Who should get the credit for us beating Orlando?

[AHF]

There is no one person to credit. Can I click "all of the above"?

[QuantumHawkz]

I hate when some do this...The Hawks deserve the credit for coming up with a game plan to beat Orlando. No one was giving us a shot before the series but after the Hawks won it's not about what the Hawks did, but what Orlando didn't do and how they were a bad team.

The team deserves the credit, no one individual. One game it was one guy, the next game a different one.

Yep, that's right it was a team effort.

[Diesel]

See . . this is exactly what I'm talking about. JJ got it done in 4 games, but people complain about him not getting it done all 6 games. Dog him for not being a superstar, but expecting superstar play out of him . . even though you know he isn't?

The real question is, when JJ doesn't have it going, why can't people step up to the plate big time, and win a game for us? Other guys much better than JJ have been in the same situation, and have gone down in flames as well. Kobe damn near wanted to leave his team because of this. It wasn't until he, and others in his situation got adequate help, that the team could win games even when the star didn't play at his highest level.

It is what it is though.

I think this is a point worth considering. I'll admit that I didn't realize the JJ statline against Orlando in wins. I knew that JRich was a non-factor though. But you raise a really good point, other guys who we call stars have off nights in big games.

This right after Lebron's 9 point effort. In fact, as of right now, Lebron has only hit 3 shoots in the 4 quarter of the finals. That's 3 shots in 4 games.

Last year, it was Artest who showed up in the final game to win it for the Lakers. Kobe couldn't do jack.

Everybody not named Jordan has had disappearing acts.

Tim Duncan disappeared in the playoffs and when they won, he still got credit over Manu who carried the team.

When you look at the Hawks, when Joe is not on, there is no one guy who can be counted on to step up. Our make up is bad. In fact, we become a jumpshooting team and we usually lose. Some say Crawford or Bibby was that guy? To which I say.. That's my point. We rely heavily on somebody to hit threes or long shots. We have no inside game to bail us out when Joe's not on.

When you look at the Championsship team... for anyteam that didn't have Jordan, there was always that post factor. Somebody in the low post who could get consistent points. Our team don't have that. So our fans crucify Joe because he can't take a jump shooting team further. We don't have a defensive anchor like Deke. We don't have a low post scorer like Shareef. Right now, we have 2 guys at the C and PF positions whose real mentality is I can hit the high post or three point shot. Offensively, this is why we fail.

[Diesel]

It is what it is, I agree. The Hawks are not going to go to the Finals because the owners constructed this team poorly. But the thing is, we have as much talent as a team like the Mavs, and yet they still find a way to get to the finals. Somebody is doing something wrong with this franchise and it starts from the top.

This is why this offseason is so important.

We do have a lot of talent. However, we have to realize that we lack a lot of needed skillsets. We are in essence a jump shooting team. We had no low post game. I'm a real stickler for this because I realize that low post play creates openings for shooters. Reggie Miller could not have taken Indy anywhere without the Davis Boys. I really hope and pray that Horf goes to the master (Hakeem) and learns post up Moves. If Hakeem charges for 3 days, then maybe Horford ought to pay him for 6. However, I don't know if Horf will do that. Horf likes being a pick and pop PF. There's nothing wrong with that, however ,we need a low post presence. I really hope that Smoove learned something from the Chicago series. I noticed that he saw his own personal success going inside. IF that holds over, he can be a good player.. However, he has to be willing to believe that and seek that.

These two players make up our flaws.

I think we can still win and keep them, but we would have to trade for a big who could do what we need.

More likely however, 1 of our 2 favorite players will be trade bait for what we need.

[sasuke]

If only this were the same Magic team as last year................

[NineOhTheRino]

I hope Woody is not a member of this board.

[AHF]

I hope Woody is not a member of this board.

Because by extension it means people blame his iso and auto-switch strategies for last season's historic sweep against the Magic? Condemnation by backhanded compliment to LD in this thread doesn't rank high on the topics that would be upsetting for Woody to read.