sillent

Imagine if we picked him over Bruno Fernando which we clearly had the chance to do

The league has improved majorly from top to bottom yet we still sit at the top 4 in the Eastern Conference. If we look at the standings though every team even squads like the Lakers still have a chance to completely turn their season around. That's one reason I was surprised their were so many predicted over 50win teams because their are only so many wins to go around. Our Hawks have been off to a great start record wise but a mediocre start if we're talking about individual players. Trae Young is having his least efficient yr. Dejounte started off hot but still hasn't nowhere near gotten the chemistry down with our players yet. Has he even thrown an alley to John or Clint yet? Until DJ gets fully acclimated Nique will struggle to say his name properly. John Collins after the 1st 2 games has struggled to find consistency in anything but trade rumors although his defense has definitely took some steps up. Clint is starting to look more like himself although he still will frustratingly airball a point blank range airball a time or two. (Note to CC: just dunk when you're that close) DeAndre Hunter hasn't been the X Factor most have expected so far but he's still been solid. AJ Griffin has been one of our biggest surprises this year and that's our rookie. All this yet we still sit 11 - 7 good for 4th in the East. Not too mention we finished one of our tougher stretches over .500. That could be scary for the rest of the league if we keep our core together and individually they all get their ish together. It's still a tough league but the cream of the crop will start to show themselves 40 games in and we are right there. At this point I wouldn't make any trades that would alter the chemistry that is already a work in progress. At most maybe Bogi for Jae Crowder/Shamet to bolster our defense since we've yet to see Bogi this yr plus he's getting older and could help shave money but nothing too significant. Like Nate said our percentages will eventually average out (in our case get a lot better) and it's going to be scary for the league when we do. We've seen glimpses of what we look like when we move the ball around and play like a real team. Can't wait for that to be more of our standard. Teams like Utah are doing so good because they've made it a team effort not individual ball. Imagine what we'd look like as we continue to build chemistry and play even more with a team philosophy.

Next time you need to aim higher since your prediction seemed to be on point. If you said 9 - 4 we probably could've gotten that

I think Hunter is about to show that we ain't seen nothing yet

I don't know where/how all these teams think they're going to easily get over 50. Somebody has to lose a few. With the league being as tough as it is I still see us getting 50 wins though. 50 - 32 should be our bar.

I'm hoping we play more like the start of that 1st game against the Mavericks last yr. It was the fastest I've seen us play but for some reason we didn't revert back to it. We definitely have the pieces now to pick up the pace while still being deadly in the half court. I think/hope our defense leads to a lot of fast breaks and offense.

Adam Silver been hinting that he wants to keep a long season but reduce travel and things in order to reserve the players wear and tear. I think this yr he's attempting to try that experiment. Yes two games away isn't ideal but it does cut down the travel of 1 game home 1 game away. Traveling is a big factor on the body especially for an athlete. I guess it also gives fans two choices for that week or if they can't make 1 game but could catch another. Honestly I'm expecting us to be grown enough now to win the games we are supposed to win whether home or away. Although home court may really become even more of an advantage when players get a few extra days in one city. Plenty of time to get distracted by the night life.

Honestly I counted 48 as our floor so I can kinda agree. At least 50 should be our goal and more if we are really serious about our business.

What move makes the Hawks a sure fire contender? Well defense wins championships & I think people underestimate how big of a difference it will make on our team. Question is did we accomplish that? I think so.. What move puts the Hawks over the top, do we need a third all-star level player? (Do we already have that player) If John and Hunter step it up we may have at least 4 if not 5 with Clint getting more defense relief. Okongwu may be in most improved talks and that could possibly even include Jalen Johnson if he shows he can reliably play over Mo Harkless. We have good chemistry on/off the court with most of our players. Our returning players all have and carry a little chip for underachieving last season and we probably know by now Murray keeps a chip on his shoulders. The Holiday brothers play their best ball together so we should see their best when playing. Jalen Johnson and Mo Harkless should be competing for playing time which should bring out the best. Same goes for CC & OO... I'm sure Clint feels him creeping. Most importantly I think this will be a no hold back yr for Trae. I expect us/him to finish a lot more games on the winning side. With him and Dejounte alternating most of the game we should actually see us dominating (blowing teams out) on a regular basis. We are built to run and gun/3 & D which is a deadly combination. We should look more like our ECF team then last yr team with our egos deflated and a newfound chip. Also having Cam and Trae having 2 big wings to guard the best players on the perimeter was critical. Adding Dejounte not only supplements that but gives us even more of an advantage because it will take Trae off the ball while also providing that needed perimeter defense and 2nd star. Guys like Trae and Luka control the game so much that it's hard to pair a second star but Dejounte because of his versatility, capabilities and most importantly (Pop's playbook/mindset aka leadership/ mentality) should give us the edge to do what nobody outside of us were expecting (championship) as early as this yr.

The skillsets, abilities and tactics/schemes have been constantly progressing since the 90's. It's easier to guard and build a fist/wall when the floor is compacted. When it's spread you can create holes. The more you can spread the defense the better else it's just who's taller/more athletic and accurate. Even then the defense has a better chance of stopping the ball and wing spans get less important when the court is compacted. Players like Mugsy or even our own like Mookie and Mutombo could eat defensively when they knew exactly where the ball was going (in the paint).

Honestly I expect the same. My response was to the fact that if the bench is as weak as people may assume, we have enough in the starting lineup. Plus with players like Bogi to keep our offense up and others we'd be ok.

I believe I just said many are sleeping on them. You're correct time will tell if they become who they are projected to be.

Definitely don't skip over Skip

Honestly he's right on most accounts with the exception of the effect Dejounte Murray will have on Trae and this team alone. Having 2 weak defenders at the guard position is a killer on the perimeter even with a good perimeter wing. With Dejounte adding to our guard/wing defense it will even allow Trae to use his quickness and be in the passing lanes more guarding the weaker of the opposing guards. I was hoping Cam Reddish would be that guy for us but with Dejounte's length and driving ability as well as his ex factor (leadership/winning mentality) he may be even more of a plus!!

I believe squawkers are sleeping on both AJ and JJ. Funny what the lack of seeing them enough can do. If healthy AJ might be one of the best shooting wings the league has seen since Klay. In our 20/21 season Tony Snell was very serviceable in a role doing just that. If he (AJ) can add some solid defense and stay healthy he might definitely be a steal. JJ could easily be like a bigger Dejounte since he similar to J Smooth fits the role of stat stuffer. If JJ & AJ get anywhere close to those projections I doubt they would be options to give away. I honestly haven't been a fan of Duke players since the days of Shellhead but since Jayson Tatum our Duke picks like Cam Reddish, AJ and JJ are changing the narrative for me.

I think this is one of the biggest slept on facts. Our whole starting 5 could easily average 20 or 100pts per game. Bogi can do the same off the bench or at the very least give us 15ppg. We haven't ever had a starting 5 this strong not even in the 60win season. People are looking for offense from our bench (which will be there) but our biggest concerns was our defense. Our new bench considerably makes that better. Offense with a player like Trae Young and company is not that big of an issue. I can definitely see Dre and John taking on bigger roles this yr as well as Clint looking more like his better self since he won't have to be the only/main anchor on defense. With Murray, Hunter and CC covering head to toe on defense we will be much better in that department. John has already taking steps up and Trae is getting better in the passing lanes and may look better overall as well. Point is we've gotten way better by losing a lot of our weak defenders. Everybody in the NBA can score (for the most part) but stopping people was our biggest issue. We now should be way better in that department and even if our bench really struggles we have at least 5 to 6 players we know can get above 20 and can stagger them and give them more opportunities. Not to mention we have a guy like Dejounte who made the spurs look functional with the group of guys they put on the floor. I think our bench can compete with most of their starters from last yr.

My main question would be where's the D-fence.

To add to his question look at the "top" teams now. The Bucks who have been 1st a few seasons and hovering around the top but hasn't changed much besides getting older. We had their number last yr and could've gotten them the yr before if somebody didn't get hurt. (We aren't shimmying and throwing backboard lobs against teams we fear). The Celtics are a legit young/well balanced team that just got all the way to the finals. When you play basketball that late into the season most players seem to have a harder go at it the next yr around. Besides the competition fatigue is another factor. The Heat are like the Celtics but shorter and older in key places that could slow down and limit their effectiveness. The 76ers are a team that may be a question mark but we hold a lot of real estate over their heads. With our added defense that should work in our favor. Toronto Raptors had a bit of real estate over us last yr but do they have the shooters and firepower to hang when our offense and defense are clicking? The Cleveland Cavaliers should be improved and an even scarier team but JC has been able to rise above Jarrett Allen on many occasions same as our Hawks have been able to rise above that Cleveland team. No Defense Club Bulls, Hornets,Wizards all have talent but not enough defense to be legitimate contenders. Not enough defense to grant them high seeds in a long season. No Offense Club Pistons and the Magic have a lot of young talent but not enough shooters to make or keep their offenses potent enough to hang shot for shot. Magic might actually be closer than the Pistons as far as having a more balanced squad but they both still have a ways to go. Wild Cards Brooklyn Nets could easily be a top seed if they could get their mess together. Question is are they going to be able to do that or does all their mess go in the trash as they start over? Pacers could be a wild card but looks like they are leaning more towards rebuild and not wild enough to be considered top 4 in the East. Between the teams that are considered top we have a pretty good chance of catching and surpassing based on circumstances and the motivation for this season. I can see us eyeing the Warriors after their tough battle with the Timberwolves and ours with the Bucks/Celtics to go ahead to head in the NBA finals. Then it will be time for a new dynasty to emerge. Of course our ifs is if we keep our core intact as constructed and stay motivated and healthy. I do not believe the bench will be as much of an issue as people assume. Honestly I believe they will be a lot better than assumed and that ultimately we are still a deep team that's built to thrive in an 82 game season as well as the playoffs.

I know it's early but I meant to post this 3 days ago and today/yesterday just boosted my thoughts. For one off topic I love the De-John-Trae nick name it covers most of our core including DeAndre slickly. Speaking of our core. With the team in total all coming back with a chip on their shoulders including Nate McMillan, we should see a different team and mentality from the start of the season. They all have eye's on the championship. Although most don't expect them to go that far many at least can realistically expect another Eastern Conference Finals appearance. After fighting out of the play in and into the playoffs we know we cannot afford a slow start. We also have a lot of players that wants to make sure people put respect on their name. Dejounte of course wants to prove his worth and has the skill sets to do just that. We know what Trae and John bring and with the right compliment their skillsets will be highlighted even more. They also I'm sure want to prove that the yr before wasn't a fluke. DeAndre not only has more to prove but also is either going to be trying to prove he is worth his new contract or playing to prove he is worth more. Watching how much he has improved his handles so far I would say pay that man sooner than later. If he can keep up his defense to go along with his added offensive skillsets he's going to be dangerous. I believe the Holiday brothers will be more useful than expected as well as Mo Harkless. They will be playing for more contracts as well. Bogi as a slept on player can be very dangerous. The Serbian Assassin could be in full force if he stays healthy and can easily be in the running for 6man. Clint should get some relief in many areas with the new additions on defense (not having to recover for so many) and offense (getting even easier looks because of so many other weapons on the court). Onyeka Okongwu with a jump shot should be playing his way into the starting lineup by at least mid season. OO and a JC combo is athletic, flexible, switchable and a quick/tough combination for other bigs to keep up with. If OO also has a corner 3 we can have shooters and defense all over the court. On top of the chip all of our players will have including those I didn't mention like Jalen Johnson and our rookies that should be enough talent/motivation to get us at the very least a 6 seed position. The fact that we should be playing much faster via defense and personal we should see/cause a lot more blowout games which in return should keep our starters rested/hungry (sitting does that). It would give our younger guys more playing and development time. It would give us more confidence and momentum as we go further in the season and allow us to be more in control of our matchups and fate. I think this will be the no holds back yr that our core really decides to step out and shine. I'm not going to say championship yet (although y'all know me ) but I do see us getting one of the top 3 seeds in the East this up and coming season. I wouldn't be surprised if we were #1 at all.

I like that!!

This really is the most versatile teams we've had in a long time. Offense excites the crowd while defense wins championships!! Not saying our roster automatically guarantees that but we have a nice mix of both!! Offense vs. Defense PG Trae Young PG Dejounte Murray SG Bogdan " "ovic SG Justin Holiday SF AJ Griffin SF DeAndre Hunter PF John Collins PF Mo Harkless/OO C Frank Kaminski/OO C Clint Capela Of course these lineups will be shuffled and in many cases we have the best of both worlds. OO may jump leaps and bounds if he comes back with a jump shot while remaining tenacious on D. Defense wins championships and the way we've reconstructed our team we're head in the right direction. We've lost 2 of our guys who helped ignite offense in Gallo and Huerter but we've gained more defense and hopefully ball movement. Now instead of the ball being chucked because it's in a good shooters hands it will now more than likely be moved around around for an even better shot. If we can also stifle the other team on the defensive side of the floor, we can wear opposing teams down. If we play our cards right and are coached well we may see a lot of our youth playing in the 4th quarter as our starters and company rest from gaining such a big lead. Time will tell but I'm order to be a contender you have to have defense. Time will tell but we are definitely moving in the right direction.

I would give Adrian a try and (Doc Rivers/Austin Rivers) but I'm not sure about assistant.

I don't know how it would work financially $$ but you got a few stars in SGA, Ayton, defense height/length with Mitchell Robinson and some other defenders while keeping some of our core which should help with chemistry.

This is before any nba development. I guess your asking things like is he quick enough to stay in front of 2 guards/wings? You can check out from about 1:52 - 3:52 or the whole thing of course. He definitely will need to work on sliding his feet but he has the wingspan, quick leaps, quick for his size, likes to run, quick leaper, good ball handler/rebounder. His wingspan, running ability, quick leaping/shot blocking, height and wingspan make up a lot when guarding. I think with the right development (which we seem to be pretty good at) he can learn/gain the tweaks necessary to be a Ben Simmons type of player able to plug into 4 different positions or as needed similarly to Scottie Barnes.

At this point it's ok because I'd have to find it again myself