Carelessness, bad defense, stagnant offense

[Jackets333]

That is what's wrong with the Hawks. They DO NOT take care of the ball. Horrible passing. I've seen high school teams with better fundamentals than these guys.

This offense is so pathetic, I don't think we run a set play. All I've seen is post up and line the other 4 guys around the perimeter, WHERE THEY JUST STAND STILL. This was present last year, the year before, the year before, and the year before that. Too much one on one, no movement on offense. Again, it's fundamentals. CUT TO THE BASKET. HELP YOUR TEAMMATES OUT. If these guys don't know that its up to the coaches to point it out to them, and that's obviously not being done either.

And finally, this team just does not play defense. It's just horrible. It makes me sick to watch it. Guys helping out FOR NO REASON, LEAVING SHOOTERS WIDE OPEN. Just standing around watching. I dont know whats going on. One time Antonio Daniels had the ball at the top being guarded by Al Harrington, who of course just gets blown right by while the rest of the team watches him go in for an uncontested layup.

I'm sorry but its hard to find anything positive about this team, and when I find something I'll be sure to point it out. Losing to a team by 20 who just got beaten by 30 is not good to say the least.

[cyman3]

i think MOTION, moving w/o the BALL, is the most UNDERRATED aspect of basketball.

can i get an AMEN?

there are several good players in the league who move well w/o the ball and go to the right places at the right times.

then theres others who stay still and expect the ball to be at their hands after all is said and done.

[sinctybldh]

I am glad that we suck. Only way to rebuild. Do not get me wrong I cannot root against them in games, but at the same time we have to stick to the plan. The worse they are the better the chances of us getting the top pick.

[Diesel]

The wheels came off in the third...

Before I get to what's wrong, let me talk about what's right...

1. Surprising Drobs. Willis has been working with him. Drobs showed some good moves.

2. Josh Smith. Forget about Luol Deng. Josh Smith who plays the same position will soon make people say Luol Who? Smith's problem is his Basketball IQ, but he's trying really hard. He blocked a R. Lewis Dunk attempt.. It was nice.

3. I hate to give Credit to Walker, but he does play good with his junk game. He also tried on defense. He's not the Grob people made him out to be.

4. Diaw. Diaw hit a couple of threes. He also played good defense on Ray Allen.

The bad news.

Defensive break downs. Seattle scored a lot of easy points by simply moving the ball around. I think that our players are easily rotated out of position. It's seen when you have Willis chasing guys out to halfcourt. There was holes in our post defense.

We need another scorer. Somebody other than Walker and Harrington has to gain the confidence to score. It is literally a 2 man show. Teams double Walker and fustrate him, teams double Harrington and force wild shots.

We need a another PG. When Kenny (THE BLUR) comes off the floor, we see offensive stagnation. Diaw is a good ball handler but he does not know how to run an offense. Our passes were horrible. Soft passes, cross court passes, all horrible.

What I see as a bright spot is this:

Delk is coming back. I think when Delk gets back, he will help the cause. He can run an offense. He can score. He will give our team more continuity. I also believe that we should drop Pig and pick up Haslip.

Delk/Barry/J-Smooth/Haslip/Drobs will be good backups for our starters.

That means Childress/Collier will be 11th/12th men.

[Iman]

I agree, we fell apart and got blown out again but this team did not look that bad. If we had gotten lucky in the lottery and picked up Okafor or Howard we'd be a solid team in the making, even after Walker is gone. The key is just finding that power player/backside defender in the next year or so.

Harrington still seems to be rushing or maybe his hand is bothering him but he's a solid NBA starter in development. I'm sure Childress and Diaw will be excellent defending and rebounding 2/3's with adequate scoring ability to start on a team with other scorers. Josh is outta control but I see him fitting well with the others as long as we have a solid center. Our current centers are really PF's and Drob and Collier are extremely poor defenders which will kill us all year. I'm sure Pryzbilla would have fouled outta both games so far and probably would have been injured soon but if we just had a player like Pryz I think we would be fine in a few weeks as our team found it's identity.

As is it, without a starting center and with otherwise no in the middle defenders I see it being a long year. I think we may look okay against the Lakers but any team with a strong inside player is gonna kill us. I'm going to the San Antonio game, I predict that will be our next 30+ point loss. I see lotsa center type prospects are expected to be drafted next year, maybe we'll find the right one.

[MoonKnight]

AH is rushing his O. He just needs to calm down and stay in the flow of the game instead of forcing the action. I am glad that Diaw hit those two deep jumpers late in the game in that he might now be willing to shoot those jumpers when the game is still in reach. On the O end we really need an outside threat to open up the paint. Teams are just collapsing in the paint on us. Maybe Delk can help.

I am still concerned about the overall lack of D intensity. I knew we would be behind on the O end but I am still surprised we are so bad on the D end. Either we don't have the players to play the Pistons type D game or Woodson has not yet got through to the players.

On a side note I was surprised at how well Jerome James played. I know he has a history of taking nights off but he really played well in the paint for them. He could fit our needs well but his big contract scares me.

[Diesel]

I was shocked at James play also, but his contract is not big, in fact, he's in the last year of it. He may be a cheap FA pick up.

I think that our defensive breakdowns are more mental lapses than ability. That might take a few games and some film to get through.

As far as our C position. Maybe we can get the C out of G Tech or Randolph Macon or the guy from Texas in the draft.

[pathway23]

I like Luke Schenscher a lot, I just hope he has added some bulk, he was like a string bean out there last year.