Hawks

By Aaron B.

October 6, 2005 04:41 PM | Link to this

This one is easy Sekou. Josh Smith at Small Forward, Zaza Pachulia at Center, and Josh Childress at Shooting Guard. However, this will only be the for the begining of the year, I beleive that SS will step it up and possibly force JJ to go to the 2 guard position. Also I think that there is a chance that Marvin will be given the opportunity to play the 5th position this year. Interestingly making the Hawks the running team they want to be.

By Parker

October 6, 2005 05:21 PM | Link to this

C — Zaza PF — Harrington (he will be dealt at midseason since this is his last season in his current contract. the hawks won’t resign him, so they will trade him to a contender to get a couple of pieces in the rebuilding puzzle) After he is traded it is Marvin Williams job SF — Smith (gotta have the shot-blocker in the game SG — Stoudamire (best shooter on the team, we need the deep threat) PG — Lue…. Just jokin… of course Joe Johnson, this is HIS team, hopefully his shoulders are big enough to carry it.

By GG

October 6, 2005 06:52 PM | Link to this

Cmon Pachulia (experience) PF Baby Al (will be traded the it’s marvins to waste). Sf - gotta have some defense J smith. SG Josh childress (Have you seen this guy play! Reminds me of Manu’s slashing style and his jump shot is getting there, plus defense. JJ is the point man. Stoudemire is the 6th man. Lou will be lou.

By doc

October 6, 2005 06:54 PM | Link to this

to start the season it will be 2 josh’s and zaza with jj and al. hopefully the message is jobs will be competitive through the season. salim, tyrone and marvin will be off the bench.

another question is what is the lineup you finish the game with as most games are not won with the starters?

now,what would a big lineup look like? zaza,collier, al josh c and jj? do we even have a BIG lineup?

By ray

October 6, 2005 08:03 PM | Link to this

No big lineup. Also, although a three forward setup is an idea, I wouldn’t want to put Marvin in this situation. Dealing with the league’s more established SFs is tough. The league’s better PFs? Tougher. But the guys who are veterans at the 5? Not a good idea. Not only is he not strong enough, but it will likely cave his confidence. Wasn’t easy for Chris Bosh, who isn’t a true center, despite his height. But he DID survive. Don’t know if I’d do that to Marvin. At any rate, I like doc’s starting lineup.

By Big Papa

October 6, 2005 08:10 PM | Link to this

Sekou, I have to agree with Aaron B. with a little twist - I love:

PG) J.J. (imaginge Magic Johnson with a jump shot)

SG) J. Chill (imagine our own Manu)

SF) J. Smooth (our new highlight film)

PF) Big Al (ready for a breakout year)

C) ZaZa (Buck may regret letting him go)

Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year - Marvin Gaye Williams.

Other key contributors - Salim, Tyronn, Royal, Tony, Estaban, and Donta.

Oh - somebody pinch me - I must be dreaming!?!

By reese

October 6, 2005 11:44 PM | Link to this

Well Sekou, I know that you say that 3 starting positions are available and assume that Mike Woodson’s directive is to start Joe at point guard and Al at the poward forward position. That leaves 2, 3 and 5 spots available. As far as the 5 spot, I have never seen ZaZa, John Edwards or batista play, so it will be hard for me to say they will start over Jason Collier. Tyronne Lue, Royal Ivey and Salim are suppose to be point guards, so that leaves Josh Childress as the starting 2 guard. Now, If Tyronne, Royal or Salim out perform Josh, then we can call them a 2 guard and that will allow Mike to accomplish his mission. As far as the 3 spot, that leaves Josh Smith, Donta Smith and Marvin Williams (why would he want to practice in the 4 spot if it is not available). But I’m not going to make assumptions and practicing with Joe at the point stunts the growth of Royal and Salim as point guards. Therefore, I would start pre-season with individuals playing in positions that hopefully will compliment each other and build chemistry. My recommendation for starters would be Tyronne Lue (1), Joe Johnson (2), Al Harington(3) (until traded for a true power forward and then Josh Smith takes this spot), Jason Collier (5), ZaZa (4). The Second Team would be Royal Ivey (1) (until salim proves he can handle the ball), Josh Childress (2) (until salim proves he can out shoot josh or until Mike Woodson becomes frustrated with him playing point), Josh Smith (3), batista at power forward and john edwards at center. Marvin williams was injured during summer league and has been injured during the start of pre-season. Therefore, he has got to be behind schedule. During pre-season the 3rd team would be salim (1), Tony delk (2)(I don’t think that he is in their long term plans), Donta Smith (3), Marvin Williams (4) and Rivera(5).

By Bono

October 7, 2005 01:31 AM | Link to this

1st Half- Marvin waits and learns

C-ZaZa Pachulia PF-Al Harrington SF-Josh Smith SG-Josh Childress PG-Joe Johnson

2nd Half- Smoove and Marvin Forward duo begins

C-ZaZa Pachulia PF-Josh Smith SF-Marvin Williams SG-Josh Childress PG-Joe Johnson

This team will be able to run and play defense.

By big mike

October 7, 2005 08:17 AM | Link to this

dear ss. i think al and joe and the two joshs and salim to start the season . and i feel by mid season we should trade al and move marvin into his spot. smitty

By Samuel

October 7, 2005 08:26 AM | Link to this

I really can’t do this without watching practice howevever on paper:

I would go with Tyrone Lue at PG He is the best point guard we got right now. Maybey in the future Salim will develop into that position. I have always said that I don’t like the JJ experiement at PG. It will waste a lot of time. Let him play there some but don’t start him there.

Joe Johnson is a natural SG so why not put him in his natural position. He will be under enough pressure as it is with that fat contract. Plus Childress is not a good enough scorer or ball handler to play #3, nevermind the fact that a “big lineup” will never be able to press teams with quick point guards. If we are going to play up- tempo you got to be able to press.

SF- Josh Smith. I believe he will be a better player at PF but right now he is a SF. He definately needs to work on his shooting or I would go with Childress at this Position.

PF- Al Harrington- He is the best PF we got. If and when he is traded I think Williams or Josh Smith will take over this position. If we trade him for a center then ZaZa can also play some PF.

Center is a toss up. I have not seen either of these guys play, which is not good. We will be hurting at Center. I guess since we signed Za Za, he has to be the front runner. God help us there.

By Jesse

October 7, 2005 09:09 AM | Link to this

BEGINNING OF THE SEASON:

PG: Joe Johnson

SG: Josh Childress

SF: Josh Smith

PF: Al Harrington

C: Zaza Pachulia

The primary subs will then be Tyronn Lue, Salim Stoudamire, and Marvin Williams — along with whoever steps up among Batista, Collier, and Edwards.

AFTER THE TRADE DEADLINE:

PG: Joe Johnson

SG: Josh Childress

SF: Marvin Williams

PF: Josh Smith

C: Zaza Pachulia

The primary bench players will basically be the same (featuring Lue, Salim, and a mix of Collier, Batista, or Edwards) — except Donta Smith will take on an increased role off the bench at SF after the trade deadline.

By Astro Joe

October 7, 2005 09:22 AM | Link to this

Most people are picking the fairly obvious. I’ll check-in with a different thought…

JJ - PG Salim or Delk - SG Childress - SF Al - PF Zaza - C

That line-up gives us a group of polished players with either NBA experience or at least 3-4 years of big time college experience. That line-up features players who are ready now, not players with potential. It gives us scoring from the back-court, all-around team play from the SF, low post scoring in our PF and hopefully boards/toughness form the center position. I know there are tons of Josh Smith fans out there. But he is undoubtedly a work in progress. Let him be the “energy guy” off the bench while he learns how to play a complete game.

By gary w scott

October 7, 2005 10:03 AM | Link to this

josh s/joe j/stoudermire/harrington/edwards

By micro_chip

October 7, 2005 10:33 AM | Link to this

Sekou, I agree with Aaron. However, I would make run for SS and move everyone up a spot. SS 1, JJ 2, Chill 3, J Smooth 4, and Big Al 5. This would prove to be a serious running combination.

By Andy (HB Ando)

October 7, 2005 11:07 AM | Link to this

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d have to agree with Sam. I don’t think Lue is going to play more than 24 minutes though, so Johnson will get minutes at the point. Childress and Salim can get quality minutes rotating in (Childress at the 2-3 and Salim at the 1-2). Marvin can rotate in at the 3-4 sharing minutes with Josh and Al. I haven’t seen Zaza either, but the idea that he has the foot speed to play the floor seems unlikely at his size (if he was that athletic, the Bucks wouldn’t have let him go instead of Gadzuric). Moments of a 3 forward lineup should occur and the frequency and duration will depend solely on how quickly Marvin can step in and compete at this level (which is one of the biggest question marks going in).

I think the biggest point is that this team is versatile on paper, meaning that the lineups will likely be in a state of flux. The NBA is a game of matchups. As I’ve been saying since the Joe Johnson thing came to light, I’ve got serious questions about his ability to defend some of the lightning quick PG’s in this league. So on most nights, from a defensive matchup standpoint, either Lue or Salim will need to play a lot of minutes defending the other teams’ point guards. I still believe Johnson having primary ball handling duties will detract from one of his greatest strengths, which is moving off the ball, finding some space on the perimeter, and being ready to catch and shoot the three-ball. It’s very hard to get clean looks at the three-pointers when you’ve got an on-the-ball defender in your face while you’re dribbling.

If this team is truly going to run, then the rotation will have to go 8-9 deep to keep guys fresh. Should be plenty of minutes to go around. And the idea of a second unit that can score is fairly novel for the Hawks of late.

By Samuel

October 7, 2005 12:22 PM | Link to this

I have never seen or heard of a running and pressing team with “bigger players”. It defeats the whole purpose of a “big lineup”. As a matter of fact, if we do go with that big line up, we will get “pressed to death”.

Good luck JJ and Josh bring the ball up against: AI, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Chauncey,Bibby, Cris Paul, Felton, TJ Ford. need it go on……

We’ll be running alright. Running to get the ball out of the nets.

And that aint even considering the fact that, “WE HAVE TO GUARD THEM”. Also, don’t forget that we don’t have enough quality players to get a true indication in training camp and practice. It will be a different story when the “real” thing starts.

By Matt

October 7, 2005 03:09 PM | Link to this

This off season the Hawks need to make a strong run at Nene. Then next year the Hawks will be off the charts.

C-Nene/Zaza Pachulia/John Edwards PF-Josh Smith/Estaban Batista SF-Marvin Williams/Rudy Gay? SG-Josh Childress/Salim Stoudamire PG-Joe Johnson/Tyronn Lue

By Ty Prather

October 7, 2005 03:34 PM | Link to this

pg - JJ sg - chill sf - smoove pf - Al C - Big John E????

The overachieving lumberjack personafies the hunger and motivation required for this team to be successful.

Plus, it makes the bench squad that more deadly with ZaZa there.

pg - Lue sg - SS sf - Marv pf - ZaZa C - Collier/ Riley

Delk, Ivey, D.Smith

By Brandon

October 7, 2005 05:45 PM | Link to this

YALL DONT KNOW WHAT YALL TALKIN ABOUT TYRONNE LUE AT POINT GUARD. JOE JOHNSON AT SG JOSH SMITH SF AL WONT BE TRADED HE IS PF AND ZAZA AT CENTER

By Sultan of Atl

October 7, 2005 06:11 PM | Link to this

PF: Harrington C: Pachulia SF: Smith SG: Johnson PG: Lue

By ray

October 7, 2005 08:13 PM | Link to this

Sam,very sound reasoning. I also don’t think the Hawks should run ALL the time. You have to know when this can be done and substitute accordingly. You’re right, it takes masterful ball handlers to beat the pressure D. Like I’ve said before, Don Nelson Sr. was very good at running a fast, small lineup at you at the right times. Starting Lue is never bad, and he’s got a great attitude. While he may not elevate you to title contender, he’ll do what you need most from him: not hurt you when he’s on the court and provide some veteran leadership.

By Guy from Uruguay

October 10, 2005 04:28 PM | Link to this

I’m from Uruguay, and I’ve seen Esteban Batista play… while he´s not the next Shaq, he did dominate the local league, and I hope he’ll contribute to the Hawks.

In a few games I saw, he did have some trouble defending Brazil’s Tiago Splitter (who declined to go to the draft) but had success against Anderson Varejao (who plays in the Cavaliers).