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Thinking about the 3rd slot and a good opportunity to take advantage of Orlando trying to bring in a new PG with their lineup.
Of course we have to beat Portland tonight to benefit, but I think we have a very good shot to make a move.
I think with Oden out, we can match up with Portland. Give Roy his points and shut down Aldridge.
The Blazers really needed to make a move to increase their chances of success in the playoffs.

The Hawk's wont catch Orlando and I still don't realize why people care about getting the 3rd seed anyway. It's not like the 3rd seed will have a noticeably easier path in the playoffs than the 4th seed this year given how good the top 2 teams are.

I don't see how we can catch Orlando but it would be nice to have the 3rd seed.

Before they traded for R. Alston I thought we had a good chance. They looked completely out of sync without Nelson. Now, I do not know as Alston makes them better for sure. Anyway, like some have pointed out here, it may be a better thing to stay with the 4th then grabbing the 3rd seed.

For us to even think about catching Orlando we will have to go something like 23-5 over the rest of the season. That's not happening.

^^ Or Orlando could really suck.

I agree the hole is too deep and the Hawks are too inconsistent to seriously hope to move up.

What I'm intrigued by is the other side of us. Holding on to 4th and who winds up 5-8th. Does Miami, Philly, or Detroit catch us? Does Miami stay in 5th? Does Philly overtake them? Does the lack of chemistry cause Detroit to slide out of the playoffs? When will Milwaukee's injuries kill their hope? Can the newly modified Chicago or New York close ground? What about our nemesis New Jersey? Charlotte's played better of late, maybe they make a run?

This is crazy talk. Orlando is not going to collapse unless Dwight Howard has a season-ending injury, and even if that happened we're too far behind to catch them.

We've got a lot more to worry about with Miami catching us.

Survey says "NO".

Orlando 92 Charlotte 80 Alston has 8 assists.

td00 wrote:Thinking about the 3rd slot and a good opportunity to take advantage of Orlando trying to bring in a new PG with their lineup.
Of course we have to beat Portland tonight to benefit, but I think we have a very good shot to make a move.
I think with Oden out, we can match up with Portland. Give Roy his points and shut down Aldridge.
The Blazers really needed to make a move to increase their chances of success in the playoffs.

So do you still think we can catch Orlando?

^^ I don't think anyone does, and they shouldn't. 3 weeks ago is wasn't likely either, but you gotta let people dream a little. I wasn't one of them, but I don't begrudge others that did.

It is interesting that if you check the league standings for which teams are the hottest in their last 10 games, you'll find that Utah and New Orleans are both 9-1. It doesn't really mean anything, but it is fun that the Hawks are responsible for both -1's.

evildallas wrote:^^ I don't think anyone does, and they shouldn't. 3 weeks ago is wasn't likely either, but you gotta let people dream a little. I wasn't one of them, but I don't begrudge others that did.

It is interesting that if you check the league standings for which teams are the hottest in their last 10 games, you'll find that Utah and New Orleans are both 9-1. It doesn't really mean anything, but it is fun that the Hawks are responsible for both -1's.

Actually it does mean something. It means the Hawks can get up for big games. They have shown that repeatedly. However they don't have the professionalism to play hard and fundamentally sound every night.

tontoz wrote:

evildallas wrote:^^ I don't think anyone does, and they shouldn't. 3 weeks ago is wasn't likely either, but you gotta let people dream a little. I wasn't one of them, but I don't begrudge others that did.

It is interesting that if you check the league standings for which teams are the hottest in their last 10 games, you'll find that Utah and New Orleans are both 9-1. It doesn't really mean anything, but it is fun that the Hawks are responsible for both -1's.

Actually it does mean something. It means the Hawks can get up for big games. They have shown that repeatedly. However they don't have the professionalism to play hard and fundamentally sound every night.

I've been saying this for a while. The Hawks have played every quality team tough in Phillips but will routinely fall asleep for extended periods of time against teams like Indy,OKC,and New York. Their only 3 double digit losses at home have come against Philly,New Jersey,and the Clippers which is pretty amazing.