Hollinger might be coming around...

[diamond_dave]

Tre (Atlanta): You were sippin' the ATL Hawks Kool-Aid last year before the season even started. Now you're discounting them because they refused to pay Josh Childress $10 Million a season? Their bench is weak, but you're argument is weaker.

John Hollinger: One thing I'll say for Atlanta -- the bench has looked better than expected in preseason. Taking Acie Law ahead of Stuckey was a horrible mistake, but he at least looks like an NBA player now that he's not terrified to shoot. Zaza looks like he might bounce back from last year's disaster, and Flip Murray's me-first tendencies aren't such a bad thing on a bench where nobody can score. That said, I still think they'll win fewer games than a year ago -- Childress was as underrated as any player in the league.

Link

[Buzzard]

John Hollinger: One thing I'll say for Atlanta -- the bench has looked better than expected in preseason. Taking Acie Law ahead of Stuckey was a horrible mistake, but he at least looks like an NBA player now that he's not terrified to shoot. Zaza looks like he might bounce back from last year's disaster, and Flip Murray's me-first tendencies aren't such a bad thing on a bench where nobody can score. That said, I still think they'll win fewer games than a year ago -- Childress was as underrated as any player in the league.

Hollinger gives our bench minor props. He still rates Chilz higher than any GM out there. Seriously, Chilz got no offers during free agency. In his opinion one of the best sixth men in the league did not get a single big time offer. It is a little disturbing that a national beat writer will not admit when he is so off base with his evaluation of a player.

Neither Stuckey or Acie have done anything to dismiss their potential. All things being equal, Acie was the right pick for us; and again he cannot admit this may be the case....

Win fewer games than last year. It is possible; but most teams in the NBA are probably thinking it will be tougher to beat us this year than it was last season....

Hollinger will continue be surprised this season as we improve our record and our playoff seed.

Edited October 24, 2008 by jamesdcrockett

[Cwell]

I also noticed Stuckey couldn't really get passed Acie during the game,once he kept trying and couldn't get by then the refs called a BS foul on Acie. I still don't understand his hype. Neither did much during the regular season,both missed alot of games,neither shot that well from the field. In the playoffs Stuckey came out good and Saunders continued to play him,Acie came out in the playoffs good and Woody kept him on the bench.

[Plastic Man]

I don't think taking Acie over Stuckey was a horrible mistake. Stuckey is a scoring guard where Acie is more capable of runnin the point. Also Acie struggled with injuries last season--we didn't really see what he can do consistently.

[dlpin]

Whatever you think of Hollinger and his stats obsession, at least he is consistent (and, more often than not, one of the better prognosticators out there). He sticks by his numbers and makes actual arguments based on them.

I know this is damning with faint praise, but at least I dont feel myself getting dumber by reading his articles, like I do when I read Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, Tim Legler, Jemelle Hill or Scoop Jackson. Bill Simmons, especially, as he is the biggest flip flopper out there (like when he said the suns were absolutely right in trading JJ, and then last year said that the deal was an obvious mistake).

[AHF]

I have no problem with Bill Simmons. You read him for entertainment not serious analysis.

[WraithSentinel]

I am sure Acie would look very good on the Pistons. Stuckey is a fine player. Saying it was a huge mistake taking Acie over Stuckey is an f'ing joke. Everytime Acie started playing well he would get sidetrack by freak injuries. The guy was snake bitten last year.

[dlpin]

I have no problem with Bill Simmons. You read him for entertainment not serious analysis.

And even that has gone horribly downhill... from vegas and entourage to endless yapping about "the hills" and so on...

[TruJerz]

It wasnt a huge mistake but Stuckey is and will be a better player than Law, I think. we'll see. And Mo Evans and Flip >>>> Chillz. we're a better and deeper team with them now

[DrReality]

Glad Hollinger said that because I think the Hawks will make him eat those words . . . . . just like we had no chance against the Celts.

[jhay610]

He still rates Chilz higher than any GM out there.

That's because he places a ton of emphasis on a player's PER. Childress' style of play always lent itself to high PER numbers. GM's on the other hand must appraise how a player affects a basketball game in ways that PER does not measure.

Seriously, Chilz got no offers during free agency. In his opinion one of the best sixth men in the league did not get a single big time offer. It is a little disturbing that a national beat writer will not admit when he is so off base with his evaluation of a player.

To be fair, the reason he didn't get an official offer sheet was because of his status as a restricted free agent and the fact that nobody outside of Memphis had money under the cap to make him an inflated offer. The Hawks would have matched any MLE offer (which was his perceived market value anyway) in a heartbeat so there was an effective stalemate until Chill circumvented the system. There were a lot of teams interested in acquiring Chill's services but there was really no point in pursuing him unless a sign-and-trade agreement could be made - and the Hawks were not interested in moving Chillz unless they got some nice pieces in return.

[crimedog]

I think Hollinger says that if you are going to replace a starter (roughly what Chil is) you can do a rough calculation and say that the difference in their PER is basically the difference in wins from season to season. That would mean replacing Chil w/ Mo (and Flip) would knock us 3-5 wins this season.

He's doubting Acie and Zaza and not really assuming that Joe will play above the Jamal Crawford level he did for the first 4 months of the season and closer to the Kobe level he did for the last 2. He's also not taking into account Smith, Williams, and Horford's ages. He did mention them in his breakdown now that I remember, he just said chemistry would be worse b/c the way the FO acted with Chil and Smith.

I disagree with him but he has his reasons and he is right more often than most.

[Buzzard]

To be fair, the reason he didn't get an official offer sheet was because of his status as a restricted free agent and the fact that nobody outside of Memphis had money under the cap to make him an inflated offer. The Hawks would have matched any MLE offer (which was his perceived market value anyway) in a heartbeat so there was an effective stalemate until Chill circumvented the system. There were a lot of teams interested in acquiring Chill's services but there was really no point in pursuing him unless a sign-and-trade agreement could be made - and the Hawks were not interested in moving Chillz unless they got some nice pieces in return.

If Chilz was all that Hollinger thought he was, someone would have came up with a package. As far as the asking price, I am sure the hawks would have taken a expiring contract/garbage player and a 1st for Chilz. That beats getting nothing; and if Chilz was all that Hollinger hypes him to be he would be well worth it to a established playoff team looking for one more piece...

I have always liked Chilz. You can check my post history to verify it; but Chilz was an easily replaceable NBA sixth man. Not a irreplaceable player as Hollinger is trying to suggest with all his doom and gloom prognostications for us since losing him.

Chilz game is just flat out not as good as Hollinger thinks it is; otherwise he would still be playing in the NBA. Someone, anyone would have made Chilz and us a decent offer. Instead, the only two people in the world that think Chilz is worth 10 mill a year is Hollinger and some GM in Greece ...