saiff

Thats funny. I wrote an entry with KG on the list too back in May. http://saifbet.blogspot.com/2009/05/top-5-most-overrated-players.html saif

At the time of the trade, most analysts felt the Suns were not going to match a max offer to JJ because it either would have knocked them way into the luxury tax threshold or it would have the next year with a bunch of contracts that had to be redone (i cant remember exactly what it was at that time). Simply offering a max contract possibly would have gotten us JJ without any compensation for the Suns. Its unfair to say Belkin didnt want JJ because it appeared to be that he just wanted him for a smaller price which was obtainable. So I agree that we gave up the world since we could have just given a country. Belkin seems to be much smarter than the other ASG folks. The ASG folks seem to be dumb financially, and dumb in a business and legal sense plus we are not sure if they have any money to really spend on the Hawks since the only reason Belkin is part of the group is because of his deep pockets. My dream is that Arthur Blank, upset that he did not get the Braves, settles for the Hawks and turns this around. SF http://saifbet.blogspot.com/

Part of the reason for the injuries is that Woody refuses to develop the bench and so our players get overworked during the regular season and are probably more tired than the other teams when the playoffs start. One guy on our team goes down and we are handicapped where good teams have players they trust that can step in. No way in ATL would Shannon Brown get any playing time as he does with the Lakers, George Hill with the Spurs, Barea with the Mavericks, etc. In game 3 and 4, Woody still rode all 3 injured players instead of using the bench. I thought Solo played well when he was in earlier for a couple minutes in previous games. Cleary Marvin didnt have it, and Horford didnt have any lift, why not try to play some of the bench since Woody would have had an excuse built in if they lost with the unproven guys. Anyone who thinks JJ cannot carry a team needs to rewatch the series last year against Boston. Boston had no answer for JJ and he definitely carried us. I trully think he is just out of gas. Our lack of an offensive gameplan means he has to really work for every basket and I think it eventually takes a toll. SF http://saifbet.blogspot.com/

I think the calls are getting out of hand. The inequity in the penalties is absurd. How is the Kobe elbow different from the Dwight Howard one. Simple answer: Kobe is more of a star. Poor Rafer Alston, lack of star power so he is going to lose a game. Was his head slap worse than a Kobe elbow to the neck or Fisher's wind up elbow to the face. Doug Collins called Fisher tough for the cheapshot, I doubt he says that if Josh Smith does the same thing. See what I wrote. http://saifbet.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-al...ght-howard.html SF

Amare's case wasnt even close to this one. He ran full speed on the to the court, got almost to half court before he was pulled back. Nothing close to what perkins or williams did today. He of course argued he was going to just pick up nash but could have just as easily been trying to go after horry which is my guess since he is a hothead. Of course the issue remains the same, intent is not the rule, stepping on the court is so both should be out. Can only blame williams on this one, he just had to have a better view. Where were the assistant coaches on this. There job is to hold back all players. Here's hoping to a garnett, perkins, and williams suspension. Ill take whatever help we can get. saif Quote: Does anyone have a youtube video to embed of Amare last year? He definitely did not have any intent. Stern said the rule was black and white if you step on the court u r suspended. And that was the best/second best player in a pivotal late series game that they purposely made an example out of. Do not count on the league to do the rational thing.

If I recall correctly, Belkin was initially asked to partner with the Spirit group because the spirit group did not have enough funds. So as a result, Belkin had the upper hand from the beginning in the contract negotiations with the Spirit plus he is a successful business man and his team of lawyers took advantage of this in the contract writing. That is why he can only get bought for market value while the apes of the Spirit group get their paid price. In addition, the Spirit groups lack of money doesnt bode well for the team if they take control of the team from Belkin. They'll be running the team as a business like the clippers owner because with revenue sharing you can assure your team a profit with a low payroll. I would rather have an owner who wants to win like Cuban. All this makes sense also when it came up that one of the spirit group wanted Yi in the draft because it would enhance his business ventures in China. It sure does suck to be a hawks fan (which includes me).

If possible, try to dig up some of Acie's games from college. I think he matches up athletically with Casell at any age and he is very cerebral and well spoken which I also think is an important asset for a PG similar to a quarterback. Looking at his college games, you'll see he often took 3s from NBA range and have no doubt he will have increased accuracy once Woodson realizes how good this guy is. This guy was the steal of the draft. As I said in the forums when he was drafted, I still think he will win the ROY award and will be the centerpiece of our team for the future unless we do something stupid and get rid of him in a trade. --sf

I hope I'm right too! As a Texas fan, I hate rooting for an Aggie especially when the guy hit a buzzer beater to tie the game and game winner in overtime to beat us. But now, im his #1 fan since he is a hawk.

I have watched a lot of big 12 basketball as UTexas fan, a lot of Big Ten basketball as a UMich fan and a lot of SEC basketball as UGA fan and of all the players in those 3 conferences, Acie Law was the best player in all 3 conferences. Dont get me wrong, I love Durant, but Law is a proven leader, and can and will make any shot in a tough situation. The comparisons to salim are foolish and Law has also shown he can distribute. Durant will prove to much better than conley. Conley has always been able to rely on Oden to open the floor for him, Law had nobody. Oden may turn out better eventually but he was unproven in college considering he barely played any games at full strength. Only time will tell but I think he is going to end up being the 1st or 2nd best player in this draft. I am happy the Hawks stole him. --sf

I'm not pro-Belkin but I am now anti-Spirit Group. They just appear to be complete morons when it comes to contracts, legal proceedings, coach selection, and player selection. I see the non-Belkin group as an F- and Belkin as an F+, both a failing grade. I just have not seen this group make any intelligent decisions to date. I'm still a little mad about the draft and BK is their guy. We chose a guy that has the potential to be Dale Davis who is a solid pro but not one anyone would pick in the top 5 or a guy who has the potential to be DWade and likes to shoot in the clutch. Basically, I hate all the owners at this point and I convince myself every morning before I go to www.ajc.com that Authur Blank bought the team the preceding night and has taken over immediately. He lost out on the Braves bid so maybe he will consider the lowly Hawks. I hope I'm wrong and the Hawks become good and we have a good owner(s) but I'm not keeping my hopes up. The legal proceedings are just as much the rest of the groups fault as they are Belkin's. They put Belkin in charge by making him the governor and then basically ignored his decision. They disagree on how decisions were supposed to be made but it appears Belkin had everything spelled out while the the rest of the group just assumes everybody will follow the "spirit" of the agreement instead of the actual agreement. Buffoons against buffoon, for some odd reason I would rather just have one buffoon.

I was initially against Belkin taking over but after seeing how dumb the non-Belkin owners appear to be, I'm all for it. a) They allowed Belkin to have an awesome partnership agreement with all these out clauses. They did not think he would ever use them b) They got out maneuvered in court c) They keep a coach who had the worst record over an 82 game stretch so does not teach them defense, who forgets to put people in his rotation, takes out people who are on fire, doesnt know how to use players (ie diaw) and generally seems lost out there. Lets get a guy who has shown he knows how to get the most out of young guys. d). We draft people in the last 2 drafts using opposite logic each time in order to get a player of lesser value/need. (ie. could have had paul last year=need but instead took value, could have taken foye=value&need this year but instead took need). Imagine a backcourt of paul, foye,johnson (and I would have traded our 2nd and cash to get marcus williams), and then a frontcourt of the joshs, harrington, zaza and bautista. Then we are one banger short of a great team. e) Belkin has not shown anything to indicate he is the 2nd coming of the clipper's sterling. He wanted Joe Johnson, just not for all the picks. I think if Belkin gets sole control, we will get a GM and coach with track record of success. It cant be worse that it is now with these clowns running the show who let other teams roll over them, draft analysts laugh at them, and fans run away.

Clowns do keep their jobs if the owners are clowns

I'm in total agreement with Hotlanta and I have watched some games (I am afraid that I may now be considered a noob although I must admit I dont have any idea what is). In watching the games last year to this year, the obvious difference is Joe Johnson. That alone accounts for the difference in wins. He can create his own shot and and can sink it when it counts. I think the coaching probably lost us few games. The defensive rotations were not there so if the opposition beat one of our guys, it was an easy score. I still dont think we have a game plan for when a team runs the pick n'roll or the give and go. From watching the games, it appears that the Woody plan is to hope they do not do run those plays and hope for the best. On offense it is not much different, no offensive plays are run, we play a lot of street ball, if you've got it, shoot it. How many times did Woody say "It looked like we tired in the end". We have the youngest team in the league so shouldnt that be at a mininum, the one thing that would not happen to us. His coaching appears to be scripted. Lack of motivation and lack of energy of the players falls directly on the shoulder of the coach. Dont get me wrong, I think he is a standup guy and I would love for him to succeed as our coach, I just dont want to wait around and have him learn on our time. --sf

According to Hoopshype, Tubby Smith may be pondering a leave of the college ranks to potentially coach the Bobcats. I think (despite leaving Georgia high and dry) is the perfect fit for our young team. He is intense, and does not take crap. Plus, he has done well in every college coaching position he had although KY has fallen off the last few years after their title in his first year. But I think he would be a great fit for our young guys and even though college coaches historically do not do well in the Pros, I think this one might work since essentially we have almost all college age kids . I think we try to wine and dine Tubby and convince him that Atlanta is the best city to live in.

Learn to read. My point is that neither was a true center but that they were both great rebounders. Both boxed out better than anyone and both were always in the right place for the rebound and neither was 7' and 350lbs. If you watch any of our games, you'll see most of are guys are just standing and watching when the opposing team shoots and nobody is putting a body on anybody to block out. So the excuse of not having a great center is hogwash, especially considering there are not many out there. Are problem is that nobody blocks out, which has nothing to do with height.

Perhaps Salim is tired of a coach who does not know what he is doing. Woody's timed rotations where he pays no attention to who is playing well, forgets to put players in that are playing well and looks confused when sitting on the sideline. Every game I watch, we have no offense plays, it looks like a game I play with my friends where you just try to score. If you have the ball, shoot. I think woody is hoping that the players draw up some plays. Even without a center, we should be able to box out and play team defense. The bulls never had a dominating center (luc longly), the old pistons teams had laimbeer who has a vertical of about 2 inches and rodman who dominates the boards but is not a center. We can play without a dominating center if woody understood how to teach defense. Bring in a coach who knows how to coach young guys and I think we are an overachieving playoff team. Bring in a coach who brings out the worst in the players (like Woody) and we are where we are. Lets get an established coach and forget these promising or diamond in the rough guys like lon kruger, woody, weiss, goober. Ever notice once our coaches leave ATL, nobody hires them as a coach. Perhaps it is because nobody ever wanted them as a coach to begin with. Lets get somebody intimidating that the young guys will respect and listen to. The best coaches are all a little scary looking (pop, jackson, riley) while are coaches are always guys that look like they would be fun to hang out with. I think I just needed to vent after watching the hawks/pistons game. We need a new coach in a bad way. Delk cracked, Salim cracked, who is next. If it does not take 1.5 seasons of losing to get a new coach (including a record worst stretch), what does it take?

It is easy to say we overpaid for JJ but you have to look at who we were/are. To get a player to come to ATL you have to pay more more than average because he is playing for a miserable team, such is life. For ever Spurs team there is a Hawks team. The Spurs get good players at a discount while the Hawks have to pay a premium. Its no different for any other profession. Plus, Boris is putting up some numbers in PHO now but nobody would have argued he was worth much in ATL. I just wish that if we draft somebody abroad and the Spurs ask for that player in a trade, we either keep the guy or get more in return for what we gave up (draft before last). The spurs obviously know what they are doing when it comes to scouting internationally. 2 picks that we dont need. We can only have so many young guys on the team, even if they are all good. In 3 or 4 years, they'll all come up for contract renewals anyhow and we wouldnt be able to afford all of them. I hope we keep Al. Merry Xmas Saif

I agree that it is a huge problem. Our youth can be used as an excuse but then why was the excuse continually used last year that we were tired in the 4th. Shouldnt the youngest team be the strongest and have the most endurance. I see plenty of young guys execute in the 4th ala Ben Gordon. Teaching the guys to execute and stay calm when it counts comes from the coach. Woodson doesnt seem to provide that. Last year, we easily should have won 10 more games if we would have executed plays properly at the end of the game. Yeah I know it is the preseason but habits learned early are hard to break. -sf

Not a sign and trade in the traditional sense but cant we just sign him, then wait the 30-60 days you have to wait, then trade him. Is that not allowed? Isnt there some rule about being able to trade somebody you recently signed as long as they are not packaged together with other players?

We should do a sign and trade with the Spurs. Sign Finley for $6-8mill/year and trade him for Rasho. Everybody's happy. We get a top 10 center and this way the Spurs can pay Finley more plus they are looking to move Rasho. Keep in mind there are not many decent centers in the NBA and that is why I think Rasho is a top 10 center. The only reason he lost his starter role was due to an injury and at 8 mill per year I think he is more than worth it.

It has been reported on various sites that the Hawks have yet to do a physical to finalize the trade for JJ? Why the delay? You would think after the Belkin fiasco we would have tied up all the loose ends once the Belkin matter cleared. Apparently it needs to be done by Saturday or the article implied the deal may be void? Frustrating. Anyone know if there are any problems? --Saif

There was a rumor a few weeks ago about Nesto for Harrington and I think the salaries are close enough to do that deal without any additional pieces (I havent verified the salaries). Nesto fits the description of a center who is not getting much playing time although he is not the youngest guy at around 28/29 but is young enough. I think it would be a good fit for both teams. As a hawk fan who moved to Texas and picked up the Spurs, I watched a lot of Rasho and he is solid. The only reason he lost his spot to Nazr was because of an injury last year and since Rasho came back late in the seaon, Pop didnt want to mess with what was working so late in the seaon. Plus now, the Spurs may want to make room for Finley potentially as they are one of the handful of eligible suitors. If Rasho makes a little more than Al, does that mean that the Spurs can offer a little more to Finley. Please note that this is just speculation on my part. My source is the little voice in my head. Having watched Rasho the last couple years in Texas, I think he would be a great addition. There are not too many decent centers in the league but he is one of them and a good value at around $8mill considering the shortage of centers. I would rather have Rasho than a fat/lazy Curry who may be hampered by a heart condition or a Dalembert (I realize he is gone) who has yet to prove his worth. I'm just happy right now we got JJ. He was unstoppable against the Spurs last year. Created his own shots and made them at will. --Saif

I lived in Austin, TX for the past 6 years although I just moved out of Texas 2 weeks ago and I have had both time warner cable for a stint and the Dish Network and I have watched braves games regulary on TBS on both for all those years. As mentioned TBS does show less games then they used to be but there are still plenty to watch. It shows up in MI on the Dish plenty as well.

If you've ever seen Mihm play, you would see he is not worth more than 1mill. He's very soft around the basket, and cant finish a gimme. I was praying the Hawks wouldnt get him. With GP and Fox you get 2 veterans who can tutor the young guys and even if both retire right away, at least they would get cap space. I think it was a great trade for the Celtics and plus now LA makes sure Atlanta does waste money or a roster spot on Mihm. I cant believe that S Smith is considered an unbiased commentator. Has the guy ever felt that the Lakers made a bad move. On a side note, I watched almost all the UTexas games over the past years and you are gonna like what you see from Royal. He wants the ball at the end of the game and makes a lot of them. -SF