small things he does that deter the team in the wrong direction. Do you think Chicago fans expected to win 49 games in 04-05 when they started the season 0-9?? Do you think Toronto expected to finish 3rd in the East last season after almost everyone predicted them to have one of the worst records in the NBA?? No, they didn't. The problem is that this team (Hawks) has a LOT more talent than just being an 11-12 team. Toronto didn't look like they had a good roster last season, until they made the playoffs. The Bulls didn't look like a good roster in 04-05, until they made the playoffs. Evaluating on mere wins/losses on the basis of NOTHING else just isn't evaluating a coach, at all. In the world of sports, wins and losses are literally the only thing that matter. The Hawks have a lot of RAW and YOUNG talent relative to other NBA teams...But look at the age of our best players....Considering the amount of "NBA ready" talent, we should NOT be better than 11-12 so far this year. 11-12 with this team, given our schedule is overachieving for this roster. Hope Woody keeps up the good work.

He has really shown improvement this year...Playing with a lot of aggressiveness on offense, and playing some really solid D as well.

Not sure where I'm sitting yet, but me and about 5 or 6 of my buddies are going.

Quote: Quote: He has been given a crappy roster in his 4 years here, and has overachieved relative to the amount of NBA ready talent on those teams. So you consider winning 30 games max as over achieving? I consider winning 30 games with the youngest team in the NBA when your 4-5 best players are injured and out for extended periods of time to be a pretty dang good showing. It is important to take absolutely every circumstance into account. You can't just compare Woody to Flip Saunders (just an example) and say he is worse...Flip has a much more experienced and BETTER NBA ready talented team. Now that our players are getting older, the wins come easier...Think that is a coincidence? No one should EVER realistically expect much of anything from the youngest team in the NBA.

Quote: Quote: Woody has done a very good coaching job so far this year. To have such a young team at 11-12 with the schedule we've had, while playing such spectacular defense...I am completely content with him. Not too many coaches would have this team at a better record than we are at right now. That's not necessarily the point. When judging Woodson, you have to look at the whole body. I've seen enough to know that if we get to the point of being a playoff team, he will invariably fail us. I think we really could have been much further along in the rebuild if we had had a different coach. He's striving for mediocrity it seems. Having said that... I must say that we are finally beginning to run some offense and look a little like a professional team. Kudos to Woody. We'll cross the "he's not good enough make us an elite team" bridge when, and more importantly if, we ever come to it. That's a matter of opinion. Not that my opinion is any more qualified...Most people here know way more about basketball than me, however, the one thing that no one can argue with is wins and losses relative to the level of talent on the team. He has been given a crappy roster in his 4 years here, and has overachieved relative to the amount of NBA ready talent on those teams. Only this year of his tenure should any cogent, realistic fan have had the idea that we SHOULD, or even really could make the playoffs...And as of right now, it is looking like a very great possibility (I think Hollinger has it at 75%). I believe that Woody has this team playing about as well as any "good" coach would be. Since when do teams this young play such great, disciplined defense?? It is completely uncharacteristic of the age of the players we have...And that is 100% due to Woody's attitude of preaching DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE ever since he got here. As I've said before, there are a number of things Woody does that I do not agree with, and I do not think he is anywhere near a perfect coach, BUT as long as he continues to exceed my expectations of WINS and LOSSES for the roster than he is given, I am not going to complain one bit. Sitting where we are right now this year (7th in the Eastern Conference), I think it would be absolutely ludicrous to say that we have not OVERACHIEVED. Very, very good coaching job by Woody so far this year...He is a great leader for these players...They are really developing.

Woody has done a very good coaching job so far this year. To have such a young team at 11-12 with the schedule we've had, while playing such spectacular defense...I am completely content with him. Not too many coaches would have this team at a better record than we are at right now.

That actually really surprises me.

He's doing exactly what he needs to do by getting to the line so much...I have been very impressed with him lately. Not to mention, he is a pretty dang good defender for a 21 year old.

Vs. the Bobcats...They have owned us. We gotta get to the playoffs first, my friend.

Particularly considering the age of our team... I realize we are a very average 17th in the league in opposing FG%, but we are 6th in the league in ppg given up...And we're also 6th in the league in "points per shot", which is a pretty interesting statistic. Here's the list. Points Per Shot Stats I am very surprised Woody has got this team playing such great defense when we are so young. Kudos to the coaches.