enrique

Very proud to be a Hawks fan! Love the attitude and desire I'm hearing from several of the Hawks. A culture change begins with a mind/heart change. Eventually it will filter onto the court in demonstrative ways. Looking forward to this season regardless of some of my frustrations in FA. Go Hawks!!!

I am on the record for being willing to trade Dennis IF it will help get us a solid big man or dominant wing. That being said I think he will take a large step forward this year and the next. If that is the case, his value will increase over the next 2 years. So no rush to trade him.

Lots of body work will be needed. He will need to gain strength in his lower body and core to hold his own in the paint. From a stretch and speed standpoint, he would be quite the problem for most centers in the NBA.

I give him a 7 or 8 for breaking out. My reasons are: 1) Jeff is entering the physical prime for a PG in the NBA. 2) The fact the JT has shown improvement each season (if you remember the misery of having him benched his first year or so). 3) I also believe with our current coaching staff, I expect to see his shooting improve steadily back to his earlier numbers (possibly even better) 4) Mentally I have to believe that the Indy series last year should provide him the much needed confidence to be more assertive and aggressive on the court. I truly hope Teague takes the next step. He is already a very solid PG for the Hawks...best since Mookie IMO. What about other folk's opinions. What will he do?

In another thread Dennis was rumored to be off limits for a trade for Love. My only thought was perhaps (as stated earlier unlikely) he was now being considered as part of a package to get Love. I am not a GM, nor as smart as most of you, but he could be part of a great package for a team looking to build for future. My listing of Sap, Dennis, and picks was not a real attempt at what would be acceptable to Minny since I have yet to speak with them directly. The listing was merely to ask the question if you would be good with Dennis being traded in a package that brings in Love. Sorry for any miscommunication.

Not that I think this would happen, but what if Dennis was part of a package that netted us Love? How would everyone feel about Sap, Dennis and a pick going to Minny?

Instead of looking at his own shoes, he looks at other people's shoes. At least that's what I think it is;)

For the Hawks to take a step forward we really need both these men to take a step up from last year. I feel really optimistic about Baze. After reading more about Thabo from Thunder boards, he was rushed back after his injury and never fully recovered. I think a healthy Thabo will return for the Hawks! Go, hawks!

As a longtime lurker and short-time member and even more rare poster (but lifelong Hawks fan), I want congratulate both of you. You all will be great mods. I do hope that LW3's game previews will continue. They are the best on the web! Cheers to the new Mods!

There is a twitter rumor out now having Love and rights to GR3 for Wiggins, Waiters and Thompson. Hope it's not true Here is the source https://twitter.com/tspence26 He was the one who tweeted LeBron heading home at least a day before announced. Have no idea of his sources. Several are denying rumor. I just don't see anything out there that seems to substantively point to a real interest in Horford from Cleveland other than here.

https://twitter.com/tspence26 Spence broke the LeBron news a couple days before LeBron announced. The word is they're waiting on the deal for tomorrow to maximize media. AP guy says that his sources are denying. I don't know, but it would definitely be the story so far in the FA season.

I hope that Ferry is working it like crazy.

Now that is good news on the heels of the past few days of FA. I really hope he takes a serious step forward this season. I really want the Hawks to show the FA market what they missed out on by opting to play elsewhere.

Hey, can you post a link for that. Very interesting if true.

I'm keeping my conclusion on hold until DF's plan gets worked out. IF this is the only FA signing, then yuck. IF this is part of a larger deal (which might involve moving DMC and others to get that elusive upper echelon FA signing), then I love. Let's not over react on every move and announcement of FA period. There are several things going on under the radar I believe. Go Hawks!

Consistently solid big men are hard to find. I'd have loved to have him here.

We need to secure the Indy series at home and then think about this;) I do agree with the physicality mismatch with Washington however

We better come out strong in the third and increase this lead. Go Hawks! Props to Scola for keeping the Pacers in this thing.

Here is the text to the article: Can Jeff Teague Make NBA Playoffs His Coming out Party? Apr 20, 2014 Jeff Teague's career has been on the kind of quiet, easy-to-miss climb that doesn't conform to our preferred NBA breakout narrative. For five years, it was easy to ignore him. Until now. Teague dropped 28 points against the Indiana Pacers to lead the Atlanta Hawks in a stunning 101-93 victory over the No. 1 seed in Game 1 of the two teams' opening-round series. The matchup against Indy gives the Hawks point guard the ideal conditions to show how far he's come in a relatively brief NBA career. He's primed for a breakout, just not the kind we're used to. Arrival? More Like "Already Here" Teague isn't the "burst on the scene" type. Instead, he's gradually improved over the course of his NBA career. His PER has increased in every season, starting at 11.8 as a rookie and topping out this year at 17.1, per Basketball-Reference.com. The same is true of his scoring rate, which has also gone up every year since 2009-10. Jeff Teague's Gradual Improvement Points Per 36 Min PER 2009-10 11.4 11.0 2010-11 13.5 14.6 2011-12 13.7 15.8 2012-13 16.0 16.8 2013-14 18.5 17.1 Basketball-Reference.com No wonder, then, that the Hawks happily matched the four-year, $32 million offer sheet Teague signed with the Milwaukee Bucks this past summer. You don't let a reliable young player who keeps getting better get away, especially not at that price. And it's not just Teague's statistical improvements that have gone largely unnoticed. Note, too, that he's led Atlanta to the postseason in every year of his career. Sure, a lot of the credit for the Hawks' consistent success goes to a weak conference and bigger names like Josh Smith or Al Horford (neither of whom had anything to do with Atlanta's playoff entry this year, by the way), but Teague deserves praise for being an integral part of consistently successful teams. So as he's tearing the Pacers apart, let's not kid ourselves; Teague has been a darn good player for quite a while. Running Wild Quiet as his climb has been, Teague's huge Game 1 performance against Indiana was deafening. Per Shane Young of 8 Points, 9 Seconds: Teague scored a playoff-career-high 28 points while hitting 9-of-19 field goals, but that doesn’t do him justice for how much he mentally and physically drained Indiana in Game 1. You could search to find some more meaningful phrases, but nothing fits the bill better than: “They can’t contain me.” He pierced the Pacers for a whopping 13 drives in 35 minutes, per SportVU data provided to NBA.com, constantly working his way into the lane for layups, mid-range shots and kickouts to open shooters. Indiana scrambled throughout the contest to somehow contain Teague while still recovering to perimeter assignments. Can Jeff Teague Make NBA Playoffs His Coming out Party? NEXT ARTICLE » Darron Cummings Grant Hughes Apr 20, 2014 5 Comments Share Jeff Teague's career has been on the kind of quiet, easy-to-miss climb that doesn't conform to our preferred NBA breakout narrative. For five years, it was easy to ignore him. Until now. Teague dropped 28 points against the Indiana Pacers to lead the Atlanta Hawks in a stunning 101-93 victory over the No. 1 seed in Game 1 of the two teams' opening-round series. The matchup against Indy gives the Hawks point guard the ideal conditions to show how far he's come in a relatively brief NBA career. He's primed for a breakout, just not the kind we're used to. Arrival? More Like "Already Here" Teague isn't the "burst on the scene" type. Instead, he's gradually improved over the course of his NBA career. His PER has increased in every season, starting at 11.8 as a rookie and topping out this year at 17.1, per Basketball-Reference.com. The same is true of his scoring rate, which has also gone up every year since 2009-10. Jeff Teague's Gradual Improvement Points Per 36 Min PER 2009-10 11.4 11.0 2010-11 13.5 14.6 2011-12 13.7 15.8 2012-13 16.0 16.8 2013-14 18.5 17.1 Basketball-Reference.com No wonder, then, that the Hawks happily matched the four-year, $32 million offer sheet Teague signed with the Milwaukee Bucks this past summer. You don't let a reliable young player who keeps getting better get away, especially not at that price. And it's not just Teague's statistical improvements that have gone largely unnoticed. Note, too, that he's led Atlanta to the postseason in every year of his career. Sure, a lot of the credit for the Hawks' consistent success goes to a weak conference and bigger names like Josh Smith or Al Horford (neither of whom had anything to do with Atlanta's playoff entry this year, by the way), but Teague deserves praise for being an integral part of consistently successful teams. So as he's tearing the Pacers apart, let's not kid ourselves; Teague has been a darn good player for quite a while. Running Wild Quiet as his climb has been, Teague's huge Game 1 performance against Indiana was deafening. Per Shane Young of 8 Points, 9 Seconds: Teague scored a playoff-career-high 28 points while hitting 9-of-19 field goals, but that doesn’t do him justice for how much he mentally and physically drained Indiana in Game 1. You could search to find some more meaningful phrases, but nothing fits the bill better than: “They can’t contain me.” He pierced the Pacers for a whopping 13 drives in 35 minutes, per SportVU data provided to NBA.com, constantly working his way into the lane for layups, mid-range shots and kickouts to open shooters. Indiana scrambled throughout the contest to somehow contain Teague while still recovering to perimeter assignments. As the final score attests, the Pacers failed in those tasks. And let's not forget the nasty crossover with which Teague completely shed Evan Turner. So dominant was Teague in Atlanta's win that one of the leauge's best perimeter defenders might soon be called upon to cross match in an effort to slow him down: You don't draw Paul George if you're not dangerous. As much as anything, the adjustments Teague is forcing the Pacers to make after just one game speak to his impact. Saw It Coming Teague entered the postseason on a roll, earning Player of the Week honors in the Eastern Conference for the second week of April. Plays like this one against the Miami Heat were a big reason why. In some ways, what he's doing against the Pacers is just a continuation of his closing run. It's hard to ignore the ease with which he sliced up Indiana's defense in Game 1, but in looking at his season statistics, Teague really didn't do anything out of the ordinary. On the year, he averaged 9.9 drives per game, fifth-best in the league, per NBA.com. There aren't many players more effective at breaking down the first layer of defense than Teague, whose work in that role is a big reason the Hawks have been so dangerous when they spread the floor with four three-point threats alongside him. With Teague on the court, Atlanta's regular-season offensive rating improved by 1.4 points while its defense as five points stingier, per NBA.com. And when Teague took the floor with Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carrol, Paul Millsap and Pero Antić to form the aforementioned floor-spacing quintet, the Hawks scored at a clip of 106.1 points per 100 possessions in the regular season, a figure that would have ranked in the league's top 10. In short, we should have seen this coming. A Fitting Narrative USA TODAY Sports Unfortunately for Teague, no matter how well he plays the rest of this postseason, he won't get the credit he deserves for sticking it to the Pacers. That's because whenever a team like Indiana craters in such high-profile fashion, the opponent gets overlooked. You'll read a dozen headlines about Indiana falling apart for every one about Teague, the homegrown Indianapolis product, tearing it down. That's probably just fine by him, though. Teague's not really the typical "breakout" type. Never has been. Soft spoken by nature, Atlanta's point guard will be content to quietly improve without the look-at-me demeanor we've seen from breakout stars in the past. That's a fitting route for Teague to take. He's breaking out on his own terms.

Please forgive my rookie attempt at posting an article on here. Just didn't see if and thought others might appreciate this article in BleacherReport http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2036031-can-jeff-teague-make-nba-playoffs-his-coming-out-party Definitely nice to get some positive interpretation of last nights game one victory. I also loved the fact that Paul George wants to defend Teague. Go Teague! Go Hawks!!!

Korver's hustle and smarts were on full display the first half. The commentators didn't know what to do with his scrappy play. Go Hawks!

Sorry LW, didn't read your last paragraph and missed that he was resting for the Boston game. Thanks for such awesome game previews!

Where was Lou?

With the team playing well, there is certainly no need to rush and risk with Lou. If he can adapt to the new system and bring his energy and skills with him, he will be a huge key to the Hawks this year. It is good to have a spark plug on the team.

Is Milsap alright? I only saw stats and noticed low minutes for Sap and no foul problems. Anyone see the game?Great to actually fend off the comeback in the fourth. Wish Al would work on his FT%