Playoff bound!

[JTB]

3 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

No matter what happens the rest of the way, before this season, the goal was to get in to the playoffs. We did that. No moving goalposts.

When the season started and we saw the potential of this squad early, the goal was to get a top-6 seed and avoid the play-in. Through the ups and downs, injuries and coaching change We DID THAT. No moving goalposts.

We all want more. The job isn't done. We want to get homecourt and win a series or two. But regardless of what happens, just remember where we started and what we all agreed would define a great season. Appreciate what we HAVE accomplished before we start tearing down the coaching and players when we don't win a championship at the end of this season. We are right where we are supposed to be. No moving goalposts.

 

This is a good post! Right on the money!....if we finish 4th seed I’d say the expectations were greatly exceeded for the regular season but if not expectations were still met as we avoided the play in game.

The season goal was met and we got to give major props to Schlenk and his front office, Coach McMillan and his coaching staff, and Trae and the rest of his team for leading the way.

My argument against expectations depending on the situation:

Now I’m going to put a wrinkle in this because that’s just what I do lol....first in foremost I believe playoff experience is a REAL thing! You build this by consistently making the playoffs and building off on it year by year and hopefully that experience turns into having deep playoff runs. Most would agree the playoffs in any era is different and ref’d differently then the regular season ...it’s a lot more physical and refs tend to not blow their whistle as often especially down the stretch.

I say that to say my playoff expectations for the Hawks vary so while expectations of the regular season was definitely met and playoffs was achieved most of us thought we’d be the youngest team in the playoffs in the East (at least I did) which makes you tend to give a pass if they are playing a team that’s been there before (vet team).
BUT this season played out differently! We are not the only young inexperienced playoff team in the east so here’s where my expectations are rightfully set a little higher if this matchup happens......IF we play the knicks rd1, I’m not going to say I expect us to win the series but with the Knicks who I personally consider also being a team like us where their young core is major yet doesn’t really have the playoff experience Outside of some key vets like us ....I am personally expecting our Hawks to be very challenging with a real high possibility of winning a series vs the knicks  and moving on.

knicks don’t have the playoff experience that should put any question marks on how that series may play out....it would truly be up for grabs which is why I personally hope we get them rd 1. Moving past rd 1 would make us look extremely attractive league wide and possibly to free agents or that next disgruntled star to adds us to their list of teams they want to force themselves to.

 

But say we get the vet team... last season’s Eastern conference winner the Miami Heat rd 1.....my expectations for the Hawks winning vs this vet team is much lower...AGAIN I believe playoff experience is a real thing! despite our regular season series win vs the heat this is a matchup i know will have the odds against us by far and will be extremely challenging (not that  all series aren’t) despite what fans may think. The Heat plays a ton of vets in butler, Ariza, dragic, iggy, etc with only 3 main rotation young players herro, Robinson, Dunn ....then there’s young Bam who’s not a vet as far as playoffs but plays so freely you will think he is and does his job without the pressure as he’s not considered the teams best player butler is. On another note all of the Heats young players who will actually play  have playoff experience from their amazing run last season....I’m not saying the hawks won’t be challenging vs the Heat but to me the nerves would be a lot different. Heat wouldn’t be scared of the moment whereas young teams  like the knicks and hawks will likely make some mistakes in these important games because that’s just what young teams do.

It would be icing on the cake to get the knicks rd 1.

[Diesel]

3 hours ago, JTB said:

This is a good post! Right on the money!....if we finish 4th seed I’d say the expectations were greatly exceeded for the regular season but if not expectations were still met as we avoided the play in game.

The season goal was met and we got to give major props to Schlenk and his front office, Coach McMillan and his coaching staff, and Trae and the rest of his team for leading the way.

My argument against expectations depending on the situation:

Now I’m going to put a wrinkle in this because that’s just what I do lol....first in foremost I believe playoff experience is a REAL thing! You build this by consistently making the playoffs and building off on it year by year and hopefully that experience turns into having deep playoff runs. Most would agree the playoffs in any era is different and ref’d differently then the regular season ...it’s a lot more physical and refs tend to not blow their whistle as often especially down the stretch.

I say that to say my playoff expectations for the Hawks vary so while expectations of the regular season was definitely met and playoffs was achieved most of us thought we’d be the youngest team in the playoffs in the East (at least I did) which makes you tend to give a pass if they are playing a team that’s been there before (vet team).
BUT this season played out differently! We are not the only young inexperienced playoff team in the east so here’s where my expectations are rightfully set a little higher if this matchup happens......IF we play the knicks rd1, I’m not going to say I expect us to win the series but with the Knicks who I personally consider also being a team like us where their young core is major yet doesn’t really have the playoff experience Outside of some key vets like us ....I am personally expecting our Hawks to be very challenging with a real high possibility of winning a series vs the knicks  and moving on.

knicks don’t have the playoff experience that should put any question marks on how that series may play out....it would truly be up for grabs which is why I personally hope we get them rd 1. Moving past rd 1 would make us look extremely attractive league wide and possibly to free agents or that next disgruntled star to adds us to their list of teams they want to force themselves to.

 

But say we get the vet team... last season’s Eastern conference winner the Miami Heat rd 1.....my expectations for the Hawks winning vs this vet team is much lower...AGAIN I believe playoff experience is a real thing! despite our regular season series win vs the heat this is a matchup i know will have the odds against us by far and will be extremely challenging (not that  all series aren’t) despite what fans may think. The Heat plays a ton of vets in butler, Ariza, dragic, iggy, etc with only 3 main rotation young players herro, Robinson, Dunn ....then there’s young Bam who’s not a vet as far as playoffs but plays so freely you will think he is and does his job without the pressure as he’s not considered the teams best player butler is. On another note all of the Heats young players who will actually play  have playoff experience from their amazing run last season....I’m not saying the hawks won’t be challenging vs the Heat but to me the nerves would be a lot different. Heat wouldn’t be scared of the moment whereas young teams  like the knicks and hawks will likely make some mistakes in these important games because that’s just what young teams do.

It would be icing on the cake to get the knicks rd 1.

I think you have to look at this as being about coaching and not necessarily playoff experience.   Last year, Miami made it to the finals with very little playoff experience.   The Clippers had all the playoff experience in the world and they lost to Denver.   I don't know if Playoff experience means that much until you get to the finals. 

 

[kg01]

Hmmmmmm .... kg notices a lotta names, who usually figure prominently when we lose, but who have been silent lately ...

[JTB]

1 hour ago, Diesel said:

I think you have to look at this as being about coaching and not necessarily playoff experience.   Last year, Miami made it to the finals with very little playoff experience.   The Clippers had all the playoff experience in the world and they lost to Denver.   I don't know if Playoff experience means that much until you get to the finals. 

 

That’s fair but the heat was a very rare situation and Denver beating the clippers isn’t all that surprising being that they were one game away from being in the conference finals the year before. 
 

If anything the little playoff experience they got helped build them to have moments like that and not be down on themselves even if they are down 1-3 in a series 

[macdaddy]

When 6 of 7 1st rounders from the last three years are starters or rotation players on a playoff squad then you're pretty damn good at drafting.   

 

[benhillboy]

10 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

When 6 of 7 1st rounders from the last three years are starters or rotation players on a playoff squad then you're pretty damn good at drafting.   

 

Hell yeah you are.

Where that fool @Spud2nique at?  The shelf life of that avatar change I owe him ain’t gonna last forever lol.

[kg01]

Can we vote on whether or not we're naming the dudes who only come 'round when the Hawks lose?

[Duff_Man]

I vote yes.

[JayBirdHawk]

Love It!

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[macdaddy]

1 minute ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

In the first wiz game there was a play toward the end when someone threw a lob on a fast break and both Capela and JC went up for it.   I told the kids 'that's what everyone said would happen the whole season'  and it's happened once that i remember.  maybe twice. 

[JayBirdHawk]

7 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

In the first wiz game there was a play toward the end when someone threw a lob on a fast break and both Capela and JC went up for it.   I told the kids 'that's what everyone said would happen the whole season'  and it's happened once that i remember.  maybe twice. 

That is true - the only one that I remember.

[Thomas]

13 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

3 years out of the playoffs and now back in. Below are the significant moves and building blocks that got us here:

Draftees:
2017 - John Collins
2018 - Trae Young, Kevin Huerter
2019 - Deandre Hunter, Cam Reddish, Bruno Fernando
2020 - Onyeka Okongwu, Skylar Mays

Trades:
2019 - Capela for the BKN 2019 1st
2020 - Tony Snell, Lou Williams

Free Agents:
Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovich, Solomon Hill, Kris Dunn

Coaching:
Replaced Lloyd Pierce with Nate McMillan.

Go HAWKS!!!

 

Pretty damn amazing.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Diesel]

2 hours ago, JTB said:

That’s fair but the heat was a very rare situation and Denver beating the clippers isn’t all that surprising being that they were one game away from being in the conference finals the year before. 
 

If anything the little playoff experience they got helped build them to have moments like that and not be down on themselves even if they are down 1-3 in a series 

I tend to look at it more like a chess game than experience builds.. because if you don't have the talent, experience is meaningless.   The chess game is matching strength with strength and creating a strategy that wins.   That's why Nate can take the same piece that LP had and has consistently won with it.   LP wouldn't bench Trae in the final minutes of a game... but Nate would... and because Nate was a high caliber PG in his playing days, Trae is more apt to listen to him. 

When we play the Knicks... it won't be a game of experience vs. Experience... instead, it will be Thibbs vs. Nate with the various pieces that we bring to the table.

In the second round when we play Philly, it will be Nate vs. Doc with the various pieces we bring to the table. 

Getting the experience will be good for our young guys... but the experience is not the biggest difference maker.

 

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, Diesel said:

In the second round when we play Philly,

I see what you did there:

[sturt]

14 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

No matter what happens the rest of the way, before this season, the goal was to get in to the playoffs. We did that. No moving goalposts.

When the season started and we saw the potential of this squad early, the goal was to get a top-6 seed and avoid the play-in. Through the ups and downs, injuries and coaching change We DID THAT. No moving goalposts.

We all want more. The job isn't done. We want to get homecourt and win a series or two. But regardless of what happens, just remember where we started and what we all agreed would define a great season. Appreciate what we HAVE accomplished before we start tearing down the coaching and players when we don't win a championship at the end of this season. We are right where we are supposed to be. No moving goalposts.

 

Yes. Mind-melding.

The only way I would revise this would be to bold, italicize and underline want.

And, maybe add a sentence again as I've said a couple or three times already... accept that this is effectively the first phase of Preseason 2021-22. Everything right now is practice for the next regular and post-season. Would we like to win preseason games? Yes. That would be preferable to losing. But the bigger priority is preparing to win next time we're in this same position.

(So, one takeaway from that... Cam, when you're ready, expect to get suited up. You're more likely to be playing a big role for us then than are some of our other expiring wings.)

 

[kg01]

4 hours ago, benhillboy said:

Hell yeah you are.

Where that fool @Spud2nique at?  The shelf life of that avatar change I owe him ain’t gonna last forever lol.

For legal purposes, I just wanted to let you know that kg & Associates has been hired as a consultant on your avatar change.

No cause for alarm though .... or is there?

[frosgrim]

16 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

3 years out of the playoffs and now back in. Below are the significant moves and building blocks that got us here:

Draftees:
2017 - John Collins
2018 - Trae Young, Kevin Huerter
2019 - Deandre Hunter, Cam Reddish, Bruno Fernando
2020 - Onyeka Okongwu, Skylar Mays

Trades:
2019 - Capela for the BKN 2019 1st
2020 - Tony Snell, Lou Williams

Free Agents:
Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovich, Solomon Hill, Kris Dunn

Coaching:
Replaced Lloyd Pierce with Nate McMillan.

Go HAWKS!!!

 

 

Amazing what happens when you have a GM that can draft, trade, and sign the right free agents.  I can't think of a Hawks team that built itself better through all three methods of player acquisition from a single GM. The entire team is Travis', which is very encouraging for both the present and future of the team. 

The Bud 60 win team was an amalgamation of Knight, Sund, and Ferry.  In fact, Ferry mostly pruned the edges of drafted players, and brought in key FAs, but he didn't fully build that team from the ground up.  

The other team might be the 80s team that took the C's to 7 games in the second round. I think that was a Kasten built team. 

But, overall, I'll take what Travis is doing to give the team success this season and for the foreseeable future. 

[hawkzlova123]

Let's see how trae is in the spot light