Jalen Johnson to miss 4-6 weeks!

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Never listen to Koonin regarding injuries. His timeline has always been more optimistic than reality.

Steve Holman also noted earlier in the week similar timeline.

[Chrimturn]

2 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Here’s exactly why I want us to make a move regardless of Jalen’s health. 8-7 is not a needle moving record even at full strength.

We are not going to magically go on a run once JJ comes back. We will be better, but not much better than the .500 team we were with him.

I hear you.  Things may be the same.  But then again, they might not.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m with you.  If they can make a move that improves the rebounding, bolsters the defense and at the same time takes off some of the weight, I’m all for it.  But they’re really  only a few tweaks away from righting this ship.  Blowing it all up now might not be the best move.  They can score and keep pace with any team in the league.  We’ve seen enough combinations on the floor now to have a pretty good idea of what rotations might work.  Get through Dec, get healthy, and start rolling out these new rotations when at full strength.  If they can hold opponents to 10 less points per game, that could make a big difference in the W & L columns.

Sure, there are multiple players who’ve made my list of guys I’d like to smack with a 2x4 to wake their rear ends up and get them moving.  Heck I’m even at the point of just releasing some to make room for Lundy, Norris and Silva deals.  But imo, even though it seems bad right now (really bad), they’re not far off from turning this thing around and making a run.  I’m not calling it a Championship run…just a competitive, significant improvement.  

IMO…get healthy, keep the core intact, restructure the depth/bench with who’ve got and see what they can do.  Give us a better idea of what we’ve got, who to move to clear space and how to strengthen this team before the deadline and draft.

[bird_dirt]

6 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Here’s exactly why I want us to make a move regardless of Jalen’s health. 8-7 is not a needle moving record even at full strength.

We are not going to magically go on a run once JJ comes back. We will be better, but not much better than the .500 team we were with him.

In the positive, Trae is playing much better than he was when JJ was playing so theoretically we should be better. But you’re right, internal, in season growth will only get you so far. 
JJ will also need to take time to knock the rust off to get back to where he was when he got hurt. And as great as he was, there were still things he needed to improve upon like cutting down on unforced turnovers. He isn’t a savior. 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Spud2nique]

He’sssss baaaacckkk  

 

    

[JeffS17]

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

He’sssss baaaacckkk  

 

    

Merry Christmas to Hawks fans

[hawkman]

Excellent. This softens the loss of Hunter a bit.

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, hawkman said:

Excellent. This softens the loss of Hunter a bit.

I think the Hawks did it this way on purpose....announce Dre is out, but look....JJ is back.

I'm glad JJ is back, but he won't fix everything that ails us. 

[Diesel]

2 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I think the Hawks did it this way on purpose....announce Dre is out, but look....JJ is back.

I'm glad JJ is back, but he won't fix everything that ails us. 

I think it will fix some things... and maybe wins.   Remember, JJ was keeping us in games and winning games... because it wasn't Trae or DJ.   Now.. Trae and DJ are playing much better than those first 15 games. 

I mean, lacking JJ and Dre...  AND DRE...  we have been toe to toe with every team we've played.  The addition of JJ to replace Garrison will make a big difference IMHO.  And we still can play the big lineup... and it freshens our rotation at the 3.   We have been playing Garrison and a 37 year old man.  Neither contributes much of anything but maybe 2 rebounds in 16 minutes of play.   

I know JJ will be slow coming back.. maybe limited to 20 minutes... and that's fine... but he should be able to help us and I think it will result in Ws. 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

6 minutes ago, Diesel said:

And we still can play the big lineup..

It's incumbent on Quin to play it though.

[Diesel]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

It's incumbent on Quin to play it though.

Quin has been bumming me out with some of his lineup choices.  I know he's in the trenches and stuff and knows who knows... but it doesn't make a lot of sense to play a 6'5" guy (pick one) when you know that eventually, he's going to matchup with a 6'9 or 7'0 guy.   I realize you can't run the big lineup all game because they need breaks.. but damnit, Bruno plays pretty good considering he never gets off the bench. 

 

[Spud2nique]

6 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

Merry Christmas to Hawks fans

Seriously! Much needed at the right time, we gotta climb back to even Steven again