Hawks at Miami

[Jamaaliver]

Anyone wanna write a letter to arthur blank to the hawks and start a petition for a new head coach?

No.

L Drew has proven to be a capable coach. D Ferry has only been on the job 9 months.

[Jamaaliver]

And how's a slasher gonna help our passing?

A slaher gets to the basket, forcing defenders to collapse. Opens up the floor for shooters and puts pressure on the referees to call a foul or two in our favor.

Basketball 101. When the jumpshots don't fall, drive to the basket.

[GrimeyKidd]

Anyone wanna write a letter to arthur blank to the hawks and start a petition for a new head coach?

No.

L Drew has proven to be a capable coach. D Ferry has only been on the job 9 months.

Still need a new owner..

[parson]

A slaher gets to the basket, forcing defenders to collapse. Opens up the floor for shooters and puts pressure on the referees to call a foul or two in our favor.

When the refs allow Chris Andersen to go out on the PERIMETER defending Shelvin Mack, hacking and pushing him into a turnover and then again into a walk, what "pressure" do you think those same refs would feel to "call a foul or two in our favor"?

[Jamaaliver]

When the refs allow Chris Andersen to go out on the PERIMETER defending Shelvin Mack, hacking and pushing him into a turnover and then again into a walk, what "pressure" do you think those same refs would feel to "call a foul or two in our favor"?

Hawks actually started attacking the basket in the second half. We shot 12 free throws and Heat only shot 10 free throws.

We had more FTAs in the 2nd half than Miami. Because we attacked the basket.

Our bench players were way more aggressive than Horford and Josh with all those long jumpers.
Only two teams in the NBA shoot fewer FTAs every game. Because we are a team full of jump shooters and (outside of Teague and Devin) rarely attack the basket.

A slasher who finishes with authority is necessary. You can't have a team only with shooters.

[azuresou1]

Parson I didn't think it was necessary to explain, but here goes:

When you have no one who is a slashing threat, the defense can by nature be more aggressive, because they don't have to worry about you making them pay for crowding you. As a result, defenders can play their man MUCH tighter, which puts more pressure on the offensive player, increasing their odds of a turnover (whether a strip or a bad pass) because he has no way of making the defense pay for crowding him. No ref is going to call some incidental contact on a guy who's being crowded, nor should they. Plus, it's harder to SEE contact, because the players are much closer.

When you DO have a slashing threat, the defense has to back off to respect the drive, and any contact is much easier to see for everyone, which forces the refs to call it. Our only real slasher is Teague, and he quite honestly doesn't have the aggression and consistency to be a lead slasher. We have the third fewest FTAs in the league, despite having some legitimately talented pieces.

PS: Shelvin Mack is f***ing god awful, please don't use his inability to drive by Birdman as any sort of proof that the refs were cheating us out of the game.

[azuresou1]

Another thing: John Jenkins was horriawful too. Just wow.

[parson]

When the refs allow Chris Andersen to go out on the PERIMETER defending Shelvin Mack, hacking and pushing him into a turnover and then again into a walk, what "pressure" do you think those same refs would feel to "call a foul or two in our favor"?

Hawks actually started attacking the basket in the second half. We shot 12 free throws and Heat only shot 10 free throws.

We had more FTAs in the 2nd half than Miami. Because we attacked the basket.
....

Our bench got more FTAs than their bench. Great.

By the way, I remember Ivan Johnson, Mike Scott, Dahntay Jones, John Jenkins and Shelvin Mack but can't remember the 5th player out there for us. WHO was the "slasher" who got us all those FTAs? It wasn't Ivan because he wasn't slashing - he was bumping and grinding.

[parson]

Parson I didn't think it was necessary to explain, but here goes:

When you have no one who is a slashing threat, the defense can by nature be more aggressive, because they don't have to worry about you making them pay for crowding you. ...

When you DO have a slashing threat, the defense has to back off to respect the drive, and any contact is much easier to see for everyone, which forces the refs to call it. Our only real slasher is Teague, ...

Please notice that such a slasher has to be a very good ball handler (passing, dribbling AND court vision) with terrific finishing ability (skills and athleticism) to accomplish what you're seeking. You're asking for a star (Yes, you are. Imagine Smith playing this role). You're also pretty much asking for iso-drives, which stymie the passing game. For example, when Derrick Rose "slashes" the other players move back to give him room.

Slashing is good for when the play breaks down or to take advantage of defensive holes but it is antithetical to a passing game. When the slasher's slashing, the ball's not rotating. It's the THREAT of a great slasher that makes the defense back down. That means we put the ball in that man's hands often. However, you've already acknowledged that Teague is good in that respect. What happened last night is that the Heat were allowed to foul with impunity. If the refs had allowed us to defend the same way, I wouldn't be complaining. But the calls only went one way.

I'm all for drafting a Tony Parker or a Manu Ginobili, by the way.

[parson]

Another thing: John Jenkins was horriawful too. Just wow.

I have hopes for that kid. He will grow. He can handle the ball; he can drive; he has looong arms. And he can really shoot. I think he'll be either a great bench player or a good starting SG.

Besides, he's a lot like what you're seeking. Did you see that, when his outside shot wasn't falling, that he got all 3 of his baskets inside? I didn't realize that until I looked at the shot chart.

[azuresou1]

Yes, being a great slasher requires having good handles. I never said otherwise. Being a great slasher, however, does NOT require isolation play; it requires the ability to take it to the basket quickly and aggressively upon catching the ball. For example, Kevin Martin is an excellent slasher but very rarely isolates. Teague has quite frankly a bad sense of when to take over and when to defer to the hot hand, which limits him both as a slasher and also as a point guard.

John Jenkins is primarily a shooter first who looked horrible yesterday from outside. He got his inside shots on assists on good cuts, but that's not really great slashing that he created himself.

Even a second-tier slasher like Monta Ellis would be a huge asset for our team.