Discussion of Theo.

[Guest]

When I proposed Theo/next yrs 1st(unprotected) to Memphis for Batiter/Lo... Why was there so much Lo hate. I am the first to call Lo Lazy Lo... However, I realize that a combo of Lo and Nazr would be adequate at C. Especially with Lo's scoring. But Battier would be exactly what we need.

[Guest]

Do you understand how sorry our frontcourt

defense is?If we trade Theo we MUST get a

defensive center sorta like E.Johnson and some

one else back.

Battier is nice,but we are still stuck with big

men that play no defense.

[Guest]

Our Frontcourt defense is weak but what will make a bigger difference is us being able to score. Battier is a super player. He will make us a whole lot better and defensively he can hold his own. He steals and Blocks shots very well. Theo is just one ragedy man. I think that given the right coaching, we can find good defense with Lo/Nazr as our C rotation.

[Guest]

We are stuck with Kruger so you can forget the coaching part.

We don't have the talent to be a major offensive team.We don't

have the team to average in the 99PPG range.We need alittle

bit of defense

We are bad on defense at the 1 spot,and Dermarr is still a

youngester and makes defensive mistakes,so we need a

defensive center.....We lack rebounding and we aren't a

good shooting team.A team that lacks rebounding/defense

and can't score 99PPG is going nowhere and nowhere

fast.

[Traceman]

On a good team, he is a 3rd option scorer at best who rebounds well and plays good D. He is a smart player and he plays hard all the time. He's a high character guy. All those things are very good but they don't make him a "super" player in my opinion. Donyell Marshall put up better numbers in a lot less minutes over the past 2 seasons and I consider Marshall a good player but certainly not a super player.

[KB21]

We have to get better defensively in the paint.

Last year, the Hawks averaged 94 ppg which was middle of the pack. They gave up 98.3 ppg, which was bottom of the league stuff. The main reason the Hawks give up so many points is the lack of interior defense without Theo Ratliff in the line up. Players drive the lane at will against the Hawks. They don't have to settle for outside jumpers that are a lesser percentage shot. Teams can get in the lane and score on our big men.

That changes with Theo Ratliff in the game. Players think twice about driving that lane with Theo hanging around. Just having him in the post is going to make people think twice about driving as well as causing more turnovers because perimeter defenders like Jason Terry and DerMarr Johnson will be able to take more chances at steals and playing on the ball more.

[Diesel]

The fact that you can compare Battier a rookie to old a** Marshall is reason enough to consider him super. I say Super because:

1. he's Good.

2. He's still learning this game.

3. He's a very good Shooter.

4. He has very good defense.

remember he's just a rookie and look at these numbers again:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/shane_battie...x.html?nav=page

Most impressive is the 1.55 spg and 1.05 bpg. I dare you to compare his rookie season to JT's. Defensively, he's further along than many veterans and this was his first yr.

In fact Marshall avgs... .86 spg, 1.16 bpg. Moreover, Marshall is old and A GIMP.

[Admin]

Yes he put up decent numbers, good numbers as a rookie, but consider this. He was #12 in the NBA in minutes per game and yet only averaged what he did as the #2 option. I like Battier a lot and I think he would be great for us, but super he is not, nor will he ever be IMO.

Very good shooter? In college yeah he was. In the NBA he shot 43% and 37% from downtown. Thats not very good in my book. Its not bad at all, but not very good by any means.

[Traceman]

[Guest]

"Theo makes you a better defensive player when he walks on the court," Jason Terry said. "He's a coach on the floor, directing traffic. You don't have to worry about gambling a little because you know he's going to cover your man. There's no question we're one of the best teams in the East when he plays."