Hawks forwards vie for 2 spots

[gutz]

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...Al is so overrated its ridiculous. I don't know how many times I saw him chucking up 3's and jumpshots most of the game...

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It will certainly be interesting to monitor how Al works out in Indy. Many think he will do very well there and improve the Pacers considerably. Of course he will likely play the 3 there, with an all-star type 4 and a serviceable 5, so we can't compare directly. My guess he will do well and Indy will come out of the box winning. Hope we do the same :-)

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There serviceable 5 is no better than what we got thats for sure. IF you think Foster and a hot head rookie who can't control his emotions on the court like Harrison are better than an improving Zaza and veteran starter like LO Wright then I don't know what your definition of serviceable is. Yes they do have an allstar at the 4 who is injured every single year in O'neal but we also have a potential superstar in Smoove. They have no PG or SG worth a damn on that team. We have a legit PG in Speedy and another star in JJ at SG. I think the Hawks have a better team all around because we have depth. If O'neal goes down for the Pacers their season is over for sure. They still aren't even that good with the aging AL who plays no defense.

[Diesel]

Again, this season will be a lesson about positional play in basketball... Neither Marvin or Smoove is offensively dependable in the low post AND blocking shots is not low post defense... in fact, it's the opposite in most case. Smoove is not face to face when he gets most of those blocks... Most of them is either on a break or coming from behind or the wing... But how many times have you see Smoove put a body on a PF and then block his shot?? For reference, I refer you to the Detroit game when Rasheed Wallace is happy to see Smoove. BTW , Tayshun is happy to see him too.

[gutz]

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Again, this season will be a lesson about positional play in basketball... Neither Marvin or Smoove is offensively dependable in the low post AND blocking shots is not low post defense... in fact, it's the opposite in most case. Smoove is not face to face when he gets most of those blocks... Most of them is either on a break or coming from behind or the wing... But how many times have you see Smoove put a body on a PF and then block his shot?? For reference, I refer you to the Detroit game when Rasheed Wallace is happy to see Smoove. BTW , Tayshun is happy to see him too.

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Oh please, since when does the skinny Tayshun take Smoove to school in the post! I never saw that first off. All Rasheed does is shoot jumpers! What Detroit team are you watching? Smoove came into camp weighing a solid 240-245lbs. and the whole emphasis in this training camp is DEFENSE so I'm not at all worried about Marvin and Smoove's defense. AL played PF for us last year and was terrible at defense so your argument makes no sense unless you think Al is better defensively than both of them. That would be absurd to say that.

[Diesel]

If you don't remember Tayshun putting Smoove on the school bus and taking him to school off the dribble, then you're not watching.

As far as Wallace, Wallace just puts a body on Smoove and shoot over him.

What have you been watching?

[gutz]

Sorry but I never saw Tayshun(boney) Prince ever take Smoove to school. If anything Smoove was dunking all over Tayshun. So your saying Tayshun has a low post game and size? The guy weighs 100lbs. and scores all his points on jumpers and driving to the basket.

[mrhonline]

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Basketball is not about what you play offensively, it's about what you can defend.

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Line of the month.

(It remains to be seen, however, how well Smith can guard the 4. If he shows a consistent willingness to defend PF's and ruggedness that extends beyond pure athletic ability, I think Knight comes out looking like a genius. Otherwise, at least one of the Joshes and one of the Williams are NOT here long-term. Everything rides on Josh Smith).

[Diesel]

Seeing that you're having some memory problems...

Follow this link.

Check out the 2:06 minute...

I hope this refreshes your bad memory!

[gutz]

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Seeing that you're having some memory problems...

Follow this link.

Check out the 2:06 minute...

I hope this refreshes your bad memory!

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And your point is? All those highlights show is that Tayshun does exactly what I said he does. He scores all his baskets driving to the hoop or on fast breaks and gets all his blocks on the fast break or on the weak side. Much like Smoove did last year! I didn't see Tayshun take Smoove to school anywhere in that video! I did see him take Lebron to school on one play though. Guess Lebron sucks too huh! So what are you trying to prove by wanting me to watch that video? I know the guy can score and block shots using his athletic ability much like Smoove. All I'm saying is Smoove can do all those things Tayshun can do, meaning he can start at SF or PF EASILY. He is twice as strong and atheletic as Tayshun.

[AHF]

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...Al is so overrated its ridiculous. I don't know how many times I saw him chucking up 3's and jumpshots most of the game...

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It will certainly be interesting to monitor how Al works out in Indy. Many think he will do very well there and improve the Pacers considerably. Of course he will likely play the 3 there, with an all-star type 4 and a serviceable 5, so we can't compare directly. My guess he will do well and Indy will come out of the box winning. Hope we do the same :-)

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There serviceable 5 is no better than what we got thats for sure. IF you think Foster and a hot head rookie who can't control his emotions on the court like Harrison are better than an improving Zaza and veteran starter like LO Wright then I don't know what your definition of serviceable is. Yes they do have an allstar at the 4 who is injured every single year in O'neal but we also have a potential superstar in Smoove. They have no PG or SG worth a damn on that team. We have a legit PG in Speedy and another star in JJ at SG. I think the Hawks have a better team all around because we have depth. If O'neal goes down for the Pacers their season is over for sure. They still aren't even that good with the aging AL who plays no defense.

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I think you are really underrating the Pacers with some of this.

JO >> Smoove right now (although I love Josh and hope he keeps busting out)

Indy's PGs are not that much different than ours, although I give us a very slight edge

At center things are about even - both teams have room to improve and a combination of young talent (Zaza > Harrison) and solid vet play (Foster > Lo).

Al at Sf is better than Al at PF and he should be very solid teamed up with JO. Also, he is only aging in the sense that Marvin is againg. The guy is like 26-27. The knees are a worry for a few years down the line but aren't much of a concern for this year.

I hope we can surpass the Pacers but would put my money on the Pacers for this season based on their much greater track record and success.

[skyhawk]

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Look at your past championship teams:

Miami, San Antonio, Detroit, The Lakers...

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Detroit is the only team from this list that was a truly a great defensive team. The Lakers and Spurs won because they both had dominating big men who were bigger factors on offense than defense. MIami won because Dallas choked allowing Wade's offensive game to become the deciding factor.

Phoenix would undoubtedly have come out of the West if Stat hadn't gotten hurt and they would have been a better matchup than Dallas..just my opinion.

Throughout the NBA teams are talking "up tempo" and are going with smaller lineups. The recent rule changes favor this style and teams are adapting - by filling their rosters with long athletic players..ala the Hawks.

[DrReality]

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Its great that the coaching staff has to do so much less teaching this year. That's one of the reasons I think that they too Shellhead- he just doesn't need that much teaching, coaching yes, but not teaching.

Smith has two years of NBA experience and a lot of minutes, he should be ready for a very solid and consistant year.

If Marvin's post game is as good as being said, he might have a monster year, but I am still expecting around 17pg with maybe 6 boards.

Once they start the scrimages it will be good to hear who gets into it with each other. I would think that Wright is going to take Sheldon to school until the rookie learns how to push back.

Here's to hoping that Woody can create a good rotation and that everyone on the team stays on the same page.

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The teaching they have done the last couple of year was teaching them how to shave. They had to teach some of the basic stuff about how to manage life instead of basketball.

[gsuteke]

did that ball bounce off Josh's head after Prince dunked it?

[macdaddy]

Heat, Spurs, Pistons, Lakers I don't consider them all that similar. Meaning you can win a championship with different styles but you can't win unless you are good on both ends of the court. I do agree that you can't win a championship without a good half court offense.

But the Hawks right now need to make money and win some games before worrying about winning a championship. Once we have a good team we can make the changes to be a great team, but you can't skip the middle step unless a couple great players fall in your lap.

[skyhawk]

Completely agree on the half_court game. You can run-and-gun during the season but that ain't happening during playoffs. Good ball movement combined with a low-post option or guys who create off the dribble is essential to the half court game. I think we have the potential to be very good with ball moveout but obviously there are questions around the post option...

[Guest Walter]

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Billy Knight is going to be know as a genius.

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Wonder what Walter will say in response to Chill's comments??

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We all hope he's right but it sounds like a player how needs to believe in something because he can't believe in his own opportunity after having been repeatedly pushed down the bench. If you work as hard as these young players have, you hope beyond all hope that your sacrifice as one of ump-teen quality forwards results in at least team success.

W

[unknownjdb]

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Marvin: "But we're all in this together, too. I want Josh to get better just like I know he wants me to get better. And we're all here for Solomon and Shelden. So it's a good feeling knowing that we're all in this together."

Smith: "It's not a matter of who does or does not start, it's about what you do when you are out there on that floor."

Childress: "I really think that's one of the great misconceptions about our team. We do have a lot of guys who are what would traditionally be considered forwards... Everybody in the league is shifting toward that...once we put this thing together, [Hawks general manager] Billy Knight is going to be known as a genius. So people can say what they want to say, but all this competition is only going to make us better."

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These are the three quotes that excited me the most from this article.

Marvin's quote tells us that our youth is growing together, and hopefully that means they will want to remain together once their contracts are up.

Smith's quote shows he truly is begining to think like a leader. He may seem passive at times, but sometimes those types just need a little leadership responsibility and they take off with it. Again I'll state it, this will be his breakout season!

Childress' quote shows that the players really do have faith in Knight and what he is building. We may not make it to the playoffs this year, but with this team we'll be pretty darn close and next season should be a sure thing.

Just my two cents.

[unknownjdb]

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And for anyone who wants to see what I’m talking about, the Hawks are holding a scrimmage open to the public Saturday at Woodward Academy in College Park. The doors open at 9 a.m. and the session runs from 10 a.m. to noon.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!

Aophanobla I want to go to this! Why oh why must I live so far away?! Okay, I may not be as far as some, but still...

[Diesel]

My point is the same as I stated before...

when I said:

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If you don't remember Tayshun putting Smoove on the school bus and taking him to school

off the dribble

, then you're not watching.

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Now, for you to act as if the context of the conversation has changed, you're beginning to sound like another guy who is gone now...

Try this...

If you don't know... be quiet.

If you do know... speak up.

But make sure you're sure...

Because you having amnesia and then when I put 1000 words (a picture) in your mind... and you still act as if you wasn't wrong is not getting it.