What do you think about our bench?????

[Gray Mule]

So much has been said about our projected starting five,

it is time to look at the rest of the team.

With one spot open and Newbie not yet signed, Hawks

will either re-sign him or replace him with someone else.

Personally, I hope we get him back. I fear for our team

defense if we do not.

1. Center -- Nazr. Last season, he played most of the

starting minutes for the Hawks. He gained a lot of

valueable experience and should make a fine back-up

for Theo and will get a lot of playing time, especially

in the first part of the season as Theo gets into game

shape and re-learns how to stay out of foul trouble.

2. P.F. --A. Henderson. Probably the most underrated

and the least appreciated Hawk on the roster. Not a

star, but a solid player who is not afraid to go inside

and do the almost unnoticed banging and blocking out

necessary. Can fill in at center, too. Salary is high,

but with all the high-priced contracts going around now,

his paycheck is looking cheaper all the time.

3. S.F. -- C. Crawford. Tries to do too much. Very

intense player who lays it all on the line, risking injury

to his body in order to make things happen. Experienced

player who brings a lot to the team.

4. 2 guard. Dion Glover. Strong. Not afraid to drive

inside and make things happen. Good speed and can

grab his share of rebounds. Needs to step up on the

defensive end of the floor. He has done it before and

can do it again if he sets his mind to it. Strong enough

to switch to S.F. if necessary, and do a decent job there,

but his defense here is a problem, which he can improve.

5. 2 guard. E. Davis. Above average on defense. Can

hold his own with most players who go against him and

can handle the ball pretty well. If you could have the

two guards, Dion and Davis, molded into one, Dion

for the offense and Davis for the defense, you would

have one great 2 guard. E. Davis can slip over to the

point, if necessary, at least for a short period of time.

6. Point Guard. Dickau. Raw rookie. Some believe

he is destined to become a super star. Some believe

he will be a complete failure. The truth of the matter

is, he will fall somewhere in between. He should make

a very good back-up for Jason Terry and should do well

when operating the second unit. He and D.G. played

together this summer and looked good. This was not

real N.B.A competition but, at least they got to know

each other and this can't hurt anything.

Some of these players may not be around by the time

the season gets under way. Could be another trade

before then, but I think that our bench looks pretty

strong right now. If only we can get Newbie back,

I think we will be in good shape.

What are your thoughts on the Hawks bench? Is it as

good as I think that it is, or am I just dreaming? I want

us to have a great season and I know that we can't do

that without the bench guys doing their part.

Gray Mule

[Guest]

I wish we could add another valueable backup so CC and

Email don't see court time I dunno if can happen.I want

Newble back at a cheap price.IF not,lets sign Strickland

and going on the games we played againest Boston last

year he appears to be a real in your face and INTENSE

type of defender sorta like Ron Artest.

There are guys out there than can replace Newble.Bryon

Russell could be another option IF he comes at a cheap

price.Or Matt Harpering is still out there.

[JTFan31]

Atually I think we have a very experienced bench with a mix of veterans and young fellas. All these guys can do a bit of everything, Hendu can bang inside and can do his scoring......lets admit it, Hendu is one of the leagues top BU PF's. Crawford can play pretty D and can really drive to the hole and plays with great intensity. Newbie ( if we sign him) I love this guy, hard worker, intensed and gets the garbage points. Dion , can score in bunches, he just needs to pick up his defense. Nazr can step in, into any NBA team and be a starter, that says it all. Last but not least, The Rookie, he can be somewhat effective this year and he will provide some outside shooting.

I think we have a very effective bench and pretty damn good too. We can definitely win with this bench if we stay healthy.

As for Chad Ford, Have you ever watched hawks basketball? I doubt it.

[Guest]

I agree...that tall guy he talked about that doesn't need

shots is Dermarr Johnson...What a dumbass that guy is.I've

heard lots of people around the net talk about how he

sucks.Maybe one day everyone will see that it is ESPN all

together that is the problem.

The only thing that is correct is the injuries...but who is

he?The master of the obvious?

[chillzatl]

I do think we could use one more veteran player there. Nazr, Dion, E.Davis, Hendu, etc are all good solid bench players, Nazr especially. I would love to see us land K. Willis though. He's the tough minded, no nonsense player that could really bring the rest of our bench guys together. Everyone on that bench would respect him and follow his lead, whether he played a lot or not.

I think guys like Hendu, as long as he doesn't get an attitude, will be key off our bench. If hendu can become that hendu of old who came in and just energized everything, he'll be our MVP off the bench.

Also Ira. I really feel we need to resign this guy more than ever now. I would have no problems iwth starting him at the 2. I know DJ should get more minutes but I don't see his D being on the same level as Ira's. We have plenty of offense in the starting lineup anyway. We need a defensive stopper who can set the tone on the perimeter to go with Theo down low. Ira can do that. But I digress, i'm getting away from the topic here.

Overall I think we have a good if somewhat under experienced bench.

[Guest]

Chillz...I agree with your sentiments, but I'm not sure if you've thought things out all the way.

I want Ira back. I think the team needs him and his style of play compliments many of our players. However, he cannot start at the 2 (ahead of DJ) becuase he simply doesn't have the range on offense. He can't sink the three ball. With him in the starting lineup, Terry would be the only person capable of even sometimes knocking down a three...I just can't see us spreading the floor with him out there...Love the Robinson trade, but it appears that he jumper is much less consistent outside of twenty feet.

Going back to the "who we should sign" thread:

1) resign Ira.

2) sign Kevin Willis

Don't forget that CC is going to be on the IR when season begins so we can fill that roster spot. I'd rather not take the floor with an 1 man roster to start the season, so the only thing to do is SIGN TWO MORE PLAYERS. Ira and Willis it seems to me. It won't go into Babs hatred of storing extra players on the IR (at least for a little while), and with the Robinson trade, we're already going to be slighty above the luxury tax...so why not?

PS - does anyone know if the luxury tax has to begin this year or is it merely speculation, much like last year. I know that the CBA has a season that the tax must start by, but I'm thinking that it wasn't this one - so it's possible that, much like last season, all the hard cap issues could be moot.

[Guest Walter]

While I'm am not sure I would start Ira over DJ either (let them lay for it in camp), your argument that Ira's 3pt shooting or lack of it as the reason to not start Ira doesn't sit well to me.

Yes, Robinson is not a pure 3pt shooter but he does shoot around 35% for his career. More importantly, however, one must realize that regardless of who started, both Newble and DJ would play significant MPG. Having realized this, the question becomes what threat do you want on the court with the starting 5 more? Do you need a better defensive threat, a team defensive energizer, and a remarkably high efficient cutter/put backer or do you need a good defender with length who scores less efficiently, almost solely as a 3pt shooter and does so at a 35% clip also?

We have 3 primary scorers, 2 of which shoot jumpers, 1 of which plays the post, and none of which cut to the hoop or put back shots. Now the question is do we need another perimeter starter to shoot 3pt shots as jumpers or do we need him to provide our offense with an element it lacks?

Right now I still start DJ over Ira (assuming he is signed) but I do insist upon competition for the starting position between them.

...

I think the luxury tax starts when league revenues are below a certain level. Last year there was no tax because revenues were high enough but it is suspected that revenues will decrease (or that they will not increase enough due to a front loaded TV contract(?)) and a tax will be levied this year.

W

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[TomahawkChop]

Right now, our bench sucks. We need to bring back Ira and add a big body like Willis.