Can Joe Johnson and Atlanta Hawks challenge Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic?
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In recent years, the Hawks have made progress. While 'The ATL' is no longer the NBA's Siberia, they still lack the size and have too many question marks to beat the East's top teams in a best-of-seven series. Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Marvin Williams are on the verge of big things. This trio of forwards has skill, athleticism, chemistry, and, because they're young, could dominate opposing frontcourts for years to come ...
 Every day until the regular season begins, HoopsVibe the Blog will ask and answer an important question facing each of the NBA’s thirty teams. Weigh-in with thoughts on our 'Key Question' feature in the comment box below.Today’s team: Atlanta Hawks. Key Question: Are the Joe Johnson led Atlanta Hawks able to compete with Eastern Conference powers like the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic? The Quick Answer: No. In recent years, the Hawks have made progress. While ‘The ATL’ is no longer the NBA’s Siberia, they still lack the size and have too many question marks to beat the East’s top teams in a best-of-seven series. Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Marvin Williams are on the verge of big things. This trio of forwards has skill, athleticism, chemistry, and, because they’re young, could dominate opposing frontcourts for years to come. Problem is they're all forwards. One element is missing: size. Horford, a solid rebounded and scorer, is a ‘four-man’ playing out of position at the 'five-spot'. His effort and heart are commendable, but won’t win a playoff round against seven-footers like Boston’s Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace, Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Orlando’s Dwight Howard. Atlanta, while much improved as an organization, still has issues. For instance, management hasn’t given Mike Woodson an extension and the longtime sideline boss is still expected to win games, despite being a lame duck coach in the last year of his contract. Woodson, a loyal employee, deserves better and should either be let go or rewarded with a new pact. Then there’s Joe Johnson’s pending free agency next summer. Johnson is the Hawks’ franchise player; it’s no coincidence the team’s fortunes changed after they completed that controversial sign-and-trade for the superstar. Management hasn’t extended him, either. And his status as an unrestricted free agent in 2010 could dog the team all year, with the uncertainty spilling over on-court. Bottom line: a new contract for Johnson should have been priority one this summer. Prediction: 4th in the Eastern Conference. Sound off: Where do you see Atlanta finishing in 2010? Get at us in the comment box below and follow Oly on HoopsVibe and Twitter. Photo courtesy of FLC. |
Okay, Wallace and KG are 6-11 and a 1/2, with well past seven-foot wingspans. Horford, and I did mention that he's a very solid scorer, is 6-9 and will have problems with all five players over a seven game series. This isn't a one night regular season game.
Shaq and Z won't die on the court, either; both reported in great shape and neither will play major minutes because they'll be spelling each other off. For instance, Shaq isn't playing major minutes and won't play back-to-back games with Ilgauskas starting on those nights. Brown has specifically said he wants to conserve Shaq for the playoffs.
Thanks for commenting, even if we disagree, which is fine.
I'm not right. And you weren't wrong, we just had differing views. Certainly, Horford is a great, tough player, however, it remains to be seen if he can hang with the biggest posts in the east over seven games. Still, if given the chance, he could prove me wrong. As a fan of him and his game, I hope he proves me wrong.
Finally, we are all entitled to opinions, provided we express those opinions properly. However, this isn't the forum to express your opinion on my HoopsVibe colleagues, nor do I agree with how you are expressing those opinions.
I very much appreciate your basketball-related comments and that you take the time to read, but going forward let's stick to hoops, okay? I'm here to debate and write about my passion: basketball. Nothing more and nothing less.
The Hawks can challenge the Magic for the third seed. And there are legit questions surrounding ORL.
Right now, even though they lost Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis is out for the first 10 games of the season, and Dwight Howard seems a little too keen on making movies, I still give them the edge over Atlanta.
I like ORL's off-season moves. For instance, Williams is a nice pick-up, Barnes is rock solid, Bass is an emerging PF, and keeping Gortat, a solid back-up for Dwight, is an expensive luxury.
The season rests on what Vince shows up? He's in his hometown and Van Gundy won't let him slack, so I like their chances. But I still like the Hawks a lot, especially Joe Johnson and that developing frontcourt!
I love the addition of Crawford. He can give Bibby or Johnson a break. And he also allows the club to go small with Bibby, Crawford, and Johnson playing together. A nice look, indeed.
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If you writing comes anywhere close to matching your passion for hoops, you'd likely be great! Good luck with it. Thanks for reading my work. Who knows, hopefully, I'll soon be reading your work and debating points!
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Thank you. Bottom line: we have an amazing season coming up, so let's have some fun and enjoy discussing NBA basketball!