Joe Johnson is keenly aware about the perception of the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
He realizes most of the so-called experts call it a three-horse race with the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat running neck and neck out front and the Orlando Magic staying within striking distance.
But Johnson contends there’s a certifiable dark-horse in the Eastern Conference playoff race and it’s his own team, the Atlanta Hawks.
“I definitely believe we can win it,’’ Johnson said of the Hawks winning the Eastern Conference championship. “You’ve got to get hot at the right time. Right now, we’re trying to find our groove before the postseason. But we have the talent to do it.’’ Read More: http://hoopshype.com/articles/woelfel/j ... ompetitive
Joe Johnson quietly keeping Atlanta competitive
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Joe Johnson quietly keeping Atlanta competitive
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HMFFL
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Joe Johnson quietly keeping Atlanta competitive
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brigadierjerry
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Re: Joe Johnson quietly keeping Atlanta competitive
Horford reminds me a lot of Buck Williams although Horford has a better outside shot. Buck Williams was the 4th option on those Portland teams in the 90’s. Horford on a championship type team is a 3rd option at best. Smith 2nd or 3rd as well.
Looking at the big picture u realize that it is so much better to get a star or superstar player via draft or FA/trade or two and build around them and fill the rest of the pieces and get depth than to do it the other way around by having good players with depth and not have any superstar or star player you can build around. This is the problem with the Sixers, Indy, Denver,Memphis and even Hawks to a lesser extent. These teams will do well regular season but it will be hard for them to go far in the playoffs when you can game plan against their best player and need to rely on the other players to pickup the slack. The Hawks biggest problem is that they thought when they signed Joe Johnson, they thought you can build around him but he is a very good player just not a superstar player which is hard to get because overall lack of superstar talent in the NBA that you can draft. Smith is a good player but you cannot build around Smith or Horford as your 1st option on offense because when it comes down to it and the game is on the line when your down two and if you are able to one on one for a tie or win, i will take my chances with Joe than Smith or Horford.
Biggest problem with Johnson and my biggest gripe with him is that he refuses to draw contact so that if he misses the shot he can draw contact for a foul to get to the line. That is the difference between him and Pierce and Kobe. Comparing him to Kobe is unfair. He is more comparable to Pierce although they play different positions.
You can win going the Dallas Mavericks route with a superstar player and good players/depth around you but you have to be willing to spend and go into the luxury tax. You can go the Celtics route as well when they got Garnett and Allen and Pierce and Rondo already drafted. You can also go the slower route of OKlahaoma and Chicago Bulls drafting wisely and making good acquisitions/trades, etc.
To me it comes down to I have always felt that the Hawks management doesnt really have a plan as far as building a team, they seem to just want to patchwork things. If the Hawks want to get better they are either going to have to do 3 things after this season to: 1)Go the Boston Celtics model and either trade Smith or Horford for a star player such as Dwight or for a player that is better than Smith or Horford or 2)get a new coach who is established and has a history of success or 3)blow it up and start from scratch and go via the OKC model and try and draft wisely and see if you are able to find a star player and build through that way a team.
As far as this playoff goes, Hawks can beat any team other than the Celtics and Heat and the caveat I have with Chicago is that Hawks can beat them if Rose is less than 100%.
Looking at the big picture u realize that it is so much better to get a star or superstar player via draft or FA/trade or two and build around them and fill the rest of the pieces and get depth than to do it the other way around by having good players with depth and not have any superstar or star player you can build around. This is the problem with the Sixers, Indy, Denver,Memphis and even Hawks to a lesser extent. These teams will do well regular season but it will be hard for them to go far in the playoffs when you can game plan against their best player and need to rely on the other players to pickup the slack. The Hawks biggest problem is that they thought when they signed Joe Johnson, they thought you can build around him but he is a very good player just not a superstar player which is hard to get because overall lack of superstar talent in the NBA that you can draft. Smith is a good player but you cannot build around Smith or Horford as your 1st option on offense because when it comes down to it and the game is on the line when your down two and if you are able to one on one for a tie or win, i will take my chances with Joe than Smith or Horford.
Biggest problem with Johnson and my biggest gripe with him is that he refuses to draw contact so that if he misses the shot he can draw contact for a foul to get to the line. That is the difference between him and Pierce and Kobe. Comparing him to Kobe is unfair. He is more comparable to Pierce although they play different positions.
You can win going the Dallas Mavericks route with a superstar player and good players/depth around you but you have to be willing to spend and go into the luxury tax. You can go the Celtics route as well when they got Garnett and Allen and Pierce and Rondo already drafted. You can also go the slower route of OKlahaoma and Chicago Bulls drafting wisely and making good acquisitions/trades, etc.
To me it comes down to I have always felt that the Hawks management doesnt really have a plan as far as building a team, they seem to just want to patchwork things. If the Hawks want to get better they are either going to have to do 3 things after this season to: 1)Go the Boston Celtics model and either trade Smith or Horford for a star player such as Dwight or for a player that is better than Smith or Horford or 2)get a new coach who is established and has a history of success or 3)blow it up and start from scratch and go via the OKC model and try and draft wisely and see if you are able to find a star player and build through that way a team.
As far as this playoff goes, Hawks can beat any team other than the Celtics and Heat and the caveat I have with Chicago is that Hawks can beat them if Rose is less than 100%.