sillent

These past 2 games Trae Young has done something that I initially hoped when we built this team the way we did last yr. I expected Trae to be 15+ on assist because of all the shooters we added mainly ( Huerter, Hunter, Gallo and Bogi) on top of having JC and CC. He was almost averaging double digits in assist or close to it so I didn't think that was too much of a challenge. Now that he's doing it we're able to really open the game up and dominate. With the defense not being able to key in on anybody it makes us that much lethal offensively. With everybody happy people are much more engaged which gets us up more defensively and when we have our defense going not too many can compete with us. If Trae continues to be flexible and play unselfishly enough to average 15+ in assist then the narrative will change quickly about us as we power our way thru the play in and playoffs. Time will tell but with Trae playing this way we definitely have an opportunity to change our narrative during the post season.

Can't believe I forgot Iggy.

Quavo did say we should get Trae and have our own Splash brothers. Can't remember who else was already on the team that made him say that (Korver?? Belinelli?? *insert here) but I definitely remember that. Good thing for us is Travis came fresh from the Warriors and already had that game plan in mind to pick the next "Stef" = Trae , "Klay" = Huerter, "Draymond" = Omari Spellman almost but he missed the most important part of Draymond's game (IQ/the mental's). JC is actually an upgrade in my opinion and if he isn't Travis Draymond he has OO, JJ, CC and Gallo to recreate peak Draymond type production. Travis loves to double/triple up. He has atleast 2 more "Klays" Bogi(offense)/*cough TLC(defense) wish I could put Cam here. Lou Will and Sharife are very Trae like or atleast can be. DeAndre is the Harrison Barnes/X factor type. Him and Cam together would've been "Durantish" but I can't really go there now. All that to say it may be more than basketball but it's definitely basketball

Somebody's price is going up $$$ *JJ A little extra time to develop has been paying off

I feel ya. I was just looking at him like we would have if we got Ben Simmons. I know he's not there yet.

Increase Trae, Collins, OO, Gallo (a 6'10 inside/out weapon that not many teams possess) Holding Clint (if he could just be more consistent inside), Kevin (has become a true weapon from the mid range and closer and when his 3 is on and he's playing D we usually W), Louis Will Decrease Bogi (mainly until he starts moving the ball more and shooting in rhythm but he's Iso Bogi as a 6 man so it's hard to complain) Hunter (has been solid but compared to his trajectory from his rookie yr to now it's a step down. I'm sure he'll get it back during the playoffs though. Yes I did say playoffs)

PG Trae Young SG Jalen Johnson (developed) SF DeAndre Hunter PF John Collins C Onyeka Okongwu PG Delon Wright/Sharife Cooper SG Bogdan Bogdanovic/Skylar Mays SF Kevin Huerter PF Gallo/ (rookie maybe or I'd take Nathan Knight) C Clint Capela Honestly we built a nice squad around Trae. I'd love to still have Cam but we definitely have the squad.

Believe me I wanted the same thing. I just looked at it from a GM/Front office standpoint of trying to figure out how to keep and grow as much of the core as possible. They can gain a lot more by developing him "behind the scenes" while keeping his value low. I feel the same about playing Sharife especially when Trae is out but I do understand it from other sides. Just like I understand people need someone to point a finger at for the good and the bad. I was just trying to share that it might not be that simple as we wish it would.

I know basketball and it's wasn't hard to tell that he would need some serious time before he was ready. Basketball is more about the physical it's about the mental. JJ as most rookies do have been working on mentally maturing more than anything. I know exactly what I'm saying. I just see things a little deeper than the average. It's easy to imagine what you'd/we'd like to believe would happen if we played JJ but reality could take away from that illusion. I could break down scenarios but those too would be illusions and the reality is what it is.

I agree with everything above the bold. Nate wasn't our coach then so I can't give you that unless they were going behind LP's back which I doubt since we have an upfront front office. The 2 main issues that allow me to understand their decision making more than us fans is the fact that JJ isn't ready to be a difference maker on our team yet so playing him doesn't/wouldn't change that. Before I start I know it's twisted and may not make sense to the average fan but our team is in the position that it wants to be in even currently. The head of our snake loves a challenge and gets up for the playoffs so I would not be surprised at all (actually I still expect it) if we win a championship. In the words of JSmooth fans are fickle and won't remember or care just how bad our season is/was if we step up when it counts. We still have all the pieces and have atleast made it a point to pretty much beat every team that would be a playoff threat when it counts so we really don't care who we face. The fan in me would love to see the playoff matchups that are currently set which means we'd have to beat the Hornets, Miami, Boston/Chicago and then whoever out of the Bucks,76ers and Nets in the Eastern Finals. The East is hands down better than the west this year and Nate does have an upper hand on Montey so far if it so happens to be the Suns. I didn't mean to post this long but I guess this is my version of calm down. We're good. Let's let the rookies develop at a rookie pace so we can truly praise them later when they're ready.

That was before Nate became our interim head coach.. Nate was still under Lloyd Pierce then. He could have kept them young guys on the bench like LP was doing but as soon as he got an opportunity to sub he gave them more minutes. Nobody's asking the assistant coach for much but to hold down the fort.

Exactly. Meaning it's not just Nate's say so on why the rooks aren't playing. That was a whole front office discussion before this season started and they opted on not needing to play the young guys early like we have in the past. This is the 1st yr in a while that we haven't just thrown young guys to the fire.

So I guess the front office told Nate to play Onyeka when Nate was still an assistant for LP The whole video puts it all into perspective on Nate's feelings for young guys but if you want to get to the point of Onyeka check of out around the 6:15 mark of the video. And by the way I didn't know Nate was still out there playing and running the team every game. The coach can only scheme and create plays. The players have to execute.

It's laughable or maybe not to see our team play down to such a low level but it makes for a great story line. Trae is the head of the snake orchestrating what we see as a team good and bad but barring injuries we/he are going to show the league other levels that we can go to. It's laughable to me because I knew he (Trae) was going to start finishing games once LP got fired because of his dislike. Of course instead of seeing the head of the snake everybody praised Nate. Coach Nate does deserve credit for his defensive implementations and more but we live and die by Trae. Hence this year same coach, more winning philosophies but Trae hasn't finished the game well much this year so far and Nate is looking more like LP currently. We will see a completely different team (if we're healthy) and make history. It's a new day in the A!!

I would blame Nate but it actually looks like something he and Travis discussed before the season started. Nate was the same guy last year that opted to give OO more minutes and it panned out so I don't think he's fully opposed. We are just in a different position than we were last yr and possibly financial reasons as well has kinda forced us to slow grow our youngsters so we can keep them in the budget with the rest of our talent. If they blossom to fast it doesn't just effect what they do on the court but the overall payroll and being able to keep the team together. That's why Cam had to be traded even though most of us including Travis knew he was one of our best players and will only get better. Do we want a deep talented team that can survive an 82 game season or a top heavy team with most of the weight being carried by our stars? Slow grooming our rooks allows the financial cycle to flow a little more naturally and leave us flexible. We just need guys to actually buy into the system enough *cough* Trae. When we do we tend to win no matter who's out there. When you're winning within the system it's hard to say Nate's way isn't working even if there could be other options.

Championship Bound!!!

Like them or not. They are obviously not for us and our success lol... If we win in them we're definitely championship bound. Especially against a worthwhile team

Funny how tones and faces change on a roller coaster but glad to hear the cheers now! We still got the longest winning streak in Hawks history coming to reach the top but we're aiming for it.

Please relax. I understand the concerns but we haven't even seen our squad for real. Maybe the last 2 games were the best definition of our true squad but we haven't begun to play our game for real. Judging amy team less than 20 games in usually turns out bad for the judge. I know we wanted them to jump out the gate like they could have but I think we'd all rather them save their best for when it matters most.

I definitely wanted Bol Bol over Bruno and this might be another opportunity if he is available. I believe Bol Bol is a hidden gem just like I believe Cam is a hidden gem but if the Nuggets don't see the value I'd love to snatch him up!

I do feel like they may be our finals opponent over the Jazz. It's still early in the season though. We also have to see if the Warriors curse is finally broken. They've had too many injuries to key players throughout the yrs.

I would not be surprised at all if we touched the bottom of the standings this year, just to rise all the way to the top. The braves had good parity as well and I wouldn't be surprised to see us follow suit. The moment we choose to play like a true team and keep the defense moving on one in and make it hard to score on the other everyone will be looking at our team in a whole new light. Maybe a tweak is needed like having Cam start. It would be nice to have a Nathan Knight vs TLC... We could definitely find someone that can possibly help ignite some new energy. Either way our team loves a challenge. Especially our floor general in Trae Young. I would not be surprised if we turned it all around as soon as we hit the bottom or near the bottom of the standings.

Looks like the yellow uni streak continues. If I'm not mistaken that's 0 - 14. Great idea uniform makers. We'll know just how good this team really is if they start winning in those.

https://www.hawksquawk.net/topic/434151-coaching-staff-additions/?do=findComment&comment=1112222

Jalen Johnson is here so we can stay good or get even better while continuing to stay young. It's a natural process just like aging and Gallo isn't a two way player. That's why we need to win a ring with him this yr. He can depart happy or be happy to be a 2/3 man for the low off the bench. To keep as many good players as we have, sacrifices have to be made along the road in order to have longevity.