Welcome A.J. Griffin

[marco102]

This is also why I wanted him. I know being No.1 in high school doesn't mean much, but the talent is sky high with him.

He got cooked by Mitchell and Garland tonight, but considering he is a rookie, that's to be expected. His off ball defense was better tonight, but Cleveland def attacked him.

[Gray Mule]

If not for his injury history, AJ Griffin would have been long gone by the time Atlanta's turn came in the draft.  If they redid the draft today, the Hawks would have to draft someone else.

He's healthy.  We're all happy that he fell to us.  Hawks are 2 for 2.  Jalen Johnson fell to us, then we had AJ falling to us.  JJ didn't play very much last season as he spent most of his time with the Skyhawks.  He's really just a rookie now.  Hawks have two really good players from the draft!

Sorry we couldn't win AJ's first NBA start.  

[marco102]

 

[Atlantaholic]

We'd be in trouble if it wasn't for Griff.

[MarylandHawk]

10 hours ago, marco102 said:

 

He is the most efficient rookie in his class and probably the most efficient rookie I have ever seen. He is doing this with spot duty on a veteran team that initially didn’t have him in the rotation. We are winning as well. I will admit, after the draft, I wasn’t expecting much from him. The last two Duke prospects we drafted were still question marks at the time. 

[Final_quest]

I would love to see Bogi come back and the second unit with AJ and Okongwu outplay the starters.  

[marco102]

Per 538's Raptor,  AJ's been the 4th best rookie thus far.  Positive on offense and neutral on defense.  

This is with rookie getting at least 160 minutes a game. I tried to get rookies playing at least 10 minutes per game.

Edited November 24, 2022 by marco102

[gurpilo]

Griffin continues to impress, he is the 4th best player on RAPTOR and WAR on Hawks team. The only one with Murray that is positive on offense and defense. He can play both SG and SF and he has demonstrated he deserves a place on the rotation. Justin Holiday is still the worst Hawks player. 

Another positive note is Jalen Johnson, struggling a little on offense, defensive stats just love him, he is 5th best player on the team, ahead of Aaron Holiday, Hunter, Okongwu and Collins… Nobody is talking about him but our best lineup on advanced stats is Young/Murray/Griffin/JJ/Capela that by the way have not play any single minute.

[Atlantaholic]

Bro what is going on with Collins my lord. He's always been a plus offensive raptor 

[marco102]

10 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

Bro what is going on with Collins my lord. He's always been a plus offensive raptor 

Slumping. It happens.

[kg01]

23 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Slumping. It happens.

Yeah.  Just imagine if he progresses toward his norm ... while maintaining his defensive intensity.

[benhillboy]

6 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

Bro what is going on with Collins my lord. He's always been a plus offensive raptor 

His career trend of increasing three point rate without the efficiency to justify it ain’t optimal.  As a steroid-filled rookie his average FG distance was 6 feet.  Each season it has progressed (or devolved) to 11.  FT rate and dunks have officially fallen off a cliff.  
 

Steph made this league so dumb with all the efforts to duplicate what he does.  I feel it’s pretty much a waste if your league-adjusted 3 point shooting and rate aren’t both above average.  AJ and Vit the only Hawks I can say that about.  Bogi has been there his whole career.

[MarylandHawk]

3 hours ago, gurpilo said:

Griffin continues to impress, he is the 4th best player on RAPTOR and WAR on Hawks team. The only one with Murray that is positive on offense and defense. He can play both SG and SF and he has demonstrated he deserves a place on the rotation. Justin Holiday is still the worst Hawks player. 

Another positive note is Jalen Johnson, struggling a little on offense, defensive stats just love him, he is 5th best player on the team, ahead of Aaron Holiday, Hunter, Okongwu and Collins… Nobody is talking about him but our best lineup on advanced stats is Young/Murray/Griffin/JJ/Capela that by the way have not play any single minute.

I wanted to see that lineup in the fourth quarter against the Kings. It was clear John was struggling for what ever reason so I was wondering if Nate was going to go back to what worked in the first half with AJ and JJ. Wishful thinking.  Don’t get me wrong, I like John and thinks he needs to play through his struggles, but it would have been interesting to see if Nate had put that lineup back out there, what would have happened. 

[benhillboy]

22 hours ago, MarylandHawk said:

I will admit, after the draft, I wasn’t expecting much from him. The last two Duke prospects we drafted were still question marks at the time. 

I could look at his college ratings against Duke (12 points above their 5th ranked offense, 3 points below their 142nd ranked defense) and was confident he was good money.  His impact seamlessly translated: natural offensive player who may not raise the floor of teammates but certainly doesn’t need to depend on any who can also reach a team defense level set by its floor raisers on that end. 

If he settles into a role of a third option he could be elite in it.  Hopefully he can make Khris Middleton-like strides defensively and become a near-second option but I fear his length may hold him back.  I think he’s already intelligent enough to know his ideal usage, about 24%.

Edited November 25, 2022 by benhillboy

[Spud2nique]

5 minutes ago, benhillboy said:

24%.

 

[Atlantaholic]

 

14 hours ago, marco102 said:

Slumping. It happens.

I'd wager this 18 game stretch is the worst of his career by a country mile. We need him and Dre to be more impactful and consistent contributors offensively or we will continue to struggle big time on that end. 

[marco102]

1 hour ago, benhillboy said:

I could look at his college ratings against Duke (12 points above their 5th ranked offense, 3 points below their 142nd ranked defense) and was confident he was good money.  His impact seamlessly translated: natural offensive player who may not raise the floor of teammates but certainly doesn’t need to depend on any who can also reach a team defense level set by its floor raisers on that end. 

If he settles into a role of a third option he could be elite in it.  Hopefully he can make Khris Middleton-like strides defensively and become a near-second option but I fear his length may hold him back.  I think he’s already intelligent enough to know his ideal usage, about 24%.

Doesn't he have a 6'11" or 7'0" wingspan? I think that's why he gets so many steals already. 

[Atlantaholic]

Heck of a draft by the Pacers btw. Most surprising team in the east and still being slept on. 

[marco102]

4 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

Heck of a draft by the Pacers btw. Most surprising team in the east and still being slept on. 

Their rookies have been excellent!

[JayBirdHawk]