Hawks

By bushwacker

October 27, 2006 04:32 PM | Link to this

Fear not Hawks fans. Remember that nba stars tend to sit out the first month or 2 anyway, al a Shaq thelast 2 years, Kobe this year,thats when these guys have their surgeries done anyway so the only have to play 1/2 a season for FULL SEASONS PAY.

By honest_abe

October 27, 2006 04:37 PM | Link to this

ya seriously people….it’s ga/fla weekend…marv’s hand is should be the last of your worries! heh

By John D.

October 27, 2006 04:49 PM | Link to this

I saw Marvin in 3 preseason games and while he has made progress I do not see him as an NBA starting SF right now. He is young and has time on his side but he is VERY average when compared to what is expected of an NBA 3.

This is a major blow for Marvin but not a major blow to the Hawks and their chances of starting the year strong. I still look forward to improvement from Marvin but he is not capable of being a consistent offensive threat right now. I am not as negative as Sports Illustrated but Marvin has a great deal of work and maturation in his future before he is ready for the big time.

By robdawg06

October 27, 2006 04:51 PM | Link to this

Why are you comparing real life to that of an athlete ? Athlete’s make millions (some $2 to $20 million per year) to play sports. All pro athletes are overpaid and aren’t worth $1 million per year. You have doctors that save lives making $200 thousand per year and teachers that taught EVERYONE including these pro athletes making from $25 thousand to $60 thousand per year. I don’t read abouth the successful NBA teams comparing their injured players to the real world. Sports is like a fantasy world. Its entertainment only. I’m just ashamed to live in Georgia and try to support my home teams but the Hawks haven’t given us anything to support since 1999. I guess Billy Knight gets a pass since the Hawks have always been bad ? How long does he propose the rebuilding will be before we expect a winning team ? This team was TOTALLY built by him. He rises and falls as the team does. We need Belkin to buy total control of the team and then maybe the Hawks will win.

By J. Shuttlesworth

October 27, 2006 05:05 PM | Link to this

With any other team in the NBA, I wouldn’t be as worried about missing a guy like Marvin for the first two months of the season. Not that I think Marv is a slouch who can be replaced, but a team like the Hawks need to be clicking on all cylinders to ensure they avoid an opening stretch as horrendous as they had last season.

Other teams can afford to have someone sit for a while, even if it costs them a couple of games, and it can even make the rest of the pieces even stronger, and give the injured rest he can use through out the season.

But if the Hawks, who need every player to perform every game to win, come out slow and lose a bunch of games, their pre-season confidence and the whole season can go down the tubes pretty quickly. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

By Dan

October 27, 2006 05:07 PM | Link to this

I think this may actually help this young team in the end. This will force Shelden to grow up quickly, plus getting J. Childress a lot more minutes early on. It probably won’t show much in the win column, but I think end the long run this may end up helping the Hawks.

By mississippi

October 27, 2006 05:48 PM | Link to this

Thanks for the perspective, SS. I was thinking 8-5 for the first month, but now closer to 500. That’s great compared to last year. I think everything will be fine in the end. It really is a long long season.

By mykhalc

October 27, 2006 06:26 PM | Link to this

disappointed about MARVIN’s injury, for MARVIN and the team, ‘cause i’m a HAWKS fan about…absolutely!! perspective on how it ranks/rates to REAL WORLD STUFF…hopefully NOT NEEDED!!!

By Ryder

October 27, 2006 06:30 PM | Link to this

Dan’s right, now Atlanta’s starting five will resemble more of a conventional lineup, with Shelden starting at the 4 (and Josh at the 3 getting more opportunities to expand his game). Also, Childress will have more chances to be an x-factor off the bench along with Salim. This team can still go nine deep and I think a healthy Speedy will be of more value than will Marvin at this point. If he can help this offense develop with his playmaking, Marvin’s return might cause more problems rotation wise than anything. As stated, let’s not make any conclusions until after Christmas anyway.

By mykhalc

October 27, 2006 06:32 PM | Link to this

extraneous ‘about’ in there

By ray

October 27, 2006 07:30 PM | Link to this

Like I said, no need to panic.

By ray

October 27, 2006 07:32 PM | Link to this

And it’s 6-8 weeks, yes it will hurt. But Seattle lost it’s starting center for the year. Now they have Petro and Sene backing up Petro. At least we have options with guys like Childress, Shelden, etc.

By TD

October 27, 2006 09:38 PM | Link to this

Injuries happen and this one, like Marvin said, could have been much worse. But I read the sports page to read about sports. I read the other sections of the paper to read about how cruel some people can be and what a dangerous, stupid world we live in. The argument that professional atheletes are overpaid, by comparing them to doctors and teachers is irrelevant. Obviously, their worth has been established by those who are willing to pay them and their pay is small compared to some CEOs. Heck, those guys aren’t even entertaining me.

By Paul

October 27, 2006 10:00 PM | Link to this

Jeez, a lot of MD’s make a lot of money. This is the entertainment industry. It’s a business. Entertainers are worth what people pay to see them play. Doctors, firemen, teachers etc. won’t make any more money if athletes are paid less. Why?

Because we as a society have decided that. Check the next school bond issue or any prospective city levy that will raise salaries for teachers et al.

We decide how much entertainers are paid just as we decide how much public servants are paid. Grow up.

By willysee in n.c.

October 27, 2006 11:28 PM | Link to this

This group of young players’has a chance to be the best team sense the late 80s in our fair city.Given time and stable ownership they could even go further than any previous hawks team.Having said that stability is one big ?

By ray

October 27, 2006 11:35 PM | Link to this

Heh. The argument about what players make should be left up to the people who are involved in the collective bargaining agreements.

You know, after watching the Nets put down the Knicks a couple hours ago, I have to wonder how in the devil Marcus Williams fell to #22 in the draft. Damn. I know some people have been touting him all along, but I didn’t get to see him play in the summer league or the preseason until just now. Damn. He looked good carving up the Knicks and giving Marbury more than he could handle to the tune of 21 points and 9 dimes. You know what I’m thinking, but I’m not gonna go there…

Why is it nobody has the box score on the Hawks/Bobcats game yet? All I know is we won 105-94 (or was it 104-95?) and JChill apparently led the Hawks with 16 points. We have got to give a better defensive effort. So far we’ve allowed an average of about 97ppg while scoring approximately 97.5ppg. That isn’t going to cut it, partly because going by those kind of statistics alone means a lot of games played down to the wire. We don’t yet know how to consistently win those games. And more experienced, tough teams certainly do. At any rate, a win despite Marvin’s absence is good. The real deal starts next Wednesday…

By maurice

October 27, 2006 11:43 PM | Link to this

andre brown should be on this team!!!

By reese

October 28, 2006 12:58 AM | Link to this

Ray, as long as we have Zaza playing the Center position, we are not going to be a defensive team. The only reason that last year was worse was because we had zaza and al harrington.

He is too slow to chase down players and block shots on the fast break. In the half court game, he is too slow to rotate to help on defensive, he cannot jump to block or alter shots, he plays a lot of minutes and he has undersized players alongside of him.

I would think that Woodson would play more zone defense when Zaza is in the game in order to mask his flaws.

On the positive side, he has demonstrated that he can score in this league in the half court sets.

By the way, I like the high scoring games myself. Especially, when the hawks offensive numbers are higher than their opponents. I also like to see blocked shots and great defensive plays. The perfect way to see both is for the team to play an up tempo game and for the other players besides Josh Smith to step up an block shots. Also, ESPN has the box score.

By mykhalc

October 28, 2006 01:33 AM | Link to this

ROAD WIN AGAIN!!! NICE!! i listened to the game and it seems like SPEEDY is ready even if he doesn’t have his legs yet. i guess the thing that stood out for me tonite was FREIJE. he’s got some offense. SHELDON was solid again and i got a feelin’ he’s gonna quiet a lot of folks quick. well, on second thought, they’ll NEVER be quiet??!!

come on, RAY, MARCU….i ain’t even gonna say it!!LOL

By tb

October 28, 2006 04:54 AM | Link to this

It’s getting easy to see that Belkin’s main objective is to stay this untenable situation. It doesn’t appear that he is willing to accept the reality of the situation and that he is trying to hold up resolution by legal red tape.

I view this as a stubborn and selfish response to a dispute that actually directly involves millions of people and potentially can very much effect many of those people in an economic manner.

Belkin, your coming off more and more as the bad guy and you have no place in the Atlanta sports scene.

You will be despossessed of your local sports interests and I hope that the business decisions that you entered into and then made more important than the people invloved will ultimately cost you big $.

At least the good people held hostage to this situation will be able to take solace in the fact that there will be a REAL cost to you; I hope.

By GuyFromUruguay

October 28, 2006 09:20 AM | Link to this

The stat line for the game is on ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261027001

The good: 10 assists between Speedy and Lue, Childress showed he can contribute with extended minutes (we won’t miss Marvin that much), good showing by Shelden - 7 rebounds and 4 or 6 shooting. Joe & Josh didn’t have their best night but didn’t need to.

The bad: no blocks between the starting 5, we got outrebounded. Worrying line: 2 of 6 threes by Matt Freije… he seems to play like a perimeter player (I did read that he played much smaller than he is), though he did get a block and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes.

By morris

October 28, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this

I’m not that overly concerned about the loss of marvin williams. I believe childress is better at this point in their careers anyway. Now we can play a more traditional lineup with smith at the 3 and shelden at the 4 spot. Obviously I hope marvin develops into a great player but thus far I haven’t seen anything from him that blows me away. He has the look of a guy that will develop into a solid player but I just don’t see superstar yet. Am I missing something about this guy that others see?

By Samuel

October 28, 2006 10:59 AM | Link to this

Thank God this preseason is over. Now we get to see what the Hawks are really all about.

Also, if we go back and check the posts from this summer. Quite a few here completely “dogged” Marcus Williams. I aint calling no names but you know who you are. Its easy to see an obvious star such as a CP but finding the “diamonds” is where the real talent comes in.

That being said: The Sekou’s Bloggers live Fantasy League draft is this Sunday Night at 9:00pm. Stay tuned for the results and how I dog these cats.

On athletes salaries. Let’s stop the whinning. I’m all for gettin what you can get. More power to these guys. The real issue is why do people pay: 50 bucks plus for tickets, 100 bucks for sneakers, 50 and 60 bucks-a-pop for video games, 7 bucks for a beer and $3.25 for a bottle of water at games. That’s the real issue here.

I’m a teacher/coach and I chose the field. I know we are underappreciated. I used to be that way myself but I chose the field. If I don’t like it I can do something else.

By doc

October 28, 2006 11:04 AM | Link to this

sekou you’re pragmatic appeal is beginning to sound like me a bit, dont you think? no, it isnt the end of the world that marvin goes down but does cause specualtion on what the real world hawks are going to have to come up with to compete as they lost the guy they had pegged to take over for the guy they sent packing at the end or the summer that was well chronicled in the sports blog. this is pure escapism no doubt about it that may allow one to stay with a better perspective in the real world.

paul, md’s dont make this type of silly money and they pay for it dearly as they go through residencies that only take literally the life out of you as data shows age expectations lower in that field than in others. teachers, fireman and policemen dont come close to making what they desrve in their jobs. with medicare and insurance companies making the decisons about doctors incomes you will continue to see less folks take that route and instead go into the real estae business or other businesses so they can make real money with less effort or into law where you can bill by the hour spent utilizing your skills. you will also have a more difficult time of getting a doctor to spend time with you as he is a piecemeal worker only earning his dime by seeing more folks each day instead of spending time listening which he doesnt get paid for but what you expect.

sadly it is a direct reflection on our values as a society that we direct our discretionary dollars in that way rather to ends that would make the world a better place to be. didnt even touch on the plight of the warrior in the military that we fail repeatedly to sat thanks to by providing benefits and salary. go figure. yeah real world stuff sekou and paul, thanks for reminding me of it.

astro rule number one, follow the money!

By doc

October 28, 2006 11:20 AM | Link to this

samuel, the real issue is what pays for the extras that go into the pockets of the big dogs to distribute out to the little dogs in collective bargaining. if you whine about one you whine about it all, cant be selective in this one.

By ray

October 28, 2006 12:34 PM | Link to this

REESE, I know. I’m hoping our perimeter defense is consistently tough enough that our interior defense isn’t tested as hard as last season. May be a false hope. But it does start with clamping down on the opposing ball-handler/distributor, and I believe Claxton will help there. If Bozeman and Lue can follow that effort up from the bench, it will also help. We shouldn’t have to worry so much about D from the sg and sf spots, at least not as much as last season. But for the interior to be significantly better, Wright has to play a good dose of minutes and Shelden has to be as good or better than expected. I think given the PT, Shelden will provide more rebounds than Harrington did. While that’s good, the defense he provides has to be several notches higher. Solomn is so raw, how else do you explain 5-6 fouls in so little time played (last night). I sure hope his development comes quickly. As for Freije, I think we will come to appreciate his shooting and scoring abilities, but hope that he is at least solid on the defensive end. Smith is still a weak-side help guy, and he can get better and better at it.

By ray

October 28, 2006 12:46 PM | Link to this

Sam, you are right about Marcus Williams. So is anyone else who supported him all along. I never “dogged” the guy, but I didn’t know he was as good as what I saw recently. So I was wrong about him. New Jersey knows what their future is, barring injury or trade/free agency. Lucky for them he fell that far. Damn, sure wish he hadn’t made it past #5….oops, I wasn’t supposed to say that.

Speaking of “dogging” guys, why are people unhappy with Josh Smith’s development of his game? You know, it’s actually a good thing that he’s working on his perimeter shot. Not everybody with his size and athleticism can shoot 3s, for one thing. Most guys with his natural skills continue to slash to the basket or thrive only on the break, where they can finish at the basket. The whole point is, when forced to score further away from the basket, they become less and less effective. And don’t think that teams don’t try to play it that way, because it’s an advantage. I agree that it is good for Smith to develop a decent post game as well, but an all-around game is better. In fact, it would seem easier to develop the post game than the perimeter game. Shooting consistently up to 25ft. out is no joke. Sure, you can argue that what Smith is doing may or may not be best for the team. It might be best for the team, or it might not. But look at it from another light: say it’s not working out for the team in the long run, or it is, but we are still missing a big piece (like that dominant post guy that we never seem to have). Say we can get a huge talent that makes us better in the short and long term. If , for some reason, that comes about (Kevin Garnett, for example…and only an example) Smith is more valuable in trade-talks then he is as a pure slasher/dunker. So, in a way, it still works out best for the team. I know that ANDO has been saying things along this vein, believing that Smith and Marvin cannot co-exist on this team forever. If that is so, then we want both of these guys to be developed as much as possible, upping their value. So stop bashing Smith for becoming aquainted with the perimeter. You never know how that may help us in the end. Of course, there is no accounting for management making the right decisions when the time comes, but that’s another story…

By Samuel

October 28, 2006 03:55 PM | Link to this

Ray,

I think Josh has improved as much as anyone in the league lately. I like how he has developed that outside “set shot”. Many players are too Macho to shoot a set shot. If he continues to make that shot, he will be harder and harder to stop.

I wanted him on the blocks more on offense because it looked like he would be moved to the PF slot. With Marvin going down, it should only make Josh that much better as he can relax and not be worried about getting replaced by Marvin.

I’m one of the few here who have advocated “possibly” moving Marvin for a Big and backup SG. We got three excellent 3’s(JJ,Josh and Josh) even without Marvin. With his recent injury, it will only reinforce my thinking as he will be well behind Josh when he comes back. His stock fell IMO with the injury though.

By morris

October 28, 2006 04:46 PM | Link to this

Samuel, I agree with you that when/ not if we move one of those SF it should be marvin. When it becomes painfully obvious to this management that neither is a true power forward one will have to go. WHY? Because we can’t really expect the hawks to commit millions of dollars to the same position on the floor. I love josh smith’s fill the stat sheet type of game he brings and he will only get better in all categories, plus he is a homegrown talent with lots of marketing potential. Those are the reasons I would keep smoove over marvin. Like ray said, hopefully both will play well this season so that we can maximize their trade value.

By Erock

October 29, 2006 07:14 AM | Link to this

News flash to robdawg06, any athlete who makes $5 million earned it, unless it was taken at gunpoint. Why don’t YOU knock on a GM’s door and ask for it?

By Clyde

October 29, 2006 10:46 AM | Link to this

I dn’t know if anyone noticed but Marcus Williams is tearing up the preason. 21 and 9 in 27 minutes.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By robdawg06

October 29, 2006 10:46 AM | Link to this

The pro athletes (movie stars & musicians too) live in a fantasy world. Its easy to understand why these elites in society are Liberals. They aren’t concerned with being conservative with their money to live. They can waste more on a caviar dinner one night than most of us make in 2 weeks. They don’t see the threat of violence from the middle east. Our soldiers live it daily. Then they have the gall to go on strike (sometimes) for more money ? I say the next time the players strike that we fans strike too and don’t pay our money to see their fantasy lives continue…

By Kappy

October 29, 2006 12:17 PM | Link to this

Ahem, ive been touting marcus williams for 2 years now. and he went at 21? just amazing. a truly talented point guard. you watch…in 5 years, barring injuries, he’ll be better than chris paul. write it down.

By Samuel

October 29, 2006 10:18 PM | Link to this

Yall Ready for This?

By Astro Joe

October 29, 2006 10:32 PM | Link to this

Anyone surprised that after months of quiet divorce proceedings that things have started heating up with the start of the Thrashers and Hawks? Kind of funny that Belkin showed up to a NBA Governors meeting. I bet Gearon laid a brick when dude came strolling into the meeting.

By ray

October 30, 2006 09:40 PM | Link to this

Hearin’ ya Clyde, hearin’ ya. I made mention of that very same game a post or two ago.

Sam, that’s the kind of open-minded thinking that one has to have when “all else is considered.” And it might just turn out that way.

Joe, Yeah, I noticed that about the ownership thing. I’m hoping somebody clamps down on it hard and puts an end to it. Although I’m not happy with the spirit group, Belkin didn’t do himself any favors when he said that the court should ignore both the NBA and NHL. Right or wrong, he just might have made himself an enemy out of the powerful David Stern. And my question would be to Belkin: Was it worth it?