What the Hell Happened to Salim

[mudderfudder77]

Is he just not playing? This guy looked like Ben Gordon to start the year, but I haven't heard anything about him lately, and I saw his average is back below 10pts a game? Is Woodson not playing him, and if so who is taking his minutes?

[y2kenta]

Who else?

Who else is getting all the PG minutes in the 4th quarters?

Who is getting killed by any /every PG we face?

Who else needs to be traded aside from Al (because of value)?

Who else looks like a chicken? - lol!!!

Answer:

TYRONN LUE!!!

[mudderfudder77]

Wasn't Salim splitting minutes with Lue at the beginning of the year though - and still producing? It doesn't look like his percentages have really dropped.

[exodus]

Salims ball handling is keeping him from getting minutes. He came in to start the 4th quarter last night and promptly turned it over 3 times to change the momentum of the game. A lot of times when he is in there they will use Childress or Harrington to bring the ball up the floor.

And what that Ace idiot won't mention is that Lue is shooting better from 3 than Salim and has had some big scoring games in the Hawks victories. In fact they started winning when Lue started playing more minutes and taking more shots.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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Salims ball handling is keeping him from getting minutes. He came in to start the 4th quarter last night and promptly turned it over 3 times to change the momentum of the game. A lot of times when he is in there they will use Childress or Harrington to bring the ball up the floor.

And what that Ace idiot won't mention is that Lue is shooting better from 3 than Salim and has had some big scoring games in the Hawks victories. In fact they started winning when Lue started playing more minutes and taking more shots.

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Lue has to score to counterbalance what he gives up on defense. When the Hawks were winning, Lue was OUTSTANDING on the offensive end. No complaints from me when Lue is on his offensive game.

It's just when he's not on his offensive game, his presence on the court can literally KILL you. Mike James became ultra aggressive on offense, every time Lue was matched up against him.

Yes, Lue can run the offense better than any guard we have. And yes, most of the time you can count on him to not turn the ball over.

But the kid has a bullseye on him, when it comes to defense. He can't guard his man straight up . . he can't fight through screens . . and he doesn't have the defensive awareness to even get a steal here and there.

In fairness to Lue, both he and Salim got lit up by the Raptor PGs last night.

If Ivey is the best defender out of the 3, maybe we're better off with him in the game, strictly from a defensive standpoint. Just let JJ and Al take all of the shots down the stretch, with the other guys on the court playing hard-nosed defense ( if they can ).

[Packfill]

I agree about Ivey - he should play major minutes for the next two weeks to see if he has any game.

[Admin]

over the last 2 weeks since we started losing, his shooting has been horrible. No doubt goes back to what I was saying about us needing a 3rd reliable scorer ... and for a while Lue was that guy, but he has fallen off lately big time.

[Traceman]

Mike James has been a Hawks' killer for a while (he used to light JT up routinely when he was in Miami) but Ivey was doing a VERY good job on him. James turned it over a couple of times early in the 3rd when Ivey was on him and he could not get his shot off. When Ivey went out, we had increased the lead from 3 to 7. Lue came in when we were up 7 and James got right back on track. He lit Salim up as well and took the ball from him on the defensive end. Ivey was the only PG we had who could guard him. I don't know why Woodson couldn't see what was happening. Ivey won't be our best option at PG on most nights but he was last night. James is strong as hell for a PG - he's like Billups in that respect - and Lue is just not big enough to guard him. As for Salim, he's not quick enough.

[Traceman]

He shot well against Toronto and Charlotte last week (6-10 and 7-12), but he has shot poorly in the last two games 6-15 and 1-5.

[exodus]

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over the last 2 weeks since we started losing, his shooting has been horrible. No doubt goes back to what I was saying about us needing a 3rd reliable scorer ... and for a while Lue was that guy, but he has fallen off lately big time.

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Since the Denver victory Lue is shooting 45% from the field and over 80% from the line. Not up to his usual standards but a long way from horrible.

Horrible describes the way he started the month. His first 4 games he was 7 for 29. However he picked it up to average 46% from the month, 41% from 3.

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Lue has to score to counterbalance what he gives up on defense. When the Hawks were winning, Lue was OUTSTANDING on the offensive end. No complaints from me when Lue is on his offensive game.

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Northclyde that is exactly why I think the harrington for Watson/Nene deal makes so much sense. Apparently that deal is on the table now just waiting for BK's approval. No way could James light up Watson, one of the best defensive pgs in the league. And Nene is a very good defender as well.

The Hawks have plenty of guys who can score but they need defense.

Those of you who want Ivey to play more....I was saying the same thing not long ago. However it has been pretty clear that he just can't run the offense effectively. And since he is an unknown 2nd year player he gets a lot of touch fouls called against him.