99PROBL3MS

This will be an interesting few weeks. I know there are some good scorers availabe. Rip Hamilton is available and might probably be gotten for next to nothing. If we could land Rip without losing Crawford, that would give us a deadly duo coming off of the bench.

It is definitely PG. Horford (while a true PF) more than holds his own against other Centers. With Bibby starting at the PG. It is a mismatch every single night. I love Mike but he is nothing more than a 3pt shooter at this point in his career. He would be a great bench scorer though in my opinion.

Style points don't count in the boxscore. A win, is a win. They all count the same ni matter the margin.

They beat us without Joe the first time and ESPN didn't even mention him being out. We will beat then tonight and they will yap about them missing Bosh but won't even mention Marvin being out.

So it is okay for us to few missing Marvin but they get a pass for missing Bosh. I love how you guys are using that double-standard. Everyone ignores the fact that we have been missing guys all year. I call bs on that.

I'm sorry man, but 29ppg on 52% shooting is unbelievable in this league over a 7 game stretch. You didn't put any stipulations, on level of competition. If you are going to right a two page obituary when he is playing bad, atleast man up when he gets in a groove. Aside from Durant and Griffin, no one else is shooting this well and scoring at this clip against any competition. Lets be fair about it.

This is definitely a chance for ATL to make a statement. It looks like Bosh is definitely out. Lebron is a "game-time decision". My gut tells me he won't play. Even if he does, we have an advantage inside with Bosh being out. Thoughts on tomorrow's game? MIA Injury report

If he scores 30 tomorrow, he will be up to 20ppg for the season.

If ORL loses @OKC tonight, they are a full game behind us. If CHI loses @IND friday, they will be a full game back as well. MIA could start to fall closer to the pack if they lose @DEN tonight. MIA plays CHI on Saturday. If we take care of business against HOU Saturday, chances are we can be #3. We would be up 2 games on CHI and 1 game on ORL.

I just think we aren't getting nearly enough from Bibby as our starting PG. Both Jose and Steve would be huge upgrades in every phase of being an NBA PG except a slightly less consistent 3pt shot. Our PF, C, and 6th man average about the same number of assists as the starting PG. I think Bibby could be a valuable bench player on a championship caliber team. WIth that said, there is no way you are a championship caliber team with Bibby as your starting PG.

It is good to see Joe getting some pub. Things like this could be what lights a fire under him. With his versatility, there is no reason he shouldn't be putting in 25 a game around 45%. One thing that doesn't help is having to defend PGs at the other end. Hopefully we remedy that soon. If he and Jamal keeping putting in 50 a night at a decent percentage, ATL will be a tough out.

I don't think Joe and Horf not being tier 1 stars is what is truly keeping us from being in contention. As Diesel pointed out, there are former champs like the PIstons, and 08 Celtics that won without a true tier 1 guy in his prime. There are some striking differences between us and those teams. 1. Very good PG play- We have to get more from this position at both ends of the floor. Looking at hoopdata.com, the league average for starting PGs is: 14.7ppg 3.4rpg 6.3apg 1.3spg 44.6% FG 37% 3PT 83% FT We are getting 10.4ppg 2.2rpg 3.9apg 0.5apg 46.8% FG 48.6% 3PT 58.8% FT Aside from his 3pt shot, we are getting much below average production at the PG position. The average starting PG has attempted 107 FTs. Our starter has attempted 35 all season. Jason Kidd is the only one with fewer FT attempts. PER can also be deceiving but it isn't a coincidence that Derek Fisher is the only fulltime starting PG in the league with a lower PER. Couple that with his total inability to guard the position and it screams upgrade. I'm not trying to pile on Bibby because it isn't his fault he is being asked to do what he is no longer capable of doing. At the end of the day, it is what it is. I think getting average PG play would go along way in helping this team. We need someone who can create for themselves, their teammates defend the position and effectively serve as a floor general. That is the number one issue in my opinion. 2. Team defense- This teams has enough length and athleticism to play very good team defense. It suffers sometimes because of our inability to defend opposing PGs as well as the periodic lacks of effort and focus. I think this part takes a huge leap if we address #1. We struggle in the paint with an undersized Center, but Horf holds his own against most Center's not named Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neal. In terms of teams who allow a lower FG% than they shoot, ATL is 11th in the NBA. This number could and should be better. Practice can be beneficial here. 3. Finding a Center- True high caliber NBA Centers don't come cheap and the don't change hands often. In fact, most of them are drafted and remain with that team. If you are lucky you can catch one nearing the end of his prime. There are some serviceable guys that could really help this team. Horford has hinted that he wants to play PF and not C. He is right about needing help there but I think the PG position is a much bigger need. We are better off starting him at C than we are Bibby at PG. If a choice were to be made, I would say PG first and foremost. “We need to get another big guy, another center, that’s able to help myself and Josh out,” he said. “We need to have someone to come in and have an impact. I think that is the position we need if we want to be any type of contender in the East.” I hope they don't make a trade just to trade, but there is no money to go out and make upgrades in the offseason. Someone has to be moved.

So they are essentially asking you to kill the future of your franchise? No thanks on that.

I find this very hard to believe considering that most of the post I see from you are bashing the guy. To each his own. You are entitled to your opinion. You also wanted to trade Joe and keep Craw long term.

I never said our implied that they were the same. I was only pointing out that they could have had Shaq for a much cheaper price and he is also more kindly to help on the court. Yao definitely brings some monetary value but hopefully they can use that cap space for someone more valuable to thea court If Yao comes at a lower price than go for it.

That is very true, but they could have brought alot to the city if they signed Shaq. He is still a media favorite and a cash cow. That plus he would have actually been a factor on the court.

Why not take a chance on Greg Oden?

Carmelo is the one of the best talents in the league but I don't know how much closer he gets this team to contention. He has played on some very talented teams in DEN and led them past the first round one time. I would be ecstatic if we landed him because he Joe, and Horford would be a great trio. I still think we would suffer in the playoffs if we cant defend the PG and C position efficiently.

It is just so frustrating to know nighty after night that the opposing PG is going to have a big night. I know about the lack of bench depth and the need for a true center but defense at the PG is still going to kill us even if the other two get fixed. It isn't just the CP3s and Dwills. We make the Ridenour and TJ Ford types look like All-NBA guys. It isn't Bibby's fault he can no longer defend the position or make them work at the other end because he is what he is. It is Coach's fault for continuing to fresh him out there for 30-35 minutes a night. I am not sure Teague is the answer but I am certain we need someone there who can defend the position. I am if seeing 6'8 wings and 6'9 Forwards switch off to check PGs. It seems like the light has finally started to come on for Marvin this month. Maybe he can become the 15pt 8reb guy this team needs. Marvin can defend his position and score. As a fan of the game, I enjoy how exciting it is to watch Jamal Crawford and Josh Smith. As a fan of this team, maybe it its time to part with one or both fix some of this team's flaws. The same goes for Bibby but who will touch him at his current salary?

Alot of people think this team needs a "superstar". I think the number one thing holding this team out of the conversation is defense at the PG position. This team has others flaws for sure, but that is the number one issue. At this point in his career, Bibby cannot consistently cover 90% of the leagues PGs.

The only knock I see on Baron is his contract. He is still capable of playing good basketball. He would be a huge upgrade over Bibby who is more or a less a spot up shooter at this point. Baron could get out and run in transition with this team and defend the position.

Kaman doesn't have to be special to give this team what it needs. With him at the C position, we would have an advantage at that spot nearly every night. I also disagree with bdiddy= bibby. Baron isn't the outside shooter Bibby is BUT he can create his own shot. He can create easy shots for his teammates. Most importantly, he can defend the PG. Baron is on the downside but who hasn't signed with the Clippers and not gone down. This team needs a legit C and a PG who can create, distribute, and defend the position.

B-Diddy's ability to penetrate and play solid defense at the PG position would be a huge plus. Who knows though, he could get to a winning team and really step things back up. Kaman would dominate the great majority of Eastern Conference bigs allowing Horford to dominate the great majority of Eastern Conference PFs (as opposed to playing out of position). If LAC could find a way to give us a quality bench scorer at the wing position, I wouldn't be agaisnt it. Maybe a Gomes or Butler. Maybe they could even through in the twin Jarron Collins (I kid ha). I don't know if the overall lineup would be much better but who knows. That lineup would have 4 all-star players. Assuming Smoove makes it one year soon, that would be 5 all-star players. PG Baron Davis SG Joe johnson SF Josh Smith PF Al Horford C Chris Kaman 6th Jeff Teague Butler/Gomes Zaza Powell JC2 Collins Evans

For anyone who is interested, here is JJs post game interview.

I think Joe has done a much better job of deferring to his teammates this year. The only knock on him is that his shot isn't falling.