tremor

Collins ain't shot blocker or good rebounder. Smoove did great job with help defense and cleaning the glass last night.

Collins would give solid 20 mins if he had better hands. To often either he doesn't catches pass or rebound or gets stripped.

I hope Hawks will take opportunity to roll over tired and unorganized Magic. Howard had cramps last night and they don't have legit back up center. Playing against NO and OKC we need to stop their PGs. Drew has to figure it out by either extending Teague's PT, trying with Jamal at PG (if he's available) and/or whatever he thinks will work. I hope they don't lose to Cleveland like they did in Detroit.

Arenas is a good fit. He brings to the table what Magic have been missing: volume scoring (which VC failed to deliever) and good passing skills (better than Nelson's).

Love is basically Zebo with better outside shot = great rebounder, but getting 2-3 boards a game after their own misses and playing no D whatsoever. I wouldn't trade Smoove for either of them.

I'm not a big fan of all that 'All-Star' thing but AFAIR voters choose only starters. It's irrelevant if Smoove is before or after Boozer, same goes for Bynum.

I can't understand this Bibby on Hamilton thing (and Teague on Hamilton for the short time he was in). LD was maybe scared of Stuckey destroying Bibbs but after couple of easy baskets for Rip he should have find out where the biggest danger lies. Wilkins was actually really the only bright spot off the bench. But he's not offensive threat and points from the second unit were decisive in this game.

He couldn't create for himself and he's not a playmaker. I don't want to defend him, but other guys should have moved a little more without basketball.

It looks like Jamal was really bothered with his contract situation at the beginning of the season hence bad play. Now, when he's convinced that he just needs to play and wait what happens, he plays like he did last year. He's keeper, but for the right price.

Zaza is very consistent. He takes a jumper virtually every time he's open and he misses it every time.

Great news. Joe's smart guy: Couldn't agree more: BTW, Nique should cut praising Damien a little bit, let Bob do the job. I hope Al's fine (Mo could use some break):

First, welcome aboard. Drew did a decent job with changing line ups when players look flat on the floor. The message is simple: if you're not playing with heart, you're going to ride the pine. That's why Mo is still in rotation despite playing really bad as of late. Now, losing so many close games is not a good sign by any measure. "Motion offense" works most of the time, but when quality opponents play at 100% at both sides of the court, Hawks struggle. That's the time when normally plays with JJ as main actor would be helpful (including iso-Joe here and there). In the meantime playing under pressure without Joe needs to be addressed by LD.

I'll second this. He still has problems fighting through screens and catch up with much quicker guys, but when he manages to stay in front of his man he can seriously bother him with his long arms - he had several blocks this season. He's also active guarding PGs trying to deflect their passes, and with some success ( i. e. he quickly caught a pass that supposed to be lob over him in San Antonio - that was impressive defensive play). I'm not sure though if it's contract year syndrome, Drew's hand (has he ever played under good defensive coach?) or JC2's breath on his neck. We'll see how long it lasts. I'd prefer Crawford over Hinrich - none of them is a playmaker, both are little short for SG (Jamal is an inch taller and more athletic), Kirk might be better defender, both are good spot up shooters, but Craw can create for himself, finish at the rim and has much bigger overall impact at offensive end.

I can tell from your post that you watch games unlike some box score reading stats totting expert wannabes.

I hope Josh is healthy and ready to hit some threes.

Mo Evans is so bad that it really can't hurt more to play JC2. We need defensive answer for quick PGs (Rondo, Rose, Nelson, Harris, Westbrook, Paul and so on). I want consistent 15-25 minutes a game for Teague for at least 5 games, together with starters, a real chance to play through mistakes and learn. Majority of you are already convinced that he's trash, but I want an undeniable proof. If he doesn't perform, we need a trade to fix this issue. Improved game planning for 4th quarters.

Very good point. Knicks are 11-1 in last 12, they won 5 games, lost to Hawks and then won another 6 games. I'm a little surprised with this recognition. He's in company of top league scorers and Rondo.

I agree with your points and I'd like to add some more: 5. Prevent Ginobili from warming up. Spurs top scorer can take over the game, as soon as he starts rolling we need to put Wilkins on him. 6. Don't collapse on D. They are deadly from outside - Jefferson, Bonner, and Neal all shoot well above 40% for 3. 7. Use size and athleticism advantage. Spurs play a lot of small ball, Hawks should be able to outrebound them and score inside.

Josh played 23 mins in last game vs Memphis, recorded 7 points and 7 assists.

TBH I didn't realize he was that old. So it has to be Nash for me - at least attendance numbers would go up. Igoudala is close second, esp. if we find a way to ship Marvin with Craw, maybe via three way trade.

Nash and Camby are for 'win now' plan. I like Nash, but not only he's worse defender than Bibbs, he also turns the ball a lot lately. He wouldn't bring Hawks to the next level although would make the team very entertaining. Camby brings rebounding and help defense, however, as last night shows, he can't stop Dwight. Also, he's injury prone. So it's Haywood for me. Better than any of our bench bigs and might get even better.

Al's stats per 36 mins are great, no doubt about it, but Shaq's are even better. Still, right now it's between him and Noah for the second best, we'll see how the things develop. His F/C might work in his favor, last year Gasol was selected for reserves as C despite playing most of his time as PF.

KG will be probably voted in as starter. Stat fills up stats in NY. Boozer has still a time to mark his presence. Then there's Bosh, who after slow start, has been playing well. Brand is having very good all around season and Bargniani averages over 21 pts/game, but both play on bad teams. And as this is about forwards we should remember LBJ, Granger, Pierce and last but least another Hawk having great season, Marvin. At C Dwight starts on 100%, then it's between Noah, Bogut, Lopez and Al (with Hibbert as runner up). I think Boss has more or less the same chances at both positions.

But Hawks fans do the very same thing. When Smoove plays well they praise him and call him the best on the team but when he has bad game they criticize and want him gone. These are double standards in my book.

Name one team for which their best players doesn't start. I believe the two most important parts of the game are the beginning and the end (the third one would be second half start). Every team tries to put the best they have for those moments. This season already Hawks lost a couple of games because they were down by significant margin after slow start. Not playing the best player in any of those parts is a big mistake IMO (or even third best for those who value Josh and Al higher but still the best on the team at his position which only the biggest Joe haters deny) .