1/4 POINT OF SEASON (JUST ABOUT)

[Guest]

Well, ¼ of the Hawks season has passed and we are sitting at 14-6, third in the Eastern Conference. Well done Hawks.

My thoughts:

[*]I would be lying if I said I thought we would be 14-6, 70% [*]I figured we would be OK offensively (without Joe) because I thought the sum of parts (Lou, Korver, Harris, and the improvement of Josh, Al and Jeff) would be greater than the one. [*]Defensively, I thought we had no shot and figured we would get abused every night by wing players in particular – not so fast my friends, I am impressed with the defense. [*]Al Horford – I think he has finally put to rest the whole PF/C debate (leaving it to us fans to debate) and is just playing basketball – he is bringing his hard hat and doing work INSIDE. Reminds me of years 1 and 2 Al – Welcome Back!!! [*]Jeff Teague - is slowly but surely coming into his own as a PG and running the team. There is still a lot of room for improvement. [*]Josh Smith – After a slow start to the season Josh has picked his game up especially on the defensive end and rebounding. He has shown the ability so far to be effective at the SF position when he plays there particularly defensively. Only time will tell if it is a long term solution. [*]Zaza – will always be OUR Zaza. Oh how I wished he hit that way pass midcourt 3 pointer last night. [*]Expiring Contracts – surprised that these players on expiring contracts are playing TEAM basketball and not trying to play ME ball to secure the next contract. [*]IVAN – I don’t get the many DNP-CD - more often than not Ivan has a positive effect on the game [*]Rookies – They are just that. Had some good games in D-League [*]I think they could have won 2 of the 1st 4 games they lost if LD was not playing Tolliver [*] I haven't heard LD say "The guys weren't ready to play" - meaning no blowot losses where the game is over midway in the 1st quarter and guys give up. [*]With big leads they tend to let teams back in games, however in years past those are games we would definitely lose - they are learning to win the close games. [*]The next step is learning to stomp on the pedal when they have teams down, killer instinct anyone? Let's hope the blowout win tonite is a step in that direction (yeah I know it's the Bobcats but they gotta start somewhere might as well be them).

Keep rolling Hawks!!!!

Edited December 14, 2012 by JayBirdHawk

[benhillboy]

#12 is biggest to me. That was his catch phrase all too much in the past. These are one of the best prepared groups night in, night out. Some choose to define a team or a player by potential and ceiling. Im more concerned with how high the floor is and the rarity with which they play poorly, and i dont ever see this team getting embarrassed or being uncompetitive, and thats the best sign of a consistent team that trusts each other. He seems fine with the heavy three-point attempts because the guys have put the neccessary drilling in during practice and shoot-around. Teague has the green light and is thriving with it, Lou is finding his groove where he just looks like he's cruising, and Kyle is awesome. Can't say nothing about Jal Smorford except its dominant like old times. Throw in a speedy, steal-happy Harris, 3-point and defensive specialist Stephenson, and top-notch bench big in Ivan, and I'm totally ecstatic with where we are. Can't sing Ferry's praises enough. He fit a lot of mismatch parts as seamlessly as anyone could where guys strengths are accentuated and weaknesses minimized.True, our schedule has been soft, but I've seen nothing to suggest we're going to lay down or not have a 50/ 50 chance to beat any team in this league. Ball movement and opportunistic defense never goes out of style or effectiveness, whether you're facing a champs or chumps. I don't have to tell these boys "Lets Go." They gone.

Edited December 14, 2012 by benhillboy

[Gray Mule]

Great points.

With this team, we're down seven. Someone hits a couple of three pointers.

We're right back in it.

We don't quit. We don't lay down. Not much sleepwalknig.

[Atlantaholic]

We really are playing as good as this current generation of Hawks has ever played. What I love the most is that players are always moving without the ball on offense. That is a sign of effective coaching (see Spurs, Jazz, Bulls), and keeps us for the most part from taking bad shots. On defense, we have a surprisingly effective blend of quickness and length, and It's fun seeing Larry Drew play mad doctor with the pieces he has available and alternate between a guard heavy lineup and a forward heavy lineup within the same game, keeping teams on their heels and forcing them to adjust on how to attack us. Our bench is also easily the best it's ever been.

As weak as the East is this season with Chicago missing D-Rose and Orlando gutting the team, while other up and coming teams still to raw or with too many holes on their roster, there is no reason to think we can't continue being a top 3 team this season. If you ask me, when Carmelo finally comes down to earth a little bit (he ain't shootin 46% from three all season) it will be Miami and us vying for the number one spot in the East.

[Alex]

And of our losses I believe 5 or 6 are against teams with a winning record. We aren't very good and we will be exposed