News and Notes: Updated between Games

[High5]

39 minutes ago, kg01 said:

... but that has nothing to do with the Hawks ... at all.

And it's not even true. Basically everyone wanted Mike Smith fired. 

[Peoriabird]

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

... but that has nothing to do with the Hawks ... at all.

Talking about a coach that people though wasn't detrimental to the team but in fact was.  LP fits in that category.  He is very detrimental to the development of players.

[kg01]

2 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

Talking about a coach that people though wasn't detrimental to the team but in fact was.  LP fits in that category.  He is very detrimental to the development of players.

This has been proven untrue several times over.  No one in the NBA agrees with you.

Just say you don't like the guy.  Its ok.

[Peoriabird]

2 hours ago, kg01 said:

 No one in the NBA agrees with you.

 

You sure about that?

4. Lloyd Pierce

Some had the Atlanta Hawks pegged as a potential playoff sleeper in the Eastern Conference this season. Clearly, that has not come to fruition, as the Hawks are wallowing near the bottom of the NBA standings.

 

Perhaps we simply overrated Atlanta’s young talent, particularly on the defensive end where the Hawks have been absolutely abysmal. But the problem is that, as a collective, Atlanta has shown little progression from last season, and that reflects rather poorly on Lloyd Pierce.

Pierce has only been the coach in Atlanta for two years now, but he has gone just 49-99, so it’s certainly possible that the Hawks may have seen enough. It doesn’t help that there were rumblings of discord in the locker room earlier this season when things were really going bad.

 

Again, you can’t pin the Hawks’ lack of success this season totally on Pierce, because it seems pretty obvious that this roster is still growing and is a bit flawed. John Collins’ 25-game suspension also didn’t help matters.

However, it’s the fact that Atlanta hasn’t moved forward at all that may end up sealing Pierce’s fate.

https://clutchpoints.com/nba-5-coaches-hot-seat-2019-20-season-nears-conclusion/

Some Hawks players have also questioned Pierce’s in-game decisions and rotations. According to Kirschner, one player even offered the following assessment when discussing those decisions: “It’s almost as if we actually are tanking on purpose.”

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2020/03/hawks-rumors-pierce-bembry-fas-collins.html

 

[Atlantaholic]

LPs seat may not be piping hot but it's pretty warm. Another slow start next year and he could be gone before December rolls around. 

[High5]

Schlenk predicted ~30 wins before the season and then Collins got popped, Vince forgot how to shoot, and Turner/Crabbe managed to fall short of already low expectations. I doubt there's any actual heat on LP just yet. Next season is when the real games start. 

[JayBirdHawk]

10 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

“It’s almost as if we actually are tanking on purpose.”

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2020/03/hawks-rumors-pierce-bembry-fas-collins.html

Do you think LP would have made that decision on his own? To tank!  Particularly when you consider the 31 win projection by Schlenk and the piss poor job which he admitted to.

[Peoriabird]

40 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Do you think LP would have made that decision on his own? To tank!  Particularly when you consider the 31 win projection by Schlenk and the piss poor job which he admitted to.

So you are admitting that LP was trying to tank the season?

[JayBirdHawk]

38 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

So you are admitting that LP was trying to tank the season?

You tell me.

[Peoriabird]

56 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

You tell me.

You're asking the wrong person because I've never seen him be good at coaching so my answer is this is the kind of coach he really is.  He ain't pretending to be a bad coach!

Here is a video that might help

 

[JayBirdHawk]

One video??? 

[Peoriabird]

3 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

One video??? 

Its long but they talk about LP a lot

 

[JayBirdHawk]

37 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

Its long but they talk about LP a lot

 

This is from the 1st 29 games of the season 6-23

The 1st 2:30 seconds is very telling about roster construction.

They have snippets on LP, nothing earth shattering.

Dude said he wouldn't trade Damian Jones.....riiiight. he has upside, lol.

[JTB]

3 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

So you are admitting that LP was trying to tank the season?

YES....YES...YES

that was the initial plan before it changed in January thanks to Trae

 

thsts not to say LP is a good coach that’s to say yeah he was tossing games by not caring as much about winning 

Edited April 2, 2020 by JTB

[Peoriabird]

5 minutes ago, JTB said:

YES....YES...YES

that was the initial plan before it changed in January thanks to Trae

 

thsts not to say LP is a good coach that’s to say yeah he was tossing games by not caring as much about winning 

I hope you're right but that wouldn't make much sense since his ability to get another job depends on his performance at his previous job.

[Thomas]

11 minutes ago, JTB said:

thsts not to say LP is a good coach that’s to say yeah he was tossing games by not caring as much about winning 

And all this time I thought it was because LP can't close out a game therefore Trae would have to go ballistic late for us to win, with a good measure of JC of course.

[High5]

Schlenk tanked last season in the sense that he didn't attempt to turn us into a playoff team. He was focused on player development and keeping the books clean moving forward. He wasn't full blown tanking for the #1 pick, though, and I don't think LP was tanking at all. The most common complaints were "LP is giving the most veteran player in the league too many minutes" and "LP isn't giving enough minutes to our 2nd round rookie." Maybe you could say he was partially motivated to use the "core 5" lineup as much as he did for future gains, but it was also just our most talented lineup. 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

Quote

His efficacy beyond the paint, however, left much to be desired. Jones offered little on offense beyond catching and immediately finishing, and almost nothing in the way of playmaking.

Quote

Defensively, he still has significant steps to take to reach passability. Some of his shortcomings on that end of the floor -- late recognition, poor communication, sloppy technique -- are partly products of having so little experience prior to this season. There’s only so much that watching elite defenders from the bench can do without actually having to diagnose actions and execute coverages yourself. Jones often lagged a step behind the action, which proved particularly costly given the importance of defense at his position. 

Quote

Despite his impressive vertical athleticism, Jones doesn’t get off the ground quickly and isn’t especially agile moving laterally. He takes a beat to load up before leaping, which often made him late to challenge shots at the rim, and tends to stay upright when tasked with defending in space. That mechanical movement hurt Atlanta on the defense glass, where Jones grabbed only 14.1 percent of opponents’ missed shots. He was an effective offensive rebounder because he could sneak around defenders and use his unchecked explosiveness to outjump opponents for loose balls; his lack of physicality, however, prevented him from successfully keeping his man off the offensive boards

 

[Thomas]

8 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Knowing what we all witnessed it is pretty easy to disregard what any sportswriter says about Jones, good or bad. He is simply that bad at roundball. Go use that engineering degree fella. It should serve you well.

[AHF]

Impressed that someone bothered to type that many words about Jones.  Best of luck to you in your next city of employment, young man!