Sigh...anyone else think we'll never be good?

[CBAreject]

So it's February and I'm looking at draft predictions yet again. Can't help thinking that if we had drafted Chris Paul, I'd be figuring out how many games we needed to steal to sneak into the playoffs.

Anyhoo, that's the past. Looking at nbadraft.net and realizing that this draft is shaping up to be a stinker for anything but forwards. I like Shelden Williams, but he's no top 3 pick. We'll probably have a shot at Aldridge, and I guess he'd be a nice pick. Powerforward is always a nice spot to fill.

The point guards are slim pickins. Rondo is probably going to be OK, but is he a high lottery pick? Nobody else is a "true" PG in this draft.

The centers are a joke.

I think we're looking at a PF in this draft. Adam Morrison may be the rookie of the year, but we certainly don't need him.

BTW, I CANNOT BELIEVE JOSH MCROBERTS IS PENCILED IN 5TH ON THIS SITE. WHY? BECAUSE HE'S A DUKIE? I THOUGHT THAT WAS A NEGATIVE....

Are any of these guys difference makers? I dunno. Looks like more losing next year.

[WraithSentinel]

Are you watching this team grow,develop, and looking more like a team now? Sure the draft doesn't offer much in terms of the impact player we need. Hawks will be better next year just base on experience,team chemistry and familiarity with each other.

[Gray Mule]

I am the eternal optimist.

I believe we'll get better and better. Hawks are growing

their team, not trading for "Instant" success and I've

got to believe it's working.

Our future looks the best it has looked in a long time.

[Packfill]

In order to really make a move up in the standings the Hawks need two things: (1) the young guys to continue to develop and (2) at least two veteran leaders capable of starting need to be added.

Look at the Clippers - they are doing well because they brought in veterans Mobley and Cassell. Phoenix didn't take off until bringing in veteran point guard Steve Nash. All the top teams in the league are veteran teams.

[exodus]

The Hawks just won 3 of 4 and you make a post like this?

wtf

[CrawDaddy]

I have to admit, I got excited about the 3 out of 4, but then when I looked to see if we had any kind of mathematical shot at the last playoff spot, I got depressed too. It's just hard at this point in the year, when 75% of the league is looking towards the playoffs (or a legitimate shot at the playoffs) to already be looking towards this summer's draft. Don't knock the guy for wanting to have a good team.

[macdaddy]

You've fallen into the loser mentality that we have to draft someone great to be successful. The truth is we now need good veteran role players more than we need raw talent.

We have two guys who are starting to show flashes of greatness : Smoove and MW(I think he will be much better next year)

We have Chill who is also an impact player.

We have JJ who is our goto guy.

Its time to add a few proven nba players to go with the talent we've been developing.

[Packfill]

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The Hawks just won 3 of 4 and you make a post like this?

wtf

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I think it is a legitimate question. Sure the Hawks have won a few games and are playing better then they have in quite some time, but the real issue is whether this team is built to succeed in the playoffs. Given the teams shortage of defense you could argue that the team is missing a few pieces before it can be anything more then a playoff pretender. On the up side, the success of teams like Phoenix and Dallas - which are not know as tough defensive teams - does provide hope that the Hawks can succeed even with their current personnel limitations.

This summer will answer a number of questions about the long-term outlook of the team. It is really too early to judge because we do not know what this team will look like going into next season because of free agency and the draft.

[RAHMOR]

Hawks Records:

99-00 28 wins 54 losses -Lenny Wilkins, Dikembe Mutombo

00-01 25 wins 57 losses - Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff, Toni Kukoc Jason Terry

01-02 33 wins 49 losses - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Glenn Robinson

02-03 35 wins 47 losses - Terry Stotts, Glenn Robinson

03-04 25 wins 54 losses - Shareef Abdur-Rahim

04-05 13 wins 69 losses - Al Harrington, Antoine Walker

These are records for the past couple of years. These are some of the players and coaches that were one these teams. Some of these players are well known players to more than just Hawks fans. These guys include veterans, a legendary coach and players who currently plays for teams with championship aspirations like Miami and Dallas.

05-06 19-37

This is our current record. We are on pace to match the performance of those teams with all those vets and we have a bunch of guys who are for the most part still potential. The most wins those guys could achieve was 35. It will be tough for us this year to get that but not inconceivable.

This team is almost as good right now as any of those and our best player in Joe Johnson hasn't even reached his potential.

So to answer you question no I don't get the feeling we will never be good, in fact I think it is almost impossible for us not to be good.

P.S. Those guys were guaranteeing(sp) playoff appearances and were not better than this year's team, and this year's squad is not even complete.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I agree totally. All we need are a couple of quality vets on this team.

We're not that far away people. If we can win 25 home games next year, all we'll have to do is win 15 on the road to possibly get that 8th spot.

You guys are going to have to start looking at this team from the 19th game on.

That 2 - 16 start had everything to do with JJ and the new players on the team trying to find some chemistry between each other. Since that time, we're 17 - 21. That may not sound like much, but that record would put us at the 8th spot, if the season began after the 18th game of the year. That's how we have to look at things.

We're not going to the playoffs, and I think any reasonable fan never expected to be a playoff caliber team this year.

But I have enough confidence in this team that even if we don't add another quality person to this current roster, that this team could finish close to .500 next year. If we do add some quality people, that number could go above .500

To put it in perspective, this is the best 38 game stretch the Hawks have been on in 7 YEARS. Even the 02 - 03 team with Big Dog, Terry, Shareef, and Ratliff couldn't manage to win 17 games in a 38 game stretch. I think the closest they got was 16 wins in 38 games.

Stop worrying about what could've been, and look toward the future. Our future is as bright as it has been in a long time.

[Final_quest]

This may be the year to trade our draft pick for an Elton Brand type player.

[Buzzard]

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To put it in perspective, this is the best 38 game stretch the Hawks have been on in 7 YEARS

. Even the 02 - 03 team with Big Dog, Terry, Shareef, and Ratliff couldn't manage to win 17 games in a 38 game stretch. I think the closest they got was 16 wins in 38 games.

Stop worrying about what could've been, and look toward the future. Our future is as bright as it has been in a long time.

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Agree totally....we are young and the future is finally starting to look bright again....

[Diesel]

This team needed an overhaul with an image change.

Think about all that has changed.

New Owners

New GM

New Coach

New Team

Sure it will take us some time to get back into the playoffs and into a championship picture..

But we can't beat ourselves up because we didn't win right away. We can't beat ourselves up because we're not a defensive Juagernaunt. It's going to take some time to get there. The first thing we had to do was become competitive again. You become competitive (and watchable) by being offensive. Somewhere out there is our big man. Who knows maybe we win the Oden sweepstakes?? Not that I want to be bad another year... I'm just saying that whoever gets that guy will put themselve in a position to be championship quality for years.

That's the nature of our sport.

It takes being in the right place at the right time to be succssful.

Look at Orlando. They picked Howard a few years ago. They were in the right place at the right time.

What we have done here is that we have brought in good guys (image) and good players who conform to a blueprint.

That's different than before. Before, we would take whoever was available and try to fit them in. NOw it's no secret that we go after whoever fits our blueprint and if they don't fit, we don't go after them.

That's why I don't think we should get so riled up about Al or a guy like Lamar Odom. Both guys fit BK's blueprint to a tee. BK has a lot to prove. He's on the verge of being labeled as the GM who passed over Chris Paul. So his blueprint has to work out to something.

Fortunately, when you are as driven as BK, FAs realize that if they get a call from you then you are a player that we really want and BK thinks that you can help our cause.

What's that say for Watson, Nene, Curry...

Maybe good players, but BK didn't want them... or better yet, BK was not willing to break up what he has to get them.

So for now.. I say, let's wait and see. I may have been wrong about JJ and PGing. I don't think he's a PG but everyday, he looks better. Maybe many of us are wrong about the Hawks chances at getting to a championship with this style of play...

[Packfill]

Quote:

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Hawks Records:

99-00 28 wins 54 losses -Lenny Wilkins, Dikembe Mutombo

00-01 25 wins 57 losses - Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff, Toni Kukoc Jason Terry

01-02 33 wins 49 losses - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Glenn Robinson

02-03 35 wins 47 losses - Terry Stotts, Glenn Robinson

03-04 25 wins 54 losses - Shareef Abdur-Rahim

04-05 13 wins 69 losses - Al Harrington, Antoine Walker

These are records for the past couple of years. These are some of the players and coaches that were one these teams. Some of these players are well known players to more than just Hawks fans. These guys include veterans, a legendary coach and players who currently plays for teams with championship aspirations like Miami and Dallas.

05-06 19-37

This is our current record. We are on pace to match the performance of those teams with all those vets and we have a bunch of guys who are for the most part still potential. The most wins those guys could achieve was 35. It will be tough for us this year to get that but not inconceivable.

This team is almost as good right now as any of those and our best player in Joe Johnson hasn't even reached his potential.

So to answer you question no I don't get the feeling we will never be good, in fact I think it is almost impossible for us not to be good.

P.S. Those guys were guaranteeing(sp) playoff appearances and were not better than this year's team, and this year's squad is not even complete.

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Again, I don't think people are questioning whether the Hawks will compete for the playoffs with a .500 record. Realistically 40 wins should be the teams goal even without any off-season additions. A team with half way decent chemistry should win 40 games.

The question is does this team have what it takes to win 50 or 60 games and challenge for a championship? The answer there is that it is too early to tell. But without better defensive effort/talent it is hard to believe the team can achieve success in the playoffs. As such, BK needs to make some moves - hopefully this off-season - to address the teams limitations and get them to the next level.

[Final_quest]

Quote:

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Again, I don't think people are questioning whether the Hawks will compete for the playoffs with a .500 record. Realistically 40 wins should be the teams goal even without any off-season additions. A team with half way decent chemistry should win 40 games.

The question is does this team have what it takes to win 50 or 60 games and challenge for a championship? The answer there is that it is too early to tell. But without better defensive effort/talent it is hard to believe the team can achieve success in the playoffs. As such, BK needs to make some moves - hopefully this off-season - to address the teams limitations and get them to the next level.

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We need at least one more Joe Johnson or higher level player to be looking at 50-60 wins.

[gsuteke]

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Again, I don't think people are questioning whether the Hawks will compete for the playoffs with a .500 record. Realistically 40 wins should be the teams goal even without any off-season additions. A team with half way decent chemistry should win 40 games.

The question is does this team have what it takes to win 50 or 60 games and challenge for a championship? The answer there is that it is too early to tell. But without better defensive effort/talent it is hard to believe the team can achieve success in the playoffs. As such, BK needs to make some moves - hopefully this off-season - to address the teams limitations and get them to the next level.

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We need at least one more Joe Johnson or higher level player to be looking at 50-60 wins.

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within 2 years that player will be here already. his name will be Josh Smith or Marvin Williams.

[thesheedera]

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within 2 years that player will be here already. his name will be Josh Smith or Marvin Williams.

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Ditto. If either of them get to his level of all around excellence we'll be a good team. If they BOTH do, we have a chance at being GREAT.

[Final_quest]

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within 2 years that player will be here already. his name will be Josh Smith or Marvin Williams.

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Ditto. If either of them get to his level of all around excellence we'll be a good team. If they BOTH do, we have a chance at being GREAT.

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Don't misunderstand me, I've taken that into consideration. The Pistons fielded 4 all stars. We need at least 3 players that could conceiveably be on the all star team to be a top 5 team.

[CBAreject]

I realize we are on a *streak* in which we've played above .500 ball in a 4 game stretch, including an overtime squeaker over one of the 1-2 teams that is arguably worse than our own.

I like the way the team is playing. We're better than we were. We have a chance to win most nights. However, I wonder if we'll ever really be GOOD. I wonder if we'll be one of the teams ESPN ranks in the top 8 on the power poll.

What can we expect next year? Sure, adding a young post player would be great, but how can we go from where we are to top 8 status without a true point or a really dominant post player.

How good can we be? Washington is OK. Can we hope to be much better than they are--a .500+ team that has 2nd round playoff aspirations at best?

AGAIN, to sum up...I'm not asking if we'll be average next year or the year after that. I'm looking at our options with the draft coming up and not having a pick the next year and a PG-poor FA class....and I'm not feeling optimistic.

[exodus]

Here you go:

Right now the Hawks are the 12th best offense in the league in spite of having a very young, inexperienced roster with Ivey as the starting point. They also got off to a horrid start in november.

Defensively there has been an interesting trend since Lue has been out. Teams are struggling to get good looks from the perimeter. VC was shooting 3s from well behind the line all game, not just at the end. Reason being is that he couldn't get free near the line.

Toronto is a very high powered offensive team that shoots well from 3. they went 4 for 16. Those jumpers aren't as easy to make with one of the Josh's flying at you. Opponents are shooting only 30% from 3 in the last 10 games without Lue.

However we are still lacking speed on the perimeter. JJ gives us a lot of flexibility about who we get to play next to him. Foye looks to be a top notch perimeter defender who should be available when the Hawks pick. And he is averaging 20 ppg on a top ranked team. He can help prevent penetration from the high scoring pgs.

Next we have to shore up the interior D, which is the worst in the league. Letting Al go and moving Smith to the 4 will make a big difference. Signing Prz or Nene will plug the defensive hole at C.

Just like that the Hawks have a team that could be top 10 on both ends of the ball.