TheNorthCydeRises

Pistons shooting 52% FG and getting outrebounded 20 - 15 Hawks have to find a way to get that defensive swag back.

I don't know about ending my fanhood, but it would definitely reduce my interest in the team, unless we got an equal or greater piece back. I went through 31 years of hell with the Bengals, so the issues with the Hawks are child's play, compared to what they went through. But for the first time in a long time, I can happily root for my favorite NFL and NBA teams, and have superstars on both squads that I can unconditionally support. If Trae can put it all together, and 2 other people on this team can ascend like he did, that's when we'll be able to contend for a title.

LOL . . nice.

Just a simple question for the fan base to elaborate on. Interested to see the choices.

When you talk about guys like Harden, Westbrook, Trae, and Luka, is it on them that no one has stepped up to be the 2nd guy on the team that can play at top level. Or is it on the organization for not bringing in a guy who could play at top level? For example, who is the best player that Trae has ever played with? Matter of fact, I may create a poll right quick, asking that question. How about Harden in Houston? We know he played with Durant and Westbrook in OKC, and they made it to the NBA Finals. But post Durant, was Westbrook in 2018 the best player Harden ever played with in Houston? Was it Chris Paul? I'll list the 2nd and 3rd top scorer on those Rockets teams, so people can evaluate if the Rockets had enough talent to win. 2013 Chandler Parsons ( 15.5 ) - Jeremy Lin ( 13.4 ) 2014 Dwight Howard ( 18.4 ) - Chandler Parsons ( 16.6 ) 2015 Dwight Howard ( 15.8 ) - Trevor Ariza ( 12.0 ) - Josh Smith ( 12.0 ) this team got to the WC Finals 2016 Dwight Howard ( 13.7 ) - Trevor Ariza ( 12.7 ) 2017 Eric Gordon ( 16.2 ) - Lou Williams ( 14.9 ) 2018 Chris Paul ( 18.6 ) - Eric Gordon ( 18.0 ) 2019 Clint Capela ( 16.6 ) - Eric Gordon ( 16.2 ) 2020 Russell Westbrook ( 27.2 ) - Eric Gordon ( 14.4 ) I think out of this entire list, only Dwight Howard made an All-Star team. I believe Chris Paul was hurt. So how was James Harden supposed to win, when those are his 2nd and 3rd offensive options? With the last 2 teams he's been on ( Brooklyn and Philly ), lack of talent of his teammates can't be used any more. It's now more about HIS talent possibly going into decline. I think a guy like Harden maximized what was given to him. And I believe that Trae does the same thing.

( talking like Will Smith ) Keep . . Ki Jana's name . . out your freaking mouth!! Sorry . . . Bengals fan PSTD from the 90s kicking in, thinking that Ki-Jana Carter was going to help turn the franchise around, only to see him blow out his knee in his rookie year . . in the 1st preseason game. He was never the same afterwards.

Plus it would be idiotic to trade the face of the franchise, just to start rebuilding again. The domino effect of that is you'll lose more than Trae. You'd lose Murray, Capela, and Bogi in the process. That'll leave AJ, Collins, Hunter, and JJ as your building blocks.

To me, all of these issues aren't an indication that Trae Young is hard to build around. The biggest thing with Trae, are his shot selection and his turnovers, specifically turnovers that can quickly go the other way and be turned into points. And shot selection pertains to the type of shots in which he's rushing to get it off, or taking very difficult shots. Not the open 32 foot shots that people hate, but he actually makes. Then again, it's not like we're trying to construct an offense that see Trae get the ball coming off of a screen or in different areas of the court. To me, building around Trae is easy. And we've done it before. 2nd ball handler on the floor that can get his own shot 3 and D player who can make a 3, and put the ball on the floor 4-man who can defend and get his own offense ( or make the 3 ) 5-man who can rim protect, roll to the basket, and set solid screens to free Trae for open layups Our fan base really underestimated Gallo's ability to not only make a 3, but to create his own shot. If Collins had Gallo's offensive arsenal, he'd be an all-star player. Gallo could shoot, post up, and draw fouls. So that brings us to the REAL QUESTION . . . Who outside of Trae, is a player that some would consider an all-star caliber player? I think Capela's defensive impact is all-star caliber. I think Dejounte, at times, plays at an all-star caliber level. But who else? Bogi's shooting, when on, is a game changer. But is Bogi better than Tyler Herro? Is Capela better than Jared Allen? Is Dejounte better than Jalen Brunson? The true championship level teams have at least 2 guys playing at all-star level on almost a nightly basis. And you need one of those players playing at at least a 1st or 2nd team All-NBA level. With Trae's shooting struggles, he won't get that recognition. So we are what we are folks. I think we can play much better basketball for 48 minutes, with the personnel we have. But do we need a tweak in the lineup or added personnel? Do we need a coaching change? Do we need to deal 1 player off the team? The answers to all of those questions may be YES, at some point in the season. But as of right now, we have no choice but to see if these guys can play through it, get healthy, and figure things out.

Why do people keep saying that Trae is hard to build around? We have seen two 35+ game periods in the last 2 seasons, in which the Hawks have played top 10 in the league type basketball. The first period was right after the LP firing, in which the Hawks closed the season with a 27 - 11 record. The second period was last season, when the Hawks went 26 - 14. Both of these periods were preceded by multiple injuries/situations happening with the team that really disrupted team chemistry . . . but followed by key people getting healthy, most notably Bogi. We are currently 4 - 5 with Bogi, but we have also not played with our full starting lineup in tact since his arrival. To me, the biggest issues we have are: End of game offense ( specifically when we have the lead ) Player rotations based on who is playing the best throughout the game BBIQ and hustle on the defensive end The first two issues, in my opinion, can absolutely be fixed by the coach. The coach can dictate who is the first option on offense in those situations, and what the other players are doing in those situations. And from a player rotation standpoint, the coach can control who is on the floor at any particular time, regardless of set rotation or minute restriction. The last thing is on the players. Getting people to actually play hard and hustle can be preached by the coach, but the players have to do it. The Hawks, specifically, get outhustled all the time, especially when it comes to defensive rebounding and getting to loose balls. And if you really watch the video, the people not hustling may surprise you. Or it may be obvious.

My question would be ... force a trade where? Because he isn't going to request a trade to just get out of ATL. The franchise will shake it all the way up before giving into a Trae trade request. The media seems to always want to start rumors about the Hawks, specially when we have an influx of young talent.

Trae went ISO and got a layup vs Dosunmu. When he went ISO vs DeRozan, he didn't get to the rim, but he created some space on a step back to get the shot off. Dejounte went ISO and scored on a nice up and under move. The 2nd time he went ISO, he ended up taking a very tough fadeaway shot. Then you had Trae going ISO, making a great pass to Okongwu. On the last possession, it was push the ball up and he threw a pass to OO that he went and got. That was a very risky pass, but Trae has no fear. End of game offense wasn't the issue tonight. This was all about the defense being unable to get stops.

So was Dejounte, who was actually closest to the ball when Dosunmu grabbed it.

As others have pointed out, Trae got a flagrant 1 for almost the same play a few weeks ago. Refs just need to be consistent with that call.

He's having to take extremely difficult shots at the end of games. But true closers make difficult shots. So no, right now, he isn't closing the way we need him to. In Trae's case though, he's trying to shoot over guys who are 5 - 8 inches taller than him, because opponents are either putting a SF on him, or a center on him to block his view to the basket for midrange and shorter 3s ( which is why he shoots the bomb in late game situations ). This is why most of us are begging Nate to install some type of motion to these end of game situations, to give Trae the option to shoot the ball or find a wide open shooter.

To be honest, almost everyone in the league goes ISO in those situations, to run the clock down. The good motion teams will at least try to run some quick hitting action with under 10 seconds. But the guy with the ball still has the option to go ISO. NBA coaches always side with running the clock down, instead of getting the best possible shot. The offense in the last 3 minutes was much better than it has been Layup by Trae Layup by Dejounte Missed 12 footer by Dejounte Missed 20 foot stepback by Trae Dunk by Okongwu via a Trae assist Alley-oop dunk by Okongwu via a Trae assist So that's us scoring in 4 of the last 6 offensive possessions to get 8 points. That's actually great. The problem is, we didn't stop them not one time. And the one time that we did force a miss, they got the offensive rebound and still scored. DeRozan 17 ft pullup jumper Williams 17 ft pullup jumper LaVine 18 ft stepback jumper LaVine 18 ft pullup jumper DeRozan 20 ft pullup jumper DeRozan missed jumper Dosunmu layup

Watching the replay, Collins just didn't judge that it wasn't going in. He was battling for position with Williams on the other side, while no one put a body on Dosunmu. Dosunmu inbounded the ball, and ended up getting the offensive rebound. That should never happen. But it was a heads-up play by the kid for even thinking about going into the paint. The rest of his teammates just watched DeRozan shoot the ball. Dosunmu had sense enough to at least be in the paint. And he was rewarded for it. If Fields does make a decision to trade Collins, or any other player, we need someone that isn't afraid to scrap and claw for the simple loose balls.

lol. . . Kroger just called me. OK . . it's in ya'll hands.

A few questionable calls against DeRozan. Let's see if they win this challenge. Hopefully he's done. LMAO!!

Dammit Nate. Don't call timeout. I'm going to miss the end of this game.

I need this game decided in the next 10 minutes. I have a food pickup from Kroger I need to get before the top of the hour. Push this lead out please.

Bogi missed AJ twice wide open. Know your personnel sir.

AJ and Bogi waking up at just the right time. Extend their minutes Nate. Don't go to your scheduled subs. Let's see if they can really push this lead out to double digits.

Love that kid! Absolutely no fear.

From a traditional standpoint, yes. From an analytical standpoint, it's outstanding.

There you go gentlemen. Great offense this quarter to start. Tie game!! Now stay on the gas and let's knock them out. Push this to a double digit lead.