chillzatl

don't meander around with a bunch of half cocked bs that they are overrated. You should have said "hey these guys got better but the lakers didn't really improve". Instead of wrapping that in an idiotic blanket statement that "the lakers are overrated". Because that's just a stupid statement to make. They might not be "the best" but they aren't overrated. They are STILL a top 2-3 team in the league. Whether diesel likes them or not. And until one of those upstart teams (clippers HAHA) proves otherwise, that's how it will continue to be.

" say they are overrated because of Guys like you who say that these Lakers are 3 time champions and are the Best team this yr." I never said that. I said that they Kings were the better team last year and should be the better team this year as well. PAY ATTENTION DUMMY. What I said is that just because they KINGS are better that doesn't make the Lakers overrated. They are still easily a top 3 team, if not top 2. Just because you don't like them and you will spin things any way you can to get people to agree with you (which obviously nobody does in this case), doesn't mean they are overrated. They are STILL a top 2-3 team in the league and the Clippers, rockets and Mavs aren't going to change that. GET IT? GOT IT? GOOD!

Stick to the point that you started man. Just because the clippers or Mavs got better doesn't mean they are ready to be the #1 or #2 team in the league, which the lakers are. Hell, we got better, are we suddenly better than the lakers??? The issue is not IF THE KINGS ARE BETTER. Hell, they SHOULD Be better. They were the better team last year. BUt the better team doesn't always win. Even if they Kings are the better team, that only makes the Lakers the SECOND BEST TEAM. you really spread the sh1t thick when you don't like a team/player.

oh c'mon man, get a hold on yourself. We all know that you didn't watch the Hawks in he 2nd half last year. Did you not watch the NBA at all? Lindsey Hunter and Mitch Richmond were never integral parts of that team. Hunter barely played once fisher came back and Richmond barely played period. Don't make yourself look like a fool by saying the 3 time champs are overrated. I don't like them either. But i'm not going to make myself look like some blind idiot by saying they are overrated. The Kings should very well be the better team this year. But that doesn't mean the Lakers are then anything but the #2 team in the league at that point. I mean you are really going out on a limb saying that the Clippers, Rockets and Mavs somehow make the Lakers OVERRATED? AHHAHAHA. If the Kings are the better team, how is the #2 team in the league overrated??? TELL ME PLEASE??? What diesel is showing here is the exact opposite of hometowning. When he dislikes a player/team he will spin things from every possible angle to "prove" his point. He really wants you people to accept that because the CLIPPERS/ROCKETS/MAVS/ETC got slightly better this year that they are some how better than the #2 (at worst) team in the league?!?!?! Lets all sit down and have a nice laugh at diesels expense. Thanks D, I needed that!

I have to agree with trace. The Lakers, overrated?? That's some biased a** writing there. That's like saying the Yankees are overrated. They are 3 time defending champions!?! And realistically they aren't old. They've got Kobe, George, Medvedenko and now rush. Plus they've still got plenty of vets with years left in their tanks. The Kings are the only team that have a legitimate shot at this point in the season. They have NOTHING to worry about from houston, LAC, GS or just about anyone else.

you can go back years for that kinda stuff. People have been chomping at the bit to get Shareef here since like 1999, over on the AccessAtlanta boards. Near the end of last season a few of us lobbied the forums about big dog. Bam, who do we end up getting? BIG DOG. That's what happens when you have passionate fans, like the ones we have here. great post!

Because we dump Nazr and Theo goes down, we are HOZZZED. We would be the same no-defense team we were last season. They are not going to commit to Theo that fully yet. He's going to have to prove that he's somewhat durable now. Nazr is a great insurance policy to have on him. He's not going to win all-nba awards or anything, but he's a damn good backup to have "just in case". we have plenty of offense.

that every team needs to be a winner. I'm glad to see us getting someone who has proven himself. He's not going to wow you with his scoring but he's a blue collar player. Just what we needed really. Being able to rotate the 2/3 spots between bigdog/ira/dion/Hamm will be a nice thing to have.

I read the original article on the AJC. I think this shows that despite what is printed by the "professionals" out there and despite the conjecture of some here, the Hawks ARE commited to JT. They just don't feel he's a max contract player, and I agree. The contract they are offering him is right in line with what I feel he's worth at this point in time. I would love to find out that JT went ahead and signed. But I really think he's going to wait it out. Not so much so he can demand more. But I think he feels that after a full season at PG, he will have shown that he's worth more. If he didn't feel that way, I think he'd have jumped on the deal they offered.

There are only a few people in either of those lists that I would want. JJ would be good if it weren't for the attitude problems we've heard about. He can score and play solid D, he would be great as the starter. Lenard and Gill would be ok, but I wouldn't start either personally. Out of the 2nd list, Raja Bell and Maybe Dell curry are the only ones I'd want. Several guys on that last list I would like to have, Najera, Ham, etc. You can remove Roshown from that list, he is officially retired and recently accepted a job with a school somewhere.

is that maybe Ira is just a good defender?? Ira didn't play that type of "gambling" defense. When teams were scrambling and out of sync, then he would gamble for a steal or poke away. Otherwise he just stayed in front of his man, moved his feet and played good solid by the book defense. I don't see that being any different with or without DJ or with Big Dog. Besides his defense didn't deteriorate with DJ wasn't in the game.

DJ's mother said the doctors told him he would not be playing this year, period. She also said that one of the doctors said he wouldn't be cleared for jogging for nearly a year. That does seem a little steep for me, considering the injury. But she said that if the fracture had been 1 inch longer he may not have been able to even walk again. A lot of it depends on whether or not they had to cut him to put a pin in there. If not, his recovery time will be much less. He's gonna be in a halo regardless.

I think we should realistically be able to petition for a medical exception. We did lose a player dude to a medical problem, that should qualify us.

I was just told that he's done for the season. The doctors said something to the effect that he shouldn't even be jogging for nearly a year. The good is that he should make a full recovery and shouldn't have any long term problems from it. Disappointing news, maybe we'll get a medical exception out of this?

word from his family is that he has a stress fracture in his neck. Nothing mentioned about burns so I don't think they are serious if he was burned at all.

I've just gotten an update on Dermarr. The latest word is that he has a neck fracture and was transfered to Grady hospital. No word on the burn situation. When I hear more I'll pass it along. lets all keep our fingers crossed for DJ. latest update is that it's a stress fracture. So I don't think that's as serious as it could be. Though i'm no medical expert. More when I hear it. His family didn't say anything about burns so I don't think they were very serious.

he definitely has to be considered an option. Last season I was as hard on Dion as ANYONE on this board. But I really feel he's got a very good shot at getting the spot. I always thought he could be a very very good defender and he even said once that he wanted to be the hawks "stopper". So he obviously cares aobut his D. Last year he just lost the will to play it and his offense suffered as a result. He's worked hard in the off season and tore it up in the summer leagues. We've got three solid contenders for the spot and they all bring something a little different. Though none of them are so good at any paritcular thing to set them apart from the others. If Ira has been working on his outside shot more, as rumored, and he's able to deliver from there, he'll win the spot. He is a very good shooter and good at getting to the basket, he just needs a bit more range. If he were even a moderate perimeter threat he'd have to be the choice. Physically he's built right for the position. Good wingspan, height and weight. He's built to match up with just about anyone at the 2 or 3 spots. DJ needs to show that he can play top level D against NBA players. He's shown it in the summer leagues and on occasion last year, but not consistantly. He's shown the offensive range to give what the team needs out of the spot though. If his defense is there, he will take the spot. Physically he needs work. A good post playing 2 or 3 would put a hurtin on him. DG is the dark horse. He's shown the ability and desire (his own words) to be the stopper on this team. He floundered last year in that respect. But I think he can still do it. Offensively he's the best of the bunch at the moment. He can shoot, drive and post. Though he could use a little more range on his shot. Physically he's very good. few guards could push him around and he's got the quickness to stay in front of guys. For Dion it's about desire though, not what he can do physically. All of these guys have 1 thing that, if they improved it during the off season, would give them the edge over the other guys. You've got to like the odds that one of them will succeed in improving in the needed area though.

I don't want stackhouse. He looks good on paper. But to me he still hasn't shaken that selfish tag that has hung with him for his entire career.

The best possibly scenario for the team and for DJ is that he will come out with improved offensive skills and an even better long range shot and he'll also play the type of defense that Ira played last year. I would put money on it that defense is going to be the PRIME FACTOR in who starts at SG for this team. And I really don't see 3pt shooting as being the key thing either. As long as they can hit a solid mid-long range shot, which DJ, Ira and DG ALL can, the one who plays the strongest defense will win the starting spot. A great 3pt shooter who can also play lockdown D would be great, but we just don't have that type of player at our disposal, yet. DJ is the most likely to step up and do it though. He's shown he has the range that both DJ and Ira lack. He's also shown that he can play great D, though he just hasn't shown it much at the pro level. But I will not be suprised to see either DG or Ira take the spot if DJ can't meet the expectations defensively. Offensively you aren't going to get much more than 10-12ppg from anyone at that spot, by virtue of available shots.

I'd do it. Brand vs Reef is a bit of a wash. I think Reef is better offensively but Brand is better defensively. Is it worth it to give up a few points to get more boards and better 1v1 defense? I think Nazr has more potential than Khandi and hasn't been killing people with years of let downs. He does only slightly more in about 5 more mpg. But he's a 7 footer and that does make up for a lot in the NBA, in peoples minds. Maggette is a throw in with solid potential.

These one could argue that any of these guys could be on the list: Alan Houston!! - all that money for a guy that is NOTHING but a spot up shooter. He's more one dimensional than Reggie Miller. This is the one guy that I will argue should have been top 3!! Shandon Anderson - I can't remember his contract size but it was pretty large considering just how little he produces. Grant Hill - I love Grant. But if you are judging production vs. money spent, he's WAY overpaid. Zadrunas Ilgauskus - I know he's been injured. But he still got a hefty payday and has yet to live up to it. His production vs. his pay = way overpaid.