dj_me

"If we could somehow trade JT for Miller, we'd be better off." You say this because you like Dog. I'm sorry, but Dog is not a player you build a team around, nor is SAR. Terry is someone you build a team around. We were doing a pretty good job of it until we traded for Dog.

It doesn't happen all to often, but I completely disagree with you, Diesel. I just can't believe that we ended last year on a pretty good streak, then Dog comes in and so destroys our chemistry. He IS NOT right for this team. He doesn't fit our play, and even with him out there tonight, I believe we still would have lost. He is not the answer to our problems. If anything, he is another problem to add to our stockpile. If the team does one thing this offseason (other than being bought), they need to find a way to get rid of Dog while retaining Terry and Glover.

I liked Stotts from the start. There were many factors why he wasn't great to begin with, a couple of which consist of starting halfway through the season and the team had to learn basics again. He's actually a coach that cares. I really hope that we keep him at least one more year (hopefully a year without Dog). If he doesn't cut it in that time limit, then we start the 2004-05 season with a new one. You don't cut the bud of a flower before it blooms. You give it water and sun, pull the weeds that occassionally pop up, and watch it become something beautiful. Sorry for the flower talk, but it's the best way I can describe it. We let Musselman get away. Let's not let Stotts. Offer him the chance to build the great team that we could be.

In my book, both Wright and Nazr are both starters, especially in the East. I'd love to have both of these players on our team. Theo and SAR starting with Wright and Nazr backing them up. Or have SAR moved to SF and have Wright and Nazr split PF duties. Thing about making SAR a SF is that I like the lineup we have now (without Dog). I would even complete a deal that only brings us Wright and a pick (even if it was second round) for Dog. I have lost a lot of respect for Dog over the past year. JT/DD DG/DJ Ira/DJ/draftee SAR/Nazr Theo/Wright

If we were to land the first spot in the draft, Lebron James would still be my pick. This would only be for a trade with whomever picks Anthony and if they are willing to give us an extra future pick. If we landed the second pick, I would pray that whomever has the first pick would draft Lebron so that I could easily choice Carmello Anthony. If we land the third pick, I pray that Anthony will still be on the board. I really believe that he would have the biggest impact on our team.

I really wish I could be at this game. I hope that we can keep with the gameplan they had with the Bucks. Stotts should show the team that "lowlights" film again. Actually, I think he should play it before every game until the are consistently playing well together and winning. It is really important to show it against the .500 clubs so that we don't lose the games we're supposed to win.

If the both can become something, then they are both the answer to a problem. If DJ can come back and in a year or two gain mass and regain as well as improve on his game, I can see him replacing GRob when his contract is up. Glover, if he continues to improve upon what he did with the Bucks, he could be our answer at SG JT / DD Glover / Newble DJ / Newble SAR / Hendu (on a smaller contract) Theo / Nazr This would be a very quick and dangerous team with they played to their potential.

Remembering the day we traded Steve away still hurts me. I didn't really miss Mookie a lot, because he was taking most of the time away from Terry. Then again, it would have been interesting to see Mookie and Terry together now that zone is allowed. That stretch where we had Rider and Jim Jackson was horrible for me. I actually hated being a Hawks fan. By the way, doesn't Robinson resemble Jackson? I'd like to see more of Hendu this season. I really like both of our big-guy backups. I feel Nazr and Hendu are very capable of backups. Hendu just gets paid entirely too much. It's the curse of Babcock to have huge contracts and not have them produce. Another by the way, where is Rider today?

Stotts found Wilks, he needs to find us a Bobby Jackson-type player. This is another reason I like Stotts, he's a good at finding the talent. I hope that he (if he is allowed to stay) is give the chance to pick our draftee. It may be a suprise choice to all, but watch that player turn into something great, or at least the true role player we need. Also, is Newble's contract up? I thought the only contracts we had to deal with this year were Terry, DJ, and Glover.

If Glover can continue to play the way he did against the Bucks, I say sign him for a couple years on a low-priced contract. That way if he doesn't work out, we can trade him pretty easily. It's going to be interesting seeing the camp for next year. This last years camp, DJ was thought to have won the position until the accident. This year, Glover has a year on him, plus the fact that DJ might play in fear (which would most definitely be the end of his career). I believe that if they both become better ball-handlers, they could work for us at the position. On another note, Newble needs to be our sixth-man, our swingman, our defensive stopper, our spark plug, NOT our starter. JT / DD DJ / Glover / Newble / 1st round GRob / Newble / 1st round SAR / Hendu / 2nd round Theo / Nazr / 2nd round

I'm almost thinking that we might go for the bigger/banger players in this coming draft. I, for one, am hoping that DJ can come back fairly quick next season so that we don't have to worry about the SG position. But, then again, that isn't assured and I don't believe Glover will be back unless on a short/low-paying contract, so maybe the best position we can go for is a swingman. I can't really say a whole lot about college players since I haven't really been able to follow, but Arizona's Luke Walton would be nice to have. He's good at team ball and has a 1.7/1 a/to ratio. I don't really see him as a swingman though, it's just a preference. Does anyone now of a list of the top college players per position with stats? I remember seeing one last year, but can't remember where.

The main concern would be after our next three or four games. We have a stretch there where we have to go against Philly, Indy, the Lakers, and a few others where it might get rough. If we are able to win games that we are supposed to and have a few upsets, I really believe it is possible for us to get in and be slight contenders (the underdogs, I love it). I really want to see what JT would do in the playoffs. I think he would be huge when it came time to get it done.

I read on ESPN that Stotts had Robinson, Reef, and Terry sit in before the game to watch "lowlights" (horrible plays) of the season. I'm sure this had an effect on the assists. When I first read it, I thought that it was for the whole team. The article mentioned that since those three handle the ball the most, they were the main concern. They also mentioned that Stotts was more vocal in this game. I really hope that this trend continues, cause I would actually like Stotts to stay. He could be a great coach if we give him the off-season with the team. On another note, while looking at the box score, I thought to myself that's how our stats should look like every game. Besides the boards (mention many times in other posts), and I would have liked to see more production from Theo, the stats where a thing of beauty. I really wish I would have been able to see this game. Keep up the great team play.

In reply to: Someone replaced Big Doggs stickem bottle in his locker with KY jelly... I had the best laugh I've had in quite a while after reading this. Great post.

See, I thought that the ping-pong process was more than that. I thought they actually went through the entire list of thirteen, the first one drawn being the first pick, the second team ball equalled the second pick, etc. That's what it should be. They should do the hole ping-pong draw like a normal lottery you see on TV. I would much rather see it like this.

I remember reading that at one point in a game, Nellie played all his tallest players at one time. He had nothing resembling a PG on the floor. I'm sorry I can't remember specifics, put it was something of this sort. Nellie did try odd combinations. I will agree that we need a Owner that cares and that we need a coach with vision. But Stotts really hasn't been able to set a vision. I see him as still trying to get our players to play REAL team basketball. I think he is trying to put the principles back into our players. I think if we give the team we have at the moment another year, including the coach, we should do a lot better. If we don't, then we send him packing along with a couple stars (Reef and GRob).

Never say die (or lose in this case). I still hold hope that we can get off our asses and play this last part of the year. To be honest, I really hope that DJ doesn't play this year. To many players come back to early. I'd rather have him for three or four years than for three or four games. DJ, if you read this, please take it slow. Make sure you are well enough before you take on heavy action.

JT, because of his heart and his desire to win. He just needs to take control of the team. Theo, because of what he could be. I just love it when he gets 5 blocks and 10 rebounds in a game. He's our very own Ben Wallace. DJ, God I hope he can get back to form. Personally, I like our lineup without Reef and GRob (if DJ was healthy). JT / Dickau DJ / JT / Glover Newble / DJ Nazr / Henu Theo / Nazr / Hendu

Don Nelson used to do questionable things with his lineups. Look where Dallas is now. I look at ATL as teams like Dallas and Sac-Town from a few years ago. Dallas had good talent, they just weren't able to win. Sac-Town sucked horribly on the road. If we keep this team together, just adding role-players, in a year or two we should be awesome. I still think Stotts is doing decent. Sure, he makes some bad decisions at times, but so does almost every other coach in the league. Everyone wants things to happen right now. Well, I'm sorry, there truly is no quick fix.

On average, and this is serious, how many times are GRod or Glover made the first option after the ball is brought down court? It would be interesting to have an actual average on how often certain players get the ball.

JT only put up 8 shots! What is that! With the night he was having he should have been shooting like a rabbit f*cks. If JT would have shot between 5-7 more shots, we would have won huge. I was really hoping that he would have taken over in the fourth. Still, it was a good night; we did win.

You know what's funny about that, if we WERE to get into the playoffs, Terry would take sh*t over. I do agree that it could be the changes he has to deal with each year. He might think that they (whatever star we recieved) should be the team leader. Actually, who is the team captain? If it's not Terry, someone should definitely be fired, pronto!

I have a little revision to the trading off everyone thing. You said something about excitement from an all new roster. I believe this would not only be exciting, but also, very substancial for our future. If we would have done what Golden State did, which is not trading for top ranked players and making good decisions on draft day, we would be in a much better situation. When you trade for a player who has grown with a team and became a star with that team they bring the attitude of that team with them. Reef was a star on a lacky team, but he was their star so they gave him the ball a lot more than he sees it here and probably in a better position (can't say truthfully because I never watched him in Vancouver). GRob became a star on a Bucks team full of shooters, so he'd get the ball a third or less of the time. This was also on a team that I felt was slow-minded (could this be George Karl-ball). Theo came from a very quick team that had one main scorer and good defenders around him. My point is, they bring their teams attitude and their play from their previous team to a team that tells them to fit a new role. If you want someone to fit a role, you draft them and tell them this is how they need to play. It paid off a little with Terry being instructed to be a PG, in that he passes more. Problem is, he's still out of position. He's now more of a passer, but still a SG. You can change a young players game, but not his position. So, we trade Reef, GRob, and Theo for draft picks. First position you draft for is PG. I don't care if he is short, we can make up for that with the defense we would play. Then, get a PF. I say this because I believe Nazr can fill the role for a year or until something better, not a star but maybe a rising one, comes along. Fast team with potential, good. Slow team with different attitudes, bad.

You know, I can't help but think back a few years to when Sac-town was a horrible road team. I can't really remember who all they had, but I don't think it was as good a line as we have. Maybe this year was just a fluck. Maybe we do have an awesome team and we just got hit with dumb-luck. Maybe our promising a trip to the ever-more elusive playoff-land screwed us from the get go. It's kind of like in music, when a group comes out with an album or song intitle something in the effect of "We're Number One" or "Forever"-whatever. What happens, it sucks. In other words, WE WERE JINXED! D@MN THEM! So, what's the point? I say we shouldn't change the team we have. We let go certain role players that we can replace with the likes of Wilks (NBDL workers) and go at them next year without promises or guarantee. Playoffs, here we come. Rome was not built in a day.

I really liked Hanno when he played for us. He always gave pretty solid numbers. I thought that if he was able to get more minutes, he would have been a really good reserve. He always seemed to have a high FG% and, if I remember correctly, his rebounding and assists were pretty good for his minutes. He's better than Ham, that should be enough in itself.