Hawks vs ALL east comparisons

[bruincoach]

Teams hat are better or sure1. HeatTeams that are at Lear as good2. Knicks3. Boston4. NetsNot sure but at least a challenge with holes5. Indiana6. Philadelphia7. Washington8. Orlando9. ChicagoRest should not be as goodI feel Orlando will fall apart with all the Dwight stuff and I feel Indiana made weird moves and Philly lost to much. I really see Washington as a much improved team. Chicago without rose is just not the same. At worst I feel the hawks will finish 6th. I think the ceiling could be 2 but probably lose out to 1 of the clerics Knicks and nets and finish 3rd

[thecampster]

Teams hat are better or sure 1. Heat Teams that are at Lear as good 2. Knicks 3. Boston 4. Nets Not sure but at least a challenge with holes 5. Indiana 6. Philadelphia 7. Washington 8. Orlando 9. Chicago Rest should not be as good I feel Orlando will fall apart with all the Dwight stuff and I feel Indiana made weird moves and Philly lost to much. I really see Washington as a much improved team. Chicago without rose is just not the same. At worst I feel the hawks will finish 6th. I think the ceiling could be 2 but probably lose out to 1 of the clerics Knicks and nets and finish 3rd

The Knicks will have very little on the bench as will the Nets. I think you'll be suprised by where they finish. I think Boston will be better than both by season's end. Rondo, Terry, Pierce, Garnett are still formidable...their rookies proved in summer league they can contribute from the bench. On this subject of bench. Bench play makes or breaks almost every game in the NBA, sans games vs Miami, OKC. Bench outplays their bench, you win more times than not. Most starting units are fairly evenly matched. Usually a 3vs2 matchup split. Bench plays a very big role.

[sillent]

What about Milwaukee?

[bruincoach]

I agree I believe our bench can score really well but will be poor on defense. Lot of backside help blocked shots for joshI believe Boston ends up the 2 seed Us 3New York 4 Brooklyn 5Washington 6Chicago 7Indiana 8

[bruincoach]

Milwaukee?Ellis b+Jennings b+Ilyasova b-Dalembert c+Henson cDunleavy and d gooden for bench are bOverall I think they are a team that will scrape and be around 500 and have a shot at 8 seed

[DJlaysitup]

I personally think our season is wide open. I can see us going as high as #4 and as low as fighting it out for #8....or missing playoffs altogether.

[macdaddy]

The Heat and the Celtics are the only teams that you can expect to be winners and the celtics only if they can stay healthy. All the rest are wildcards. I'm not a believer in any other team in the east which is why i think the Hawks will do well.

[capstone21]

With our current roster I don't believe that we are a playoff team.

[bruincoach]

Capstone. Elaborate on why?

[ATLSmith]

This is a tough call. Barring any additions to the Hawks I think this is it (not necessary in order listed):

Teams that are better or sure

1. Heat

2. Boston

3. Chicago

4. Nets

5. Knicks

Teams that are at least as good:

6. Indiana

7. Philadelphia

8. Milwaukee

We should be better than:

9. Washington

10. Orlando

11. Detroit

12. Cleveland

13. Charlotte

14. Toronto

[thecampster]

This is a tough call. Barring any additions to the Hawks I think this is it (not necessary in order listed):

Teams that are better or sure

1. Heat

2. Boston

3. Chicago

4. Nets

5. Knicks

Teams that are at least as good:

6. Indiana

7. Philadelphia

8. Milwaukee

We should be better than:

9. Washington

10. Orlando

11. Detroit

12. Cleveland

13. Charlotte

14. Toronto

Without Rose....you believe that?

[ATLSmith]

Without Rose....you believe that?

I guess not. I'm a bit behind on the news and didn't realize he'll miss most of next season.

[Supporter]

With our current roster I don't believe that we are a playoff team.

Heat, Boston, Nets, Knicks, Pacers....those are the teams clearly ahead of us Orlando, Chicago...those are the teams that won't make it into the playoffs this year but did last year That leaves three spots up in the air for the Hawks. I believe we are the sixth best team in the east even without Joe.

[capstone21]

Capstone. Elaborate on why?

We have huge holes at SG and SF...our top player who took the focus of the defence is gone...our defence has gotten worse (although our shooting should be much improved) and we no longer have a real go to guy. I have a bad feeling Josh is going to try to do too much and that could hurt the team too. He is better when he tries to play within himself.

[capstone21]

I am not complaining about the trade...we got out of Joe's contract (Joe was my fav player but his contract was terrible) and we have set ourselves up for a potentially nice summer next year. We have potential lottery picks and a lot of cap space.If we lose out on the Howard sweepstakes we should try trading Josh for Rudy Gay to balence out the team.

[niremetal]

With our current roster I don't believe that we are a playoff team.

We have huge holes at SG and SF...our top player who took the focus of the defence is gone...our defence has gotten worse (although our shooting should be much improved) and we no longer have a real go to guy. I have a bad feeling Josh is going to try to do too much and that could hurt the team too. He is better when he tries to play within himself.

I am not complaining about the trade...we got out of Joe's contract (Joe was my fav player but his contract was terrible) and we have set ourselves up for a potentially nice summer next year. We have potential lottery picks and a lot of cap space. If we lose out on the Howard sweepstakes we should try trading Josh for Rudy Gay to balence out the team.

Yup. Also, even ignoring how much perimeter D we lost, I don't see how we will score. As much as people liked to whine about our offense being too perimeter-heavy with JJ here, there is exactly one playoff team in the NBA (Utah) that has an inside-out offense. I don't know that there has been another team like that since the early-2000s Spurs. We have no reliable on-ball wing defenders and no one who has proven they can hit tough shots in the NBA (much less tough shots against the opposing team's best defender). In the NBA, that's a recipe for the lottery. I seriously hope I am wrong. I hope Jenkins scores 15ppg in his rookie year, Lou Williams becomes more efficient, and Anthony Morrow suddenly becomes a solid defender. But in order for this team to get even to .500, we'll have to rely on a perimeter squad consisting entirely of one-dimensional 6'1 to 6'5 wings. Guys who can drive or shoot, but not do both. No one who has ever had to face the pressure of being guarded by the opposing team's best defender night-in and night-out. No one who is a reliable two-way player. So someone(s) will have to step it up BIG time in order for this team to make the playoffs. And frankly, with Josh probably feeling that his "I can do whatever I want" attitude was vindicated by the trade of JJ, I don't see how the "stepping up" happens. I'm hoping LD can pull off something akin to what Doc Rivers did with the post-Penny Magic: Utilize every player perfectly, get everyone on board with his schemes (how likely is that?), and assemble a playoff team from a roster with no All-Stars. I'm just not at all hopeful that will happen. Edited July 24, 2012 by niremetal

[capstone21]

Yup. Also, even ignoring how much perimeter D we lost, I don't see how we will score. As much as people liked to whine about our offense being too perimeter-heavy with JJ here, there is exactly one playoff team in the NBA (Utah) that has an inside-out offense. I don't know that there has been another team like that since the early-2000s Spurs. We have no reliable on-ball wing defenders and no one who has proven they can hit tough shots in the NBA (much less tough shots against the opposing team's best defender). In the NBA, that's a recipe for the lottery. I seriously hope I am wrong. I hope Jenkins scores 15ppg in his rookie year, Lou Williams becomes more efficient, and Anthony Morrow suddenly becomes a solid defender. But in order for this team to get even to .500, we'll have to rely on a perimeter squad consisting entirely of one-dimensional 6'1 to 6'5 wings. Guys who can drive or shoot, but not do both. No one who has ever had to face the pressure of being guarded by the opposing team's best defender night-in and night-out. No one who is a reliable two-way player. So someone(s) will have to step it up BIG time in order for this team to make the playoffs. And frankly, with Josh probably feeling that his "I can do whatever I want" attitude was vindicated by the trade of JJ, I don't see how the "stepping up" happens. I'm hoping LD can pull off something akin to what Doc Rivers did with the post-Penny Magic: Utilize every player perfectly, get everyone on board with his schemes (how likely is that?), and assemble a playoff team from a roster with no All-Stars. I'm just not at all hopeful that will happen.

This is probably the year we head back to the lottery which might not be a bad thing

[bruincoach]

Heat, Boston, Nets, Knicks, Pacers....those are the teams clearly ahead of us Orlando, Chicago...those are the teams that won't make it into the playoffs this year but did last year That leaves three spots up in the air for the Hawks. I believe we are the sixth best team in the east even without Joe.

NO WAY can anyone say the pacers and nets are "clearly" ahead of us. Because they aren't. Neither have a substantial bench and that is important. Nets have matchup problems against athletic frontcourta on defense. Pacers have been heavily criticized for their moves this offseason. Dj augustin to replace collision is no doubt a down grade Jj gone is a down grade but we have a much deeper team. Largest concern is a wing defender. That is a much better problem than most of what the east has to worry I will say Orlando should struggle with Anderson gone and Dwight saga. Bulls won't be NEARLY as good without rose Heat are far and away the best team. Boston is experienced and should still be good but they aren't going to kill themselves to "win in the regular season". Knicks are more talented than us but have a weak bench Past those 3 I think little validity stands for arguments about where the hawks COULD fit in

[CWebb]

Bruincoach, the nets have a very good bench.Cj watson, Tyshawn TaylorMarshon Brooks, Keith BogansTbdMirza Teletovic (Euroleague leading scorer), Reggie EvansTbd

[bruincoach]

Bruincoach, the nets have a very good bench. Cj watson, Tyshawn Taylor Marshon Brooks, Keith Bogans Tbd Mirza Teletovic (Euroleague leading scorer), Reggie Evans Tbd

Lou Williams > Marshon Jenkins > Taylor Morrow > Bogans MIrza > Petro and Williams ZAZA>Reggie Evans CJ Watson>other hawk (unless you want to throw teague or harris in here as the backup point) That is 4 for the hawks and a questionaable 2 for the nets? They aren't terrible but they aren't "great" either.