jhay610

Yeah he could guard the Eric Snows and Sam Cassells of the world but he had no chance against the other 30 or so pgs in the league. Guys like Tony Parker, Devin Harris, AI, Starbury, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and a healthy Mike Bibby all licked their chops knowing they could get wherever on the floor whenever they wanted....TJ Ford ate up AJ all night and Horf had to put him on the floor for it at Phillips

Zaza doesnt do anything on the boards, unless he's rebounding his own miss. He is also great at getting scored on, and occasionally will get you some junk points around the basket. He fades from contact though so he wont really force the other team's bigs to work on D or get in foul trouble.

True, but AJ also couldn't guard a soul on those old, creaky knees. Anything he got you on offense he gave back on the other end. He's a career journeyman near the end of his road. I like him but no way should he be your starter in this league.

Oh, and why was Joe in the game until 30 seconds left? It was obvious there was no way we were coming back. Why not let Richardson get some tick? I think Woodson takes pride in Joe's run at the league's lead in mpg.

If you want to win 25 games a year, then keep running Big Z out there. If u want something new, get Horf in the game. What does the guy have to do to stay on the floor. I dont understand it. Possible ROY, man-eater on the boards, has double figures in the 3rd and mysteriously disappears as the Spurs are tapping Big Z for board after board, score after score, basically winning the game.

It wouldn't have made enough of a difference, as we can't beat a team that can grind u up in the half court, but wtf mike?

Smoove and Bibby a combined 3-23 with 12 apple turnovers. And Joe had 6, too. And Marvin shot 2-9....AGAIN...and Pachulia is still god-awful even when he scores 14 points....and Woody still looks like a bootleg Steve Harvey....

Woah buddy. I was with you 'til the Horford thing. He is ROY in a lot of people's eyes and he has consistently shown his ability to go against the leagues best bigs. When he develops his post game a little more he will be tough. Haslem cant hold Big Al's jock

Blunt, you're right, Joe does need to step his game up. He has been in a funk, and he is not playing as well as he did last year (esp. early) and he is playing like he is worn down.

At this point in the season, though, you have to ride or die with him. And he is still 6'8", has a big body, and can fill it up when he's going right. We just need him to play like he can.

Not to take anything away from Bibby's game, because he is en pointe, but the best thing about this trade for the long term future of these hawks may very well be the fact that Acie gets meaningful minutes now.

Woody just does not know how to develop draft picks whatsoever, and this trade forces him to do that with Acie. If we had kept Lue and AJ then Law would have continued to be marooned at the end of the bench, a waste of his ample ability and another first round bust.

Now we get to see what the kid can do in some extended minutes. Anyone who ever played knows its tough sitting the bench for 10 minutes, playing 2, and then sitting the rest of the game. It takes at least 3 minutes CONSECUTIVELY to get loose and in the flow of the game, and probably 5 min to get anything done.

Further, when u have a coach u know doesn't believe in you, a lot of times u start to doubt your own abilities. When u know u will get yanked after your first mistake you start playing safe, not taking any chances and in turn not affecting the game. To the untrained eye this looks like the player is playing "scared," which in essence he is, not because of the players, but because of his coach. Basketball has more to do with confidence than it does ability, esp. at the NBA level (if you made the league, you can play).

Woody kills me in his handling of young players. He sticks with vets like Lue and AJ (and Zaza over Horf earlier in the year), who have consistently gone out and helped us be the laughingstock of the league year after year. If you want to win 25 games a year, then keep running those guys out there. If you want to get better, try something else! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

BK hasn't done a whole hell of a lot right over the years, but at least he took the keys out of Woody's car and put him where he needs to be, on a bike with brand new training wheels. A monkey could manage this team now. Let's see how Woody does.

Joe is a beast. You guys don't know what you're watching. Everyone has this kneejerk reaction because we got blasted by the Lakers. Just calm down and let this thing play out. Everyone has to get used to what Bibby can do out there, and vice versa.

And Joe is a scorer, and we have a major lack of those on the squad. Take Joe of this team and we are hanging out with the Heat.

I cringe every time I see him enter the game. We have to get another big.

"cringe" is definitely the word. Za is so awful. He can get off boards and hit free throws, but he should never get on the floor in an NBA game. He is so awkward and disjointed out there, even when he hits a shot it looks like it was an accident. He's about as smooth as sandpaper.

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I dont understand why people think Josh has to play like Marvin(shoot mid-range jumper) at the 3.

Because you have to spread the floor out. Unless we get Dirk at the 4 spot, you will have Smoove out their trying to slash to the bucket, only to have big bodies waiting on him because our 4 and 5 bigs will be down there already. His man will also sag off him because he isnt a threat from the outside, which will inhibit Bibby's penetration opportunities.

Smoove would get beasted if he had to play 5. We would get killed on the boards and any team with 2 legitimate post players would murk us. I am a huge horf fan, but he is much more suited for the 4. Need I remind you of the recent Houston game where Yao basically did whatever the hell he felt like doing whenever he felt like doing it.

Smoove at 5 is no good, and if he plays 3 he clogs things up because he is an unpolished and turnover prone playmaker with a piss-poor jump shot.

the whole situation is ridiculous. The player that was the crux of the argument for a replay (Shaq) is no longer with the team. Now we have off-loaded some players that were in the game.

It won't be a replay, it will be an entirely different game. For a (currently) 9 win Miami team going nowhere! Its not like this game affected their season in some impactful way. Absurd.

I disagree. I think with consistent minutes Salim can help us with that perimeter shooting that everyone has been clamoring for. If you send him out there with Bibby or even Law to create open shots for him he can flourish as a sniper, anyone who saw him play in college knows he can fill it up.

Of course playing him with law would create problems defensively, but bibby can guard a 2 so that could work, and then our 3s 4s and even 5s are so interchangeable that gives u a lot of flexibility for getting guys rest.

Besides, T Lue was a HUGE liability out there on D and that was Woody's guy in the 4th qtr, so I dont see how we can even hold lame duck D against Salim

Marvin Williams is who is. I like the kid but he has absolutely no explosiveness, is not a good on-ball defender and does not block shots. He's not strong or big enough to create space in the paint and cant elevate to finish over people either. He likes to pat the ball on the perimeter but lacks the quickness to go by anybody. His handle, while much improved, is still a liability and he has a knack for losing the ball in key situations late in games.

He has a pretty smooth mid-range jump shot, but is not a good 3 point shooter (one area I expect him to improve upon with that fluid stroke he has, but that will be done in the offseason).

His shot will continue to get better, and he has decent hands. That, combined with his size, will make him a solid pro for years to come. He may one day blossom into a legitimate 3rd option, but I don't see him ever doing more than that.

There are questions about his temperament, too. He is definitely more cerebral (or passive, to use a stronger word), but it's still early to pigeonhole him as a guy who doesn't perform when it matters.

All in all, he just has some major limiting factors (esp. his athletic ability, I was expecting much lighter feet, a quicker and better bounce on him than what he's got when we drafted him) on his potential as anything more than a poor man's Al Harrington.

I hope I'm wrong.

Speedy is going to retire. He and Mike Hampton are going to buy out ASG and change the name to Atlanta Hustlers, LLC.

as it should be. Zaza's game is garbage and he should not start for any NBA team. He should only play 10 minutes a game (if that) to spell Horford. His role is to go get rebounds, foul some people, get scored on, hit his free throws (which he does pretty well) and keep Big Al's seat warm for him.

T. Prince is long, rangy, has a reliable spot-up jumper beyond the 3 point line, has a knack for hitting the big shot and a knack for doing whatever it is that the Pistons need to win a game. He is also quick enough to guard people in space and with his massive wingspan can bother and influence even jumpshots. He also is a reliable and resourceful finisher around the basket.

Marvin Williams is, well, Marvin Williams. I like the kid but he has absolutely no explosiveness, is not a good on-ball defender and does not block shots. He's not strong or big enough to create space in the paint and cant elevate to finish over people either. He likes to pat the ball on the perimeter but lacks the quickness to go by anybody. His handle, while much improved, is still a liability and he has a knack for losing the ball in key situations late in games.

He has a pretty smooth mid-range jump shot, but is not a good 3 point shooter (one area I expect him to improve upon with that fluid stroke he has, but that will be done in the offseason).

I'd say comparing Marvin to Prince is a reach, at best. We also lack the sharpshooting and scoring threat coming off the bench that D-troit has in Jarvis Hayes. Interesting thread, though.

What a complete piece of wafer-thin filler garbage with no substance to it whatsoever.

I'm not saying Joe shouldn't be out there in late game situations. He needs to catch more rest during the first 3 quarters. I would like to see him playing 30-35 minutes a game.

He has to rest Joe more now. One of the main reasons for our recent fade is that Joe is wearing down. It is obvious that he has been on dead legs lately and since our end-game strategy has always been 'give Joe the ball and hope for the best' it has translated to a lot of close losses.

Now we have another playmaker out there and a guy who has built a rep for hitting clutch shots. That will help cover some of woody's deficiencies as an offensive strategist (although, in his defense, players make or don't make plays at this level) and SHOULD translate to some rest for Joe.

Joe's minutes need to decrease so he can get his legs back under him for the playoff push. When Bibby creates JJ is one of the few guys who can knock down a perimeter shot for us, so we need him getting that lift back on his J. We need our main cog (Joe)to get back hitting if we are gonna do anything, even in the Leastern Conference.