Hawks: Stuck (Hoopsworld article)

[Guest Walter]

That's what you want these players to hear. I love yous and sweet meaningless nothings before they go and get trounced by 20. This team needs serious help and you better believe they know it. No amount of "you look beautiful tonight, honey" is gonna convince this pig!

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it lacks talent and certain key, difficult to acquire pieces.

[AtLaS]

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That's what you want these players to hear. I love yous and sweet meaningless nothings before they go and get trounced by 20. This team needs serious help and you better believe they know it. No amount of "you look beautiful tonight, honey" is gonna convince this pig!

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Dude you go further into the wall with every post. We are the youngest team in the NBA! We have exactly one player who is in his prime, JJ, who is still getting better. Our team will be LIGHT YEARS better when our players develop. Josh Smith is turning into a complete beast. If we were healthy this year, we'd be a .500 team, that's saying something for THE YOUNGEST TEAM IN THE NBA.

Let's look at our players ages,

Josh Smith 21

Marvin 20

Salim 22-23, not sure.

Chill 23

Shelden 23

Zaza 22

Solomon 22

JJ 25

Speedy and Lue are our 2 oldest players and they are injured all the time, LO does more bad than good.

Are you saying that our team won't get any better?? It damn sure sounds like it. Are you saying that we can't make a big trade for someone? Our ownership situation isn't gonna be in lambeau for the next 10 years.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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Dude you go further into the wall with every post.

We are the youngest team in the NBA!

We have exactly one player who is in his prime

, JJ, who is still getting better. Our team will be LIGHT YEARS better when our players develop. Josh Smith is turning into a complete beast. If we were healthy this year, we'd be a .500 team, that's saying something for THE YOUNGEST TEAM IN THE NBA.

Let's look at our players ages,

Josh Smith 21

Marvin 20

Salim 22-23, not sure.

Chill 23

Shelden 23

Zaza 22

Solomon 22

JJ 25

Speedy and Lue are our 2 oldest players and they are injured all the time, LO does more bad than good.

Are you saying that our team won't get any better?? It damn sure sounds like it. Are you saying that we can't make a big trade for someone? Our ownership situation isn't gonna be in lambeau for the next 10 years.

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Not just the youngest team in the NBA, the youngest team in NBA HISTORY. But of course it's pointless trying to tell these fickle fans that makes a difference. ALl our players are done progressing and they are good as they will ever be according to them.

[AtLaS]

actually last year we were the youngest in history, this year we are probably the 2nd youngest in history.

[Sothron]

There's no way this team as its currently built will ever do anything. I don't even think it can make the playoffs let alone do anything that exit after being swept as the 8th seed. We have no point guards that deserve to start, zero low post scorers on the entire roster and have no interior defense at all. Three straight seasons of that I might add and no end in sight to fix any of those problems.

[AtLaS]

You're right we have no flexibility, no cap space, no trade options, and our players are not going to get better because we are the oldest team in the NBA. Josh Smith can't block a shot to save his life. We're screwed lets tank.

[bfwolf]

I have no doubt we're going to get better, but I don't think a team with JJ, Smith, Childress, and M Williams as its core can ever win an NBA title. In 3 years, with some good trades and drafts, could we be finishing 4th in the East? Sure. I aspire to more.

[Sothron]

We have an ownership situation that won't be resolved for another season after this one at the minimum. The AS won't spend any more than they have to on this team as a result. We have no chance to bring in free agents. We can't even trade because they won't take on salary.

Our only hope for any real help at center is to tank and take a shot at getting Oden. Depending on a team of jump shooters and stiffs to win is not going to work.

[Diesel]

Those who hold your philosophy about this team totally missed the effect of the injury bug. They clearly miss the fact that since getting back just two of our injured players that we are much better than we were...

Sure we can piss and moan based on the record... (if that's your point of view)..

Or we can actually look at the team and watch them play.

You keep stating that this team is built wrong. That deserves some talk. Are you saying that you don't like this team because it doesn't have the classic look. I have similar feelings but when I look around the NBA and I see only 2 dominant Centers in the league and I notice that the most dominant team in the league is built just like ours with one major exception... I have to totally disagree with your notion.

Sure, time will roll back around and the dominate Center will rule basketball again. Sure, Oden will make an impact. However, now we're living in the times similar to the mid to late 70s. It doesn't matter if you have a dominate Center. If you're team can't run and score then you are lost.

[frosgrim]

You are right, the current configuration of the team is not good. The problem is that the summer that BK wanted to use Al to get us a big (Murphy), but the courts stepped in on the behalf of Belkin to screw the franchise. IMO the team's configuration was done to get together a collection of players, some for trades and some to keep. However, with the court orders we are stuck in the abyss.

The biggest problem with the Hawks is ownership. Once it gets settled we can then actually wheel and deal.

I see the Hawks as being in the same place that Dallas was when they had Kidd, Mashburn, and Jim Jackson. I actually loved watching that team play, but they were all traded and via those trades you get the current Mavs. Yes, there were more moves made, but the evolution of the Mavs from a bad team to now started with trading those three guys. Note also that Mark Cuban purchased the team during that transition as well.

[Sothron]

We run and score? This team?? Are you serious? This team plods along in a half court offense and runs zero plays except either one or two screens for Joe Johnson.

There is no chance this team can reliably win unless we bring in some real help. A true point guard and a true center at a minimum. The only chance we have to get either is through the draft. This team even when healthy still has no real point guards or starting quality centers. Hell we don't even have a real starting PF since Smoove is a better fit at the SF position. Shellhead has been a bust as predicted and I won't even get started on Marvin "Timid is as Timid does" Williams.

If we had at the least a real center we could control the flow of the game better and make our half court offense at least somewhat respectable due to the effect a big man would have in the game. JJ would be even more effective with a honest-to-gosh big man to work with let alone guys like Smoove and Marvin.

[Diesel]

But do you think we can run and score?

You see, what you fail to realize is that the coaching can change. However, you're blaming the structure.

We have wings who can run and finish. We have a SG who can light it up anytime he wants to.

With Speedy we have a PG who can get up and down the floor with Speed.

I would love to get a vet guy like Brandon Knight who knows how to run to come in her.

We have gunners who can hit the outside shot.

We have everything that is needed to run and score.

[Sothron]

We don't have a real point guard, first of all, to do any of that. Claxton is Mateen Cleaves without the shooting ability. Waste of minutes on the court. That's when he plays I might add.

We also don't have any kind of low post scorer. Everyone wants to the Suns? Fine. Get an All-Universe point guard in Steve Nash first. Second get not one but two guys who can abuse anyone in the low post in Marion and Stoudamire. Then you can throw in third wheels like Diaw who just need to make an occassional jump shot or extra pass to keep the flow going.

We don't have any of that except JJ and Smoove and Chill coming off the bench. The rest of this sorry squad is either backup material (Zaza, Shellhead, Lue) or just flat-out crap on a stick (Marvin, Lo Down, Salim).

We need at least two more starting pieces to do any kind of running and gunning with this team. There's no great point guard prospect out there which leaves the center position. Oden can fly around great for a guy his size. He can rebound, block heck he's even got a decent jumper for a center. That is a piece we do have a realistic chance to obtain.

[drzachary]

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But do you think we can run and score?

You see, what you fail to realize is that the coaching can change. However, you're blaming the structure.

We have wings who can run and finish. We have a SG who can light it up anytime he wants to.

With Speedy we have a PG who can get up and down the floor with Speed.

I would love to get a vet guy like Brandon Knight who knows how to run to come in her.

We have gunners who can hit the outside shot.

We have everything that is needed to run and score.

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I think we are best suited for a motion or fastbreak offense. We have good passing at most positions, but certainly not *elite* passing at the point. I do think that if we are going to build a team around running (which I don't think we have any reason to believe unless we see Westhead in a suit on the bench), Shelden would be better suited at the 5, long-term. Or Solomon. Either one of those two, if they learn to stop fouling Zaza, *even Oden* are too plodding for that. If we end up with Oden we'd have to build around him (not a terrible thing) and look for a motion/flex/triangle sort of offense. Noah could be a 5 in a fastbreak offense.

Problem is right now that we have have NO offensive scheme.

[Diesel]

I think we can count on Speedy for 12/2/6/2 in 30 minutes. I think that's a much bigger boost than you want to give him credit for.

Mateen Cleaves or not.. It doens't matter.. if he can go out there and play defense and give us 6 assists.. I don't care what you call him... let him play!

We have wings that can run and score. (Chillz, Smoove, Marvin).

We have a SG who is with the elite (JJ)

We have a Bench players who are better than average (Chillz, Lue, Zaza).

I really don't see why you believe this team couldn't be a good team giving the right coaching.

[drzachary]

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I think we can count on Speedy for 12/2/6/2 in 30 minutes. I think that's a much bigger boost than you want to give him credit for.

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I think we can unfortunately only count on him for that if he actually plays the game. The injuries are making him worthless.

[Sothron]

lol the inability to break thirty wins in a season may be cause for concern. Crazy world, I know!

Claxton sucks. He couldn't shoot the ball to save his life and he doesn't even do a good job running the offense. All of this of course is assuming he bothers to actually play.

For someone who has hated Marvin Williams since he was drafted you sure seem to have changed that opinion. His, what, 11 points a game average? is really showing me he can be a great scoring option in the WNBA. He probably could be the MVP there.

[Johnnybravo4]

It is funny because half of this board would die to have Jameer Nelson as our PG instead of Speedy, but if you go read the Magic board, half of them can't stand Jameer. They call him a SG in a PG body.

[exodus]

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Hell we don't even have a real starting PF since Smoove is a better fit at the SF position.

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In case you hadn't noticed Smith is putting up some nice numbers starting at the 4 since he came back from his injury. He is averaging 20/10 over his last 5 games. He is averaging 16 ppg this month which is impressive considering he scored only 5 in his first game back and scored only 2 in the game in which he got tossed.