I know this has been said, but I am proud of the boys

[NBASupes]

1. Trae Young. Honestly, before March, I really was falling out of love with Trae. He was playing selfish basketball. Wasn't running the offense. Jacking too many bad shots that would throw a wretch in the defense. He played a lot like a fake Iverson and he reminded me so much on the court of Stephon Marbury. I didn't like his game one bit. He was even baiting way too much. Then for like 3 games, we had Nate stepping in for LP who's on emergency leave and man, Trae just seemed more organized, not the organized chaos I am used to from Young. He played well. I was impressed. He looked like a young Zeke learning how to play this game as a true PG. Some loved to compare him to Nash but I didn't see 1/10 of the floor general skills from Young, I saw from Nash even based on his Dallas days but he started to figure it out. Wow! He still has a lot to learn as a true PG but you combine that with his ability to get to anywhere on the court and score like Iverson, you got a rare, once in a generation player. 
2. Bogi. My man looked like shit before he went out with that injury. I mean, his WAR was WOAT levels. Twice as bad as Kev and as horrible as Reddish was offensively, his defense was really good. I couldn't say that about Bogi at that time. Bogi struggled massively. Even when he finally came back, you can tell Nate didn't trust him like that and had him come off the bench for Kevin and Solo/Snell. But he started to get it, we ran our offense through him and we ended up having massive success from Apr on till the Philly series. He impressed me. 
3. JC. When LP was fired, JC took the biggest hit. Sure, Nate actually ran postup plays for JC that LP never would think of but LP ran his offense through JC and Trae. The new offense was ran through the Trae, the wings, Capela's PnRs, then JC who was like a 4th or 5th option. That was a massive drop in touches but JC adjusted and played a key role in our success. I think it means something that JC adjusted the way he did. That said, he's probably not worth what he wants but I do appreciate his adjustment. 
4. Hunter didn't adjust well from being the #3 option to #5 when he came back but he was amazing with LP. 
5. Cam - Tale of two Cam's, is he the injury one who struggles to impact the game offensively or is he the bucket we saw from JAN 1st till the end of the season as a rookie or his playoffs run. 

 

Overall, I am proud of the boys. I think next year will be very difficult but we can have massive success but it's going to take internal growth. 

[Gray Mule]

Difficult?  Yep.  Why?  Because of who we were in the playoffs.  That puts a target directly on the Hawks.  Right now, the Bucks, who lost two games to Atlanta, are tied, 2-2 in the NBA championship.

I too am proud of what my favorite NBA team did this past season.  This group of players evolved into a team.  As the younger ones matured they began to believe in each other and the company.

Bogi was still recovering from the effect of Covid-19 when he arrived.  Before he was 100% he was injured.  Recovering, we had a new head coach and he started to become a key cog in the Hawk machine.  He was injured again in the playoffs and wasn't 100% to the end.

GO BIG A

[macdaddy]

No doubt.   I mean we all saw the potential but let's be honest this team overachieved for their first time in.   We had no business winning that sixers series but we exploited the fact that the sixers were mentally weak and undisciplined.  It's hard to notice because they have a lot of talent.  

No doubt in my mind we'd be in the finals with a full healthy squad.    Which is incredible.  This is definitely the all time happiest i've been with an Atlanta team since 91.   It feels similar in that we have a ton of young talent and a front office ready and willing to do what it takes. 

[NBASupes]

The reason it's going to be more difficult is the east will be better. 82 games and the season being a grind will benefit vet teams but I do feel Trae leap in year 4 could be massive for us. For him, it's all about being a tremendous true PG while being an elite scorer is needed. 

Cam jump from year 2 to year 3 can be massive. 

Hunter jump might not be as likely but I hope he does make a leap. 

I want to see Kev for a full year in our system with Nate. 

Okongwu jump from year 1 to year 2 can be massive as well. 

[marco102]

1 hour ago, NBASupes said:

The reason it's going to be more difficult is the east will be better. 82 games and the season being a grind will benefit vet teams but I do feel Trae leap in year 4 could be massive for us. For him, it's all about being a tremendous true PG while being an elite scorer is needed. 

Cam jump from year 2 to year 3 can be massive. 

Hunter jump might not be as likely but I hope he does make a leap. 

I want to see Kev for a full year in our system with Nate. 

Okongwu jump from year 1 to year 2 can be massive as well. 

Trae - I want to see Trae improve his 3 point shooting and continue to decrease his turnovers.  That'll go a long way with the Hawks being a top 3 seed. 

Cam just needs to show offensive consistency this season.  Meaning improved handle so he can get to the basket and finish better, more consistent outside shot. and continue to be a dog on defense.  I don't need Cam to shoot 40% or anything, but if he improves his percentages to about 44% from the field and 35 to 36% three, I'll be very encouraged about his ceiling. 

Hunter - He still can improve his three point shot.  In the beginning of the season, he was hitting around 38-40%, but that declined as the season went on. I believe most of that had to do with his knee bothering him though. I hope he comes back fully healthy.

Kevin - He's basically answered all the questions we had for him. I believe he'll be best fit as the sixth man. He needs to improve his spot up three shooting and overall three percentage. I believe he will.  He needs to focus on improving his finishing at the rim and getting to the line.  The key for him this season was finding his spot in the midrange. 

Okongwu - He's probably going to have a pretty good jump considering this will be his first healthy off season with the team.   

John  - I want to see what John improves on after getting paid.  He hit some really big shots from the corner three. If he comes back with an improved handle, the league should be put on notice. 

Gallo - I hope he comes back in better shape.  The extra bulk helped him in the playoffs, but after his injury you can clearly see he lost some of his fitness. 

Bogi - I want to see March and April Bogi all next season.  I'd like to see him getting to the foul line a little more.

Capella - Work on those freethrows and find one solid go to move that he can use at the basket.

This Hawks' core just has so much potential if they keep improving.  

[JTB]

Based on your statements @NBASupes do you see Hunter as a 2nd option only under LP and a 5th option under McMillan?

im really asking because that’s how I read it but you also said JC was the 5th option under McMillan.

Personally I believe McMillan will see that his options in order goes as 1. Trae, 2.Hunter, 3. Will be based on matchups between Bogi, JC, maybe even Huerter….that’s how I see it playing out but as of today I truly believe Trae and Hunter are our best two scorers that you can tell “go get me a bucket” 

[macdaddy]

On 7/17/2021 at 6:55 PM, NBASupes said:

82 games and the season being a grind will benefit vet teams

Well i'd say it's going to benefit young vet teams which is what we are or at least becoming.   We saw what the grind did to old vet teams.  Knocked out AD, Kawhi, Harden, Kyrie.   

[NBASupes]

On 7/17/2021 at 9:54 PM, JTB said:

Based on your statements @NBASupes do you see Hunter as a 2nd option only under LP and a 5th option under McMillan?

im really asking because that’s how I read it but you also said JC was the 5th option under McMillan.

Personally I believe McMillan will see that his options in order goes as 1. Trae, 2.Hunter, 3. Will be based on matchups between Bogi, JC, maybe even Huerter….that’s how I see it playing out but as of today I truly believe Trae and Hunter are our best two scorers that you can tell “go get me a bucket” 

Nate plays on feel more than LP who plays via his system. Hunter is a lock as a #3 option with JC as the #2. It makes a lot of sense but LP system isn't about results, it's about using the best players at what they are best at. Nate is about results. 

With LP, Cam and Hunter started, with Nate, Bogi or Kev started. Cam was a lock for 5th option with Capela barely ahead. Hunter struggled with how he was going to be used with Bogi who is our clear #2 under Nate. Capela moved to #3 and JC dropped to 4.

Kevin style of play allows him to be a 5th option with no issues. Kevin is the one Hawk that doesn't need quality touches. That's why he's so valuable. He can fill in any role. Snell does the same but Snell dies in the playoffs due to his lack of self creation which Kevin has in abundance. 

Hunter is like Brodgon and Kawhi. He likes to get the ball, survey the court and make a decision. That slows down movement. That said, Hunter is really good at it like the others, not quite near Kawhi or Malcolm at it obviously. Hunter is a natural #2 option like Brodgon. It's kinda hard to use him as a #5 but his defense is so valuable, just his presence is massive for us. He's our most valuable defender outside of Clint. 

JC was a 4th option. He got touches but Capela basically became the primary PnR screener and Bogi became 2nd in touches. These things massively made us a much better and versatile offense. It's not that JC is not good or reliable because he is, it's just that spacing is better when Capela is out of the paint, and Bogi is much more lethal than JC with the rock. 

Bogi earned his #2 option card. I don't see how that changes. He's so good with the ball. His metrics when he started was off the charts. He was in the top 10 of all NBA players. Not, just Hawks but everyone. His value was massive in that role. No reason for Nate to change that. 

Hunter proved he's critical. I think we know that much.

[NBASupes]

45 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

Well i'd say it's going to benefit young vet teams which is what we are or at least becoming.   We saw what the grind did to old vet teams.  Knocked out AD, Kawhi, Harden, Kyrie.   

I hope. There is a chance, we are the next interation of the Warriors. We just have to see. 

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

LP who plays via his system.

System?  Wait, had we seen it?..

[NBASupes]

Just now, Spud2nique said:

System?  Wait, had we seen it?..

Yes, we have. Nate is running it. He just changed up our style. Its LPs system that we are running.

Edited July 19, 2021 by NBASupes

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

I hope. There is a chance, we are the next interation of the Warriors. We just have to see. 

Nope, we are the Hawks. We dropped being west coast Spurs..a warriors and all that other bs, we are the Atlanta Hawks and teams like OKC now will build through the draft using our blueprint.

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

Yes, we have. Nate is running it. He just changed up our style. Its LPs system that we are running.

So tell me the difference between “system” and “style” I’m a bit confused. My apologies. 
 

Is that like me wearing @kg01’s Steve Martin Father of the Bride (blue) tux from 1972 better than he wears it?  It’s still the same old ugly tux though?

[NBASupes]

Just now, Spud2nique said:

So tell me the difference between “system” and “style” I’m a bit confused. My apologies. 
 

Is that like me wearing @kg01’s Steve Martin Father of the Bride (blue) tux from 1972 better than he wears it?  It’s still the same old ugly tux though?

System - PnR based, heavily PDS based system, big on screens, big on big men movement. 

Style - Pace, how do you execute and what's a good shot and what's a bad shot, intensity on defense, etc. 

[macdaddy]

I don't know much about it but almost feels like a Mark Jackson > Steve Kerr moment.   Will we take it to a whole nother level in Nate's true system or will we all prefer Nate coachin LP's system?   Better be the first one. 

[kg01]

8 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

So tell me the difference between “system” and “style” I’m a bit confused. My apologies. 
 

Is that like me wearing @kg01’s Steve Martin Father of the Bride (blue) tux from 1972 better than he wears it?  It’s still the same old ugly tux though?

Mine is a little snug around the luv handles, I must admit.

Like most, I'm curious to see if we keep doing what we're doing.  System, with Nathan's style upgrades, seems to match the personnel.

[Atlantaholic]

Anyone who has any complaints on the team this year is crazy. Yes, they didn't win the championship, but if you told me that was a realistic expectation heading into the season, you are a damn liar. This team took the champions to be to 6 games, if Trea doesn't get hurt who knows? Hawks were playing as good as anyone in the NBA down the stretch and into the playoffs and despite having to fight through massive injury woes they got to within two games of the finals. Best Atlanta Hawks season of all time. Is it a fluke? Can this core make another run?? Our best bet is to keep it together and find out, because there aren't any other alternatives that will clearly make us better. 

[Spud2nique]

59 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

System - PnR based, heavily PDS based system, big on screens, big on big men movement. 

Isn’t this like 90% of the league now? 

[Spud2nique]

53 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Mine is a little snug around the luv handles, I

Thats oblique muscle it outweighsobliqur fat 

[RedDawg#8]

58 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

I don't know much about it but almost feels like a Mark Jackson > Steve Kerr moment.   Will we take it to a whole nother level in Nate's true system or will we all prefer Nate coachin LP's system?   Better be the first one. 

I've started looking in to this more and more, especially once LP was fired. I 100% get the parallels between the 2 situations based on how it was portrayed by the media.

One thing about the Warriors dynasty that never gets mentioned though;

Steve Kerr was actually Steph's 4th head coach in the pros.

Most people only know of 2 coaches, but that's because there is an entire chapter of Steph's career where he was completely irrelevant and frankly not yet a star. And I use Steph because he was the beginning of their current era.

He had Don Nelson as a rookie

Keith Smart as a sophmore

Warriors got a new GM and then added Mark Jackson for 3 seasons.

Mark Jackson's 1st year: Drafted Klay and went 23-43

2nd year: Added Draymond, went (47-35) Won 1 playoff series

3rd year: added Iggy, won 51 games, lost in first round.

Then comes in Steve Kerr, and in year 1, they win 67 games and win a title and go to 5 straight finals.

Now when compared to us, you could argue our rebuild started with JC, even though Trae is clearly the Steph comparison.

But if you go with JC:

Bud would be Nelson, the outgoing coach from their prior regime.

LP would be Keith Smart, just lost games and couldn't win.

Nate would be the Mark Jackson of this thing. Old school coach comes in and teaches our young PG how to be floor general and establishes a defensive mentality among the team that results in wins and gets us in to the playoffs for the first time.

Does Nate take us to the promised land is the real question? Who knows.

But we are way ahead of schedule based on the comparison.

Steph came in at 21 years old after 3 years of college, and got his first title at 26. 

JC and Trae respectively will be 24 and 23 when the next season starts.

What we are doing may actually not have ever been seen before if we can make the jump to champion sooner than later.