All The Negativity Around Here is Draining As Hell

[Traceman]

Good grief! The Celtics finished the regular season SIXTY SIX AND SIXTEEN! I'm not sure, but I think that is like the sixth best regular season of ALL TIME! Meanwhile, we BARELY make the playoffs at 37-45 with a VERY young and inexperienced team and you all act as if we are SUPPOSED to be winning this series. Give me a break!

Making the playoffs and competing against Boston is a great learning experience for these young guys but there is absolutely NO shame in getting beat by a FAR superior team.

For you blind folks out there:

JJ is one hell of a basketball player. PERIOD! VERY few players are good enough to win by themselves and him not being able to consistently win while surrounded by a bunch of young players simply means that he is not a miracle worker. KG couldn't win in Minny last year, Pierce couldn't win in Boston last year and Allen couldn't win in SEA last year. Add players the caliber of KG and Allen to this team and I GUARANTEE you JJ would MORE than hold up his end of the bargain. If we had the luxury of TRIPLE teaming KG, Pierce or Allen every time they had the ball, none of them would have had any better results than JJ did in that first game.

Smoove and Marvin did what many young players do who have never been on this stage before. They got too hyped and they were never able to settle in and play their games. They were overwhelmed by the moment and it didn't help that they were matched up with two superior players in Garnett and Pierce. It happens. People say that you can't use age as an excuse for those guys. To that I say like hell I can't! They ARE young and they both will get stronger, smarter and better. At 22 AND 21, I think it would be more of an exception for a guy not to get caught up in the moment than the rule. Everyone is not an Al Horford and that is what is going to make that guy special. Let's see what happens tonight now that they have a little better understanding regarding what to expect.

As for Bibby, yeah, he was pretty awful but I expect him to bounce back tonight. He has proven that he can perform under the spotlight and I fully expect him to play like the vet he is tonight. One thing I would like to see from him is more penetration and fewer long 3's. He is having to shoot from further and further out because teams are crowding him on the perimeter. Driving and dishing a few times will provide him with more room to get his J off.

Horford continues to show why he should be ROY. The brighter the spotlight, the better he is. Can't teach that. He just has that "it." He's no Yi Jianlian or Mike Conley but since we have him I guess we're stuck with him.

Chillz was solid considering what he was asked to do. He is not a PG and he is not quick enough to keep Rondo from driving AND to keep him from getting a J. If he keeps Rondo out of the lane, he has done his job. Bibby can do neither so at least Chillz took one option away. Playing PG on offense limits Chillz' effectiveness because he can't play on the baseline like he does so well against most teams. However, against BOS, he has a hard time finishing over the length of KG and Perkins anyway so I don't mind it and his D is much better than Bibby's.

As for Woody, I thought he did okay (not great) except for taking Smoove out for the rest of the first half with 2 fouls. I HATE that. The truth of the matter is that we are not going to beat Boston unless either JJ or Bibby (preferably both) is on fire and we get a big night out of Smoove, Marv or Chillz while Horford has his nightly double double. Boston simply has too many weapons and a deep bench to bail them out of any of their starters falter. Tough matchup. Toughest matchup in the league for us with the possible exception of SA.

Bottom line is that I think we should try to enjoy the games for what they are and I think we should celebrate the small accomplishments because Boston is a MONSTER and losing to them is nothing to be ashamed of. Play hard and try to steal a game (maybe even two) and use this as a building block for the future.

[Packfill]

If the goal in the NBA was to be a "young team" then the Hawks would be doing great. Since the goal is to actually win games then it is hard to constantly rely on that as an excuse to why the team is an also-ran.

Dwight Howard isn't using age as an excuse. Neither are Al Horford or Chris Paul.

Lebron James, Luol Deng, Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams didn't use it as an excuse last year when they were all 22 or younger.

[Brotha2ThaNite]

Well, It looks like you are really Drain-out now... looking about the book you just typed up. LOL

[JackB1]

Trace....excellent analysis and you make some great points.

About the negativity here, isn't that how it's always been? We could win 10 in a row and then lose one and it like "FIRE WOODSON" or "SIT BIBBY" or "MARVIN SUCKS' or the worst..."PLAY SALIM" The place is always a "center of overreaction".

I don't think many folks here expect us to beat Boston, but we expect our team to play up to their potential and not embarrass ourselves in front of a national audience. This is our chance to show the world that this team is making progress and will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. I would like to think we are better than our record shows and making it a little tough on Boston would prove that. We have shown the ability to get it together and beat elite teams here and there, so it's not unrealistic to think we can maybe win 1 or 2....especially at home, where we have played so well all year.

If we play games 2-4 like we played in game 1...you can expect the negativity to fly. If we show some improvement, then I would hope to see some praise for our boys in blue and also see a sold out crowd for games 3 and 4.

[ATLSmith]

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The truth of the matter is that we are not going to beat Boston unless either JJ or Bibby (preferably both) is on fire and we get a big night out of Smoove, Marv or Chillz while Horford has his nightly double double. Boston simply has too many weapons and a deep bench to bail them out of any of their starters falter. Tough matchup. Toughest matchup in the league for us with the possible exception of SA.

Bottom line is that I think we should try to enjoy the games for what they are and I think we should celebrate the small accomplishments because Boston is a MONSTER and losing to them is nothing to be ashamed of. Play hard and try to steal a game (maybe even two) and use this as a building block for the future.

The Truth.

Go Hawks!

[JackB1]

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we should celebrate the small accomplishments because Boston is a MONSTER and losing to them is nothing to be ashamed of.

here's hoping for some "small accomplishments" tonite

[jhay610]

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JJ is one hell of a basketball player. PERIOD! VERY few players are good enough to win by themselves and him not being able to consistently win while surrounded by a bunch of young players simply means that he is not a miracle worker. KG couldn't win in Minny last year, Pierce couldn't win in Boston last year and Allen couldn't win in SEA last year. Add players the caliber of KG and Allen to this team and I GUARANTEE you JJ would MORE than hold up his end of the bargain. If we had the luxury of TRIPLE teaming KG, Pierce or Allen every time they had the ball, none of them would have had any better results than JJ did in that first game.

This is what pisses me off the most around here. JJ is obviously shouldering the load against one of the best defensive teams in the league, but when he struggles every one comes on here and says he 'doesn't have the playoff mindset' or 'the heart of the champion' or the 'eye of the tiger' or what have you. Complete and utter BS. Put anybody in the league with this bunch the way they played the other night and I guarantee they aren't coming out with a win.

There are so many whiners/crybabies on this board it's ridiculous.

The only thing I want to see is Woody make a freakin adjustment when ish hits the fan. If Rondo is raping us, I do not want to see our 6'9" swingman guarding him out on the perimeter. Can we try the one guy on the team that actually has a shot at sticking with him for 10 good minutes?

I don't want to see our best players on the sidelines for extended stretches cuz Woody is scared they might foul out later.

Finally, please do not wear your assistant coach big-ass man-ring. That is almost as bad as the equipment manager ring.

And if the team is down 9 at half, don't act like you are proud about it. Act like you came to win. Talk about some things you can do better, not "ROY" Al Horford.

[Duff_Man]

Could be worse...at least we aren't Dallas fans right now.

[DJlaysitup]

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Could be worse...at least we aren't Dallas fans right now.

Yep - looks like that ship has sailed as far as contending for championships. Pretty fast fall for a league MVP. That's not ot say Dirk sucks...but he definitely needs help and will likely have to be a second (or co-first) option on a championship calibre team. CP3 is torching those guys. You could argue that his second playoff game was better than his first. Bad matchup for Jason Kidd - he is getting dominated.

Oh well - maybe they'll fire Avery Johnson and we can get him as our coach

(don't mean to hijack the thread)

[Duff_Man]

Yeah, that was the point...at least we are on the way up instead of spiralling down. Their past 8 or so playoff games have been atrocious.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Someone posted on one site that Boston lost to a sub .500 team one time ALL YEAR.

I think that sums up the foucs of that team.

ANd we are the youngest team in the playoffs and definitely one of the youngest teams in post-season history.

This season serves to get our feet wet in the playoffs.

NExt year we can think about winning a series

[mrhonline]

Well said...

...but....

will fall on....

deaf ears.

[Plainview1981]

You enjoy watching the Hawks lose by 20 points a game and make the playoffs for the wrong reasons. Other people will live in reality. Being young hasn't stopped the likes of Dwight Howard or Chris Paul.... But yet Marvin WIlliams and Smoove should be given a break.

These guys are underachievers and will likely never do anything meaningful in their careers.

[PlayaPat420]

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You enjoy watching the Hawks lose by 20 points a game and make the playoffs for the wrong reasons. Other people will live in reality. Being young hasn't stopped the likes of Dwight Howard or Chris Paul.... But yet Marvin WIlliams and Smoove should be given a break.

These guys are underachievers and will likely never do anything meaningful in their careers.

We don't have as good a TEAM as either of those players. Nor the CONTRIBUTING Veterans that they do. Nor the COACHING. Peja and Mo Pete are huge contributors to the Hornets success at being able to stretch the floor. As for Dwight Howard, he is a beast, no doubt, but his supporting cast has present day all-stars (Howard and Lewis), a couple of good pg's (nelson and bogans), and possibly the most improvend player in the NBA (Turkolou or however you spell it).

Our team has one all-star, MAYBE 2 future all-stars (Horford and... uhm) and yet another washed up point guard in Bibby.

[Atlantaholic]

People act like being the youngest team in the league for the fifth season in a row is some kind of coincidence... The only reason that we are the youngest is because of Bk's mismanagement... How many teams have been the youngest team 4 years in a row? Sucking bad enough to get a top 7 pick each of the last four years will do that.

The fact we haven't added veteran players (sans Bibby... who was added just months ago, and who seems to be terrible anyway), is nobodies fault but THE TEAMS. Yes, it's not some kind of cosmic coincidence that our team stinks, we have young players who seem extremely poorly coached most of the time, ONE veteran player who is way past his prime, and a borderline All Star in JJ... WTF kind of team is that??

We need more talent on this team, more experience, and better coaching... All of these areas on our team are lacking... Unless significant changes are made to our personnel, I don't see how we will be nothing more than a bottom seed (AT BEST) in the playoffs... Does anyone think this core can consistently compete against Cleveland, Orlando, Detroit, Boston , or any of the West teams.

Does anyone, ANYONE see Woody leading a Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and JJ led team to a championship???

[sturt]

...that those most upset at the current state of things congregate there to share in their common grief and express their expert criticism. There is an ego-boost to sticking out one's proverbial online chest and being able to offer solutions that gain some support.

People do not come to boards ordinarily to talk about all of the good things any more than people buy newspapers to read about all of the good that the Boy Scouts are doing in the community.

If the population sample is dominated by liberals, one can't be surprised to find overwhelming negativity about Iraq or the economy in the feedback collected.

But, I'm sure that I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. I just remind you of it so that you don't expect too much positive response to your positive-ness.

For what it's worth, I'm not ordinarily an Eeyore either, so I'm with ya, brother.

[exodus]

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...that those most upset at the current state of things congregate there to share in their common grief and express their expert criticism. There is an ego-boost to sticking out one's proverbial online chest and being able to offer solutions that gain some support.

People do not come to boards ordinarily to talk about all of the good things any more than people buy newspapers to read about all of the good that the Boy Scouts are doing in the community.

If the population sample is dominated by liberals, one can't be surprised to find overwhelming negativity about Iraq or the economy in the feedback collected.

But, I'm sure that I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. I just remind you of it so that you don't expect too much positive response to your positive-ness.

For what it's worth, I'm not ordinarily an Eeyore either, so I'm with ya, brother.

More condescending criticism towards the average fan, the guy who actually watches the games and buys the tickets. Pretty much every post you make has some kind of negative remark about most fans. I guess i should update my sig.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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If the goal in the NBA was to be a "young team" then the Hawks would be doing great. Since the goal is to actually win games then it is hard to constantly rely on that as an excuse to why the team is an also-ran.

Dwight Howard isn't using age as an excuse. Neither are Al Horford or Chris Paul.

Lebron James, Luol Deng, Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams didn't use it as an excuse last year when they were all 22 or younger.

Dude that's such a ridiculous argument.

Are Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Deron surrounded on a team that was the youngest in NBA history a couple years ago?

If this team doesn't progress after this year, you could have a legit gripe with this team but for now it's absolutely absurd to be hating on the promising future this team has hinted at having.

[DrReality]

All the negativity about the economy, gas prices, politics has to be channeled somewhere. Just blow it off.