lethalweapon3

fixed! I need to get my butt down there for some games. ~lw3

Rip is a gametime decision (groin), as he was day-to-day as of this afternoon, and may want to save his energies for the Bulls' game tomorrow at Auburn Hills. ~lw3

Actually, Joe gets the credits, as he said exactly that in his postgame praise of #1 last night. ~lw3

It's not just Al, but it is seemingly a common page from the entire NBA coaches' and players' media guidebooks. I can't help hearing "we need energy!", without envisioning "jazz hands!" ~lw3

Needing bigs to shore up their woeful defense so far, the Clips had a tough choice to make... Solo? Or Motel 6? Yeah, Solo. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/01/clipper-sign-big-man-solomon-jones.html Good luck Solo! ~lw3

Teague has taken a flat team and, when he's on, gives it a third dimension. ~lw3

Oh ME of little faith. My own frustrations in the 1st quarter was based on this team's historic inability to adjust. LD proved me wrong throughout the game AND with that crucial timeout in the 4th quarter. Was that an actual gameplan that we saw? Well coached, sir. And thank you Teague for coming to play early, big men for getting the rebounds we needed, and T-Mac for sealing the deal late. ~lw3

I dunno about you, but I've been hearing the word "athletic" bandied about so often when media pundits (are forced to) discuss the Atlanta Hawks. Along the lines of "They're still a young, athletic team, but (insert fatal flaws here)." Yet amid the umpteenth blown lay-up/dunk, and the flopped-fish approaches in driving to the rim by several 'core' players, and the seeming decline (until recently) in both turnovers created and points generated from turnovers, over the past couple seasons I'm just failing to see what others are looking at, relative to the rest of the league. While they're not the sole indicators, I'm looking at Joe's approach to scoring, our forwards+centers making moves in the post, our effectiveness in fastbreak situations, and all players' abilities to finish with reasonable consistency at the rim. I'm not so much thinking about the "Jurassic Five" free agent players, just the 'core' players that have been around since the Hawks' playoff runs started. It's a slippery question, because our perspectives of "athleticism" vary, but are the Hawks really above-par in the NBA athletically? If so, is the current offensive philosophy/pace supportive of, or a hindrance to, exploiting that athleticism? If not, what is it that others in the media are looking at? Is it just the relative youth of the so-called core players, the occasional 'highlight factory' play? ~lw3

Oh no, no, no, there will not be major boos directed at Jamal... it's not like he turned down a Hawks offer to play elsewhere. And there will be 'oo' noises when Bibby shows up, only it'll be people screaming, 'shoooooooooooooooooooot!' ~lw3

They were just playing possum. 5-0, baby! (are we looking past the Bobcats?) And HAPPY NEW YEAR! ~lw3

I agree it is Josh who has to transform. I also believe it is the team's and the franchise's responsibility to help him get there, especially knowing, despite all the protests, he is not going anywhere anytime soon. Yet years of coddling, warnings, fans screaming at arenas and pounding out their keyboards at home, sportswriters and bloggers' diatribes, benchings... those approaches have not worked, and will not work. The one thing Josh wants, above all else, is the highlight play. And, blocks notwithstanding, he can't get those without someone allowing him the right he believes he has earned to handle the ball. Indeed, the cure can be worse than the illness. And Josh needs to see the cure first-hand in order to get the clue he needs to get over his illness. Isolate the wound, and instead of the 1-on-none plays that Josh enjoys, play 4-on-5 on half the floor until Josh figures out he can even the odds by putting himself in positions where he can truly contribute. They're willfully going 4-on-5 anyway when he parks himself near the 3-point line. Starve the cold, don't feed it. ~lw3

What's asinine is, giving him the ball over and over, as you say, "doing the same thing expecting a different result." He can't blunder if you don't give him the ball. If he is who he is going to be, stop setting him (and ourselves) up for failure. ~lw3 ~lw3

I am evolving (albeit too slowly) past the point of having perennial conniptions over Josh's decisionmaking and positioning, and instead pointing the wagging finger toward our esteemed coaching staff. We have a roster and a coaching staff chock full of enablers around Mr. Smith (never mind certain members of the ownership group). If you have the ball, and you turn your head to see Josh standing alone by the sideline waiting for an open shot, for chrissakes, turn your head the other way and find a Hawk who's not being doubled. If he's hoisting up prayers masquerading as shots because he can't find an open teammate, then the onus falls on the teammates for failing to get open, and on the coaching staff responsible for not setting up the offense properly. If he's lofting shots up around the perimeter because he's scared to put the ball on the floor and drive, that's on the coaching staff, too... how many more seasons of player development does he need to become comfortable taking the ball to the hole? This team sees the same mistakes that we (and half of America) do, but keeps on feeding him the ball where he's least likely to succeed, knowing that 80% of the time it will result in a doomed possession. Each repeated blunder is indicative a collective failure, not just an individual one. ~lw3

We added Marvin. ~lw3

As a native Philadelphian, I can assure you... boo-birds NEVER disappear. ~lw3

I'm eager to see the ballots before making a full guess, but the vote-in might be Teague this time around. A former lock of a spot may open back up if Deron's shooting and turnover struggles continue for weeks. ~lw3

What I like is he's making a point of getting to the rim, drawing contact, and getting to the line. Yeah, it's just two games, but 8.5 FTA/game is magnifico. Al, Joe, and Jeff: yeah there have been limited minutes, but get your weight up in this department! ~lw3

All above being said, how sweet is it to see Marvin "coming to play" against even the dregs of the league? Used to take an act of nature just to get that out of him. ~lw3

It's the return of HWNSNBM. But a triumphant one? Judging from Wizards fan comments on random blogs, his honeymoon as a starter is just about over. Here's a combined ESPN TrueHoop blogger article on tonight's game... http://www.truthaboutit.net/2011/12/3-on-3-wizards-hawks-back-to-atlanta-what-on-earth-will-jordan-crawford-do.html ~lw3

When in the reply field, Go to "Special BB Code," (3rd icon from the top left), select "Media," then enter your website in the Media URL field. 2/26/2012 is supposed to be the date for the All-Star Game in Orlando, first one in an Eastern Conference town since Philips Arena hosted way back in 2003. ~lw3

Who keeps the reality star off the glass tonight? ~lw3

Sloan: "Darn, thought I caught that fly. Where did it go?" T-Mac: "It's on me. IT'S ON ME!" ~lw3

"And then Cena said, 'U Can't See Me!' And all of a sudden, Big Show came out of nowhere with a chair and..." ~lw3 "You know you eligible to get like FIVE percent off at Denny's now?" ~lw3

Big Easy and Tinseltown have teams in separate divisions. Minor correction, although the "more smoke than fire" point still holds. ~lw3

I'd like to see a maturing set of players who play all the way through the whistle, not just until the first notion of contact, when they have the ball. I want to see our bigs be more comfortable handling the ball in the low post. I want to see a motion offense where players are actively moving to get open for shot opportunities, and not find stations around the arc acting like they'll play "Keep-Away" for 20 seconds before deciding what to do with the ball. For Smoove and Zaza, the grenade rule applies -- the ball should be intentionally out of your hands within three seconds, either by pass or by shot, or you've blown up the entire possession. Joe gets an extended five-second rule when the shot clock is not an issue. I want to see Smoove, Kirk, and Hofo get help with defensive footwork when they've been isolated away from the rim and the ballhandler drives. I would like to see Teague play smarter with his hands on defense, knowing that gambling, swiping, and fouling after the shot is not a defensive strategy. I want to see Marvin living at the rim on both ends. I want to see greater capability of finishing fastbreak opportunities from defensive rebounds and turnovers. ~lw3