sturt

Really dominated them in the second half. That hopefully is a reflection of how deep we truly can go more so than how pathetic their bench is.

Looks like we've got ourselves a new center!?!... hehe

We've got 3 weeks til tip-off with the Whizzers. Hard to draw any strong conclusions without even the first preseason game completed, or any insider info on Jack's actual status. Heck, there still could be some trade that gets hatched--there's at least 2 or 3 (Gay, Okafor) that have been rumored to be hot to trot all summer who haven't yet went anywhere. Add to that that it was said the next court date in the Mike Scott drama was likely to pop up "in the fall," and I'm content to just let it all play out and see.

I love that kid.

And Richard Solomon is like, "Wait... you had to cut meeeeeeeeeee?" And the new PG is like, "If you see Wilcox walking toward me, you'll understand why I'm running the other way."

It was fun to watch, but let's not go overboard, guys and gals... it wasn't even a preseason game, but an intrasquad game. Yes, there were things to like and dislike, but all of what we saw will be a distant memory in about a week... two, max. Moose almost has to be the most vulnerable, barring some word on Scott's legal status coming out, and/or Dennis' or Sap's injury being more serious than advertised... and if either of those apply, Jack's non-guaranteed contract becomes most vulnerable, imo.

Though... the thought leaps to mind that you could seriously experiment with Bembry as that 3rd PG. Why give minutes to someone who, in reality, will never actually play for you in the regular season anyhow?

More seriously... I tend to agree, though I don't pretend to have the medical qualifications to know for a fact how much room there is for argument.

Hey. Here's a thought. Maybe we needed to open up a roster slot to sign someone else. http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/09/30/chris-bosh-i-guess-my-career-in-miami-is-done-my-career-is-not-done/ Maybe? (hehe)

Hmm. I don't see it that way at all. Edy still has ample room for improvement, but there's no concern now that when he's on the court that he might be overmatched. I see him more than ever before as having the potential capacity to justify a roster slot in the long-term merely on defense and rebounding alone. But/and... still... he truly has a soft stroke that suggests strongly that there's some offensive game to come. As indicated in another post earlier today, it struck me as I was watching him compete against D8 today that battling it out with the big guy this year is likely to accelerate his progress like never before. And about 24 hours after having JBH's idea first introduced to me, I really think she's onto something with this idea that Jack's roster slot is quite possibly the most vulnerable right now... and it will only get worse if Bembry shows in preseason that he's a very realistic 3rd PG option.

Yeah, but... he's just a camp body anyway.... do we care? I suspect there's something more to the situation, but that we're probably not going to learn what that was/is.

Odd timing. He just unpacked.

Agree with whoever wrote that... and yeah, I didn't mention Prince earlier, but he was around the ball a lot. We need him, imo, to be just that--a stat sheet filler. D8 got 15? Hmm. I didn't see the beginning so maybe he got more of it before I tuned in... otherwise, mighty quiet 15. Free throws... his form is so stiff. If I were a coach, I'd want him to start practicing shooting them with one hand, and emphasizing the backspin he puts on the ball as it's released... with his eyes closed. It's all about muscle memory. But of course, no one's hired me yet, so what do I know.

Funny stuff, cap. Actually, I like it, tho. Kinda distinguishes him... you know, otherwise, all those big white guys look alike. (*wink*)

Hmmm... "broken beyond repair?" Care to expound on that? Me, I'm not sure it's that bad, but it's granted that that's largely what stands between him and stardom.

Thought Edy showed up in a big way when all was said and done. He denied at least one lob to Dwight and defended the rim well. Funny to see Dwight dwarfed on a basketball court, too. Occurred to me that Dwight's arrival, and that Edy will be regularly facing off with him in practice, really should benefit his development in a big way. Truthfully, I thought Edy got the best of Dwight last season when I saw us play in Houston. He doesn't back down in the least. Otherwise, I thought THjr and Delaney asserted themselves well, as did Moose.

You guys know it's on Facebook Live right now, right?

I hadn't really thought about it b/c Kelly was regarded as such a defensive liability while he was in LA. But you might be on to something there. We don't really have any somewhat reliable offense-first options off the bench if Scott gets dismissed.

Wow. It's still training camp for the regulars, too, it appears. Mid-season, any phallic reference would have been bound to have rendered something more adult-content than that. *wink*

I'm less optimistic, me. His common benchmark from the time he was drafted has been Rondo, and looking at age 22 for both, 3 seasons into it for both, the numbers say he compares very well to Rondo defensively, but... as bad as Rondo has been... Dennis has yet to even ascend to Rondo's offensive level. But having said that, it does just feel like it's time. Not so much an objective numbers thing as it is a subjective feeling thing to hand over the keys to the young driver and see what he can do.

Reasonable, I suppose, but of course, none of that helps Bynum if Moose, Scott and Edy remain. I was one of those who took Wilcox's after draft comments about Bembry to mean they actually project him as a potential 3rd point guard.... just used the term "ball distributor" instead of "point guard." Didn't know whether to take that seriously. But, yeah, I suppose it's true that Sap's situation might be a prime mover in making that happen.

Actually, there's more truth to that than there normally would be since Jack's salary is a minimum deal and if, in fact, his journey back to health appears to be slower than hoped originally coupled with Bynum having a fantabulous preseason. Could make Budcox pause for thought. Not likely, but could. Put it this way, of the camp bodies, he would seem to me to be the one with the best shot at pulling off the unlikely.

Can I offer my two? 1. Scoring when Korver isn't on the floor is a key... and Mr. Hardaway, that's especially an opportunity for you, if you will please take advantage of it... and... 2. Somewhat related... like no other time in recent memory, we need to see our top 1st round draft pick to confound recent history and actually become a legitimate part of the rotation no later than the All-Star break. Otherwise, I reach the same conclusion I figure most all of us do... this roster holds the potential to become one of the all-time best defensive teams in Hawks history, and consistent with that, might emerge as the most feared defense in the league.

Yeah, had the same spit-take, @Watchman. Didn't comb the posts above to see if it was said, so if recently mentioned, but the AJC reporter who covered Scott's arraignment hearing in July (not CViv) indicated that he was told a fall court date should be expected. Who knows. Maybe continuance after continuance gets granted, and Mike gets his final year. But it's always made sense to me that Budcox didn't just happen to have 16 fully or partially guaranteed contracts on the roster... but rather, for this very reason, ie that they can't predict what would happen with Scott before opening night, Moose remains on the roster. Someone wrote somewhere in the last month or so that they thought Taveras actually might be more vulnerable than Moose. And, I can understand the argument to a degree, but no, while Edy still isn't a player you can reasonably expect to go to war with for 82 games, he advanced too much between his first season and his second season to not be optimistic about how much he maybe can still advance between last and this season. He has a feathery touch that is self-evident at the foul line, and maybe it's just me, but I'm intrigued to see if, with more maturity on the court, he can translate that in some consistent way to become an actual threat from 15 feet and in.