Power Rankings

[JayBirdHawk]

4 hours ago, marco102 said:

What team is Tauren on now?

Wolves.

54 minutes ago, RandomFan said:

 

Cleveland is a slave to the Kevin Love contract for 2 more years. So during that time, much like the Hawks were during their tanking seasons, Cleveland is in asset acquisition mode and are designed to lose games for better draft picks. Markkanen is just another positive asset, but won't affect winning much with their roster construction. 

Naah. Hawks were getting bad 1 year salaries for picks and clearing their capsheet. Cavs have signed Allen, now Maarkenan, they still have the anchor that is Love and most likely about to extend Sexton. Nothing like the Hawks.

[RedDawg#8]

Cavs are not as organized as we were during our rebuild. They didn't/don't have a plan or long term vision.

They haven't even identified the centerpiece of their rebuild. Is it Sexton or not? And if it is Sexton why was he on the trade block? 

Is it Garland, or is Mobley going to be that guy for them now?

They have had 3 top 5 picks compared to our 1. (We had to manufacture another top 5 pick via trade to get Hunter, but that was due to having the resources to do so at the time, so not luck or accident)

Our vision was always clear, and the moment we had Trae we knew it was time to build around him. We didn't spend another lottery pick on a guy that was undersized to play next to him. We filled out the roster with complementary players.

Cavs have a bunch of young talent without any role or premier skill to lean on outside of Okoro's defense. They are treading water until they are forced to offload these guys when they're contracts come up.

 

 

[RandomFan]

So yeah, like I said, in talent acquisition mode. Just not as successfully as the Hawks were with it. 

[AHF]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Wolves.

Naah. Hawks were getting bad 1 year salaries for picks and clearing their capsheet. Cavs have signed Allen, now Maarkenan, they still have the anchor that is Love and most likely about to extend Sexton. Nothing like the Hawks.

A resigned Sexton may be something of an anchor as well.  I'm not sure I buy him as a long-term part of that team.

[Diesel]

8 hours ago, kg01 said:

 

I think a lot of people make this assumption.  But the reality is GLLLLenn has an unearned reputation in that regard.  Literally, and I mean literally, every one of his teams has imploded due to infighting.

This Sixer nonsense was predictable.  And, not to pat myself of the back (which is exactly what you say before patting yourself on the back), I predicted this the day PHI hired him.

Maybe... his latter teams.  I remember him in Orlando.. He was a player's coach.  They would walk through a wall for him. I always took him as a coach who could get players to straighten up.. We saw that with Embiid if I'm not mistaken.  

[kg01]

14 minutes ago, Diesel said:

Maybe... his latter teams.  I remember him in Orlando.. He was a player's coach.  They would walk through a wall for him. I always took him as a coach who could get players to straighten up.. We saw that with Embiid if I'm not mistaken.  

I'm not following you.  And, no, we didn't see that from JoeLLLL.

[sillent]

8 hours ago, macdaddy said:

Well that's easy.  Mobley / Allen start.  Lauri plays 12 minutes off the bench and Love is in street clothes.

Eventually. I'm sure Lauri will start for now as the more established player. Mobley will come off the bench with Love and now they are more balanced until Mobley is ready.

[Diesel]

5 hours ago, kg01 said:

I'm not following you.  And, no, we didn't see that from JoeLLLL.

Maybe you're not old enough to remember Doc in Orlando when he had Ben Wallace, Darryl Armstrong and Bo Outlaw.  Guys who were supper journeymen...But When Doc took over... Those guys came together as a team.  They listened.  They did.  They were much better than them as a collection. 

I think It's a little Night and Day with Joel Embiid under Doc vs. Under Brett Brown.  I don't know if Doc is saying anything different than what Brett said but Embiid is a different player.  He doesn't just quit like he used to.

[kg01]

10 hours ago, Diesel said:

Maybe you're not old enough to remember Doc in Orlando when he had Ben Wallace, Darryl Armstrong and Bo Outlaw.  Guys who were supper journeymen...But When Doc took over... Those guys came together as a team.  They listened.  They did.  They were much better than them as a collection. 

I think It's a little Night and Day with Joel Embiid under Doc vs. Under Brett Brown.  I don't know if Doc is saying anything different than what Brett said but Embiid is a different player.  He doesn't just quit like he used to.

I'm aware of what he was in ORL, a bad coach then too.  Or did we forget the franchise-record losing streak he led there?

Embiid is the same player now that he was under Brown.  Just played a few more games.  Still not in shape.

[Spud2nique]

10 hours ago, Diesel said:

Ben Wallace, Darryl Armstrong and Bo Outlaw. 

You forgot Chucky Atkins, that dude was annoying effective. Lol you think kg is a millennial? He wishes …  

[Spud2nique]

13 minutes ago, kg01 said:

I'm aware of what he was in ORL, a bad coach then too.  Or did we forget the franchise-record losing streak he led there?

Embiid is the same player now that he was under Brown.  Just played a few more games.  Still not in shape.

How did your post jump mine .. ..

[Diesel]

13 minutes ago, kg01 said:

I'm aware of what he was in ORL, a bad coach then too.  Or did we forget the franchise-record losing streak he led there?

Embiid is the same player now that he was under Brown.  Just played a few more games.  Still not in shape.

Your credibility lost.  Bad coach there??...  Bad coach when he was voted coach of the year??  Bad coach when he took a team with guys who were there because they had ending contracts... to a .500 record.  With the woes in Orl.. he never had a losing season. 

 

 

[Diesel]

21 minutes ago, kg01 said:

I'm aware of what he was in ORL, a bad coach then too.  Or did we forget the franchise-record losing streak he led there?

Embiid is the same player now that he was under Brown.  Just played a few more games.  Still not in shape.

I agree that Embiid is not in shape.  That's not on Doc nor could any of Doc's motivation change that in the time that he has been there.   But...  Has Embiid ever been nominated for MVP?  I just saw less quit in him this year.

 

[Wretch]

On 8/26/2021 at 10:14 PM, niremetal said:

I consider Miami, Philly, and Chicago to all be in the East's second tier now, along with Boston (with the Nets, Bucks, and Hawks in the tier above them). That is, very likely to make the playoffs and maybe compete for home court, but long shots to make a serious title run. 

I think the Bulls definitely improved themselves into that tier as well. DeRozan and Ball were great additions--just not worth the price they paid. I think people see that the Bulls overpaid and equate that with "they didn't significantly improve," when the reality is that they did significantly improve, but not by enough to compete for a title...and, by the same token, not by enough to justify tying up all their cap space and tanking their ability to improve any further.

Count me in the club that likes what the Bulls have done.  They've assembled a halfway decent starting 5.  Really like their starting backcourt/wings...and they've got a little stockpile of young talent too.  I've got them about where you have them.  I don't see them as a big threat, but it looks nice on paper.  

I like where they are in the power rankings and feel comfortable saying they could slide in anywhere 6-8.  They had some strong games last season and their fans' biggest gripe was not having a true PG to take ball handling pressure off of Lavine.  They filled that hole nicely and added legit veteran help in Derozan.  Depending upon how they gel, I wouldn't be surprised to see them making noise in the playoffs.

[AHF]

On Doc, I still contend that him avoiding a losing record with this roster was nothing short of a ****ing miracle.  That was, imo, the single best job of coaching he has ever done and holds up against the best of many better coaches.

[kg01]

24 minutes ago, AHF said:

On Doc, I still contend that him avoiding a losing record with this roster was nothing short of a ****ing miracle.  That was, imo, the single best job of coaching he has ever done and holds up against the best of many better coaches.

I'm not backing down.  GLLLLenn is a garbage coach and anybody that disagrees can brang me that smoke ...

[Diesel]

3 hours ago, AHF said:

On Doc, I still contend that him avoiding a losing record with this roster was nothing short of a ****ing miracle.  That was, imo, the single best job of coaching he has ever done and holds up against the best of many better coaches.

Yep...

Gabriel put together this team because all of them had ending contracts.  He wanted McGrady, Hill, and Duncan in Orlando the next year.  But Doc took this gang and had an even record and won the COY... well deserved.

 

[kg01]

We thowin' parades for scratchin', clawin' to .500 records with middling rosters these days?

Tremendous accomplishment, GLLLLenn ..

#TrashCoach

[macdaddy]

I don't have an opinion really on Doc.  I mean the Sixers are way better with him than Brown but that's not a big accomplishment.   But Doc deserves way more heat for the Sixers just getting embarrassed by the Hawks in the playoffs.   

[Spud2nique]

Bleacher report gave us an A- for our offseason tricks.

Atlanta Hawks: A-

 

Key Arrivals: PG Delon Wright, C Gorgui Dieng, F Jalen Johnson (R), G Sharife Cooper (R)

Re-Signings: PF John Collins, G Lou Williams, F Solomon Hill

Extensions: PG Trae Young (five years, $172 million or $207 million if voted to All-NBA team)

Key Losses: PG Kris Dunn, F Tony Snell, C Bruno Fernando

Fresh off an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks carried their success into the offseason.

Trading for Wright (10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 37.2 percent from three last season) gives Young a reliable veteran backup, while adding Dieng in free agency provides second-year center Onyeka Okongwu more time to recover from July shoulder surgery.

Getting Collins back on a non-max deal (five years, $125 million) was a win for Atlanta, especially since the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder both had max cap space to offer. With Young's extension, Atlanta has two of its core pieces both under contract for the next five years.

Johnson and Cooper could turn out to be steals for a Hawks team that's now loaded at every position with young and veteran talent, and making Nate McMillan the permanent head coach was the easy decision, as he took over Atlanta when it was 14-20 and led it to a 27-11 record.