"Best" Player(s)?

[benhillboy]

I get hot when Joe is widely considered our "best" player. Our best scorer? I guess, although I wouldn't consider a predominant jump-shooter a great scorer. Best All-Around? I'll give him that: he averages over 20 and has historically guarded Kobe better than most who've tried. Routinely leads us in minutes, points, and assists (Bad Bibby), so I see where people are coming from.

But C'mon Man. I'm finding it harder and harder to separate Al and Josh because they simply dominate together, ALL THE TIME. Joe has NEVER dominated ANYTHING. Get hot from 18 feet, okay. Cool. Four steals and six assists from Josh versus the Cats, shooting well over 50%? 5 dimes from Al (he's taking this point-center thing to the limit) and 23 points, shooting way over 50%? (no blocks from either, but 2 from Crawford? Wierd.) These two strike fear down near the rim: The feeble-hearted, like Boris Diaw, throw shots at the far side of the glass just by sensing Josh's footsteps. Joe doesn't strike fear in anybody, no matter how much players and coaches feed you lip-service. You can gameplan for Joe because you know what he's going to do. Just find him in transition and prevent his rhythym shots. A wonderful man-guarder, but he isn't changing any shots, nor does he apply any pressure by attacking the rim. He's not gonna out-hustle anybody. When Joe shoots poorly from the field (like a majority of nights), the gameplan worked. Al and Josh combine to almost always shoot 54% while controlling the defensive paint, so toss that gameplan for stopping them into the garbage. Al and Josh out-hustle everybody. How do you gameplan for 'em? Grow more heart muscle and improve your hops by half a foot? When they're on and clicking, they cut your heart out, show it to you, and throw it.

You wanna call Joe our "Best?" Go ahead. I think it's a slap in the face to the guys who are more versatile, more dominant, more energized, more prone to stuff the stat sheet with ridiculous numbers and demoralize opposing teams. Both run the floor harder and faster than Joe could ever dream, on both ends. Big ups to Jal Smorford, the foundation for the Hawks' success. Joe is the steak: the main course. It's what you had a taste for, the reason why you came to the restaurant. But you can live a healthy life without it. See how long you last without water and bread: Josh and Al.

Woody doesn't get a fraction of the credit he deserves on this board, so here: Woody is the man. Play the bench when they're ready to play and help us win as evidenced in practice. Other than that, cheer for our contributors and shut the hell up.

Let's go Hawks.

[coachx]

Yawn..............his weekly JJ hating post.

[Diesel]

It's hard to tell because Joe is the defenses main objective. I think his presence allows other guys to be better. We piss and moan about every little wrong thing that Joe does, but we ignore the right things. Personally, I think he is our best on ball defender. I think that he is the toughest person for other teams to stop. I think he is one of our best passers (I think Craw is better). I think he can take over a game (but not like Boston game 6 anymore). It's just hard.