Hawks

By Clyde

March 15, 2007 10:16 AM | Link to this

“Reality has set in for Hawks rookie Solomon Jones. Dude isn’t strong enough to man the paint most nights. I know we’ve all been clamoring for him to play more. But this is why he doesn’t. Life is tougher in the paint for a rookie than it is anywhere else. He’s still playing good minutes. But he won’t be nearly as effective now as he will be in the future.”

Yea that may be true but he plays better defense than Lorenzen Wright, Sheldon Williams or Zaza.

Sekou sometimes your reporting is off base. You want to critizize a rookie but you won’t hold veterans accountable. This has been a horrible season for Lorenzen but you haven’t said one thing about him. At least Solomon goes out there and plays hard. He attempts to block shots while Lorenzen, Sheldon, and Zaza stand flat footed and hack.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By #21=Top 50,1stBallot

March 15, 2007 11:21 AM | Link to this

As far as last night goes a couple things: 1. Sekou is dead on with his assessment of the bigs situation. Abuse is too modest a word to describe how we looked inside 2. another troubling trend is that we have nobody capable of guarding against an uptempo guard like Rondo- dude didnt even score until later in the game but had dimes galore due to uptempo and penetration 3. J Smoov just had one of those nights, he looked frustrated and “off”, not to be confused with apathetic, the whole game despite putting up decent stats, thats to be expected of a young dude and I think the rest of the team needs to step up on those days. Lastly I have league pass and dont live in ATL. I appreciate how good/balanced the local broadcast team is. Had Boston’s team last night and they are horrilbe- kept calling Marvin a rookie, questioned Smoov’s ability to play team game, and were on every single call for the C’s. Terrible.

By honest_abe

March 15, 2007 11:21 AM | Link to this

clyde you are a poor mans hb ando. you look at everything in hindsight and criticize. but you never suggested that bk make the very moves you kill him for not making. it’s that easy to come on here and say look at THIS guy that bk didn’t draft. he’s blowing it up! well the hawks only had one draft pick last year. and we all are in concurrence that sheldon was taken too high. but dude you’re basically crying over spilt milk. unless you had the suggestion of trading down and taking rondo what the hell are you crying about? your takes on the hawks are mind numbingly annoying.

you view defense as blocking shots. sounds like someone who hasn’t played a lick of d his whole life. there are a lot more aspects to D than attempting to block someones shot which is pretty much all Solomon is good for at this point in his career. i still like to see him get some minutes as i think it is essential is his growth but dude either learn the game or shut up.

By honest_abe

March 15, 2007 11:43 AM | Link to this

correction: i meant one first round pick last year. **

By Anakin Joe

March 15, 2007 12:09 PM | Link to this

Abe, in Clyde’s world, Bo Outlaw is a beter low post defender than Rick Mahorn or Charles Oakley because he was a superior shot-blocker.

No doubt that Solomon is not likely to be able to provide half-court low-post defense at this point in his career. But there are many teams without that low-post half-court presence and historically, Solomon has not been allowed to play in those games. What Sekou points out is Woody’s inability to understand match-ups. Wright (or Shelden/Batista/Slava) would work better against a bruiser like Jefferson while Solomon might be better able to handle the more agile bigs like JON. Jefferson’s game is about position and Solomon can’t deny him position. But again, you’d expect an NBA Head Coach to recognize and make the right adjustment to set his players up for success.

By Clyde

March 15, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this

Honest abe You said there is more to playing defense than blocking shots. Yea that’s true but Lorenzen Wright, Zaza and Sheldon are good for none of them. Defense in the NBA means defending the basket. You do that by getting steals and blocking shots. Steals are more of a perimeter thing but if you’re a big man you have to block shots to be a great defender. Zaza, Lorenzen, and Sheldon have a combined total of 85 blocks shots. Josh Smith has 164 by himself. That’s why we continue to give up big numbers in the paint. Guards come right down the lane because they know our bigs won’t defend the basket.

If you have a better perspective on defense give it to me.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By Phil

March 15, 2007 12:20 PM | Link to this

Whats going on with Shelden? Earlier in the season when he was getting minutes he seemed to be doing pretty decent for a rookie. I remember several good rebounding games and a 20 point effort. Last night was by far the worst line i’ve seen from him (0 for 6 from the field, 1 rebound). Is he healthy? Is he just regressing? Or does he hate the bench or what?

By Don Keeballz

March 15, 2007 12:44 PM | Link to this

Why not put in Estaban and see if he can’t manage to hurt the other teams BIG’s since he seems to have figured out how to injure his teamates pretty good. I think this is our viable solution to battling against the other teams BIG’s.

By William

March 15, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this

there is no reality for Solomon Jones. Its called coaching. If the opposing team have big bangers in the middle, Lowrenzen Wright is your guy to bang with them. On nights with more athletic and explosive bigs, or guys with a midrange game Solomon Jones is your guy. Its that simple.

Its funny, if you watch that Suns/Mavs game, you saw real coaches making real adjustments. Phoenix goes small, Dallas went small. dallas starts banging down low, phoenix answered with Kurt thomas. this forced the game to become more perimeter and they pulled him for a more athletic lineup.

The Celtics just had the Hawks number in the 3rd last night, and that was all she wrote. I do feel had Josh smith not gotten into foul trouble early, they could have been in a better position in the third, instead of being down 9 at the half. But losses happen. No biggy. That game against Indiana will be huge. The would be able to move within 3 games of them with a win. Very very very important.

By Werewolfoflondon

March 15, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

Zaza is the MAN—-he just turned 23(this year) and is a 5 year NBA starter, an NBA veteran—-he just needs to add about 15 lbs. of muscle(I don’t care how)-get up to about 280—he has been at 265 lbs. his entire career—his stats have gone up every year(until this year because of the POINTLESS starting of the worthless Lo.Wright)—yet are almost identical to last season’s with a lot less minutes per game—he is averaging 12 & 7(12 & 8 last year with more minutes)—had he started all year it would be more like 14 & 9—not bad for such a young player——Solomon is too small to ever man our middle unless he has a 7’6” wingspan—-will never know why we picked him and Lo.Wright is totally worthless as a player to depend on for anything-I was so sick of seeing his boxscore of 0 & 2, and 18 min. every game as a starter————-a new coach is needed, someone who knows a thing or two about developing big men, as well as coaching

By Anakin Joe

March 15, 2007 1:40 PM | Link to this

Seems like Woody should have employed the “Dwight Howard” defense of Jefferson last night. But from a box score view only, seems like we were careless with the ball while the Celtics hammered us with many fouls throughout the game. We all know that this team is cream-puff soft. When someone smacks us in the face, we are very prone to curl up in a fetal position.

By Volman

March 15, 2007 2:23 PM | Link to this

The Hawks DID look very soft last night..bottom line.

Clyde, I don’t know HOW you can say Solomon is a better defender. How many blocks does he have? It looks everytime he’s in the game he gets pushed around down low by “normal” post players…. If he goes for a block, the referee USUALLY calls a foul (Solomon picks up atleast 2 fouls within the first couple minutes of him playing…)

Lorenzen atleast clogs up the paint and pushes people around down low.. Shelden works hard as well….Zaza tries, but obviously not hard enough.

By William

March 15, 2007 2:38 PM | Link to this

Solomon contest shots and was a major reason for the win streak. With Zaza, Lo Wright and to some extents Sheldon in the game, they see no reason to slow down if they make it to the basket. While Solomon might not get alot of blocks, challenges and making the player change his shot things that are just as important. Like I said, against a team that doesn’t post up their bigs exculsively, Solomon is a REALLY big weapon. Against a team that runs their offense from the block, he isn’t. Its that simple. Its the coaches reponsibility to adjust. And regardless of the size of the guys down low, Solomon is still much better at getting to and tipping the boards than Lorenzen.

By Colin

March 15, 2007 2:39 PM | Link to this

The only reason Al Jefferson was able to manhandle the team last night, was because Woodson made a mistake.

Just before the half, Woodson took out Zaza for a minute or so, and in that time, Al Jefferson scored 2 easy baskets before Zaza came back in.

Leading that to the second half, as Zaza picked up his third foul on a stupid hacking play, Woodson brought In Lo Wright. In the 3 minutes that Lo Wright saw the court, Al Jefferson scored 8 points, and picked up 3 rebounds. Then, Woodson tried to place Solomon into the spot, and Jefferson/Perkins kept pounding away, because Solomon isn’t strong enought o bang with them.

By the time that Zaza came back into the game, the Hawks were already down by 21, and the game was out of reach almost completely.

Perkins/Jefferson tore up Lo Wright, Solomon, and Shelden, (Who, if I may add had the worst game I have ever seen)…

Zaza never had a chance to get into any sort of rhythm at all, especially in the 2nd half.

By Sekou's subconscious

March 15, 2007 4:02 PM | Link to this

Fire Clyde!

By Clyde

March 15, 2007 5:21 PM | Link to this

“Lorenzen atleast clogs up the paint and pushes people around down low.”

Getting paid 3 million to push people around and your not even good at that. Must be nice.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By makaveli

March 15, 2007 5:45 PM | Link to this

BATISTA RULES MOTHERFOCKERS!!! AGUANTE URUGUAY!!! WESSSIDE!!! BATISTA TO LA THA NEXT SEASON!! ATLANTA SUCKS!!! 2PAC IS ALIVE

By Ed W.

March 15, 2007 6:01 PM | Link to this

The travel problems may have hurt, but this team regularly doesn’t show up agianst bad teams, especially when things are going well. It stuns me how a team that’s been as bad as the Hawks in recent years can consistently be overconfident in these situations.

By Ed W.

March 15, 2007 6:04 PM | Link to this

The travel problems may have hurt, but this team regularly doesn’t show up agianst bad teams, especially when things are going well. It stuns me how a team that’s been as bad as the Hawks in recent years can consistently be overconfident in these situations.

By hawks r cursed for trading nique

March 15, 2007 7:11 PM | Link to this

Sekou: u finially admited the hawks need a dominant big man. Anyone who thinks this team will be anything but a playoff sweep waiting to happen next year is kidding themselves….unless a TOP big man is added! Hmm….Oden would look pretty good in a Hawks uniform…but i guess all yall that post on here dont pay attention to the college game like i do. And to everyone who thinks well upgrade that position thru free agency…who we gonna get?? well have to overpay some mediocure center just to come here. No chance in hell youll ever see tim Duncan, Yao, or Shaq in a hawks uniform…all the top guys wanna win!
Face it pple…our BEST chance is THRU THE DRAFT….all these meaningless wins dont mean crap. If our GM was really smart and not trying to get meaningless wins to save his job hed see this 2.

By mavid

March 15, 2007 7:59 PM | Link to this

^^ yes, but what about the rockets???

By ray

March 15, 2007 9:41 PM | Link to this

Anakin Joe,

Your analysis was SPOT ON. It is indeed Woody’s job to recognize the matchup advantages/disadvantages. Have we not been preaching matchups since BEFORE the season?? Woody seems incapable of grasping this concept or something. I really don’t get it. But hey, I’m not an NBA head coach either.

ABE, you’re right. I really can’t add to that. You’re right.

Clyde, for the sake of discussion and not argument, I submit to you one of the most effective defenders to hit the hardwood: Dennis Rodman. Never was a great shot-blocker. What he did was tremendous. He played the most mind games and did what any premiere post/paint defender should be able to do: deny the opposing player optimal scoring position. He made anybody he played against work for it. Never seemed to get tired, either. He bodied up on his opponents and frustrated the crap out of them. Even great PFs like Karl Malone. Rodman wasn’t a shot blocker. He was a guy who NEVER GAVE a guy the position he wanted on offense. Those guys hated to see him coming. Charles Oakley was similar. The guy was an intimidator and enforcer.

The fact is, shot-blocking is great but only one aspect of defense. Sometimes it’s little more than a fail-safe when a player gets out of good defensive position. Hence the term “weak side shot blocker.” Don’t get me wrong, I love a good shot blocker, but a good defender is the complete package.

Unfortunately, what I said about us getting beaten by Boston on the last blog turned out to be true. While AJ did have a pretty good game, we did get beaten once again at two positions. And we all know which ones they are. Not to mention, Boston shot way better than we did and played better defense. I didn’t get to see the game, but either we had trouble sharing the ball or Woody was back at his terrible play calling. Maybe the shots just weren’t falling.

And maybe now some will see why I kept yapping here and there about acquiring one of Boston’s young pg types. Particularly Rondo. Funny, no one even responded to that here, and I’ve been saying it all season long. Then Clyde decides to say that we should have gotten him instead. Heh.

By ray

March 15, 2007 9:43 PM | Link to this

Mavid, you’re too funny.

Oh, and uh….who wants to trade JJ still? I think he would have made a difference in this game, don’t you? Oh wait, maybe not. Woody’s plethora of plays would have included: throw it to Joe at the top of the key, watch Joe try to beat quick opponents to the basket where Perkins and Jefferson await, try it again…and again….and again. Surely it’s gotta work sooner or later…

By Clyde

March 15, 2007 10:31 PM | Link to this

ray I hear ya about Rodman and Karl Malone but would you mention Lorenzen Wright, Sheldon or Zaza in the sentence?

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By Volman

March 15, 2007 11:29 PM | Link to this

Clyde, money aside.. What is Lorenzen supposed to do? What were your expectations of him for this year?

Hawks R Cursed guy, enough is enough man. WE all know you want the Hawks to draft a “dominant big man”. It’s not that easy.. They don’t come along every draft. Maybe the Hawks, like the ROCKETS, will get LUCKY and get a top pick. The Rockets were LUCKY..It had nothing to do with smarts or skill. It was LUCK.

By reese

March 16, 2007 12:45 AM | Link to this

Wow, how quickly you guys seem to turn on solomon. There is not 1 hawks player who can consistently stop their man by playing 1 on 1 defense.

The difference is that Josh Smith plays very good help defense. No other hawk consistently comes hard to help their teammates. The hawks players don’t fight hard to get past screens, they switch men. Neither zaza, lorenzen or shelden come to the rescue of guards or forwards who get beat.

Woodson usually counters with getting smaller. Good team defense is what the hawks needed to do. Double down on big men, switch to a zone. The problem with the hawks smaller players like lue and salim is that they are slower and shorter than the Boston smaller players.

Woodson countered with playing bigger guards. However, Childress could not post up the smaller players because he is not strong enough. He was hesitant with dribbling because he thought the ball would get stolen. So he rushed to get the ball out of his hands.

I would have loved to see woodson place two bigger players like solomon and zaza or wright on the floor. Then let Josh Smith play the small forward. Josh was not big enough to react to the bump to the defenders chest before shooting tactics that the Boston big men were consistently able to perform in the lane.

The point that I am trying to get across is that Solomon Jones will need help at times and just harping that he is not getting the job done does not help. A coach and other players must understand what they need to do to assist/compliment Solomon or any other big man.

Marvin, Josh Childress, anthony Johnson and others must help with the same ferocity as Josh Smith. It can be in the form of steals, blocks, traps, hands in the face, challenging shots, altering shots or just plain making the offensive player feel uncomfortable because he knows that help is coming from somewhere and he must rush his shot.

This my fellow bloggers is called defense which in turn can lead to offense.

By mavid

March 16, 2007 12:59 AM | Link to this

soloman is just flat-out raw. There’s no beating around the bush with him. He needs to gain weight, experience, confidence, and low-post skills. Its gonna take time (and yes, some playing time). He has a lot of potential, but its still uncultivated (for the most part)

By Mike

March 16, 2007 1:26 AM | Link to this

Yeah we didn’t look great against Boston, but Woodson didn’t match the right personnel. With a banger like Jefferson you gotta go with Lorenzen or Estaban. Those guys don’t score but you keep Zaza and Solomon out of early foul trouble. Speaking of Zaza he can score on offense, but kid gotta get some heart on defense. He’s soft as powder. You would love to see him put a body on someone, instead of standing there being Poster Board Material. At lease Solomon tries to block your shot. But we all know Solomon is not a banger. Even Shelden is a better choice against a banger like Jefferson. Boston has been a lot better of late

Someone said during the four game winning streak that if we didn’t show up ready to play at Boston, this game could trip us up. I think Woodson is doing a better job of using his bench, but it was obvious against Boston we needed a wide body down in the post. The ref was basically letting J-Smoove get mug. Now he understands what JJ goes through night in and night out. I think we will bounce back. TLue is great coming off the bench, but a point guard he’s not. He looks to shoot more than pass. I think that’s a problem in a game like the Boston game. I think Woodson has to match Salim up with AJ or JChill. TLue is still struggling on defense, we he’s not making shots we look lethargic when he’s running the point. I think Woodson could have given Estaban a chance to harass Boston’s bigs that may have slowed down their offense. Other than it’s a lost, time to move on.

Abe you had me cracking, but you were on point. Clyde if you can’t run with the big dogs stay on the porch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Samuel

March 16, 2007 6:43 AM | Link to this

With all that being said, why would trading JJ for Say, Jermaine Oneil be so out of the question?

Guys, it’s not about who we put on the floor down low cause neither one can defend the post.

Dwayne Who? Them Duke boys and coach(overrated) K get drubbed by a first year coach and a mid major. I love it.

Ando, PHX and Dallas will never win the Championship with Nash and Dirk. They’re exciting, but won’t translate into a championship my friend.

By ray

March 16, 2007 8:53 AM | Link to this

Samuel, I for one wouldn’t say it’s out of the question. It’s just that a knee-jerk reaction mostly based on a 4 game winning streak doesn’t indicate clear thinking. Have you noticed that there hasn’t been much discussed as to who we’d trade JJ for? You’re the first to come up with a viable candidate as far as I recall. A viable candidate, that is.

Man, I looked at Duke earlier this season and could tell that they were ripe for the picking. The ACC is no joke anyway, but Duke just didn’t have “it” this year. And may not next year or next year. Every program has its down years. As for coach K, he’s a fine coach, but has been made into a media darling. You can’t argue his credentials. I blame the media. It’s not an accident that he’s as good as he’s been. They jumped all over Jim Boeheim that year Syracuse won it all with the freshman ‘Melo. Then, when Syracuse wasn’t making it back to the big dance, you don’t hear about the guy. Fickle, fickle…

By ray

March 16, 2007 9:20 AM | Link to this

You know, I went to HoopsHype and looked at the mock draft stuff. It had us picking late-mid in the first round and the guy they talked about, Aaron Gray-was described as a solid backup on most teams. Now what does that tell me? First, everybody really does think Billy is an absolute nut, and second, we are going to keep going with “backup” players.

Man, I hope not. At least DraftExpress has us picking Tyler Hansbrough. But if we did that, he either becomes Shelden Williams (i.e. gets relegated to the bench) or he shoves Marvin Williams to the side (‘cause it ain’t gonna be Josh Smith). Of course, many will scream, because he’s another 6’9” forward. Speaking of screaming, I’m going to if Phoenix really does get Al Horford due to our giving them a top pick.

By Anakin Joe

March 16, 2007 9:36 AM | Link to this

Ray must of the mock drafts (at this at this point) only base their selections on the quality of the player as opposed to need. I have seen some mock drafts that have the Nets drafting Acie Law, which seems improbable considering last year’s selection of Marcus Williams.

Look, we either give up a pick to Phoenix this year ir next year. Next year, there will be several quality PGs available. I’m guessing that Crittendon stays (as I think Tech loses this afternoon). Mayo is supposedly an elite combo guard. And there are several freshmen PGs who may test the waters after their sophomore campaign. Bottom line, there may be a better player available to the Hawks at picks 4-7 next season than there is this season. If we get the 3rd pick this season, we may not be getting someone who could launch us into the playoffs. Which means Phoenix would still be getting a quality pick in the ‘08 draft. And again, there will likely be more PGs (and seasoned Cs) available in next year’s draft.

By honest_abe

March 16, 2007 10:02 AM | Link to this

first of all, let me clarify my last little outburst had little to do with soloman and everything to do with clyde. even though brother clyde aggravates the living hell out of me, he is a fellow hawks supporter ( i think ) and that i can respect. so, my only problem with clyde’s analysis is how he correlates a defenders worth with how many shots he blocks. ray and aj have already explained how playing defense is so much more than just blockign shots. is blocking shots a critical part of d? of course. but just because a person doesn’t block shots doesn’t make him a bad defender. having said that i will agree with clyde that our bigs suck at d in every sense of the word.

sam: phx and dallas will never win a championship? pretty stupid statement to say in a year when they are two best teams in the nba. i can say with a certain degree of confidence that one of those two teams will win the championship. i think you’re just a dirk and nash hater. you’re just like doug steward on the two live stews. can’t give a man like nash his due. look nobody is comparing him to jordan, because obviously they have diff strengths and bring diff things to the table. but if you can’t see the value of what nash does bring and his worth to one of the best teams in the nba then you are more ignorant than i thought.

aaron gray is a stumbling, bumbling awkward big.. he’s a poor man’s big country reeves. if the hawks draft him i will have to look for another team to cheer for.

tyler hansborough i like but no his game which dominates the college scene won’t translate into the nba. he’ll be solid.. but the hawks have no spot for him.

i’ll take hibbert if available.. another awkward big but much more upside than gray.

either take a big with some upside or it has to be a pg!!!

is everyone’s final four still in tact?

i got kansas, oregon, unc, texas a&m…

By Samuel

March 16, 2007 10:19 AM | Link to this

Abe,

That was actually an inside joke between Ando and Myself. I know better than that, trust me, however, You are certain that one of these teams will win. Don’t bet your life on it.

You’ve shown consistantly that you know very little about the game, so slow down.

Your defensive analysis is nothing new. I said that way back that good defense is not necessarily blocking shots or steals. Any good basketball man knows that. We only have one or two good defensive players(JJ and Childress) and one great one(Josh). Unfortunately, none of these are post players or perimeter players.

We can be an overall good defensive team if we press and deny. We played well at the beginning of the year when we did that. We couldn’t sustain it.

By honest_abe

March 16, 2007 10:44 AM | Link to this

ok. well if i woke up yesterday and decided hmmm i’m going to educated everyone on what playing defense really means. than ya maybe your dig might make sense. but my post was in response to clyde. so even if it is old info, i was just trying to let clyde know that there are other aspects to playing d.

as my limited basketball knowledge i guess its somewhere along the lines of claiming the nuggets as the next greatest team of our generation with the acquisition of ai. your hero.

oh.. oops. was that you? nah it couldn’t have been especially since you gotten reeeeeeeeeal quiet about the whole thing. you didn’t think we’d all let you slide out of that one did you? especially when philly reels off 7 straight without him… HA!

By Anakin Joe

March 16, 2007 10:54 AM | Link to this

I had Duke, FAMU, Marquette and GA Tech. Not feeling very good right about now.

I like Hibbert too. Our DC insider, Flash, said pretty emphatically that Hibbert will return for his senior year. I also like McRoberts, I think he could be a Brad Miller type of skilled big. But he clearly needs more seasoning.

Here’s a name that won’t excite anyone but bear with me. I know the preference is a young, athletic beast at center. But those guys aren’t readily available, and they cost no less than $10M/season. Marcus Camby, injuries and all, would be a guy I would target. Even with the Speedy debacle (and one could argue that Camby’s health record is comparable), I’d still roll the dice and try to trade for him. Nene, Kenyon and Camby don’t appear to be a good fit with Melo and AI. I can’t imagine anyone taking on Kenyon’s contract and Denver would be foolish to deal Nene of those 3.

The other “non-sexy” name is Channing Frye. I know, pretty soft. But Frye is in the way of the stud from Florida (his name has left me). Knicks made Frye untradeable last year, but this year his stock must be down. Plus, Curry’s emergence in the low post limits Frye’s touches. Could he mature to provide a ying to Zaza’s yang?

But don’t be surprised to see Chris Mihm in a Hawks uniform. And before you barf, check out his career stats. Dude can block shots and would be a cheap complement to Zaza. Of course, I’d much rather have about 10 other guys, but none of them are as available and cheap as Mihm who will be a free agent this summer. Some shop at Bloomingdale’s, we shop at Target.

By Samuel

March 16, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

If everything holds they way it is, looks like Nash and my boy AI will meet in the first round of the playoffs Or PHX might get Kobe and Company.

Nash will definately get his chance to prove his stock when it counts.

By the way, were you one of the bloggers who said the Heat were finished?

By honest_abe

March 16, 2007 11:28 AM | Link to this

nah but close… i said shaq sucked a big nut… because he was so out of shape… but i’ve always been a big fan of shaq fu, just not of his work ethic.. but big man is back with a vengeance.

when it counts?? the guy runs like a tireless workhorse for the majority of 82 games. the suns don’t even play that many players. it’s only natural for him to break down in the post season or as you like to say “when it counts”

By Anakin Joe

March 16, 2007 11:48 AM | Link to this

Samuel, I was one of the bloggers who doubted Shaq’s ability to bring it game-after-game. I was wrong.

But before anyone nominates Shaq for the MVP, let’s recognize that the team is playing outstanding defense. No one is scoring 90 points against them (or at least, it happens very infrequently). So while I’ll admit I was wrong about Shaq’s inability to produce 20/10 type numbers, others need to admit that this winning streak is more about team defense and less about Shaq looking like an unstoppable force.

And like Abe, I’m a Shaq fan too. But more for his engaging personality and less for his dedication to his craft. While the thought of Shaq as a police officer is humorous and interesting, it underscores my belief that he is too distracted with “playing around” to have ever become the dominant player of his era. And I don’t mean dominant like big, but dominant like the unquestioned best player in the league for the past decade. He and Barkley seem to be cut from the same gigantic cloth.

By Samuel

March 16, 2007 12:13 PM | Link to this

4 rings* and 3 Finals MVPs(when it counts) in 6 years. I’s say that pretty dominate.

Last night Jersey’s front line had 12 fouls in basically three quarters. I’d say that’s unstoppable.

By Samuel

March 16, 2007 1:00 PM | Link to this

Actually, it wasn’t their front line, it was the center position.

Joe, other than Jordan, who has been as dominate as Shaq for the past decade. 1997 to now.

By Sammy's Daddy

March 16, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this

Hey Samuel, when is Iverson going to prove it “when it counts”?

Honestly, you sound like one of the Vick-heads who criticized Manning without mercy until he won “the big one”.

What have YOU ever won?

By Anakin Joe

March 16, 2007 2:01 PM | Link to this

Samuel I think it is debateable who is the single best player of the last 10 years. I think the debate is amongst Shaq, Kobe and Duncan. I don’t think it should have been a debate, not if the big fella worked hard at his craft. And even his biggest fan would have to admit that Shaq has been a career disappointment defensively. With his size, agility and vertical leap, shouldn’t he have been amongst the greatest defensive centers of all-time? He’s not even the best defensive center on the Miami Heat. I’m pretty sure both Duncan and Kobe have been on the All-Defensive Team multiple times.

And I’m sorry, but dominating the NJ Nets front line that feature Mikki Moore and Jason Collins is not exactly Hakeem eating the Admiral up during a playoff series. And if 19/7/1 are dominating numbers, what would you call Josh Smith’s performance against the 76ers? 26 points, 17 boards, 3 blocks, 4 steals, 5 assists. Kind of makes 19/7/1 look rather pedestrian.

Again, I like Shaq. He has an infectious personality and is clearly amongst the best ever big game performers. Maybe my expectations are too high. But had he spent less time trying to rap, makie horrific movies and play with law enforcement, I think he would have been enshrined next to MJ, Bird and Magic on the Mt. Rushmore of the NBA. But I think he missed that opportunity.

By Samuel

March 16, 2007 2:06 PM | Link to this

I’ve won your undivided attention.

I guess you guys don’t remember Ando and my back and forth about Vick.

I didn’t criticize Manning. Actually, I said Manning hadn’t won a Championship just like Vick hadn’t and that there was no way to tell if he would before his career was over. Football and Basketball is a team sport.

I don’t know what AI will do. It depends on what those around him do. He’s gonna bring it. Bank on it Daddy.

I can tell you’re from the classless Falcon Post. Go home.

By Samuel

March 16, 2007 2:38 PM | Link to this

Why am even debating with two clueless bloggers.

Ando, Doc, where yall at? I’m back. I need some real knowledgable bloggers to debate with.

How many rings does Kobe have without Shaq. I rest my case.

Duncan Maybe. Nobody else!

By jhan

March 16, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this

If Shaq had the work ethic of Jordan, he would probably go down as the greatest player of all time, regardless of position. A man his size should annually lead the league in rebounds, blocked shots & free throws.

By Clyde

March 16, 2007 3:12 PM | Link to this

All I got to say is you can bang all you want but if someone gets the shot off and makes it then all your “banging” was in vain. And that’s the story of Lorenzen Wright, Zaza, and Sheldon Williams this year. If “banging” ain’t working give me a shot blocker. Yes the ideal defensive center or power forward does both but the Hawks don’t have that. That’s why I keep saying let Solomon play. Atleast he’s good at one aspect of playing defense.

And another thing all the “bangers” yall have mentioned played in the 80’s and 90’s. Right now “banging” has taken a back seat to shot blocking. When I took a look at the all-defensive team from lst year I could only find 2 players that qualified as “bangers”. That was Ben Wallace and Ron Artest. The rest of them (Andrei Kirilenco, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Marcus Camby, and Tayshun Prince)relied on bloked shots to make the list and are too skinny to be “bangers” as is Solomon Jones. And on top of that Ben Wallace is most known for his shot blocking not his “banging”. He ranks at the top in blocks every year.

In other words “banging” can only get you so far in today’s game.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY