We've got a talented team.

[Wretch]

Walker and Harrington are excellent players, but neither has the ability to take us over the top. What they need is a player, a star like Ray Allen or Kidd, and this would be a formidable team. Some might say that’s the case with just about any team…but not really. Rath pointed out tonight that in each of our wins, Drobs has played well. But it really isn’t about Drobs. It’s about a solid contribution from ANYONE who is playing off of those two. Be it Chills, Smith, or Ivey…when we’ve got a guy out there that is making things happen next to AW and AH, we play VERY good ball.

There’s a bunch of talk about trades and whatnot, but the core of this team is rock solid. I really think we need to concentrate more on adding FA talent or talent through the draft. Harrington and Walker are scorers – good scorers but they need someone to take the pressure off of them or they should be playing off of another bona fide scorer.

I was wrong about AW and I’ll keep saying it. I honestly believe we should keep him. I was right about his presence on the court – and how it takes away from the development of the young guys; but the guy is a serious talent. He is just all over the place with his hustle and energy. I really like him and I can name a dozen teams that would extend him RIGHT NOW.

Harrington is forcing a lot of offense, but he could be a HUGE part of this team’s future. It really makes no sense to talk about trading him for players with potential, because he’s got all the potential in the world. He’s got range on his shot, he can get up, he can defend, rebound, he’s strong, and he even has a little fall-away. He’s a ROCK SOLID #2 option. Woodson needs to not run so much of the offense through AH, but at the same time…if we did that, I think we’d probably win more games; and I’m not looking for that right now.

I was DEAD WRONG about Drobs. I saw him early on and I thought he wasn’t worth the jersey that he plays in. But he can put up solid numbers…not just gimme garbage points. His shot falls with regularity and that’s good, but Peja has shown that he can even create a little shot too.

Between these three guys, you’ve got a STRONG foundation to support a star caliber player. But then there’s the Josh-es. Chill is going to be VERY good. He is just having normal up and down rookie issues. All he really needs is a consistent J. If he starts nailing that, HE WILL BE A STAR. Josh Smith is just phenomenal. Like everyone else, he needs a solid stroke from the outside (especially if he is even THINKING about filling just one of Nique’s shoes). However, what Smith really needs is a game going to the basket. If he can start spinning past defenders and cutting into the lane HE WILL BE A MEGA STAR in the NBA. Around the basket, you just can’t contend with dude’s hops. Now, he just needs to get to the basket.

And don’t forget about Ivey. We’ve really not been the same since he went down.

All in all, we’ve got a VERY talented team. I honestly think we are only missing one piece. It could be someone who steps up or it could be someone we draft. But unless we get a MIND BLOWING deal for AW, I think we should hang on to him and try to improve on this core that we’ve built so far.

[bballfan]

Quote:

---

Walker and Harrington are excellent players, but neither has the ability to take us over the top. What they need is a player, a star like Ray Allen or Kidd, and this would be a formidable team. Some might say that’s the case with just about any team…but not really. Rath pointed out tonight that in each of our wins, Drobs has played well. But it really isn’t about Drobs. It’s about a solid contribution from ANYONE who is playing off of those two. Be it Chills, Smith, or Ivey…when we’ve got a guy out there that is making things happen next to AW and AH, we play VERY good ball.

There’s a bunch of talk about trades and whatnot, but the core of this team is

rock solid

. I really think we need to concentrate more on adding FA talent or talent through the draft. Harrington and Walker are scorers – good scorers but they need someone to take the pressure off of them

or they should be playing off of another bona fide scorer

.

I was wrong about AW and I’ll keep saying it. I honestly believe we should keep him. I was right about his presence on the court – and how it takes away from the development of the young guys; but the guy is a serious talent. He is just all over the place with his hustle and energy. I really like him and I can name a dozen teams that would extend him RIGHT NOW.

Harrington is forcing a lot of offense, but he could be a HUGE part of this team’s future. It really makes no sense to talk about trading him for players with potential, because he’s got all the potential in the world. He’s got range on his shot, he can get up, he can defend, rebound, he’s strong, and he even has a little fall-away. He’s a

ROCK SOLID

#2 option. Woodson needs to not run so much of the offense through AH, but at the same time…if we did that, I think we’d probably win more games; and I’m not looking for that right now.

I was DEAD WRONG about Drobs. I saw him early on and I thought he wasn’t worth the jersey that he plays in. But he can put up solid numbers…not just gimme garbage points. His shot falls with regularity and that’s good, but Peja has shown that he can even create a little shot too.

Between these three guys, you’ve got a STRONG foundation to support a star caliber player. But then there’s the Josh-es. Chill is going to be VERY good. He is just having normal up and down rookie issues. All he really needs is a consistent J. If he starts nailing that,

HE WILL BE A STAR.

Josh Smith is just phenomenal. Like everyone else, he needs a solid stroke from the outside (especially if he is even THINKING about filling just one of Nique’s shoes). However, what Smith really needs is a game going to the basket. If he can start spinning past defenders and cutting into the lane HE WILL BE A MEGA STAR in the NBA. Around the basket, you just can’t contend with dude’s hops. Now, he just needs to get to the basket.

And don’t forget about Ivey. We’ve really not been the same since he went down.

All in all, we’ve got a VERY talented team. I honestly think we are only missing one piece. It could be someone who steps up or it could be someone we draft. But unless we get a MIND BLOWING deal for AW, I think we should hang on to him and try to improve on this core that we’ve built so far.

---

Been post on the board so far tonight.

We won tonight because the team showed up.

I have one small disagreement. I don't think Walker is in the way of the Josh's development. He is teaching them a lot of things off the court and on the court about what it takes to play in the NBA for all 48 minutes of a game.

Among other things but great post.

[Plainview1981]

It was a great win, but don't get crazy now... These is

one of the leasted talented teams in the league and

Detroit doesn't seem to be playing near the level they

did the 2nd half of last year.

[ATLien_]

I think your dead wrong on not running the offense through AH. The offense seems to flow much better when the offense is ran through Harrington in the post. If you watch the last three games we have had are best ball movement (this year imo) when the ball flows through harrington in the post.

1. because walker can knock down the 3

2. because walker can handle the ball in get in the lane if they rush him at the 3 point line. After he gets there he can put up a shot, or if the defense collapses he can kick it to a wide open man like Drobs or Delk.

3. take the Memphis game yes Walker scored 31 points, but It was in the flow of the game he didn't force anything. It was because Harrington was the focal point in the post most of the game. We lost this game because the rest of the team didn't give us much production, but the strategy was sound. We were competitive.

Walker plays better off of someone IMO. This is why he worked so well with Pierce. Pierce used to demand double teams in the post, and walker was like a point forward type player; he would drive, shoot or kick. I see this developing between he and Harrington.

[Nicholasp27]

don't forget the indy game...that ran through al as well....

if smoove does become a pf and we get a defensive center, then we CAN have a detroit-caliber defense...

ivey/chill/al/smoove/swift(dalembert/kwame)...

defensive wings, defensive paint...

plus we have draft picks/other free agents...

[Employee8]

Quote:

---

don't forget the indy game...that ran through al as well....

if smoove does become a pf and we get a defensive center, then we CAN have a detroit-caliber defense...

ivey/chill/al/smoove/swift(dalembert/kwame)...

defensive wings, defensive paint...

plus we have draft picks/other free agents...

---

Is Swift going to be a FA after this season? If he is, I'd rather we re-sign Walker for 4 years and then sign Swift so that our lineup would be :

PG : Diaw/Ivey

SG : Chill

SF : Al Harrington(Walker...at times)

PF : Walker/Swift

C : Peja/Collier/Kwame??

[AgulaDX]

Yeah, Walker is at his best when he's feeding off of someone. Hopefully Harrington will become a legit number 1 superstar on the Hawks.

[Wretch]

Duh. But it's also why we're not winning. He simply cannot carry this team, even with a viable option at #2 in Walker or vice versa. At this point in his career Al shouldn't be the 1st option on any team. It's as simple as that. He's not enough, even with a decent supporting cast. If fact, neither he nor Walker is able to play off of each other well enough for us to win consistently.

The proof is in the pudding. We're not winning and we don't expect to win on a consistent basis...and even if we did, we could expect nothing more than a fight for the bottom of the playoff food chain. We have a talented team, but to be better than just that, we need a better #1 scoring option. With Walker and Harrington playing off of that player, we'd be deadly. That's the main point I'm trying to make.

It would be best for Walker (as has been proven through his career) and it would help Harrington allow the game to come to him. By default, we're having to run the game through him. So he's getting the bulk of the looks - along with AW.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't be the focal point of the team right now, but what people aren't realizing is that the more these two hack away at the basket, the more they dominate the offense...the less room the young guys playing around them have to grow.

Prime example... There's all this newfound excitement for Josh Smith. But Woody has been calling plays for him to get many of these lobs he's getting. And is anyone else noticing Chill still quietly doing his thing? Sure, a few weeks ago we were screaming and hollering about him. But nobody's talking about the nice spin move to the basket he got last night. Because it was just one play and, by default, he ended up with the ball with time running out.

I'm not saying bench AH or AW, or cut their minutes, or run the offense through the rookies. That would be stupid. What I'm saying is take away SOME of the focus of our big guns and give these young guys more shots.

We don't have a championship team here, we're not winning, and we're not going to win. Keep the core we have because they are talented, but give the kids more shots.

[Weez]

all those things are true...but you have to remember the difficulties that AH has had in passing out of the post/double teams/clogged area. Until that facet of his game improves, it's going to be very difficult to consistently run the offense through him.

[ATLien_]

Exactly, we are inconsistent, but we have the best chance of winning when Harrigton is the focal point because toine is going to get his points regardless.

As this team plays together longer Harrington will get better at passing out of the post and he will just know where guys are on the court. Chemistry is what this team needs.

[Weez]

just like in bringing along the rookies slowly, the 'breaking in' of such a plan should still be done incrementally rather than open the flood gates. He'll get better at it, still screw it up some, but learn...without getting fulltime frustration with the learning curve.

[Wretch]

EXACTLY. Too much responsibility is being given to AH. We need to continue to go to him and Toine, because we'd be sh#t without them...

At the same time, we need to give the young guys more looks.

It just makes sense to me. But I think Woody and BK have different ideas about what this team should be doing.