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If you would have told me at the beginning of camp that the E Brand signing was a mistake (looks like he could be done), John Jenkins would have 6 minutes total through 6 games, our FT shooting is simply atrocious, and someone on the street at that point would be our main bench piece, then I would not have thought that we'd be 3-3 and 2 of our Ls were 2 point losses in situations that are notoriously hard games to W (LA on a Sunday night; DEN on the way back home from a WC swing). In all honesty, hindsight would make me think that 4-2 should be about the best we should have expected - yet we're a couple of buzzer beaters away from 5-1.

Like many, I tend to focus too much on the negatives and I'm not saying that we can't find any(more... the 4 points above are pretty bad) with this team, but there are some truly great positives that are encouraging going forward. We're still settling into the Coach Bud era and yet we're competing at a high level. We lead the league in Assists and Steals; we're top 10 in FG%, Blocks, and Points; even with the impressive ball movement we're seeing, we're still top 10 in TO differential. Perhaps the biggest positive - as of right now, we're a playoff team that would have the 4th pick in the draft (due to the ability to swap picks with BRK) so we're actually doing quite well in the Wiggins sweepstakes and we don't actually have to lose to continue to rise.

What are some positives that you see going forward?

1. High IQ and good coaching beats mindless athleticism anyday. The offense, though lacking in top-flight talent, is a wondrous thing to watch.

2. Teague seems to be flourishing.

3. Paul Millsap has been better than advertised.

4. Cartier Martin has been a real find.

I love that we play smart on offense AND defense. Sure, Teague still jumps up, when he gets into trouble, and looks for someone to pass to. So far, however, he hasn't turned the ball over, so, no harm - no foul. I like how we hustle, too. This team believes in Budenholzer's approach. What I think is REALLY promising is that we're still learning the scheme on offense and defense. This team's intelligence makes me very excited over what they'll look like later.

For my list of particulars:
Schröder can get to the basket any time he wants. The shots will start to drop.
Horford's just starting to acclimate himself to this offense.
Mike Scott gives us good offense off the bench.
Carroll is a tough defender.

But Jamaal's #3 is dead on:

Jamaaliver wrote:3. Paul Millsap has been better than advertised.

Paul Millsap has been a stud for quite a few years now, he just flies under the national radar. Anyways, the things I find most promising:

1) Our spacing/ball movement is FANTASTIC. With Josh gone we're having significantly fewer long-2 jumpshots and iso-ball possessions. We're now the BEST team in the league in terms of turnover rate, and 5th in terms of eFG%.

2) The Millsap/Horford frontcourt is versatile and multifaceted. Scoring, rebounding, moving the ball, defending, mobility... it's awesome.

3) Teague is finally learning to play under control, and it's paying huge dividends for him. Despite his shot not falling for him, he's great at finding the open guys, and he's a big reason why our ball movement is so good.

4) Cartier Martin has been one of the better FA signings this offseason.

5) Korver's shot is wet. Ridiculous shooting from him.

There actually is an improvement in FTs........in that the team is getting to the line more often so I give them that. You're not going to make them if you're not in a position to take them either.

The pace is breakneck and exciting.

Knew Sap and Al would be a top combo, they just accentuate each other so well being able to both rotate inside and out on O effectively. On D, Sap is continuing his thieving ways by stripping folks at a high rate and Al looks like he got a lot of pointers from the time he spent with Deke on the NBA Cares tour, he's tops in the league in blocks.

Carroll may look like he's bumbling opportunities but we can't dismiss that he's creating plenty of others with his defense and hustle.

Korver is a cold blooded killer. His confidence has got to be sky high, he's taking and hitting ridiculous shots, running full speed, off the catch, defender in his face, splash.

I have yet to see guys with their heads down, pouting, or coming out with low energy. This team looks positively motivated in the early going and most of the mistakes just look like pure confusion over where to be. I imagine that that would improve with better chemistry and time together in Bud's system.

Like many have mentioned, I think the flow of our offense has really stood out. We are so used to isolations and 1-1 basketball, that's hard to believe we have come so far in just 6 games. Millsap is way better than we thought. His game is versatile and he doesn't seem to settle. He gets fouled a lot because of that, so I just wish he'd capitalize on those FTs a bit more. I think Horford is still figuring it out. Sometimes he seems a little lost. Korver is a beast shooting, that helps us space the floor for Millsap and Al. I'm not 100% sold on Teague, I know the stats look great, but he seems to panic in crunch time. I think we could've won at least one more game had he had better shot selection and distribution. Oh boy, it seems like I had about as much positive as negative to say. Sorry guys.

Skyhawk1 wrote:I'm not 100% sold on Teague, I know the stats look great, but he seems to panic in crunch time.

Well, he's not instinctive, that's a fact. On the other hand, his physical gifts are terrific, so good they can overcome his lack of a true PG's mindset. To me, his big thing is now defense. Although he's averaging around 18/10 right now, if he can give us 17/8 (and be just killer on fastbreaks) to go along with good defense, he's a championship-level PG.

Wanna be more positive? Starting thinking about Schröder's potential...

Antic has been looking pretty decent

I went to the Orlando game Saturday night, and I was very pleasantly surprised! The things that stuck out to me, besides what has been said already, are quick pace and quick baskets. So many times, Teague rushed the ball over half court, setup the two-man game with Al or Sap or Scott, drove to the baseline and fed the big at the point for a routine jumper. It was pretty much automatic. We transitioned back to defense well and played with energy to get the ball back. When the other team scored, there wasn't a slow, frustrated gathering of the ball and head back up court. No, it was get that ball in the PG's hands and get to offense. They also are making very good and effective adjustments in game and between games. Orlando's big was held to practically nothing after he's been tearing it up.

I'm excited about the direction we are going now! I was unsure because of the obvious lack of talent, but we are making an excellent showing with who we have and are proving to have some solid depth.

Adding onto some of yalls list: Kyle Korver's 3 point streak is still intact and he's only 11 games away from breaking the record. Having that kind of deadeye shooter is great for the team and I'm really glad we locked him up.

jagstang76 wrote:I went to the Orlando game Saturday night, and I was very pleasantly surprised! The things that stuck out to me, besides what has been said already, are quick pace and quick baskets. So many times, Teague rushed the ball over half court, setup the two-man game with Al or Sap or Scott, drove to the baseline and fed the big at the point for a routine jumper. It was pretty much automatic. We transitioned back to defense well and played with energy to get the ball back. When the other team scored, there wasn't a slow, frustrated gathering of the ball and head back up court. No, it was get that ball in the PG's hands and get to offense. They also are making very good and effective adjustments in game and between games. Orlando's big was held to practically nothing after he's been tearing it up.

I'm excited about the direction we are going now! I was unsure because of the obvious lack of talent, but we are making an excellent showing with who we have and are proving to have some solid depth.

If you'll forgive me for putting words in your mouth, you're talking about coaching. It's nice to see so many little things being focused on.

As for the talent, we have 3 very good players - Horford, Millsap and Teague. If we can turn the loser of the Teague/Schröder competition into an additional very good player, we'll become a talented team.