Dissapointment or Reality?

[JTFan31]

We all came into this season with high hopes. Based on the starting 5, on paper we are as talented as there is in this league. But some didn't bother to look at the defensive side of the ball, we have studs and duds. The analyst were saying Hawks won't make playoffs, and we were all bugged by that by saying they dont know wthis and they dont know that about basketball. Entering tonight's game we have a record of 14-28 and most probably 14-29 by the end of the night.

Now lets analyze our team a bit. What did the analyst see on our team that made them decide that we weren't a playoff team and we thought we were and actually we thought we were probably top 4 in the East, some of us did, I know I did. What did or do they see that we don't?

1. JT not a true PG and thats why we aren't winning? Well I dont really think thats the problem. JT might not be no J. Kidd or S. Nash but I think he doing very well running our team. I dont want to here that BS that JT is not a true PG, because neither is Chauncey Billups and look where they are at, look at the Celtics. I mean come on alot of top teams don't have true PG's.

2. Big dog really doesn't fit in this team? Well some might agree to this, I sure do. I don't think Bid Dog is a hardworker and that rubs off on the rest of the guys. He is one of our star players and the guys look at you as the man. When they see a star player not giving it his all, they do the same. He normally forces the issue most of the time and thats where problems come. Other than that Big Dog is very good scorer, just not very good defensively.

3. Theo cannot stay healthy? Well this was a question mark coming into this season. We all know Theo has been healthy all season long, which is the good news. But he is not the same Theo that we saw in Philly, but then again all we need from him is his Rebounding and defense. It hasnt been that bad.

All these were questions coming into this season. Some have been answered, and some have not.

This post is not talk about how to fix the Hawks because is too late for that right now. Is mostly what do we have to do this summer to get this team to the playoffs.

I think we desperately need outside shooting, guys who are 3 point threats. We also need a SG that handle the rock and get us at times into the offense. We need to sign JT, long term. We need to get rid of Big Dog's or Reef's contract, via trade. IMO I rather see Big Dog traded.

The question is, Was this season really a dissapointment or reality?

IMO I think it was a major dissapointment. There is no reason why we shouldn't be winning. I think the main reason of our losing is the effort on the defensive side of the ball. defense + wins = playoffs.

Please share your opinions. Thanks

[chillzatl]

disappointment. Ok now that that is out of the way.

THere are two ways you can look at our losing. I don't see it as purely a defensive problem. We SHOULD be winning with offense. I never expected us to be a good defensive team. I feel we are losing because of lack of heart. Sure you can point at defense that caused a lot of those 15-20pt blowouts. But I see it differently. I see it as a lack of desire and heart. When Shareef lets a guy run passed him to the basket and then rolls his eyes, that is lack of heart. When Bigdog lets a guy walk right by him for a layup, that is lack of heart. When the ENTIRE team does not move to stop or even slow down a one man fast break, THAT IS LACK OF HEART.

THis team loses because:

1. We are not coached to the strengths of our players.

2. We have no leaders on this team. Nobody who can lead by game AND by effort. Nobody who wants the responsibilty of getting in a guys face and then going out on the floor and showing him how it is done.

[TheDude]

even with out flaws, we should still be winning at least SOME games..we aren't this bad...but the losing attitude has infected us and no desire follows...

the worst part about all this is that with the potential of this team, they could start dominating right now and still make the playoffs...

but we know it's not going to happen unless something big happens to ignite the players...

[Diesel]

There are somethings I mentioned this summer and before that is relevant to this discussion.

1. Theo won't help us (or be our savior). I was correct. They needs to be on a team with a dominant big man (like KG) beside him. SAR needs to be on a team with a Banger C like Dale Davis or Khandi beside him. Theo is a shot blocker but Like I've said for the past 2 yrs, defensively, he's not an intimidator and he's not big enough.

2. Ira is Ty Corbin Jr. Again, I was correct. That only means that we are not a defensive team. Why do we have these Tokens out there? His contribution is not helping us as a whole.

3. JT is not a PG. I thought JT could turn the corner, however, Now I know... JT is just as much a SG as Alan Houston. The litmus test is this... If JT were 6'6.. Would we still want him as our PG? MY thought is this... If he were 6'6" nobody would be talking about JT as a PG.

The main problem is that the Blue print was all wrong. NOT SAR/BIG DOG... These guys could still be a great cornerstone to build on. Seriously, these guys could be 2 of the best forwards in the east without a doubt. No... The blueprint was wrong:

A. Having only one capable Ballhandler in the offense and he is not really a playmaker??

Doomed to fail. If you doubt... Look at the number of points we get on the fast break. Fast break points are a definte sign of what kind of play maker we have. For us... It's very low. I would even say when JT is the PG... It's lower than that.

http://www.nba.com/games/20030120/CHIATL/boxscore.html

Our most embarrassing loss. Chicago. Wilks didn't play. JT played 38 minutes. Dickau played 17. IN this game we had only 7 fast break points.

http://www.nba.com/games/20030123/NJNGSW/boxscore.html

The best in the business Kidd. Against GS in a loss, had 15 fast break points.

My point is that JT just doesn't have the eye to be a playmaker.

B. Choose a side.... Offense or defense. Again, I say it. Theo and Ira were mere Tokens for defense. Mainly, we are an offensive team. That being the case, it doesn't make sense to have guys out there who are just there for Defensive purposes. If we played to our strengths.... IF we started a lineup of:

Dickau, JT, Big Dog, SAR, and Nazr... I guarantee that we would do better than we have been doing. Reason being is because this would be a team that sole purpose is to go out and put points on the board. IF we played ZONE with that team we would win. It's not big secret. We just need to come to a point where we decide what we are. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Theo... However he doesn't rebound well enough to make us play up to our potential. Now Fat ass Nazr will get in there and pull down 12 boards... And SAR works better with Nazr than Theo. But I wouldn't say it's Theo's fault.

C. Know your players. A lot of Lon's problem is that he had no idea of what the strengths of what his players was. Big Dog is not a Point forward. SAR is not a perimeter PF. JT is a SG. A coach should know this. Lon wasted lots of time trying to work against the grade...... Had to go. Stotts is different. He should know something about Hamm and Big Dog already. He figured out that JT is a combo gaurd but soon he will realize that JT is just a short SG. Reef is difficult becuase Reef can kill some guys with his face to the basket. He totally assaulted PJ Brown when we play N.O. with a barrage of points while his face was to the basket. However, he can't do the same to Duncan.

So remedies?

I'm for trading Theo. Giving Glover and Dickau more PT. Trying to get either a SG or a PG from the trade and then making a decision on JT.

If we could trade Theo/Filler for Barry/Anderson I'd be on it like a winter coat but Seattle is interesting. It would take a three way and who knows what Seattle wants.

Maybe through GS...

Theo/Filler to GS

Fortson/Damp to Seattle

Barry/Anderson to Atlanta.

[JTFan31]

We have 3 guys in this team that can lead this team. IMO the most potential one is Big Dog, but the question is Does he have the heart to be the floor leader? Yet to be seen.

Now we all know JT is the PG of the this team, doesn't neccessarily make him the leader, although he can be, but I believe to be a leader in this league, you need some qualities, you need to be outspoken, you need to tell guys they aren't doing their job, but foremost you need to do all it takes to win and the rest will follow. I think the most outspoken guy in this team is Big Dog, and people will listen to him when he speaks, but does he? Don't know.

If you look at every winning team in this league, they all have floor leaders, best one I have ever seen is MJ and of course Garnett is pretty da-mn good at it as well. We need one of our stars to be the same, someone in this team needs to be outspoken and blame, but of course that will have to start right NOW. We cannot expect Big Dog to be outspoken right now because he also has been slacking off. The leader must be someone that comes in every night and puts every single cell of effort out there on the floor. I believe once someone is willing to step up and take "The Leader" responsibility I believe some wins will come.

Why? because hustles rubs off.

[Diesel]

You need to break it down a bit more......

We need Leaders yes... But Explain...

1. We need Leaders on the floor.

2. We need Leaders in the lockerroom.

Jordan was a leader on the floor... But in the lockerroom, "Medical" Bill Cartwright was the leader. I think we need both. For some reason, I think Email might have been a Lockerroom leader.

Secondly, JT has all the character to be a lockerroom leader. He's outspoken. He can tell somebody to get their butts in gear... However, I doubt that he's effective. I remember that he couldn't lead Glover to practice. JT would be better as a floor leader. Let him take the last shot. Let him put the pressure on himself. Only let him do it as a SG.

Our Lockerroom leader ought to be.....Hendu. Hendu's been here the longest and in general he should be able to motivate. Getting Smitty would be good because he could be a lockerroom leader as well.

However, there are some guys who needs the C stripped from them...

SAR and Big Dog.

SAR could be a great leader either on the court on in the lockerroom... But he doesn't step up to that post. I can't say that Grob is a leader either. There are 2 major characteristics of a leader.

1. People follow them.

2. They take charge.

These two guys fail in both instances. IN Milwaukee, the word came out last year that there were no leaders there. When there's a void of Leadership, you have choas.

Yes, we need a leader. I would say... Hendu.... He can motivate. He's been a part of the franchise for years. He's the one that organizes the summer workouts. Why not?

[Guest]

I don't really think that Theo's lost any, or much, ability. HE could still be the impact player he was before...except for two problems

the primary is that he just keeps getting in bad foul trouble early, limiting his minutes. It's not his health, it's his propensity to pick up ticky tack fouls with the greatest of ease. Officials not respecting him or not, that's the major problem.

The secondary one is his having to make up for one average defender who plays the passing lanes too much and doesn't give enough attention to his man, one on one, a second who is simply a mediocre defender that focuses on his man so much that he loses track of the other players and offensive rotations going on around him, thus appearing lost at times, and a third who is slightly overweight and lacks lateral quickness so attempts to make up for it by playing off his man a good bit, in order to block drives to the hoop by quicker players, thus allowing for easy jump shots and great looks at the rest of his (the opposing team's) other players and where they are....guess which description goes with which players...

Theo can't make up for all three of them, so he gets caught trying...

[Guest]

3. JT is not a PG. I thought JT could turn the corner, however, Now I know... JT is just as much a SG as Alan Houston. The litmus test is this... If JT were 6'6.. Would we still want him as our PG? MY thought is this... If he were 6'6" nobody would be talking about JT as a PG. "

I think alot of people including myself...wefooled ourselves

because of JT as a person.

As far as JT as a leader goes...The problem is that he's

ALL positive.

We need a top notch player.None of the players are top

notch.None of them bring it every game.It doesn't matter

what they could do....The point is they are not doing it.

I do Diesels barry/Anderson trade.