Hawkmoor

Three losts in a row including this blowout fiasco since Trae been back.  This team...

Capela just had to be the only Hawk on that side of the court that could have received a pass from Dejuante in transistion after that steal of the ball.

Looks up at the tv in time to see Capela fumble a uncontested pass to him at the front of the rim.

On 3/31/2024 at 4:23 PM, KB21 said:

Edey loses the ball. Clean strip.  Refs blow the whistle.  Foul on Tennessee.  Edey throws elbows and hooks arms.  No call.  

His entire tournament has been like that.  The refs and media are ACTIVELY trying to make this guy be great.   I mean he is hooking players like you said, jumping over folks backs for rebounds and setting moving screens and the whistle is silent.  You barely touch HIM and its free throws.   All this for a bench player in the NBA who might give you a few minutes.

All this hype for a bench player in the NBA.  Edy can't play in space, can't shoot further than 5 feet from the basket.  You go straight at him on offense because he is more of a help blocker on defense.  The refs are helping him look like a allstar in college by letting him throw players around in the paint without calling fouls on him, letting him go over the back of players without calling fouls on him, but you can't touch HIM and its free throws.  I've never seen anything like this.

2 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Play Bruno at the four. Play Clint at the five. Stay big the rest of the game. He has to coach by the feel of the game. Why doesn't he do that? 

 

That might have worked.  Playing Matthews against Giannis for even one possession was laughable.

1 hour ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Vit gave us nothing on both ends of the floor. Keep playing the guy who is bringing the energy and will keep that energy going. It makes no sense how Quin coaches these rotations. 

31 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Quin changed things up when Trae was still here in Jan. 

This defense was horrible in January. If you said he changed it in January, the only change SINCE is Trae being out.

2 hours ago, KB21 said:

Quin Snyder is an elite head coach.  What he has been able to do with this team without his main players is remarkable.  His schemes are elite.  We are also seeing the fruits of the renewed emphasis on player development.  Look at how Vit is contributing.  Garrison Matthews is contributing.  These are guys that may not have a long term future on this team, but they are making winning basketball plays on the court.  

Quinn is the same guy he was 2 months ago when he looked horrible.  The difference is he HAD to open up the offense when Trae went down and the defense is now operating at full capacity.

9 hours ago, aali34 said:

Hunter looks smoother then he's ever been, he might be a late bloomer type. With the level his jumper is now and how decisive and confident he's playing, I wonder if there's another gear he can get to. He will need to improve his handle and footwork to get there, but he's done a good job removing the gripes I was having with him so far.

Shoutout to the development staff.

Shoutout to giving Hunter the opportunity to be a 1st option.  The guy BEEN developed.

The Hawks have found OPTIONS and it didn't take a trade.

10 minutes ago, terrell said:

Is Dre even looking at Trae there? 

They dapped.  Thats good enough, lmao

19 minutes ago, terrell said:

Dre also mentioned after this game how getting more quality touches gets him in a rhythm..... That's the case right now...

No doubt.  Thats why I said he has to be a featured player.  1a or 1b on at least a quarter of the possessions.

27 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Before the ball tipped on the season, the concern pointed out by some of us, in particular @macdaddy and @TheNorthCydeRises regarding the depth and size in the front court that it was problematic. JJ getting injured, followed by Hunter was immediately apparent. Compounded with CC losing a step and OO not taking the next step was also the issue.

My bad.  Let me clear this up.  When I said "front court",  I meant J.J. and Hunter.  They can get rid of Capela tomorrow and on the fence about OO.  If they can get something for him I wouldn't necessarily miss him either.  EDIT:  I went back and checked my post.  I did clarify that its the forwards that need to stayed involved in the offense.

4 hours ago, deester11 said:

I've never said he couldn't show up.  He has at times on an inconsistent basis throughout his career.  As a detractor of his I'm not even bashing him and I think this is the most consistent and aggressive I've ever seen him.  Thats got nothing to do with Trae being out.  

It's easy and lazy to say the team is this and that with /without Trae, but I can't go along with narratives that say player X is better because Trae is out.  Any fool worth his millions SHOULD by attrition have better, more opportunities with Trae out.  The key is to perform in that instance. To his credit, Hunter has done that and I can acknowledge all of it.

 I'm gonna say this one time and highlight it:  The Hawks have proven that without Trae, the offense is WORST.  They NEED Trae Young.  Everyone knows I'm a big Trae Young detractor but the Hawks themselves have proven that they need him and I AGREE.  If anything, Trae being out has proven to ME how badly they do need him on offense.

Why are some of yall making this be "Trae bashing"?  If anything positive is said about Hunter or another player because Trae is out, the narrative is put out that its "Trae Bashing".  The pitchforks come out. The real issue is the Hawks are being able to get something positive out of something negative with Trae being out.  It forced the Hawks coaching staff and players to expand and come up with alternatives on offense. When Trae comes back, thats a positive.  If the coaching staff goes back to a backcourt heavy offense without using their bigs at forward, thats a coaching problem. 

The help that folks want him to have can come from INSIDE the current roster. It doesn't always have to come from a trade or free agent signing.  Another POSITIVE that has come out of this is the defense has improved.  Thats not Trae bashing, its just what it is.  The Hawks have learned that they CAN play defense.  How that works out when Young comes back remains to be seen.  Maybe they sit him in certain situations and go offense for defense,  defense for offense, etc.  It can be worked out.  Everything that is happening is a net positive.  Trae remains the best option on offense,  the Hawks have discovered that Hunter can help D.J. and Johnson, and they learned how to play lock down defense as a cohesive unit.

39 minutes ago, AHF said:

Dre in October 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists.

Dre in December 16.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists.

Dre in February 17.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists.

Dre in March 16.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists.

(Dre played hurt in November which hurt his numbers and sat out hurt in January).

Its also WHEN and HOW you get your stats during the game.

16 hours ago, NBASupes said:

That said, the defense without Trae is clearly much better and the offense is a lot less of a threat if the shots aren't falling. 

 

Very good accessment.

35 minutes ago, deester11 said:

Lmao...he's never had the chance before? Hell nah..good to see aggressive Hunter but that "Trae out crap" don't fly.

I remember the Miami playoff series in which Hunter carried the Hawks when the Heat shut down Trae.  They game planned for Trae, he shot poorly and Hunter stepped up.  Hunter's good play over the last month or so isn't the first time he has showcased what he can do.  They NEED Trae but they also need MORE than Trae.  One player can't do it.

21 hours ago, terrell said:

I’m not going to say the Hawks are better without Trae. But I think we have enough of a sample size to say they are not demonstrably worse...................................

22-29 with

10-10 without

 

And players like Hunter get to showcase what they can really do.

Meh..

On 3/10/2024 at 7:31 AM, Diesel said:

For the frontcourt, you need a low post scorer/rim protector/lob threat.  Somebody who can get points without having to be spoonfed.  I have a thought on who we should target.   And if successful, then one of our sacred cows will have to go but not Trae or DJ or JJ.  

 

 

Thats a contradictory statement.  You said one of the sacred cows has to go, but not Trae, DJ or JJ.  What other sacred cow do the Hawks have?

1 hour ago, AHF said:

The Cavs were missing 3 of their 5 starters, including their best players.  The Hawks were favored by 2.5 points by Vegas, and we aren't a very good team.  They are a good team that was devastated by injuries and a shell of themselves against us.  Playing a team when their best players and 3 of 5 starters are injured is weak sauce.  If that is your measuring stick, you aren't getting back meaningful measurements.

The numbers are just interesting trivia unless they project forward meaningfully.  I was commenting on why I don't think they are a big enough sample size yet to project forward.  No issue with you sharing the numbers.

Win with whoever suits up for either side.  They have to learn how to win regardless.

28 minutes ago, terrell said:

Yeah after watching this Hawks team the last few years, NO TEAM is weak sauce.......lol

Had they lost the last two games the narrative would have continued that they have to play with Trae to win.  The have to learn how to win with whoever suits up.  

1 hour ago, terrell said:

Well Ive seen weak sauce opponents scorch us over the years so.............Its good to see us defend vs ANY NBA squad..

Yall must've forgot how random guards usually have their career game vs us.. lol

Weak sauce?  The Cavaliers were 40-21 coming into that game against the Hawks.  I agree with you. A good defensive showing against ANY team is good, especially a 40 win team.  The Hawks are gelling now, learning how to play cohesively.

I've been saying for 4 years that Hunter has to be 1a or 1b, a featured player in the offense.  The Hawks are not built like that.  The wings just stand on the wings and let the guards play offense.  Hunter looks good once he is able to get in a rhythm as a lead player.  A trade might be in his best interest long term.

DRAFT:

SIGN:

TRADE:

31 minutes ago, Jody23 said:

You said alot here.  And none of it changes the fact that Dominique did NOT carry those teams by himself.  Nobody was arguing that Dominique had the same support as Bird, Magic, Jordan, Thomas, etc.  He clearly didn't.  The statement was made that Trae somehow has help compared to Dominique having zero which just isn't the case.  It also doesn't change the fact that Trae led a team to the ECF and could have had a chance to win if not for the injury.  I love Nique, but he never led the team that far and yes, he had more help than Trae ever has.

Collins,Bogi, Gallinari, Snell, Capela, Hill, a young Okongwu who was showing signs, Huerter, Hunter, Reddish (at times), come on dude.  The Hawks had one of the deepest rosters in the league.  This has to stop.  Travis built a monster and the problem was you was gonna have to pay folks and that was one of the issues that got him out of Atlanta because Ressler wasn't having it.

The other factor is Trae, Lillard or whatever his name is, they wouldn't have the success they have now back in the 1980s because it was a completely different, PHYSICAL game.  Guards didn't go into the lane.  They just didn't do it.  You had to be a physical guard back then.  The point guards were physical pure point guards who had to be able to shoot over the defense if they were a scorer which most were not.  The two guard was the guy back then and he had to be lights out.  Nobody is gonna change those facts.  Spud Webb was a bench sideshow who would dunk on fast breaks.  

Look at this picture of Jordan in the lane.  Jordan was 6'6" tall.  EVERY team had a enforcer.  It was like a hockey game.  The Pistons entire team were enforcers.  There wasn't gonna be any Trae Young pick and rolls and floaters in the lane.  Nique couldn't be stopped inside.  Thats how the game was played. You HAD to be physical.  And this Jordan vs Lebron discussion fiasco they keep running in the media needs to stop while I'm at it.   Jordan and Nique, Bird, using these rules today would average in the 40 point range.