GT: Atlanta Hawks @ Barclays Center - Tuesday, 1/10/17 7:30pm. Booker T is out (hip)

[MrDollarBills]

The offense for this team has to CHANGE. It is clearly not working. Too many turnovers and too low a shooting pct. You don't design a system for players that you may or may not have in the future. They can learn a system fast enough if they're any good. You have to run a system that works for your current personnel. Why not make some changes? Can we get worse? Is there anything to lose?
I challenge the forum to a rational discussion to debate what could help this team (even though it may be hopeless).
Some things I would suggest is going to more of a half court game which would cut down on turnovers and you could take more advantage of Brook's scoring. We need to cut down some on the 3 point shots which we shoot a poor pct and lead to fast breaks by the other team. Mainly the slower pace would cut down on turnovers which are killing us.
As for defense I'm at a loss other than to get quicker players. I've heard that defense is mostly effort but it looks like the players are trying but just can't hack it. Not sure what the answer is but I think that although they are limited in talent they could do better. So many wide open perimeter shots it's unbelievable. Any thoughts on this anyone?

Look at this roster man...there is no answer. I know you want to take your pound of flesh from Kenny but in reality, there is no feasible solution or system because we have the least talented team in the league. You aren't winning anything like that, and defensively when your 3 of your 5 best defenders are 1st or 2nd year players you're in serious trouble.

Everyone who didn't see this through rose tinted specs knew this was coming. I still think we can win about 13-14 games from now til april though, which would make the preseason predictions dead on correct. It is what it is. Now, it just depends on who continues to compete every night to see who is worth keeping outside of the kids.

Lopez imo did not compete last night despite his point totals. I'm begging the GM to find a good deal or maybe even finding a way for us to get Cauley Stein from the Kings who would be a perfect fit for us going forward.

[MrDollarBills]

I can totally be wrong but these are my takeaways from the past couple games.

iHead has amazing energy and love that he can get up for a defensive play, including blocks. His biggest problem right now is he is in his head WAY too much. He fumbles the ball on easy possessions if the defender get too into him, and if the opposing PG makes a nice shot he feels he HAS to clap back on the next possession down the floor. That happen WAY too many times during this game, where Dennis got a shot and iHead just B-lined down the court to get one of his own and he missed many of them. Obviously he's a rookie, but the staff needs to get on him about using his head a bit more on offense.

Spencer has a level to his game that can work, but again, he just doesn't take the extra moment to read the floor. He is way too reactive and time and time again you see him make the wrong pass and miss a WIDE open guy. Without Lin we have the biggest problem, and it's finding the open shooter or driver. We keep failing to initiate our offense at the right speed and with the right flow. This all starts with our PG's who are refusing to read the floor and instead make instinct passes.

I know Kenny has a lot of room to grow, and so does our system. But if you watch, when we actually try, the system works. We make the right plays, get the ball to open shooters and let it fly. We are taking the right shots when we have them. The issue is we are relying on players who simply cannot or won't make the move effectively, so more often than not we're getting into our sets late and with poor motion.

Lopez seems extremely disinterested and I don't know if that's something with him or with the staff. I think the easiest solution is to go to him more and build up that confidence. I still love him stretching the floor on the Offensive end and this season he's shown he can go from out-to-in pretty effectively. I think we need our PG's to look for him MUCH more and let him get the ball in good position. But his effort on D so far is completely on him, it's getting insane. Maybe having him spaced out and moving it tiring him out. He refuses to move enough, close out, rebound. Sometimes he moves to the proper spots and makes a great play or two, but it's obvious he should be doing it more. At this point, it's been his MO, so I'm unsure if this will change.

I appreciate Kenny trying RHJ at the stretch 4, and I loved his effort today, but it simply isn't the spot for him. I love his increased confidence overall and looking to drive when he has the chance. We need to see more from him, and I still think his best spot is at the 3.

LeVert has been the biggest bright spot and I simply cannot say enough for him. His BBIQ is crazy, his energy is at 110%, he makes plays, takes shots and sees the floor extremely well. Simply put, the more minutes he gets over the course of the season the better. He's got a real spot in this team's future.

Bojan is looking pretty good on the offensive end of the floor, I like that he is looking to drive more. I think he needs to keep it up because it opens things up for him when he gets the ball on the perimeter. Sadly, I think he's the first person who needs to be traded as we look to switch things up. I love his game and wish him the best. He can help another team and simply creates too many problems on the defensive end of the floor.

Harris and Hamilton are constantly hot or cold, which is understandable as they look to get their feet under them with more minutes. Hamilton is atleast trying now on the defensive end, which is huge. I like to see him crash the boards, but he needs to be willing to dunk the ball or go up strong. Too often does he lose things after a rebound. Moreover, I get that he has a shot, but half the time he is taking ill-advised shots when the right thing to do would be pass out. We love to rush things are a reset, and an example was his two terrible shots in a row this past game. Harris has a game, but he completely an in the moment player. The lid is either completely open or completely closed. He also seems to gamble way too much on the defensive end and its extremely annoying. He has the energy and given time can really develop a game that would work with this team. I imagine that if we trade Bogs, and Harris can be given a more steady amount of looks we'll see his confidence stay higher and look better as the season goes on.

Booker has truly been amazing and I love what he brings to this team. His energy, confidence and effort is unmatched. He is the spirit of this team in many ways. Sometimes he makes boneheaded plays but for the most part, he plays his role and excels.

SKill needs to stop being used as a ball handler. I understand that we are undermanned in that role but he tries TOO much and ends up getting insane turnovers at the worst times. I really like him as a scorer and I think he's a key piece moving forward, but the less he handles the ball the better.

Overall, I think what Kenny and the staff has put together is correct. I think obviously there are many thing to work out here, but its primarily coming down to effort, court vision and making smarter plays. Too many of the guys are slow to get into the offensive sets, too quick to make stupid, emotional plays, and too little effort is happening on the defensive end. We turn the ball over too much, and it's not a result of our pace or style. Most of our turn overs are simply **** passes, not reading the play, or running into trouble and scrambling to pass out.

I think some changes need to happen to this team, I think the first move will be moving on from Bojan in hopes of picking up either a better defender or something. Kenny also needs to begin solidifying roles a bit better. I understand he wants to play around with lineups, but at somepoint he needs to set roles for people.

Lastly, I think McC is developing greatly in the D-league. I've taken some time to watch some games. I think this was exactly the right move, his confidence is up and his game is developing. I imagine they will keep him down there for the whole D-league season, as he is leading that team. I think this experience will go far for him. I think he's got a pretty solid game and like the Spurs have done, is probably the best way to tap into it.

best post of the thread. I agree with every single point made here.

The analysis on Whitehead is spot on. I saw that last night too. He made some good plays, and made some bad ones versus Schroder (who got him good a few times on offense). I love the fact that he wants to get back at the guy who scored on him, we don't want to look at his competitiveness as a negative, but it has to be tempered. It shouldn't be "this dude scored on me, like me get back at him by scoring", it should be "i just let my team down on that one. let me make the right basketball play next time". I'd rather see him make a good pass or a force a TO on defense instead of trying to score on someone after a made basket.

I think Dinwiddie can grow as a player but his makes questionable decisions as a PG.

I like LeVert as both a primary ball handler and main option on offense. Why? LeVert's instinct is to make the correct basketball play. I will live and die on the CORRECT play over a forced shot every time, win or lose.

[Zachbretton]

best post of the thread. I agree with every single point made here.

The analysis on Whitehead is spot on. I saw that last night too. He made some good plays, and made some bad ones versus Schroder (who got him good a few times on offense). I love the fact that he wants to get back at the guy who scored on him, we don't want to look at his competitiveness as a negative, but it has to be tempered. It shouldn't be "this dude scored on me, like me get back at him by scoring", it should be "i just let my team down on that one. let me make the right basketball play next time". I'd rather see him make a good pass or a force a TO on defense instead of trying to score on someone after a made basket.

I think Dinwiddie can grow as a player but his makes questionable decisions as a PG.

I like LeVert as both a primary ball handler and main option on offense. Why? LeVert's instinct is to make the correct basketball play. I will live and die on the CORRECT play over a forced shot every time, win or lose.

I think the aim will be to move LeVert to being a key ball handler, especially since Lin can play off the ball as well. He simply has a better court vision and better willingness to make the right play than SKill or Dinwiddie. iHead will need time to develop, and as much as I love the throw him into the fire technique, it's also exposing his weaknesses (which is important for a rookie). I think it will actually be a net positive with his development, but in the short term it hurts the team.

More than anything we are DYING for ball handlers with focus

[MrDollarBills]

Having Lin and LeVert in the starting backcourt will make a world of difference. Two way players that can both handle, pass, shoot, and defend.

[ChokeFasncists]

iHead has amazing energy and love that he can get up for a defensive play, including blocks. His biggest problem right now is he is in his head WAY too much. He fumbles the ball on easy possessions if the defender get too into him, and if the opposing PG makes a nice shot he feels he HAS to clap back on the next possession down the floor. That happen WAY too many times during this game, where Dennis got a shot and iHead just B-lined down the court to get one of his own and he missed many of them. Obviously he's a rookie, but the staff needs to get on him about using his head a bit more on offense.

Yes, he has been playing uptight for a while. He was shooting around 50%FG for almost a month before his injury. It's below 40 recently. He has been shooting well from deep tho. 44% in Jan vs 30% Nov and Dec.

Spencer has a level to his game that can work, but again, he just doesn't take the extra moment to read the floor. He is way too reactive and time and time again you see him make the wrong pass and miss a WIDE open guy. Without Lin we have the biggest problem, and it's finding the open shooter or driver. We keep failing to initiate our offense at the right speed and with the right flow. This all starts with our PG's who are refusing to read the floor and instead make instinct passes.

Agreed. He plays by feel mostly. Definitely more suitable as a combo guard off the bench. Would be nice when Lin's back.

Lopez seems extremely disinterested and I don't know if that's something with him or with the staff. I think the easiest solution is to go to him more and build up that confidence. I still love him stretching the floor on the Offensive end and this season he's shown he can go from out-to-in pretty effectively. I think we need our PG's to look for him MUCH more and let him get the ball in good position.

It looks like Brook is a tough one to set up. He is not that good when getting the ball back to the basket and face double team. He is best when getting the ball closer to the basket in flux. We definitely need Lin to be able to do that.

But his effort on D so far is completely on him, it's getting insane. Maybe having him spaced out and moving it tiring him out. He refuses to move enough, close out, rebound. Sometimes he moves to the proper spots and makes a great play or two, but it's obvious he should be doing it more. At this point, it's been his MO, so I'm unsure if this will change.

Some plays, I was like, hey he can defend the guards pretty well. Then some plays the guards just get wide open shots. Sometimes he wrestles for a tough rebound. Some plays the opponents get an easy offensive rebound. It's pretty frustrating.

I appreciate Kenny trying RHJ at the stretch 4, and I loved his effort today, but it simply isn't the spot for him. I love his increased confidence overall and looking to drive when he has the chance. We need to see more from him, and I still think his best spot is at the 3.

Well, for many games, he was able to take the opposing 4s off the dribble, scored or get fouled. He'll need to grow into a 4 with more muscles. (I think it's small ball 4 rather than stretch 4?) He really needs to get his three point shooting going to be a good 3 in this offense.

Lastly, I think McC is developing greatly in the D-league. I've taken some time to watch some games. I think this was exactly the right move, his confidence is up and his game is developing. I imagine they will keep him down there for the whole D-league season, as he is leading that team. I think this experience will go far for him. I think he's got a pretty solid game and like the Spurs have done, is probably the best way to tap into it.

Bennett would benefit from playing there more, don't know why it wasn't done much. iHead and RHJ to a lesser extent to get a little bit of experience if the team wants them to be all around scorers/passers rather than just 3&D.