Sending positive thoughts to you, your families and all loved ones @Sothron and @kg01.

It is one way to look at it, and I'm not here defending his shooting. I think his play has been mediocre this year, he just doesn't seem to have an offensive rhythm. Just saying that a metric that shows Saben Lee (who?) as a better player definitely can be used as part of an argument but can't tell the whole story. I will add that Ja Morant is at the very bottom of that list too. 

Whether y’all agree or not, I think most of y’all are being a little harsh to @noble. The dude was just trying to provide input, whether it is likely or not. I’ve seen a lot worse lol.

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

I keep envisioning a BR alert sent to my phone that reads…

 

The Atlanta Hawks are parting ways with head coach Nate McMillan. Hawks GM Landry Fields says Joe Punty will take over as the interim head coach until they find a suitable bum off the street who would easily know way more than Punty, his son and that entire staff put together.

 

-Shams Charania aka Woj’s lil talking doll

Love Trae, but now I’m waiting for the follow up interview where he says “I mean” 100 times before other cliches. “Yeah, I mean it is different without coach here. You know, I mean, at the end of the day we have to still go play. So, yeah, I mean, back to practice and focus on winning.”

Definitely weird and like others said, it’ll take some time to figure out what actually is going on.

The timing is weird though, as if something expedited this decision. Why do it right before Christmas, while on a home stand and finally winning a couple games in a row. It seems like it could have waited for the new year when we head out west. 

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

John Collins dishes out keys to Hawks reaching full potential amid outside noise

"I've been able to move around and get a little bit more work in," Collins said of his progress. "I'm getting back in rhythm and doing my best to get back on the court."

For a team like the Hawks, getting into a rhythm will be crucial.

During Collins' absence, Young dealt with a shoulder injury, De'Andre Hunter missed time with a hip injury, Clint Capela strained his calf and Murray sprained his ankle. Add in the fact that Bogdan Bogdanovic missed each of Atlanta's first 22 games, and it's impressive that the team is hovering around .500.

 

While Collins isn't in the business of making excuses, he did admit that injuries have only made the process of integrating new pieces more difficult.

"Every year is new, there's a new challenge every year — but obviously, trying to integrate new guys while other guys are out, it's hard for us to get that natural flow that teams need to be successful.

"It's been a challenge but we've been trying to push through and we're trying to be professionals. It's been rocky, but we'll figure it out."

 

With rocky times comes conflict, be it external or external. From trade rumors involving Collins to reports of uneasiness between Young and head coach Nate McMillan, the outside noise regarding the Hawks is seemingly louder than it's ever been.

 

For Collins, the key to minimizing that noise is transparency and connectedness.

"The first thing I would say is just having those conversations within the locker room," Collins told me in response to the noise surrounding the team. "Just trying to keep it in-house."

"Other than that, just trying to keep the locker room light, making sure guys aren't too high or too low, making sure we keep the pace to where we're trying to go and what we're trying to do and stay focused.

"All the outside noise is a distraction that can hinder us if we let it. We try to have that tunnel vision and keep looking forward."

'Keep it in-house': Hawks' John Collins dishes out keys to team reaching full potential amid outside noise | Sporting News

This is why I’m not giving up John. I love our guys, but JC seems to be the only one who understands what is going on and can vocalize it too. Nothing against the likes of (insert most of the rest of the team reporters talk to) but his perspective is always spot on and doesn’t seem like a programmed video game response.

@Spud2niquehow are you going to wish Jalen a happy birthday without giving me one too!

@Sothronpeople are somewhat appreciating Bogi!

I just turned this on and WTF.

9 minutes ago, Sothron said:

This is bigger than a shoulder issue. The real issues are what I laid out. Trae thinks Nate's offense is a relic from the late 90's and he wants to change it up some. He wants to do catch and shoot. He doesn't care if the ball is in his hands less as long as the offense is more diverse and frankly not just isolation sets. 

Nate wants a faster pace and Trae to pick up his defensive play. Notice how Trae mentions he works on something new every offseason, which is 100% true, but there's one part of his game he never mentions. Ever. And I mean EVER. What is that? His defense. 

Thanks @Sothron. Kind of ties together with your coaching rumors. I think both are right, I hate our offense. Trae has to get better defensively, mainly more consistent effort. This sounds like two stubborn people going at it and refusing to meet in the middle.

5 minutes ago, terrell said:

And imagine how long this thread would be had it been any other player pull some shit like this.....

Mighty quiet around here.. 

I want to believe in Trae, but shit like this just pulls me away further...

This thread was posted an hour ago and we are almost at three pages on a non game day lol.

43 minutes ago, Bonkers said:

Yea I'm gonna rub this in sooo many peoples faces

 

All the way back to last year when Trae repeatedly froze other players out after they got hot in the 1st half of games. I saw players visibly get annoyed at Trae for not passing them the ball!!! I knew he was a toxic player

 

Come here so I can throw a whole carton of eggs on y'alls faces!!!

You are a little too excited about this lol.

Bad look by Trae, but it seems like there is more to this.

14 hours ago, terrell said:

JC has been in trade rumors for years.. Why would he be "pressing" now? 

The thing is he probably finally put the most recent summer rumors behind him for it to only rear its ugly head again. 

12 minutes ago, JTB said:

Really? Who they offering KD?

I bet something centered around Joe Harris because we can’t shoot. Funny though, because neither can he this year. Just a guess though. 

(This part is not intended to reply to you JTB, I just saw your post when I came to reply to the topic). At some point this stuff has to start wearing down on JC. He started the season strong, had a couple of decent games, then the rumors came out (again) and you see him pressing. I get the fact they make money, but they are human beings too. JC is a loyal guy and this has to constantly wear down on him mentally. I wish we would stop treating the guy like this and commit to him or trade him just to get this over with.

36 minutes ago, benhillboy said:

If I’m him I’d rather tell the team just list me out for “rest” rather than “dental pain” lol.

Seriously, they get so detailed about stuff lol. If I was somebody in the media I’d be sure to ask the important questions. Cavities or a root canal? What tooth number is it? Was it Thanksgiving dessert related? 

4 minutes ago, SalvorMallow said:

Trae also taking a bunch of tough 3s. I'd love to see any sort of play run to get him open for an easy shot.

Or the patience and ball movement to make it happen, but agreed.

4 hours ago, marco102 said:

@kg01 and @Spud2nique

Did you guys happen to listen to NBA radio when they were discussing the game today? 

Scalz (sp) has already started the national narratives, that the Hawks play better without Trae. 

Frank didn't agree with him and then he backed down and started talking about physicality. 

I hate that as long as DJM plays well, this is going to be the narrative.  

Mavericks were better without Luka last year, or it was very close. Either way, I’m sure the league is hoping they get the Hawks when Trae is healthy instead of hurt lol. 

If you want to talk about the potential based on the bottom of the roster, maybe, but still a no. I feel like we get these types of posts over the years when we assume we are deep. Our young guys and even top players have a lot to prove. Very talented team, but we are young (even our top guys) and have a lot to work on. It’s definitely an exciting roster though! 

Okay, I know I’m way more positive than a lot of folks around here and don’t have the basketball acumen some of you do..but I’m very impressed with this guy. Especially coming out as somebody labeled as an athletic shooter.

He has an advanced feel for the game on the offensive end, he’s just so smooth and in control out there. He is confident and with his frame (especially at his young age) should be a plus defender if he just stays healthy. It’s way too early but I’m thrilled with what we have seen so far. Not all great players come from the lottery!

25 minutes ago, Diesel said:

In leui of the eye injury to trae, I wanted to list the dirtiest players in the game.

 

1.   Grayson Allen. 

2.  Randle

3.  Al Horford

4.  Draymond

5.   Lebron

 

Are you putting Horford on here for how he did us? Matthew D. is still in the league, so I would have to put him in there too. 

3 hours ago, AHF said:

Feel like he has been exactly as advertised.  Basically duplicating last year's production.

Going off of memory, but I feel like you and others were worried about his shooting, mainly threes. Small sample size for sure, but I’ve been impressed so far.

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

I’m sorry I hate the amount of superstar control around the league the past .. well decade it’s more but it’s just ridiculous. 
 

I’m old school. I like that players have some power over contracts and things but when you’re telling your GM to fire your head coach and he does it, what message does that give to the rest of the squad. 
 

KD is just a  

Exactly! Nash might have struggled, but the antics of Kyrie and KD didn’t help. As an Atlanta fan, there are a lot of players that I hate because of their success against our teams. These guys get my hate because they think they are better than the game, team, etc. Small rant over.

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

Eh, everybody screaming Kyrie! Kyrie!

Meanwhile, KD sittin' in a dark corner with a 'mission accomplished' grin on his face.

Reminds me of how folks are yellin' Westbrook's name while Anthony day-to-Davis is the Lakers' real problem.

I think both of them are crazy for the record lol. 

4 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

KD did want him fired.

Didn’t agree with Kyrie’s views of the world I guess.