Bickerstaff has done a great job despite injuries

[vtime]

Really couldn’t ask for much more through 8 games.

[Harper4Ferry?]

Def strikes me as a guy who realized his mistakes in his first few coaching spots and is going to make the most. He’s missing 7 guys right now I think. I feel really good about him as our coach.

[JonFromVA]

Def strikes me as a guy who realized his mistakes in his first few coaching spots and is going to make the most. He’s missing 7 guys right now I think. I feel really good about him as our coach.

Indeed, if there's a problem, it's going to be sustaining the energy/effort from the guys. Hopefully he and this group of players are the exception, but so many times in the past a coach has emphasized things like being in shape, effort and pace and then after a week or two the team reverts - and what happens when Kevin returns? Will Kevin give enough consistent effort? Or will he drag down the entire defense like he's done at times in the past?

I like that JBB has been using the zone - that at least gives the players a break from having to fight through screens, and it's more about understanding your position in the defense than having to run the length of the court to contest a shot or being able to defend your man.

We're currently #1 in defensive rating. I'm not sure anyone thinks that will hold up as we start facing better team. Our defense is hardly a steel trap, we give up a lot of open looks and our defenders are still figuring out who they're supposed to be guarding.

But like I keep saying, Mike Longabardi is no longer here. There's no telling how good we might become without him around.

[JonFromVA]

I'd like to give JBB some credit for managing our two young guards as well and making sure they focus on moving the ball in Collin's case, and setting up teammates in Darius's case.

For instance, John Collins reportedly recently objected to how Trae Young was running the offense ...

"Collins discussed how the Hawks need to get into offensive sets more quickly and to limit Young's early shot clock attempts that leave his teammates uninvolved. Collins also shared his desire for more ball movement and flow on offense.

While there was no back-and-forth between the two, Young made it clear he strongly disagreed with the assessment of Collins."

The complaint and Trae's disagreement with it are very reminiscent of Kyrie pushing back when told he had to pass more, move the ball more, and help the other players more. I don't miss that kind of crap.