Hawkzzz21

I'm on Belkin's side. JJ was a bad trade. Now none of this has anything to do with our court struggles. Woody's just wasting minutes for our new coach we are going to be getting. Woody is in the clear now. The problem in the ATL is the ASG. All the blame right now is on them. There is no one else to blame right now. Woody has proven over and over he can't coach NBA ball. ASG is starting to prove they don't have a clue either.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap;_ylt=A...1100609&prov=ap Good to see the over rated guys from the Pac 10 lose to a group of southern boys. Mayo won't stay long enough in that Southern California Sun. He's in the NBA next year.

I agree with both of your last posts. JJ has been great in the past and this season is the future. Let's do simple logic. Marvin Williams I have seen improvement in this year. Josh Smith I have seen improvement in this year. Josh Childress I have seen improvement in this year. Joe Johnson I haven't seen improvement in this year and would even go as far to say after game 5 he has digressed. He might score 30 points in the next 5 games and be our MVP. Do we really expect him to get these points on dunks, drives, lay ups, and getting out on the front end of the break? I think he's a glorified jump shooter and since the ball comes to a halt when it gets in his hands on offense, it's actually hurting our development right now. Some have stated they want to see Acie get more aggressive on the offensive end. I would like that too, to see what the boy's got, but I know in the big picture of things, it's not what we need right now. Acie does need to keep passing the ball, so we have at least one guy out there, that the ball is flowing through and not just to. I like JJ. Super nice guy. Great professional. I see sulking in my eyes and it appears it's effecting his play on the court. Now the 3 guys I mentioned above that have improved, I realize they had more to improve on and are not as skilled as JJ is right now. I just think these are the early signs of an NBA player peaking and his peak isn't gonna win us championships. I wish we could talk about his improvements or something that he has added to his game. Instead we are all saying he will get out of this funk and I agree he will. On the offensive numbers, but not on the team play and other things I have been focused on. I have my doubts he's gonna let anyone on our current team, be considered a better player than him. That's great if it makes him play harder, but it's not if its going to make him sulk on the court. Does anyone think he will be an All Star this year? Based on the comments on this board and hearing all the awful things about Shelden in the preseason, I would even say he's an improvement from the preseason. I didn't see him play, but I really expected the worse out of him and he's been descent.

I know someone posted the link, that allowed some to watch the Boston/Atlanta Game on their computer. I used that link to watch the Lakers game later that night and tonight I have the Magic/Suns game on right now. It's a great link for the NBA and NHL fans that want to see just about any game out there. I know a lot of us is hoping that link works for the Washington game on Sunday for the Hawks. Now I was wondering if you could do the NFL like that. I did find a ton of things with a search on MSN. "watch nfl games on your computer" The most legitimate service is one that cost 49 bucks. At least I assume they are, because I see a ton of their ads online. http://www.satellitetvtopc.com/ I did see other things for the NFL that claimed with a free download, you could watch NFL games from your computer. I didn't download any of them, but they were out there. I also seen others wanting a small fee for you to run their software on your computer to watch the football games. I just thought this might be something for the Falcon fans to think about for this year and definitely next year.

Quote: Yeah, I'd rather have Boris Diaw??? PHX hasn't even cashed in on one of our picks yet. So, they havent exactly made out like bandits. They got their ass kicked in the trade. I watched JJ carry our sorry ass team on his back for over half of last season. Without him, we win 15 games. Seriously, there are way too many people here who panic after 5 games. JJ will get it done in the end. That trade has worked out in spades. Plus, PHX overpaid Diaw who blew his wad after a fluke season. They want rid of his contract in the worst way. I would re-think my post if I were you because it makes very little sense. OK...done! I did re-think my post and I can see one thing that we disagree with, that's not JJ related. You say we would have won 15 games without JJ last year, but we won 30 with him. If we can't make it to the championship game, I just assume have 15 wins as opposed to 30 wins. It gives us better odds on landing top players in the draft. I am willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship. I do think you have to make strides, like winning more games than you did the year before, but unfortunately that is every team in the league's goal. I would be happy to be a Portland Trail Blazer fan right now. They got top choice in the draft, they are in their rebuilding mode and that top player (Oden) isn't going to help them one bit this year. They stand a great chance to land another top pick in the next draft. They would win more games with Oden and I just assume to have him sit. I realize he has to learn the game sometime and get better as a player, but he's just a sophmore in college right now in terms of age, so they still get a junior in college next year, along with a player like Mayo (who will probably be a player in the draft next year). Most Falcon fans are still rooting for the Falcons right now. I realize me rooting against the home team makes me seem like the bad guy, but I'm only doing what I think is best for the team. The Falcons get a better chance at a top notch player if they lose the rest of their games. I would hate to see them win a few games and miss out on a top 5 player. I think we are stuck in the mud if we continue to let JJ dribble the ball for 15 seconds and take the jumper. Let's stop wasting time and get things right!

OK....let's say we just miss the playoffs and are the 14th team from last place. We have the least shot at landing the overall number 1 pick next year, but at least it's a shot. It's also a shot at the 2nd or 3rd pick in the draft and I would much rather have that pick or a shot at that pick, than JJ right now. My comments are not based on our wins, or his jumper being off right now. We need to run, drive to the basket, and stop the one on one game. JJ is the leader and leads me to believe guys like Lue and J. Smith take their long shots in the game, because they won't get the ball back if it gets in Joe's hands either. Look at the guys that can dunk on this team. I don't mean a Jason Terry dunk, I mean guys that can really dunk. Horford, both Joshes, Marvin, Shelden, etc... How many lobs have there been to the basket, where guys grab them and dunk them home? I think Marvin's dunk tonight (that was a lob from JJ), was the first one the Hawk's had this year. Denver attempts 5 of these a game and I know it's a difference in offensive philosphy, but those JJ long jump shots, is taking away from that part of the game that we could demoralize teams with. Yes, JJ did carry us last year. He's been great getting us to where we are at, but he can't take us no further. If he can't be the top dawg, he don't wanna play. JJ isn't going to be Kobe or LBJ, but he wants to be. He's not a team player and that is what our team needs. JJ is a great scorer and makes difficult shots. Why make the difficult shots when you can lay it in or dunk it home? I will take one ping pong ball for JJ right now.

I have never took sides on the JJ trade until now. My first reaction when I seen ESPN's bottomline that Atlanta gave up 2 first round picks for Joe Johnson was a shocking one. Especially when you figure that a team in a rebuilding mode needs as many as those 1st round picks they can get. Now those picks could be scrubs or they could be Josh Smith, who knows? What we did know is that JJ was a great player based on where he was drafted and improved every year in the NBA. He was sure to take another positive step coming to our team. He did that and now apparently he has reached his limits as an NBA player. What makes a guy like Joe Johnson want to come to Atlanta, when he was in such a great situation like in Phoenix? He was in a great position to win, but not to be a star in Phoenix. He got his chance at stardom in Atlanta and the finish product is in front of our eyes in 2007. He didn't catch my eye in the openner, but my eyes have not left him since game 2 of this season. He plays defense with no passion and he has the ability to play defense, but doesn't choose to go at it with all he's got. He has been struggling with his shot and its effected his defensive ability. There was no pep in his steps in games 2, 3, and 4. Now comes game 5 of the season, where apparently him and Pierce were exchanging blows that got unnoticed for the most part by Bob and Steve. He got a little peppier on defense and after making a shot, he had a lot of pep in his defensive step. I know guys typically do play better on defense, right after they have scored a bucket, but this isn't true for your leaders or someone that you want to be a leader. JJ is not the leader of this team and everything that is said about Lue's offensive game, is true for Joe Johnson too. He holds the ball, dribbles around and finally throws up a shot. He has amazing offensive skills to shoot long range shots, shots that are contested, and those last second shots. He is playing basketball for those momments and that is what Joe Johnson is. It was really clear last year when we would give him the keys to the offense, with the shot clock turned off. He never had the desire to pass the ball and would force shots or turn it over more times than he would sink that buzzer beater. Joe Johnson can't pass the ball! I don't mean that in the sense that he doesn't want to pass the ball, he doesn't have the athletic ability to pass. He tries to make his one on one move and when it fails, he always gives that lazy pass to one of his teammates. He doesn't understand that pass needs to be just as crisp as the shot, for the team to succeed. Joe is teaching one thing that is very clear to this young team. That is how to sulk on the court. Our players get that sulking from JJ. I agree with one poster that said J. Smith was complaining to much to the refs, but JJ rarely does. It seems like J. Smith has more passion and cares more about these games than JJ does. I know people are different in the way they handle things, but JJ never tries to make up for his mistakes. He hides from his, while a guy like Marvin tonight missed a dunk and got back down the floor to be in on the defense. Joe doesn't try to redeem his mistakes. He is very comparable to what Shareff was for this team. Both guys can give you a lot, but they make silly turnovers and give it all back. Salim Stoudamire got off the bench tonight and was going to come into the game. He stops half way down the bench and bends down to tie his shoes. JJ was on the other side of the court and flung a pass to Salim (who wasn't even in the game). This was a situation that JJ had dribbled the ball a few seconds at the top of the key and should have knew where his teammates were on the floor. He goes to his right and Boston throws a trap on him and then there goes JJ throwing the pass across the court to Salim Stoudamire, who was in the front of the Hawks bench, and did stick out, but he was not even in the game yet. It's the perfect example to where JJ's mind is at on offense. Our team is slightly better with age and two rookies that have contributed. It has nothing to do with JJ! We have barely beat the Mavs and Suns who didn't have Josh Howard or Amare Stoudamire playing with them. I think we beat our 30 mark, but unless JJ gets benched or injured, our team is gonna be stuck in the mud. I give Phoenix the nod in our trade, because I see that draft pick being a lottery pick. Now if that ball comes out to be one of the top 3 picks; it isn't gonna be a factor with me. I already know that JJ will never gel with the team we have now and he won't be a part of any playoff run we might make deep into the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Just knowing that we have a shot at a top 3 pick next year, tells me that the JJ trade was bad. I will still root for the team as long as we are winning our home games. That's 41 wins if we stay perfect at home. If the loses start to out number the wins by a 3 to 1 margin, might as well throw in the towel and root for them to lose, so that 2nd round pick in 2008 will be near the top. I just assume turn off the engine now and get more talent in here, than just to make the playoffs and be the first team to get put out. We had enough of those playoff births in the Lenny Wilkens Era. I want championships! Trade or new coach, I might still be on board for this year. If JJ gets injured, we will start winning again like we did last year when he went down. JJ is the cancer on this team. I can't blame the back up PG's like Lue (although he is just as bad), but it's your stars you have to put the blame on. Bad trade BK.

What ex-Hawks would you be willing to add to the roster right now? If we could just magically get them for free and could add 1 or 2 guys, which guys would you choose? Rasheed Wallace Al Harrington Stephen Jackson Jason Terry Boris Diaw Antoine Walker Shareef Abdur Rahim Speedy Claxton (oh wait, he's still here) Rasheed would be my choice based on talent, but Harrington and Terry would be the choices based on what they did while they were here. Harrington is a fan favorite and obviously the Pacers thought enough of him to bring him back to them and Terry was always the guy welcoming the newest Hawks to our team.

Quote: Quote: Let's just stick with what we have and watch it grow. ding ding ding, we have a winner. Maybe not? Why not keep our guys and still get Kobe? Kevin Durant? or a Josh Howard? I think Joe Johnson is the odd man out right now for the Hawks. He doesn't hustle and have that desire to dive around and get his shirt untucked every now and then. We made excuses in the past about his ball hogging, because he was the only option. He's still doing it! You can't bench the guy, because of all the hype that came during his trade to the ATL. So the best remedy to rid ourselves of Joe is to trade him. Kobe is the same player, but hustles more and is a better scorer. I would offer Joe and any of the guys that haven't contributed this year like Speedy, ZaZa, Shelden, and the other rif raft and start trading away 1st round picks. Start with our 2009 first round pick and keeping going up. I would trade away the next 5 to 7 first round draft picks (2009-2016) along with Joe Johnson for Kobe, Durant or a Josh Howard. Adding anyone of those 3 guys would give us a better team now and in the future. We wouldn't need those 1st round draft picks, because free agents would want to play with our strong young core of players! I know Durant seems like a long shot, but if the Bulls came to the Hawks right now and said give us Marvin Williams and Josh Smith and we will give you our next 7 first round draft picks. I would make that deal. I would be willing to sacrifice another 4 or 5 years of bad basketball in Atlanta, to have 13 first round draft picks in the next 7 years. I know we have went through our growing pains already and would be harder for us to do, but the Lakers and Seattle both seem like they want to rebuild now.

1) Woody can't coach and I won't buy a Hawks ticket until he's gone. 2) Joe Johnson can't pass. He tries to make his move and then when he gets stopped, he makes a lazy pass and it results in a turnover. 3) T. Lue just dribbles and shoots. Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it don't. All 3 of the above things are crippling the team right now.

Quote: how would showing it live matter? u think that u can better tell if they are cheating than the MULTIPLE independent auditors and the team representatives and sportswriters etc etc etc that are in the room? Hey if it's legit, they have nothing to hide. The BCS is the same way. They know they cheat on their rankings, and that's why the BCS numbers are released a month and half after the season starts. If it's legit, why not show it after the week 1 games are played? Wasn't it Patrick Ewing that started the lottery? I thought him landing in NY was a foul. I think a better system would be just to put the teams in individual envelopes (regular size) and seal them up. Let them get one of those hand crunk turning things, and let someone from TNT or ESPN (depending who's covering the draft) and let them pull out each envelope live on tv. We get to see each envelope as it is drawn and even after the draft order has been selected, you continue to draw the envelopes to show each team they had the correct amount of envelopes in the tub. Why hire those auditors and waste money there, when you can do it the old fashion way? I say envelopes, because those ping pong balls can have weights in them and could be unfair.

Quote: Not sure I believe the stuff about not being able to talk. That sounds like radio hype to me. 790 the source???????? Well when Vick spoke publicly for the first time, he (PETRINO) got all the players together and did a walk around, and wouldn't let them hear what Vick had to say live. I thought that was treating them like children. Falcons rebuilding? NO....that's the problem. They need to rebuild and are unwilling to do it. One of the strongest legs in the NFL got cut by the Falcons after the first 2 games of the year. I would have hung on to that guy, and had a lot more patience with him. Falcons want to win and that's why you have Morten still kicking here. I agree with Arthur going off on Vick in the press conference. AB went wayyyyy too far with his words and could have said the same things with less conVICKton. The greatest story of all? Is Vick coming back to Atlanta and leading the team to the playoffs. Blank's words has probably ended that. You have to take the best players in the draft! That's why we have Warrick Dunn, Joe Horn, Byron Leftwich, Joey Harrington, Mughelli (SP), and guys from other team's drafts leading our offense on Sundays. AB is the reason for TO and Randy Moss not being here. Both guys wanted to come to Atlanta and could have,if it wouldn't for AB's dedication on bringing in the best choir boys. Lockeroom guys is wayyyyyyy over emphaised in the Falcons case. Bobby Petrino will not last, guranteed!!!

Hmmmmmmm......the 80's pretty much was Boston and LA, makes you wonder??? Show the lottery live!!! I don't like the way the lottery is done. Other than Atlanta getting one of the top two picks, they got the best two picks they could have, without giving away their first rounders this year. Seattle appears to be leaving for the midwest and if I owned the NBA, I would want a team in Seattle. Seattle gets Kevin Durant. Portland is said to have the best fans and fill the place up. How much more will the fans flock into the Rose Garden with what they have? Portand gets Greg Odom. I just see Atlanta as the 3rd priority on the list, and then they got took care of. I never thought of how the LeBron factor, but I was amazed that they represented the Eastern Conference. Hmmm....

So who is going to be at the Krispey Kreme on November 4th (Sunday Morning 10AM - 1Pm)? It's where the Hawks will be kicking off the season for this year. Details through the email: What: Join the A-Town Dancers and Harry the Hawk for contests, doughnuts, interactives and MORE! All to celebrate the start of the Hawks 2007-08 Season. When: Sunday, Nov. 4 from 10 am until 1 pm Where: Krispy Kreme - Ponce de Leon Location Driving Directions I hope this is really a heart-felt kickoff celebration and not one of these things they do to get our addresses or email addresses for promotion puposes. I hate when they trick us into things like that. I might be willing to share my address with one or two of those A Town Dancers now!

I don't want to say Shelden was a mistake, but will admit he looks awkard (he did last year, have not seen him this year). I am gonna go out on a limb and say Billy Knight has ESPN? I clearly remember around December (the year leading up to the SW Draft)and our biggest weakness was letting guys drive right to the basket and lay it in or dunk the ball home. We needed a presence in the center that would stop that. It was essential that we focused on a shot blocker. Through rumors, the Hawks name got brung up in some free agents or players that might get traded due to salary, and they were purely shot blockers. Of coarse, we know nothing happend and was left with the 5th pick in the draft to find that shot blocker. Now, getting back to Billy Knight having ESPN. I would watch the Hawks, then Sportscenter, and then they would replay the evening college game in the wee hours of the morning. Duke was shown on television a lot and he just didn't let anything or anyone get close to the rim. He was a defensive pressence and one of the best I saw in college basketball that year. I was leaning toward Shelden in December and this was way before I knew where the Hawks were drafting at and what other players might be available. After all the expert predictions came in, Shelden could have been drafted as high as 8 in the draft that year. I do think BK tried to swap with the 6 and 7 place teams that year in that draft, but couldn't swing a deal. Making a deal for the 8th pick or later, would have been a risk and BK didn't want to take that. So BK does fall in love with players on draft day and I think a good example of that is Josh Childress. The Hawks didn't have as much info. on Deng, because he was going to be selected before the Hawk's pick that year. If I'm not getting my drafts confused, I think it was the Bulls at 3 that was going to draft Deng (by all expert accounts), and the Hawks main guy was going to be Ben Gordon. Instead the 3rd team in the draft that year took Gordon, and left the Hawks with their 2nd best guy in Childress. I don't think they ever considered Deng, because he wasn't suppose to be availabe at that spot in the draft. It would be nice to see the ALL LONG TEAM on the court for a few minutes in one game. PG Joe Johnson SG Marvin Williams/Josh Childress SF Josh Smith PF Al Horford C Solomon Jones