lethalweapon3

For the RedBirds... * Do our starters set the tone right away, against a below-average team playing its second night of back-to-backs on the road? * How well our bigs rebound against Gasol, Zach, and "Deer-in-the-Headlights" Thabeet * Joe moving without the ball in the new offensive schemes * Marvin looking for the ball (please?) in the new offensive schemes * Smoove's positioning on the floor in the new offensive schemes * Bibby with less switching help on defense * Jeff getting around defenders and making sensible decisions * Mo and J-Pow vs. Sam Young and Darrell Arthur * CrawSonny doing anything highlight-worthy * Zaza being Zaza For the BlueBears... * How well Mayo and Conley work together in the backcourt * Have OJ and Rudy improved defensively at all? * How rusty is Henry after the contract squabbles? * With OJ back at SG, does Tony Allen have, like, a role? * Acie's Revenge!!! ~lw3

Pretty much. But not so much "mad" as "frustrated," given that Tyler was to be, by now, the best steady option they could throw out there at PF (sorry, Solo), and given O'Brien knows he needs all the help he can get to avoid the hot seat this year. At this point, O'Brien would just as well settle for Detective Scottie Ferguson if he could play... http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201010040321 ~lw3

This is an excellent question! Across the board, with a squad more focused on speed and collective production than efficiency and possession-control, I expect some players' stats to decline a bit even though their on-floor play improves significantly. No-Mo-Iso-Joe comes to mind in this regard. I'd look for the Joshes to be the most noticeably improved. Still getting hacked a ton, Cap'n Smoove will play to the whistle rather than the contact, allowing him to focus on finishing plays in the paint. I expect fewer mental flameouts, save for the occasional periods when he's getting hacked in blowout situations (LD will probably have J-Pow in there instead, an option we didn't really have last year). More time on the court will lead to more offensive boards, steals, swats, and halfcourt assists, generating better opportunities for his teammates. More than any of the other starters, I'll be thrilled if he avoids spending more than three seconds of the shot clock with the ball in his hands. He does these things, and sets himself up every time no more than 10 feet from the basket, and he'll be a shoo-in as a coaches-selection All-Star this time around. I look for J-Pow to vastly improve his shot selection (he's VERY jumper-happy -- 61% of his FGAs are jumpers and he makes less than a third of them) and commit to becoming more of a defensive disruption. When our backups are in, he must become the inside option; he's got to get in the paint and to the line. On both ends of the floor, he can approximate the energetic play we've come to expect when Smoove's head is in the game. He does this and he'll turn around his perennial bottom-of-the-barrel plus-minus ratings. The Joshes are hometown products who want to be on the floor and impress. They'll both be under pressure to earn their time on the floor, now that Horf can slide over to PF with greater comfort, bolstered by better and healthier options backing him up at C. ~lw3

Joe's the fastest? Oh dear... And was there a Prada man-purse waiting at the finish line? That's the only way I could explain Zaza Bolt. ~lw3

There would be no reason to offer a hint about "a 7'2" center from the Pacers" when there is only one such center on Indy's roster. The player they'd much rather move is Tyler Hansbrough, whose vertigo issues has limited his practice time and thereby shortened O'Brien's patience. More likely they want a PF and would be interested in moving some combo of Foster/McRoberts/Solo, Rush/Dahntay, Ford/Stephenson, and Dunleavy/Posey. ~lw3

Just a note for the legions of romantic-comedy film fans on here. Or a salve, in case you get dragged to see it. I didn't see specific Hawks in the credits, and the only NBA player I see listed is Steve Nash. http://www.thespec.com/whatson/artsentertainment/article/264290--life-as-we-know-it-is-heigl-s-best http://www.seattlepi.com/movietimes/moviepn.asp?movieID=91920 ~lw3

Worth noting that the Chat feature is part of the member bar on the bottom of the page (formerly on the top bar) as well? ~lw3

Pretty hypocritical of me to say so since I'm going (b'day gift), but I'd save my money for an early regular season game. Or, show up instead on Sunday for the free scrimmage among the players themselves. I get the impression that the learning process for Drew's gameplans will extend well beyond the preseason, so you won't miss much by not attending a preseason game. Looking at Ticketmaster though, the turnout is supposed to be pretty decent (did A$G give tix away?) ~lw3

It's not scheduled to be on either Fox Sports South or Sport South as far as I can tell. NBA TV will be showing Celtics vs. Nets at 7 PM. ~lw3

Braves:Phillies::Hawks:Magic? ~lw3

Open Practice scheduled for Sunday, October 10, tentatively scheduled for 1:30 PM. http://hawksbasketblog.com/2010/09/27/open-practice-set-for-october-10th/ ~lw3

<--- Having fun envisioning candidates for Marvin's "power animal" (I'm on "ostrich" right now). ~lw3

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/blogs/104085574.html Well, that didn't last long... ~lw3

Probably of interest to somebody around here... http://atlanta.sbnation.com/atlanta-hawks/2010/9/30/1722730/nba-2k11-hawks-starting-lineup-ratings ~lw3

Repondez s'il vous plait (link)

Lil' Mora: "Is this your first interview? JC, what kind of questions are these?... Yeah, you are a real joy, thanks!" Gottlieb was filling in for Colin Cowherd for ESPN Radio. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akKjLWG0KG4 ~lw3

Open Practice scheduled for Sunday, October 10, tentatively scheduled for 1:30 PM. http://hawksbasketblog.com/2010/09/27/open-practice-set-for-october-10th/ ~lw3

http://www.birdwatchersanonymous.com/2010/9/9/1679841/thrashers-diversity In a major Af-Am spending market, will the A$G's marketing team be able to parlay this development into better attendance numbers? ~lw3

As long as JaCo ain't on the Whitney diet, we're cool. ~lw3

Nothing we haven't already parsed apart here. http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17441 ~lw3

http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index.php/topic/351982-rip-jorge-gonzalez/

More on Ravin: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846194302172029.html

http://www.nba.com/hawks/photogallery/Media_Day_Photos.html ~lw3

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sports/2010-09/22/c_13524223.htm http://kenvibez.blogspot.com/2010/09/joseph-ouma-of-mombasa-geoffrey-oteky.html http://www.busiweek.com/10/page.php?aid=1317 ~lw3

Just an fyi (via http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17435) GSW's Press Release: ~lw3