MoonKnight

I agree. We could have easily gassed this team out had we pushed the tempo throughout the game. Frankly, this game should not have been so close.

Besides the injuries Zaza's play was the only lowlight for me last night. It took only a few minutes of Zaza's play to remind me of what a black hole he is on offense. He went one on three several times and came out with nothing. I am really conflicted as to whether he should be (essentially) getting Shell's minutes.

is one of those coaches, like Riley and others, who will design an offensive and defensive game style that suits the abilities of his players. Fratello installed a running team here (I am amazed at how much we ran when I catch one of the old games on NBATV) while he installed a half court style of play in Cleveland and Memphis. Woody does not appear to have the coaching acumen to adopt a running style that clearly suits the abilities of this team. We only run if our opposition runs. Otherwise we play like most other eastern conference teams and play a grind it out half court style. There is nothing in Woody's history that suggests to me this is going to change while he remains the coach.

I caught the game on NBA league pass and I agree with most of what you post. This was the worst our offense has looked all year. As I and many here have commented on before, this team appears to have no half court sets. For most of the game, we looked like 5 guys who have just met trying to play as a team in a pick up game. Either the players are not listening and executing whatever half court sets Woody is teaching them or he is not teaching half court sets. I though both rookies looked like rookies in this game and JJ was just off in his shots. Marvin and JSmoove played very well and gave us a chance. It will be interesting to see if this team can bounce back for the last two games or fall into another dark abyss.

I think it would be foolish for the Hawk's brass to expect any contribution from Craig at all. Given his extreme injury history, IMO we are better off putting him on the shelf for good unless we have serious injury problems with our other guards. Having Craig play a pattern of five games followed by five games to recuperate causes serious damage to team chemistry. Retirement should be a very real option for Craig.

The two big keys to this game was Marvin's ability to hit the mid-range jumper with regularity and JSmoove's D on Nash from Switchouts. Smoove's reach, quickness, and instincts seemed to truly bother Nash (no easy feat). I would also give kudos to JJ for impacting the game with timely steals, boards and assists when his jumper was off.

I think Law would be better off coming in off the pine replacing AJ even if he came into the game within the first five minutes of the game. Let him watch the flow of the game and observe it before coming in. Speaking of Woody's coaching, I was again reminded about our history of ineffective halfcourt offense. Either the players are running very poorly conceived offensive sets or we don't have any (I guess the players could be failing to execute perfectly conceived offensive sets but I don't believe that). Did you notice how NJ still *gasp* ran offensive sets with ancient Darrell Armstrong running the point? I could see NJ's offensive plays develop while the Hawks seem to be in constant chaos in the halfcourt. Sadly, we have to constantly push the ball to seek open shots because our half court offense will not generate open looks.

I, like most on this board, like Law. He has shown enough promise to be the point guard of the future. However, he should not be the starter now. He simply is not yet a pass first point who can run the offense (whatever Woody's offense is) and create continually for his teammates. Law, like most rookies, has alot to learn about running a team and would be better served coming off the pine behind AJ. I am fearful that he will press himself and develop bad habits, like looking for his shot to often in order to stay the starter. With AJ now available, I do not understand the rush to force Law to grow up. We cannot be so needy for a savior point guard that we sacrifice the future.Let Law play heavy minutes as a backup but let him learn the game now. This move smacks of desperation by Woody to keep his job. Woody would be more likely to keep his job if he learned and taught some half court offensive sets to this team.

I have been a partial season ticket holder for years and this was the loudest I have ever heard the place. Kudos to the crowd. I noted that some here thought we missed Zaza. I disagree. Horford and Shell played very well in the paint and Zaza's lack of interior D may have hurt us in this game. Against many teams Horford and Al will be solid at the 5 spot. I hope Horford is not injured due to that last hard fall. He appeared to be in some pain and moved gingerly when he went to the bench (he did not return due to foul trouble). Like everyone has said Lue, JJ, and Jsmoove were very solid especially in the 4th. JChill simply had the worst game of his Hawk career but I suspect this game was just an anomaly. One other key play was Harris' injury b/c he was killing us for most of his minutes. But hell, we deserve alittle luck for a change.

Brooking, years ago, was a very good outside linebacker but has never played inside well at all and it now appears his skills are declining quickly. I was very mad after watching Brooking take Sanders out of that goalline play. I hope we lose his contract in the offseason and add a young MLB. The MLB from Vandy looks great though his name escapes me and Phillip Wheeler from Tech looks promising though he could add some lbs.

Like you, I doubt Norwood fits Petrino's system either but he is very valuable as a special teams player and change of pace runner. I think Norwood should be given the chance to prove he could be the every down runner by getting the bulk of the carries until a quality power runner is added to the roster.

This offensive line is not designed to play the power spread offense Petrino is trying in install. IMO, Petrino's system can work once the line is drastically remade into blockers equipped to handle the blocking schemes. Dunn also does not fit within this system since he is a cutback runner instead of a power runner. I suspect Dunn could still produce if he played in the old system. We will see of Petrino has the patience to stay while the roster is overhauled to match is system.

While I don't believe Craig is faking it I don't believe he will ever play any meaningful minutes here again. Having Craig on the roster is akin to having Mike Hampton on the Braves roster. Those that still believe that he may start or should be a part of our future plans should review the definition of insanity. We are stuck with Craig's contract unless he announces his retirement or he requests to be released. At least his contract decreases in value throughout the length of the contract. I don't see a reason for him sitting on the bench or being present at homes games. Woodson and BK need to prepare Law to handle the point in the very near future and having Craig in the plans simply hinders that plan. I hope that AJ will start with Law taking over the point midway through the season.

Given our current roster development, we need to acquire team chemistry as soon as possible for this season to have a chance of success. We cannot build team chemistry with a point (Craig) who will only play 30 to 40 games a year due to injury and will need to sit down a game to "rest" his joints after every third game. Law should have a great chance to start the season if not soon thereafter. Lue has said he is a backup point guard and AJ will likely be the starter if Law falters and when Craig breaks down for good this preseason. Law is truly the "X" factor this season.

his knee still bothering him. He should not be the starting point for this team because we need to develop chemistry and a 30 to 40 game guy is not the answer at the point. We will be lucky if he is a role player off the pine given his history. I have not posted for a while but as the season gets closer I see more trade AJ posts. I think that is a mistake because Craig might not even make it out of training camp upright. The real battle for the starting point should be between Law and AJ.

Quote: I think it would be smart if the difference is 5 year 45 million and 5 year 50 million to go ahead and pay him the 50 million. Even 5 year 52.5 million. The truth is that even though we can afford to lose Smoove, why would you want to? We cannot afford to lose Smoove. Period. Despite our collection of forwards, Smoove is the only guy with clear all star potential and the potential to be a box office draw. No forward on our roster replicates Smoove's skills. We should try to lock him down now.

and with no preconceived notions or with an axe to grind. The pros: much more athletic than the Euros his size (Dirk, Bargs), good weakside defender with good shotblocking potential, good FT shooter, calm demeanor on the floor, decent post footwork. The Cons: has trouble finishing against good tall athetic big men (Jones had a wicked block on Yi's drive), gets pushed around easily in the post, gets ball stripped easily, tough to gauge his true skill level because of Chinese National style of play. IMO he has the tools to be a very good player, possibly Dirk-like, but he is many years away from that level. Despite hitting an easy last shot over much smaller players I wish he was more aggressive in calling for the ball. There were many times he had a mismatch down low and was not demonstrable enought to get his teammates attention. He will need to develop a more selfish mindset to succeed.

Didn't Sothron indicate we would know the final roster after today due to trades that would happen after July 1st? Oh well.

more chatter about the alleged trade or trades that will be announced Monday. I really don't know what to expect now that Woody has mentioned we need that 3rd main scorer (I thought Marvin was supposed to be that guy). Initially, I expected the team to clear out a point guard or spare 4/5 for a 7 foot D-minded 5 but now I don't know. There is still the chance that one of our draftees could be dealt despite BK's statements to the contrary. Thoughts?

I was there and I can't remember the floor (no I was not drunk). I don't think they made any changes there yet. I did appreciate the free hot dogs(sadly not the good kosher dogs), coke and popcorn. It was also amusing to hear Rathburn say "party on".

I still don't understand. These conferences following drafts are not just for the GM but for the benefit of the draftees as a means of introducing them to the local fanbase. If these guys are not on the block why wait until Monday? Are we so broke or busy that we cannot hold a conference Friday and Monday? We should not worry about "press economy" given how badly we need positive p.r. This is just very unusual.

Why wait until monday especially if you are not trading either Horford or Law? Wouldn't we want to take advantage of the current buzz and introduce these guys before the weekend? Regardless of BK's statements to the contrary, he must be considering dealing one or both of these guys soon. Interesting.

Law scares me in that he reminds me of Randolph Childress. I just got back from the draft party and BK gave a late interview with Rathburn and stated the he liked Law because he wanted a scoring pg to take double teams off JJ and he thought Law could do that. Sorry but Lue can fill that role and I would prefer a PG who can make penetrate and dish. Horford was a safe pick but Law has some bust potential.

The two BC guys if Williams can stay off the chronic. Dudley is one of those guys that very successful teams always have on their rosters. Landry could be a Craig Smith type undersized power player. I have real question marks about Law. I will ask this again... Does Law remind anyone here of Randolph Childress? I could be wrong and maybe I was too impressed with Hollinger's article but I feel uneasy about Law.