Changing of the guard: Philly's speed and athleticism make ATL look like old team

[hawks21]

For years, people talked about Atlanta being known for its youth and athleticism, but I don't believe we have that distinction anymore.

This is not a blip, but a trend... Philly is significantly better than the Hawks and may be a worse matchup than Miami.

Miami was able to handle Philly, but Atlanta matches up better against Miami.

When I look at Memphis, Philly, Indiana and even the Clippers, this Hawks' team has lost something.

Philly has absolutely killed the Hawks and they seem to be getting better despite their youth.

The Hawks have lost four games in a row to the Sixers, and even though Atlanta has some injuries, there has been a disturbing trend in which Philly has OWNED the Hawks on the road and at Phillips Arena. Last year the Hawks lost by 34 points at Phillips to Philly which was one of the most embarrasing losses of the season.

Josh Smith isn't the same player against a team such as the Sixers. Smith looked a little lost offensively against Memphis.

Smith had a lot of blocks tonight, but he and Marvin and others just couldn't compete offensively and Iggy has always played Joe Johnson tough.

Smith is uncomfortable in the halfcourt and is prone to turnovers, and others such as Joe is guilty of this as well holding onto the basketball too long and the Philly defense captializes.

Teague is really the only player with the speed that can blow by people, but he plays tentative and even though Jeff had 21 points (most of it late in the game), he was non-existent during a stretch during the second quarter in which Philly ran past the Hawks. This happened against Memphis as well when the Grizzlies had a strong second quarter and took the heart out of the Hawks.

[Plainview1981]

People should have seen this coming. This team is built on athletic ability so it has a short life span. Younger teams are going to take this team to task.

[Admin]