benhillboy

Yes. Teague is tops in steals per 48 min too, right? Who is Acie Law The Third? They had a nice little piece in the AJC today about how GM's and Coaches value all these new matrices. Some value them more than others, but mostly everyone finds them useful. When I saw Big Al ranked 5th in total plus/ minus behind 4 surefire Hall Of Famers, I almost hit the roof with joy, but then realized that I wasn't that surprised. I was like "Yeah, I see that."

True. Big ups to the Suns for that one. After this latest injury, I think Oden will forever be a Sam Bowie type. It seems impossible to catch up to the progression and upward career paths of Durant and Big Al AKA Little Unseld AKA Beat Your Whole Team Down The Floor.

I like how Woody has never even entertained his haters in the media, as far as I know. He truly could care less about his detractors. He's like "Iso Joe as usual, stiffling D, blow out teams below us, go toe-to-toe with the elite. You don't like my style? F$#k Y'all. Have a nice day."

Counting on a nice bashing tonight. Boozer, another one of those waaaaay overrated bigs, will see that he can't compete down low with the two-headed monster that is Jal Smorford. He's playing like Utah is the last place he wants to be. I'm sure a coach as respected as Sloan can't stand the guy. Kirilenko is a shell of himself now, chase Okur off the three, disrupt Deron as much as possible, and our starters are bundled up and laughing their a$# off at Collins and cheering for Teague. No world-wide superstars on the Jazz, so the crowd should be pathetic as usual. Let's Go Hawks.

True, every team needs a Zaza. Especially against softer teams down low. He's earning his re-up, which is much more than I can say for Marvin.

Everyone has their opinion as to why the Hawks have ascended to, and looks to stay, in the top quarter of the league. Is it the brass' willingness to stay with Woody, who only improves every year? Is it the growth of the Woody-Joe relationship? The maturity of Josh? Acquiring Bibby and monitoring his workload to maximize him? Strengthening the bench every year? Good coaching staff? Sund's vision? Or is it 1 simple answer? Drafting Big Al. I remember his first few weeks. Out-hustling Shaq. Out-classing Jermaine O'Neal when he was still close to Jermaine O'Neal. It takes Bargnani (I know I'm butchering buddy's name) and Bosh together to keep him off the boards. On to averaging a double-double in a landmark playoff series against the eventual World Champs in Beantown. Sure there are more skilled bigs, but there is no one in the NBA who can out-hustle homeboy. His approach, demeanor, and professionalism has been contagious, which is huge because there were seasoned vets who followed his lead. The only thing I value out of Barkley's mouth is his love for Al. His B-Ball I.Q. and his sense for impacting his team positively for 48 minutes, even when he's sitting, cannot be overstated. Hell, he's number 5 in the league right now in total plus minus behind guys you might of heard of like Kobe Bean, Melo, The King, and Dirk. Wouldn't be surprised at all when he averages well over 4 dimes. A light came on as soon as Al stepped on the floor for us, and it'll only shine brighter as he progresses. The only player on our team who I personally never find fault with, although I still panic a little when he plays point-center with Bibby running right beside him. Let's go Hawks. Do your thing Horf.

I'm an equal oppurtunity Joe basher. There are many better alternatives to his shake-and-bake, fade-away game while guys are standing around. Yeah he was on, but every scoring possession is not a good one, especially when we are clearly at our best when the ball moves. He passed up an easy drive oppurtunity for a missed fade-away from the corner last night. Doesn't get to the line nearly enough for the big boy dolars. Shall I continue?

We have a winning record head-to-head against Denver since last season due mainly to our defense and keeping Melo under control, so I wouldn't say they have a better D than us regardless of crack numbers stat geeks can come up with. A George Karl team great on D? I think not, sir.

I don't have to look at Hollinger's numbers to know that Denver and Phoenix cannot come close to our Defense, let alone the last 8 minutes where a lot of teams in the league have gotten used to packing it in because they simply don't feel like working hard for wasted possesions. Let's go Hawks. Big ups to Mo and Woody, not getting nowhere near enough credit on this mug.

Northcyde, you ask what I've been watching, but did you see him in the playoffs last year? Of course Joe is a damn good player (not great). But all things considered, I simply don't trust Joe when the pressure is on, and those type of guys don't deserve max deals, point blank period.

I'm diggin it. Sure he has shortcomings, but young homie is fearless, and I'm sure he's happy about coming to a squad where he feels no pressure and can play his game. Did yall see Randolph try to dunk and make a fool of himself? Homeboy didn't really have a choice to block it, it just happened. Randolph jumped out from too far, but he tried it anyway. A center who has his two-handed dunk blocked should sit down somewhere. I almost died laughing. "Morris and Marvin" on Comedy Central Thursdays at 10. I'd watch it.

How y'all feeling about Joe's performance so far? It's well known I'm not a J.J. guy, though I always thought that he is as good a man defender as offensive player, if not better many times. Looking at our win-loss, his defense against upper-echelon 2's goes a long way in fueling wins (Wade, Roy, Martin, Iggy, Jesus, etc.) and seems to get him more involved with playing team offense as far as swinging it and making plays for others. We have lost games to teams with no 2 to speak of, so maybe he gets bored without a scoring threat to guard. Of course, a lot of pressure has been taken off of him with the improvement of Al AKA The Big Point, Schmoove, and of course the addition of Craw Dog. I still cringe at those 4-5 dribbles standing still knowing that we have no movement or cuts in our offense, weak turnovers due to careless/ weak dribbling, and those aimless fade-aways from awful spots on the floor. I hate them even when he hits. I always say that Joe is the softest 6'7" cat you'll ever see at the rim, but he has shown flashes here and there catching an alley and tip dunk. Gotta love the floater that he is always improving and tweaking as needed, and they seem to come at crucial times quite often. I can't knock too much on a 21-5-5 guy on a team who is dominating more times than not. What I didn't realize though is that Joe is a career 44% shooter, and is standing pat this year. There is no reason he should be under .465 with less pressure to score with Jamaal in the fold. A career 37% three point shooter, down to .289 should be drastically improved by next month, I hope, since he and Bibs couldn't miss the first three months of last year and Price is still in the gym with them. For a guy who can't jump, improving your boards over your career average by 1 is impressive, and upping the dimes by .5 shows no agenda as far as trying to get more oppurtunities to score or freezing out Jamaal because of a contract year. We need Joe no doubt, especially since it will be impossible to replace him with a comparable 2, and adding a Bosh or a great PG would only throw a monkey wrench into our chemistry and lineup for the sake of replacing his point production, as most players can't guard their position as well as Joe anyway. But he's making $15 mil. C'mon man. Unless he takes a drastic pay cut (which I'm sure he won't), I am not a fan of bringing him back, especially until he shows some cahunas in the playoffs. I'm cool with Joe right now because it isn't all about him. As long as Josh and Al keep the rim off limits, Bibby hits a few trays, Mo has on the utility belt, Craw plays like he's at the Rucker, and Marvin, uuuhh, does Marvin while providing some comic relief, Joe can be quite efficient, stay fresh, and not worry about shouldering the load, something he cannot do on a regular basis, but something he shouldn't be asked to do on a team this good. Defend, Pass, and Run Young Hawks. Let's Go.

One over .500 seems realistic, but I feel kinda spoiled right now and want a little more. I gotta hit the game against OKC and catch Durant glide across the floor, in a tough loss of course. His team's improvement from last year regarding his plus/ minus is historic they said on ESPN, plus the tickets are gonna be on the cheap. I know we started out with a lot of cakewalks, but Orlando and Boston back to back twice in a month? Come on, man. Still, let's go though, Hawks. SIDE NOTE: All we gotta do is substitute blue for yellow on the new uni's and we'll be killin em.

Woody didn't have to admit that: It seemed pretty obvious to me. I would love to see Phil Jackson behind the scenes, though, because it seems like he does a whole lotta nothing, especially since he's always injured with Bynum. His office is probably smoked out with a giant Buddah behind his desk. Him and Odom shotgunning. Phil is the man.

I hate Inside the NBA, but it will be watchable tonight. I expect Big Al to be killin 'em with the shirt and tie combo.

I truly think no one in charge at Sports South has listened to him. How else would you explain him still being here?

Throw his butt around, draw fouls, hit free throws. What else can he do?

A little, but he'd have to be a complete, plum fool idiot to change anything about his current game when we're blowing squads out of the gym. An airball here, a behind the back turnover there. Failing to box out a few times over here. I don't see him being Bad Josh for any extended period, though. He has to be feeling himself and all the love he's getting, so I see him keep keeping on.

All pro athletes have to buy a Bentley or Rolls after they sign a new contract, having no idea how much money will be spent on maintenence and gas through their ownership. It's hilarious, then sad. Those cars are for oil tycoons and Royal Heirs who could care less about how they ride on land. The owners of these companies despise overpaid athletes and celebrities, but still laugh to the bank. They're probably making lemons by now to boost profit because no one is safe in a global recession. A majority of these dudes will be in bad shape much sooner than later. There are more Antawn Walkers and Nicholas Cages than you'll ever hear about, their demise was just so sudden and catastrophic. Budget, Bibby. Budget.

I cannot understand why so many people take his word as law. He rides the same waves as all the other "experts." All of a sudden, we're tops in the league, now it's like he knew it all along. I'd like it better if he were pessimistic about us. Just a stat geek.

The difference is Smoove's maturity, focus, and increasing experience, point blank, period. As long as Bibby knocks down his trays and Joe keeps his mind on team ball movement (as well as he has played, he still is having huge laspes with over-dribbling and forcing poor, contested shots, he's just hitting most of 'em now), I'm cool. Marvin will show up when all the stars align about 2 or 3 times a month. Hell, we're killing squads with no offensive gameplan and Joe caught a put-back dunk, I can't complain about anything. Let's save the Nostradamus predictions, though. Just sit back and enjoy the fact that the Hawks matter.

I prefer Hollinger, Stein, and all of those bandwagoneers to stay far away from what we have brewing. He had the Bucks at the top of the ranking for a week last year: he's just a stat geek.

I'm being realistic. It'll be impossible to play this well for a majority of the season (we're looking like an All-Star second unit), yet we'll still win 50 handily. Playing this well only shows that when we do play poorly, we can still beat good teams at home or on the road. We'll still need out A game for upper echelon squads, and I'm confident that's what the Hawks will present more times than not. Have yall seen the All-Star ballot? Centers in this league are awful. Let's go Al. After Wade of course, you'll be hard pressed to find beter than Joe and Craw. Throw Bibby in simply because he's never been, yet Ilgauskus, Scerbiak, Ben Wallace, and Peja have all been like 10 times between them. Pathetic.

Al and Zaza do their parts on the line too.