lethalweapon3

I'd love to see a '90s Bad Fashion Throwbacks week. Probably about 20 teams that could participate. ~lw3

I think "Classics" is OK, it just doesn't show on the drop-down Links Menu. http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index.php/forum/23-hawksquawk-classics/ If you click on Forums, you'll find it there. ~lw3

A few Q’s, in advance of the digits: Q1: Is Joe being adequately utilized on offensive plays at close range, given his abilities to convert at this distance (shots less than ten feet, not counting dunks or layups) from the basket? And, should Joe drive more often? Joe’s shot volume at this range is down only slightly from the prior season. Q2: Should Joe be used more often as a starter at SF (Last year, he contributed 22% of the Hawks’ minutes at the 3-spot)? Is this question premature, given the lack of another SG under contract? Q3: Is Al getting enough long-range shots (two-pointers beyond 15 feet), a volume that went up significantly from last season? Or should this be the ceiling, with Al working to improve his inside play? Q4: Is having a top-shooting guard from close range, and the top-shooting post player from long range a blessing, or a curse? Now, for the numbers... The Hawks rely on Joe Johnson scoring from spots all over the floor, but there is one area last season where he was hotter than just about anyone. According to Hoopdata.com, there were 44 NBA players attempting at least two field goals per game “between 3 and 9 feet” (i.e., less than ten feet, non-lay-ups/dunks) from the basket last season. Of those 44 players, only three made more than half of their shots from this range, and only Tony Parker converted at a (marginally) higher percentage than Joe Johnson: 2010-11 Top FG% from 3-9 feet from basket (min. 2.0 FGA/gm, 20+ min/gm, 40+ gms): (Player) (FGM) (FGA) (FG%) (Rank) Tony Parker - 1.27 - 2.40 - 52.94 - 1 JOE JOHNSON - 1.54 - 2.92 - 52.86 - 2 Dwyane Wade - 1.45 - 2.88 - 50.23 - 3 Kobe Bryant - 1.48 - 3.07 - 48.02 - 4 Zach Randolph - 2.07 - 4.37 - 47.26 - 5 Brook Lopez - 2.52 - 5.37 - 47.05 - 6 DeMar DeRozan - 0.95 - 2.02 - 46.99 - 7 Tim Duncan - 1.46 - 3.16 - 46.25 - 8 Antawn Jamison - 1.39 - 3.02 - 46.15 - 9 David West - 1.60 - 3.51 - 45.53 - 10 Notables… Dwight Howard - 2.00 - 4.50 - 44.44 - 13 LeBron James - 1.05 - 2.37 - 44.39 - 14 AL HORFORD - 1.05 - 2.40 - 43.78 - 16 JOSH SMITH - 0.84 - 2.08 - 40.63 - 29 Derrick Rose - 0.95 - 2.40 - 39.69 - 31 Chris Bosh - 0.82 - 2.21 - 37.06 - 35 Tyreke Evans - 0.68 - 2.72 - 25.16 - 43 Andray Blatche - 0.63 - 2.55 - 24.54 - 44 Shooting from this range, there are 4 guards ranked in the top 5, and 5 of the top 10, but no others in the top 30. Also, Joe is the only NBA guard making more than 1.5 field goals per game from 3 to 9 feet, and only Kobe Bryant has a (marginally) higher per-minute conversion rate among guards. Joe’s nightly production from this range last season exceeded all guards (and, for that matter, more than half of the starting NBA forwards and centers): Most FGMs per game, and per 40 minutes from 3-9 Feet (FG% in parentheses): Brook Lopez - 2.52 per game, 2.9 per 40 minutes (47.05%) Andrew Bogut - 2.26, 2.6 (41.76%) Amar’e Stoudemire - 2.18, 2.4 (45.33%) Zach Randolph - 2.07, 2.3 (47.26%) Dwight Howard - 2.00, 2.1 (44.44%) Blake Griffin - 1.84, 1.9 (42.54%) Pau Gasol - 1.74, 1.9 (42.94%) Luis Scola - 1.74, 2.1 (42.86%) Al Jefferson - 1.73, 1.9 (43.16%) Darko Milicic - 1.71, 2.8 (39.07%) Roy Hibbert - 1.69, 2.4 (42.55%) Shawn Marion - 1.66, 2.3 (44.78%) LaMarcus Aldridge - 1.64, 1.7 (42.22%) David West - 1.60, 1.8 (45.53%) JOE JOHNSON - 1.54, 1.7 (52.86%) Kobe Bryant - 1.48, 1.7 (48.02%) Joe Johnson by Year from 3-9 Feet: (Season)(FGM/gm)(FGA/gm)(FGM/40)(FGA/40)(FG%) 2006-07 - 1.1 - 2.1 - 1.0 - 2.0 - 51.7% (NBA Rank: 2nd) 2007-08 - 1.1 - 2.2 - 1.1 - 2.2 - 49.5% (NBA Rank: 4th) 2008-09 - 1.5 - 3.0 - 1.5 - 3.0 - 49.8% (NBA Rank: 8th) 2009-10 - 1.8 - 3.4 - 1.9 - 3.6 - 51.1% (NBA Rank: 3rd) 2010-11 - 1.5 - 2.9 - 1.7 - 3.3 - 52.9% (NBA Rank: 2nd) Al Horford’s proficiencies in the 16-to-23-foot range (i.e., 2-point shots from more than 15 feet out) have already been well documented, but here are the 2010-11 rankings: 2010-11 Top FG% between 16-23 feet from basket (min. 2.0 FGA/gm, 20+ min/gm, 40+ gms): (Player) (FGM) (FGA) (FG%) (Rank) AL HORFORD - 2.6 - 4.8 - 53.4 - 1 Dirk Nowitzki - 3.2 - 6.3 - 51.5 - 2 Pau Gasol - 1.3 - 2.8 - 48.7 - 3 Stephen Curry - 2.1 - 4.4 - 48.5 - 4 Ersan Ilyasova - 1.4 - 2.9 - 48.3 - 5 Luis Scola - 2.4 - 4.9 - 47.8 - 6 J.R. Smith - 1.2 - 2.5 - 47.7 - 7 David West - 2.4 - 5.0 - 47.3 - 8 Jason Terry - 2.0 - 4.3 - 47.1 - 9 Kevin Garnett - 2.3 - 4.9 - 47.0 - 10 Notables… Brandon Bass - 1.5 - 3.3 - 47.0 - 11 Kurt Thomas - 1.0 - 2.1 - 46.8 - 12 Ray Allen - 1.5 - 3.3 - 45.8 - 14 Kyle Korver - 1.2 - 2.7 - 45.7 - 16 Chris Bosh - 2.5 - 5.5 - 45.1 - 17 JAMAL CRAWFORD - 1.4 - 3.2 - 44.9 - 18 Chris Paul - 1.7 - 3.9 - 44.8 - 19 LeBron James - 2.4 - 5.4 - 44.6 - 20 MARVIN WILLIAMS - 1.3 - 3.0 - 43.7 - 27 KIRK HINRICH - 1.4 - 3.5 - 40.2 - (>60) (but 45.2% in ATL games only) Kevin Durant - 2.7 - 6.7 - 39.5 - (>60) JOSH SMITH - 1.7 - 4.3 - 39.3 - (>70) JOE JOHNSON - 1.6 - 4.0 - 38.6 - (>70) Derrick Rose - 1.7 - 4.5 - 38.0 - (>80) Kobe Bryant - 2.2 - 5.9 - 37.7 - (>80) Perhaps because of the greater likelihood of an open jumper, frontcourt players make up 4 of the top 5 shooters, and 7 of the top 10. Among players starting at least half of their games at the center spot, Al sank the most shots from this range, and only Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani made more than two shots per contest at this range. Most FGMs per game, and per 40 minutes from 16-23 Feet (FG% in parentheses): Dirk Nowitzki - 3.25 per game, 3.8 per 40 minutes, 51.5% Kevin Durant - 2.65, 2.7, 39.5% Carmelo Anthony - 2.63, 2.9, 41.9% AL HORFORD - 2.58, 2.9, 53.4% Nick Young - 2.52, 3.2, 45.4% Monta Ellis - 2.48, 2.5, 37.8% Chris Bosh - 2.47, 2.7, 45.1% Amar’e Stoudemire - 2.41, 2.6, 44.3% LeBron James - 2.39, 2.5, 44.6% David West - 2.39, 2.7, 47.3% Luis Scola - 2.35, 2.9, 47.8% Andrea Bargnani - 2.33, 2.6, 43.5% Al Horford by Year from 16-23 Feet: (Season)(FGM/gm)(FGA/gm)(FGM/40)(FGA/40)(FG%) 2007-08 - 0.7 - 1.9 - 0.9 - 2.4 - 35.5% 2008-09 - 0.8 - 2.1 - 1.0 - 2.5 - 39.3% 2009-10 - 1.1 - 2.2 - 1.2 - 2.6 - 48.4% (NBA Rank: 2nd) 2010-11 - 2.6 - 4.8 - 2.9 - 5.5 - 53.4% (NBA Rank: 1st) ~lw3

You got it. Also, I didn't know until yesterday but there's a Testing forum out there for us, if we want to play with any new/modified features: http://www.hawksquaw...m/9-test-forum/ ~lw3 Aside: Marvin would like to offer thanks to his teeth whitener. ~lw3

Time to go Standard & Poor's on J-Hey, and downgrade him to AAA? ~lw3

LBJ got him back with that crazy crab dribble on the other end. ~lw3

Should there be any in the Links menu? I'm thinking about adding the Tweeting players' pages linked under "Player/Fan Sites" and guys like Michael Cunningham and Bob Rathbun under "Hawks Related." ~lw3

(test) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5-fFNMXiLU ~lw3 Ah, OK, I found the media link under "Special BB Code." The prior version had a more direct "Add media" icon. ~lw3

I do like the current uni styles, but the silver-gray color with the red and blue has always been a bit too Dixie for my limited sense of taste. If they could work back in a yellowish gold in place of the gray and make it work like CSKA Moscow without being too gaudy I'd be all for it. The yellow can be subtle like the Braves' jerseys. Just no more mustard jerseys, we were a bad optical illusion for too long. I agree they could probably do something with the out-of-bounds portion of the floor as well.

After becoming a starter for the Hawks late in the 1982-83 season, he was traded to the Knicks for Sly Williams and cash. The injury-riddled Macklin would only play 8 more NBA games after that trade, and the Hawks didn't get much more out of Williams (47 games over 2 seasons). Macklin put LSU basketball back on the map, becoming its all-time rebounder, second-leading all-time scorer, and leader of its 1981 Final Four team. His jersey retirement at LSU in 2010 follows a rule that allows coaches discretion in temporarily un-retiring any jerseys retired after 2006. ~lw3

Ba-da-ba-ba-baaaaa... Say, how do we add YouTubes or media now? I was testing the code feature but the post-preview suggests the vid might not post. ~lw3

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/woodson_still_keen_on_job_with_knicks_52MCvvz6b8yFO98yzL3JHO ~lw3

Watch this space!http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jerusalem_countdown/~lw3

It goes down August 26! No, not the Earth, mind you...http://jerusalemcountdown.com/theatersC'mon, Georgia, get with it! Please don't make me have to wait for the DVD giveaway at Chick-fil-A! And don't make me have to roll all the way over to the Highway 2 Heaven Biker Church (if they do, those folks better have some Goobers and Twizzlers!)~lw3

You read that right, we all did. We even heard him say it. What's new is this seller-financed deal as reported by Forbes. As macdaddy correctly notes, "it's just a loan." But he could've gotten a loan from anywhere... why the seller? What is in it for A$G to participate in this rare transaction? My suspicion is that the benefits to A$G are more than financial. ~lw3

So if it's true that A$G is not going to be as free-and-clear as we've been led on to believe, how strong is the possibility over the next 5 years that when Meruelo says, "I call the shots around here," that MGJ and Ruthie are not above him doing their best Jim Henson impressions? ~lw3

One more good one by the Worldwide Leader in Sports, Forbes magazine: http://www.forbes.co...ced-by-sellers/ ~lw3

Q: Is it possible to be a billionaire and not make the Forbes 400/Fortune 500 or whatever? Aside: http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2011/08/09/hawks-new-owner-alex-meruelo-must-combat-a-spirit-of-fan-apathy-in-atlanta/ (Anytime I need scintillating discussion about Wall Street business transactions, I turn to Sports Illustrated... When did Forbes start writing like this?) ~lw3

I know this is old, I just never get enough chuckles from this. HA should've pulled that stunt while he was with us! ~lw3

Here is an article referencing Sedric Toney, 1985 3rd-round pick, as he was training eventual Miami Heat guard Norris Cole and the undrafted guard David Lighty here in Atlanta, in preparation for the NBA Draft. His company, S.A. Toney and Associates, also co-sponsored this celebrity golf tournament during NBA All-Star weekend in 2009. Toney has also been a color commentator for college hoops games on ESPNU. He was waived by Atlanta before the 1985-86 season started, then became "Mr. 10-Day" with short mid-season stints annually at Phoenix, New York, and Indiana. Toney was also on the expansion draft pickups for the Charlotte Hornets. The Hawks re-signed him in 1989 and he had his greatest run of 32 games as a bench player, before being shipped with Antoine Carr to acquire Kenny "The Jet" Smith from Sacramento. The lowly Kings let Toney finish the season as a starter alongside Vinny Del Negro, but he would not be resigned as a free agent until a final 10-day contract with Cleveland. ~lw3

For those that need a little more Googs in their day... http://www.nba.com/v...=575&height=324 ...here he is just a couple weeks ago repping the Hawks at the Atlanta Tennis championships. Googs' opponent for tennis and H.O.R.S.E. is someone I would never challenge to anything involving endurance. (If the link doesn't work, refresh the page in the new window) ~lw3