Why all down and out?

[DJlaysitup]

Really it wasn't all THAT bad last night...and we have a home game tonight vs. CLE.

Honestly I think we can take some really good positives away from last night's game:

#1 (and 1A) is the play of Mr. Jeff Teague. He was most impressive and continues to advance. While we haven't played the toughest schedule - Jeff has gone up against some of the best PGs in the league. If anybody told me last year that he would be running the offense - running the break - penetrating routinely and finishing - and making threes...I would have tilted my head. The kid is on his way to being a top ten PG.

#2 is what I saw of T-Mac last night. He is more than the "Gunner Craw" that we had last year. The guy can still make plays and has the skills. I hope LD treats him right and gives him medium run throughout the year. If he is 90% healthy at playoff time - look out.

#3 is our (soon to be better) bench. You plug in Kirk Hinrich with these guys and look out NBA.

#4 is the run our backup bigs are getting. JaCo seems to be evolving from an "anti-D12 specialist" and can actually play with the big boys. Zaza holds his own inside - and Ivan has gone from a borderline "make the team" guy to a fellow we can count on for defense and hustle playing real minutes.

[AHawks89]

It's sad to see how many immature people are on this site. SMH

[T21]

We collectively act as an neurotic woman experiencing menopause...

[benhillboy]

I understand people getting bent out of shape about Josh, but is it really a newsflash that he's one of the dumber players in the league? I'm sure when the Lakers lost their first game out of 34 in the seventies, some fans wanted to break the team up. The best team (arguably Oklahoma) has already lost to the worst team (less arguable Washington). Let's save the panic for a 3 or 4 game skid.

Edited January 21, 2012 by benhillboy

[hazer]

Some people's lives are such that they jump at any and every chance to cry and moan at the first sign of adversity. It's so much easier than taking the long view

[Bawse]

We shouldn't have to look forward to home games against scrub teams - we should have finished the game out against the Sixers, like a real contender would do, but we didn't. End of.

No leadership, no discipline, lack of coaching. It's all still there.

[Gray Mule]

Talk is cheap. Example: Hawks should have played the second half of the game against the Sixers like they played the first half. On the other hand, the Sixers say, we should have played the first half like we played the second half.

You see, each team had one half of a good game. Neither had a great 4 quarters. Hawks are good. No doubt about it.

Sixers are good also. No doubt about that either.

Sure, we aren't perfect. Neither is any other NBA team. If you think there is one, go root for them. Then, when they

let you down, you can cry about that.

Last night's loss knocked us out of first place. Let's root for them to crawl back up there!

GO HAWKS!!!

[HawksFan87]

Well its the same posters who have been complaining about the same players and things since before the season started. When we lose expect them to type things they would never think about saying to the players face. Thats just how it is around here...

[Eddielives]

Well I am one of the more vocal after a loss type of fans. I still think there's a difference between the logical and emotional responders to losses. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, when we lose, we tend to lose in a way that makes it look like we are not just a good team losing but a team that has lost it's passion. We look like we have no leadership when we get down in games. No one steps up on the floor to take charge and get in some guys faces to wake them up. Our offensive and defensive chemistry look non-existent. And you can see a lot of it comes from Josh trying to take the game into his jumpshooting hands. It's not losing that makes people like myself neurotic, but how we lose. I know there are going to be games where it just isn't there. But that loss against Philadelphia was one where we were winning at half and we flat out laid a turd the second half and no player on the team looked like they really gave a crap except for maybe Willie Green who was making a few shots. Losing like that is symptomatic of something that needs changing. No emotion, no leadership and no teamwork.

[HawksFan87]

Oh yeah josh shooting jumpers is what lost us the game, which was two days ago now... time to get over it.

[Wretch]

Well I am one of the more vocal after a loss type of fans. I still think there's a difference between the logical and emotional responders to losses. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, when we lose, we tend to lose in a way that makes it look like we are not just a good team losing but a team that has lost it's passion. We look like we have no leadership when we get down in games. No one steps up on the floor to take charge and get in some guys faces to wake them up. Our offensive and defensive chemistry look non-existent. And you can see a lot of it comes from Josh trying to take the game into his jumpshooting hands. It's not losing that makes people like myself neurotic, but how we lose. I know there are going to be games where it just isn't there. But that loss against Philadelphia was one where we were winning at half and we flat out laid a turd the second half and no player on the team looked like they really gave a crap except for maybe Willie Green who was making a few shots. Losing like that is symptomatic of something that needs changing. No emotion, no leadership and no teamwork.

I think that sums up my position on this. Not everybody that criticizes the team is a doomsayer. Those types of people rarely if ever give the team any sort of credit for anything. When they do, it's a safe bet that they'll be complaining upon the very next loss. The way I see it though, if a person can't see the difference between the two types of posters, then there is no point talking to them about it.

People that say, "Oh Josh is gonna be Josh and his jumpers aren't going to lose games for us." I question how much they pay attention to basketball. This is a game of runs and momentum. It's as much mental as it is physical talent. People forget that all of the players in the NBA are good. It's only a matter of confidence, concentration, etc. that often keeps the shots from falling. You see it as soon as a team starts going on a run. The last thing you want to do is help them out with that.

Josh's ridiculous shots are pretty much worthless to our offense, they waste possessions, create long rebounds, they kill our momentum and they give free opportunities to the other team. His bad shots are the equivalent of turnovers. How can you justify that with "Oh, just give him a break." How........?

That's now how championship teams or contending teams operate. Every player needs to be at their best and as long as Josh is doing that nonsense, we've got a weakness (and a damn good one) that teams can exploit. I can't imagine a coach like Pop, Skiles, or Phil Jackson putting up with that. Seriously...picture that.... Imagine Josh in the middle of KG, Pierce, and Rivers 2 years into his obsession with practicing jumpers. Come on man.............. I'm so done with that conversation. It's just laughable that people still want to defend that shot.

As for the team itself, last year's playoffs was AWESOME. We fizzled out against Chicago, but I really felt like if we won that series that we could have given Miami a run for it's money. Jeff Teague was the biggest reason for that IMO and was pretty much the only thing I was looking forward to this year. The team is the same and without a significant change, I expect the same results.

A key indicator is respect. This team has been trying to get respect for going on 4 years now. I'm sure teams see us as dangerous, but not serious enough to stop anyone late in the playoffs. Before I get excited, I'd like to see more quality wins and less bullsh*t like the Philly, Chicago, and Miami games.

[HawksFan87]

If you're done with it, why are you still discussing it?? Tisk Tisk

[Wretch]

If you're done with it, why are you still discussing it?? Tisk Tisk

Nice thought out rebuttal - especially where you showed the difference between a bad Josh Jumper and a turnover. Very constructive.

Welcome to the ignore list.

[Bawse]

Nice thought out rebuttal - especially where you showed the difference between a bad Josh Jumper and a turnover. Very constructive.

Welcome to the ignore list.

Pretty much all you can do with people that lack intelligence for a response. It's irritating, I know.

If you're done with it, why are you still discussing it?? Tisk Tisk

To answer your simplistic question "HawksFan87", we are discussing this because we like this team, and hate seeing failure....especially when things can be easily changed(Josh's continuous jump-shooting is just lack of discipline). It is easy for us fans to point out mistakes we feel is causing our downfall(Josh's bone-headed plays the majority of the time).

Let me ask you something, why do you think defenders sag off of Josh when he is outside of the paint squaring up for a shot? He isn't a threat out there. It really is that simple. For you to defend this BS is beyond me.

Edited January 22, 2012 by Bawse

[BrazilianHawk]

Well I am one of the more vocal after a loss type of fans. I still think there's a difference between the logical and emotional responders to losses. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, when we lose, we tend to lose in a way that makes it look like we are not just a good team losing but a team that has lost it's passion. We look like we have no leadership when we get down in games. No one steps up on the floor to take charge and get in some guys faces to wake them up. Our offensive and defensive chemistry look non-existent. And you can see a lot of it comes from Josh trying to take the game into his jumpshooting hands. It's not losing that makes people like myself neurotic, but how we lose. I know there are going to be games where it just isn't there. But that loss against Philadelphia was one where we were winning at half and we flat out laid a turd the second half and no player on the team looked like they really gave a crap except for maybe Willie Green who was making a few shots. Losing like that is symptomatic of something that needs changing. No emotion, no leadership and no teamwork.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I don't mind Josh taking 15 shots, so long he takes them from a spot he can make them consistently. I do think he could be our #1 option in offense if he would commit to playing inside. But he won't, and from there comes the desire to see him traded for a Scola-type guy.

GO HAWKS!

Oh yeah josh shooting jumpers is what lost us the game, which was two days ago now... time to get over it.

I hope this doesn't happen in the playoffs. I don't think any of us would simply "get over" a loss like that when a Conference Finals berth is for grabs.

[Bahamut]

I couldn't have said it better myself. I don't mind Josh taking 15 shots, so long he takes them from a spot he can make them consistently. I do think he could be our #1 option in offense if he would commit to playing inside. But he won't, and from there comes the desire to see him traded for a Scola-type guy.

GO HAWKS!

I hope this doesn't happen in the playoffs. I don't think any of us would simply "get over" a loss like that when a Conference Finals berth is for grabs.

Real talk.