ViewsFromTheSquawk

Sorta hoping our odds were 26-1.... Wouldn't be the first time we came from 26 down... 

In our winning streak here recently Bud has played all players that were dressed and active... really don't see that changing just because it's the playoffs... buds learned from his past playoff matchups and we seen him use younger guys or guys you wouldn't expect to get playing time during the postseason.... One prime example of this was when we played Washington the last time 

The lineup for that last stretch was Schröder,Mack,Baze,Muscala,Pero

7 hours ago, rd79 said:

So it's Dennis fault every 3 ball by the cavs went in early? And his absence was the reason for a gassed LeBron fouling and turning over and the CAVs coming down to a normal percentage??? I'm tired of Bud. I get that he left in players starting the comeback, but he didn't even put in his best FT guy in in the foul situation with 6 sec to go, who by the way always gets free to catch the inbound...? 

I get the hate when Dennis turns the ball over a lot, but he didn't. His numbers outside of his +/- looked actually quite good. How can he be the only reason for his +/- in this case? By the way Sap looked worse before the comeback run... He got his chance to recover...

Outside of the comeback my highlight of the game was Ehen Kyrie crossed over CAVs fans already cheering but Dennis didn't really bite in the crossover and blocks the shot. I hope this is a sign for Dennis playing defense on the level he did previous season during playoffs

The bolded is incorrect. The players we had in during OT was mostly our best FT shooters...

Delaney-80%

THJ-76% (very deceiving number because post all star break he's 84%)

Millsap-77%

Ilyasova-80%

Muscala-76%

Baze-71%

Calderon-88%

11 minutes ago, Spud2Nique said:

Last chance to secure a 7th spot with a loss...otherwise we basically 5th or 6th...just sayin..

Really rooting for the bad Hawks today.... Really want that 1st round matchup with Boston to happen again. 

Heck even the benches in comparison are better... 

Our main 5 bench guys with Sap/Baze compliments one another because we got Baze as the main attack guard and ball handler to go with Shooters in the backcourt like Dunleavy and Jose and down low we got versatile Humphries to go with the all star post presence in Millsap. You take those 2 out of the bench rotation our depth looks depleted aside from the SG spot and teams go on massive runs because our bench has little athleticism without Sap/Baze aside From prince (and occasionally Bembry when he plays). That's just how I see it tho... 

The reason why that lineup works so well opposed to the normal one with Baze/Sap/Thabo is because the replacements compliment the other players in the lineup. With the one we've been using with Sova,THJ,and TP it gives us hard dribble penetrators at the 1/3 spots while giving us a jump shooting creator at the 2 guard to compliment. And down low we got the physical post presence D8 with the 40+ % shooting Ersan as a solid versatile stretch 4. With that lineup everyone compliments one another. 

As for the casual one (DS17,Baze,Thabo,Sap,D8) hardly anyone compliments each other. DS17 and Baze are both attack energy guards who'll clog the paint with 2 post presences down low in Sap and Howard giving us little to operate with, and with Thabo playing the 3 who provides no spacing our offense looks horrid unless we're playing a smaller team or one without a shot blocking big because our casual starting 5 has no spacing. 

30 minutes ago, Lurker said:

You really can't be serious if you think that lineup will translate when the lights come on.

Dead serious.... that lineup has been great in our run without Baze/Sap starting. And even tho the record says the otherwise in the time we've used it let's not pretend like we've failed because of that starting lineup. They've been in the positive on +/- in every game... it's been the bench that's struggled because we weren't as deep without Baze/Sap, but with them 2 coming off the bench with that 2nd unit we looked dominant against one of the supposedly best team in the East... All I'm saying is if it ain't broke don't fix it! 

1 minute ago, Peoriabird said:

Who kept putting them together and forcing Dennis to feed the post without making sure Dennis could even feed the post????

The thing with it tho is here recently our starting lineup without Baze and Sap has been stellar... it's just our bench hasn't been good because they were absent. Do y'all think Bud would make Sap/Baze stay on the bench, because the starting lineup we have been currently using (DS17,THJ,TP,SOVA,D8) is and has been great! 

I.... I.... I....... really wanna lose this game.... 

1 minute ago, thecampster said:

The best team in the East (Cavs) are only 13 games over .500. This is a far cry 2 years ago when the Hawks were 38 games over .500, the Cavs were 24 games over .500, the Bulls 18 and the Raptors 16 games. The East is wide open this year. No team is dominant.

Injuries are playing a huge part in team records this year as well as the bottom of the East being far better than 2 years ago. The Cavs are a shell of their former selves. The East is far more competitive than in past years, though overall worse. All 8 teams in the East have a legitimate chance to get to the finals. No series will be a cakewalk for any team. This may be the best (or worst based on perspective) conference playoffs in 20 years.

Then you take a glance out West..... 

Alright hoorah hoorah we made it 10 years straight, but what's the plan for the playoffs? Look this team has been up and down all year but one thing is for damn sure.... they play up to their competition no matter whose on the court for us. So what do y'all think? Should we want an earlier matchup with Cleveand so Thompson won't be back at 100% or should we try to avoid them as late as possible? Also, who would y'all wanna play in round 1? My obvious choice is Boston because we own them, but the only way we'd secure that matchup is if we lose out and Indiana wins out... which could happen but we'd need to slip up to not only them but the hornets. Either way tho my dream scenario is if we do win our round 1 series in a 6 or 7 seed we'd face Boston or Toronto either way. The team I don't wanna play is WASHINGTON because they have all the ingredients to topple our Hawks. So lay it out fellas/ladies who y'all wanna see in Round 1  and beyond? 

22 minutes ago, Thomas said:

We have lost the last three in a row to the Wizards and one of those games was by twenty six points. Tim and Prince weren't getting the minutes in that loss they are now so it could be different in a series. The last game was close because of Tim keeping us alive. Problem with them is they can and do just bury us scoring from anywhere.

Side note tho if you can chase Beal and Porter off the 3 point line they're far from a good 3pt shooting team. 

1 hour ago, benhillboy said:

People call Lebron a "great" teammate because he's a prolific facilitator and of course he wins.  Fact seems to be unless you're one of his favorite flunkies like James Jones his personality wears on his teammates.  Tristan don't be hearing that sh$t.  It's no coincidence they got washed by our C team without the guy who they look to for toughness often.  Lebron's body language is awful at times, something that wouldn't dare be allowed in Miami.  

Chemistry can't be understated and I don't think it's a stretch to say last night's sample is an indictment of the elements Dennis and Dwight offer.  Nothing against them, more of a slight towards #Budcox team-building while praising the second unit for buying into ball movement and best shot available (ie get Tim the damn ball).

The bolded above^ usually works a good 85% of the time. 

Still convinced Bembry is Andre Roberson with an Afro

By far my favorite moment from last night...

What a wonderful win... here's my thoughts...

Bad

Muscala's offense. Idk what happened to him in comparison to his earlier season production. He looked lost offensively 

Dunleavy being on the court period. He provides nothing 

Dwight not getting more minutes. When Boston was making there run we should've subbed him back in and absolutely abused them back down to a 20 point lead, but I can't complain we got the win. 

Good

Jose played some solid minutes 

Love bringing Sap AND Baze off the bench. Gives the starting lineup more spacing and the bench necessary added depth. Keep it this way coach. 

Schröder being the silent killer. Yeah he didn't blow up and drop 25+ like last time but when they kept cutting into it him and Sap were there to halt their runs 

Sap welcome back. 

Point Baze actually worked last night with the 2nd unit. Wouldn't mind seeing more of that. 

Freaking Amazing

Dwight absolutely bullying Horford in the 3rd

DS17 crossing up Bradley

Prince going complete Kawhi mode in that 1st half 

Muscala's defense looked like Mutombo 

Defensive effort in general was there you could tell they wanted this one. 

DJ Foster as always

Roughing up the C's in general. Sure we got in foul trouble but we let them know there are no bitches on this roster. Had Crowder,IT,and Horf just frustrated and hobbled in that game 

Or let everybody walk that's on roster  trade Baze to whoever the heck wants him and prepare for 2018 with a young core and a loaded free agency class the following offseason 

The worst outcome to me is being swept by Toronto or Washington.... 

With this team I already know 2 things regarding the playoffs. We could easily beat Boston in a series and we're bound to lose to Cleveland so anything aside from those 2 things is the worst 

Ownership is amongst the tops in the league

Bud is a good coach

Wilcox needs to get replaced by someone who can overrule and make decisions 

DS17 is a definite keeper gonna be a all star

THJ solid starter very JR Smith like. Keep

Bazemore get the hell outta town

Millsap not worth the money he's going to command for his final "major" deal

Dwight keep cause he's a good player on a good contract 

9 whole points.... yeah get some of that. In Bembry I Trust

5 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I would never use 'work ethic' and 'mentor' in sentences involving Derrick Rose.  Sorry - I just don't see it.

On the court in his MVP seasons and in his prime he was one of the most hardest working players in the game. He damn near got the bulls over Lebron and went to the finals. Now off the court especially here recently I can see where the issue could be, but as a player he does nothing but help this teams PG situation especially in a backup role. 

42 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Waaaaaay past being that.

I know that. That's been obvious sense 2011 but what he can teach Dennis is the work ethic to become that type of player and that'd be huge for this franchise

3 hours ago, Bankingitbig said:

I don't see D-Rose providing any mentorship/development to a player that is ahead of him on the roster. He wants to play and he wants to be a starter. In fact, do we even really want Rose's mentorship/development - if you can even call it that?

He was a former MVP and plays very similar to DS17

13 minutes ago, Lurker said:

I'm in the camp of this needs a scorched earth rebuild. Not just a little, trade everyone on the team, everyone.

The way I look at this Hawks team is by comparing what I think a championship team should be to what we got now and see just who is worth keeping...

Schröder-Young PG that I feel could be top 10 maybe top 5 with maturity and growth with more time as a starter definite KEEP

Baze-Underperforming hustle player that is at best a 7th man on a actual contending team. GONE

Sefolosha-declining defensive player who provides absolutely nothing Offensively. GONE

Millsap-as a max player/main guy he's not worth it. On a contending team he's a iffy 2nd option but on most he's the 3rd guy just like K-Love. GONE

Howard-At his contract and for what he does I'm more than happy with keeping Dwight especially if down the road we build an actual contending team and he stays I'd love to see him in a 6th man or limited role with about 25 minutes a game where all he's gotta do is rebound and protect the paint. KEEP

THJ-Is a legit 6th man in the NBA on any contending team and on at least half of the teams he's a full time starter. KEEP

Prince-Solid rookie who has grown up before our eyes. I see a lot of those Carroll/Kawhi traits Bud seen when he was drafted definite KEEP

Bembry-Honestly to me I think he's Sefolosha's replacement as our primary defender on the leading scorer of whoever we play. He reminds me a lot of Andre Roberson which is perfectly fine with me. Especially as a role player. KEEP

Humph-Nice physical primary backup player on a minimal contract. KEEP

Muscala-Stretch 4 who doesn't stretch anything or provide enough versatility to do anything else. GONE

Illyasova-Legit versatile stretch 4 that I love seeing spell whoever our PF may be in the future. An absolute KEEP

Delaney-Go the f*** back to Europe. GONE

Jose-Journeyman PG with nothing left. GONE

Dunleavy-3 point specialist who doesn't not specialize in 3 point shooting. GONE

Kelly-D-League guy at best. GONE