3. 2. 1. Contact!

[Buzzard]

Smh....we lost that game simply because Josh forgot to guard the man

When Bass's 20 and 10 cancels out our almost a All-Star's 20 and 10 it certainly does not help any. That is a matchup we must win night in and night out against the Celtics...

[DJlaysitup]

Marvin is 6'9" and Josh is 6'9" and this season Marvin weighs more than Josh. But I do get it, Josh should always be matched up against the least explosive offensive player. But even that backfires sometimes, like when a very average player like Bass becomes unstoppable.

Marvin is 6-9 and plays like he is 6-6. Smoove is 6-8 and plays like he is 6-11.Simple fact of the matter.But beyond that - if Jason Collins plays any meaningful minutes in the playoffs we are &*^*ed. We need both Zaza at 90% and Al Horford at 80% (minimum) to do any damage in the playoffs. In my humble opinion.

[Peoriabird]

Marvin is 6-9 and plays like he is 6-6. Smoove is 6-8 and plays like he is 6-11.Simple fact of the matter.But beyond that - if Jason Collins plays any meaningful minutes in the playoffs we are &*^*ed. We need both Zaza at 90% and Al Horford at 80% (minimum) to do any damage in the playoffs. In my humble opinion.

Can remember one of your opinions being classified as "Humble"

[Buzzard]

Marvin is 6-9 and plays like he is 6-6. Smoove is 6-8 and plays like he is 6-11.Simple fact of the matter.But beyond that - if Jason Collins plays any meaningful minutes in the playoffs we are &*^*ed. We need both Zaza at 90% and Al Horford at 80% (minimum) to do any damage in the playoffs. In my humble opinion.

I trying to wrap my head around this. Are you saying clumsy Marvin is quicker on his feet than athletic Josh and that is why Marvin can stay with smaller players at the 3? If not, please please explain why a players Marvin's size is better against the smaller quicker 3s in the league than our all world defensive player who is the exact same size.

[Admin]

I trying to wrap my head around this. Are you saying clumsy Marvin is quicker on his feet than athletic Josh and that is why Marvin can stay with smaller players at the 3? If not, please please explain why a players Marvin's size is better against the smaller quicker 3s in the league than our all world defensive player who is the exact same size.

Who knows what they are now but check out their pre-draft measurements, when Marvin was a PF coming out of college and Josh was a SG coming out of high school. Even though Marvin was the heavier player he had better agility and quickness and I'd imagine that as Josh has bulked up over his career he hasn't gotten any quicker, plus he doesn't put nearly as much effort into straight up man defense and focuses more on trying for the block from behind.

Josh Smith Pre-Draft Measurements

Height w/o Shoes	Height w/shoes	Weight	Wingspan	Standing Reach	Body Fat	No Step Vert	Max Vert	Bench Press	Lane Agility	3/4 Court Sprint	Class Rank
6' 7"	6' 8.25"	221	7' 0"	8' 10.5"	NA	32.5	39.5	12	11.43	3.24	19

Marvin Williams Pre-Draft Measurements

Height w/o Shoes	Height w/shoes	Weight	Wingspan	Standing Reach	Body Fat	No Step Vert	Max Vert	Bench Press	Lane Agility	3/4 Court Sprint	Class Rank
6' 7"	6' 8.25"	228	7' 3.5"	9' 0"	NA	29.5	35.0	12	11.11	3.17	15

[gsuteke]

Smoove is doing a great job on Monroe so far in the 1st quarter

[lethalweapon3]

Horf didn't look like a picture of confidence about his prospects for the start of the playoffs during the in-game interview tonight, but I'm just gonna attribute his response to a little "poker face" action. No need to get hopes up so soon.~lw3

[KB21]

Shoot whatchu talking about look at these numbers! Josh is holding his opponents to a 1.7 PER48* while playing SF, which would pretty much make him the greatest defensive SF in the history of the game. *Josh has played <1% of our teams minutes at the SF position this year.

What's really interesting is how dominant Josh is at C vs his opponent, and Josh has actually played 14% of our C minutes this year.

Player 48-Minute Production by Position

Position FGA eFG% FTA iFG Reb Ast T/O Blk PF Pts PER* SF 13.4 1.000 .0 0% .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 26.8 26.1 PF 22.8 .461 6.7 39% 12.6 5.0 3.3 2.3 3.5 25.1 19.6 C 21.0 .466 7.3 42% 14.6 6.2 3.2 3.3 4.0 24.5 23.2

Opponent Counterpart 48-Minute Production

Position FGA eFG% FTA iFG Reb Ast T/O Blk PF Pts PER* SF 53.6 .250 .0 25% 26.8 .0 .0 .0 .0 26.8 1.7 PF 17.3 .499 4.5 39% 10.8 2.3 2.7 1.1 4.7 20.5 16.2 C 14.2 .414 3.7 47% 12.9 1.5 3.2 1.8 4.8 14.4 11.3

Net 48-Minute Production by Position

Position FGA eFG% FTA iFG Reb Ast T/O Blk PF Pts PER* SF -40.2 .750 .0 -25% -26.8 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 24.4 PF 5.5 -.039 2.2 0% 1.9 2.7 -.5 1.2 1.2 4.5 3.4 C 6.8 .053 3.6 -5% 1.7 4.6 .0 1.5 .8 10.0 11.9

Which is why Atlanta should actually use a smaller line up more often than not in the playoffs and go with Teague, Hinrich, Johnson, Williams, and Smith a big portion of the time. I posted an article about this the other day.

[Guest]

I trying to wrap my head around this. Are you saying clumsy Marvin is quicker on his feet than athletic Josh and that is why Marvin can stay with smaller players at the 3? If not, please please explain why a players Marvin's size is better against the smaller quicker 3s in the league than our all world defensive player who is the exact same size.

Marvin is just the better perimeter defender. He has better lateral quickness and quicker feet for the perimeter. He can follow guys around screens and doesn't get loss often on screens. Josh is the better interior and weakside defender.

[Admin]

Which is why Atlanta should actually use a smaller line up more often than not in the playoffs and go with Teague, Hinrich, Johnson, Williams, and Smith a big portion of the time. I posted an article about this the other day.

That would be an interesting lineup and I could see it working against a team like the Celtics as they'd struggle to stick with us up and down the court. I think I'd probably put Ivan Johnson in at PF though instead of Marvin as he's really starting to come into his own lately and I like Marvin off the bench a lot.

[MaceCase]

Horf didn't look like a picture of confidence about his prospects for the start of the playoffs during the in-game interview tonight, but I'm just gonna attribute his response to a little "poker face" action. No need to get hopes up so soon.~lw3

He was pretty much saying he didn't feel comfortable in his body anymore. Not exactly good.

[Admin]

He was pretty much saying he didn't feel comfortable in his body anymore. Not exactly good.

Smokescreen!

[MaceCase]

Smokescreen!

Time to revive the possum?

[Admin]

Time to revive the possum?

Most definitely!

[Guest]

Which shoulder did Al injure - was it his shooting shoulder?

[lethalweapon3]

http://blogs.ajc.com...fid=blogs_hawks

Al Horford said Thursday he is “frustrated” by his progress as he works to return from surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle.

The Hawks All-Star center went through a full-contract practice with the team.

“Today was the first chance I actually got to play 3-on-3 half-court with the guys and I’m not where I need to be,” Horford said following the workout. “I had a deadline in my mind that I wanted to be back by the last game of the regular season … but I’m not where I need to be. That is a little frustrating for me.

“I’m going to keep trying to work, but I’m not there yet.”

The Hawks have four games remaining in the regular season with the finale a week from today. Horford didn’t put a timetable on his return nor did he offer the chances he could return in time for the start of the playoffs. The postseason would begin for the Hawks either April 28 or 29. However, he made it clear he would continue to work in hopes of seeing the necessary improvements.

“It’s awkward just because this is only the third time I’ve played with contact,” Horford said. “Once you get moving and doing different stuff that is when you start to realize [how far you have to go] and I feel limited. Any chance we get to practice, I want to get in there. It’s hard because I can’t expect guys to come out and practice just for me. They play every other day. If we get a full practice I’m going to try to get out there and keep progressing.”

Horford said that while he has been working on his game during the rehabilitation process, it’s the physical condition of his shoulder and the nature of the NBA that is the biggest concern.

“When you play in the post you have to have a level of physicality and you have to naturally be able to bang with another player and I’m not confident doing things like that yet,” Horford said. “The other thing is really keeping [my left] arm above [my shoulder] for a certain period of time, that is another weak point for me. Keeping my hands up defensively and if I can’t do that, I’m going to be in trouble. The last thing I want to do is hurt the team.

“It’s very frustrating because I was doing everything on schedule, my rehab was going well. … It’s just tough.”

Hawks coach Larry Drew said Horford will continue to work with the team and that the decision on when he will be able to return rests with the center.

“When he tell(s) us,” Drew said of Horford’s availability.

~lw3 Edited April 19, 2012 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

Which shoulder did Al injure - was it his shooting shoulder?

Somebody else please correct me, but I don't think Horf is a southpaw shooting-wise, so I don't think it's his "shooting shoulder." His jumpshots are a little set-shotty, though, so he'll need to be comfortable with both.~lw3

[EAambassador]

After this article I am now not too confident in Al, to be honest he has lost my respect. Since Amare called him out and punk'd him he's been proving him right. He is constantly complaining about playing in the paint and I am getting tired of it. We have seen Josh who is smaller put on weight to adjust to a role and we have seen him lose weight to adjust once more. Also while Al is out he and 6'8 Ivan are playing his center position at times with no complaints. The thing that kills me the most is the part when Drew is ask when Al can come back he responds "when he says", so Al can be back Friday if he wanted. Dude is not tough at all. If he truly cared and was tough he would be back for our last 2 games and tough it out and get ready for a strong playoff run. Shoot, I know I would wanna make my comeback on ESPN against Boston and then again against NY on nat'l tv.

[Guest]

After this article I am now not too confident in Al, to be honest he has lost my respect. Since Amare called him out and punk'd him he's been proving him right. He is constantly complaining about playing in the paint and I am getting tired of it. We have seen Josh who is smaller put on weight to adjust to a role and we have seen him lose weight to adjust once more. Also while Al is out he and 6'8 Ivan are playing his center position at times with no complaints. The thing that kills me the most is the part when Drew is ask when Al can come back he responds "when he says", so Al can be back Friday if he wanted. Dude is not tough at all. If he truly cared and was tough he would be back for our last 2 games and tough it out and get ready for a strong playoff run. Shoot, I know I would wanna make my comeback on ESPN against Boston and then again against NY on nat'l tv.

...because he isn't coming back from an injury that required surgery where he hasn't regained full range of motion and can't hold his hand up for any length of time because it is still weak he lost your respect. I guess he just didn't have it in the first place. This isn't about playing in pain, it's what he is not able to do given the progress he has made. We knew he was out for the season when the injury happened but we have all been hoping he would make it back for the playoffs - if he can't, he can't. You are completely missing the point about also not being able to practice with the entire team because of the schedule.

[Jody23]

After this article I am now not too confident in Al, to be honest he has lost my respect. Since Amare called him out and punk'd him he's been proving him right. He is constantly complaining about playing in the paint and I am getting tired of it. We have seen Josh who is smaller put on weight to adjust to a role and we have seen him lose weight to adjust once more. Also while Al is out he and 6'8 Ivan are playing his center position at times with no complaints. The thing that kills me the most is the part when Drew is ask when Al can come back he responds "when he says", so Al can be back Friday if he wanted. Dude is not tough at all. If he truly cared and was tough he would be back for our last 2 games and tough it out and get ready for a strong playoff run. Shoot, I know I would wanna make my comeback on ESPN against Boston and then again against NY on nat'l tv.

Really? You've lost respect for a guy who had a very serious injury just about three months ago because he's not fully recovered and ready to play? You're dissapointed in him because he tells the truth about our undersized, weak rebounding front line? Because he won't rush back and risk further injury just to be a part of this "strong playoff run" that won't last more than two rounds at the most. Here's some truth. This team didn't become a playoff team until number 15 came aboard. We talk as if he started playing center just last year when in reality, he's willingly played out of position for the first four years of his career and did it at an All-Star level even though he knew it was taxing on his body. But we lose respect for him because he states the obvious and he won't rush back for this epic playoff run. Sounds to me like Hawks fans should show one of the Hawks "true" All-Stars a little more respect and be realistic about the big picture.