MOVING ON UP !!

[Gray Mule]

When checking the standings in the NBA, Atlanta is better than two teams in the east and two in the west.  They are still safely in the lottery.  We are told that our path from here to the end of the season is one of the easiest.  

Center was said to be the weakest position for the Hawks.  Therefore they traded for Dedmon and Capela.  Neither was available in our last two games, both of which were victories.  Most all Hawk fans want to see Skal and Capela in a few games before the season's end.  Just to see what we have, if for no other reason.  We're not really wanting them to help us win this season.  We just want to see them play, as Hawks.

Our GM has had his eye on Skal for a long time and we see no reason that, if healthy, he will not be brought back with a new contract.  Capela is already signed for several seasons.  Note:  Dedmon's contract expires soon.  Is he a keeper?  For how much $$$ ?

Then, there is our thoughts about this summer.  Who will we draft?  Or, perhaps, we trade our draft pick.  What free agents are on our wish list?  What will we do with all our expiring contracts?  Bring them back or let them go?  What will we do with our $$$ payroll excess this summer?  Nest summer?

Will Capela  make us better?  How much will Skal be able to contribute?  Will they both be as good as we all hope?

Hawks are putting themselves in position to really be moving on up next season.  Not to win it all, but to move into the playoff with our very young roster who are expected to still be growing and improving.  

GO ATL HAWKS !!

[NBASupes]

Agreed. 5th in the lottery. I can easily see us being the best non playoff team in the East by the end of the season. We need a lot of luck though to make the playoffs

[Spud2nique]

7 hours ago, Gray Mule said:

Dedmon's contract expires soon.  Is he a keeper?  For how much $$$ ?

Considering we have Capela and Bruno, I’m not sure Dedmon comes back. Guessing he was just a rental until the end of this season.  [Mod Edit:  Spud is aware that Dedmon is under contract for next year now.  No need to point it out again.  Thanks!]

Actually I don’t mind being in the meaty part of the lottery like 5-8. I feel like a team around that range usually wins the lottery like the Pelicans last year.

[Thomas]

Believe Dedmon's contract is fully guaranteed for 13 million next season. The year after is just a one million dollar guarantee until July and after that point it would become a full contract season. Will be good to have him back for minutes behind Capela. Think Bruno probably plays both big spots depending on who is healthy but hoping to just see a lot more minutes period from him moving forward. 

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/dewayne-dedmon-13536/

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

Considering we have Capela and Bruno, I’m not sure Dedmon comes back. Guessing he was just a rental until the end of this season.

Actually I don’t mind being in the meaty part of the lottery like 5-8. I feel like a team around that range usually wins the lottery like the Pelicans last year.

Ded has 1 fully guaranteed year left next year. $1 mil on 2021.

[REHawksFan]

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Agreed. 5th in the lottery. I can easily see us being the best non playoff team in the East by the end of the season. We need a lot of luck though to make the playoffs

Yep. Currently, Wash is 9th in the east with a 22-37 record. The Hawks are 3 games back in the win column and 6 back in the loss column. In their remaining 23 games, Wash plays:

• Mil x 2
• LAL x 1
• Tor x 1
• Mia x 1
• Ind x 2
• Phil x 2
• Hou x 1 
• Bos x 2
• OKC x 1
• Atl x 2

All of the above are playoff teams. And not the sub-.500 playoff teams either.  Conversely, they only play the Hornets once and don't play the Bulls or Pistons. Those are the only 3 teams between the Hawks and Wiz at the moment. 

 

Charlotte is 21-39; 2 games up in the W column and 4 games up in the L column. Of their remaining 22 games:

• Mia x 3
• Phi x 2
• LAL x 1
• Den x 1
• Hou x 1
• LAC x 1
• Tor x 1
• OKC x 1
• Atl x 3

Hawks could erase that deficit by just beating the Hornets 3 times and playing their non-playoff teams better than Cha plays the playoff teams. Hornets do not play the Bulls or Pistons

 

Chicago is 20-40; 1 game up in the W column and 3 games up in the L column. They play:

• Mia x 2
• Dal x 1
• Ind x 1
• Bos x 2
• Hou x 1
• Den x 2
• Phi x 1
• Utah x 1
• LAL x 1
• LAC x 1

So 13 of their remaining 22 games are against legit playoff teams. They also do not play the Pistons, Wash, or Cha

 

Pistons are 20-42, 1 game up in W and L column. Over their remaining 20 games, they play:

• OKC x 1
• Utah x 1
• Phi x 1
• Tor x 1
• LAL x 1
• Mil x 1
• LAC x 1
• Hou x 1
• Mia x 2
• Dal x 1
• Bos x 1
• Atl x 1

So that's 12 out of 20 games against playoff teams. Hawks just need to make up 1 game. 

 

Bottom line, imo, the above teams are going to struggle to get more than 31 wins against these schedules. For reference, Hawks are 19-43 with 20 games remaining. Their remaining schedule vs winning teams:

• OKC x 1
• Phi x 1
• Utah x 1
• Tor x 1
• Mil x 1

These are the only winning teams they play. All 15 others have sub-.500 records at this point.  IF the Hawks could figure out some way to win 10 or 11 vs the losing teams, they could very well finish 9th in the East. At this point, I'm thinking 32 wins might be the Hawks Ceiling from here. 

 

 

 

[NBASupes]

1 minute ago, REHawksFan said:

Yep. Currently, Wash is 9th in the east with a 22-37 record. The Hawks are 3 games back in the win column and 6 back in the loss column. In their remaining 23 games, Wash plays:

• Mil x 2
• LAL x 1
• Tor x 1
• Mia x 1
• Ind x 2
• Phil x 2
• Hou x 1 
• Bos x 2
• OKC x 1
• Atl x 2

All of the above are playoff teams. And not the sub-.500 playoff teams either.  Conversely, they only play the Hornets once and don't play the Bulls or Pistons. Those are the only 3 teams between the Hawks and Wiz at the moment. 

 

Charlotte is 21-39; 2 games up in the W column and 4 games up in the L column. Of their remaining 22 games:

• Mia x 3
• Phi x 2
• LAL x 1
• Den x 1
• Hou x 1
• LAC x 1
• Tor x 1
• OKC x 1
• Atl x 3

Hawks could erase that deficit by just beating the Hornets 3 times and playing their non-playoff teams better than Cha plays the playoff teams. Hornets do not play the Bulls or Pistons

 

Chicago is 20-40; 1 game up in the W column and 3 games up in the L column. They play:

• Mia x 2
• Dal x 1
• Ind x 1
• Bos x 2
• Hou x 1
• Den x 2
• Phi x 1
• Utah x 1
• LAL x 1
• LAC x 1

So 13 of their remaining 22 games are against legit playoff teams. They also do not play the Pistons, Wash, or Cha

 

Pistons are 20-42, 1 game up in W and L column. Over their remaining 20 games, they play:

• OKC x 1
• Utah x 1
• Phi x 1
• Tor x 1
• LAL x 1
• Mil x 1
• LAC x 1
• Hou x 1
• Mia x 2
• Dal x 1
• Bos x 1
• Atl x 1

So that's 12 out of 20 games against playoff teams. Hawks just need to make up 1 game. 

 

Bottom line, imo, the above teams are going to struggle to get more than 31 wins against these schedules. For reference, Hawks are 19-43 with 20 games remaining. Their remaining schedule vs winning teams:

• OKC x 1
• Phi x 1
• Utah x 1
• Tor x 1
• Mil x 1

These are the only winning teams they play. All 15 others have sub-.500 records at this point.  IF the Hawks could figure out some way to win 10 or 11 vs the losing teams, they could very well finish 9th in the East. At this point, I'm thinking 32 wins might be the Hawks Ceiling from here. 

 

 

 

If we can go on a massive win streak, 35-36 wins is possible. 

[bleachkit]

2 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Considering we have Capela and Bruno, I’m not sure Dedmon comes back. Guessing he was just a rental until the end of this season.

Actually I don’t mind being in the meaty part of the lottery like 5-8. I feel like a team around that range usually wins the lottery like the Pelicans last year.

We owe him 13 million next year.

[Spud2nique]

56 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Ded has 1 fully guaranteed year left next year. $1 mil on 2021.

Sorry when I read Gramps original post I thought Dedmon was a free agent this summer. my bad.

[bleachkit]

2 hours ago, Thomas said:

Believe Dedmon's contract is fully guaranteed for 13 million next season. The year after is just a one million dollar guarantee until July and after that point it would become a full contract season. Will be good to have him back for minutes behind Capela. Think Bruno probably plays both big spots depending on who is healthy but hoping to just see a lot more minutes period from him moving forward. 

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/dewayne-dedmon-13536/

13 million is a lot for guy that gives us next to nothing on offense. I wonder if Schlenk has buyers remorse. 

[Spud2nique]

3 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

We owe him 13 million next year.

When I make a mistake I have to answer to 8 bosses Bob!  
 

 

[Spud2nique]

2 hours ago, Thomas said:

Believe Dedmon's contract is fully guaranteed for 13 million next season.

That’s 8 bosses Bob...  

When we used to make a mistake back in grade school they used to make us write it a million times. Enjoy the show..

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

8 bosses @Thomas... 8! 
 

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by Spud2nique

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Just now, Spud2nique said:

That’s 8 bosses Bob...  

When we used to make a mistake back in grade school they used to make us write it a million times. Enjoy the show..

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

8 bosses @Thomas... 8! 

 

 

 

but dedmon still has one guaranteed year left at 13 mil doe

God forbid posters read the entire thread before responding, huh?

[Spud2nique]

5 minutes ago, PSSSHHHRRR87 said:

God forbid posters read the entire thread before responding, huh?

Well I read Gramps OP and he said Dedmon expires soon and I thought by soon he meant this summer. I did read it in its entirety though.

[Spud2nique]

6 minutes ago, PSSSHHHRRR87 said:

but dedmon still has one guaranteed year left at 13 mil doe

I didn’t get the memo ...
 

 

[Thomas]

36 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

That’s 8 bosses Bob...  

When we used to make a mistake back in grade school they used to make us write it a million times. Enjoy the show..

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

Ded has fully guaranteed year left.

8 bosses @Thomas... 8! 
 

 

 

 

 

Another classic line from that movie is of course.

[bleachkit]

3 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Agreed. 5th in the lottery. I can easily see us being the best non playoff team in the East by the end of the season. We need a lot of luck though to make the playoffs

We would need to practically win out, could only afford a couple losses at most, and for a collapse from either Brooklyn or Orlando. 20 games left, we would need 17 to 18 wins to have a shot. 

Edited March 2, 2020 by bleachkit

[Gray Mule]

6 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Well I read Gramps OP and he said Dedmon expires soon and I thought by soon he meant this summer. I did read it in its entirety though.

Yep.  I said soon.  The summer of 2021 seems to be the time everyone is talking about.  @Spud2nique I did not mean to miss lead you.  sorry..

[Thomas]

22 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

We would need to practically win out, could only afford a couple losses at most, and for a collapse from either Brooklyn or Orlando. 20 games left, we would need 17 to 18 wins to have a shot. 

Brooklyn has lost their last six out of eight but then you know....figure the odds against us pulling it off are way stacked. Still it will be interesting to watch what happens.

[Iman]

Our rebuild is progressing properly.  The main key is what key free agent can we pick up in the next year or two.

 

The record this season makes sense.  Hunter and Reddish were not gonna be as good as Prince and Bazemore early in their rookie years.  I think they are passing them now.  25 games without Collins cost us 5ish wins.

 

We were weak at center and with rookie wings and no backup PG or backup PF much of the season.  Most of that is fixed.  With no changes we are a bottom half of the east playoff team. IMO.  If Reddish keeps improving maybe we are even close to a 4th seed.

 

But to contend for a title we need one more all star.  We will have the money and draft picks, can we find him.