HAWKSFAN

Ric Bucher was just on ESPNnews and said he'd be "shocked" if Smith is back in Atlanta next season and that the chances are slim. He said that Smith does not want to return to Atlanta. And commented on his relationship with Mike Woodson. He said if Sixers don't get Brand, they'll give Smith an offer the Hawks won't match. And that if they do get Brand, the Clippers would sign Smith to be their PF. I don't think it'd be the end of the world if this happened. Horford needs to be a PF and I actually believe so does Smith. Al Horford is the better prospect, so it's probably best to let Smoove go at the amount he costs. Also, Smith being our 4 and Horford our 5 was a big reason why people thought we should be a running team. If we start Horford at the 4, we're not as much of a running team.

www.2ksports.com/nba2k9 He's one of the 16 candidates, and the silhouette shows a left-handed player, which could mean nothing. Who knows, is there a jinx with 2ksports covers or is that just madden and SI?

Quote: Who gives a ((( bleep ))) I know everybody is disappointed, and you should be. But who gives a f--- what everybody else thinks of the Hawks. When we won, we got a little respect. So when we lose like this, we're gonna get clowned either way. Either way, it doesn't matter. This team just got outplayed in every phase of the game today. It means a lot, because the players couldn't even come close to competing today. They know that, they know how far we are. They're not going to realize how much of basketball is mental. This should have been something we could build off of, but instead, it may not be.

That's how I feel, we're better than this. This is what everyone outside of the ATL is going to remember us for.

One word....Nerves Defensively, we really didn't play that bad. We gave up 44 points, which puts the Celtics on pace for 88 points in the game. That's very solid defense. Unfortunately, the offense was bad. Awful. Celtics played great D, but in spite of that, the Hawks were able to get a lot of great looks, but just couldn't convert. Furthermore, the refs have been of no assistance. We're attacking similarly to the way we have in the games at home, but we're just not getting the calls. Only getting 4 free throw attempts in the half. Partial credit to the Celtic's defense, you can tell Doc told them to not give bailout fouls and force us to make difficult shots inside. In the second half, we're going to need to limit the turnovers and keep up the defensive effort. We're beginning to rebound better than we started out doing, need to keep that up. We've forced a few bad shots in the halfcourt set, we can't have that unless it's towards the basket. Summary. To win, we're going to need to put together a few 30 point quarters to have a chance. We were only able to score 26 in the first half, so it doesn't look good

A big man with some range would come in handy TODAY

That ref should toss KG, that was outlandish what he let KG get away with.

Quote: WTF??? PLAY ACIE WITH THE FIRST UNIT DUMBASS. Yeah, duh, lol

Our guys need to knock down open jumpers. Different game if they do

We're playing GREAT defense to start the 3rd quarter. We keep it up and we'll win this game. The problem is, we're not rewarding ourselves enough by playing good offense.

Open shots are falling so far. Working inside-out. Playing good defense and rebounding. Just one minute but it forced the C's to call a timeout to slow the momentum. Keep it up and it's even going back to beantown

Josh Smith needs to stay out of foul trouble. We're a completely different team (for the better) with him on the court. Last night, he fouled out, but while on the court, the Hawks were +11. He gave their big men trouble because he can take them off the dribble and either score, get to the line, or force the D to collapse where his ability to pass comes in handy. His shot isn't great, but it's to the point where it must be honored. And that's not to mention his defense. Right now, when Smith comes out of the game, Zaza comes in, that's a huge drop off defensively. We probably ought to look at subbing Solomon for him, and let Zaza strictly back up Horford. Even though that would cut down on Horford's minutes at PF, which will eventually become his position.

It sure looks like he's in the running. His stats this month are a step up from last month's stats. In March, 24.9ppg 7apg 4.2rpg 46.8% FG% 43.5% 3pt% In April, 29.2ppg 7apg 6.2rpg 57.8% FG% 50% 3pt% Not to mention, it looks like he has the Hawks in the playoffs for the first time in 9 years.

Quote: Another thread argues who is the best player on the Hawks, JJ or Horford. Horford has been great all year, especially for a rookie. JJ showed what he is capable of against the lowest NBA team. If we are to get anywhere, win very much, others MUST step up and do what we all know, or at least have reason to believe, they are capable of. Defense must step foreward and have an effect. Defending both inside and the three point line is a must. Hit those free throws. They were the difference in our latest victory. Hawks scored there and won. Each and every individual player must turn on that little extra that has been missing from their game. Our PG play MUST improve. Bibby has done well, considering his injury, but he must shoot better. We need a healthy Acie Law. Salim has played well lately. Mario West needs a few, but a very few, of JJ's minutes. There are times when he can be a real headache on defense for any opponent. Thoughtless, silly turnovers MUST be eliminated or at least greatly reduced. Both JJ and Bibby have recently been guilty of throwing passes to - - no one. Give the bench guys a few minutes here and there. Hawks have had too many losses where the starters were too tired and were a split second slow. Woody either over values his starters or under values his bench. Sure, we want our best players in the game late in the 4th. Don't use up all their energy trying to get to the end of the game. We're not using Rio correctly, everytime we put him in the game it's late in a quarter when we're already in the penalty. That's not when he's effective defensively. He needs to play earlier in the quarters, where he can do his thing with no consequence.

Check the schedule for the New Jersey Nets, they're not going to win many games the rest of the way. That's the team we should pay the most attention to, not the Sixers.