DS17Fanboy

I think rather that FA's didnt want to come. But...Atlanta is slowly making a name for itself when things keep going as they are now. Imagine reaching the conference-finals. And with so many centers on the market next year, they cant all just pick the usual teams. And many of these resigning teams like Detroit are a real tough sell over the Hawks. @Crazy Eye Millsap played SF at Utah, and has a great leaping first step as a natural gift with his thick legs. So I think he could catch up suprisingly quick with faster SF on a small space, but indeed, running the floor up and down would be an issue. But as he has been adjusting to PF by building muscle, I think he can adjust by trimming down and adding speed and stamina. I think Millsap is that kind of guy who has a very misleading physique, looking kinda sluggish and big-boned etc, but he's one of those power-ham's guys who have crazy stuff in their legs and hips causing for their center of bodyweight to be very low to the ground/feet, and therefore making those moving muscles allot more responsive. He will never be a gazelle out there but he's more agile and quicker than he looks, coupled with an explosive first step on that kind of a powerfull body. Kinda like Stojskov or Maradona in soccer. And Millsap seems the kind of guy, ready to do whatever is expected to be done by him.

What about going really hard next summer after Drummond, Monroe, De Andre, or Hibbert? Or work out some trade for Favors or Kanter? I think that should be priority. I think Millsapp could still function somewhat on par on SF as good as he is on PF. Its not a trade off without benefits regarding rebounding and interior D. Then you could swap Horf to PF and see how that goes, also as time goes by and his inury woes and position are no longer an excuse. And if Horf is falling off a cliff, you still have that C position filled and can move Millsap back to PF.

"That’s just him knowing the game,” Millsap says of Horford. “That’s the kind of player Al is.”" And that statement is about a whole lot more than just Al and Dennis on the pick-and-roll. No one said Al is better than Millsap etc. Some people just heavily relativized the poor but slowly getting better form of Al and how him not getting allot of points and rebounds makes him basically a smug to allot of people. People like me tried pointing out that Al is a "big fundamental" type of player. Good at high level proffesionial NBA basketball. Not good at stats. Also I would like to hear from people who'd they'd like instead of Al Horford on that position. Like really...after thinking hard about what this team is and does.

Well if you look at the 29 games he played last year in the 1st year under coach Bud and Bud'd system, he got 18.6 PPG, a career best, while his rebounding per game declined sharply with that from 10.2 the previous season to 8.4. That might have something to do with the style of the play the hawks had since then, with allot more stretching the floor and passing the ball and the type of perimeter and forced turnovers type of defense being played more along the lines of the lebron Heat or Mavs to try and off-set the undersized roster. And in that regard Horford has been great on defensive switches, which again is another factor that gets you less into defensive rebounding positions. Rebounding on this Hawks team will never be a strong suit and demands more guard and wing rebounding.

By this logic Nowitzki is just a 22 and 8 guy. While I think you should judge such caliber players by their prime, where Nowitzki was a 26 and 10 guy. A prime where Horford should be getting at soon regarding his age and regarding he missed the last season. And maybe more importantly that 22 and 8 guy, now a 21 and 5 guy, still stretches the floor, is most effective in the high pick and roll, draws allot of double-teams and plays very well out of them, and gets you stuff when nothing else works out of his post-game. Just stats is very misleading. Al Horford has many such game impacting qualities that dont show up in stats as well.

Dennis' guy Napier though was invisible apart from two drives where he beat the slumbering Dennis.

The question is, how do I get paid as a twitter-follower.

I like Millsap and the ball-movement that comes with him on this undersized team, but what Im worried about is the play-offs and meeting the kind of match-ups that simply overrun us. In many reg-season we look good, but we just need one bad match-up or one week with things not clicking on offense and we are flat-out out. In order for the Hawks to really become a consistent power I think we need to have two classical bigs of which Horford and Scott can stretch the floor and more scoring from the wings. Just to get trough rough play-off games on a bit more auto-pilot. Games that just happen.

Does Al Horford have a better post-up game than lets say David West, Nene? I think so. Do the Hawks play allot of post-ups? No. Can Millsap of the dribble combining SF and PF abilities post himself up in allot of situations? Yes he can. Would the Hawks be able to post-up Al Horford in case he has to play the 4 and with Millsap gone? Yes, and it would slow the game down, but at a trade-off of whoever gets to play center with us, we would be allot stronger at the rim. And I think its fair to say that a more scoring SF or/and C would be needed in that case. Which imo would be more ideal. I think Millsap and Carrol where Notlösungen as we call it in Germany(solutions born out of necessity), for the next 1-2 years when they where signed, which both worked out better than expected, but I think this roster has allot more potential to be a contending team, and I think Millsap is a more interchangable type of player than Horford is. Like also Supe expanded on. Which ATM is a hard argument to sell with Horford playing out of position, often on his own regarding the 2 bigs, coming off an injury, and Millsap putting up stats(which hint: add to a nice trade-value ATM).

I think Lance his bodylanguage is rather positive. It just shows he hates to loose, and it shows he knows his team is running on empty. He sees that this Charlotte team is built on quick-sand. And then there is questionable situations, like also when Nique said "why they dont bring in Pargo earlier" etc and what is that Roberts guy playing in the NBA? I see all sorts of variables on that team that would make any winner-type depressed, just because its hopeless. Only when realising a situation is hopeless, you can actually take the appropiate drastic changes on that roster. At least his Pacer attitude wasnt a fluke now that he cashed that check.

That being said he's elite on defensive switches on an undersized team with Kyle Korver. On offense he's a quick passer and notoriously not out for own glory. And people look at how many rebounds and points he has playing out of position and after a srs long-time injury.

What part? The things that make Horford undevalued. Things that often are not reflected in stats. The "fundamentals". How to think two steps ahead, also for others, and have the ability to position oneself accordingly. Thats indeed about it. I never said he's Tim Duncan. I said that in this regard he's like the "Big Fundamental" in at least having great portions of that type of talent. Therefore hes undervalued when comparing mere stats with Millsap etc. And much more because he could be a great fit in the system they are trying to build.

I agree with Horford being undervalued. He is much like Tim "Big Fundamental" Duncan, a high BBIQ guy who should fit this San Antonio lite system very well when being under the right circumstances. Circumstances that still are worked on. No way Bud and Ferry would think the buck stops where the roster is at right now. They are trying to create a franchise-culture where the right fits dont have to be allstar free agents seeing the Hawks chronical FA problems. And I view Horford as an integral corner-stone of that culture needing his type of fundamental-play. Look at how many no-name players san-antonio uplifted. Or the Mavs culture for that matter with Brenden Wright and Monta Ellis. Players of a caliber also the Hawks could attract, but in order for them to become productive they need a sound system and corner-stones who make up that system.

It was a bad trade mostly because nothing came in return but also because it is making a possible playoff contender better. Im sure Toronto loves the trade... It would not have been a bad trade if the Hawks where prepared to overpay for a top free-agent. There is no way around overpaying when you want a top free-agent. Simple as that. And that being said, an ISO player doesnt have to be a ball-stopper in this system. As long as you make him subordinate to the system, and give him his well calculated shots. Also to be less predictable, and also to get the hot potato too, when the passes dont click on a possesion. A great ISO player would only enrich this Hawks offense. If used right. I had Lance in mind for that role who is now sucking because Charlotte has no shooters. He would have been a perfect fit for Atlanta imo, barring his mental risk, which needed monitoring and care. But a guy like that can love and give you all the more when he gets respected, in form of the stability the Hawks could offer and the overpaying the Hawks would have to commit to. At some points the Hawks just need to aquire all-star caliber talent which I see only done trough taking risks, and one of those risks is overpaying.

But it felt similary...no chance all game long. Just running after the facts, which where lots of well executed jump-shots. Which was what we where supposed to be good at. Similary to Atl... Dallas whas also behind by 24 against Sacramento with McLemore hitting 3 point shots from all over the place. Which they turned around and won and made me feel ashamed for cursing on the team and yelling that they suck. These guys sweating and feeling the burn had faith, while I in my comfy chair and my glass of whisky gave up on the team...

Cool story broh.

Because Chicago is basically what Real Madrid or Barcelona is in soccer. Europeans have a big weakness for traditional big name clubs. When a player already is a multi millionaire and can choose to play for a big club over a small club offering him more money then they mostly pick the big club, just to have a better feeling about what they did in their short pro-sports careers. Enjoy the glamour for the time being etc. Pau also said something along the lines of only wanting to play for Chicago or NY(I think it was). Atlanta needs to draft and trade for prospects. Like Dieng could have been possible. Or how San Antonio gotten Splitter and now Banes. Surely no Gasols, but when utilized right you can get out of them something else than all the stretch the floor guys on the bench. That being said. I think Antić is redundant with Muscala on the team. Also, It seems Millsap is on his way back, and Horford will only improve along the season if he stays healthy.

Honestly, Dallas got beaten in a similar style by Miami the other night. Deng had like 14/17, Chalmers 7/7 and the refs all night in his pocket on either end, and so on. Sometimes you have nights like this, and clearly the Cavs picking up the pace and becoming a realy eastern dynasty is only a matter of time. When you have Lebron opening the game like that and setting the pace, others will follow, and the Cavs are stacked with talent imo. Yes, a bit of shame on the Hawks, but no reason to get all pessimist. What did you'll think? That the Hawks are contending? One good thing to take away from this game is that Muscala started to become allot more accurate on his good looks that are easily created by/for him all troughout previous games.

Impressive win. Miami isnt as it used to be without Lebron, but I watched them destroying Dallas the other night. That game showed my that Bosh seems to be his old self this year and that the Miami team-defense still is a well oiled machine without Lebron. The game had Wade though and Deng on fire. Tonight they did not look anything like that. At spurts of the game I think I have seen this Hawks team grow as a winning unit. Things went clicking smoother and smoother. Lets hope they take their swagger up to the next...

You have been negative about Dennis the last entire year. You have been quiet last 5 games when Dennis was good. Suddenly when there is one game with ups and downs you come out the woodworks again. I dunno, but this sort of oppurtunism isnt whats about scouting or developing potential, let alone about winning championships. Its just daft lowest common denominator stuff. Hence talentless. Game recognizes game...

I know Bird wouldnt do that trade. Its just a fantasy, also to do with my healthy irrational hate for George Hill and the fact that Teague is from Indianopolis.

How about Teague, Millsap and a first-round pick for an injured Paul George? Banking on next year, while developing Dennis. Imagine a back-court D with Dennis, George and Carrol in 1st quarters and the end of games. Korver as a multi-minutes 6th man on SG/SF whenever called upon. And with George on board, it prolly get easy to attract a decent C to get Horford back to PF. Maybe Monroe...paired with that backcourt D.

Indeed. The crunchtime free-throws impressed me the most.

It seems I was on to something with my break-out game theory after San Antonio. All he needed was shaking the rust of for things to start clicking.

This is why Im DS17Fanboy. Its like watching a real-life sports soap-operah to see a 19 year old German point-guard trying to make it among the 500 best players in the world, in a 350 million large basketball country that can tap from an infinte amount of point-guard talent. He's showing me why I was wrong at my younger years, giving up basketball, to continue soccer(which I liked less), thinking you cant seriously end up in the NBA as a 6 foot 1 European. He's showing to my countries youth of today you can. Now lets see what he does now he has shown he can. The soap-operah continues...