Hawks will be the only team to compete with Miami next year

monsterblock · Post #1 » by **monsterblock** » Sat May 12, 2012 3:55 pm

Chicago is out. Boston will blow up. Orlando is going to be a soap opera. New York is still dis-functional. Philadelphia is still in turmoil.

With the current core, the Hawks and Pacers will be the only good teams in the east, and with Horford, the Hawks are slightly better than the Pacers.

tonegully757 · Post #2 » by **tonegully757** » Sat May 12, 2012 3:57 pm

We will not accomplish anything with LD at the helm. We need a coach that will hold these players responsible and not afraid to get on these players. I would love for us to have a coach with a winning background and will enforce discipline on this team before we blow it up.

Superiorblogman · Post #3 » by **Superiorblogman** » Sat May 12, 2012 5:35 pm

No, we have 6 players under contract and we are over the salary cap. We really don't have anything other than exceptions and draft picks to fill out this roster needing 7 more people. We do not have the bigs to beat a healthy Chicago team with Rose. They are just too big and deep in the frontcourt. We aren't beating Miami because of the stars that will get every break there is. I agree that we can be 3rd best record wise but what good is that if we still don't have the personnel to get to the ECFinals? Blow it up

Teague
Joe
Marvin
Josh
Al
Zaza

6 coming back

1st round
2nd round

Makes 8

The other 5 will be the usual vet minimum guys.

That is not a team that is going to beat a healthy Bulls team or Miami to get to the ECFinals.

Skyhawk1 · Post #4 » by **Skyhawk1** » Sat May 12, 2012 7:42 pm

Guys, there's hope. If Arenas was traded back when he was with the Wizards, anyone can be, including Marvin (get this clown out of here) and JJ.

MaceCase · Post #5 » by **MaceCase** » Sat May 12, 2012 7:54 pm

Arenas was traded for Shard....not exactly inspiring confidence. That means that Joe is only likely to be traded for Amar'e.

Post #6 » by **ATL Boy** » Sat May 12, 2012 11:32 pm

BRING MIKE FRATELLO BACK TO ATLANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Superiorblogman · Post #7 » by **Superiorblogman** » Sun May 13, 2012 1:59 am

If Philly gets to the ECFinals no way they can bring this same team back after they failed to do what a Philly team that we are clearly better than did.

Post #8 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sun May 13, 2012 3:23 pm

The ONLY team??? Doubtful.

Philly is proving to be formidable despite their lack of a superstar.

NY will be better with a full offseason, a hungry Carmelo. And let's not forget their ability to run through the regular season under Woodson. (A coach made for the regular season. They did go 18-6 under him this year.)

Indy will be solid. Again.

Chicago will get healthy and will probably be the #1 seed yet again.

Milwaukee with B Jennings and Monta having time to gel will be better.

Plus...we kinda suck as currently constructed.

Rip2137 · Post #9 » by **Rip2137** » Sun May 13, 2012 6:56 pm

Plus...we kinda suck as currently constructed.

Dude, we had the 4th best record in the conference, and would have EASILY had the third best record if we had our Allstar center for the year. We might have had it with Zaza not missing so many games. We aren't close to sucking.

That said, we can't beat Miami with our current construction. Would could, though, beat every other team in the conference in a series.

Superiorblogman · Post #10 » by **Superiorblogman** » Sun May 13, 2012 7:56 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:The ONLY team??? Doubtful.

Philly is proving to be formidable despite their lack of a superstar.

NY will be better with a full offseason, a hungry Carmelo. And let's not forget their ability to run through the regular season under Woodson. (A coach made for the regular season. They did go 18-6 under him this year.)

Indy will be solid. Again.

Chicago will get healthy and will probably be the #1 seed yet again.

Milwaukee with B Jennings and Monta having time to gel will be better.

Plus...we kinda suck as currently constructed.

We far from suck but it needs to be blown up because there is no future in the way they are currently operating.

monsterblock · Post #11 » by **monsterblock** » Mon May 14, 2012 12:28 am

Jamaaliver wrote:The ONLY team??? Doubtful.

Philly is proving to be formidable despite their lack of a superstar.

NY will be better with a full offseason, a hungry Carmelo. And let's not forget their ability to run through the regular season under Woodson. (A coach made for the regular season. They did go 18-6 under him this year.)

Indy will be solid. Again.

Chicago will get healthy and will probably be the #1 seed yet again.

Milwaukee with B Jennings and Monta having time to gel will be better.

Plus...we kinda suck as currently constructed.

every point you made was just dumb and wrong, but the Chicago one was the worst.

2Mas · Post #12 » by **2Mas** » Mon May 14, 2012 1:14 am

Why don't you think Chicago will be good again? They're hurt now, but if Noah didn't go down we'd be playing the bulls instead of Philly. Maybe I don't know something but why won't they be good?

Chicago healthy is championship caliber.
Miami will still be the same.
Indiana will be better.
Atlanta will be better. (Horford back Plus Teague & Smith keep learning.)
New York will be better. Won't be championship caliber but they'll be tough 2nd roundish
Philly will be the same. Turner might take it to the next level & if they get a big they'll be nice.
Boston won't suck at all. 2 first rounders in a deep draft along with jeff green coming back plus over 20mil in cap? Looking at a rotation like rondo, bradley, allen, pierce, bass, garnett, green, FA big(Hump) & 2 first rounders. We're gonna be real next year.

Orlando is in turmoil & should blow everything up quickly.
Milwaukee is on the uprise & will be better as well.

You guys are nice, but probably not contenders. Get rid of Josh Smith he'll never be what he could be. Johnson your stuck with but he's still awesome so it's fine. Your 2 & 4 are good in JJ & AH. Teague & Hinrich running pg is really nice to have. 1,2,4 are good for the future. Josh for a Center & Williams & a pick for a different 3. Idk you just need changes cause you guys peaked. That's fine so change it up a bit & you guys will be real contenders.

monsterblock · Post #13 » by **monsterblock** » Mon May 14, 2012 1:58 am

2Mas wrote:Why don't you think Chicago will be good again? They're hurt now, but if Noah didn't go down we'd be playing the bulls instead of Philly. Maybe I don't know something but why won't they be good?

Chicago healthy is championship caliber.
Miami will still be the same.
Indiana will be better.
Atlanta will be better. (Horford back Plus Teague & Smith keep learning.)
New York will be better. Won't be championship caliber but they'll be tough 2nd roundish
Philly will be the same. Turner might take it to the next level & if they get a big they'll be nice.
Boston won't suck at all. 2 first rounders in a deep draft along with jeff green coming back plus over 20mil in cap? Looking at a rotation like rondo, bradley, allen, pierce, bass, garnett, green, FA big(Hump) & 2 first rounders. We're gonna be real next year.

Orlando is in turmoil & should blow everything up quickly.
Milwaukee is on the uprise & will be better as well.

You guys are nice, but probably not contenders. Get rid of Josh Smith he'll never be what he could be. Johnson your stuck with but he's still awesome so it's fine. Your 2 & 4 are good in JJ & AH. Teague & Hinrich running pg is really nice to have. 1,2,4 are good for the future. Josh for a Center & Williams & a pick for a different 3. Idk you just need changes cause you guys peaked. That's fine so change it up a bit & you guys will be real contenders.

Healthy.... that is a huge "IF"

Rose is going to miss the season and Deng will defiantly miss games because he plans on getting surgery on his wrist until after the olympics. i don't know if Noah is going to get surgery, but he is defiantly banged up. Boozer and Rip are over 30 and injury is going to be a huge factor for them. then you have that whole Asik and Gibson situation.

all five of Chicago starters have huge questions marks when it come to injuries, and half of their starters won't even play 50 games next year.

Post #14 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon May 14, 2012 5:03 pm

monsterblock wrote:every point you made was just dumb and wrong, but the Chicago one was the worst.

<sigh>

The facts are the facts.

-Chicago has never NOT had the best overall regular season record under Thibs. Regardless of who is playing. why should we expect that to change?

-Indiana is a team on the rise. They have made the playoffs two years in a row. Seen their seeding and winning% increase in consecutive seasons and are now in the 2nd round of the playoffs. They are a top 3 team in the conference this season. Is there any reason we should expect them too not even contend in the East?

-Woody won 75% of his regular season games as Head Coach of the NYK this year. He won't match that production, but they'll likely be at least the 7th seed again (and will likely challenge for the division title if Boston disbands as expected).

Each of these teams will have as much of a shot as ATL at unseating MIAMI as the class of the conference.

Rip2137 · Post #15 » by **Rip2137** » Mon May 14, 2012 5:28 pm

None of these teams stand a chance as they are currently constructed. Not one team has a favorable matchup against the Heat unless there are injuries. Chicagos 2/3/4 cant defend or score on Miami's 2/3/4. Indiana can't compete at any position except the 4/5 and Bosh and West woudl pretty much cancel each other out. Atlanta can't defend their 2/3/4 and they can defend our 2 and don't have to defend our 3. The Knicks are going to be coached by Mike Woodson. I don't really think much more needs to be said.

Also, I think you are giving the Pacers too much credit. They were one of the only teams not to have a major injury in this shortened season. Everyone else lost one or two guys to injury for some time this year. The Pacers went pretty much injury free and finished 2 games above Atlanta, 3 games above the Celtics(two teams that lost Allstars for long stretches).

If not for injuries, the Pacers would have been no better than the 5th seed, and honestly I think maybe 6th.

Post #16 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon May 14, 2012 7:07 pm

Rip2137 wrote:None of these teams stand a chance as they are currently constructed. Not one team has a favorable matchup against the Heat unless there are injuries.

Also, I think you are giving the Pacers too much credit.

If not for injuries, the Pacers would have been no better than the 5th seed, and honestly I think maybe 6th.

My point was that these teams have as much chance at ATL as contending with MIA.

Monsterblock dismissed each of these teams as not even being in ATL's league. Which was silly.

td00 · Post #17 » by **td00** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:11 pm

We have now let Philly and Indy go right by us in the East. Its truly hard to understand why we continue to try to prove that we are irrelevant in the attempt to get to the ECF.

The only over .500 team we are better than appears to be Orlando. What is that saying?

Now when Philly gives Boston a better series than we did, that will tell you how far we are off. Philly is winning with a frontcourt of Brand/Hawes & Lavoy Allen! Wow!

Will someone in the ASG just step up and accept that we have to blow this up? We have players that don't like contact and would rather argue the play than play through it.

jagstang76 · Post #18 » by **jagstang76** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:35 pm

TD, I agree things have got to change. I've always been a huge Smoove fan, but I realize it's time for him to move on. He has been the heart of this team more than any other player, and my feeling is he's the reason why this team has such an odd personality. JJ probably contributes a bit too considering how much he has the ball in his hands. However, if we were to move Josh this offseason, we will likely get better value than we've gotten in recent history and have a chance to change the team's personality. We may get lucky and be able to move JJ, but I seriously doubt that will happen. So, it's going to take a move that brings in some help (a couple players) and a 1st in order to make a transition. I think Al needs to become the major personality on this team because he's a winner and a hard worker. Perhaps we can draft a guy that is a better fit at 3 or 5 for us, but we really just need to retool and gain a better mentality of winning through toughness and hard work. I like Drew, but I also feel we need a different coach to make that happen too. I'd love to get Sloan in here!

td00 · Post #19 » by **td00** » Tue May 15, 2012 3:40 pm

The current problem we have as Hawks' fans is waiting to see what will happen with Sund. This reminds me so much of the Billy Knight situation and Knight would be here today if he didn't resign.
This ownership group hasn't endured itself to the city nor the fan base. They are truly inept IMO.

Down the management chain, it seems like no one is in charge. Sund definitely has zero status, yet he is still considering if there is an easier way to keep drawing a salary. Perhaps Portland will do us a huge favor. Then we are probably stuck with an internal promotion of Pendergraft.

Then you have LD, who seems like he has a plan, but doesn't know how to make these guys play better than their talent. That is the main flaw, and for being handed a veteran team, he has improved us very little after 2 years. We are starting to resemble Orlando.

As for the players, they aren't listening to LD. They go out there and let the plays called break down and do their thing. So truly no one appears to have control of the situation here in Atlanta.

Lots to watch for this offseason, but again, if it's based on what has happened with the current regime the past 4 years, there will be little movement here.

monsterblock · Post #20 » by **monsterblock** » Tue May 15, 2012 3:51 pm

td00 wrote:We have now let Philly and Indy go right by us in the East. Its truly hard to understand why we continue to try to prove that we are irrelevant in the attempt to get to the ECF.

The only over .500 team we are better than appears to be Orlando. What is that saying?

Now when Philly gives Boston a better series than we did, that will tell you how far we are off. Philly is winning with a frontcourt of Brand/Hawes & Lavoy Allen! Wow!

Will someone in the ASG just step up and accept that we have to blow this up? We have players that don't like contact and would rather argue the play than play through it.

people are not thinking about this with all the facts. forget about the Sixers' meltdown, forget that the Sixers got lucky that Rose and Noah got hurt, forget that Pierce has been deteriorating as the playoffs go on, but how many Atlanta fans know what Louis Williams and Hawes will be free agents in a few weeks. and Doug Collins is a huge question mark.

the Heat will be unbeatable if the big three are healthy, so it doesn't matter what the Hawks do, but if Wade or Bosh get hurt, then they are beatable.

for the Bulls, the best case scenario is that the team make the 6th or 5th spot and Deng and Rose come back before the playoff starts, just like what Horford did. Worst case scenario is that Rose doesn't get 100% of his athleticism back (like what happen to Vince Carter and Dominique)

In regards to what is going to happen with the Bucks, Knicks, Celtics, Nets, and Magic, they all have major issues, at this point, it is all wishful thinking so we just have to wait and see what happens in the summer and next season with those teams. the straight up facts don't look good for those teams above, so all their is, is optimism

I do respect the Pacers, they are good and i don't consider their health as "just luck", i think they are smart at how they were able to stay healthy. i don't think at what ever happens to Barbosa will affect the Pacers. Pacers are a good team but they Hawks are better, the Hawks did sweep the Pacers this year, and that was without Horford.