shakes

OKC continues to roll!   JDub took over in the 4th, no surprise, he does that a lot.

1 hour ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

Great defensive teams are defined by their frontcourt players

The guys you named don't play the type of defense that you all are expecting from Trae and DJ, other than Holiday and McConnell.

People act like Trae gives up 30 ppg.  This defense is still below average even when Trae is out of the lineup.  The reason for that is our frontcourt players are below average defenders.  Only JJ is right at average, and even he has glimpses of lack of off ball awareness.

And people always clown our ECF run, like we were fully healthy and just lucked up on wins.

• No Reddish until the ECF
• No Hunter after the Knicks series
• Won 2 games on the road @ New York
• Won 3 games on the road @ Philly
• Won Game 1 vs Milwaukee
• Had "The Knife" ( Solo ) playing key backup minutes at PF

That run wasn't luck.  That run was spurred on by our young up and coming stars playing up to their potential, with solid vets making up the supporting cast.  Lemon Pepper Lou and Gallo averaged 20 ppg combined off the bench.  Capela and Collins were our defensive rocks on the frontline.  Huerter made timely shots, and went into takeover mode in Game 7 vs Philly.  Trae was the engine that ran the show.

And I'm sorry, it's a loser mentality to say that the Hawks were ahead of schedule, which implied that they should've kept losing and not making the playoffs, just to get higher draft picks.  The mistake the Hawks front office made, is that they re-signed guys even after we proved the following season that we needed additional help. 

Plus our guys ( specifically our frontline guys ), have been injury prone.  That kills your team chemistry, and especially your defensive continuity. It leads to guys like Nate playing TLC or guys like Quin playing Saddiq Bey as your PF in small frontline lineups.

 

Nice to see someone has taken up the Homers lament 101, we're bad because of injuries!!!!!  

Ingram sucks, he's the definition of a stat stuffing bum.   And I'm not even holding it against him that he was born with Resting Stoned Face.

The east is pure garbage this year.  I don't see a single team who could win the title.   Not even Boston.

Honestly, Denver vs Minnesota feels like it should be the NBA Finals.

26 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

I'd take our situation 10 times out of 10 over the Suns who are balls deep into the tax with a complete albatross contract with a NTC in Beal (who is completely redundant with Booker), and an over the hill KD.  And they do not have any of their own picks until the next decade lol...

Our season was disappointing but getting swept in the first round and having no control over your future with that chemistry-less roster would be depressing. 

I can see the Hawks slogan for next season already:

2024 HAWKS:  WE'RE NOT AS SCREWED AS THE SUNS!

5 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

ya they are in it for sure. 
 

Suns

Lakers

Sixers

Heat

 

Pressure is on! 

 

 imagine being a Hawks fan and having the audacity to make that list with a straight face.

36 minutes ago, bird_dirt said:

How close do you se the Hawks making this list? Pretty damn close to me if not officially on it while Spurs control our picks and we’re already at the luxury tax line. 

Hawks are more screwed than any of those teams.  Those teams all made the playoffs and don't owe the Spurs all their upcoming draft picks lol.

Still room on the OKC bandwagon if any of you want to see what a real team looks like.

Ingram is the very definition of a bum.    

I haven't followed this thread in a few days.  Has @NBASupes or @KB21 convinced the other to change his opinion on Edey yet?

4 hours ago, AHF said:

You say this like we might not have made a similar run of mistakes had we gotten bounced by New York early in the playoffs.  I can certainly envision scenarios where we did a lot of the same things or even made some worse decisions.

I disagree.  I think all those decisions were motivated by the team mistakingly thinking they were a piece away from contending.  And that belief is all based on that ECF run.

7 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

The franchise ain't ruined. They been selling out, 6th highest ticket prices. The franchise is doing better than ever. One of the few teams to make a profit every year since COVID 

sorry, but I base success/failure on wins/losses/playoff record.   But, congrats on having the 6th highest ticket prices I guess. 

15 hours ago, macdaddy said:

We were 5th in the east.  That's a lot of winning to be a mirage. We had a good year and a great playoff run. 

and it completely ruined the franchise in the process.   That's not even arguable.   Every bad decision that came after that was a direct result of the team trying to build on the "momentum" of going to the ECF and thinking this team was ready to contend.

If you were to list the worst things that ever happened to the Hawks, making it to the ECF several years ahead of schedule is easily near the top of the list.

9 hours ago, deester11 said:

So the ECF run where Trae showed he could carry a team was mirage. \

lol I think the answer to that question is about as definitive a YES as you can get.   It was not only a mirage, but it was the single worst thing that could've happened to this franchise.

as the designated tie breaker in this dispute, I have determined that @KB21 's arguments are more persuasive than @NBASupes arguments and therefore have ruled in favor of the proposition that Edey is an immobile stiff who will be virtually unplayable in the modern NBA.

Case closed.

On 4/20/2024 at 2:25 PM, Vol4ever said:

Believe this organization top to bottom will turn it around?  

yes, 100%.   You can't look at 50 years of ineptitude coupled with the horrific track record of the current owner and come away thinking this organization is anything better than a hopeless laughing stock.

1 minute ago, AHF said:

Stats are also something that teams take extremely seriously.  Because they are dumb jocks amiright?

just more nerds pushing their narratives on front offices and if they dare ignore the data they immediately are forced to watch the movie Moneyball and then have to write on the chalkboard over and over "I WILL NOT IGNORE THE NERDS IN THE ROOM".

Nerds have become the bullys of the sports world.

On 4/20/2024 at 1:36 PM, REHawksFan said:

Distance Miles on Offense per NBA.com/stats: 

Trae is 2nd on the team at 1.40 miles per game on offense.  And here is where that ranks in the entire NBA (26th out of 572 players):

Trae has the same distance miles as Steph Curry on offense.  The difference is he does most of his with the ball while Steph does most without.  But some basic math shows the allocation like this:

Trae on Offense:   3,250 feet per game WITH BALL / 4,140 feet per game WITHOUT BALL

Steph on Offense:  2,200 feet per game WITH BALL / 5,190 feet per game WITHOUT BALL

Bottom line:  Claiming Trae does nothing but stand around on offense without the ball is patently false.  

stats sure are fun!  Allows nerds to act like they understand sports.

11 hours ago, REHawksFan said:

Trae's avg dribbles per touch and avg seconds per touch have come down each of the last 2 years. He's getting better at getting off the ball a little quicker. 

Oh, and look at the leaders in this category:

1. Brunson - 5.57 dribbles

2. SGA - 5.47

3. Trae - 5.39

4. Ja - 5.28

5. Dame - 5.13

6. Garland - 5.12

7. Luka - 4.81

8. Harden - 4.80

Doesn't seem to be a problem for these other elite PGs. Trae is literally no different from them. He just has his own teams fans that love to criticize him. 

 

The issue isn't how often he has the ball. The issue is what he does when he doesn't have the ball.    i watch all the OKC games.  Shai moves and tries to get open when he doesn't have the ball.   Trae just sits there twiddling his thumbs or asking for the ball back.

6 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Again...you have to do that with PURPOSE AND INTENTION to have him shoot in scoring position.  It requires teammates to not only get him the ball when he gets open, but it also involves setting screens and cross screens to get him open.  It has to be in the actual playback with everyone working together, not just have him running to run.

We have seen some of these actions under Quin to know it can work, just not enough. But again in involves everyone knowing the assignment and actually running the play with timing and precision.

just to be clear, Trae is part of "everyone" right?

14 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

 

He is the PG.  Folks act like averaging 11 assists is simple yet almost no one else in the league does it.  

This is his game.  I understand some people don't like it but not letting him be the primary facilitator is a mistake.  It's the one thing we know works.  What doesn't work is having him take turns with another guy who dribbles for 20 seconds but isn't nearly as a good a passer.  

I agree that my turn your turn offense doesn't work.  But what would work is Trae giving up the ball earlier and working to get open for a CnS opportunity.  Also, moving the ball more keeps everyone else involved even if its just to touch the ball every once in a while.  But Trae has been steadfast in his refusal to do that so here we are.

2 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Go be a Thunder fan. 

 

Fixed.

28 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

yea Trae is fine not being the #1 option as long as he gets to dribble the ball for 20 seconds of the shot clock and make all the primary assists.    

1 hour ago, KB21 said:

Zach Edey is the most polarizing player in 2024 NBA Draft: Why Purdue star ranges from lottery to second round pick | Sporting News

Getting him to change directions on defense is like turning a cruise ship. 

I heard it was actually Edey who ran into the Baltimore bridge a few weeks ago.

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Got up this morning with a crazy thought that it's time for the Hawks to beat the odds and luck into the top pick. 9% chance to move into the top 4.  

my Blackhawks faced similar odds to get the #1 pick last year and nailed it.     Bulls hit a 1% chance to win the Derek Rose lottery.  It can happen.

Perfect ending to the season.  Hawks finally went out and did what needed to be done.  Now let's focus on getting some lottery luck.