Atlanta Hawks

[lunateec22]

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kinsa man sab nindot ipuli na coach kang woodson?

Wish they'd make a run for Avery Johnson; a motivator and someone that emphasize defense, although I think this means another set of changes/trades to mesh with Avery's coaching.

[johnnyblues]

lisod si avery sa ila bro, imo. lahi ang makeup sa team karon and like you said, dili mu mesh sa style ni avery. mabungkag ra sab ang team nya balik na sab uno.

nindot tingali si rick carlisle or d'antoni pero saon taken naman.

[vcmov_15]

bibby should be the one to lead this team. i mean he is the point so he should take the team in his direction. nindot mani siya mudala guro kung willing lang jud siya mu take sa responsibility. basin sad kay late na siya nakasulod sa team mao mauwaw guro siya mu lead... but hope he can be the voice to this young team

[lunateec22]

lisod si avery sa ila bro, imo. lahi ang makeup sa team karon and like you said, dili mu mesh sa style ni avery. mabungkag ra sab ang team nya balik na sab uno.

nindot tingali si rick carlisle or d'antoni pero saon taken naman.

Good point. Pero kung i-hire nila si Avery, I don't think there's a need to break everything apart. Because, I think, as a coach, you get hired then you are given a certain lineup to work with and make the team win regardless kung unsa kakulang ang positions. Eventually, the trades/changes occur throughout that process.

RIght now, Avery Johnson is the option kay wa naman sad siguro lain. The Hawks need a potent big man and depth to become a title contender. So, para nako:

proven coach+potent big man+depth=championship contention

bibby should be the one to lead this team. i mean he is the point so he should take the team in his direction. nindot mani siya mudala guro kung willing lang jud siya mu take sa responsibility. basin sad kay late na siya nakasulod sa team mao mauwaw guro siya mu lead... but hope he can be the voice to this young team

I think Bibby's doing that lately, especially sa iya contract year that's why he got that extension. I remember Woodson pulling Bibby out kay ngano kuno iya gipasa ang bola kang JOsh Smith, who is behind the 3-point arc (who missed the contested shot obviously). It was a critical game by the way and this is how the conversation went like this:

“If you don’t want me to throw to him put him somewhere else,” Bibby shouted. “He’s wide [@*&$%] open. Wide open. What do you want me to do? If you don’t want him shooting that then put him somewhere else. You tell him.”

After getting it back as good as he gave it, Woodson crossed his arms, did a pirouette and smiled at everyone watching as he strolled back toward the Hawks’ bench.

Woodson said later it was the first time Bibby’s “really lit into” him. And that’s why he was smiling about it. He loved seeing that kind of fire and emotion from his veteran point guard.

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I guess that's a start.

[theGoodBoy]

Hawks Team Preview by Jason Fleming

HOOPSWORLD

[lunateec22]

Hawks deal with greater expectations

Marvin Williams knows a thing or two about dealing with great expectations.

During his freshman season at North Carolina, it wasn’t uncommon for Williams to be greeted with a standing ovation in class the morning after a big win, even if he showed up a minute or two late.

But after a loss, complete silence the next morning. And don't dare be late. "It was chilling. The professor would call you out, ‘You're late, Mr. Williams,'" the Hawks' forward said. "You could walk in there late after a loss if you wanted to, but it wasn't going to be pretty. That's just the way it goes when people expect you to win championships. It's all or nothing."

While realistic external expectations for the Hawks this season fall something short of a championship -- the defending champion Lakers retain that distinction with training camps kicking off around the league Tuesday -- they are higher than they've been in years.

After years as a NBA afterthought, the Hawks are firmly entrenched as a playoff contender. All five starters and eight of the top nine players return from last season's Eastern Conference semifinals team, a group that piled up 47 wins en route to the franchise's best regular and postseason in over a decade.

Veteran additions Jamal Crawford, Joe Smith and Jason Collins are expected to help fill the gaps, along with rookie point guard Jeff Teague, rounding out a roster that has made a steady climb up the Eastern Conference food chain the past five seasons.

"We've made our case on the floor," said sixth-year forward Josh Smith, the longest-tenured member of the team. "We haven't been able to hype our way into anything. So anything we've earned, wins, respect or whatever else, has come the hard way. We worked for it."

The rest of the league appears to have taken notice as well.

The Hawks have seven national TV games this season, equaling their haul over the last 11 years. And when the conversation turns to contenders in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks are the first team mentioned after the holy trinity of Cleveland, Boston and Orlando.

"There's no doubt, you have the big three and then the Hawks," said former Hawks All-Star and now NBA TV analyst Steve Smith. "On paper, you see Toronto and say they've gotten better. And you see Washington's gotten healthy, so you assume they've improved. And there's Chicago, Miami and Detroit that everyone expects to be in the mix. The difference is you have to see all those other teams on the floor before you are sure. The Hawks are coming back intact. And that's something you can't overlook in this league.

"You expect them to make the playoffs now as opposed to wondering if they can overcome their deficiencies and whatever drama was lurking to try and get there."

For Williams, it's a complete turnaround from what he experienced during his rookie season with the Hawks, when he, Joe Johnson and Zaza Pachulia joined a team coming off a 13-win season.

"It's definitely different, but we did it the hard way, the right way," Williams said. "We teased the city a couple years ago with that series against Boston, and the only thing on our minds last year was getting back to the playoffs again so we could take another step. We did that by beating Miami and then playing Cleveland in the second round. Now I think this city expects us to be a contender this year, to come back and take another step. And we should expect that too.

"There's no sense of playing if you don't have those kind of expectations and if you don't believe it down in your bones that you've got a chance to be one of those special teams. We know we're one of those teams."

Just being in the conversation is a startling change for the Hawks and many of their fans, most of whom have lived through the tumult of the past decade, which included dreadful season after dreadful season and more recently the off-the-court glare of an ownership dispute, and the subsequent franchise dysfunction, that played out like a soap opera.

For lifelong Hawks fans and North Springs High graduate Matthew Scherer, it made the move to Philadelphia a difficult one, at first.

"In the past, Philly fans didn’t even mention the Hawks when they talked about the teams the Sixers might have to go through to get to the playoffs," Scherer said. "But now, all of a sudden, it's not ‘can the Hawks catch us?' It's ‘can we catch the Hawks?' It really is pretty amazing how much expectations have changed in the last year."

Further proof can be found in the spike in interest the franchise has seen at the gate and from a ticket sales standpoint.

Attendance has risen for seven straight seasons, and ticket sales growth is up 21 percent from last year, best in the NBA, according to Hawks vice president of ticket sales and services Brendan Donohue. In addition to the 18 sellouts from last season, the Hawks recorded the second-highest attendance total (a total of 686,688 fans came through the turnstiles) in team history.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson admitted that his sixth team is his best, at least on paper. The challenge is putting it all together on the floor between now and the regular season opener against Indiana on Oct. 28.

"It's really no different than how we did it last year," Woodson said. "The system is in place, in terms of how we want to play. We want to score more points, we want to rebound better and be a better defensive team. But everybody wants to do that.

"So it's really about all these new guys buying in the way Mo Evans and Flip Murray did last year. That's how you keep building on what we've started here is integrating your new players into the fabric of what's already in place and pushing for that next step."

Link

[lunateec22]

Johnson's focus locked on Hawks, not free agency

"My sole focus right now is on this team and what we're trying to accomplish this season," Johnson said. "I have some goals set for this season for my team, and I have some individual goals set for myself as well. I really feel like I can be one of the elite players in this league, and it's going to be an exciting year."

Johnson, 28, will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, joining a deep and talented free-agent group that is headlined by reigning league MVP LeBron James and includes All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

The Hawks made a four-year, $60-plus million contract offer to Johnson this summer, but Johnson said that he decided not to sign the extension after mulling it over during the offseason. However, anyone concluding that his decision not to sign is any reflection of his feeling toward his teammates or the franchise would be sorely mistaken.

"Like every other man in that locker room, I'm all in for my team," Johnson said. "I don't have any doubts that we're set for a big year, and that's all I care about. We've all worked hard to get to this point, and we're trying to get over that hump this season."

Link

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Of course, naa jud ultimate goal ug personal goal. NBA is business as usual. And JJ is playing in his contract year, so that should make him work harder for a better payday.

[theGoodBoy]

Jamal Crawford Accepts New Backup Role With Hawks

Link

[lunateec22]

Jamal Crawford Accepts New Backup Role With Hawks

Link

Sayangan jud ko ni Flip Murray after what he contributed to the Hawks last season, but Crawford is somewhat of an upgrade to Flip's vacated spot.

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Starters rule the floor in Hawks' scrimmage

There was no surprise ending to the Hawks' first training-camp scrimmage Saturday morning.

The Blue team (the starters and several reserves) wore out the White team (the second five and other reserves) 43-30 behind the work of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Mike Bibby. That trio combined for 27 of the Blue team's points in the scrimmage, establishing a dominant presence inside and out on offense.

"It was pretty good," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said of the 20-minute session. "The Blue team was really sharp in terms of getting after it defensively and sharing the ball offensively. And they should be that way. They've been together a while.

"The White team competed, but until they actually learn the system and what they're doing, it's going to be that way."

Well, until Woodson can cajole them into pounding on the Blue team the way last year's White unit did in practice later in the season.

"I've got to get that White team playing at the level the Blue team is right now," Woodson said. "When that happens you're a pretty competitive team. And they're not far away. They just have to figure out what we’re doing a little more. Once that happens they’re going to be in there."

Woodson said the scrimmage portion of practice will increase daily in preparation for Wednesday's exhibition home opener against New Orleans at Philips Arena.

"We only did 20 minutes [Saturday]," he said. "We'll try and go to 30 or 35 minutes [Sunday] and then a full 40 on Monday."

Hard to miss

Smith and Marvin Williams had to battle through injuries last season, but both seem particularly active in camp so far.

"Marvin and Josh both are moving around and flying around and making plays offensively," Woodson said. "It’s kind of nice to see."

Smith isn’t just making plays on offense, he's teamed with Al Horford to provide a dominating presence in the paint on defense.

"We're just trying to be active and make a difference," Smith said. "It's not just me or Al, it's everybody. This is the time to really establish what kind of attitude you're going to play with as a team. We're just trying to play with purpose."

That was obvious Saturday, when the activity of the Hawks' starting frontcourt dictated the pace of the action.

Quiet by nature

Hawks assistant coach Larry Drew is working to change at least one part of Jeff Teague's game. He's trying to get the rookie point guard to be more vocal on the floor with his veteran teammates.

"The one thing all young guys want to do is to fit in," Drew said. "Going through that whole process, the one thing he has to understand is that you have to continue to do the things that got you here. If you are a leader by nature, you have to continue to be a leader, regardless of how young you are. Because those are traits that a point guard, and particularly one like Jeff who is quiet by nature, has to get better at."

>>>> I sure hope ma-improve jud ni ug maayo si Jeff Teague. This kid can really play. Sayang jud to si Acie Law kay wala jud nila napahimungtan.

[lunateec22]

Teague hits the right mark in Hawks debut



Jeff Teague swears he was nervous before the Hawks' preseason opener Wednesday night at Philips Arena.

He even had the stomach tremors to prove it. But it didn’t take long for the rookie point guard to shed his inhibitions, which led to his shredding the defense of the New Orleans Hornets in the Hawks' 108-102 win.

Teague led the Hawks with 19 points off the bench and a team-high 33 minutes as the Hawks' starters built a huge lead and the second unit cruised, for the most part, over the Hornets.

Link


Jamal Crawford

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Johnson headed for free agency



ATLANTA -- There's a new reason for the Atlanta Hawks to enter the 2009-10 season with a renewed sense of urgency.

This could be the team's final season with Joe Johnson.

Johnson, the team's three-time All-Star, top scorer and captain, plans to play out the final year of his contract this season and enter free agency instead of accepting the team's offer of an extension.

The Hawks offered a four-year, $60 million extension this summer, but Johnson instead plans to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He would join an expensive class of free agents also expected to include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Link

>>>>Tsk, tsk, tsk... this should be an interesting year for the Hawks. Honestly, I'm waiting if the Hawks can up the offer to a five-year $70million offer for JJ. Or breakaway for Dwayne Wade.