chillzatl

isn't able to defend the top players like we hope he can. Ira has proven he can hold his own defensively. He may not have the offensive potential that DJ has. But he can hit the open shot, though not with the range we might like.

reggie miller is the only leader on that team. Everyone else is a bunch fo selfish, me first players who know more about getting their shot off than actually playing the game. It was going to happen eventually, might as well have been now. It's sad that those guys will forever be remembered as the first "dream team" to get beaten. But like I said, it would have happened eventually.

if Kemp is clean and can get back to just 70% of where he used to be, they will be hard to stop. If you add a healthy, or even 85% healthy Grant Hill into that picture, they are the best team in the east.

we have great individual players. But we have no chemistry. The team that beat us has played together for a long time. They know each other, they know where to be on both offense and defense. Our team doesn't know that because they don't care. They expect to win because they are NBA players. This has been a long time coming. It will only get worse as time goes on. One of the Argentinian players pointed out the lack of chemistry. He said they would be unbeatable if they played as a team. He said that guys would miss their spots on defensive rotations and be out of place on offense. It's a team sport, doesn't matter how many all-stars you put on the team.

anyone in the NBA would mop the court with you. From Fred Hoiberg on down. Guess that makes you a sissyballer eh? HEH.

geez, what can you say? Those sissyballers stuck it to us didn't they?

Armstrong for years. Vaughn gives them all they need to actually do it. He's going to have to play for his job this year or JV will take it.

Being a bit of a Jazz fan i'll take them and run with it. This is somewhat difficult considering the number of free agents they have. BUt i'll give it my best shot with the roster they have listed. Stockton vs. JT - Adv Jazz - JT has him hands down in the quickness and offensive ability. But Stockton is just rock solid. He's a great passer, defender and shooter. He is also one of the toughest guys to ever play the game, period. Starks/Cheaney/whoever Vs. DJ (not sure who will be starting this spot). Adv Hawks- The jazz will probably have more experience at this spot. But last year they got pathetic production from the 2 spot. I don't know how they are going to fix that this year either. Harpring Vs BigDog - Adv Hawks - Harpring is a solid, gritty player. But he's simply not in on the same level has BigDog. Malone Vs. Reef - EVEN - Stats wise these two are very evenly matched at this point in Malones career. Reef got the best of him in head to head matchups last year. But malone is just too tough to count out. Ostertag vs. Theo - ADV Hawks - Ostertag is a big body. But that's about all he is. He doesn't do anything very well. The only thing he has over Theo is his size. Bench - Adv Hawks - Who knows what the Jazz bench will look like. Chances are it will be full of young players or guys nobody else really wanted. Coaching - Adv Jazz - Sloan is a great coach, simple as that. Even in down years he's managed to get that team playing well enough to make the playoffs, especially last year. not sure how you guys were rating them. But that's my take on this matchup.

because scoring a bunch in the 4th doesn't make him clutch. Hitting them when they have to be hit is what makes someone clutch. How many game winners has pierce ever hit? He's got a big time scorers reputation and he's known to be a big scorer down the stretch. But he simply hasn't shown that he's clutch yet. I would also argue with having JT that high on the list for this very reason. we've seen him hit some big shots though. But the situations are different when you are doing it for a winning team and doing it for a losing team.

I think right now, in todays leagues yes, he deserves it. His big shot in the playoffs to rip the heart out fo the Kings was just one example in a long list of ultra-clutch shots from Horry. He's been doing it for years, it's part of his reputation.

again, I have to dispute that you've ever actually watched him play. Or at least paid attention to him when you did watch. Saying he plays "soft" is ignorant, sorry. Don't take it as a personal insult, it's not. That's simply an ingorant statement/observation to make. If you find him soft, I really have to wonder who you think is a tough player?

of course he's overpaid! Stay on topic. You've obviously haven't watched the guy play much. In a lineup with Dion and DJ, he's a better finisher than either one of them. When he has the chance it tries to take the ball up strong every time, something both those players could stand to learn. As I said, it's obvious you've never really watched him play. That is why your questions/comments about him seem to absurd to most of the people here. The things you say he can't do are some of his most obvious strengths. It makes it clear that your comments aren't based off actually watching him play.

Whether you like his game or not is irrelevant. CC is a guy who would dive into the crowd every time out to get a loose ball. He's not afraid to eat wood if it means another possesion for his team. He's proven that far too many times for there to be any discussion. On top of that CC IS a fairly talented guy with above average athleticism and solid basketball skills. His problem is that he pushes himself beyond his bodies limits. But that doesn't make him a sissyballer by any means. He's a tough guy who will do whatever it takes and has more natural talent than most hustle players (pollard, etc) ever have. If it weren't for his injuries, he'd be one of those guys you hear the TV announcers refering to as "the kind of player every team would like to have". Because he brings the kind of toughness and energy. He just needs his body to hold up.

He gets double teamed constantly. Of course he benefits from having Shaq out there, that whole team does. But he gets double teamed constantly. You are making out seem like Kobe is just out there alone scoring basket and that's absurd. Watch the games, He gets double teamed constantly. Shaq benefits as much from having Kobe as Kobe does from having Shaq. We had this discussion last year during the season. After which I watched several lakers games with this in mind. One being against the spurs. Kobe was double teamed CONSTANTLY. yet he still put up near 30 points, leading his team to the win. We've got to see plenty of Kobe without shaq over the last few years and they are above .500 in those games. They wouldn't be dominant without Shaq. But they would make the playoffs and be one of the better teams in the league. Especially if the team was built around him. And it's funny how Kobe will have a bad game or two and everyone focuses on that. But they fail to recognize the string of 30+ point games he had leading up to that or the games where he takes over in the 4th putting up 10-15 points, leading his team to the win. Is he better than Mcgrady? no. Is he just as good? yes. Is he better than AI? YES, IMO. He's as good offensively, better defensively and isn't limited by size like Iverson is. Heart is a good quality but it will only make up for your physical limitations so much.

You've never made your feelings of Kobe a secret. But you are part of a very small minority that question the obvious talent and skill the guy has. If you put him on a team that was BUILT around him and not Shaq, he could carry his team as well as any of the two guys you put above him. Philly would trade Iverson for Kobe ANY DAY. You are a fool if you don't think that. I would put Mcgrady and Kobe on the same level, but Iverson? yeah right.

He gets so much flack around here. In his previous comments about the Hawks all he has ever said was that "Terry STRUGGLED at the point last year". After many of us here sent him emails ripping into him and pointing out the progress that JT made in the 2nd half. Now he's saying "he showed progress". As far as the Hawks are concerned, he doesn't follow them enough or watch them enough to make his own, informed opinion. He's going on what he reads from others. You need no more proof of this than seeing how he has changed his stance on JT's improvement over a months time. He posts some interesting information and opinions. But take everything he says regarding the Hawks iwth a grain of salt. He just doesn't follow the team close enough to have his own opinions and his insiders obviously aren't inside enough to help him in that area.

without a healthy Ratliff, we are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Some here don't think Ratliff will make that much of a difference. But I disagree. He will allow JT to take the defensive gambles that he takes and probably make JT look better in the process. As it is now, JT would gamble on a steal, miss and the guy could just go right to the basket. With Ratliff in there, when JT misses they aren't going to be so eager to charge into the lane. He will also protect Reef a LOT. Whoever Reef is guarding in the post is always going to have to be thinking "where is Theo?". Theo might not be a 1st team man to man defender, though he's not shabby. What is is though, is a stellar weak side defender. Guys who try to back Reef down are going to be in a world of hurt. I also don't see his comments about the Bucks or Cavs as being negative towards us. The bucks should have made the playoffs last year, hell they COULD have won the east. THey just didn't have it mentally. They have tons of talent as well as veteran players. If they can get over the mental wall that killed htem last year they should be a top team in the east. His statement about the Cavs was much like us, filled with IF'S. Though they have more ifs than we do.

I think shaq will be gone way before any of these guys have enough hair on their chests to do anything in this league. Regardless of what those guys do, Shaq will be the premier center in the league until he either retires or injuries force him out. None of those guys will challenge him though. They don't have the size to do it. And as you said, size is what bothers him, not an outside jumper. None of those guys have the size to bother him.

him early in his career. And it's not truthful or fair to say that "he's not that good". But he really only has 2 "moves" on offense, if you want to call them that. Most of his success there is a result of being so much bigger than everyone else. But he does have MANY basketball skills, he's a great passer,rebounder and could be a great defender. I really think the comparison between him and Wilt is fitting. He could probably averag 8 assists if he wanted to. Just as he could probably average 20 boards if he wanted to. I think his overall skill is overshadowed because of the focus on his size and offense. Personally I would love to see play in an era of other great centers. THEN I think we would really see how great he could be. I mean he was only challenged by a great center (hakeem) for 2 years in his career. I think that really pushed him to become a better player and since then he hasn't had anyone to motivate him to work that hard again.

KW is a tough mofo. He's one of those guys that isn't going to let the other team push his guys around. He's old as the hills but he's still got the skills. I think he would have fit perfectly here and would have been some GREAT insurance in case Theo can't handle the grind. Another missed opportunity.

I think once we have a winning team people will notice. Though it's possible they won't. We had a winning team for many years under Lenny and nobody noticed then either. They found reasons to not pay attention. I will certainly invite Chad Ford to chat here. Though I don't see him accepting our offer. He has his own site to do his chats on and I don't see him cutting into his revenue for the sake of the Hawks faithful.

I mean before you got into your latest DD Vs. JT run, you knew exactly why. Because he, like several others, continued to suggest that we would have a very good team, IF, we could get a good point guard. You were here with all of us blasting all these columnists (ajc, espn, cnnsi) when they said those things. Chad Ford actually admitted to only seeing a few Hawks games last year and not paying much attention to them at all after the all-star break. I don't feel that Chad Ford is a hack at all. I like reading his site and feel that a lot of times he has some good, insightful information on various teams. But when I watch every game this team plays and follow it as closely as I do, it annoys me when someone who has "media clout" prints things that are contrary to what I/we saw for an entire season. It annoys me even more when what they print seems to be nothing more than rehash that they read from someone else. Which in the case of the Hawks, that's what it was. Everyone is entitled to their opionion and Chad Ford is not excluded from that group. You say a lot of things that I dont' agree with. But at least I know you follow the team closely and have good knowledge of the game. So while I don't agree with you all the time, I do respect what you say. Simply because what you say is at least grounded in careful observation, whether I agree with it or not. I can't help but lose some respect for someone who prints things that prove to me he doesn't follow the team and then comes out and admits that he doesn't pay much attention to the team anyway.

If that's the way things turn out, fine. I'm not all pro-JT or anti-DD. I'm 'anti-agree with everything diesel says'. You set yourself up for it by insisting that moving up a few spots to get a PG shows some sort of urgency on the part of the Hawks. That's simly absurd and like I said, if someone else had came up with it first, you would agree. As I've said many times already in this thread and you never seem to comment on (as you so often do when someone makes a point that negates your own), was that there can be no sense of urgency in drafting a 2nd round player. You simply do not draft a player that late with the mindset that this guy is going to carry your team if the current guy fails at it. That is the only point I've tried to make all along. If we'd gone and made a move and gotten a proven, reliable point guard, then I would agree. That would show a sense of urgency, a hedging of the bets if you will. Just in case JT can't give enough of the PG role to keep this team moving. But drafting a guy last in the first round in no way shows such a desperation.

He said there, unless we aquire a BETTER PG. Dickau is a prospect and NOTHING MORE. He is not better and assuming he will be is a gamble. Pete is not a dumb man and he's not going to make a gamble on the HOPE that Dickau could have a bigger impact than a 20/6 player like JT. To do so would be dumb. Not that DD isn't talented. But anyone who today says that DD will be better than JT, will be a starter quality PG in this league or will live up to the hype that some have built around him are doing nothing but blowing smoke out of their a$$es. Because NOBODY can predict that and nothing about his college career indicates that. If he were a dominant player in college and a world class PG, myself and most others would conceed that. But he was neither. So projecting that he will ever be anything more than what he is today (a backup), is foolish. He may become more than that. But projecting that he was brought here in the hopes that he will, out of desperation or insurance, is again, FOOLISH. And as I said, Pete is not a fool, especially after all the things he's put on the line this season.