D12 and the Hawks

[Vol4ever]

Let me say that we all have been clamoring for a superstar to come to Atlanta.  Make no doubt Dwight Howard is a Superstar.  Dwight is a superstar coming home and he wants to be here.

I have heard every excuse in the book hammering on him.   Lets give him  a chance, he didn't want to come here 3 years ago but now he sees we are headed in the right direction he wants to be a part of it.    He is not washed up, that's pure nonsense.   Same age as Horf and triple the talent.   Dwight can play defense, rebound, and block shots.   Dwight will get calls at the end of the game, something we are not used to.

I'm excited.    We now have our superstar.

[Thomas]

I never thought I'd be on the the same page as D12 but Vol is right about actually getting the benefit of some doggone calls in a game on a big stage as well as serious defense in the paint. Rebounds, of course, are a big plus. Anything to negate the LeBron dominating factor. Got to beat the East first. 

[AnnieMay]

Im on the bandwagon.Very excited about this coming season can't wait.

[volman]

Super pumped for this team and season!!! 

[Flight]

I'm really excited to see how the team works out. Just seeing how they plan to develop Dwight should be interesting, knowing how they found a way to utilize Korver to his max potential, I know they have something in mind with Dwight. 

[QuantumHawkz]

I was pumped when I heard the rumor around the trade deadline. A homegrown superstar is what this franchise needed. WHEN D12 starts dominating again and before he is named a starter for the Eastern All-star team, I expect many sellouts. On top of that I expect other Superstars that will want to team up him. This was not only a great basketball pick up but also a great business move as well.   

[Guest]

{Puts on his NBASupes mask}

One-star thread!  Y'all just got low BBIQ.  I mean sure, Alice doesn't rebound well, or score down low, or get to the line, or come thru in the clutch or get star calls or get national attention or get his team to the Finals or ....

[TheFuzz]

Not to be negative, I love the signing and quite like Howard the player, but I don't think he's a superstar anymore unfortunately. I hope we can put him in a position to be one again, but it's not a given. He played comparably to Horford last year. Much better upside though, I'll agree with that.

[RandomFan]

9 minutes ago, TheFuzz said:

I don't think he's a superstar anymore unfortunately. He played comparably to Horford last year.

Well then great! According to Boston that means we just got ourselves a star!

Edited July 7, 2016 by RandomFan

[hazer]

Very stoked about D12 coming home. Can put up 17/12/2 in 30 mins, hellbent on redeeming himself from the rep he's gained from the last 2 poison team situations, now has a chip on his shoulder to prove something. Hawks have the best trainers in the biz who'll have him healthy to play 82 games, the best shooting coaches to lift his FTs to 65-70% and improve his short jumper for the PnP, and Shredder will aggressively load him up on PnRs and lob/jams. It's going to turn out very well, I know it, probably All-Star appearances. As I said, I'm thrilled. But D12 is a STAR, not a superstar. Which is still fantastic, but we need him develop INTO a superstar. Or be the catalyst in attracting one. There's only about 15 of those in the entire league: LaBrawna, Curry, KD, Duncan, Kobe, Wade, Dirk, Harden, CP3, Westbrook, Kawhi, Griffin, Melo, Davis, Cousins. Some that you're thinking should be on that list are only STARS on the fringe of that superstar list, like D12. He used to be a superstar, hopefully he can be again between now and 2019. I'll settle for (All-)STAR production.

[DJlaysitup]

I've been back and forth on this deal (in my typical bi-polar fashion)...but I'm coming around for a couple reasons.  First, AL is 6-9 1/2 and while he holds his own OK he certainly doesn't have the physical presence of D12.  Second, D-12 has been a SERIOUS rebounder when fully healthy...much better than AL ever was.

This is a big change for the Hawks - really a big change.  While I won't take much away from Teague, Dennis will put us at a faster pace.  D12 is twice the "athlete" AL is at this point.  Add in re-signing the Baze and maybe a decent backup PG and I'm happy.  I'm not worried about Korver - he is a smart guy and will fit in and do his best for sure.  Of course Millsap would do his best for us anyway (a true professional)...but his being in a contract year won't hurt at all.

It will also be fun to see what our newly drafted "Young Guns" can do.  Should be a fun season.

GO HAWKS !!!

[DrReality]

Her an interview on the radio and D12 said he was pissed off about last season.  He complained of 'the guard' that wouldn't get him the ball.     I'm glad he's pissed off!!!!

and I think Bud can coach him up and the system can utilize his strengths

Edited July 7, 2016 by DrReality

[BigDog90]

Big year for Atlanta. Now get Dwight some shooters around him.

[Lurker]

The only thing the Hawks really lose from Horford on the defensive end is his ability to play defense on the perimeter to cover up Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore's mistakes.

This will not be a problem if what I want to see happen does but I have a feeling it will not. I don't want to see Kyle Korver in the starting lineup again. The goal starting lineup for most of the games should be Schröder/Bazemore/Prince/Millsap/Howard. Korver is still valuable with his shooting but he needs to move to 6th man and play against backup 3's for 10 of his 20 minutes.

This is potentially a good offensive lineup if Delaney's shooting translates:

Schröder/Delaney/Korver/Scott/Howard

That's potentially a defensive disaster lol but here you have the theory with Howard, have him play with three shooters in the lineup.

[mtnbayou]

Millsap & Dwight cleaning up the interior outta be a thing of beauty.  

I'm so excited about the immense defensive potential of this team.

[Lurker]

If Howard is truly being truthful, while I don't think he'll return to his superstar days I think he can do something similar to what he did in his first year in Houston. 17 PTS/12 REB/2 BLK/2 AST in 30 mins (assists up just a bit)

Howard was a positive impact for Houston in 13/14 according to stats.nba.com. He had a positive +/- rating of nearly 5, a net rating of nearly 8, and a decent OffRtg. He was in 4 of their 5 most used lineups that were positive according to stats.nba.com.

[TheFuzz]

16 minutes ago, Lurker said:

If Howard is truly being truthful, while I don't think he'll return to his superstar days I think he can do something similar to what he did in his first year in Houston. 17 PTS/12 REB/2 BLK/2 AST in 30 mins (assists up just a bit)

Howard was a positive impact for Houston in 13/14 according to stats.nba.com. He had a positive +/- rating of nearly 5, a net rating of nearly 8, and a decent OffRtg. He was in 4 of their 5 most used lineups that were positive according to stats.nba.com.

This is my expectation.

[hazer]

34 minutes ago, Lurker said:

If Howard is truly being truthful, while I don't think he'll return to his superstar days I think he can do something similar to what he did in his first year in Houston. 17 PTS/12 REB/2 BLK/2 AST in 30 mins (assists up just a bit)

Howard was a positive impact for Houston in 13/14 according to stats.nba.com. He had a positive +/- rating of nearly 5, a net rating of nearly 8, and a decent OffRtg. He was in 4 of their 5 most used lineups that were positive according to stats.nba.com.

Agreed, the EXACT nimbers I predicted 2 hours ago in this same thread:

 

[hazer]

42 minutes ago, mtnbayou said:

Millsap & Dwight cleaning up the interior outta be a thing of beauty.  

I'm so excited about the immense defensive potential of this team.

Salivating over this tenacious D. The Granite Curtain:

Shredder (pressing)/(all about dat) Baze/Thabo/Sap/D12

Does the opposition even score? I know the Selltix don't...

Edited July 7, 2016 by hazer

[RandomFan]