Golden Tornadoes
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And just like that the Hawks flip Kennard and a future 2nd for Gabe Vincent. Not the guard I would have chosen to trade away, but oh well.
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Golden Tornadoes
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ETA: the Hawks are receiving the 2nd round pick, not sending it out.
I really think even more is coming. I liked Luke but he and KP were always only gonna be here contingent on the Hawks being 'in the hunt'. They were always flip candidates.
I cannot imagine them keeping Vincent, Hield, and McCollum. I got my eye on Missi from NOP. Another good buy-low candidate and a big. Wonder is NOP is willing to deal with us again after the draft pick debacle.
I cannot imagine them keeping Vincent, Hield, and McCollum. I got my eye on Missi from NOP. Another good buy-low candidate and a big. Wonder is NOP is willing to deal with us again after the draft pick debacle.
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My guess would be that Hield is the most likely flip candidate. I really thought the Hawks would keep Kenard with his nearly 50% 3-pt. shooting percentage this year. He's been a lethal sniper. McCollum is here to stay I would guess. Good veteran leadership and a proven scorer. Vincent is going to be the PG that the team needed, and he has decent 3 pt. shooting and provides some decent defense also. Like I said earlier, these moves have really strengthened the bench, and that's exciting.
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Revisiting this, man do the Hawks need offense. It’s gotta be #1 on the offseason to-do list. Really intrigued to see how Hield and Kuminga work out, but sitting Zaccharie last night was definitely eye-opening. Lots of work still to be done in the ATL.
It's really sad. They seem directionless. Don't really hang their hat on any one thing they do consistently well.
Iirc, 2 of their recent and rare home wins were against UTA and now BKN. Both teams very clearly played tanking lineups in the 4th and ATL barely eeked out wins. It was really disheartening to see UTA sit a healthy Markennen for the whole 4th qtr so the Jazz could preserve the loss.
And all that said, the Hawks are only 4-5 games out of 6th place. What a time to be alive.
Golden Tornadoes
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I'm not sure I can remember a player put up more meaningless triple-doubles than what JJ has done this year. Sure, he's getting them, but it seems like it's having little to no effect on the outcome of the game. He's a point forward but with weak dribbling skills. McCollum is a shell of his former self, the staff is quickly souring on Zacc, NAW has cooled off lately, Landale has been a nice addition for his role, Dyson Daniels is shooting like Ben Simmons, and Vincent hasn't been the PG we hoped he would be. They can create almost $40M of cap space this offseason, plus they have multiple trade exceptions they can use, and I wouldn't be surprised if they put OO on the block.It's really sad. They seem directionless. Don't really hang their hat on any one thing they do consistently well.
Iirc, 2 of their recent and rare home wins were against UTA and now BKN. Both teams very clearly played tanking lineups in the 4th and ATL barely eeked out wins. It was really disheartening to see UTA sit a healthy Markennen for the whole 4th qtr so the Jazz could preserve the loss.
And all that said, the Hawks are only 4-5 games out of 6th place. What a time to be alive.
Many NBA teams are going to get a wakeup call with the new tanking rules that are coming out soon. The thing is, you can't legislate tanking out of the league.
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You can’t knock it out all the way, but you can reduce it.
A guy came up with a formula: after you’re eliminated from the playoffs, you get draft points. You get three points for every win after elimination, 1 for every tie (or overtime loss), and nothing for a loss. The more points you have, the higher your lottery seed.
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Another Hawks draft disappointment with Zaccarie, or too early to tell? Definitely not a home run in the first two seasons.
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The Athletic says “good player, but the Hawks have other players who do the same things better”. According to them, he needs a strong outside shooter to open up the game for him
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What about Trea... Nevermind
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Eggs-xactlyWhat about Trea... Nevermind
But Trae was already making less of a difference before they traded him
Golden Tornadoes
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Hawks got the #1 pick in one of the worst draft classes in recent memory (typical ATL luck). I would have preferred Sarr in that draft and still do, but Zacc was a solid choice. They would have never jumped to #1 in the Wemby sweepstakes as pretty much every media outlet had him penned to SAS even before the draft. They had Luka fall in their lap only to trade him away for pennies and weren't quite bad enough to win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. The real problem for the Hawks has been their inability to draft good rotational pieces when they've held picks that were in the late teens. Instead, they insisted on drafting PGs who weren't even close to ready, passed on quality bigs, or overdrafted at the wing position.
I like the idea, but it creates a race to the bottom at the beginning of the year. Teams would just lose a ton of games to start the year in a race to get eliminated. Then, you go on a huge winning streak to lock up #1. I've also heard the idea of a tournament toyed around, but what team is going to get behind the idea of winning a tournament just to say you've won the #1 pick? As a player, I feel like that would be extremely insulting to lose all year to get in the tournament, then win so you lock up a draft pick. What does the player get from that? Leveling the draft odds was supposed to help, but instead it has created an unpredictable lottery that rewards teams for losing enough to be in the drawing. It's a tough task for sure, one that I am not envious of having.
Hawks clinch, at worst, a top 6 seed (facing NYK) which is an amazing accomplishment.
Beat the reeling Heat tomorrow and they clinch the 5 seed (vs CLE).
Team is really fun to watch again and there's a lot of meat left on the bone. If they can develop ZR and land a top pick (via NOP), that sets the stage for them possibly being a very good team next season.
But, until then, I'm expecting them to make some noise in the playoffs. First rnd matchups will be tough due to CLE and NYK's size.. But if they can impose their will by getting extra possessions through turnovers, and shoot it well, they have a chance.
Beat the reeling Heat tomorrow and they clinch the 5 seed (vs CLE).
Team is really fun to watch again and there's a lot of meat left on the bone. If they can develop ZR and land a top pick (via NOP), that sets the stage for them possibly being a very good team next season.
But, until then, I'm expecting them to make some noise in the playoffs. First rnd matchups will be tough due to CLE and NYK's size.. But if they can impose their will by getting extra possessions through turnovers, and shoot it well, they have a chance.
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Three things to watch this offseason for the Hawks IMO are:
1. Do the Hawks get some more size in the front court? OO and JJ are nice, but they are small for their positions. It takes a group rebounding effort to beat out the teams that trot 7 footers out there on a nightly basis. OO is a tough dude, but 6’10” is a generous height listing for him.
2. Are the Hawks able to re-sign CJ? He’s not the Portland CJ and hasn’t been for quite some time. But he’s a steadying scoring veteran for a very young squad. Hawks need to look long and hard about getting this guy back in the fold.
3. Can the Hawks get some lottery luck to fall their way in the lottery? The Hawks get the higher of the MIL/NOP pick, and both are projected to get top 10 odds in the lottery, with NOP holding the 8th spot and MIL getting 10th. The Hawks need a Jose Alvarado type PG. There are quite enough mouths to feed, so getting a scoring PG isn’t going to help. But getting somebody who can run the show, feed others, and play hard-nosed defense would be someone I would look at if I were Saleh.
1. Definitely need to add size. Hoping they go multiple bigs in the draft.
2. Yeah he's been good in the role they have for him. I wonder if they look to draft a replacement via the MIL/NOP pick. Then go big with the CLE pick.
3. I'd say a lead guard that provides what McCollum provides is what they need. Not a pass/defend guy, especially with Dyson out there along with usually another player that's a non-scorer (like ZR).
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Yeah, that's a good point. NAW's offensive explosion has been a revelation this year and his defense has been good. Dyson has completely lost his confidence behind the arc but has ramped up the defensive intensity and found his niche as a small-ball screener. If ZR can develop a consistent corner 3, having Dyson feed him on a short roll could be deadly. More offense is always welcome.
Maybe? He did drop a 30-piece last night. I've been confused as to why he hasn't played more since being traded over, but the Hawks are gluttonous at the guard position and Hield doesn't have the defensive chops to play at the 3. He's in a really tough position, but he's got a player option for next year and I don't see another team signing him for $10M so he probably returns.
Nah, last night was a fluke. Stats were gawdy but that man gave up far more than he poured in.
Dyson is shooting over 40% from 3 for the last 3+ weeks, iiuc. He's not only making them at a good clip, he's also figured a way to impact the game offensively despite his stretch of low-confidence shooting. His constant movement and passing are very impactful. Teams parking their C on him are paying for it.
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Dude, a statement like that feels sacrilegious, but it's crazy to think that's where the NBA is at. 30 years ago, that statement would have gotten somebody laughed out of the building. Today, that's a valid defensive strategy for some teams.
I didn't realize Dyson had been picking it up from deep in recent weeks. That's a wonderful development with it being playoff time. Between him and NAW, they will have a massive task on hand limiting Brunson. The more physical you can be on him, the better. Going to be a really tough series.