bleachkit

15 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

We flipped core pieces for future picks and TPEs, Clint has regressed massively, Gallo got old. The emergence of JJ, Hunter figuring things out, and maybe Vit becoming something is the light at the end of the tunnel. If we want to roll with Trae and Murray (or have no choice) then I think our biggest hole atm is the C spot with Clint just not being good enough anymore. We need a defensive anchor, and OO just is too small. 

It's easier to get specific top level role players than a superstar, which is what you are going to need to pair DJM with to ever make a run. 

You think Trae and top level players gets it done? That's a tough sell for me. 

4 minutes ago, hawkman said:

You build with a guy like DJ, but you build around Trae. The Hawks did it in '20-'21 and the results were immediate. The Hawks were not a super team by any means. Heck, the guys they put around him weren't even All Stars. There's no reason that can't be duplicated. For some reason, management completely abandoned what worked. 

That's kind of my argument. Maybe DJ isn't quite as good as Trae, but maybe he's not as limiting either. It seems like getting the fit right around Trae isn't easy. We need a certain type of center, a certain type of wing, etc. I'm not just not sure Trae is worth that type of all encompassing roster construction where every decision has him in mind. If the right Trae trade is out there, and that's a big if of course, I would strongly consider it. 

How do we get Trae and DJ as a fit on defense? I'm not sure that's going to be possible. At the very least having Trae out is giving management a look at what a post-Trae Hawks team might look like, so it is providing a new perspective. 

On 3/24/2024 at 6:07 PM, RedDawg#8 said:

Starting to think this is our version of tanking. We are virtually locked in to our play in seed as well as our draft seed.

If we had something on the line, I bet Trae, OO and JJ would all be out there playing through soreness.

I think there is a reason DJ, CC and Dre have been playing some of their best basketball of late, increasing their value ahead of the offseason compared to where it was at the deadline.

I definitely believe there is more to this team as of late than the “we just have bad injury luck” narrative.

I hope everyone recovers soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if we take our time with guys or see more surprise setbacks/injuries.

Guess the team didn't get the memo. Clearly guys are playing hard and playing to win.

1 hour ago, terrell said:

I’m not going to say the Hawks are better without Trae. But I think we have enough of a sample size to say they are not demonstrably worse...................................

22-29 with

10-10 without

 

Not better, per se, but perhaps more egalitarian and team oriented. 

6 guys in double figures. 

We are just flat out playing team basketball. This is so liberating.

7 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I think we are locked in at #10 seed for the play-in. Nets keep losing, 6 straight for them.

They are 5.5 games back of us with 12 to go. Basically no chance for them to catch us. 

Man, one of our best offensive games of the year. Great job Hawks!

5 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

If Vit can fix his shooting he can be 'something'

 

 

That was nice. I noticed that move during the game.

Sac has a favorable schedule. Odds are probably in our favor. 

54 minutes ago, kg01 said:

That ain't a slump bro.  It's regression to tha mean..... 

He has 4 years of shooting 40% or above from three on the books. This is definitely a slump. 

3 minutes ago, AHF said:

You seriously can't be naive enough to think that teams won't do this, right?  We just saw Luka do it last season down the stretch.  Besides they don't even have to do pure fraud.  What athlete at this level doesn't have something going on?  When a team wants to shut people down, it will do so.  And the NBA will be loathe to call attention to it because of the damage to the brand.  Only the most egregious cases will ever see the light of day for discipline.  

This is like saying no NBA player will flop because there is a rule against it and refs to enforce it.  Give me a break.

Well are players on the injury list that aren't actually injured? I guess we can't know for sure, but I'm assuming the league is keeping an eye on these things.

52 minutes ago, AHF said:

Agree, GM!  Big gap between the letter of the law and how things actually play out.  

The league strongly frowns on malingering. Plus physicians have to sign off on things. By endorsing fake injuries they would be committed fraud. 

On 3/18/2024 at 11:54 AM, AHF said:

I would be interested to know how many of those Grizzlies minutes are guys not being able to play and how many are the fact that they saw this was a lost season and shut people down to tank.  No argument that they have had a lot of missed time.  I just suspect they have also erred on the side of caution with their players (to be generous).

If I understand correctly, teams can no longer not play guys for non injury related reasons. I'm not sure how the enforcement works though. 

3 minutes ago, Threezus said:

So far on the 11 game stretch since Trae went down we are giving up about 105 ppg which would have us #1 in PPG on defense in the league this year.    Compared to 121 ppg with Trae for the year.  Look i love Trae as a player and appreciate what he can do with the ball.  But that is a massive difference going from near dead last to 1st in defense over a 10+ game span.

Maybe we should keep DJ and trade Trae. I know for some its unthinkable, but it's worth considering. 

Once we get OO and Kobe back, we will be a defensive monster. 

Hawks have played excellent defense tonight. Very pleasantly surprised. 

3 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

First basketball player to get Tommy John surgery, Mouhamed Gueye. 

6 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

And worst thing about CC is that his decline has been pretty consistent and gradual. There is zero reason to assume he'll turn it around, and a safe bet he continues to get worse. The more we wait to move him the less his value will be. Should have moved him probably two years ago, at this point it just seems like the team will have to cut him or move him for nothing. 

There's only one year left on his deal. I'm guessing he will be traded as an expiring at some point. 

Pairings can take time to work. For years critics said the Brown/Tatum pairing wasn't working. Now they are dominating, of course their roster is better overall. 

2 hours ago, Atlantaholic said:

Hunter will never, ever rebound. We must accept that now. 

Some guys just don't have a knack for it.

7 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Crazy how the Falcons got talked out of adding Lamar, who won the MVP.  But then turn around and overpay for Cousins, who has 1 playoff win in his career.

Lamar was the perfect fit.

How were they going to get Lamar? He's been under contract with the Ravens. There are no reports the Ravens were seriously entertaining a trade. 

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I didn't mind the Cousins deal. First of all, we didn't trade for him, so no draft capital was expended. Yes he's coming off an injury but all reports suggest he's on target to recover. He's not a guy who relies on athleticism anyway. And yes the deal is a lot of money, but it's really only two years of big guaranteed money, and then a partial commitment to year 3. He's a consistent guy, who knows how to get the ball out on time. I don't see any reason why he couldn't be successful here. Now the Falcons can let the draft come to them, they don't have to reach for a quarterback or make a deal with the devil trade to move up.