so we ( THE ATLANTA HAWKS) have lost

[Admin]

We swept all those star last year 1st of all and secondly he is reportedly signing for the LLE there of 1.7 million which is significantly less than what we can pay him!

Fear the Deer!

I'm not saying that the Celtics a better team than we are, but they have more of a "star" atmosphere that is likely a lot more appealing to Shaq than playing in Atlanta. I know that we can pay him more but none of us know how much more we would have to pay him to sign him instead of him signing with Boston.

Milwaukee is a solid team but they're still weak up front and losing Kurt Thomas will hurt them a lot. They really only improved their depth in positions where they were already strong, plus Salmons will likely do his usual down year that he has in the season following a good season, Redd is out for the start of the season and who knows how much longer and Bogut had that really awful injury and you never know how someone will recover from something like that.

The Bulls, The Bucks, possibly the Knicks.

The Hawks were a lot better than the Bulls last year and I don't think they've done enough to absolutely pass us, but we'll see. The Bucks have absolutely not gotten better than us and the ONLY reason they were even remotely competitive with us last year was because they outcoached us. And the Knicks, really??

[lethalweapon3]

If that's the case, the Hawks could end up being the 6th seed, and playing someone like Orlando in the 1st round. :help wanted3:

Maybe not, assuming the Heat get top-billing, that should get the Magic a fourth seed.

And sixth may not be so awful if we're not hell-bent on winning a division title. We'd probably get the worst division winner in the bunch, and assuming Rondo and the Geezers continue to snack on Atlantic Division foes to get the 2-spot, that would probably give us Bulls/Bucks in the first round. Although they would "seed" higher, I'd feel pretty comfortable with the Hawks knocking either off in six/seven with the rosters as-is. Plus we let the State of Florida hash it out while we take on the Celts in the second round. Mmmm... six-seed sounds pretty nice...

~lw3

[TheNorthCydeRises]

This is the same thing that is said every year at this time about other teams improving significantly while the Hawks didn't and yet every year we have improved and we've seen the predictions of being passed in the standings prove false.

Miami has certainly passed us, but Cleveland has fallen big time. The Magic are still better than us but they haven't improved and both Carter and Lewis are a year further down their decline. We're even with the Celtics and I don't think they'd beat us in a series. You could argue that Chicago has done enough to catch us but they'll have to prove it on the court first.

In your opinion who has passed the Hawks in the standings?

Dol . . you have to admit though, the previous 2 seasons we DID upgrade the team, or at least attempted to. We traded for Bibby in Feb 2008, which helped us the following season. In that offseason, we lost Chill, but replaced his production with Flip and Mo. Last offseason, we trade for Crawford.

This season? Nada.

Having said that, I still think the Hawks are the 4th best team in the East. The problem, is that unlike last year, the gap between us and the new "Big 3", may have widened a little.

Adding Shaq at least would've given us a chance to put a power lineup on the floor . . . something that we can't do right now. It would've given us an opportunity to not only play uptempo, but possibly be better in the halfcourt ( a spot in which we struggle in anyways ).

The Hawks had their shot to acquire two respected and high profile guys to help the team ( Avery Johnson and Shaq ), and they passed on both.

Anything that happens next year MUST BE placed on the ASG. If we're successful and get to the EC Finals, then give them credit for keeping the core together and not making any drastic moves. If we stumble, win less games, and still can't get out of the 2nd round, all blame must be placed on the ASG not doing what it takes to improve the team.

It's not like they didn't have a shot to do just that.

[pimp]

Maybe not, assuming the Heat get top-billing, that should get the Magic a fourth seed.

And sixth may not be so awful if we're not hell-bent on winning a division title. We'd probably get the worst division winner in the bunch, and assuming Rondo and the Geezers continue to snack on Atlantic Division foes to get the 2-spot, that would probably give us Bulls/Bucks in the first round. Although they would "seed" higher, I'd feel pretty comfortable with the Hawks knocking either off in six/seven with the rosters as-is. Plus we let the State of Florida hash it out while we take on the Celts in the second round. Mmmm... six-seed sounds pretty nice...

~lw3

That's really not any better.

You think this hawks team can win a playoff series without homecourt avantage? Good luck with that.

We just barely slipped by a one-man heat team and and injured Bucks with homecourt

Edited August 4, 2010 by pimp

[Dragitoff]

Personally, I see the Eastern Conference as:

1. Miami

2. Orlando

3. Boston

4. Atlanta (easily could flip-flop with Boston or Chicago)

5. Chicago

6. Milwaukee

7. Washington

8. Charlotte/Cleveland/New York/Philly (last spot is anyone's game)

Cleveland was essentially replaced by Miami. Milwaukee and Chicago have both improved, but still have major holes on each team (as do we). Boston could be worse than last year due to aging players. They've added O'Neal x2, but they've lost Perkins and Wallace. IMO, that's a downgrade.

[MaceCase]

Seems like just last summer when

The Heat were better than us cuz they took us to 7 games

The Raptors were better than us because they added Hedo

The Wizard were massively better than us because they added Foye+Miller+Healthy Zero

The Sixers were better than us because they have healthy Brand back

The Bulls were better than us because they had an exciting, nail biting series with the Celtics

The Pistons were better than us because they added Villanueva and Gordon.

By that count we shouldn't of even made the playoffs because all we did was resign our mediocre players and add a career chucker to the roster. This year? SSDY.

[lethalweapon3]

That's really not any better.

You think this hawks team can win a playoff series without homecourt avantage? Good luck with that.

We just barely slipped by a one-man heat team and and injured Bucks with homecourt

Actually, I do think they can win on the road as an underdog IF the opponent is a Chicago/Milwaukee, and not an Orlando/Miami. Plus, the Hawks have shown a recent propensity for trouncing the Men in Green (with Woody at the helm), at the Factory and at the Garden, much more convincingly than beating LeBron and Dwight. Let those guys wear each other out in the EC semis, while we look to ride Boston into the sunset. That's the kind of good luck I'll take any day.

~lw3

[Diesel]

Personally, I see the Eastern Conference as:

1. Miami

2. Orlando

3. Boston

4. Atlanta (easily could flip-flop with Boston or Chicago)

5. Chicago

6. Milwaukee

7. Washington

8. Charlotte/Cleveland/New York/Philly (last spot is anyone's game)

Cleveland was essentially replaced by Miami. Milwaukee and Chicago have both improved, but still have major holes on each team (as do we). Boston could be worse than last year due to aging players. They've added O'Neal x2, but they've lost Perkins and Wallace. IMO, that's a downgrade.

Just some things to consider:

1. Chicago added Boozer to their already talented lineup. They also added some shooters.

2. Milwaukee will be dependent on if they get Bogut back in good condition. He was blocking shots, scoring and rebounding last season. Corey Maggette was not a bad pick up for them. That guy lives at the foul line and will be a very good partner in crime for Salmons. I've heard nothing but praise for Sanders.

3. Washington may be getting dismissed too easily. They have a good coach. They have GA coming back. They have Thornton, Howard, Hinrich and Yi Joining their team. And we haven't even mentioned John Wall, Trevor Booker, and the emergence of Andray Blatche. Washington may be the surprise of the league.

4. NY. Amare means a lot. They have a dynamite running team. With Felton at the helm and Amare, we hope that they are not so good.

5. Nobody likes to talk about NJ, but they are going to be fun to watch. First thing first... Avery Johnson.. coaching. +1. He has: Lopez and Harris returning. +2. He also have Favors. + 3. They robbed the GS bank and got Morrow = 3 pt shooting. They also got Outlaw. This team is going to get after it.. they have a lot of talented young guys. They should be fun. I see them possibly making the playoffs and it depends on Favors how well they do.

Those are 5 teams that could pass us. I think we're better than NY, but D'Antoni has to prove it was him. I think we're better than NJ but they have AJ. Charlotte is a mystery. Cleveland is going to be average. Philly is a who knows... Then with a lot of signed checks and everybody coming off the IL, you have Indy.

[drzachary]

In your opinion who has passed the Hawks in the standings?

Lessee:

1. Orlando

2. Miami (first year learning jitters before becoming #1 for years to come)

3. Celtics (added beef w/ both o'neals, and i'd gamble on rondo improving more than any of our guys'

4. Bulls (Boozer, Brewer are big additions. Rose is going to improve.)

5. Bucks (Bogut, new big man help, Maggette are added to the team that was about as good as the Hawks down the stretch last year)

6. Hawks (Teague will improve, Horf/Smith will improve, but we added no one of consequence. New coach is a wildcard!)

7. Knicks (Could challenge Hawks for #6. Stoudamire is as good offensively as Smith, worse defensively, but has a real PG to help him.)

8. Charlotte (Meh.)

I see the Hawks as a 5-7 seed next year, with a 25% chance of advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Our window is closing and the team is doing nothing.

[lunar]

i don't think we'll get the 3 seed but only because the heat are gonna whip on the other dregs of the NBA more than we will. our problem will be getting home field in the first from the bulls. the only difference will be that bulls will have to play the cavs 4 times while we have to play the heat 4 times (i'm predicting we go 1-3) if we can get the 4 seed i'll be happy. the playoffs are gonna be a crapshoot with loaded dice.

[Crank]

After the playoffs Im not sure of what to think of Josh and Joe MENTALLY in there approach to the game .

Can they bounce back from it ? Do they want to ? It will be interesting the attitude they bring to training camp .

[Dejay]

I'm sorry but I'm not feeling as myopic as some of the folks on this board are. Orlando and Miami is clearly better than the Hawks are. Boston will get a higher seeding due to the fact that they don't have Orlando and Miami in their division (i.e., they'll win more games). The only reason they didn't win more games last year was because of Doc's idea of resting his starters and getting them ready for the postseason, which worked almost to perfection; meanwhile, the Hawks had one of the healthiest seasons in recent memory. I'm not banking on that to happen a second year in a row.

And to be really honest, I'm not all that sure about the Hawks holding off the Bulls and Bucks, either. While we kept the status quo, both of those teams brought in REAL players to help them out.

The Hawks can easily slip to a 6th seed, which could mean a first-round matchup with the Celtics, Bucks, or Bulls, and that's assuming that they win more games than Orlando. But regardless of who it is, are you counting on them winning a game or two on the road in the playoffs because I'm not. Beating an undermanned Bucks and Heat team is one thing; beating the Magic or Celtics in a must-win situation? Let's just say that I won't be betting the mortgage payment on that happening.

[HAWKSFAN89]

And the Knicks, really?

Amare, Felton, Azu, Anthony Randolph, a better coach, developing players.... The Knicks will surprise many people next season.

[Yeti]

Does anyone here remember what a 7 year playoff drought felt like?

Yes. Definitely. But the only way it was bareable was that we could always dream about how good the team WOULD be. But now it is here and nowhere close to what we dreamed of. The owners had a different dream. And it looks like we are a year or so away from rebuilding again. If we lose Horford it is all downhill from there. I could easily see Horford not re-signing here, trading Marvin, and losing Crawford. After that we have the JJ and Josh show - which will not last long. We'd then have to trade one or both for draft picks and start the whole process again. - I know this is cynical but that has been the way it is since we traded 'Nique - we keep "rebuilding".