Impossible to compare our team to others - without JJ

[DJlaysitup]

Truly.It is impossible to compare our team to other teams without seeing ours play without JJ.Like it or not he was our lead dog...our (semi) all-star...especially on offense.There will be a vacuum and players will have to figure out how to fill it.As much as JJ got on my nerves - he was our go to guy - not just at crunch time but when we needed offense at any point in a game. He's gone.So now we figure out if there is a new lead dog - or if it is done by committee.By committee would be my choice since I don't see a player who can fill JJ's role by themselves. Hopefully that will work and nobody will be coming into this season to "show out" for a big contract. If that is the case I can see problems. I am not sure about LD's capabilty to keep everybody in check like Woody used to.(OMG - I can't believe I said that...forgive me).

Edited July 24, 2012 by PetroBlast

[bruincoach]

I agree to an extent. I don't claim to know everything but I believe you will see a combination of 2 things in hard times/end of games Who is hot will be first choice NEXT Louis Williams (scary because of his size but I love his quickness and strength against point guards which means he will be surrounded by josh al and shooters at the end of the game

[DJlaysitup]

I agree to an extent. I don't claim to know everything but I believe you will see a combination of 2 things in hard times/end of games Who is hot will be first choice NEXT Louis Williams (scary because of his size but I love his quickness and strength against point guards which means he will be surrounded by josh al and shooters at the end of the game

I would love to see Louis come on strong for us - but realistically - there will be others wanting that role....it will be a dogfight. Edited July 24, 2012 by PetroBlast

[Sothron]

If we keep the roster as it is then my biggest fear going into next year is that Josh will attempt even more long two shots to try and score more than last year to earn a big pay day on his next contract.

[Wretch]

Josh Smith is going to step up. By that, I don't necessarily mean that he's suddenly going to "get it" and become the All-Star he's supposed to be. What I mean is that he's simply going to step up and raise his hand. This will be his team. There is nothing and nobody in his way now and he's in a contract year. He has always been trying to prove something and this year will be no different. If there were plans to compete this year, it would have involved everybody stepping up. It's too early to say for sure, but I see the danger of a black hole forming - one that really isn't that great at scoring. It will suck shots away from guys that should be getting them and we'll be worse off for it.I could be wrong, but somebody has to get those shots JJ was taking and someone needs to be the focus of the offense. it is my hope that Teague will do it and this is the year. This is the kind of situation that you find out just what a player's ceiling is.

[benhillboy]

Joes production was consistent and considerable, but certainly not insurmountable. If we can excel at what his weaknesses were and gang rebound, get to the line, stay moving off the ball, and keep the ball skipping, his 18 points will be filled in no problem. Defensively, I think we're f@&ked.

[Atlantaholic]

Joes production was consistent and considerable, but certainly not insurmountable. If we can excel at what his weaknesses were and gang rebound, get to the line, stay moving off the ball, and keep the ball skipping, his 18 points will be filled in no problem. Defensively, I think we're f@&ked.

Agreed

[macdaddy]

Defense is the big issue but if we can hang to mid season there may be defensive help coming then. Teague's good and Stevenson is good. We'll see if anyone can defend the 2.

[capstone21]

another thing to point out is that teams focused their d on Joe. Always the best defender and often times two defenders. With Joe no longer being double teamed the teams can play our other players better

[Diesel]

I think it needs mentioning here that offensively, we lead dog by committee never works. Moreover, Josh is not going to let that be the case. Josh wants this to be his team. That's why he was happy about the trade. I would even go so far as to say that there's prolly a part of Josh that doesn't want D-12 to come here. If D-12 or Paul comes here, it will be their team and Josh will go back to the background. Josh doesn't want just the money, he wants the credit. He wants to be the allstar here. If Jefferson Teague has a break out year, I look for Josh to pull a Tonya Harding on the court.Still, Josh is his own worse enemy. He could be all that if he played within his game but he's not going to do that. Instead, be ready for Josh to take crunch time shots and he may dish out a few assists.. but he wants to be the lead dog. Unfortunately, the biggest lost in losing Joe is the focus of the defense. Other players we have are not able to take the focus of the defense the way Joe did.We will see that.

[capstone21]

I think it needs mentioning here that offensively, we lead dog by committee never works. Moreover, Josh is not going to let that be the case. Josh wants this to be his team. That's why he was happy about the trade. I would even go so far as to say that there's prolly a part of Josh that doesn't want D-12 to come here. If D-12 or Paul comes here, it will be their team and Josh will go back to the background. Josh doesn't want just the money, he wants the credit. He wants to be the allstar here. If Jefferson Teague has a break out year, I look for Josh to pull a Tonya Harding on the court. Still, Josh is his own worse enemy. He could be all that if he played within his game but he's not going to do that. Instead, be ready for Josh to take crunch time shots and he may dish out a few assists.. but he wants to be the lead dog. Unfortunately, the biggest lost in losing Joe is the focus of the defense. Other players we have are not able to take the focus of the defense the way Joe did. We will see that.

It worries me if Josh thinks that. He is at best a second banana player. When he tries to do to much it always hurts him and it def hurts the team. So many runs came to a screaming halt last season when Smith started trying to be the man. Play within himself and he would be an all star. There is a reason he is not even considered for the Olympic team.

[Sothron]

It worries me if Josh thinks that. He is at best a second banana player. When he tries to do to much it always hurts him and it def hurts the team. So many runs came to a screaming halt last season when Smith started trying to be the man. Play within himself and he would be an all star. There is a reason he is not even considered for the Olympic team.

Josh isn't even a second banana. He will never accept that he could flat out kill people if he played in the post or at least caught the ball in the high post and immediately attacked the basket he'd be unstoppable. He won't do it. Instead he dribbles the air out of the ball, refusing to let the point guard run an offense and either finds someone at the last second to throw up a shot or more likely he settles for a long two shot that he shoots roughly 35%. He will never be a second option like this.

[Wretch]

Gonna say a couple of things here...why I'm not getting MY hopes up for a competitive season:

1) Replacing JJ's points is not a matter of replacing 18-20ppg. If it were that simple, then you could replace Kevin Durant with 2 or 3 guys that can score 10-15ppg. You could replace Dwight Howard with two big guys that average 10+/5+.

2) BBQ sauce is good. Lemonade is good. Chocolate Chip Cookies are good. Pickles are good. Ice Cream is good. Mix them all together...terrible. Water, Kool-Aid mix, and Sugar is good. Take away the sugar? Bleh. Take away the Kool-Aid? Bleh. Replace the sugar with equal parts salt...

Yes, professional sports work the same way. It's called "chemistry." These are HUMANS playing the game, not machines. They will be affected by personnel changes. It happens in relationships, it happens in the work environment, it happens on the court. It will happen to the 2012-13 Atlanta Hawks. The chemistry of this team has changed. I do not expect things to stay the same. They will be better or worse. I would not bet on this club being better.

3) Teams crowded Joe because once you get the ball out of his hands, there was nothing to worry about. Nobody on this team could beat them. Joe is gone. Now you have a team that cannot beat you. Nobody on this team requires a double, except maybe Smoove in the deep post. From 10 feet out or so, it takes very little to force a turnover out of Josh. From 15' out, he barely needs anyone to guard him...and this is our guy now? And we're expecting better results?

#4) Josh Smith is not a good scorer. He scores because he is a) on the court and b) given many uncontested jumpers. His presence on the floor this season will be magnified and he will get even more chances to shoot the ball.

[AHF]

From 15' out, he barely needs anyone to guard him...and this is our guy now? And we're expecting better results?

You know Ferry isn't expecting better results from this team in the upcoming 2012-13 season without a major trade. His focus is on 2013-14 and the following years. He clearly understands that trading Joe and Marvin for expiring deals is a step back on the floor to give us the flexibility to take two steps forward somewhere down the line.

[Gray Mule]

Sleepwalk! Remember that? Hawks have had that problem for years. Thru more thanone coach, it's reared it's ugly head. Atlanta goes 5 -6 -7 minutes without a field goal.Or, maybe one and a free throw. Now, the other team is making hay while this is going on.Don't deny that you haven't observed this. Not every game does this happen. But it does.And, it's happened just as easily with JJ on the floor as it has when he's on the bench.Joe Johnson is good. He's very good. We remember all those clutch shots he hit. allthose last second three pointers to keep us in the game. That was great.But, do you remember those games where he scored twelve points and hogged the ballall night? No. We only remember the good stuff. Remember him dribbling the balluntil someone on the opposite team came and took the ball from him? Nope. Do youremember him holding on to the ball until the clock ran out? We talk about Joshdoing this but he learned it from JJ.No doubt JJ will be elected as a starter this year for the all star game. All of New Yorkand many from Atlanta will vote for him. Who else could you vote for? Joe Johnson is great and he's gone. Move on. We made it to the second round ofthe playoffs with him. We went no further. Now, we can make the second roundwithout him. Count on it.GO HAWKS!!

[EazyRoc]

I think it needs mentioning here that offensively, we lead dog by committee never works. Moreover, Josh is not going to let that be the case. Josh wants this to be his team. That's why he was happy about the trade. I would even go so far as to say that there's prolly a part of Josh that doesn't want D-12 to come here. If D-12 or Paul comes here, it will be their team and Josh will go back to the background. Josh doesn't want just the money, he wants the credit. He wants to be the allstar here. If Jefferson Teague has a break out year, I look for Josh to pull a Tonya Harding on the court. Still, Josh is his own worse enemy. He could be all that if he played within his game but he's not going to do that. Instead, be ready for Josh to take crunch time shots and he may dish out a few assists.. but he wants to be the lead dog. Unfortunately, the biggest lost in losing Joe is the focus of the defense. Other players we have are not able to take the focus of the defense the way Joe did. We will see that.

False. Josh was disappointed when Joe was traded because they'd played together for so long. There were concerns about the direction the team was headed, but apparently after talking to Ferry he felt comfortable with the plan. I think he wants to win a championship more than anything.

[Wretch]

You know Ferry isn't expecting better results from this team in the upcoming 2012-13 season without a major trade. His focus is on 2013-14 and the following years. He clearly understands that trading Joe and Marvin for expiring deals is a step back on the floor to give us the flexibility to take two steps forward somewhere down the line.

I think most rational minds expect a step backwards - and being surprised if we do become competitive. What bothers me though is the lack of respect for Joe Johnson and how so much is ignored in predicting our upcoming season (and Brooklyn's). I'm very anxious to hear the consensus on Joe now that he's paired with a top tier talent and a REAL PG. If he does well, I can just hear people talking about how he mailed it in for us...

[AHF]

I think most rational minds expect a step backwards - and being surprised if we do become competitive. What bothers me though is the lack of respect for Joe Johnson and how so much is ignored in predicting our upcoming season (and Brooklyn's). I'm very anxious to hear the consensus on Joe now that he's paired with a top tier talent and a REAL PG. If he does well, I can just hear people talking about how he mailed it in for us...

Personally, I am expecting him to be successful but a definite second wheel. The days of him putting up a line akin to 20/5/5 are probably done but I expect his %s to significantly improve with Lopez and Deron both superior offensive weapons.

[Supporter]

Personally, I am expecting him to be successful but a definite second wheel. The days of him putting up a line akin to 20/5/5 are probably done but I expect his %s to significantly improve with Lopez and Deron both superior offensive weapons.

I disagree with this. I think that Joe will put up better stats next season because 1. He is playing with an elite pg, last time he played with an elite pg he put up 17 ppg, chances are that present Joe can increase that average by 3 ppg. 2. Joe and Deron are going to get the majority of shots, with Brook Lopez coming in third. Joe might even get MORE shot attempts this year because last year he took only 15.5 shots per game in order to benefit the team (I thought he should've taken more shots). Next year with Avery as the head coach I believe that Joe will get 17 fga per game. 3. Joe's assists will increase because when he is doubled he will find Deron for an easy three. I think that when Bibby was here, Joe's apg actually increased because of Bibby's ability to knock down a three. We didn't have that last year with Teague. 4. Joe's rpg might stay the same but I am inclined to say that they will increase because Brook Lopez is such a poor rebounder. I think Joe is still a 20 5 5 player. For the past few years, he has been injured and Josh has taken more of a load for the team. In Brooklyn, like Deron said, Joe will be revitalized. We all know how good a determined and healthy Joe can be. I think his time in Brooklyn will surprise alot of people success wise and statistics wise.