BILLY IS A GENIUS

[Johnnybravo4]

Suns come up short vs. Hawks

Paul Coro

The Arizona Republic

Nov. 8, 2007 12:00 AM

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Hawks were reliving their good fortune, not their good play, in the postgame locker room after beating the Suns 105-96 at home Wednesday night.

They were feeling fortuitous that they caught Phoenix before the Suns find their rhythm and health. The Suns were beaten by a taller, more athletic lineup that kept Atlanta ahead for all of the final three quarters.

Amaré Stoudemire, who scored 43 points and grabbed 16 rebounds the last time the Suns played in Atlanta, missed his third consecutive game due to a sore right knee. The Suns' replacement starting center, Boris Diaw, hobbled by a bad left ankle, was in no shape to make the Hawks pay for defensive switches.

"They've got an inside presence when he's there," Atlanta guard Joe Johnson said of Stoudemire, his former teammate. "When he's not there, the inside presence is not as strong. We matched up well with them today. If they put a little lineup in, we could put a little lineup in and be athletic as well."

It's rare when Phoenix is outrun and outleaped. Just as the Suns finally found their three-point shooting, they could not finish in the lane. The Suns missed seven drives, layups or dunks in the first half and did not make any of 11 two-point shots in the second quarter. Phoenix gave up 19 second-chance points in the first half. When Atlanta was not scoring on easy follows, it was riding Marvin Williams' jumper, as he hit 10 of 15 shots. Phoenix continually lost him a night after playing great defense at Charlotte.

Once the second unit gave up an 8-0 run and the Suns were down 40-31 in the second quarter, Steve Nash was left to start pressing again to keep his team close. He scored 34 points and had 11 assists, but the rest of the team was 23 for 67, hamstrung by Leandro Barbosa's three-game rut and Diaw's lack of explosion.

"I don't have any answers right now," Nash said. "It's not my goal to go out and shoot 20 times. It's not my goal to be that aggressive. I just felt like I had no alternative. I wish I could've come up with something a little better to get more balance out there. . . . They were so athletic at switching so many things, I felt like I'd be putting my teammates at a disadvantage if I wasn't trying to take advantage instead of putting it in their hands and making them go against someone."

It was the Suns' first loss in the three games that Stoudemire missed. Often-injured teammate Grant Hill offered Stoudemire advice.

"My theory is if he feels right, then wait another week," Hill said.

Maybe BK's plan is working.

[NJHAWK]

LOL Ive been posting threads like this for 3 years and have taken alot of heat but I never doubted BK was building us an incredible team. His one bad move when he gave in to some pressure was signing Speedy. Even that could turn into a decent move if Speedy gets some heart and finds a way to get on the court.

[coachx]

Quote:

---

. I wish I could've come up with something a little better to get more balance out there. . . . They were so athletic at switching so many things, I felt like I'd be putting my teammates at a disadvantage if I wasn't trying to take advantage instead of putting it in their hands and making them go against someone."

Maybe BK's plan is working.

---

Nash's words seem to match the common quotes coming from ALL of our opponents this year. A long, athletic team capable of switching assignments without giving up major mis matches.............that is a tough defensive team BK has put together.............just the kind of team Woody wanted.......................now lets be patient on Law to come around anfd the plan is complete.

[Johnnybravo4]

Oops I missed part of the article. This was my fav quote

Quote:

---

They're long and athletic, and we just couldn't find a combination that worked," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "This is one of those games where Amaré could've helped us a bit, because once they switch all over the place, you need to punish that. Boris tried but, hell, their guards are as big as he is."

---

[NJHAWK]

Did anyone notice a few time we actually had Horford at the top of the key guarding Nash and Nash wanted no part of it. lol

[Johnnybravo4]

Or even better, when Smoove picked Nash like 3 times.

[Fanboy3000]

The Hawks up-tempo offense is what will make this team exciting to watch for fans. But it is the ability to get back and D up, against any team in the league, that will give this team a chance at/in the playoffs.

[Atlantaholic]

Quote:

---

His one bad move when he gave in to some pressure was signing Speedy. Even that could turn into a decent move if Speedy gets some heart and finds a way to get on the court.

---

Speedy, Lorenzon, Childress over Deng and Iggy, Marvin over Paul or Deron (though this one isn't so bad now that Marvin is showing vast improvement), waisting a second on getting AJ, and worst of all Shelden "I have the trade value of a non-drafted rookie" Williams

The signing of Speedy and getting AJ (I believe he is signed to one more year, though I could be wrong) could prove to be extremely costly if we can't sign J. Smith to an extension... (which should have already happened)

I'd rate Billy Knight a c+ at most. If he hadn't brought in Joe Johnson it would be a solid F.

[Johnnybravo4]

I don't recall Iguodala winning any playoff games, and besides, he is avg 5.7 TO per game.

Deng is solid but he also plays on a team with a lot of talent.

Paul is a system pg...like a qb at BYU. He'll put up stats but ultimately that team will not win anything of note.

Shelden is a stiff, but I'd rather have a stable of big bodies than a backup sg in Roy. That entire draft has stunk so far anyway.

[bumpyphish1]

BILLY KNIGHT IS A PROPHET

[hawkman]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

His one bad move when he gave in to some pressure was signing Speedy. Even that could turn into a decent move if Speedy gets some heart and finds a way to get on the court.

---

Speedy, Lorenzon, Childress over Deng and Iggy, Marvin over Paul or Deron (though this one isn't so bad now that Marvin is showing vast improvement), waisting a second on getting AJ, and worst of all Shelden "I have the trade value of a non-drafted rookie" Williams

The signing of Speedy and getting AJ (I believe he is signed to one more year, though I could be wrong) could prove to be extremely costly if we can't sign J. Smith to an extension... (which should have already happened)

I'd rate Billy Knight a c+ at most. If he hadn't brought in Joe Johnson it would be a solid F.

---

I agree with the above. KNIGHT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN QUITE MEDIOCRE AS FAR AS DRAFTING TALENT IS CONCERNED. I hate to say it because I like the young guys that we have now. They seem to be good "character guys" which I honestly find refreshing. Unfortunately, this is a game that requires tremendous talent at the proffessional level and we've left plenty of that on the board on draft night. It is what it is.

[Atlantaholic]

And how many playoff games has Childress won?? Last time I checked basketball is a team sport, so I don't see what playoff wins has to do with anything at all. Iguodala is averaging 5.7 TO the first five games of the year... big deal. Nash is averaging around 5 himself and is a two time MVP. Any GM in the universe will tell you that Iguodala has twice the trade value of Childress, not to mention Deng's value compared to Chills. The Lakers want to trade Kobe for a package built around Deng... I'd love for us to offer a package featuring Childress for Kobe and see how hard Jerry West laughs. Brandon Roy, Randy Foye and even Rondo have so much more trade value than Shelden that it is kind of ridiculous. Marvin may pan out to be the correct pick, and indeed was considered the most talented player in the draft, so I'm much more willing to give BK the benefit of the doubt on that one... however, forward was our only strength and PG was a huge, HUGE need at the time of the draft, so at best that was a debatable choice.

The signing of Speedy and Lorenzen were terrible. The AJ trade was a total head-scratcher... all in all, the list of questionable and down-right wrong moves by Billy far outweigh his correct choices. Non the less, he is still probably around average in comparison to other GM's around the league.

[Atlantaholic]

Quote:

---

Paul is a system pg...like a qb at BYU. He'll put up stats but ultimately that team will not win anything of note.

---

They have had NO BODY in New Orleans who can put the ball in the bucket aside from David West (who was nothing but an above average scorer the last two years) and he still put up tremendous numbers while almost leading the team to the playoffs in a conference where we wouldn't have won 10 games any of the last two years. To say his team won't win anything after only two years of him being in the league is as asinine as saying that Marvin will never amount to anything because he hasn't put up great numbers his first two years.

Chris Paul is 10 times better than any PG we have on the roster. If New Orleans would give us Paul for Marvin, Law, and Zaza I would take it in half a heart-beat.

Still, the pick is not a disaster, and may I repeat MAY turn out to be the better pick depending on how Paul's and Marv's careers pan out... Still, if I'm rating BK's building of the team, I'm looking at the past and at the present. And his decision making has been suspect to say the least.

If we don't manage to re-sign Smith than BK's tenure needs to end.

[tmac13]

The Marvin pick will never be a disaster. He looks to be rounding out to the 20 point a game scorer that he was projected to be. The part that hurts is that we passed up 2 allstar caliber point guards when that was our glaring weakness then and now. A great point guard is almost always more valuable than an allstar small forward.

All and all BK has made his fair share of blunders and found his fair share of gems. How Acie and Horford develope will go along way in determining BK's legacy as the Hawks GM.

[TroyMcClure]

Quote:

---

BILLY KNIGHT IS A PROPHET

---

How often do you get high, Bumpy?

[TroyMcClure]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

. I wish I could've come up with something a little better to get more balance out there. . . . They were so athletic at switching so many things, I felt like I'd be putting my teammates at a disadvantage if I wasn't trying to take advantage instead of putting it in their hands and making them go against someone."

Maybe BK's plan is working.

---

Nash's words seem to match the common quotes coming from ALL of our opponents this year. A long, athletic team capable of switching assignments without giving up major mis matches.............that is a tough defensive team BK has put together.............just the kind of team Woody wanted.......................now lets be patient on Law to come around anfd the plan is complete.

---

Very true. Too bad it's not football, though. They still have to play offense... and they aren't very good at that.

[TheDude]

I wouldnt call him a genius in regards of some of the picks he's made, although I am not down on him as some.

But I do think that his philosophy of long, athletic, flexible players is ingeniuous. I think he saw that matchups are huge in basketball and the best way defensively to prevent yourself from being put in those positions is having players that can do a little of it all.

Funny how the forwards joke was so prevalent but actually its working for us.

Until the next game we lose when everyone will be bashing him.

[sillent]

Like I've said before BK has been using his time and tenure here building patiently and quietly. Of course he would not pick a team full of all stars/superstars coming out of the draft because of ego issues,more pressure to be competitive early before the complete building of his squad and money issues(Same reason so many people are wondering if we can afford Smoove's extension.

The NBA is a business and the smartest business decisions might not seem like the best for now but for the future of your business. Yeah we could have Paul,Smith,Deng/Iguadala but when it came time for extensions who would we have to lose. Yeah they could be good trade bait but constant trades don't create good team chemistry.

By picking guys like Childress that can except being a bench player and Shelden who may seem to have a limited upside but can play a solid role for the team, we were understandably able to stay under the radar and continue adding more and more talent and solid peices.

Our team that everyone seems to love now and make less and less trade proposals for was all part of BK's plan. Now we can pay guys like Josh Smith the big money give Childress a reasonable contract and also have money to keep the rest of our talent when the time is needed.

If someone told us in the fourth year of BK's tenure we would have a team equal to the talent we have everyone would be in disbelief. Look at some of the comparisons that I players do or will compare to overtime.

Law = Billups

Salim = Eddie House/Law

J Johnson = less athletic McGrady

J Chill = Prince/Pippen

J Smoove = Kirlenko/Marion (or our on Dominique)

Marvin Williams = Rashard Lewis/Carmelo

Shelden Williams = Boozer/Ben Wallace(more offensive)

Al Horford = Amare/Boozer

Solomon Jones = Camby/ Lite Amare

So yeah I would have to agree that BK is a genius and to get a teacher like Woody is great for these young players production. Now Woody has to learn and continue making his teachings translate to stability and wins on the court. Now is the time for him to show that great resume that had us excited about him when he first came to the team.