Minny @ Atlanta

[JoshB914]

I'd take Jefferson over Al. That's no knock on Horford, but Jefferson is one of the best low post scorers in the league.

[evildallas]

I'd love to see what Al Horford would be like under the tutelage of Clifford Ray. Ray was the big man coach in Boston when Jefferson started to click. There's no getting Jefferson out of Minnesota. I believe the team should actually invest in trying to make its players the best they can be.

[Skyhawk1]

Nice win, at least we had control over this game for most part. Flip has been really great, imagine us without him, it's not that hard, just look back at our 2nd unit last year that couldn't score to save their lives. I like C. Smith. He's a big body (too big) who can play some decent D. I hope the T-Wolves didn't send Mayo to Memphis thinking that Foye was better or something, if so, it was a big mistake. Love is a nice player, dude will have a nice carreer. Is it only my impression or the Hawks look really good when Smith doesn't have many touches on the offensive end?

[evildallas]

Nice win, at least we had control over this game for most part. Flip has been really great, imagine us without him, it's not that hard, just look back at our 2nd unit last year that couldn't score to save their lives. I like C. Smith. He's a big body (too big) who can play some decent D. I hope the T-Wolves didn't send Mayo to Memphis thinking that Foye was better or something, if so, it was a big mistake. Love is a nice player, dude will have a nice carreer. Is it only my impression or the Hawks look really good when Smith doesn't have many touches on the offensive end?

It's your imagination about Smith. I believe the Mayo trade had little to do with Foye and was all about Kevin Love in whom McHale probably sees a bit of himself. It probably also had a lot to do with Mike Miller and the team mistakenly thinking they were closer to competitive than they are. Getting Miller as a veteran SG/SF who actually likes the area (from South Dakota) and a competent young big to pair with center piece Al Jefferson. Another motivator had to be moving Marko Jaric who's deal goes a year longer than Cardinal's in the swap of bad contracts.

[conleyorbust]

Nice win, at least we had control over this game for most part. Flip has been really great, imagine us without him, it's not that hard, just look back at our 2nd unit last year that couldn't score to save their lives. I like C. Smith. He's a big body (too big) who can play some decent D. I hope the T-Wolves didn't send Mayo to Memphis thinking that Foye was better or something, if so, it was a big mistake. Love is a nice player, dude will have a nice carreer. Is it only my impression or the Hawks look really good when Smith doesn't have many touches on the offensive end?

The Hawks look really good when the play garbage teams at home.

[HMFFL]

Tired T-Wolves, maybe lacking some heart as well.

The Timberwolves starting five sat out the entire fourth quarter against the Hawks on Monday. Part of the reason was the lopsided score, but coach Kevin McHale is also worried that his starters are wearing down.
"We right now are running on empty with some guys," McHale said. "They think it's OK to give in and say 'I'm tired'. You're a professional athlete. You can't be tired." The Wolves starters won't always play such limited minutes, but right now it's hard to rely on guys like Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolve ... page=2&c=y

[Harry10]

Good teams beat bad team, especially at home, on a consistant basis..... good to see the Hawks show some respect to the Wolves and play them hard to get an easy win.

[JoshB914]

Tired T-Wolves, maybe lacking some heart as well.

The Timberwolves starting five sat out the entire fourth quarter against the Hawks on Monday. Part of the reason was the lopsided score, but coach Kevin McHale is also worried that his starters are wearing down.
"We right now are running on empty with some guys," McHale said. "They think it's OK to give in and say 'I'm tired'. You're a professional athlete. You can't be tired." The Wolves starters won't always play such limited minutes, but right now it's hard to rely on guys like Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolve ... page=2&c=y

Kevin Love wasn't playing hard? McHale is clueless.

[LL Cool Scott]

I've seen a lot of atrocious teams in that arena the past few years (mainly the team with the home uniforms), but that Wolves team might have been the worst. The only really entertaining part of the game was laughing at Shelden when they put him on the kiss cam. I want the ball in Flip Murray's hands as much as possible late in games. He's the best guy we've got at creating a one-on-one basket, including Joe.

[JoshB914]

^^^ Shelden on the kiss cam? That's priceless. What did he do?

He also chucked a jump hook off the front rim on his first touch and prevented a layup from one of his teammates from going in by hitting the rim with his hand for no apparent reason while going for the putback. I said he would be out of the league not soon after his rookie contract ended a long time ago, looks like I might be right for once.

[LL Cool Scott]

He chuckled good-naturedly while the PA guy yelled "kiss him Shelden!!!" Handled it well I guess. I didn't even know he was on the Wolves until at some random point in the second quarter this big goof for the Wolves dropped a pass a foot from the basket on a fast break and I looked closer and realized it was him. He was just as bad as I remember him being. Billy Knight can rot in hell.

Another note: you know that part where the reporter interviews one of the players or coaches as they're going into the locker room tunnel right after the second quarter ends? Well this time, they interviewed assistant coach Larry Drew and he said something to the effect of "Zaza Pachulia is the best backup center in the entire league." Right on, Larry Drew. Preach gospel.

[evildallas]

Let me add something . . . I don't hate Shelden. I mean come on, he went to Duke. I hate Billy Knight for drafting him. I watched Shelden play for years at Duke. I knew he was often overwhelmed by athletic PF and or C types (like Alexander Johnson of FSU or DJ White of Indiana) that didn't make it in the NBA. The guys who make it in the league were likely to obliterate him. In college, he built his defensive stats against smaller players and the Duke system lent to his rebounding numbers. The biggest red flag was his hands. It was countless times that I saw him get position and be fed the ball only to fumble and recover it to make a contested move to try and score. It was obvious that playing that way wouldn't cut it on the NBA level. Considering that I only missed 3 Duke games in his entire career and saw several in person, I believe that I scouted him more thoroughly than the GM that drafted him at #5 and guaranteed him 3M+ per season. I base that on the lack of the individual workout and explanation that Billy Knight gave for not doing so. I believe the quote was I've seen enough of him to know what he brings without watching him performing drills in a gym. Well, you know what Billy Knight? You were wrong and I hope your cocky lack of effort on behalf of the Hawks haunts you and keeps you out of basketball for the rest of your life. You stole a couple years of my enjoyment and I won't forget that nor forgive it.