Crank

Wade and Rondo should be the starters and after Joe the best player on a top 3 team who else on those other squads are playing better basketball than Crawford this season . Arenas ? no Jennings ? he had a good week and now is overhyped Rose ? I could see it if the Bulls come on strong the next few weeks VC ? I could see VC going as the second player from a top 3 team Mo Williams ? after his whining last year and then flopping in the playoffs they would just send Shaq who I will get to a in a moment I could see the the Big three making it again as Ray-Ray is having a quality season but when you start ranking our players based on their play THIS YEAR against the play of others at the same position in the conference for THIS YEAR we have 4 players who are legitimately playing top 5 at their positions this year SO FAR As Horf the only thing holding him back right now is his double doubles imo No way Shaq is even in the picture with his play so far . he would have to have a heckuva month and push the cavs to the league best record by February to be considered Top two seed by February and we should have 3 easily barring some dramatic dropoff in their play . I doubt we get 4 but we are certainly in position to have a chance at 3

Trujerz I would agree with you but once you actually put the numbers up side by side Crawford is playing just as well as anyone of those guards if not better and hes coming off the bench . The key being the teams record. VC- 19 ppg 2 apg and 5 rpg 40% fg #1 team in the east Ray- 16 ppg 3 apg and 2 rpg 47% fg #2 team in the East 35 mpg Harris- longest losing streak in league history unless they pull to within .500 by the all star game no way he gets one vote from a coach Arenas 20 ppg 6 apg 3 rpg 4 tpg 39% fg #9 team in the east 36 mpg Jennings 21 ppg 6 apg 3 rpg 42% fg #6 team in the east 35 mpg lost 5 of last 6 Mo williams 17 ppg 5 apg 3 rpg 45% fg Tied for #3 team in the east 36 mpg Jamal Crawford 17 ppg 3 apg 2 rpg 46%fg tied for #3 team in the east 30 mpg Ben Gordon 19 ppg 3 apg 2 rpg 44% fg tied for 12th in east 36mpg lost 8 of last 9 Crawford and Gordon are the only two coming who will be coming off the bench Rondo Wade PIERCE Lebron Dwight Bosh or Pierce could trade spots depending on fan voting Smoove JJ Rose KG I put one of the last two spots as being up for grabs between one of the top 4 teams in the conference Bos,Atl,Cle,Orl based on how well both they and there teams play I think they all have a legit shot at getting the next 30 days will tell the tale imo Mo williams Crawford VC Horf The last spot will be rewarded to someone from a losing team playing well or some 40% Arenas Gordon Granger Jennings Iggy or some nutz may try and push AI gonna be a interesting 6 weeks but i feel very good about our chances to land 3 guys especially if we have the #2 record in the east or better

Crawford actually has a good shot just looked at that the numbers this morning Dwade JJ Gordon Iggy are the 4 scoring guards that average more points than Crawford and all of them have been starting except Gordon who just started coming back off the bench last night Crawford is shooting a better percentage from the field than all of them he is 19th in the conference in scoring overall if you look at point guards Rondo Derrick rose Mo williams with Jennings and Arenas scoring 20 ppg but shooting 40% and both of their clubs are under .500 So it becomes a matter of us finishing at least second with Crawford maintaining his current pace . then its up to the coaches after the fan vote in the starters each coach is asked to pick 7 players from their particular conference . One for each spot and then two wildcard and these picks dont have to matchup with the ballot as far as positions go so they could put Horf in at forward if they wanted to as well. Joe should be a lock for the coaches first sg spot and if Crawford continues his current pace and we are the second seed then Crawford should get one of the wildcard spots. For Horf to be considered he has to get his boards back to double digits . Traditionally the top team in each conference can get 3 players if they have 3 that are playing well enough.

Minnesota sucked with KG that team even with KG was on a serious decline . The clipps suck with Baron who showed up ginormous after he signed that fat deal and the Bobcats sucked with Jrich who they then dealt to the Suns . The warriors have sucked for a quite a while one good season wouldnt have changed anything The clippers had sucked with brand and the Sixers suck with him now The grizzlies sucked with Gasol The sonics were on the decline why would a team without a #1 pay someone they know is not one #1 money when they know he wont affect there win total The Big three were declining and all were making a big money they made in the playoffs in 06 and then went .500 the next season their age was showing and there was no really coming . Again its no so much losing those players that hurt but what those teams got in return and how they fit into the teams plans going forward .

lol Ive heard the salt lake is great . But thats why they are dream scenarios in that situation you want to think big and be creative . For the rest of the season the Jazz would have Okur Milsap Marvin JJ Dwill and if they offered to give JJ his money why would he care as they are still a winning team ? I know its a culture thing but a full max deal is still a full max deal . Also if Boozer walks the jazz are still over the cap and have already paid for his replacement in Milsap. Just tossing it out there because Im thinking this may be the Jazzs last chance to keep D.Will because if Boozer walks I just dont see him staying in Utah .

Utah - Boozer,Harrping +,knicks pick for ATL - Joe and Marvin we get possible cap space but a surefire chance at John Wall

What has happened in the past is irrelevant . The fact remains that this team is the most talented team that Joe has played on in ATL . Do people really think so little of Joe that they feel he is not smart enough to even think for himself when in pertains to the best interests of the team ? Do people really think that Woody wants Joe to shoot regardless of if he is not making them this year when other guys are making shots ? The entire point of the isolation offense is to break your man down and if you draw an extra defender you make the pass.Joe has not done that and he has no one to blame for that but himself . The real question becomes is does Joe want his stats to get what he thinks is more money as a result or does he want to advance further in the playoffs ? This type of situation to me speaks about whether or not Joe can take another step and become a franchise player who deserves every penny he seeks or is Joe just a good player who has taken the team as far as he can take them. Is the team outgrowing Joe ?

your post is exhibit #1 for the nonsense that I was talking about . I never said Crawford id have a bad game ? I said some fans like to exaggerate things and lose sight of the facts and your post proves exactly that . we have played 14 games and in 7 of those games Crawford has given us over 20 points off the bench Crawford is 11th in scoring among sg including starters His FG% is 11th among sg including starters He is attempting 13 shots per game Again he shot poorly against Orlando but so did everyone else how many shots did he take ? was it 20 or 25 no it was 13 shots Those are the facts and when you take into account that he comes off the bench and when he came into the game in the 3rd quarter against Orlando the magic were already in the middle of 16-7 run but why let the facts get in the way . Crawford took 6 shots in the first half and 7 in the second half . The entire team lost the game but your post seems as though it was pre-typed and you were just waiting to post it .

What do you mean by ghetto ball player ? be more specific... on second thought no need I already know what you are about and no need to bring any more of that to the board

If teague wants minutes he has to play better PERIOD !! What coach is gonna take the ball out of the hands of two proven nba veteran scorers so we can run iso-teague ? Why does teague need to dominate the ball when hes in the game ? hes never been a big assist guy even in college he is a scoring point playing behind 3 good veteran nba players who all can score as well. Just being a 1st rd pick doesnt mean you play just being on the roster doesnt mean you play . I know its easy for peeps to want to blame Woody but I this case that Teague not playing more falls squarely on Teague . Every player matures at their own pace . Just because we all decide teague is ready for minutes doesnt mean he actually is ready for minutes .I fully expect that by the time the season ends that Teague will be playing around 18-20 mpg and with the current setup of the roster and the roles available to him that all he should get barring serious injuries to the 3 guard ahead of him.Considering his role could change drastically if JJ leaves thats by far the best role for him right now .

yeah hes a good spotup shooter for the corner but hes a much better scorer than he is shooter but if you put him at the top of the key with the ball then that puts JJ in the corner and JJ doesnt like playing without the ball too much . So thats something that Woody has to fix as far as tossing in a few more offensive sets and I noticed he has Crawford handling the ball more in the 3 guard set which something he hadnt really done for about 3-4 games. We also get a great shot just about everytime Crawford runs screen and roll I would rather us do more of that then ISO-jamal . Al really could open his game even further by improving his footwork on those rolls as well. As for the Flip/Craw comparisons I just dong it . There really is no comparison as they are two very different level of players here . Flip had 10 games all of last season out of 80 where he scored 20+ points . Crawford has 6 games of 14 so far with 20+ points Crawford is on a different level from Flip .

Historically the team with the best conference record has gotten 3 players in . If you look at the overall landscape of the East right now 4 hawks realistically have a chance . Joe,Crawford,Wade,Vince ,Rondo at the guards with Gordon also right in the mix as well as the rook Jennings if he continues at his pace and the Bucks keep winning Bosh,Lebron,Granger,Lewis ,Iggy, and Smoove with KG also gonna get strong consideration Howard,Al with Bargnani with Bogut right in the mix . If all 4 of our guys continue their level of play then they will probably get in not all as starters though

The points arent as important as the aggressiveness imo . The second unit needs a starter to stay on the floor with them so he has to remain focused and active even when his shot isnt falling. What we are gonna need from him by the time the playoffs come is for him to be a steady contributor on the glass .He will get his scoring opportunities he is too good of a player surrounded by too many other weapon to not eventually end up with solid numbers

His job is to be in attack mode every second that hes on the floor . What I like is that in his last 5 games 13,10,10,14,15 those are shots per game the last 5 games that is quite excellent because in the two games where he was off he only took 10 shots in each of those games . Considering the cries of how he was gonna be going 4-17 and such I will take an occasional 3-10 those especially considering he was basically sitting in the corner shooting threes in those games. I like what Im seeing through the first 15 from everyone I dont think anyone couldve asked for more . The one thing I really like from Crawford right now is the last 4 games 9 steals and 2 blocks Ill take that from someone who apparently "doesnt play any defense at all." Just need to continue to build on it .

minutes are earned by not only your play in practice but your play on the court . There is no reason whatsoever to give Teague token minutes in fact this is the perfect time to make him scratch and claw for any minutes he does get as it will only make him better when he does finally earn the minutes . I said it before the season even started that without a summer league Teague wont be getting consistent minutes until after the the new year . There is just too much for him to adjust to right now concerning how the game is called ,The flow of the game and his role when he comes in the game . Bibby was a pretty polished college point guard coming out of college . Brooks was NEVER lost he was contributing as a rookie in spot minutes because he was able to come in and run the club behind Alston. Again he was a pretty solid point guard coming out of college . Haywood has had 8 years to get his head on straight and hes 29 years old lol

thats not accurate. Depth is not the bench stepping in every night and playing perfect because that would make for one of the greatest teams in the history of sports . Good depth is not judged by the unit as a whole but on the ability of each of the players on the bench to contribute consistently when called upon . If you look at all the great benches in the history of the league you had the one or two mainstay off the bench and then 2-3 other guys who can come up big at various times. I remember when the Celts had Big Baby,Powe,Cassell,Posey,House and they didnt get great play from those guys as a unit everynight . They all stepped up at various times off the bench though and thats what made them great . Someone would step up and make a play .

You win as a team and you lose as a team .

yeah but that pretty much says it all . There were some claims that the only reason he scored so many points was because he was ballhog but as weve seen he is a 20 ppg game scorer in the nba because thats what his actual talent level is . Hes getting 18 ppg on 12 shots and is getting to the line over 5 times a game in 29 minutes .He is showing that he is a severely underrated player in the nba.

First off Lue and Flip are journeyman nba players who are fringe nba rotation players but they were all we had and you make do with what you have to try and compare them to Crawford is a joke... it really is . To ignore the difference in talent level and experience between the teams is also pretty silly as well. What games out of these first ten have Crawford been ignoring open teammates ? JJ left Phoneix because he didnt want to be the 3rd guy he wanted to be the man? talk about blatantly ignoring well established facts . Crawford did not lead the knicks in 05-06 Stephon Marbury did 2005-2006 knick stats =0 and he only started 27 of the 79 games he played in as well so he was coming off the bench....well so much for being the main offensive weapon when you are coming off the bench ... Maybe you should stop quoting people from Sekou's blog and spend a little bit more time getting your facts straight. If JJ were to leave I stand by my statement that we wouldnt see iso joe anymore .Does that mean we would drop all isolation plays ? heck no but I think with Al and Smooves growth that we would post them, up more and run more pick and roll game with Crawford /Al+Smoove .

Jamal led the Bulls in scoring because they traded away Jalen Rose after the season started who was the Bulls leading scorer .He started the year at pg according o the Bulls site He led the knicks in scoring ONE time but that knicks team was never built around him .He led the team in scoring because Marbury imploded and quit on the team after 10 games or so . Monta Ellis was coming back from injury and didnt return until midseason but Jackson and Maggette were taking all the shots .It was never Crawfords team and he was never the offensive focal point. Marbury wasnt injured he got into an argument on a plane with the coach and quit on the team . He returned several days later but then took a leave and then eventually decided to have surgery . the Knicks leading returning scorer that year was Eddy Curry who saw Zach Randolph and basically ate his way out of the league . Not one time was Crawford ever the PLANNED focal point of the offense going into the season until last year just before he was traded , In every other year before his last one there was someone else who the offense was supposed to run through . I dont need a knick fan to tell me that when they traded two # picks for Eddy Curry that he was the focal point or that Marbury and his 18 mil + was considered the franchise. Thats pretty much common knowledge . You assume that if Joe leaves that Woody will return.I assume that if Joe leaves that it wont be the only shakeup that occurs . If Joe is traded at the deadline then of course I would expect Woody to continue with his current offense until the end of the season but if Joe is allowed to walk and we have an entire offseason to plan it would be crazy to assume that Woody would be back and that if he did come back he would ignore the improvements of Josh and Al and still run isolation through Crawford who would be in his final year ' Where did I say Crawford is less selfish or that JJ even was selfish . Im not living in a dreamworld you are making up things to fit your argument. Crawford is routinely;y making the easy play in the same offense while JJ is routinely making bad decisions and thus thats why hes look ed so bad at times this year .Even though the team has played well and several different players have stepped up JJ has not been content to take what the defense is giving him if that means he doesnt get his numbers . I know that may hurt your feelings but thats just a fact because with this team he could average almost a triple double if he got his head right. Who is we ? and you think Woody is telling JJ to turn it over and force it 1 on 3 even at the start of games ? or dribble for 20 seconds . Its obvious to anyone that JJ is forcing it and I dont mean by simply being aggressive offensively . I mean he is not making the easy play instead choosing to force the issue even at the start of games and even when someone else is having a good night offensively . The entire point of isolation basketball is to force the double team and then move the ball but the more Joe hold onto the ball the less guys will move without the ball and the more turnovers and tough shots he will have .

That doesnt mean they will double team . Very few teams in the league double team the leading scorer of every opposing team . The only reasons they usually do is because they are hot or because the defense knows they are reluctant to pass .

Why would the assumption be that we would still be running iso-joe if Joe leaves ? If Joe leaves it becomes about all 5 players not just one player

Good Lord where does this stuff come from ? When was Crawford counted on to carry the Bulls offensively ? The knicks were never Crawfords team it was Marburys team ? Marbury was making more than Joe is right now ? The knicks traded multiple #1's for Eddy Curry ? Where is he now ? The Warriors had Monta Ellis who they paid over 60 million as well as Andre Biedrens who they paid 60 million too as well . They also gave Corey Maggette 50 million and then extended Pyscho man Steven Jackson and somehow Crawford was the frontman offensively ? It seems to me that every team you mentioned sucked because they invested max type dollars in non max type players and when the expectations were raised none of them could live up to them.Crawford was the guy asked to pick up their but hes not a #1 and I think everyone knows this . What you need to ask yourself is that if JJ walks do you really think we wouldnt be able to score points ? I think we would actually run more plays and fewer iso's if you ask me and that may not be such a bad thing. Crawford has not taken more than 16 shots in a game this season but somehow hes a ballhog even though thats what the coach has flat out said thats what he wants him to do when he comes in the game . Why should we care what knicks fans or warriors fans think ? Those organizations have their own problems that have nothing to do with Crawford as weve seen the past few weeks . Shouldnt we be judging Crawford but what he does in a hawks uni just as we should do Bibby and everyone else ? If Joe leaves we will count on Crawford to score but it wouldnt be about Crawford in the last year of his deal moreso than it would be about whether Al and Smoove are bonafide stars and ready to stepup and carry the team . As for the original question of why Joe is getting so much flack this year ? Its quite simple the expectations have been raised and while Joe is a better all around player than Crawford I think that Crawford has made Joe look bad simply by sharing the ball . Its almost as if Crawfords ability to score and pass has placed a spotlight on Joe and his unwillingness to move the ball at times . His calling out the team in the media just makes the spotlight bigger .

We are 4th in Pace this year and we were 24th last season . The defense is down a bit but not by much if you factor in the faster pace.

Thats the nature of the game . EVERY FAN BASE does the same thing. You dont think the Lakers fans are saying they would be undefeated if they had Pau ? Is it not natural for fans to assume their team is better fully healthy then when guys are out injured ? Your argument is shallow and petty simply because you seem to operate under some delusion that Hawks fans are the only ones that do this when all fans across all sports do the exact same thing. Everyone nows Kmart and Smith are out why does it have to be stated AFTER WE WIN ? Could we have decided to not play the game ? Regardless of who is on the otherside we still have to go out and play the game . Considering we just lost to the Bobcats the night before and a win on the second night of a back to back is not guaranteed by any means. The nature of playing an 82game season dictates that there will probably be a time when teams will play us when we are shorthanded and vice versa .