Can Miller Save The Hawks?

[killbuckner]

I was rather convinced that philly would end up making a max offer to Josh Smith with a max signing bonus just to see if the ownership would commit to overpaying a guy when they used 2 top 5 picks at the same position the last 2 years. But that was based on the idea of paying Smith far more than he is worth. The way Josh Smith is playing he is starting to justify a bigger contract which means he would be less overpaid and the strategy fails.

[conleyorbust]

I was rather convinced that philly would end up making a max offer to Josh Smith with a max signing bonus just to see if the ownership would commit to overpaying a guy when they used 2 top 5 picks at the same position the last 2 years. But that was based on the idea of paying Smith far more than he is worth. The way Josh Smith is playing he is starting to justify a bigger contract which means he would be less overpaid and the strategy fails.

Indeed, if he earns the contract than you aren't really playing a game of chicken with anyone.

[JoshB914]

Last nights game may have done two things. It may have forced BK to go after Miller after seeing him. And it also may have sealed the deal for us to match any offer Philly throws at Smoove this summer.

[Rip2137]

I think our biggest problem is probably there is only one guy that can play defense at the point guard position on the entire team (well, 3, but Salim and Mario ain't getting minutes so lets just let that go).

Acie is our best defensive guard but isn't getting any minutes. AJ and Lue are statues on defense, and almost negate everything they do on offense by giving up the points on the other end easily.

People keep saying the Hawks can't compete with the point guard rotation, but out what East guard has made Acie look bad defensively? The problem is the East guards that have made AJ and Lue look horrible and we would have to face one in the first round.

Thats said, Miller is a better defender than AJ and Lue, but he would still look horrible against top flight guards in the playoffs.

[killbuckner]

Rip- take these numbers for what they are worth. Here are the Hawks numbers on defense with the different PG's.

First is number of points/100 possessions given up with the player on the court. Second number is what the Hawks give up without the player on the court. Low numbers are good here. since there is low overlap where these players play at the same time (though not nonexistent) these help indicate how the player affects our defense.

AJ 102.8 with 109.7 without (-6.9)
Lue 111.9 with 105.1 without (+6.8)
Law 108.1 with 105.8 without (+2.3)

From these numbers Lue appears to be the worst defensive PG on the hawks by a significant margin. Interestingly AJ grades out as better than Law overall.

Not saying these numbers are perfect- just thought some objective numbers would help the discussion.

[JoshB914]

IV is okay on defense but he is by no means a great defender. How many dumb off the ball fouls has he committed this season? I don't see that much difference between him and AJ.

[conleyorbust]

Law's defense can be a lot like his offense, sometimes he can really bring it and sometimes he looks completely lost out there. I think it comes partially from being a rook who was never really took the role of "stopper" in college because his offense was too important to the team and it also comes from getting burn at random times (Note: I'm not blaming Woody for that but Acie doesn't have a particularly long leash because of our place in the standings). He does have the most potential on D though. Acie's =/- have improved from earlier too, which is good.

Anyway, Miller is generally a solid defender. It seems like the interest in him might be picking up - Houston, Denver, Cleveland, and Orlando all want to make an impact move and LA might still be in the market for an upgrade. I'm wondering what kind of offers Stef is getting, from watching the game it looks like a Shelden type could be useful there... at least he has SOME offensive game.

[HoopsGuru25]

The difference between Law and AJ is foot speed. Law rarely get's beaten off the dribble and he put's more pressure on the ball. He commits dumb fouls and goes for pump fakes but he is a rookie. That will get better over time. AJ is one of the slowest pgs in the league so he has an extremely difficult time keeping some of the quicker point guards in the league out the paint. He is hard to post up and he plays good pick and roll defense though. His off the ball defense has been pretty good too. Lue plays defense as bad as it can be played though. Bigger pg's can post him up...smaller pg's blow by him like a chair. Lue also doesn't even attempt to fight through any picks which leads to mismatches on defense(the last Toronto game and both Portland games being great examples).

[swatguy]

Is this really an article? It reads as Blog worthy, not journalist. RealGm needs to get into the locker room. There used to be a guy that did (Zettler Clay) and he was good. Give us a good writer again and get him Into the locker instead of a thread on the cover.

[td00]

If we need a win, I would have AJ in the game. He does give us the best chance. He understands his role, but I am not sure about his conditioning as a whole. It doesn't seem like he could go in back-2-back when needed. This is where we need a lift from Lue and Acie.
It is simply a position by committee. It reminds me of a Bobby Cox leftfield rotation: Guys who contribute sometimes, but just don't have enough to make a difference in big games or at playoff time.

I have hopes for Acie because AMiller is going to get a big contract from someone. I think Philly holds onto him for next year to see if they get off to a playoff contending start in his final contract year.
We shouldn't wait until the offseason or next year. We need to make a statement that we want to make noise this year. Our losing record as a playoff seed should not be considered a success. Yes, everyone goes to 0-0 once the playoffs start. But knowing the road record here for this team, we are upside down as soon as the Cleveland or Toronto series starts. We need to shoot for a homecourt advantage for the first round.

[realfung]

Hawks need Miller, not sure if he can fix it but I am sure if the Hawks willign to give up one talent they have such as Marvin, Haford......

I think they can get Miller, and Miller might be able to make Hawks a contender IMO.

[HMFFL]

Hawks need Miller, not sure if he can fix it but I am sure if the Hawks willign to give up one talent they have such as Marvin, Haford......

I think they can get Miller, and Miller might be able to make Hawks a contender IMO.

Philly appears to be searching for someone to put them into the playoffs. I doubt they have any plans to move Andre at this time.

[evildallas]

Philly is now ahead of us (due to tie-breakers I guess) and listed as #8 in the East.

[HMFFL]

Philly is now ahead of us (due to tie-breakers I guess) and listed as #8 in the East.

Another reason why all the Andre Miller talk can stop for the time being. Philly's not moving Andre until they know they're out of the playoff hunt and I doubt any talks heat up until the off-season.

[evildallas]

I agree. To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Andre Miller isn't coming through that door. I'm advocating this one lose its sticky.

[freshie2]

Should lose it's sticky if the Bibby deal is true...nice move for the Hawks.

[HMFFL]

I guess you guys are right now that we have Mike Bibby.

Good read Patrick, keep them coming! Curious to see what you say about the addition of Mike Bibby.