Line up I want to see

[curtisdj79]

I want to see

Dickau/Diaw/Jax/Reef/Theo

We woule have good ball handlers and court vision in the back court. Dickau can shoot but it would also force Diaw to take some shots. Jax and Reef could get the ball in places to score. And D wouldnt be so bad that Theo got over extended.

JT as the sixth man would provide high energy

Dion could stir the gatorade and possibly make the Allstar team at that position.

[cyman3]

I keep asking myself that... i mean, we brought Vaughn in for a reason right? It was probably because we did not have faith in Dickau. Or maybe it was Jason-Terry insurance?

i would like to see Dickau have more playing time, but i would not start him out of NOWHERE.

the lineup i like to see is...

Terry, Jackson, Diaw, Reef, Mohammed

under several conditions

1)Jackson will be benched if he attempts a 3pter

2)Mohammed is not allowed to shoot...

[dickaufan12]

We brought Vaughn in because Dickau had been injured twice in two years and we wanted someone to be here if it happened again. That said, he's not injured now, so why doesn't he play? JV has been nearly worthless in the last few games, but Stotts keeps playing him. Why? DD can only get worse by not playing. You absolutely have to have game experience to survive in this league. Terry Stotts is singlehandedly ruining Dickau's career at the present. Young players have to get experience, or they will never amount to anything. There are very few people who know how good DD can be, because they've never seen him play! That said, here is the scenario I'd like to see RIGHT NOW:

Lineup:

Diaw/JT/SJax/Reef/Theo

Subs:

Mohammed splits time with Theo almost evenly. Nazr even starts a few over Theo.

When SJax comes out, Diaw moves to SF, and Dickau comes in at PG. Vaughn makes an occasional appearence (like when we need to miss a few shots).

Glover and Hansen come off the bench for JT (or Diaw at SG) for around 15 minutes per game.

When Reef gets tired, we bring in Hendu (when he gets off IR), Nailon, or "The Human Injury," Chris Crawford.

That's how it should be. We need to mix things up. The only thing Stotts is doing by keeping things exactly the same every game is setting us up for even more failure.

[Playmaker0017]

I have to agree with Dickaufan.

There is NO reason we haven't seen more of this kid.

Whether or not he will develop or could develop is left to be seen.

I don't think he is ever going to be starter material, but the only way to find out is to give him a couple minutes of REAL basketball time. Give him a min of 10 minutes a game over 10-12 games. If he can't deliver, at least we exhausted another source.

But, it isn't like this current lineup or strategy is working. Right now we are allowing our first round pick to sit... doesn't make sense to me.

Play.

[Admin]

I think that if you really believe this then you must not be watching our games because Vaughn gives more effort and plays more defense than probably anyone on this team other than Theo. He also is the only person who has been at all capable of getting this team into any resemblence of an offensive set. Diaw is starting to learn how to do it but he has a long way to go before he can fully run this offense. Now, I would love to see DD get more playing time, but obviously he isnt showing something in practice or has found a way to get into the doghouse, or is still injured or something because Stotts would play him if he were really ready to play.

[Weez]

yep...remember when, what was it only a week ago, when JV played shut down D on Eddie Jones and got quite a few assists and most here were singing his praises and ready to hand him the starting job?

interesting..

I think what it shows you is that he's really nothign more than a decent/ solid bu pg. He has his moments, is general stable...and is a lifetime bu unless you ahve someone like TMac at the 2.

[Playmaker0017]

Dolfan,

Stotts is a moron.

Believing that Stotts would make the right decision is just, well, it's just wrong.

I mean, we are talking about the same guy that doesn't believe that he should even get the ball to Shareef.

It took FAR too long to get Dion out of the lineup.

You HAVE to make moves. You just have to. Whether it pans out or not, who knows... but obviously you have to try something else.

Play.

[cyman3]

- we have players that never tasted the playoffs (except for Jackson) and they are confused out there... they put up good numbers but cant win games.

and when we have a confused coach out there that doesnt know what hes doing, it just makes it worse.

we need a VETERAN COACH whos been there and done that... no LON KRUGERS... no TERRY STOTTS... i want a head coach thats won in the past.

where Fratello?

[Weez]

I'm not particularly saying that Stotts is the answer, or even the right man for the job (though whether yet another midseason coaching change would be beneficial is up for debate)...

but perhaps Stotts was trying to go with some continuity. After all the turnover and poorly defined roles this team has had over the past couple of seasons, going with consistent lineups for a while wasn't necessarily the worst decision...it just didn't work out. At least he tried a game plan, tried to define roles...and stuck with it. That's more than we've had in the past..

[cyman3]

I never appreciated what he brought to the team... and now that hes gone, man...

look at what hes done

PG- Mookie

SG- Smith

SF- Corbin

PF- Laettner

C - Mutombo

they all had clear, defined ROLES. Smith was our goto guy and our primary focus on offense. We relied on Laettner for inside scoring and offense near the basket. Mutombo was our rebounder/blocker/defender. Corbin only settled for the OPEN shot and defended the best player on the other team. Mookie distributed the ball, created plays for others by driving, and played off of Smith/Laettners offense.

man, those guy have defined roles alright.

what about the new hawks?

PG- Terry (our 2nd guy on offense? is he?)

SG- Jackson (???)

SF- Diaw (???)

PF- Reef (inside offensive threat)

C- Ratliff (blocker)

please, define some roles STOTTS!

[Playmaker0017]

Weez,

CONTINUITY?

This team STILL hasn't set up its identity. Is it a post team? Is it perimeter team? Is it Theo's defensive team?

Every night we are some other team.

What roles has Stotts really defined? Let's be honest? Reef is still getting the ball 8 times in some games. Terry is still running the point at times and shooting fewer times than Glover.

There is no continuity... there is chaos.

Play.

[Diesel]

JV = Solid Backup??

How exactly do we know that he wouldn't be a solid starter? I tell you this as truth, last yrs team with JV as PG instead of JT, would have probably made the playoffs....INSPITE of Lon's non coaching. I say, we get Fratello in here immediately. Pay him, get him here. Let him determine what is needed most. I think he can work with Terry and either figure out if Terry needs to come off the bench or if we need to play Terry as OG to Diaw...

However, we got to do something.

[Diesel]

Lenny did a great job here but was underappreciated.

He made a bunch of junk players overacheive and look [censored] good. Really, Smitty was the best player we had during Lenny's time, Deke was the second best...

However:

Mookie, Laettner, Corbin, Long, Ehlo, etc.. would have not played well for any other team because no other team could use them the way Lenny did.

Atlanta Hawks fans became complacent and didn't appreciate going to the second round of the playoffs. There were times that our structure could not get us past the TALENT and Structure of other teams (MJ and the Bulls, Reggie and the Pacers). However, we were still a team that did a lot with a little.

Now we have built around the most unstable of players (JT). Yes, we have built around JT. Getting Diaw... It was for JT. Keeping Theo, it was to help out JT. The problem is that jT is unstable and out of position.

[Playmaker0017]

Diesel,

I have to agree that we have built around JT.

The worst thing is... both of those players seem to bring more then JT.

JT is loved by the Hawks' fanbase, even moreso then Shareef. I can't figure out why...

Play.

[Gray Mule]

Atlanta Hawk's G.M. Billy Knight, in today's A.J.C. says

that the fault is squarely in the lap of the players on the

floor and not Terry Stotts.

{Someone who know how to do it may want to post the

article}

We, the Hawk's fans, need to face it. We don't have a

stable full of good players. We pay big $$$ to these men

to play this game. What do we really have?

Center -- Very good, considering we have a former all-star

for starter and a big man for a back-up.

Yet, we lack scoring from this position. That is a weakness.

Power foreward -- SAR is very good. A former all-star.

He is playing his heart out right now. Weak behind him,

don't you think? Alan Henderson, we need you.

Small foreward -- Nothing to write home about. Jackson

has hustle and defense, but is a very streaky shooter.

When he's cold, might as well set him down. Also, is

turn over prone. Who is behind him? Crawford? Nailon?

Shooting guard -- Full of questions. Who is the #2 guard?

Is it Dion Glover? Jason Terry? Boris Diaw? Hansen?

Point Guard --Same questions. Is it Boris Diaw? J. Vaughn?

Jason Terry? Dan Dickau?

Hawks have only 2 players who are really doing well right

now. SAR and Diaw.

I believe Terry Stotts and his coaching staff are working

very hard to put together a team. Right now, they are not

a team. They are a group of individuals playing the game.

If and when they become a team, the wins will come.

Until then, we wait and suffer, along with them, one defeat

after another. Winning builds confidence. Loosing takes

it away. Our tank of confidence is running on empty

right now.

[macdaddy]

Playmaker is right about identity and Knight says so himself in the ajc article today. He doesn't know if its a running team or defensive team or shooting team, but he knows its not the coaches fault. What the [censored]? Isn't the whole job of the coach to establish the teams identity?

The only identity that will work with this team is a half court 'boring' offense. Post up Reef, jump shooters in position, and hit the offensive boards. On defense the coach has to demand not only effort but physical play. No dunks, no layups. If we have guys foul out, good!

There is no way these hawks will be successful pushing the ball all the time because they can't hang on to it. There is not one real good ball handler in the starting lineup and you need at least 3 to push the ball successfully.

[Playmaker0017]

Read MacDaddy's post.

I don't care what Knight says.

This guy singlehandedly killed the franchise in Vancouver by wasting a pick on Francis (who openly stated he would NOT play in Vancouver) and signing Big Country to a world busting deal.

He also stood behind Lionel Hollins and Sid Lowe, exacerbating what a good job they were doing! BAH!

Knight is a fool.

Stotts is an idiot.

It is the coach's job to establish identity.

Play.

[dickaufan12]

Just to follow up...

I wasn't one of those ready to give JV the starting job. I've never thought that he was doing anything special. Actually, I believe I said something to the effect of "there are many PGs out there that could do the same job JV is doing." The only reason Vaughn is playing so much is because Stotts has never been a real fan of Dickau (Dan's really an afterthought to him) and Vaughn is an a** kisser. It's fairly evident. He gave Belkin the game ball that one game and when the team huddles up, he's gets so close to Stotts he might as well be on his shoulders.

Stotts, and much of the Hawks organization now, is unwilling to admit that his coaching decisions for the lineup are failures. He refuses to make changes at risk of looking foolish. Vaughn may put out some energy when he hits the floor, but not much else.

[KB21]

Bill Knight wasn't in Vancouver till the year 2000. The Memphis Grizzlie's foundation right now was put there by Billy Knight. Billy Knight made the deal that got the Grizzlies Lorenzen Wright and Pau Gasol. He made the deal that got them Jason Williams at point guard. He drafted Shane Battier. He drafted Stromile Swift.

Billy Knight had no part in the Steve Francis pick.

The only thing he did do was hire Sydney Lowe, but Jerry West kept Lowe on when he came in until the team started 0-8 under him.

[Playmaker0017]

KB21,

Okay, well Knight is still not that great. He at least has no understanding of a decent coach... that's for sure.

Sydney Lowe is an awful.

Terry Stotts is right on par with awful.

Play.