hawkman

Quote: In another market these horrible owners would be called out on a daily basis. And when a writer finally has the guts to call a spade a spade...an owner calls him and asks him not to do it? Why? What has this ownership done to build equity with ANYONE? These guys need to be hammered 10x more than they are...this newspaper is as awful as any in the nation. Sekou is so concrened with keeping access he doesn't have the guts to write anything controversial. So, these guys have gotten a free pass after having presided over the worst franchise is sports. Lunarblues: I have never read such a lightweight post on this site. You think everything is rosy in your little hawkland. You think this is all the good ship lollipop. Yeah, a guy should be fired for calling the Hawks owners out for being incompetant. Makes sense to most people here... Good point about Sekou TP. I have no problem with the guy personally, but his articles will always put the Hawks in a positive light. That's the way it's always beeen with him, and that's the way it has to be....IF he wants to continue to have access to this team. Earlier, someone called Schultz a coward for writing his article. Well what do you think about Sekou's failure to objectively report about the current state of this franchise? Isn't what he's doing akin to sacrificing journalistic integrity just to maintain access to this pitiful franchise? And for what? So he can keep his job as a "journalist" and keep writing the same articles that he's beeen writing for the past few years? Once again, I'm not trying to flame the guy here but if no one has a problem with what Sekou's been doing, how can you have a problem with Schultz? If Sekou is thought of as a credible journalist around here then Schultz should be thought of as a credible journalist as well.

Gearon and any of the other owners have had ample opportunity to give statements to the press. They chose not to do that. That is their right. Schultz writes an article(based on actual facts) that paints the organization in a bad light. That is his right. The ASG can't have it both ways here. If the ASG doesn't want to talk to the media, that's fine. I don't agree with it but that's their right. But I do have a problem with an owner trying to stop a journalist from writing an article that may make his team/organization look bad. Gearon can feel free to control the information coming from the Hawks' website or anything that falls under their ownership umbrella. But he cannot control the information that comes from the free press. It's hard for me to fathom why a fan who seems to know so much about the Hawks and the organization and the current mess that's going on wouldn't agree with Schultz here.

Quote: Quote: Strange, I thought the fans actually wanted a voice to vent their frustrations with this franchise. The article by Schultz, with the exception of a minor inaccuracy, was right on. He hasn't said anything that hasn't been said on this board a hundred times over. Now there are are people(AHF&Lunarblues) who think this guy should be punished in some way for him exercising his freedom of speech? This is not the Nazi regime. Their should be no suppression or manipulation of the media and Gearon Sr. or Jr. or whoever has no right to stifle free speech. The product on the floor and the organization itself has been an embarassment to the ATL and Hawk fans everywhere with no one taking any responsibility or accountability whatsoever. I'm surprised this article hasn't been written earlier. Can you imagine the media frenzy if this nonsense was going on in New York or Philly? Honestly, there has been worse stuff written on this board about the Hawks and the organization itself, and yet I don't remember anybody getting banned for it. It's one thing to disagree with this guy's opinion, but it is quite another to call his credentials as a journalist into question and think that he should be PUNISHED for his opinion. This is the among dumbest posts I have ever read on this cite. Since you have singled me out by name here, please point to where I have said that Schultz article should be supressed or that he can't write it. I said it was unprofessional, inaccurate and misleading in his discussion of Gearon. His credentials should be called into question on this one. What he did is akin to a journalist ridiculing George Herbert Walker Bush's discussion with him trying to convince to change an article on a matter of governmental policy policy by calling him the "President's daddy" while totally ignoring that this guy has been in politics for over 20 years and was a former president himself. It is at best an irresponsible oversite. It is insulting because it is condescending to someone who has been associated in such significant roles with the Atlanta Hawks uninterrupted for 30 years. I didn't even criticize his opinion on the current state of the Hawks. I certainly did NOT state or imply that he didn't have a first amendment right to write what he did. It is way out of bounds for you to claim I did or to claim that my criticism of the quality of his journalism is like anything the Nazis did. Yeah you're right. You didn't say that Schultz should be punished, Lunarblues said that, and I mentioned him by name in my post as well. And no, you didn't say anything about suppressing the media directly. But you definitely seem to have no problem with Mr. Gearon doing so. When Schultz not only failed to comply with Mr. Gearon's request but also reported this attempt to suppress the media, you criticized him mercilessly and called his credentials into question. That in itself is appaling. How can you NOT find fault with what Mr. Gearon attempted to do here? The franchise is currently in a pitiful state with no one taking any responsibility. What do expect to happen here? Do you expect the media to have the same "stay the course" philosophy that others within the Hawks organization as well as some on this board seem to have? THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS!!! and thank goodness for that. I respect what Mr. Gearon has done for this franchise and the sports culture of the city of Atlanta but when he seeks to suppress the media or free speech in any shape form or fashion, HE IS WRONG!!! And anyone who has no problem with this needs to go back to Civics class. Oh, and by the way, your post was the dumbest post that I've ever read on this forum.

Strange, I thought the fans actually wanted a voice to vent their frustrations with this franchise. The article by Schultz, with the exception of a minor inaccuracy, was right on. He hasn't said anything that hasn't been said on this board a hundred times over. Now there are are people(AHF&Lunarblues) who think this guy should be punished in some way for him exercising his freedom of speech? This is not the Nazi regime. Their should be no suppression or manipulation of the media and Gearon Sr. or Jr. or whoever has no right to stifle free speech. The product on the floor and the organization itself has been an embarassment to the ATL and Hawk fans everywhere with no one taking any responsibility or accountability whatsoever. I'm surprised this article hasn't been written earlier. Can you imagine the media frenzy if this nonsense was going on in New York or Philly? Honestly, there has been worse stuff written on this board about the Hawks and the organization itself, and yet I don't remember anybody getting banned for it. It's one thing to disagree with this guy's opinion, but it is quite another to call his credentials as a journalist into question and think that he should be PUNISHED for his opinion.

Quote: Could you imagine what Salim could do if he played in Phoenix? He'd be a 20ppg scorer. We need to effin run! What's with all the love for Salim all of the sudden? He's been getting hammered on this board lately. I always liked the guy. He seemed to be the only guy genuinely angry when we had that major stink streak. I like this guys fire. Of course I'm always partial to the small scorers like arenas, iverson, and eddie house. I think Salim is the most gifted scorer on this team. He can score in bunches if given the opportunity and he has always been a clutch shooter. We have to do a better job of putting our players into a position to succeed here. If we run a few picks for this guy, he could put tremendous pressure on a defense, making it easier for him to drive and kick or score. A lot of people knock him for his shooting but he's a scorer, not a pure shooter. We've got to start utilizing these guys better. Play to these guys strengths, you know what I mean?If we don't, we're going to end up with a lot more "Diaw" stories where a player who was run out of town here ends up blowing up somewhere else, making us more of a laughingstock.

Quote: My daughter loves those things and beats them in my ears all game. It gives me a headache which gets worse watching us play. Lately, I've told her no thundersticks. I know I'm a rotten father but what are you gonna do? BTW, they do work for terrorizing a dog. My dog sees those things and runs for cover. You're not a rotten father. You're doing the guy(s) sitting next to you a big favor. Good man.

Quote: Sorry, these types of wins are just a tease...this is a 25 win team. The coaching just isn't good enough. Playoffs? Are you talking about Playoffs? You're probably right. But I would at least like to see these guys put out more effort than what they did against New Orleans the other night. It was just good to see these guys look like they are on an even playing field with the rest of the league for a change. It's one thing to get beaten, it's quite another thing to not even try.

Quote: The good is Smoove revived a lifeless Hawks team. The bad is he might have saved Woodson and BK job. For now though I will enjoy the win and the effort the team showed tonight. Woodson though almost cost this team another win down the stretch. Does he ever call a good play out of a timeout? Winning is a good deodorant. As bad as the hawks have played lately, that win tonight makes me a little more optimistic. It may be false hope but I guess that's what being a fan is all about. Woody is still a bad coach and BK is still a bad GM, but the bottom line is if we somehow make the playoffs this year their jobs are safe. But I still don't want another 20-30 win season. I just don't see the point of it. If we're going to win, by all means continue winning. But if we're going to lose, then we might as well lose big and get something positive out of it. Another ho-hum season would almost be like being in limbo or something.

I don't want to get carried away here, but that's the kind of performance I would expect to see from a Scottie Pippen or Jason Kidd if you know what I mean. I haven't seen someone effect the game from opening tip to the closing buzzer without scoring a bunch of points in a long time. It takes a different kind of player to do that. I know it's just one game, but put me on the Smoove bandwagon. Better yet, I'll ride shotgun.

JJ is the MVP but what about JSmith? THAT is how you come back. That is how you play this game. I didn't know how much this guy meant to this team.

Who the heck are these guys? Do I actually see....heart? and can that be....poise? I ask again who are these guys and what have they done with my Atlanta Hawks?

Quote: He might not always know what he's doing, but Smoove really tries to compete. He didn't get the memo that we're tanking. I love this guy. He's actually making this team watchable.

Quote: JJ wouldn't have to do so much babysitting. That draft pick can't get you 18/8... can it? What's done is done. But I have to admit that I thought it was a mistake to just let him go like that. His defense was pretty bad but he was a solid player and decent guy. Not to mention that he had actual offensive moves. I guess we realize now that his production wasn't exactly that easy to replace. I personally thought that he was a decent leader on the court and in the locker room. A lot of people on this board thought that him being traded for a mid-first round pick was addition by subtraction. I never thought that. He was a good player and he actually wanted to play here on top of that. He was actually hurt that BK had no intention of resigning him. We always talk about giving players "more time" but everyone seemed to give up on a guy who was actually doing something positive on the court. Everyone was so quick to put this franchise into the hands of the young guys, believing that they were better than they actually were. "Al is holding our young guys back" or "Marvin needs his minutes to develop and that won't happen as long as Al's around". Sometimes you have to be careful of what you wish for because you might just get it.

Quote: Javaris Will come out and the Hawks need to get him for sure. I haven't heard anything about him coming out, but if he does GET HIM. I'm kind of a homer when it comes to GT players but this guy is really good. Usually when I hear of a tall PG, he's always an SG who can handle the ball and pass a little bit. Javaris is an actual PG. If BK is still here by the time of the draft, I can guarantee that this guy will be a Hawk next season. This is the guy he's been waiting for. Imagine if we could come out of this draft with Oden/Thabeet and Crittenton/James/Steele. That would probably be the best Hawks draft ever. By far.

Quote: I don't really have a problem with them, except when some kids in front of you keep on doing it for the whole freaking game. That's exactly what happened to me and my brother when we went to a game last November. This kid sitting next to us kept banging those cursed things the whole game. He banged them at this slow irritating pace like Will Ferrell in that "cowbell" sketch on SNL. Rake all of those crude noisemakers into a pile, pour gasoline on them, and burn them.

Quote: Woody doesn't run and gun, Woody plods, Woody likes control. That wouldn't change even if Paul was at the helm of the offense. Maybe it wouldn't change if we drafted Deron, but it would have definitely changed had we drafted Paul. The guy knows how to play the game plain and simple. Players like that don't require micro-management due to the fact that they can make plays on their own. I'm sure Woody would pretty much give him as much freedom as he has given JJ to improvise and create.

How about not trading for Iverson because we did not want to give up any of our young talent? And by young talent I mean "superstar" Marvin Williams. How good does that deal look now? That would have been a theft of epic proportions.

Quote: Quote: and all his insightful knowledge? Probably doing the sensible thing and realizing that there's not much to be gained from participating in the bitchfest? Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote: To Tank or not to Tank?...as bad as we are right now...do we really have a choice? I mean really...no real scoring options and JJ doubled every time down. TLue will come back and start stooting from the perimeter again but that won't likely put us over the top. It's almost a moot point. Agreed. What's all the arguing about???? Hasn't this decision already been made?????

Quote: when a team has the body language the way that we do, and everyone looks down and pissed off, thats a sign of quitting on the coach. Woodson has completely lost this team. Our nickname is the highlight factory and we are the most boring team in the NBA to watch. I laugh everytime I see that commercial. Either way, BK won't get his fat head out of his ass and fire him. But then again, it could be that the spirit is too cheap to absorb what's remaining of Woodson's contract. Then the AS needs get out of the professional sports business. This is a bad product and the attendance, or lack there of, is proof of that. The ATL doesn't care enough about this team to protest, but they won't show up to watch bad basketball either. It looks really bad to see the arena as empty as it looked tonight on TV. Stern needs to step in and do something about this.

Quote: Did anyone else notice Woody on tv during the mid-way point of the fourth quarter. He was actually LAUGHING!!! Someone please explain that to me! Sometimes things get so bad that it's actually kind of funny. Just like a 10 day contract player looking better than your 2nd pick in the draft.

Quote: Quote: Quote: . . . to a team that is missing its 3 best players? That would be correct. But cheer up! Georgia Tech is beating Duke right now. It's really bad when the best basketball team in this city is a college team. !@$*!@!@&^ STOP IT, JINXER! It's hard to jinx a team that actually plays with real heart and desire. It was kind of surreal changing the channel from one game to the other. The body language, offensive plays, defensive intensity, and dare I say skill level just seemed to be on another level in that GT game. And I'm not exaggerating, I'm being serious here. That is truly sad.

Quote: Quote: Quote: . . . to a team that is missing its 3 best players? The Hawks are better at tanking than the Hornets! Agreed. Does anyone at this point think that the franchise hasn't already pulled the plug on being competitive this year? Interesting. It would seem that with all the controversy over grenading this poor excuse for a season on this forum that someone upstairs may have already made that call. Strangely enough the scenario that was proposed on that "most controversial thread ever" is playing out right now. Joe is obviously hurting and it's a matter of time before he HAS to shut it down. Once that happens, this team will establish a new low standard for professional basketball not witnessed since the introduction of the shot clock. We will end up with the number one pick(Oden) and the number seventeen pick(James, Law, Steele) and a healthy JJ back from all of those nagging injuries. BK and Woody are shown the door, replaced by....does it really matter? Anyway we easily make the playoffs next season and the BK era is remembered as the lowest point in Hawks history.

Quote: . . . to a team that is missing its 3 best players? That would be correct. But cheer up! Georgia Tech is beating Duke right now. It's really bad when the best basketball team in this city is a college team.

Quote: Quote: oh good lord people......marvin is the ONLY reason we're bad? that statement in itself is preposterous... I'm not blaming Marvin, I'm blaming BK. And YES, Marvin is the ONLY reason we are still one of the most laughable franchises in the league. When you have the #2 overall pick and you are rebuilding, it is essential that you make the right pick. If we had Paul or Deron we would at LEAST be in the playoff hunt, but probably better. The reason Zaza, Salim, and everyone besides JJ look so bad on offense is because they are FORCED to create on their own, which they cannot do. Get a good PG in here, and every one of them will look like completely different players. Quote: MARVIN WILLIAMS HAS PLAYED ALL OF ONE YEAR AND A MONTH IN HIS PRO CAREER AND IT WAS WELL KNOWN IT WOULD TAKE CLOSE TO 3 YEARS FOR HIS FULL DEVELOPMENT DUE TO HIS BEING A POTENTIAL PICK.... relax....yes, he needs to work on things but he's young, he is. He has shown me ZERO signs of ever becoming a dominant player. Like I said before, he can't post up, drive, dribble, rebound, pass, or do anything other than shooting that would show me signs of him becoming a dominant offensive player. Even in the games he scores 20+, all he does is catch the ball, jab step without dribbling and just take the shot. He plays the same every game, but to score 20+ he has to be on FIRE (which explains why he only scores 20 in about 1 of 5 games). I would expect a LOT more out of a #2 pick. This very well could end up being the second worst #2 pick in NBA history behind Darko or Bowie, but at least Detroit already had a great team, and still won a championship. What pisses me off even more about BK is that Marvin came into his Atl predraft workout out of shape, an inch shorter than reported, meanwhile Chris Paul was "quoted" as saying he had his best workout in Atl, he thought he was coming here, as did 80% of America. BTW where the hell is KB21? Good point. Chris Paul had a great workout here while Marv had a less than stellar showing. This was all reported through various media outlets before the draft. I remember the aricle in the AJC about Paul specifically. Makes me wonder about our ability to judge talent. Very, very strange indeed.