yardbird

I was at the game, and Salim played great. I think he is lower in the rotation because we are so deep now. I expected he'd get minutes tonight on the back end of back-to-back games. That's the best opportunity for players like him and West, though good performances there might force playing time in other situations. I don't think he's shown the ability to run the point yet, though tonight was a first step. He has earned the opportunity to prove himself again in the next game, when he'll need to play under control again. He could eventually earn Lue's minutes at the point and essentially play the Lue role of serviceable handles and instant offense, but not yet. For now, we need veteran stability and experience at the point behind Law, and I'd like to see tonight's result consistently from Salim before trusting him to provide that. Honestly, I'd love to see Claxton get healthy enough to be the back up point for 20 - 25 minutes a game. Adding him and ZaZa to the rotation would be huge, though it'd take away minutes from Lue, Salim and Shelden. Somewhat regrettable, but the wins would be worth it.

Great Post! I still don't understand why Marvin doesn't get the ball more in a position to score when he's playing so well. It would really open things up for Joe.

And the emotion he showed after hitting it can be contagious and confidence building. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's game . . . I hope we get a win or make the Pistons work every minute to secure their home opener. Realistically, it'll be a tough game and I'll be semi-satisfied if we make them earn it in front of a home sell out (but would much prefer a result like yesterday).

I read multiple times daily, including off season (totally hooked on the Hawks and the Sqwuak), but generally too busy to post unless I'm really pumped, generally at draft time and after huge steps forward like last night. Got a demanding job and a 4 year old . . .

I agree about the old hawk with two wings spread. It looks dated and lame. Unfortunately, I've seen Woody in practice sweats this year with the same old logo, so I don't think it's totally retired yet. They should burn all remnants of the rebuilding hawks and take the new, aggressive logo into the much brighter future.

You're right, it does beat nothing, which is what we're used to. Long was good, but would likely bump Nique to do color instead of Jerome. I'd even take Stinger vs. Jerome last night. But I've been patient with the Hawks since the Rider disaster, I guess I'll give Jerome awhile to grow into it.

I thought Nique was decent, but the Jerome Jurenovich (sp) guy was pretty bad, stiff and poorly prepared. Hopefully, he finds his stride as the season progresses. It's already difficult to watch post-game late at night, but near impossible if the host isn't entertaining.

I think someone else made this point in another thread, but it bears repeating: I don't know that Harris would have hurt us anymore than Berea did (what'd he have, like 14 points in 9 minutes?) in replacing him.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...de.307993a.html

Since we were able to maintain the lead without Horford in the game at the end, I wonder if there is some confidence boost for him in that he did not foul out (which he would likely have done if he'd reentered the game)?

I agree about Lue. He's not Jason Kidd, but he knows that and is very effective in his role as a scoring, backup point and team leader. Only when he is forced out of that role by injury to others is he ineffective (sometimes), but that's not his fault. He's only trying to cover for roles best filled by others. For what he does, I like his game (and especially his loyalty for turning down slots on contending teams to help this one develop)!

Everyone who played made a contribution - - even Shelden had some big plays when needed most, especially on the boards. Can't wait to have ZaZa healthy and Horford not in foul trouble. Add a serviceable Speedy (as a 3rd point guard due to reliability concerns) and we should really cause some problems.

While he missed his shots like everyone else, I thought Marvin looked better than Shelden, and was agressive and quick on both ends. I left before the 4th quarter, though.

Stated a little differently, once a group of employees votes for union representation, that union represents all of that class of employees, even those who didn't vote for the union (or opted out) and even employees who join that class of employees after the union is in place. The rules agreed to by the union in collective bargaining apply to all those represented employees, so a rookie coming into the league is bound by the terms collectively bargained by the union even if he never joined the union or paid dues. That's why the union rules applied to players like Jordan, who had the clout to negotiate a favorable individual deal as well as players like Solomon Jones who clearly lacked such clout. Even employees who cross union lines are subject to any rules collectively negotiated by the union.

The two Josh's and Marvin all averaged 25 to 28 minutes per game as rookies. Even Salim had 20 plus. I think if Acie earns it in practice, and doesn't seriously hurt the teams chance of winning games through inexperience at the NBA level, he'll get decent time on the floor. And I hope he earns the right to play, but I don't want it handed to him, especially if a healthy Speedy gives us a better chance to win while Acie learns to produce at this level.

Found it: www.1320kfan.com

Since we're playing the Jazz at 9, anyone have a radio link that works?

RMR site says only Jazz games are radio broadcast. Looks like we're stuck with internet reports from AJC/ESPN and the video on tape delay next week.

Thank you for the play by play. It was almost better than the live feed . . . I just look for signs at this point. Pretty pleased with Horford at 18 and 6, surprised Shelden ended up 11 and 8, and not too disappointed with 8 and 5 (assists) from Acie . . . overall a good start in front of a home crowd in SLC . . .

Almond missed a prayer shot, offensive rebound by Milsap put in and fouled with 1.7 seconds left. Shelden Williams just missed a desperation heave as time expired . . .

Great line from the announcers earlier about Southern Cal recruiters already on the doorstep of Shelden Williams and Candace Parker . . .

My recollection is that Woody wanted Shelden to bang and do dirty work downlow, while Shelden wanted to demonstrate his more refined (i.e., finesse) skills. That was what kept him on the bench. While I don't consider Woody a coaching genius, I think he was right about what we needed from Shelden, and until Shelden was willing to do the dirty work, he was most useful on the bench. Maybe his yielding to the coach's instructions led to more PT late in the season, and better results?

Besides, I understand that the Hawks would only get the proceeds of sales at Phillips for themselves, and that any internet sales get divided among the teams. I read this somewhere recently, but forgot where. Can anyone else confirm?

The morning after the lottery, I actually saw BK walking to Phillips and congratulated him on the Hawks luck. He was ecstatic and pretty excited about the assets he'd acquired to make the team better. I asked him about point guards, and he said he preferred big ones (no suprise there), and indicated he would have chosen Deron over Paul. It was a conversation, not an interview, so I didn't ask him about the Marvin choice. I do think that most GMs in his situation would have taken Marvin at the time, though most would have taken the guards first based on what we've seen thus far. Since he preferred big PGs, I asked about Crittendon. He seemed to think he would have been better served by another year in school, where he could have a more successful campaign than GT did this year. While that doesn't mean Crittendon won't end up here, I'd be surprised if he got any promises. BK really seemed to be weighing each and every possible use of the picks and players on roster to improve the team, and open to trade possibilities. Honestly, he seemed like a decent guy to me. Personally, while I would have made some different choices in hindsight, I don't think BKs picks of Diaw, Childress, Marvin and Shelden were terrible. They just weren't the perfect choice in retrospect. I'd like to see how it all pans out after moves are hopefully made to address positions that are currently lacking. If he can pull off anything close to the Gasol/Shareef trade benefitting the Hawks this time, I'll consider him redeemed. By the way, I work near Phillips and see BK from time to time, but Wednesday was my first talk with him (so please don't accuse me of working for ASG, I don't).

unless we're #4 . . .