News and Notes: Updated between Games

[AHF]

I really hope we don't mess up our draft position if the regular season does resume for any period of time.  We are in a "swing" position where it would be really easy to tumble down.  Whether you want to keep the pick or trade it, having the #5 selection is much better than the #9.

[Spud2nique]

4 minutes ago, AHF said:

I really hope we don't mess up our draft position if the regular season does resume for any period of time.  We are in a "swing" position where it would be really easy to tumble down.  Whether you want to keep the pick or trade it, having the #5 selection is much better than the #9.

Well we did avoid being in the 6th slot with that last game loss to the Knicks. But I do see us trending upwards. I still want the season to resume though, I miss basketball like we all do.

[AHF]

2 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Well we did avoid being in the 6th slot with that last game loss to the Knicks. But I do see us trending upwards. I still want the season to resume though, I miss basketball like we all do.

I kind of feel like the season is already blown.  It is going to be impossible for teams to really pick up from where they left off.  Way too much down time has passed since the last game played.  Will be a very new dynamic when things resume.  If that new dynamic means we move down to a **** pick, then I will be feeling about that like I did the Sura late season surge.

[JayBirdHawk]

36 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Well we did avoid being in the 6th slot with that last game loss to the Knicks. But I do see us trending upwards. I still want the season to resume though, I miss basketball like we all do.

 

33 minutes ago, AHF said:

I kind of feel like the season is already blown.  It is going to be impossible for teams to really pick up from where they left off.  Way too much down time has passed since the last game played.  Will be a very new dynamic when things resume.  If that new dynamic means we move down to a **** pick, then I will be feeling about that like I did the Sura late season surge.

I want bball back to.

The layoff is concerning especially for those not able to 'practice'. They have individual workouts by coaches daily, but getting back into game shape will be intersting.

[sturt]

Why would there be any regular season played at this point?

Dunno.

Just go to Vegas, do the entire post-season there, and run it all through NBA.tv/PPV... and be done w/ 2019-20.

[AHF]

13 minutes ago, sturt said:

Why would there be any regular season played at this point?

For the tv contracts, hitting 70 games is important (assuming that requirement doesn't get waived).

[sturt]

So, okay. Say we dispense with the regular season, but use this as an opportunity to try something new and intriguing?

 

The top 24, 12 in each conference, qualify to participate in a one-time expanded playoff that begins with a 24-game round-robin "seeding" series preceding the real playoffs....

Which effectively allows the teams that actually had some valid and earned shot at the playoffs to potentially still qualify, while allowing all playoff participants a chance to get their legs back without having to take the time to do exhibition games nor any severe penalty if they don't perform well.

The top 4 teams, the middle 4 teams, and the bottom 4 teams each play each other exclusively, so for any given team, they play 3 others 8 times.

For the top group, they're playing strictly for seeding.

For the middle group, they're playing for seeding, but also for survival--the last place team in the group doesn't make the playoffs. So that creates some drama worth watching.

Then, the bottom 4 teams are actually playing for that one remaining playoff slot, so plenty of drama within a tier of teams that normally probably wouldn't draw hardly any TV ratings.

Then, conduct the playoffs according to the normal brackets after that.

 

The bottom 6 teams do what has been tossed around for years--they play for draft slots.

So, the worst you can do is end up with the #6 pick, but the best you can do obviously is win the #1. Each team plays the other five 5x.

 

So every team ends up with something more than 70 games played after all, and we use this unique situation as an opportunity to conduct what amounts to a post-season seeding round-robin (24 games played per team) and a post-season draft slots round-robin (25 games played per team).

 

EDIT: About those 4 teams in both conferences teams make the top 24, but then fail to get out of the round robin to play in the playoffs?

Let's give them one more game against each other, best of those 4 West teams versus best of the East, second best against second, third against third, and fourth against fourth. That way they also get at least 25 games like every other team in the league gets (ie, bearing in mind that all the playoff teams get 24 plus their playoff games).

Even better, let that one game also have draft slot consequences so that the winner of the two fourth-place teams gets the #7 draft slot, and the loser the #8... winner of the two third-place teams gets the #9, and the loser the #10... and so on.

[AHF]

18 hours ago, sturt said:

So, okay. Say we dispense with the regular season, but use this as an opportunity to try something new and intriguing?

 

The top 24, 12 in each conference, qualify to participate in a one-time expanded playoff that begins with a 24-game round-robin "seeding" series preceding the real playoffs....

Which effectively allows the teams that actually had some valid and earned shot at the playoffs to potentially still qualify, while allowing all playoff participants a chance to get their legs back without having to take the time to do exhibition games nor any severe penalty if they don't perform well.

The top 4 teams, the middle 4 teams, and the bottom 4 teams each play each other exclusively, so for any given team, they play 3 others 8 times.

For the top group, they're playing strictly for seeding.

For the middle group, they're playing for seeding, but also for survival--the last place team in the group doesn't make the playoffs. So that creates some drama worth watching.

Then, the bottom 4 teams are actually playing for that one remaining playoff slot, so plenty of drama within a tier of teams that normally probably wouldn't draw hardly any TV ratings.

Then, conduct the playoffs according to the normal brackets after that.

 

The bottom 6 teams do what has been tossed around for years--they play for draft slots.

So, the worst you can do is end up with the #6 pick, but the best you can do obviously is win the #1. Each team plays the other five 5x.

 

So every team ends up with something more than 70 games played after all, and we use this unique situation as an opportunity to conduct what amounts to a post-season seeding round-robin (24 games played per team) and a post-season draft slots round-robin (25 games played per team).

 

EDIT: About those 4 teams in both conferences teams make the top 24, but then fail to get out of the round robin to play in the playoffs?

Let's give them one more game against each other, best of those 4 West teams versus best of the East, second best against second, third against third, and fourth against fourth. That way they also get at least 25 games like every other team in the league gets (ie, bearing in mind that all the playoff teams get 24 plus their playoff games).

Even better, let that one game also have draft slot consequences so that the winner of the two fourth-place teams gets the #7 draft slot, and the loser the #8... winner of the two third-place teams gets the #9, and the loser the #10... and so on.

This strikes me as the right year to try something like this as the integrity of the season is already compromised, IMO.  One issue with this that jumps out is that the regular season is actually longer under this proposal than normal.  The Hawks would have 15 games remaining in a normal year but would end up playing 10 extra games.  

Given that the logistics and expense for these games will be more challenged and the gate revenues will be diminished, I would think that teams would need to end up playing fewer games - not more.

[sturt]

Indeed, @AHF. No need for that many games. I'm not sure what I was looking at when I came up with it, but I was off by about 15 games of what's needed. So, unless I missed something the team needing the most games is LAL which needs 7 to get to 70.

But easy enough to adjust.

So, instead of the original proposition of playing each team in your "pre-playoff series" group 8 times (3x8), we can just do 3 times, for a total of 9 games, and each in the "draft slot series" 2 times, for a total of 10 games.

Then the same would apply for the 8 teams eliminated from the playoffs that they each get that extra game to determine draft slotting, and end up with a 10th game.

Given the smaller number of games, there's a higher likelihood that we end up with some ties, and so on that, we just use the regular season record results as the tiebreaker.

[JayBirdHawk]

Nothing earth shattering, but an interesting read!

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

By the numbers:

 

[AHF]

8 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

By the numbers:

 

We are an absolute outlier in terms of the way this team was build.  Next year should be more balanced (beyond the obvious that Collins and Hunter will be 23 next season).

[JayBirdHawk]

3 Atlanta Hawks Who Disappointed This NBA Season

No surprises with these two: Bembry and Huerter. Only @Spud2nique is dissappointed in the 3rd: Damian Jones ( you talked yourself into him, bigtime )

Quote

DeAndre’ Bembry

If DeAndre’ Bembry was ever going to have a breakout season, this was going to be that season. It was on the heels of his best season to date and was the first “contract season” of his career.

He was essentially the Hawks’ sixth man to start the season, averaging over 20 minutes per game off the bench. Even as a leader of the second unit, Bembry struggled this season, failing to take strides from last season while also dealing with injuries.

Bembry’s numbers were down across the board, averaging fewer points, blocks, and rebounds than last year in similar minutes. While his field goal percentage as a whole did rise a bit, his three-point percentage dropped to 23 percent, the lowest since his rookie season.

From most reports, It seems very unlikely that the Hawks bring back Bembry, if they do what kind of extention will he get? His QO is $3.7 mil.

 

Quote

HUERTER

After a rough start with some injuries, Huerter eventually returned to the starting lineup in early December and played… about the same as last year.

Huerter continued to be a solid three-point sniper, especially off the catch-and-shoot. He sets his feet in a hurry, shooting off screens and on the move. His range is underrated as well and made quite a few from well beyond the arch this season.

Huerter did make some strides as a playmaker, and coach Lloyd Pierce used him as a secondary ball-handler on occasion. While he wasn’t so good to warrant a full-time change to point guard or anything, he did show a new facet of his game.

Everything else, however, was just about the same as last season. Which again, is not a bad thing. We celebrated his rookie season, and are still excited about what he brings to the team in the future.

It’s just that many were expecting that big leap that many players take from their first to second seasons. While that jump could certainly come next season or the one after, it could also mean that Huerter has already hit his ceiling as a catch-and-shoot specialist with solid playmaking and middling defense.

I'm hoping he has a more consistent year next season, off the bench most likely, but only if Reddish can get his offense on point.

 

Quote

Damian Jones

When the Hawks acquired Damian Jones late last summer, it was exciting. While Jones was never a world-beater with the Warriors, he was still young and was coming from a winning environment. The Hawks gave him good minutes early on, but it soon became apparent that Jones was not going to be apart of the core moving forward.

There’s just not much to like about Jones’ game. He can’t really score unless it’s on a wide-open lob, he’s not much of a shot-blocker, he is a below-average rebounder for his size and plays inconsistent, physical defense that often gets him in foul trouble.

No it wasn't exciting!

https://soaringdownsouth.com/2020/04/23/atlanta-hawks-disappointed/2/

[JayBirdHawk]

I disagree with this statement:

Quote

Even though Pierce appeared to be on the hot seat at the time of the hiatus, 

Next season, sure - not this season.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

you talked yourself into him, bigtime )

My friend sold me root beer flavored koolaid and I drank it.  

 

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

My friend sold me root beer flavored koolaid and I drank it.  

 

You guzzled it like free champagne!

Jones is what I also consider Hawkward bball player.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[bleachkit]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29099194/nba-reopening-team-practice-facilities-friday-where-local-restrictions-eased-sources-say

[Buzzard]

On 4/24/2020 at 12:50 PM, JayBirdHawk said:

By the numbers:

 

Thanks for this. I think its very telling if you look at where Dallas is and where we are. They are thought to be a young team with Zinger and Luka; but this graph tells a very different story.

We need talent and just as important, the new talent we add needs experience.

[JayBirdHawk]

Nice!