Next person who calls De'Andre Hunter a PF gets my foot in their back side.

[Peoriabird]

4 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

I think thats the whole strategy of surrounding him with defenders. Plus Trae is going to make some strides. He  showed a little improvement down the stretch last season, he just has to keep it up.

The personnel is fine!  We need to stop focusing on Personnel but rather the scheme or the lack there of.  Personnel is more important regarding offense.  Heck even Houston was a decent defensive team with their personnel!

[JTB]

6 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

Now I see where LP gets his advise from.

Hunter isn’t going to start at PF....but he’ll get his minutes there just like Gallo isn’t starting at SF but will get his minutes there.

[bird_dirt]

3 hours ago, kg01 said:

The Hawks are gonna redefine position less basketball.

Ok BK.

[Diesel]

1 minute ago, bird_dirt said:

Ok BK.

I did hear Travis say 6'9" Athletic and interchangeable. 

 

[JTB]

5 hours ago, Diesel said:

I did hear Travis say 6'9" Athletic and interchangeable. 

 

Oddly he did reference that if he could have that team with all the needed skillsets that’s what he would take.

Edited November 30, 2020 by JTB

[AHF]

11 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

The personnel is fine!  We need to stop focusing on Personnel but rather the scheme or the lack there of.  Personnel is more important regarding offense.  Heck even Houston was a decent defensive team with their personnel!

The personnel is fine - now.  Hasn’t been fine the last two seasons.

[NBASupes]

38 minutes ago, AHF said:

The personnel is fine - now.  Hasn’t been fine the last two seasons.

Facts!!!!

[JeffS17]

23 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Who does Hunter remind y'all of now that we have had a season to see him play?

He still isnt quick but he is a lot more explosive than I initially thought. His straight line speed once he gathers is  pretty fast. He can usually blow by defenders with no dribble. Still methodical and robotic with the ball.

I still get Kawhi vibes offensively, just a very raw version. Defensively he still has a ways to go. Kind of looks like skinny Melo on defense right now haha .

Yeah, I see the Kawhi comparison offensively even though Hunter is leagues below Kawhi.  They both have a sort of methodical, robotic feel to them with the ball.  I'm hoping Hunter can eventually be a solid 3&D piece but I don't see him developing into a dynamic scorer and likely not an all-star either, probably just a decent starter or very good 6th man.  As much as I like Hunter, I think he's a future piece we package in a trade for an allstar - superstar type player (if possible)

[JayBirdHawk]

The Hawks want Hunter at SF with spot minutes at PF.  Multi-positional players gives us more options on offense and defense.

[Peoriabird]

4 hours ago, AHF said:

The personnel is fine - now.  Hasn’t been fine the last two seasons.

One can argue that the defensive personnel on the those teams weren't that bad.  Prince,Turner, Dedmon, Len, Bembry, Baze, Justin Anderson were pretty good defensive players.  So the Hawks should have had a better defense during those years.

[Sothron]

I'm fine holding LP accountable NOW that he has an actual NBA roster and not G-league talent. 

The fact he keeps talking about how he couldn't install his REAL offense and his REAL defense is telling. Now he has zero excuses to show us what he can REALLY do as a coach. 

As for Hunter he is definitely a SF that can play PF in a small ball lineup. 

[AHF]

17 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

One can argue that the defensive players on the either team wasn't that terrible.  Prince,Turner, Dedmon, Len, Bembry, Baze, Justin Anderson were pretty good defensive players.  So the Hawks should have had a better defense during those years.

Agree to disagree hard on that.  Those teams were built to tank.  

[kg01]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

I'm fine holding LP accountable NOW that he has an actual NBA roster and not G-league talent. 

The fact he keeps talking about how he couldn't install his REAL offense and his REAL defense is telling. Now he has zero excuses to show us what he can REALLY do as a coach. 

As for Hunter he is definitely a SF that can play PF in a small ball lineup. 

This is fair criticism and I agree.

I remember him saying he couldn't install his defense after year 1.  It was an ok year-1 admission but didn't explain why they didn't appear to have an identity after that.  I raise my eyebrows at that.

I recall Brett Brown during their tank years.  People kept saying how great of a coach he was.  But, when I watched them, they didn't appear to be actually trying to accomplish anything on the court.  I wondered, "Ok you're bereft of talent but that doesn't mean you can't run stuff/play hard."  That's when I decided he was a terrible coach.

Fast forward to Atlanta and I'm similarly puzzled by how we play.  Could that be a personnel thing?  Perhaps.  And that's why I'm still in a wait-n-see posture.  But, as you mention, the gloves are off this year.  We should see a more defined style of play on both ends start to emerge.

[txsting]

On 11/29/2020 at 11:03 AM, bleachkit said:

He's the exact same as size as Cam. Yet people here put Cam at the 2, and Hunter at the 4. To me they are both ideal 3's in terms of size.

Thank you f***ing thank you

[AHF]

9 minutes ago, txsting said:

Thank you f***ing thank you

Same height doesn't mean same ideal position, though.  Charles Barkley was shorter than Penny Hardaway but they definitely had different roles (and ideal roles).  

Hunter is stronger and slower than Cam.  I agree with you guys that his ideal position is SF with matchup specific use at the 4 but I'm not sure that Cam's ideal position is at the 3 (and he clearly shouldn't be at the 4) because his height advantage at SG seems like a real asset and he has the quickness to keep up with 2's.  

[Sothron]

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

This is fair criticism and I agree.

I remember him saying he couldn't install his defense after year 1.  It was an ok year-1 admission but didn't explain why they didn't appear to have an identity after that.  I raise my eyebrows at that.

I recall Brett Brown during their tank years.  People kept saying how great of a coach he was.  But, when I watched them, they didn't appear to be actually trying to accomplish anything on the court.  I wondered, "Ok you're bereft of talent but that doesn't mean you can't run stuff/play hard."  That's when I decided he was a terrible coach.

Fast forward to Atlanta and I'm similarly puzzled by how we play.  Could that be a personnel thing?  Perhaps.  And that's why I'm still in a wait-n-see posture.  But, as you mention, the gloves are off this year.  We should see a more defined style of play on both ends start to emerge.

I know they brought in McMillan for the clear coach in waiting if need be. I would like to have Kenny Atkinson as our coach if LP doesn't work out. He developed our guys and did the same for the Nets before their two drama mama superstars got him fired.

[NBASupes]

6 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

Yeah, I see the Kawhi comparison offensively even though Hunter is leagues below Kawhi.  They both have a sort of methodical, robotic feel to them with the ball.  I'm hoping Hunter can eventually be a solid 3&D piece but I don't see him developing into a dynamic scorer and likely not an all-star either, probably just a decent starter or very good 6th man.  As much as I like Hunter, I think he's a future piece we package in a trade for an allstar - superstar type player (if possible)

Kawhi and him have the same wing span and body type with that robotic feel but the big difference is hands, in the box explosiveness, and feet. Kawhi has tremendous feet. It's hard to find someone with his feet in the NBA. Kawhi's hands are unique. The only player with similar hands in today's NBA is Rui. Rui is also the only player with his in the box explosiveness. 

Hunter doesn't really have any standout features other than his mental processing and natural size which is tremendous for positional versatility. That's why @kg01 Shane Battier comparison makes so much sense. 

[MaceCase]

If you just allow yourselves to think beyond

PG-SG-SF-PF-C

towards the current 

G, G/F, F, F/C, C

alignments,

 I guarantee more than a few of you will sleep a lot better at night or day or dusk or whenever people sleep during these COVID days.

[kg01]

35 minutes ago, Sothron said:

I know they brought in McMillan for the clear coach in waiting if need be. I would like to have Kenny Atkinson as our coach if LP doesn't work out. He developed our guys and did the same for the Nets before their two drama mama superstars got him fired.

Eh, here's where I get off the soth-wagon.  Atkinson hasn't shown anything more than CLP has, imho.  And I can make a case he didn't develop anybody in BKN.  Who?  Levert?  All he did was get healthy.

Don't get too mad, tho.  Atleast we agree the divas derailed him.  #StillFriendsSoth

And I don't think nate is here for waiting. As is the case with the roster additions, hiring nate was simply a needed upgrade to the staff overall.  He's the type of coach that should've been on staff from the start over a guy like Melvin hunt.

[Sothron]

9 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Eh, here's where I get off the soth-wagon.  Atkinson hasn't shown anything more than CLP has, imho.  And I can make a case he didn't develop anybody in BKN.  Who?  Levert?  All he did was get healthy.

Don't get too mad, tho.  Atleast we agree the divas derailed him.  #StillFriendsSoth

And I don't think nate is here for waiting. As is the case with the roster additions, hiring nate was simply a needed upgrade to the staff overall.  He's the type of coach that should've been on staff from the start over a guy like Melvin hunt.

Atkinson took G level considered talent and made them NBA players and in some cases pretty decent to good players. He also got them into the playoffs without the divas. LP hasn't done anything remotely the same.