Spiral

I didn't mind RandMo so much as an end of the bench guy. Collins seemed to be more of the waste of space. I'm not sure he can get both feet off the ground at the same time.

I'm pretty sure any team that lands CP3 through trade also will also have to employ the often injured Emeka Okafor and his ridiculous contract.

C- I liked the trade back, but anytime draftpicks are sold, as a fan, it can only be viewed as a negative. I was hoping for Stanley Robinson for the last pick, but I'll trust we did the right thing in picking the frenchman.

I wonder if it could be simpler... If they're looking to clear Paul's salary, how bout Teague/Craw/#24/unprotected first next yr for CP3... They clear Paul's salary, get a young pg and some picks for the new owner to build with. If we were able to re-sign Joe, I think we'd be stacked.

Thats the one Bruin! Thanks! They play it every home game right before tip. I think it's a modified version of the original, but thats definitely it. I should've figured that out, the lead singer from the Muse has a pretty unique sound.

I agree with about everything you stated but this portion. I do think they compliment each other fairly well. I think they both do a decent job of defending their positions. I think the fact they both can handle the ball and get up and down the floor on the break makes them somewhat of a special combo. I don't think they compliment all that well in half court offense because they both need to be pretty much on the block to score. I think they would be a better combo if Josh could develop the 10-12 ft shot Horford has, but as far as 4/5 combos in the league, I think they are one of the better ones.

Does anyone know the name of the song/artist that is played right before tip-off of every Hawks home game? I've been wondering what the name of that song is pretty much all season long.

Good read. Thanks.

Can someone explain to me what benefit this trade was to The Clippers? Telfair & Thornton both have small reasonable contracts. I thought Thornton to be a decent player. Are they just giving them up in a salary dump? For what it's worth, I'd love to have Outlaw over Mo. I wish there was a way to pull that off. The only thing I can gather is that maybe the extra $4m will allow them to throw money at one of the big free agents in the summer.

If we're looking at vet bigs, the first three that spring to mind are Ben Wallace, Adonal Foyle and Theo Ratliff. Of those three, I think I'd rather have Theo. He's still athletic enough to alter shots and let's face it, he's been on the shelf so long with injuries, he probably still has the most left in the tank. A few others that they might consider are: 1. Rasho Nesterovic 2. Stromile Swift 3. Chris Mihm 4. Calvin Booth 5. Mikki Moore

I don't know what all would have to be done to allow for this to happen, but if MW is out for the season, would it be possible to bring Chillz in?

I can live with Josh missing jump shots if his energy level and focus are where they were Saturday night. Josh will probably never be a great shooter, but when he's on his game, he brings things that few (if any) in the NBA bring.

D is baiting the hook.

I think the biggest problem with Smoove is he quit doing the things that he did well... Hustle Josh is always at his best when he's active. I watched McGee for Washington last night and he reminded so much of what Smoove used to be. He was all ove the floor, challenged anything and everything. Finished Strong at the rim. When Josh hustles, he impacts the game in so many ways, offensively & defensively. It wasn't that long ago that Josh was being considered for DPOY. Now, he looks like the 3rd or 4th best defender on his own team. I don't ever remember Josh jumping out of the way when others come to rim strong. He did it last night with McGee and did it the night before with Hickson. I remember when Josh would challenge all comers at the rim. I used to come out of my chair when people would go down the lane and he would be there. I knew the excitement was coming. I remember when he would streak down the court and challenge the opposing teams on breakaways. He used to chase opponents down and block shots with shear hustle and atheleticism. Nowadays he just kinda loafs up and down the court. Can anyone remember the last time you saw Josh chase someone down? He still does challenge shots from the weak side, but not as aggresively as he used to and usually against someone with far less hops than he has. Perhaps this is due to his injury, but I don't know. He just seems like a different player these days. It's almost if he's scared or something. Maybe the truth is what others have said and that is he got paid and now really doesn't feel like he has anything to prove. Almost like he seems like he's pacing himself or something. He has been my favorite player since he arrived, I really hope he gets it together.

What I don't get is why he has regressed in his shooting so much... Most people improve from year to year, but his shooting has really fallen off. He was never very good to start with, but he did go through spells where it did fall consistantly. My immediate thought he has a bit of an awkward form. It's almost as if he cranks it from behind his head rather than your traditional jumpshot. IMO... the free throw problem is a more of a confidence thing than anything else. I doubt Josh will ever be above 80% from the stripe, but below 60% is crazy. He has officially made himself a liability on the floor late in games. We may see an opponent employ the hack-a-smoove at some point.

It won't be Elson... Hoopshype is reporting he signed with the Bucks.

I think he'd be great for this team... Bring veteran leadership... Can knock down the big shot... all the intangibles... That said... I think we're competitively too far away... Those type players always seem to end up on those fringe championship teams.

I thought Smoove did a decent job on VC. He actually stopped him a couple times, but VC made some incredibly tough shots that only a handful of players could make. The thing is, VC was on his game and we were trying to defend him man to man. When an elite player is that hot, you have to get the ball out of his hand. I was begging for Mario West to be on him all night. West is like Bruce Bowen in his relentlessness. He is up in your face whether you have the ball or not. He doesn't do much on offense at all, but dang!!! ...if you can't stop a wing player, at least give the kid a shot to help. IMO... what absolutely killed our defense is that nobody could stay in front of anyone all night, especially not VC or Harris. We were getting beat on back door cuts and when we went to double, NJ made a ton of open shots. Their 3pt% was ridiculous. Some other random observations I made... Our team has always struggled with ultra quick point guards. Hell, our own Speedy Claxton torched us a few years back. Think about it... TJ Ford goes nuts, Mo Williams has big games against us, Devin Harris is a one man wrecking crew and I'm not even going to describe what CP3 does to our team. Damn, NJ has front court depth! The just keep running out big after big. It's not like these are scrubs either. They are legitimate NBA players. Not Superstars mind you, but just about any of them would be a ton of help to our squad. I think Mike Bibby should consider staying on the offensive side of the court full time if he continues his matador style defense.

IMO... Injuries and inconsistent playing time have messed with Acie's confidence. It's hard to play with confidence when you know that if you make one mistake that the coach is pulling you out of the game. Then what's worse is the coach lets a vet make the same mistake, but takes no action.

We are competing with New Jersey to see who gets to be swept by Boston in the first round. I'd be thrilled if we were able to beat Boston, but I would literally bet everything I own that we would not. I do feel that making the playoffs is crucial for the experience and growth of our young players so I really hope we make it and at least make it a competitive series.

Yea... about the only positive I can take from losing is that if we miss the playoffs, Woody is gone. I could never root against the Hawks, but I've thought that if the ASG is to get rid of Woody, the only way it will happen is if we miss the playoffs.

I can... All were BK decisions Chillz over Iggy or Deng Marvin Williams over Deron or Paul Shelden Williams over anybody else in the entire first round Jason Collier signed instead of Pryzbilla Jon Edwards signing then forcing him on Indy lowering our return for Al Giving up a draft pick for Peja Drobnjak Thats just off the top of my head, I'm sure I could go on if I actually researched it...

I don't know if he would have beat him out or not. I doubt it. Horford has a better offensive game. They are both pretty good defenders. Noah is a better shot blocker and I'm not sure who is the better rebounder. They are both hustle guys that collect a ton. I think Al probably boxes out better, but Noah has a little more reach. I know it has nothing to do with ROY, but I would much rather have Horford moving into the future. I think Noah's strange curveball looking shot really limits his offensive potential.

I agree, I wish I didn't, but you speak the truth.

Another reason I noticed is Josh Smith. If his man is involved in the pick and roll, (Peja last night) Josh will sag back in the lane to defend the rim after the pick, however if Peja is your guy, you can't leave him unguarded at the 3 pt line. I would think that Woody either has to go zone and leave JS low or tell him to always keep a hand on his man.