AJC: Philadelphia 76ers at Life after Joe

[Hawksquawk]

OK, blog people, I’m back in action. I can put together some halfway coherent thoughts and just had my first solid food in two days (mmm, chicken). Thanks for the well wishes.

Lots of chatter about whether the Hawks will be better off without J.J.. I understand the sentiment. He hadn’t been himself and so basically the Hawks have shed their highest-volume, lowest-percentage shooter and now those shots will be spread around elsewhere.

Yet J.J. also is second on the team in assist percentage. He has an even lower turnover rate than Bibby, who never turns it over. Joe draws lots of attention from defenders. And he can defend three positions (with varying degrees of success, but even halfway competent perimeter defenders are cherished on this roster).

The Hawks are going to miss some of that just a little bit, right?

Anyway, the debate soon will be moot as we can see how all the hypothetical arguments regarding J.J. play out over the next few weeks. It will be interesting, at …

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