End the silliness (A thread pointing out the Hawks most glaring problem)

[thecampster]

Its silly season here again on the Squawk, back from my extended absence, I've decided to end the silly topics of "A highly connected friend of my family member's dog's groomer says he was told by a guy who milks my cousin's neighbor's cow that we could land KD, Beal, Lebron to play along side of Horford, Sap, Bazemore" and bring Hawk land back to reality.

 

Issue 1: The Hawks were 3rd from last in rebounding differential last year at -4.4 rebounds per game.

Issue 2: The Hawks were 4th from last in opponents offensive rebounds per game last year at 11.5.

Issue 3: The Hawks were last in offensive rebounds last year at 8.5 per game.

Issue 4: Although the Hawks shoot great from 3, their 3 point differential last year was only 1.2 per game...meaning opponents of the Hawks shoot equally as great.

Issue 5: Atlanta averaged 2.1 less free throw attempts per game last year than their opponents.

 

What does this mean? Each of these is a symptom of being undersized. Being small = less rebounds. Being small = more fouls to control penetration, offensive rebounding and post positioning. Being small means being shot over by the opposing player.

 

The number 1 priority in free agency is not Bazemore and not Horford. The number 1 priority is getting bigger to improve rebounding.  The Hawks offense is fine, ranking 12th in the NBA. Their defense is great, ranking 6th. The Hawks lose in the playoffs by being out muscled, out rebounded and worn down.  Feel free to add your suggestions for how we fix these glaring weaknesses and your realistic plan for how it all fits under the cap.

Edited June 30, 2016 by thecampster

[IheartVolt]

Yes I feel you.. Phoney will always be phoney when you are just a screen name

[RWF]

The Hawks most glaring problem is not having a shoe selling, commercial making superstar.

 

2nd problem, Lebron.

[IheartVolt]

Just now, RWF said:

The Hawks most glaring problem is not having a shoe selling, commercial making superstar.

 

2nd problem, Lebron.

Stephon Marbury will fill the seats!!

[NBASupes]

One star thread. 

[IheartVolt]

Just now, NBASupes said:

One star thread. 

Damn.. Guess he will leave the board for another hiatus now.. 

[NBASupes]

1 minute ago, IheartFerry said:

Damn.. Guess he will leave the board for another hiatus now.. 

I just hate cherry picking threads. So you leave out almost all of the good this team has done, focus only on the weaknesses not realizing all of the good. Now, if we are talking about adding someone like LeBron James, I would be like, James could fix this and that but his points are all stupid as hell. Rebounding? We had Hump rebounding and it didn't do much for us at all. He had some of the worst team stats on the squad. Bud ask total Basketball from everyone. EVERYONE. I get tired of Diesel like threads. I hate each and everyone of them and I am highly irritable right now so they are ten times more annoying right now than normal. 

[IheartVolt]

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

I just hate cherry picking threads. So you leave out almost all of the good this team has done, focus only on the weaknesses not realizing all of the good. Now, if we are talking about adding someone like LeBron James, I would be like, James could fix this and that but his points are all stupid as hell. Rebounding? We had Hump rebounding and it didn't do much for us at all. He had some of the worst team stats on the squad. Bud ask total Basketball from everyone. EVERYONE. I get tired of Diesel like threads. I hate each and everyone of them and I am highly irritable right now so they are ten times more annoying right now than normal. 

Dude , slow down and take a deep breath.. goosfraba

[thecampster]

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

I just hate cherry picking threads. So you leave out almost all of the good this team has done, focus only on the weaknesses not realizing all of the good. Now, if we are talking about adding someone like LeBron James, I would be like, James could fix this and that but his points are all stupid as hell. Rebounding? We had Hump rebounding and it didn't do much for us at all. He had some of the worst team stats on the squad. Bud ask total Basketball from everyone. EVERYONE. I get tired of Diesel like threads. I hate each and everyone of them and I am highly irritable right now so they are ten times more annoying right now than normal. 

This is not a cherry picking thread and I am not Diesel. This is an honest opportunity for people to post their own fixes....get their "I told you so threads ready".  You've been on this board for 3 years now. You should know by now, that every year people log on with insane ideas of signing the top 3 free agents available, exceeding the cap by $50 million and every year there is always one person (you the last few years) who comes on and swears he has inside information...posts 30 possibilities and then when 1...just one hits...swears he's an insider and everyone should listen to him forever.  I have been a Hawks fan since 1987 when I saw them for the first time in person in Indianapolis. I've been on this board since before it was an official board and I've been reading here off and on the last 2 years, I just haven't had time to post. The "insiders" come and go. If you have a "What they are gonna do" or a "What I think they should do"...post it...just one. But attacking me because my joke hit a little too close to home is transparent to everyone else reading.

[NBASupes]

Just now, thecampster said:

This is not a cherry picking thread and I am not Diesel. This is an honest opportunity for people to post their own fixes....get their "I told you so threads ready".  You've been on this board for 3 years now. You should know by now, that every year people log on with insane ideas of signing the top 3 free agents available, exceeding the cap by $50 million and every year there is always one person (you the last few years) who comes on and swears he has inside information...posts 30 possibilities and then when 1...just one hits...swears he's an insider and everyone should listen to him forever.  I have been a Hawks fan since 1987 when I saw them for the first time in person in Indianapolis. I've been on this board since before it was an official board and I've been reading here off and on the last 2 years, I just haven't had time to post. The "insiders" come and go. If you have a "What they are gonna do" or a "What I think they should do"...post it...just one. But attacking me because my joke hit a little too close to home is transparent to everyone else reading.

This is a cherry picking thread. You literally made an egregious statement on four stats on rebounding. Seriously? Four stats on rebounding. If you went into vast detail and made a point based on impact, defense, offense and etc, he's not worth it is one thing but four stats on rebounding? 

[thecampster]

Actually its 3 on rebounding, 1 on fouls and one on 3 point defense. It is also a widely held belief in the community, on ATL sports talk radio and pretty damned near everywhere else that the reason Cleveland beat us the last 2 seasons is Tristan Thompson making Horford his B#$%^.

[RamblinCharger]

I think the Hawks have a few issues.

1) I agree that we get out rebounded, although some of that is due to the scheme. I don't think we will ever be a great offensive rebounding team because we get back on defense, but we could definitely use some size to improve our defensive rebounding and rim protection.

2) we don't have a star that can create his own shot and score in crunch time at the end of the game.

3) we don't have enough shooters for our scheme. Korver is solid but aging, Dennis can't shoot, our bigs try but aren't very consistent, and Baze is just learning to shoot and will probably never be a great shooter.

Those are the three main issues that we have. How do we fix these issues? I have no idea.

[High5]

We're never going to be a good rebounding team when we're built around Sap and Horford, but that duo gives us advantages that most teams don't have. Not to say we can't improve in that area, but it's a give and take. We get bigger, our offense and defense likely suffer. I think our most glaring issue is our inability to execute down the stretch. That haunted us all season long and it was on display in 3 of the 4 losses against the Cleveland. We couldn't convert any of those late leads. As long as that problem remains it doesn't matter how great we are at defense and rebounding. 

Edited July 1, 2016 by High5

[thecampster]

1 minute ago, RamblinCharger said:

I think the Hawks have a few issues.

1) I agree that we get out rebounded, although some of that is due to the scheme. I don't think we will ever be a great offensive rebounding team because we get back on defense, but we could definitely use some size to improve our defensive rebounding and rim protection.

2) we don't have a star that can create his own shot and score in crunch time at the end of the game.

3) we don't have enough shooters for our scheme. Korver is solid but aging, Dennis can't shoot, our bigs try but aren't very consistent, and Baze is just learning to shoot and will probably never be a great shooter.

Those are the three main issues that we have. How do we fix these issues? I have no idea.

To address the shooting/shot creation issue, I posted in a previous thread that I felt Bradley Beal should be our number 1 target (not Baze). Being a less than 7 year player, Beal's max contract is around $21 million. I say you max him and make Washington match.

[NBASupes]

Just now, thecampster said:

To address the shooting/shot creation issue, I posted in a previous thread that I felt Bradley Beal should be our number 1 target (not Baze). Being a less than 7 year player, Beal's max contract is around $21 million. I say you max him and make Washington match.

I live here, Beal getting the max from the Wiz is 100% going to happen. He's a FA in the way Drummond is a FA. 

[RamblinCharger]

I like Beal a lot. I agree that I doubt Washington will let him go though.

[GameTime]

2 minutes ago, RamblinCharger said:

I like Beal a lot. I agree that I doubt Washington will let him go though.

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 hours ago, thecampster said:

Its silly season here again on the Squawk, back from my extended absence, I've decided to end the silly topics of "A highly connected friend of my family member's dog's groomer says he was told by a guy who milks my cousin's neighbor's cow that we could land KD, Beal, Lebron to play along side of Horford, Sap, Bazemore" and bring Hawk land back to reality.

 

Issue 1: The Hawks were 3rd from last in rebounding differential last year at -4.4 rebounds per game.

Issue 2: The Hawks were 4th from last in opponents offensive rebounds per game last year at 11.5.

Issue 3: The Hawks were last in offensive rebounds last year at 8.5 per game.

Issue 4: Although the Hawks shoot great from 3, their 3 point differential last year was only 1.2 per game...meaning opponents of the Hawks shoot equally as great.

Issue 5: Atlanta averaged 2.1 less free throw attempts per game last year than their opponents.

 

What does this mean? Each of these is a symptom of being undersized. Being small = less rebounds. Being small = more fouls to control penetration, offensive rebounding and post positioning. Being small means being shot over by the opposing player.

 

The number 1 priority in free agency is not Bazemore and not Horford. The number 1 priority is getting bigger to improve rebounding.  The Hawks offense is fine, ranking 12th in the NBA. Their defense is great, ranking 6th. The Hawks lose in the playoffs by being out muscled, out rebounded and worn down.  Feel free to add your suggestions for how we fix these glaring weaknesses and your realistic plan for how it all fits under the cap.

Said it since last season.  Honestly, this has been a problem since Dikembe left.

The only time we were a good rebounding team, was 2010, when part of Woody's ISO offense was sending the big guys ( Horford, Smith, Zaza ) to crash the offensive boards.

Bud's offensive philosophy is to sacrifice offensive rebounding to prevent fast break points.  Which analytically, is a decent strategy.  Problem is, when you go ice cold shooting, you don't get extra possessions.  

But as you said, when you get killed on the defensive boards, you give the opponent extra possessions that could kill you.  And it happened way too much to the Hawks.

Our 2 draft pick wings possess the ability to rebound the basketball.  If they are solid offensively, they will immediately help in this area of weakness.

[NBASupes]

1 minute ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Said it since last season.  Honestly, this has been a problem since Dikembe left.

The only time we were a good rebounding team, was 2010, when part of Woody's ISO offense was sending the big guys ( Horford, Smith, Zaza ) to crash the offensive boards.

Bud's offensive philosophy is to sacrifice offensive rebounding to prevent fast break points.  Which analytically, is a decent strategy.  Problem is, when you go ice cold shooting, you don't get extra possessions.  

But as you said, when you get killed on the defensive boards, you give the opponent extra possessions that could kill you.  And it happened way too much to the Hawks.

Our 2 draft pick wings possess the ability to rebound the basketball.  If they are solid offensively, they will immediately help in this area of weakness.

This might be answered in three years but most likely not this upcoming season. 

[Diesel]

IN 45 Minutes... I hope the news is that the Hawks have signed Dwight Howard.