this hawks blog is the documentary of an NBA Eastern Conference title contender; a team with the most hated on ownership group, the most hated head coach was finally fired, but still with the most underrated forward in the NBA
this is Atlanta Hawks basketball analysis, built on OPTIMISM and the truth and other basketball, world news
Kobe.LeBron.Wade.Howard. How about Kevin Durant? This has been a spectacular basketball summer, but not because certain players moved from one team to another, or the controversy of certain player's personality characteristics (or lack thereof). June through September has been a historic basketball summer because the world may be witnessing (...) the emergence of one of the most young-wise, talent well-rounded, humble-coachable LEADERS in the game of basketball. We are witnessing the public perception transition of this basketball player from "young, talented scorer with unlimited potential" to "possibly the best in the business". Of course, this perception is magnified because team USA is playing in the FIBA tournament, and the rest of the best are at home watching and getting ready for the 2010-2011 NBA season (which will be one of the most exciting seasons in NBA history), but let this article explain how this transition is simply the moments of clarity of the truth.
When Kevin Durant was a 19-year-old rookie, after playing only a few NBA Summer League games, Kevin was invited by Mike Krzyzewski to the Team USA basketball challenge with established NBA stars like Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, and Chris Bosh. Kevin did well, scoring 22 pts in a game, but he was ultimately cut from the team in favor of the experienced veterans that eventually won the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The experience proved to be invaluable to Kevin, as he started his rookie campaign with a swagger from playing with the best players in the world before the season even started.
He established himself as a leader in scoring immediately and went on the average 20.1 ppg, the first rookie to do so since Allen Iverson. That off-season Kevin experienced something very few NBA players ever experience, which is the movement of a franchise from one city to another, the Seattle Supersonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder, this situation only motivated Kevin even more. He went on to average 25.4 ppg 6.5 rpg 2.8 apg, his scoring was 6th in the league behind Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dirk Nowitzki, still Kevin Durant narrowly missed all-star selection, and his team went 23-59. With a burning desire to win and improve, Kevin Durant made another quantum leap in his scoring and leadership, in 2009-2010, Durant averaged 30.1 ppg 7.6 rpg 2.8 apg, and the Oklahoma City Thunder went 50-32, Kevin became the youngest player in NBA HISTORY to average 30 ppg, and the 27-win improvement was the 6th best single season turnaround in NBA history.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made the playoffs as the #8 seed and lost in a 6-game-series, they gave the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers a tough series, but that leads us to today. When Mike Krzyzewski began building the team that would compete in the FIBA World Championship, it was assured that not only was Kevin Durant on the team, but he would be established as a leader on the team, and he was the only player guaranteed a spot on the team! Regardless of the fact that all of the 2008 Team USA Olympic gold medal winners declined to do the FIBA tournament, it was a powerful vote of confidence for Kevin Durant.
The FIBA world championship basketball team was formed. Derrick Rose, Lamar Odom, Chauncey Billups, Russel Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler, Eric Gordon, Andre Igoudala, and Rudy Gay. ESPN analysts called it the "B" team, but the way the team is structured, it is every bit as talented as the 2008 Olympic team, with Kevin Durant as its Kobe Bryant leader. On September 11, 2010, with a spirit of patriotism bursting through the players of Team USA, Kevin Durant, the leading scorer of the team (22.1 ppg, the highest average of any Team USA player in FIBA history) scored 38 points in a 89-74 victory over Lithuania, another record broken (Carmelo Anthony's 35 pts in 2008). Today, Kevin Durant will lead Team USA to the FIBA World Championship, and he will break yet-another record, being the youngest Finals MVP in FIBA history. And he will do it as humbly as he announced his contract extension, maybe not through his twitter account (@KDthunderup), but on the court where the truth is always shown through the game of basketball.
Ok, it looks like New Orleans is serious about keeping Chris Paul and they are making moves to build a team around him. There was a 4-team 5-player trade that all teams involved came out a winner.
Welp, the Eastern Conference just got tougher. I suppose for Shaq the Celtics are a better destination for the sake of winning, he wouldn't have to be THE MAN on the team the way he would have been with Atlanta, he won't have the pressure of dominating the way he would have had to for the Atlanta Hawks to be successful. And of course, with the Celtics having won the 2008 Championship and possibly were a Kendrick Perkins-injury away from a 2010 Championship, it makes Boston a much more attractive destination for the chances of winning. Shaq will be teamed with all 10+ season veterans and collectively they will be a very strong, big, and wise basketball team.
So where does that leave the Atlanta Hawks? With no significant additions to the roster and every other elite team in the East loading up, how can the Hawks expect to seriously contend in the Eastern Conference? Simple. Chemistry. Consistency. The Atlanta Hawks have improved in the category of wins every season for 6 seasons now, if the Hawks can keep the chemistry improvement and Joe Johnson can be the leader this team has STILL been missing, it is not impossible to see even a slight improvement to 55 wins SHOULD make Joe Johnson an MVP candidate, even though he will probably not be awarded, because he is not popular enough. This season will be the ultimate test for Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks to see if they are a true title contender, we shall see ;)
Hello, HOTlanta. It has been a very interesting NBA off-season thus far, all the free agent players trying to put themselves in a position to win a championship almost makes you forget who actually won the 2010 championship, so before i get to the Atlanta Hawks, i would like to take a moment to congratulate the undisputed most skilled, best leader, and most clutch performer in the NBA today, Kobe Bryant and the most controversial, infamous rapper/basketball player of all time, Ron Artest and the 2010 NBA Champions the Los Angeles Lakers. Nothing else that occurred in the 2010 NBA Playoffs is relevant, well, except the obliteration called the Magic vs Hawks series, the worst 4-game sweep in NBA History, featuring one of the worst performances by any so-called "team leader" in the same amount of time. BUT, thankfully all of that is behind us, and the great anticipated free agent bananza began!
One of the first things the Atlanta Hawks franchise did to try to spell some of that embarrassment is they fired Mike Woodson. We at PlayoffsHawks were very supportive of Mike Woodson and we would have been more upset if it wasn't for the replacement of Mike Woodson with Larry Drew, that shows the team is committed to keeping the "defense, rebounding" foundation while hopefully getting the offense more fluid and more efficient. Even still, WE LOVE YOU WOODSON! Here is a youtube video a PlayoffsHawks fan made to Mike Woodson.
We, at PlayoffsHawks wonder how Joe Johnson's 12.9 ppg 29% shooting performance in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the same 2010 Playoffs which before it began where Joe Johnson declared, "I want to show the world that we have one of the best teams and that I am one of the best players." How did this guy earn the BIGGEST CONTRACT given to ANY PLAYER in free agency? It was safe to say that Joe FAILED in that demonstration of being the best, but Joe WON with selling himself as a franchise player, somehow. Now, I understand where the Atlanta Hawks franchise is coming from, this is the guy that took us from 13-69 to 53-29 in 5 seasons with 4 all-star selections and consistent 20/5/5 regular season statistics. However, his performance in these past 2 seasons playoffs have been atrocious, last season in the clean-sweep by the now-irrelevant Cavaliers was slightly excusable because of the slight injury he suffered in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but this past playoff performance against the Orlando Magic was inexcusable.
With all of that being said, the biggest "move" made in the off-season was the"LeBron" brand "taking his talents to South Beach" and that wouldn't be so bad if the great Dwayne Wade and top 5 big Chris Bosh weren't going there with him. And at this point in free agency they've also signed Udonis Haslem, Zydrunas Ilgauskaz, Mike Miller, Carlos Arroyo, James Jones, Jamaal Maglorie and surely others are coming. What does that mean for the Atlanta Hawks? That means the Joe Johnson signing means NOTHING in a division that features thel likes of Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and G.O.A.T. player whom is now the only black majority team owner in all professional sports, Micheal Jordan. Amare Stoudamire is with the Knicks, Carlos Boozer is with the Bulls, Nate Robinson is back with the Celtics, Rudy Gay the Grizzlies, Paul Pierce the Celtics with Jermaine O'Neal, even the Bucks got Corey Maggette. Without question, the Hawks will inevitable drop in the standings and ratings if bring back the same team, the cannot possible expect to improve or stay at 53-wins in the 2010-2011 season with just Joe Johnson. If the Hawks slip into mediocrity, they will slip into irrelevancy, unless they can show some competitive fire against the NBA elite, there is one way the Hawks can undoubtedly stay relevant and have a legitimate rivalry with the division neighbors Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, because without question there is one SUPERSTAR FREE AGENT left on the market the Atlanta Hawks must sign, Shaquille O'Neal.
I cannot believe Shaquille O'Neal is getting the Allen Iverson treatment. Its a sad state of the NBA when a 4x NBA Champion, the 2000 NBA MVP, 3x NBA Finals MVP, one of the undisputed greatest multi-talented players of all time is one of the last free agents left, when he WANTS to play for a contender. Granted, he may be 38 years old, but Shaq was playing extremely well for the Cavs last season, in 23.4 MPG averaged 12 PPG 6.7 RPG 1.8 BPG which translated to 18.5 PPG 11.3 RPG 2.4 BPG per 40-minutes. Now, of course Shaq isn't gonna play 40 MPG but his value to the young Atlanta Hawks team cannot be understated, he is more than just a "savvy veteran" he is a champion AND exactly the giant personality or unstoppable skill and confidence the Hawks need to get to the next level. Plus, JOE JOHNSON NEEDS the endorsement of SHAQ to play up to the pressure of his potential, imagine if Shaq signs and says the same thing he has said about Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, and LeBron James, "I came here to play with one of the best players in the game, and to help this city win a championship." Imagine what that confidence would do for the city of Atlanta sports! Josh Smith agrees with this sentiment and expressed it in this recent quick SLAM magazine interview.
Now, there are 3 concerns fans and the team seems to have:
1. Shaq is too old Shaquille O'Neal is 15x all-star with countless other allocades, he is 38 years old, but by no means out-of-shape. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, another one of the greatest centers of all time (maybe THE GOAT at the position) brought the Los Angeles Lakers a championship and won the 1986 NBA Finals MVP at 38 years old, and that doesn't mean Shaq is gonna dominate averaging 20/10 to do the same for Atlanta, but HE CAN, Shaq was still the 3rd most efficient center in the NBA last season, and this season with Yao Ming and Greg Oden coming back from injuries and Dwight Howard still dominating as the best center in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal can play more than efficient defense against those guys, regardless of what he provides on offense. If anything 38-year-old Shaq can defend centers to free up offense for AL HORFORD (one of the most effecient scorers in the entire NBA ;)
2. Shaq wants to start Of course Shaq wants to start! This is not some regular 38-year-old center, this is 7 foot 1 inches 300 pounds of muscle and power! He would be underutilized and greatly disrespected if he does not START at center. 2(b). No! Shaq can't start because we would have to put Al Horford at power forward, which is good but Josh Smith CANNOT play small forward, he isn't a good enough shooter! First of all, if the Atlanta Hawks put Al Horford at power forward, Al Horford will DEFINETLY average approximately 20 ppg 10 rpg, his natural skill and size makes him one of the most effecient and skilled power forwards in the NBA, a Carlos Boozer-type, if you will, as a center, Al Horford is quick but undersized. With that being said, second of all, Josh Smith has been facing all types of doubt and critisizm in his game every season AND every off-season, he will continue to improve inevitably. Also, Josh Smith is ONE OF THE BEST PASSING FORWARDS IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE, he averaged 15 PPG 8 RPG 4 APG. second only to LeBron James, and 2 BPG, the ONLY PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE with those averages. Josh Smith is actually one of the NBA's most unique blends of talent and skill, the only thing people can try to critisize is his attitude, if they put Josh Smith at the small forward position, the Atlanta Hawks will have O'Neal-Horford-Smith as one of the BEST FRONTLINES IN THE LEAGUE legitimately capable of defending the Magic, Heat, or the Lakers.
3. the Hawks need payroll relief Trade Marvin Williams. Do it. I love Marvin, i will miss him as a player and a person, but the Hawks have already mortgaged the future with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Al Horford, those are our "Big Three" and everyone else on the roster, except for Zaza Pachulia, is expendable on our quest to win a championship. I know, Marvin is only 22 years old and an excellent defender and sometimes shows flash of offensive brilliance, he is a great blue-collar worker, rebounder, he has the potential to be a great player, which is another reason why the Hawks should trade him. Marvin Williams is never going to become a great player with the Atlanta Hawks, for the reasons which were stated above, if the Hawks were to do a sign-and-trade with Cleveland for Marvin, that would give Marvin Williams a HUGE VOID to fill left by LeBron James, and i believe strongly that Marvin Williams would step up into that starting small forward position and give that team stability that it now lacks, and it would give Marvin Williams that attention and postive regard as a player, that loyalty he feels to Atlanta, Cleveland would embrace this young guy and shower him with praise on a consistent basis, Marvin Williams would develop into a leader on that Cleveland Cavaliers team, and that would embarrass LeBron James even more (not that we care about him anyway). Its obvious that the Atlanta Hawks franchise cannot afford to keep Marvin Williams as part of its core, the Atlanta Hawks need to get bigger, not faster, if we can get the biggest personality in the NBA on his last hurrah, whether the Atlanta Hawks get to the NBA Finals or win the championship or not, it would be a victory just having him represent our city, our franchise, and mentoring our players.
One last thing, Hawks GM Rick Sund has done a good job so far, but if the Atlanta Hawks franchise does not improve its roster and financial situation, and when another team throws a boatload of cash to AL HORFORD when he is a restricted free agent next summer, and if the Hawks are NOT able to match... I will burn all of my Atlanta Hawks memorbilia and never attend another Hawks game again, Josh Smith is PlayoffsHawks favorite player, but Al Horford is the best player on the team. and i hate to make Hawks fan cry, but i can't help but imagine....
