Diesel got his wish

[Jamil]

And one week to the day after you called for Lon's head.

Now we will find out if this team was awful solely because of Lon like you think it was.

I know this much....

Babcock's job is counting heavily on that being the case. This is indeed Babcock's Last Stand. If Stotts fails to at least get this team to the playoffs, it will point the fingers of blame squarely at Babcock for building a flawed team.

Was Lon Kruger really that bad, or is it the team?

One can only hope it was all Lon's failing. In the Name of Big Dog, can this team be motivated to play some [censored] defense?

[Diesel]

My prediction is that Stotts will pull the biggest turn around probably in the History of basketball. The Hawks have moved to a more experienced coaching staff. If this combo doesn't work, then it's time to look at trades... However, I really doubt that moving Lon was a mistake. He had Lost Control.

Moving Gar had to be done too. Gar by all rights should have been next in line for the head coaches job. However, Stotts is probably better for the players and a guy who the players will play for. Sorta like Mahorn last yr.

My main questions is other than English, who else will be added on as an assistant. I would really like to see Mahorn come back if he will.

In Stotts we have the best of both worlds. We have an established assistant who fits the YOUNG criteria that a lot of people have been calling for. If Stotts fail, he can be replaced by Fratello, Van Gundy, Ainge, Dunleavy, or even Doc Rivers at the end of the season.

By mid January... I believe we will be a hard team to beat. After the allstar break, we might start moving up into the middle of the East. Stotts might get some COY consideration.

It was the right time to make a move.

[TRUATLFAN]

stopped watching the games to the end. I didn't even rush to see the beginning when I get the update on my cell. I had lost all confidence in the team ability play basketball.

Lon had no answer to the turnover problem or to the problem to the lack of intencity in the end or beginning of games. He didn't have the experince to design plays to get key players involed in the game and critial times in the game. His main play was to design plays to create one on one situations so that the players could free style. Drive and dish and pick and role. That was the entire offence and that is not acceptable. Lon needed to be fired last year when his main reason for being here (Young player development) was not evident. And I know Lon was a cool guy and all but just not a effective NBA coach and he needed to go. I really didn't care who replaced him.

[TheDude]

i agree...whenever everyone knows that the only thing holding a team back is defensive intensity and turnovers yet the coach still can't get them corrected, you have to make the move..

i think we dominate here on out..spurs will be a difficult task for the new coach but i think we'll be fine..

it's up to the players..do they want to win?

now if we could get butts in the seats...you know they should take an arthur blank did and reduce prices for seats that aren't being bought anyway..at least you make some money from seats that normally bring no revenue.. and you help create a home court advantage...even if you gave the tickets away for free to orphanages and other children's groups..schools even, then you would still create the atmosphere and sell refreshments...if seat A has noone in it at $30 then net profit is $0...if seat A has one person in it at $7 then net profit is $7..

[Diesel]

It's ridiculous to price a Hawks game at $30.00. Ticket prices should drop to 12-15... There were only about 4000 season tickets sold and that was with the guarantee. I'm sure the advertising dept is going crazy trying to think up ways to sell tickets...

Well New ownership will come up with something.

I was half joking but What if Jermaine Dupree could come up with some investors to help him break into ownership? At a going price of 200 million, that's not much...

However, whoever takes over the Hawks have to be concerned about THE Hawks. Christmas Night, I watched SacTown and was floored to find out that the Maloof bros spent 30,000 dollars just to watch that one game courtside. [censored]. Crime pays.

[Admin]

that they were saying that most of the top college players are saying they want to play for the Kings and how crazy that would have sounded 5 years ago? [censored] the Kings were the laughing stock for many years and now they are pretty much the most exciting team in basketball, save for maybe the Mavs. Hmmm, Mark Cuban and the Maloof Bros.....think there is a pattern here?

[Guest]

I really hope that the Bird investment group is looking into buying the Hawks off AOL.

Bird was hurt...let's help him out.

[KB21]

I'd rather have one guy than an investment group. We need to find the next Marc Cuban or the next Maloof brothers. Blank would fit the profile I'd look at.

Bird would be great if he has someone like Charles Dolan backing him.

[pathway23]

Terry Stotts was interviewed before the game and hit on exactly what was discussed here. He may have even took an underhand shot at Lon by saying that college coaches took unproven talent and made it fit their gameplan, and NBA coaches took proven talent and minimized their weaknesses to form a game plan, not verbatim but the best of what I can gather of what he said.

[Diesel]

He's making me sound prophetic!!