Ultimatum to Shelden: Play better NOW or else..

[HAWKS1986]

The Hawks can't continue to allow Shelden Williams, Esteban Batista and Lorenzen Wright to be on this roster and not bring anything to this roster..

Especially Shelden: If it isn't in his heart to be 'good', then we don't need him on this roster.. I don'yt care about his accolades at Duke or his defensive player of the year honors.. This is the NBA and you were a first round draft pick.. I don't expect you to score a whole lot of points (it would be nice if you did) but if you can battle and play with hear, the HAWKS DON'T NEED YOU *****

They can't score.

They can't play defense.

Provide no leadership.

Why are they on our bench?

Josh Smith can't do their jobs every night... collecting fouls and getting in fould trouble at his and the team's expense..

In this upcoming draft I don't know if we have a draft pick or not depending on how we do and Indiana does.

However, look at some of these college teams and their players.

1. Al Hortford (Florida)

2. Stephan Lasme (UMass)

3. Joey Dorsey (Memphis)

We need to find 'hungry' players who have a nose for the basketball and will play hard whether it is for 10 to 12 minutes or 40 minutes...

No more lazy, non-productive big men...please..

Shelden must go..

[BusBoyIsBack]

I like Lasme but I just found out he's the same size as Shelden but even smaller.

Shelden is fine. He's just playing hurt. That shoulder really takes away from his game. He thrives off contact and he can't absorb or initiate it right now because of that shoulder.

It would be the equivalent of a shooter playing with a bum shooting hand.

Sure maybe he should sit out, but I admire his toughness.

But don't act like Shelden lost this game.

We lost this game because Zaza got absued A LOT more than Shelden.

Shelden at least had a hand in Jefferson's face and altered a couple shots. Zaza got ABUSED on the boards and on D.

Zaza gave up a HELLUVA lot more points than Shelden this night just like he does EVERY NIGHT.

[HawksFan87]

Shelden was never good to begin with, His shoulder injury is not an excuse...

[thescout5]

Another great draft pick by BK. BK should be getting the heat more then even Sheldon. Wasn't it BK saying that was his man even before bringing in players at the Hawks tryout? Not to many Duke grads do well in the NBA ever notice? Besides Brand,Hill and a few others they don't live up to the hype.

The success of some other rookie players this year,last may have also spoiled us as fans. Even though Sheldon was in college 4 yrs some guys still a season to adjust to the NBA so I am not giving up on him but he better do a 360 in the off season.

[HAWKS1986]

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Another great draft pick by BK. BK should be getting the heat more then even Sheldon. Wasn't it BK saying that was his man even before bringing in players at the Hawks tryout? Not to many Duke grads do well in the NBA ever notice? Besides Brand,Hill and a few others they don't live up to the hype.

The success of some other rookie players this year,last may have also spoiled us as fans. Even though Sheldon was in college 4 yrs some guys still a season to adjust to the NBA so I am not giving up on him but he better do a 360 in the off season.

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You're right Billy Knight has made 'mistakes' in evaluation of players. And Duke players haven't really done well over the years.. most recently Dahntay Jones (Memphis), Shelden Williams (Atlanta), JJ Reddick (Orlando) Jay Williams (Chicago) or Grant Hill (always injured)..however Carlos Boozer, Shane Battier and Elton Brand have done 'alright'...

[Sothron]

There's been a whole lot more Dukie busts than hits in the NBA.

Shellhead was shown up, again, tonight by big men with any talent. Its like I keep saying: the guy is a stiff who in college was routinely abused by any big with real talent. The guy can't do anything in the NBA because he frankly has no talent.

You can't fix something that never worked in the first place...

[BusBoyIsBack]

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Shelden was never good to begin with, His shoulder injury is not an excuse...

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NEver good to begin with?

So how was he 3rd in player of the year voting despite being in a scheme designed for another player? Why did he win DPOTY twice in a row? Why is he in a category with Ralph Sampson and Tim Duncan as the only players to have 1500 points, 1000 rebounds, and 350 blocks in a career?

Nobody that was "never good to begin with" could have ANY of the accolades that Shelden has in his career. Shelden was better offensively than Boozer, and better defensively than Brand at his career at Duke.

And that could very well translate to the pros if he gets healthy. Right now he is playing with a bum shoulder which is a major injury to someone who has a game that thrives on contact.

Before his injury he made an immediate impact on our defense and at the beginning of the season not only did we improve our interior defense that was worst in the league last year, statistically we had the best defense in the entire NBA.

Clearly his impact was felt right away.

It's unfortunate that he's been playing hurt this whole season.

Despite his injury, he still leads all rookies in RPG.

Despite his injury, HE'S STILL A BETTER INTERIOR DEFENDER THAN ZAZA PACHULIA.

Shelden WIlliams is a big time scapegoat around these parts like he single-handedly loses games.

He is a better interior defender than Zaza Pachulia will ever be.

[Sothron]

Saying someone is better than Zaza at interior, well, ANYthing is not much of a compliment.

Shellhead was routinely abused at Duke by any big man with talent. Anyone who watched him play knew he was going to get murdered in the NBA due to his slowness and lack of athletic ability, height and arm reach.

We could ask Matt Geiger and James Forrest to show up and they'd annihilate him in a practice. If we brought Hanno Mottola back though maybe Shellhead could have someone in practice he could keep out of the low post.

[HawksFan87]

If he is so hurt. He should have had the surgery already. He has been wearing it all year. It's not like the team will miss him if he has to miss time. As a result of him having the surgery seeing as how. He does'nt do anything when he is in the game to begin with. Face it Shelden was a wasted pick what he did in college means nothing. Because he sure as hell aint doing it now for the HAWKS...

[Sothron]

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If he is so hurt. He should have had the surgery already. He has been wearing it all year. It's not like the team will miss him if he has to miss time. As a result of him having the surgery seeing as how. He does'nt do anything when he is in the game to begin with. Face it Shelden was a wasted pick what he did in college means nothing. Because he sure as hell aint doing it now for the HAWKS...

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Very well said. I couldn't give a fig newton what college awards or stats he put up. That doesn't do anything for you in the NBA. His NBA play has been atrocious and that's all any Hawks fan should care about.

[HAWKS1986]

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If he is so hurt. He should have had the surgery already. He has been wearing it all year. It's not like the team will miss him if he has to miss time. As a result of him having the surgery seeing as how. He does'nt do anything when he is in the game to begin with. Face it Shelden was a wasted pick what he did in college means nothing. Because he sure as hell aint doing it now for the HAWKS...

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Very well said. I couldn't give a fig newton what college awards or stats he put up. That doesn't do anything for you in the NBA. His NBA play has been atrocious and that's all any Hawks fan should care about.

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I concur. If there is something wrong with the shoulder, then GET SURGERY..OR REST IT...

I have never seen such a thing as a player with a shoulder brace on his arm for that long of a time..now Dwayne Wade will likely come back with that brace if he comes back before the playoffs, but Wade is likely to have shoulder surgery soon after the Miami Heat season ends..

A decision needs to made on Shelden..management can't keep milking this issue.. is he hurt or not? if he isn't , then his playing staus should be re-evaluated and the team needs to 'move on' and find some team who is willing to take him...

The Hawks need a big man or two (badly)..someone who is at least a physical threat, who can rebound block shots and give Smoove some support in the paint..

[Guest Walter]

By allowing SW to continue playing, management is also hoping nobody thruroughly questions the decisison to promise and later draft SW over Roy or Foye. They can always say, "he was playing injured". Buys BK a year of 2nd guessing by the most ardent BK supporters. I assume at least one of such men are in the owenrship group or else BK would have been gone by now.

The majority knows, AND SHOULD HAVE KNOWN rather than giving BK some sort of faith-based pass, that SW even healthy is closer to being a 10th man than a starter on a decent team.

W

[Eddielives]

So Sothron, you are forever forbidden to use any college or pre-professional accolades in your support of ANY draft pick or signing made by any professional basketball team....since we all know nothing matters until you hit the pros, right?

[Plainview1981]

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Shelden was never good to begin with, His shoulder injury is not an excuse...

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NEver good to begin with?

So how was he 3rd in player of the year voting despite being in a scheme designed for another player? Why did he win DPOTY twice in a row? Why is he in a category with Ralph Sampson and Tim Duncan as the only players to have 1500 points, 1000 rebounds, and 350 blocks in a career?

Nobody that was "never good to begin with" could have ANY of the accolades that Shelden has in his career. Shelden was better offensively than Boozer, and better defensively than Brand at his career at Duke.

And that could very well translate to the pros if he gets healthy. Right now he is playing with a bum shoulder which is a major injury to someone who has a game that thrives on contact.

Before his injury he made an immediate impact on our defense and at the beginning of the season not only did we improve our interior defense that was worst in the league last year, statistically we had the best defense in the entire NBA.

Clearly his impact was felt right away.

It's unfortunate that he's been playing hurt this whole season.

Despite his injury, he still leads all rookies in RPG.

Despite his injury, HE'S STILL A BETTER INTERIOR DEFENDER THAN ZAZA PACHULIA.

Shelden WIlliams is a big time scapegoat around these parts like he single-handedly loses games.

He is a better interior defender than Zaza Pachulia will ever be.

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College basketball don't mean a thing.

[TexasPete]

Shelden ISN'T fine at all. Busboy, your cred is at stake here with your defense of this stiff. No mention of his shoulder has happened for several months. He gets killed on defense off the dribble and has no viable way to score in the NBA. He SUCKS!!!

Stop defending this stiff. BK sucks worse than he does. Nice promise.

[troubleman]

Wow, whatever happened to rookies feeling their way thru the first NBA season. This is such a "now" society, we are unwilling to allow anything to develop. I didn't want Shelden, heck I haven't liked any of BK's drafts picks except Josh Smith, but I'm willing to allow these guys to develop. Shelden is not the reason for the holes in the lineup, BK's draft strategy is the reason. Hopefully, the Hawks will do the right thing in the offseason, and give BK and Mike Woodson their walking papers.

[Seano]

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By allowing SW to continue playing, management is also hoping nobody thruroughly questions the decisison to promise and later draft SW over Roy or Foye.

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Exactamundo. For BK, that's called 'cover yo ass'. CYA is the order of the day throughout all management circles, whether it be sports, corporate, military, whatever. You've gotta make sure your ass is covered as much as possible, lest people start asking questions and discover that yes, you actually *are* incompetent.

[DJlaysitup]

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Just because you are injured doesn't mean that you can have surgery. No one knows about this injury and it could be the kind of injury where surgery isn't an option. Much like Speedy's knee situation, there is no surgery to correct it. So going out and yelling that Shelden should get surgery is just ignorant especially since no one knows the severity of this injury....

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I was thinking along those lines myself. I'm no doctor but I've followed sports (and therefore sports injuries) for a long time and have known a lot of guys who have gone through various types of rehabs. But the truth is, I can't remember them telling us exactly what is wrong with Shell's shoulder nor what the prognosis is.

It seems like a long time to be wearing a brace/support. If there is a medical fix - it would only be logical to get on with it...it's not like Shell (playing as he is now) is a key cog to our success. And if the injury is slowing him down or degrading his play, why not shut him down and avoid risking further injury. I mean hey, he is a #5 pick and therefore an investment for the future (one would think)

Kinda mysterious deal - makes no sense to me.

[DrReality]

Don't be too hasty. I think that Woody has part of this. Don't think he is being successful in how to motivate Shelden. Case in point was Diaw. Shelden has voiced opinion that he doesn't know what the coach wants? I don't think that Woody is a great communicator and I don't think Shelden responds to Woody's type of approach. Time to delegate to an assistant?

[HAWKS1986]

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By allowing SW to continue playing, management is also hoping nobody thruroughly questions the decisison to promise and later draft SW over Roy or Foye. They can always say, "he was playing injured". Buys BK a year of 2nd guessing by the most ardent BK supporters. I assume at least one of such men are in the owenrship group or else BK would have been gone by now.

The majority knows, AND SHOULD HAVE KNOWN rather than giving BK some sort of faith-based pass, that SW even healthy is closer to being a 10th man than a starter on a decent team.

W

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BK has been given a 'pass' most definitely, and it seems the 'I'm injured' card is definitely in play..