Don't Panic

[sillent]

We haven't had more than four losses in a row all season! True we do have split personalities from night to night but our overall season has been consistent. We have a tough and defensive team (Horford, Smoove, Marvin, Joe, Teague, Kirk, Damien, Powell, Thomas, Hilton). Collin's is a big and smart defender. Jamal is hell for a defender when he is on his game and again is a threat on Defense because of his length. Good/Great playoff teams are the teams that are tough, can grind it out and won't back down. Although it may seem different from night to night our offense isn't stagnant. We have just been settling for wide open jump shots and missing. We have 3 capable All Stars / Captains. Josh showed more of his willingness to play smart tonight.

I've said this a while back but we can be a superb fast break team on offense and defense. We have plenty capable scorers and athletes that can get out on the break. Our bigs Horford, Smoove and Marvin can bring it up the court although that may not always be advised. We got guys that can run down and stop fast breaks on the defensive end like Smoove, Teague and Horford. Marvin, Damien Wilkins and company are pretty good one on one defenders. Our main thing is defining our identity and playing hard and with energy every night.

We as Hawks fans know that making the playoffs is an easy reality with our core but the big test is what we do in the playoffs. We have the ingredients to surprise a lot of people by being low on the radar (maybe Joe will show up there since he hasn't really showed up this whole regular season). Our goal now is to go into the playoffs with a good mindset and momentum. We have not showed that we can cruise into the playoffs and turn it on then but Don't Panic. It's like the Hawks against the world right now at Home and Away and we have to have that mentality and make it work for us. There is an adjustment period especially being so unsupported at Home but we got the Grits and the ingredients to make something happen!!

[atlbraves93]

I agree with most of your points but I think the 4-game skid showed there is cause for concern. There were some good signs in the win over Portland (Teague showed what he is capable of), but the Hawks need to work out some major issues before they can think about going deep in the playoffs. They need to hit the boards way harder (they are near the bottom of the league in RPG, although they have guys who are capable of getting lots of rebounds), they need better performance out of JJ (I'm pretty confident this will happen as he recovers from his injury), and Josh Smith needs to step up his defense and stop turning the ball over as much as he is.

[sillent]

I agree with most of your points but I think the 4-game skid showed there is cause for concern. There were some good signs in the win over Portland (Teague showed what he is capable of), but the Hawks need to work out some major issues before they can think about going deep in the playoffs. They need to hit the boards way harder (they are near the bottom of the league in RPG, although they have guys who are capable of getting lots of rebounds), they need better performance out of JJ (I'm pretty confident this will happen as he recovers from his injury), and Josh Smith needs to step up his defense and stop turning the ball over as much as he is.

I definitely agree that we need to rebound better and Josh needs to take better care of the ball and make wiser decisions. I don't agree with those wanting to trade Josh. He will be one of the great players in this league someday because he can do it all and is motivated to keep getting better. Why not have him as our great player. At 25 I think he has a long way to go as far as reaching his prime.

Our other young guys Horford, Marvin and Teague aren't too shabby either to be under 24 either. Teague may make a name for himself sooner than we imagined. Marvin is an underrated defender and scorer who just needs to get his shot back on track like two of our other top scorers.

[atlbraves93]

I agree with the Hawks need to keep Josh. He has a ton of potential, and trading away a hometown guy in his prime would hurt fan support, I think. The Hawks already have all the pieces, but they do need to improve on those things I mentioned. Also, they need to do better at home. 19-12 at Philips Arena isn't good enough if they are going to be an elite team.

[atlguitar]

They also need to keep Josh if they are to bait Dwight next year

[QuantumHawkz]

We haven't had more than four losses in a row all season! True we do have split personalities from night to night but our overall season has been consistent. We have a tough and defensive team (Horford, Smoove, Marvin, Joe, Teague, Kirk, Damien, Powell, Thomas, Hilton). Collin's is a big and smart defender. Jamal is hell for a defender when he is on his game and again is a threat on Defense because of his length. Good/Great playoff teams are the teams that are tough, can grind it out and won't back down. Although it may seem different from night to night our offense isn't stagnant. We have just been settling for wide open jump shots and missing. We have 3 capable All Stars / Captains. Josh showed more of his willingness to play smart tonight.

I've said this a while back but we can be a superb fast break team on offense and defense. We have plenty capable scorers and athletes that can get out on the break. Our bigs Horford, Smoove and Marvin can bring it up the court although that may not always be advised. We got guys that can run down and stop fast breaks on the defensive end like Smoove, Teague and Horford. Marvin, Damien Wilkins and company are pretty good one on one defenders. Our main thing is defining our identity and playing hard and with energy every night.

We as Hawks fans know that making the playoffs is an easy reality with our core but the big test is what we do in the playoffs. We have the ingredients to surprise a lot of people by being low on the radar (maybe Joe will show up there since he hasn't really showed up this whole regular season). Our goal now is to go into the playoffs with a good mindset and momentum. We have not showed that we can cruise into the playoffs and turn it on then but Don't Panic. It's like the Hawks against the world right now at Home and Away and we have to have that mentality and make it work for us. There is an adjustment period especially being so unsupported at Home but we got the Grits and the ingredients to make something happen!!

Great thread. every other fans speaks highly about thier team why can't we?

Edited March 13, 2011 by QuantumHawkz

[sillent]

Great thread. every other fans speaks highly about thier team why can't we?

Thank You, And exactly!! When is the last time as a Hawks fan(Or most fans for that matter) you could say our teams largest losing streak was four games.