2021 into 2022 OFFSEASON News and Notes

[RandomFan]

11 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Your spelling errors. Real Hawk fans don’t misspell Millsap or Shelden, in that case..

GTTTTTFFFOOOOOO . 
 

THAT’S WHAT! 

I see no spelling errors on my post, look again sir. 

[AHF]

3 hours ago, RandomFan said:

The thing about Millsap going to BKN though is that is the team that can probably offer him the biggest role (on a good team at least). He will be in line for big minutes, not just sitting on the end of the bench. Heck, he might even end up starting over half their games. 

 

I retract it all if Sap ends up being a starter for them.  But I don't expect that at all (even if Blake crumbles).

[RandomFan]

7 hours ago, AHF said:

I retract it all if Sap ends up being a starter for them.  But I don't expect that at all (even if Blake crumbles).

The LMA news could definitely make things more interesting there, but without LMA they are incredibly thin on bigs there. And I'd expect Blake will see a lot of minutes at small ball center during the season. They are rumored to be negotiating a buyout for Deandre Jordan. 

[Spud2nique]

Their D is gonna stink. KD’s D is a year older and slower, Kyrie barely gives effort and Harden improved to just below average on D over the years.

So, who am I scared of again? Blake Griffin, he has never played D. 
 

This team can be stopped. They are gonna be good but they have some holes 🕳 for sure.

[AHF]

8 hours ago, RandomFan said:

The LMA news could definitely make things more interesting there, but without LMA they are incredibly thin on bigs there. And I'd expect Blake will see a lot of minutes at small ball center during the season. They are rumored to be negotiating a buyout for Deandre Jordan. 

I expect Durant to play a lot of small ball PF.

7 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

This team can be stopped. They are gonna be good but they have some holes 🕳 for sure.

Definitely some a-holes.

[bird_dirt]

22 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

 

" I also think fans shouldn’t be displeased if the Hawks don’t make the NBA Finals this year and it’s a setback. If you’re thinking like this, you’re only setting yourself up to be miserable."

 

Did you read this part, @Sothron?

[ATLHawks3]

9 minutes ago, bird_dirt said:

" I also think fans shouldn’t be displeased if the Hawks don’t make the NBA Finals this year and it’s a setback. If you’re thinking like this, you’re only setting yourself up to be miserable."

 

Did you read this part, @Sothron?

In a way, he's not wrong since not all progress is linear. But I think he's still underrating what a healthy Hawks team can look like under Nate.

[AHF]

10 minutes ago, ATLHawks3 said:

In a way, he's not wrong since not all progress is linear. But I think he's still underrating what a healthy Hawks team can look like under Nate.

He isn't saying the Hawks can't make the Finals.  He was saying that the season shouldn't be judged a failure if they repeat their ECF loss or get knocked out a bit earlier like the Nets did last year.  The path to a ring can take time and the East is going to be highly competitive this season with 3 or more teams very capable of winning it all and a guarantee that only one of them can make the Finals.  

I think most on this site believe the Hawks can do it but the quote goes to the issue of whether the season is a failure if they don't.

[RedDawg#8]

17 minutes ago, ATLHawks3 said:

In a way, he's not wrong since not all progress is linear. But I think he's still underrating what a healthy Hawks team can look like under Nate.

Unless we get the number 1 seed in the East, (which most of us agree we will be 2 or 3, and 4 at the worst) then it is a virtual certainty that we will face either the Nets or the Bucks in the 2nd round.

I think many people hope that we can avoid having to play those two until the ECF, but the truth is we will very likely have to go through BOTH of them to get out of the East. 

That is why I don't disagree that we shouldn't be disappointed if we don't get back to the ECF or make the Finals. Just because we arrived early doesn't mean we automatically get an ECF birth now.

That series against Philly was much harder than people remember/realize. We did not dominate them, we were not clearly the better team. That was a 7 game dogfight in which we won game 7 only by single digits. We lost the overall point differential against them by 28 over the entire series. Think about that. As much as we want to clown the Sixers and Ben Simmons, their average win was 12.5 points, ours was only 4.25 points. Kudos to us for finding a way to win, but keep that in perspective about just how hard it was to get past them. Statistics say we lose that series more often than not.

Fast forward to next season. We may have to play the defending champs in round 2. Do we assume we just automatically beat them because we are more experienced this year? Same with the Nets who are heavy favorites to win it all. We have to go through maybe the best 2 teams in the NBA.

So no, it's not a setback if we get bounced by one of those teams. It will only be a setback if we lose in the first round. 

It is HARD to win a title. Before they won this years Finals, the Bucks lost in round 2 in 2020 after going to the ECF the season prior. The disappointment and adversity is what prepared them to go all the way this year . They don't beat us in the ECF if they weren't hardened by previous failures. We could go all the way next year, we also could not. It's all a process and journey. 

 

 

[Spud2nique]

Anyone getting the feeling it’s been kinda quiet the last couple day…

 

Someone’s about to get traded..(not the Hawks; but in general)

 

[sturt]

2 hours ago, AHF said:

the issue of whether the season is a failure if they don't.

Failure is a strong term.

It will be a set back... nay... a significant set back (but still not "failure")... if we

(a) do not make the EC finals... and

(b) if it is also true that the Nets and Bucks ended up essentially being approximately as successful (by virtue of record) and healthy (by virtue of the degree to which their big 3 are healthy for the post-season) as they were last season... and...

(c) if it is also true that we also were approximately as successful and also more healthy going into the post-season (ie, not being w/o Dre and Cam, who this time last off-season were widely considered interchangeable starters).

 

What could happen is that a, b and c end up happening, but we find out that the skeptics were correct to not presume we're as good as we appeared to be for the second half of 2020-21 and the post-season... that it was premature to assign to Trae superstar status... that it was an overpay to give Collins $25m/aav... that Dre and/or Cam and/or Kev looked so much more like the 2019-20 versions of themselves than what gave reason for optimism in 2020-21... that BogBog and/or Gallo and/or Capela had plateaued if not declining... that Big2O's skills didn't progress or that he didn't even get on the floor after all. There's a lot that could go wrong, always is, for any team.

But/and so much went wrong--specific to injuries--last season, you'd like to think that fate will be at least somewhat kinder.

 

(Would think that's how most of us think about it, but will be interested to read if it's not.)

[sturt]

2 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

That series against Philly was much harder than people remember/realize. We did not dominate them, we were not clearly the better team. That was a 7 game dogfight in which we won game 7 only by single digits. We lost the overall point differential against them by 28 over the entire series. Think about that. As much as we want to clown the Sixers and Ben Simmons, their average win was 12.5 points, ours was only 4.25 points. Kudos to us for finding a way to win, but keep that in perspective about just how hard it was to get past them. Statistics say we lose that series more often than not.

 

Can't speak for anyone else, but my calculus says, yes, that it was harder, and yes, we did not dominate... but critically analyzing the situation, they were playing mostly without Danny Green who Ice roasted to the point of freezer burn for what time he was on the floor... and we played without a starter and someone who proved in the next series he would have been an asset if he'd been healthy in-time.

 

I like our chances of flipping that script if the boys all were loaded into the time machine, cranked back to June 6 to begin again, and it all got replayed.

[macdaddy]

3 minutes ago, sturt said:

Danny Green who Ice roasted to the point of freezer burn for what time he was on the floor.

Truth.   If they think Danny Green was the answer then they are in real trouble

 

[sturt]

13 minutes ago, sturt said:

Big2O's

It's decided. This is what I'm going with. Permanently. I think. Pretty sure.

[NBASupes]

Kris Dunn might be out of the NBA soon 

[marco102]

1 hour ago, NBASupes said:

Kris Dunn might be out of the NBA soon 

I was just thinking this.

[terrell]

22 minutes ago, marco102 said:

I was just thinking this.

Kris Dunn getting passed around like a....

Edited September 3, 2021 by terrell

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ATLHawks3]

I keep thinking about that Athletic article about Schlenk and the moves he made this offseason. One of the things he mentioned was that they would be open to filling that 15th roster spot with non-guaranteed contract, preferably a big. I looked at the current free agents that could fit that mold and I came across a couple players.

 

Luke Kornet:

 

DeMarcus Cousins:

 

 

Honestly, I think Kornet would be more realistic as I don't think Cousins would be interested in a non-guaranteed deal. But adding a 3rd center would really be a wise move especially if Dieng or Capela goes down with any injury while we're waiting for OO to be ready.

[ATLHawks3]

Hartenstein is another big I forgot to mention as well. Last I heard though was that he was looking for a bigger payday. Not sure what his remaining options are since we're about 3 weeks out from training camp.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2021 by ATLHawks3