MarylandHawk

Dre is is a very important piece and he has shown he can be a great defender, but…. He is throwing off the pace of the team. His off the ball movement on offense and defense is concerning. He is not cutting to the basket, not getting down the court fast enough on breaks, and not crashing the boards. I think this team is settling into their “roles” too much and watching each other play instead of constantly moving to get open or and anticipating a miss by their teammates. Last year Kevin Heurter excelled at doing that. Dre needs to be a little more urgent in his play.

Tell that to the “physical” Knicks and Sixers.

Troll much?

“Trae is playing like shit.” Lol at that statement. Averaging 25 and 10. After everyone in the league is gunning for him and referees changed the rules on him. How soon we forget. Most of your other observations I can get behind.

Correct. I am talking about Cam’s role. He literally was drafted to compliment Trae. That means eventually starting. Also, Travis said out of his own mouth that Cam has the highest potential on the team. No disrespect to Ginobli, but he was an amazing role player working in the Popovich system with a blue chip Tim Duncan. Trust me, I would be happy if we won 3 championships with Cam coming off the bench, but I think he is being groomed to be a starter with all-star potential.

Cam will be more than that. Nate is doing the right thing by making him earn a bigger role on the team. He is giving him the green light on the second unit both to build his confidence and getter better production out if him. Once it “clicks” for Cam, it will be obvious that he can be one of the best players on the team. Bogi’s veteran experience is the only bar left for Cam to overcome.

Be careful what you ask for…

We will see the team’s mentality against Cleveland. If they have a let down and do not beat a team they are supposed to beat, they may not be ready to take the next step. Cleveland has had our number the last few games.

I was actually thinking that this team is better than the 60 win atlanta team from before. I figured 20 losses was realistic albeit on the homer side. Lol.

I love the D D D Unit!

The seats were sold. Late arrivals is the issue. Marta may have something to do with that. Also, Braves were playing for a chance at a world series appearance. Thousands of the same fans were there at the park. We good.

Under 50 Over 35% Over 40 games under 10 mins under 8 mins

62 and 20 Trae, JBap, CC Deuce Coop, JJ, Lou, Solo Deuce Coop JBap, Gallo, Bogi, Trae, KVON

Great interview. The guy asking questions did a good job to making him feel comfortable answering questions. He didn’t ask those “gotcha” questions but had some good ones in there.

It doesn’t matter. What they don’t realize is that Trae made 1st team all star the year before he mastered the foul baiting. So yeah, all they are doing is poking the bear.

I love what I am seeing from Cam. He has the green light on the 2nd unit to out up shots and be aggressive. He is going to average about 12 attempts per game. Some of his shots may look rushed or aggressive, but that exactly what coach is looking for from him. He will get better with his decision making as the season goes along. He will go on hot and cold streaks, but the important thing is consistently get his shot attempts. His defense remains stellar.

Or OO17.

Lol. I can’t front, he does seem to explode when he gets hit. But he has got to be stronger than Trae. He should be able to anticipate contact and use his and the defenders momentum to his advantage. If he does this through out this season, I will come back here to point it out.

Delon better watch out. If Sharife takes advantage of his opportunity, he might not get a chance again. Lol. I just finished watching the Brady 6. We might need to rename it the Cooper 6 after this preseason game.

You right about him not being stronger than the guys he is running into but the question is why is he always diving into players when he can pump fake and take a slight bump and take the shot? Or do a hesitation move and catch the defender off balance And then make contact where he has the momentum? Those are the nuances that Trae uses to get the and 1s. He will get there as long as he gets the opportunities to figure this out.

Yeah, the playing through contact thing is more mental than physical. It is like someone told to “not be scared and that you have to be tough and play through players as you go to basket. Draw fouls and get to the line.” He is literally trying to do that and just running into people. The other thing he is still doing is trying to beat people with “moves”. I remember LP saying this to him. He has to use his moves to dictate what the defense does and then take what they give him. He is just doing the move hoping it will work and then just commits to shooting. Whenever the defense isn’t fooled by the move he just dives into them. But again, the only thing that can fix that is experience.

Is Josh Smith posting on these boards? Lol. Man Josh is the ultimate “What If?” Player is Hawks history.

I read somewhere that he lost the fat but gained 8 pounds in muscle. You can tell he is in the best shape of his career so far.

Streaks like that happen when mins are inconsistent and he doesn’t really know where his shots will come from. Nate has to run set plays for him early to get him in a rhythm similar to what he did for Bogi midway through the season. The one play Cam runs to perfection is the curl screen from right arc toward the left side of the basket where he is fed near the paint and he goes on to finish with his left hand. By the way his left hand finishes are a thousand times better than his two handed finishes or right hand finishes. If he knows where and when to take his shots and he has a few set plays for him, his percentages will go up. He is still behind the curve on driving to basket on isolation plays. That will only get better through trial and fire.

Agreed. I liked Josh Smith and wish he either developed that jump shot he wanted to shoot so bad or focused on being a true PF.