Turnovers againest a better TEAM than us hurt

[Guest]

I knew this would be a game we lost.The Suns

are the type of team that gives us problems.

I figured Marion would put the clamps on Big

Dog tonight and he did.That's the bad thing

about Big Dog...when the shot is off he is a

libility to the team.

Here are ways to fix our problem:

1A)Trade Shareef.WHY:

1)He is a horrible defender

2)He isn't the slightest bit of a difference

maker

3)He turns the ball over at a high rate

4)He has made no real difference in any of

these games.In fact,taking him off Howard

lead to the win over Denver.

5)He isn't worth the cap space he eats up

6)He has the worst handles of any allstar PF.

7)He is due for a contract in about two years

and probably will want a equal contract in which

he isn't worth.

8)He is like Howard in that he looks like a better

player on lesser talented teams with limited go

to guys.

9)He can't pass out of the post to save his life.

2B)Pursue another guard that can handle the ball.

Email is trash,Dickau looks overhyped early on.A

Doug Christie/Brent Barry player is needed.

If Pete doesn't address these things...NO playoffs

for sure.The best we can do anyway is 42 wins.

3C)Fire Lon.He just isn't getting the best out of these

players.

[DJ_Money]

I would love to hear your suggestions for trading 'Reef. The best deal we could get would be similar to what we gave Memphis...mediocre player (Lo), overpaid stiff (BK), and Draft Pick (Gasol).

Memphis made out well because of Gasol. I don't trust our front office enough to trade away a proven player like 'Reef to take a chance in the draft.

[Guest]

Face it,Shareef is not good enough.He is not

Webber/KG/Elton Brand/Dirk/Duncan.He's not

a 13 million a year player

Proven player?he hasn't won anything and he

isn't ever going to win anything.If anything he

is close to Howard when he played for Washington.

Shareef

Darvin Ham

Email Davis

They need to go because they are either overpaid or

give the team nothing.

Atleast Pau is younger and can improve his game.Instead

we are stuck with Juwan Howard Jr.

[pathway23]

Hey Hotlanta you watched the game?

Shareef wasn't the problem. He wasn't the turnover machine Glenn Robinson was. Glenn Robinson had 6 turnovers Reef had but 1, Reef had 5 assists, Glenn 3. The reason we lost tonight was an effective game plan against our weakness by the Phoenix Suns. We have to address attacking the full court press either through the personnel we have or via trade.

Lon could have saved this game by putting the ball in emails hands when it wasn't in JT's hands. Darvin Ham wasn't brought here to handle the ball, neither was Dog. The players need to stay within their roles.

This is the NBA btw anything can happen. The Bucks hammered the Nets tonight and the Utah Jazz nearly beat the Pistons on the road. The same Utah Jazz team Atlanta handled at home.

[Guest]

Shareef has made no big impact in any of

these games.This isn't all about stats.IT is

about having a effect on the team.Shareef

supposed to be our best player,he is our

highest paid player,but all he does is get

points in the flow of the game.He doesn't

make a impact when the game is on the line

and he simply isn't a good enough player.

Sure he didn't have the turnovers tonight,but

he will have 6 the next game.Even when he

doesn't turn the ball over his ball handling is

so shaky.

We simply are a mediocre team even though we

have talent,but we have no franchise player.One

day people will take notice.

Darvin Ham and Email have brought the team nothing

and should be released as of tomorrow.

[DJ_Money]

If an All-Star isn't good enough for you, I guess you may spend your life alone. Your expectations are way too high.

Webber/Dirk/Duncan are a rare breed. There's not enough of them around for all 29 teams to have a player of that caliber.

And don't tell me that Brand and Garnett are more proven than 'Reef. What has Brand done is his career? Lived in the cellar in Chicago, I guess he's moved up to the garage apartment in L.A. Garnett is a better overall player than 'Reef, but he's not a leader either. He can't get his team out of the first round, despite having a supporting cast that wasn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be (That's mostly his fault, anyway.) 'Reef would have traded everyone on the Grizz for Wally Z.

I'd love to know what you see for Pau's future. He's going to be a good player for years to come, but he'll never lead a team to a title, and he'll never sniff the MVP. You might as well call him Shareef Abdur-Rahim Jr.

[Guest]

Pau is a better rebounder,as good of a scorer,better

shot blocker nad has more size and is younger.

"

If an All-Star isn't good enough for you, I guess you may spend your life alone. Your expectations are way too high."

Shareef isn'ta true allstar.He looked like it on a

team that lacked talent.

"Webber/Dirk/Duncan are a rare breed. There's not enough of them around for all 29 teams to have a player of that caliber."

The only thing that is rare is the fact that we never

have franchise players.Only mediocre chumps like

Smitty/Mookie/Shareef/Deke and so on.

"He can't get his team out of the first round, despite having a supporting cast that wasn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be (That's mostly his fault, anyway.) 'Reef would have traded everyone on the Grizz for Wally Z. "

Shareef can't even get the team to the first round.U

will wakeup one day and see the truth.

[Traceman]

Reef was certainly not the reason we lost tonight. He is playing hard (and well) despite the fact that his back is still obviously bothering him. He, JT and Ira are the reasons we were in the game at all.

Big Dog had a HORRIBLE game and the bench didn't show up. That's why we lost. Period! It wasn't Lon either. The players have to take responsibility for their own poor play and tonight, the bench was terrible. When your bench only gives you 10 points total, you are not going to win many games. Dion had a poor game and missed two HUGE free throws down the stretch that could have given us the lead back late in the game. Compound that with the fact that our hustle guy Darvin Ham played the worst I've ever seen him play and you get the result we got. Darvin literally let the Suns back in the game by himself after our big lead late in the 3rd. He had 3 consecutive turnovers in a 2 minute span and missed a point blank shot after a perfect pass from Reef. 2 of those turnovers led to Penny Hardawy 3's. Darvin should be the absolute last resort when it comes to handling the ball against the press. I know he (and the rest of the bench) will have better games and I have no doubt that he (and they) will help us win more games than he causes us to lose but that was a horrible performance by him and the bench.

All that being said, I LOVE this team. Period! I still think they have a chance to be special and one poor performance is not going to get me down on them. Reef is terrific and I'm glad he's a Hawk. I'm glad we have Darvin and Dion too. Big Dog won't have many games like this and Theo will get better as he gets the rust off. You obviously can't appreciate these guys so why don't you go jump on the Kings bandwagon. Since they are loaded from top to bottom, you should find very little reason to complain. But oh, wait a minute, they just lost AGAIN and to the previously winless Knicks! I guess C Webb is not all he is cracked up to be! Give me a break!

[Guest]

Actually I thought email was a big problem.Penny

didn't catch fire til Email came into the game and

left Penny unguarded at times and allowed Penny

to get a easy layup.Email is worse than Ennis

Whatley or Donnie Boyce.

"Period! I still think they have a chance to be

special and one poor performance is not going to

get me down on them."

They have performed bad in every game.Turnovers

after turnovers,but I told u it would cost us last

night.

I expected Marion to hold Big Dog down.Marion

is a better defender than Diesel gave him credit

for.Big Dog was a puppy dog last night on both

ends to be sure.

My problem with Reef is never steps up to challenges

and he fades when the game is on line.He doesn't

play defense...How many times did Googs have open

jumpers last night?No excuse for it.

Reef was certainly not the reason we lost tonight. He is playing hard (and well) despite the fact that his back is still obviously bothering him. He, JT and Ira are the reasons we were in the game at all."

We are expect to win...not "stay in the game"

Ham should be released because he gives the team

nothing.He doesn't even rebound.He could atleast

grab 3 rebounds a game.He and Email are worthless

players and aren't good at anything.

"But oh, wait a minute, they just lost AGAIN and to

the previously winless Knicks! I guess C Webb is

not all he is cracked up to be! Give me a break!"

They probably will slaughter us next week and probably

will be alittle more healthy by then.

Shareef needs to take his game to a new level atleast

sometimes.But Juwan Howard JR isn't likely to do

it.

We will beat the following teams:

Nuggets

Heat

Cleveland

NY

Clippers

Jazz

Warriors

Bulls

But aside from a few upsets you can forget able

beating many other teams.

This is a VERY SOFT ball club that melts under

pressure.

[swolehawk2]

Hot your posts are entertaining...but is obvious you know little about the game if you think Reef should be traded, the fact is Lon lost that game last night, Reef didn't get any touches in the 4th or at least not enough....he should have been on the block drawing double teams....instead with a eleven point lead and momentum Lon puts in 4 bench players..we go to Ham at the top of the key three times he drives and turns it over three straight times...Penny scores 8 points and they are back in the game.....we should have had at least 3 starters at the beginning of the 4th...with Reef on the block putting the daggers down. Instead we are trying to let Ham create ....not smart. That was the game, we didn't play well, but had an eleven point lead, when Lon put the Bench Mob in the game...this is not Carolina of the 80's ...we can't have a blue squad.

Ham had a bad game....but I think it is Lon who asks too much of him....he should be in there to play defense rebound and slash to the basket thats it.

Oh yeah when this team comes together and is winning nightly U shouldn't be allowed to watch!

[Guest]

Hot your posts are entertaining...but is obvious you know little about the game if you think Reef should be traded, the fact is Lon lost that game last night, Reef didn't get any touches in the 4th or at least not enough...."

Shareef is simply not that good of a player when the

game is on the line...His handles are aweful,he leaves

guys open and doesn't play defense.Only 7 rebounds

for a "allstar PF" is sorry in 40 minutes.

"Ham had a bad game....but I think it is Lon who asks too much of him....he should be in there to play defense rebound and slash to the basket thats it."

Ham is worthless.He hasn't done anything his whole

career.Does he even average 2 rebounds a game?

"Oh yeah when this team comes together and is winning nightly U shouldn't be allowed to watch!"

You are simply not smart enough to see all the faults

this team has.The biggest one is they are soft and

melt under pressure and everytime a team plays defense

the team crumbles.

Shareef should be averaging 25PPG 11RPG 4APG

for what he is getting paid and for what we gave

up for him.

[JTFan31]

Stop with that B.S. of trading Reef, he is one the leagues best PF and no way in [censored] would we nor should we trade him. Stop with nonsense of trading Reef, you always get these attacks every season when the Hawks lose just one game, every team loses games and every team has bad games........Look at the Lakers they got a whooping by the Cavs, ok fine they dont have Shaq.......Look at the Kings they got whooped last night vs the Knicks, people in Sacramento should be going nuts, but they are not because they know what they got their. Same way I feel, I feel this Hawk team is one of the top teams in the East and they are only gonna get better, and thats scary. So I think you should stop with that BS and those attacks you get by trading Reef, you did this last year and now you are doing it again.

[Sage11]

I have to agree with you Trace. Our bench did not show up and Reef looks to be playing through pain. Nobody in my opinion shot the ball particularly well tonight. As I said before this team has to learn how to finish games. We played 3 quarters, not four. Thirteen miserable points in the entire 4th....give me a break. This is the third game this team has wasted large leads in the 2nd half. If we do not fix this problem of lack of focus, kiss the playoffs good by. I chalk last nights game up as a bad day at the office or maybe a conditioning problem because we play our first back to back game. At any rate our guys should be ready for this. One of the biggest problems I see right now is our inability it seems to finish a team when we have them down. The players have to step up and finish the job they started and coaching staff should encourage a tough, no let-up mind set.

[swolehawk2]

This team has had 5 games together, they don't even have an identity yet as soon as they figure out that u have to go inside out ...with Reef and the Primary option, they wil be fine.

Why do u think Reef leaves guys open, cause he is eatin a [censored] sandwich over in the corner...no it is called help defense. somebody penetrates you cut off the lane somebody has to be open.

Reef has to get touches to score points....Big Dog should be taking 15 -16 shots and reef should be taking 20. That will happen...this team is in its early stages...just be patient.

And during the first 20 games I think 2 of the big three should be on the floor at all times.

[Guest]

I'm not shuting up about him til he actually helps

us win something or he is traded.

" he is one the leagues best PF and no way in [censored] would we nor should we trade him."

Juwan Howard JR.

KG

Webber

Brand

Rasheed Wallace

Duncan

Jermaine O'Neal

While fitting in behind those guys isn't terrible.The

next group of guys are a step below.

The main defense between those guys and Shareef...

they don't give up more than they get like Shareef

does.

Continue not to listen.Even babcock knows Reef

isn't as good as people here think Reef is.

[swolehawk2]

What has KG Webber Brand O'neal won....NOTHING ..KG and Webber never do anything when its crunch time and O'neal should not even be mentioned. Webber is so overrated it is not even funny.

[capstone21]

You go back and forth and when the littlest bit of trouble happens you freak out and think the world is going to end. It is always entertaining to watch. You have been doing it for years. We lose our season opener to a better NJ Nets on the road and you call for Lon to be fired right away. Success has to come slowly.

You obviously have not seen the game if you think SAR is the reason we are losing. Every team breaks down during a game. We had a lead but the other team got hot and we got cold. Actually SAR was one of the reasons we were still in the game. He and Ira were the best parts about our play last night. Actually Dog hurt us the most last night. THat is goign to happen sometimes. It is very hard to win on the road these days. Last night we showed that we can compete. If our guys stayed hot we would've won. Early in the season is a learning experience.

oh on SAR, he is injured right now. He is playing with a bad back and still putting in the minutes and the hard work. His scoring is not as high now since he is second option on the team.

I don't know where you get off with this Gasol obsession. SAR is a much better player then Pau Gasol. Gasol is good but he is not a all star. It is easier to put up his numbers last year when he is the only option and your team still does not win. Had we kept the pick instead of making the trade for SAR, who says we would've taken him. I think we would've taken Shane Battier since Babs and company was so high on him. THe Griz were interestest in Gasol not the Hawks. We wanted Battier or K Brown. Plus, what success has the Grizz had yet? Any? We have been successful in my opinion. The reason the teams record did not show it last year was the injuries. Had we been a healthy team last year we might have made it to the playoffs. How many games last year after the break did SAR put the team on his back and bring home a win. A lot. That is what a star does and he is one. A healthy Grizz won 23 games.

Now had we not made the trade here is what the team could've looked like. Remember that JT still was thought of as a SG then.

Trade No Trade

PG JT Brevin Knight

SG Ira JT

SF Dog Battier (or Gasol)

PF SAR LO

C Theo Theo

Now which team would you rather have? Me I take the team we have now. Even if we had Gasol(which we had no interest in drafting) instead of Battier our current team is still 10 times better.

SAR in my opinion is the counerstone of this team. More then JT, more then Theo and more then Dog. He makes this team a contender. He brings the leadership, the attitude and the will. It is just going to take time to bring the team together.

[Guest]

What has KG Webber Brand O'neal won....NOTHING ..KG and Webber never do anything when its crunch time and O'neal should not even be mentioned. Webber is so overrated it is not even funny."

1)They all play defense

2)They all rebound

3)they are all in shape

4)They are all better athletes

Shareef can't even get 10RPG.

[Guest]

You obviously have not seen the game if you think SAR is the reason we are losing."

I never said he is the reason we are losing.I said

he is the reason we aren't winning.Meaning that

while he helps us stay in games he doesn't help

us win them.

Just staying in games isn't good enough.Mediocre

is no big deal to you but I expect us to be a NBA

team.Getting man handled by 19 year old rookies

like Stoudamire shows what the Hawks are made

of.

"oh on SAR, he is injured right now. He is playing

with a bad back and still putting in the minutes

and the hard work."

yeah and he has been injured for a year and it

obviousally hasn't got any better.And back injuries

usally don't get any better ESP if they haven't

improved in a year.Trade him

"SAR is a much better player then Pau Gasol. Gasol

is good but he is not a all star."

Neither is Shareef,he made it due to lack of good

PF's in the east.

" Had we kept the pick instead of making the trade for SAR, who says we would've taken him. I think we would've taken Shane Battier since Babs and company was so high on him."

Of course...Pete is too stupid to be able scout talent.he

has failed badly with nearly everybody he has drafted.

"How many games last year after the break did SAR put the team on his back and bring home a win. A lot. That is what a star does and he is one."

Very few...In fact,JT moving to PG is the only difference

between us winning 33 games and us winning 21.

SAR in my opinion is the counerstone of this team. More then JT, more then Theo and more then Dog. He makes this team a contender. He brings the leadership, the attitude and the will. It is just going to take time to bring the team together."

SAR ain't the cornerstone of [censored].He is a loser.What

leadership?When has he EVER steped up in the 4th

period?EVER?

There is a reason everybody laughs at the Reef

trade.Cause we got screwed and gave up a 20

year old improving player for a 26 year old non

superstar with a back injury.One day you will

wake up.

I want the team to be a sucess,but I don't think

it is going to happen the way people want it to.

We have too many good losers from the GM,to

the coach,to some of the players.

[swolehawk2]

Hot u are reaching here.....take a look at the game and see where Reef catches the ball they have him high almost all the time...Reef is a low post player who can step turn an face the basket..

I really don't get u? Are u really a Hawks fan or a troll...my guess is that u are a fair weather fan at best.

Do u realize that Reef had 7 boards and 5 assists last night with only 1 TO.