PoppaFritz

The score after the 3rd quarter 88-71. The Heat have 18pts off of 18 to's. Eddie Jones has 20 pts. Not only are they not guarding anyone, they look really out of sync on offense. I haven't watched the Hawks until this season but is Lon serious about the offense they run? This isn't college. They enter the ball into Theo on the block like he is going to score and he is a poor passer. Why not post up Glenn or Shareef? They look like they are lost out there. They run a motion where they curl into the lane but no one is in a position to score. Their big men are horrible passing out of the post, if they even look to pass at all. I wish I could keep updating the post but I have to go, I'll have more thoughts later.

Everybody! Eddie Jones is going off in the second half. It's 83-62 with 4 min. in the 3rd. Not to many bright spots. They really aren't playing well together on the offensive end either. I'll try to keep everyone updated as it goes.

I'm watching the Heat game live on NBA League Pass and we aren't guarding anybody! 66 point in the 1st half is not acceptable. People are getting beat off of the dribble and when they help, they aren't rotating to the open man. If they don't start getting stops there is no way the Hawks are going to win.

I love the fact that everyone has lost coinfidence in DD after 3 preseason games. The NBA season is a marathon race not a sprint. I find alot of good things out of the start to DD's NBA career, at least he can pass the ball, which from what I've seen is a lost art when it comes to the Hawks guards. This team may self distruct if they don't play together and when your "back-up" point guard has an assist to turnover ratio like e-mail's it's time for a change. Dan has an incredible feel for the game that makes up for his lack of athleticism. This argument is a joke. If 20-25 games into the season Dan is still struggling with turnovers and shooting % then we should start to worry, 3 games into anyone's NBA career is going to be a struggle. The fact is e-mail has been in the league for awhile and Dan could average 2.4 assists(e-mails assists-per-game last year) in 10 minutes. Give the kid a break!

I agree with a couple people on this post, first e-mail isn't expendable, yet. It is very important to have a 3rd ballhandler. But, diesel is right, he is a cba player. You can't play point in the nba with any significant minutes (e-mail 27.6 min. per game) and average 2.4 assists and 1.86 to's. I don't really see what else he brings to the table other than being a bigger point. If we have to rely on Ira, Dion, and E-mail as secondary ballhandlers were in trouble (combined 5 assists per game). Let's hope DD starts taking care of the ball and things will be fine, he looks like a sure 5 assists per game in half the minutes of these other guys.

He must have been awful after the first 1 1/2 months, because .421 FG% isn't what you are looking for from a slasher/finisher. The 3pt% .330 is ok but not enough to stop teams from leaving him and these are his career highs!

I just compared Dion and Ira's stats from last year at nba.com and I found something a little concerning. Both players are poor perimeter shooters. When you are the 4th-5th option on the floor it is very important to be able to knock down the open jumper. They are going to be the player most likely to be open when teams double team and from what I've seen both players struggle from the outside. If one of them can step up and start knocking down shots, thats going to make everyones job easier.

I watched Grizzard quite a few times when he was at Alabama. He is one of those players that you watch and say, "Why isn't he better?" Physically he is an NBA talent, but he seemed to score off of athletic ability rather than creating shots for him self and he never seemed to make his teammates better. I was suprised the Wizards didn't take a shot on him because of his athleticism. I think he is definetly worth a shot but I don't see him being better than Dion, Ira, or Ham right away, but he does have good upside down the road.

I agree with you on the Dion subject, he just brings more to the table than Ira. I think in the long run Dion should and would be a great backup if the Hawks are going to eventually become a contender.

As for Alvin Jones, I'm not sold. He is a good shot blocker but this team could really use some veteran leadership. I think that's one area they could use help. I don't have anyone in mind but isn't there an unsigned veteran out there that could rebound, defend, and add some toughness and bulk in the middle?

Seems to be some concern about DD's shooting so far and probably rightfully so, when you only hit 1 shot a game. But you don't shoot 46% on 3pt's in college without being able to shoot the ball. It would be much more disconcerning if he got to the pre-season and we found out that he was having trouble running the team or handling the ball against quicker, more athletic players. So far that doesn't seem to be the case. I think it's a matter of time before he starts becoming a consistent threat from the perimeter and will help when teams double Shareef and Big Dog.

This article gives reason for some concern with Big Dog and what type of teammate he will be. But I have thought for sometime that the problem with Milwaukee was Sam Cassell, he is the type of player that needs the ball in his hands to be effective, this is a problem when there was two better scorers on the Bucks in Ray Allen and Big Dog. Another problem had to be the egos of Allen and Big Dog, both are very confident players who wanted to be the main option. It seems like Atlanta's top scorers Shareef and JT are much better at getting their teammates involved and are more willing to share the scoring load.

I agree all of those teams have made great progress, but for the short time I have been following the Hawks (1 year), I have been very impressed with the urgency that they have showed to get back to the playoffs. Personally, I think those other teams, with the exception of maybe Washington, had much more to work with (players under contract and draft picks) than the Hawks. It will be interesting, because the Hawks now have a nucleous that can compete with most teams in the league. I don't think you could say that the last couple of years.

Absolutely, when you look around the league no one has done more than the Hawks to improve their team. It starts with management, then it's really up to the players to execute and play well together. Plus, it never hurts to have a little luck on your side. It's nice to look at the Hawks roster and not see any glaring weaknesses.

Yeah, I played with him at Prairie High School in Vancouver, Washington. I was two years older than him, when I was a senior he was a sophomore and he lead our team in scoring and assists. Even at that early of an age he always new what he wanted to do, play in the NBA. He has worked his butt off to get there. If people tell him he can't do something, he has always proved them wrong. I expect nothing less out of him with the Hawks.

I've watched and played with Dickau since he was in high school and this first game is about what I expected. With Dan you know what you are going to get, a heady player who gets people the ball where they can score. As for the turnovers and poor shooting, he just needs time to adjust to the speed of the NBA game. His basketball intellect is extremely high and he just finds ways to score. As he gets his game legs under him and he becomes more comfortable his shooting will continue to improve.