TheTruth

Quote: Quote: I have ALWAYS said that...but that Center should be a BACKUP just to ease pressure off Horford for like 15 mins a game. At this point, we dont need to grab some starter Center to play the 5 and slide Horford to 4. To say Horford can't play Center longer term like you have is just plain ignorant. What is ignorant is thinking that all we need is a guy who can come in and play 15 minutes per game. Right now we have nobody on the roster who can effectively guard big post players. If you really want me to list all the games Horford got abused or in foul trouble quickly i can but you won't like the list. Horford is fine playing some center but he is better off splitting his time fairly evenly between the 4 and 5. Everyone can see this except Hawks homers. Wow, I somewhat respect you, but that has to be one of the most unintelligent, close-minded, vitriol-laden, and immature-riddled posts I have ever seen on here. Period.

Quote: People weren't really talking about trades until the BK trade for a 5 mention. I don't think we need to make a move for a starting 5 but if we are doing it then why not try and figure out who it would be? I am skeptical that BK is actually trying to get a starting 5 but I suppose it's possible. I would hope that it is more for a big defensive-minded, rebounding vet--as a backup. Zaza is NOT the answer at backup and Solomon hasnt gotten near enough PT for us to know whether he is decent enough.

Quote: Quote: Ex, he's a friggin rookie! Why is it so hard for people to understand that, AND that Center is one of the hardest positions to learn and immediately dominate (along with PG). Which is why we need another center. Duh. I have ALWAYS said that...but that Center should be a BACKUP just to ease pressure off Horford for like 15 mins a game. At this point, we dont need to grab some starter Center to play the 5 and slide Horford to 4. To say Horford can't play Center longer term like you have is just plain ignorant.

Quote: Quote: He is the best we got at the 5. Look at it this way. Zaza is easily 2 inches taller and at least 30 pounds heavier. Now tell me: Who is the better Center? Horford, and that is exactly why we need another center. it isnt' hard to understand. Quote: Horford HAS the skills to play the 5 effectively. first of all he doesn't have the size to guard a lot of centers. Secondly if he has the skills to score on them he sure has hidden those skills well. Ex, he's a friggin rookie! Why is it so hard for people to understand that, AND that Center is one of the hardest positions to learn and immediately dominate (along with PG). It makes no sense why people are ALREADY having this discussion...

Quote: Have you noticed that Doc isn't playing his own guys either. He is smart to let them rest too. I hope JJ only plays another 6 minutes in the second half too. If Woody was coaching the game JJ would play 45 of the 48 and everyone else would rotate the rest of the pt. So true on both accords.

Quote: Northcyde, I barely consider Arenas a PG.....he's a SG....the S stands for shooting. and thats all he does. And Parker isnt really a PG either. Hes much more of a good passing SG. Vaughn is the real PG they have there.

Those uniforms are, as Barkley would say, "terrible" As for JJ, he really should have rested this game. Either that, or play a few token minutes and then watch the rest of it from the bench. We really need a rested JJ because Woodson doesnt know how to NOT run him into the ground.

Quote: Other than getting overpowered by bigger players, getting in early foul trouble and not being able to score against bigger players i cant think of any reasons. Right now we are being badly outplayed at two positions, pg and C. http://www.82games.com/0708/0708ATL5.HTM We've addressed one problem with this trade. Now we have to address the other. Good grief, I have seen too many posts like this. The kid is a rookie who is averaging damn near 10 and 10 at Center. People act like this is the best Horford will get...that he wont learn any new moves or how to consistently bang against other Centers. People act like Center is one of the easiest positions to come into and dominate...its not. The year to watch is the 2008-2009 season...not this one. He is the best we got at the 5. Look at it this way. Zaza is easily 2 inches taller and at least 30 pounds heavier. Now tell me: Who is the better Center? Horford is fine where he is THIS year. Let's see what he learns in the offseason, how he applies it next year, and go from there. Until then, we just need another legit rebounding big (vet) that will ease the pressure off Horfy. He only needs to play like 15 mins a game. Horford HAS the skills to play the 5 effectively. Give him a chance to develop those skills before you start writing him off as a better fit at the 4. Good teams and coaches have a knack for developing their young talent. Please keep this in mind.

Quote: I said keep Horford there because he isn't hurting us. He's only a freaking rookie and he's still manhandling folks down there. He puts on more strength and weight and he can stay there permanently. Smoove belongs at the 4. At the 4 Smoove has the advantage of taking his defender off the dribble and it also keeps him near the basket which is where you want him on both sides of the ball. I have mixed feelings about Horfy in regards to playing Center. Here is the problem: He is a rookie, so we dont know how great he will become (he is already very good). I think, for now, he is just fine at the 5. Like you correctly said, Horford at Center is NOT what has been killing us. People fall in love with the "he has to be 7 foot to play Center consistently" prototype. Playing Center is more about brute strength, hard-nosed defense, and post moves than a couple of extra inches. Horford WILL get stronger so that he can bang guys bigger than he is. He will get better on the defensive end. And he will develop some post moves and take guys off the dribble. Do we know how well? Of course not. But I guarantee you, with his character, intensity, and approach to the game, he will come back like Kanye's song...Better, Faster, Stronger! Or, he might just move to PF and we would have to get a "prototypical" Center. If he was 3 years into the league, we wouldnt even be having this discussion because the choice would be much easier. But, hes not. I say it remains to be seen. It really depends on how he performs next year; he will have a year under his belt, would have played an entire season at Center, know how true Centers bang, and develop some new moves to combat them. Until then, we need a backup big who will ease the pressure off him that will play about 15 mins a night.

Quote: From "el el" over at Sekou's blog: Quote: I was just thinking about this, but doesn’t our starting lineup look eerily similar to Detroit’s starting five now (or at least a younger not as good version). I mean we now have a veteran point guard who has a reputation for burying 3-point daggers into the heart of the opposing team. A two guard with the endurance to a marathon who drives opposing defenses crazy with their skill and hustle. A long-armed small forward with an almost automatic mid-range jumper. A legitimate offense threat at power forward whose true value is the ability to change the game with his defense. And an undersized center who offsets the fact that they are playing out of position with the simple fact that they are just stronger and tougher than most opposing centers. Interesting comments there. Detroit is really something special though. They may be old as hell, but they play great team basketball. We have not learned that concept yet. Detroit's defense is stifling...ours is not. They dictate how a game is played...we usually bow down to the opponent's. Their coaching is very good...ours leaves a lot to be desired. We are a fairly young team that has nice pieces. We just have to play team basketball and play within ourselves. We must capitalize our strengths, dictate how the game will be played, and execute all the time. If we can do that, then maybe, maybe we can superficially compare ourselves to the Detroit Pistons.

I think if either of these two happen, Horford will DEFINITELY get in: 1) At the end of the reg season, he ends up with averages of 10 pts and 10 rebounds 2) We make the playoffs and Seattle continues to sink Horford is a straight beast. When he gains a bit of weight and a good amount of strength in the offseason, watch out! He will come back with a few new moves, and hopefully we will have a new coach who will utilize him in all the right ways. Durant is nothing more than a turnover-prone, volume-shooting, no defense playing chucker. At this point anyway... Besides, the position Horford plays is a HELL of a lot tougher to learn and master than Durant's.

Easy answer... Do coaches develop an offensive scheme? Check. Is Woodson STILL our coach? Check. Have we ever run consistently all year? Nope. Did Woodson give excuses about it that did NOT relate to the PG? Check. (He blamed our lack of defense and lack of rebounding)... Will bringing in a new PG likely change Woodson's lack of commitment to an up-tempo style? Not Likely.

Yeah. This isnt the NFL. It's hard to hit a home run with a 2nd rounder in the NBA.

I am assuming that the pick was included at the last minute because there was an impasse. It's just a second round pick, but man, we might as well not even watch the draft cuz we have no picks

Quote: I also would like to swing one more deal for a shooter, but looking at it realistically, who are we giving up? Meh, we just need to utilize Salim better and get him some consistency. We also need a coach who would utilize him correctly. With most of our trash traded, we will start having to give up picks or much better players in order to get additional players. We NEED to start committing to developing our own. That's a hallmark of well-run teams.

Quote: I give them credit for finally doing something. I am not going overboard though. It basically took the team falling out of the playoffs and everyone getting pissed off at them in order to do something. Basically... Now to get us a backup big man and Salim some PT...

The reports I read say nothing about giving up a future 1st rounder. We gave up scrubs to get a legit PG. This allows AC to develop faster (hopefully), gives us a sexy expiring contract next year, and gives Smoove, JJ, and Horfy someone to create plays for them. Yes, he is overpaid. But his contract is what it is--we can't change that. To build a better team you have to be willing to spend money and not be cheap azzes all the damn time.

I expect us to win a few more games, but its not exactly like we have been KILLING teams with losing records. We seem to make even the "gimmie" games interesting and close. Hopefully Bibby will help us pull away from games like that and come out on top. And FINALLY Law can learn from a LEGIT PG. Maybe he will get consistent minutes now.

You got to be effin kidding me. BK does ONE thing right in his tenure here and we wanna anoint him now? No way man. I, unlike some of these cats, have taken his ENTIRE record here as proof of the pudding. He still is a terrible GM that needs his pink slip as much as Woodson.

Quote: Will Woody finally be forced to play him? I've thought for the longest that he has so much more upside than Shelden but never would get a chance to show it because Shelden was taken ahead of him in the draft. He's the 2nd round guy in the doghouse with the other 2nd rounder in Salim. But now that Shelden is gone as well as Lorenzen Wright, does that mean King Solomon is actually 2nd on the depth chart??? King Solomon with the 2nd highest extension in the NBA! Is he finally going to get real minutes? So who are our bigs now? Horford, Zaza, and Solomon Jones. You know Horfy is gonna start and play 30+ minutes. However, Woody wont be forced to play Solomon much at all. Zaza will get those minutes and Solomon will get just a few when necessary. If anything, this will "force" Woodson to play Zaza more minutes. He just doesnt like Solo for some dumbass reason.

I SOOO wish we could trade coaches as well as players these days... As long as Woodson is here running the show, we will forever be limited as a team. You can only go so far with an inept coach running the show.

Quote: Without a doubt I would have moved Zaza instead of Shelden. I would have kept AJ for security and sent Salim or Mario. I hate to loose Shelden cause he will be successful in the league and could have been here. Yes and no. I would have wanted Zaza gone too and just kept Shelden, but what can you do? AJ was nice while he was here, but if he has to go to get Bibby, then off you go. I am glad we kept Salim. He's a decent SG (though undersized) if he ever had a coach that would utilize him correctly. I wish we could have thrown in Woody into the trade for good measure. I would have taken a bag of popcorn for him in return...

Yes, looks arent everything. Inner beauty counts a HELL of a lot more than outer beauty--at least it should. Out of the 10 qualities I look for in women, only one is superficial (outer beauty). I'm sure others are similar... There are a FEW women out there who appreciate a man who does what he is supposed to do, stays out of trouble, and keeps his priorities in line. Shelden seems to be that type.

Quote: its hard to take anyone seriously when they say he's the worst gm in the league...there are obviously worse ones. It is obvious hyperbole. Come on now...

Quote: As far as the players are concerned, it's hard to evaluate them as they play on such a fatally flawed, poorly designed team (BK), with such a horrible coach (Woody). Until they are both gone we will be guessing to a large extent as to their effectiveness on a well coached, well designed team. Woody gone would be a start. It's a real problem unlike injuries last year. But like injuries last year, Woody is no more a problem than the team's architect and the person who hired him in the first place, BK. W This is so conspicuously true that it's no where close to being funny.