Simple. You do not need much of a playbook in the open court. Most of the NBA players can run and gun. Run to the open space. Attack the basket and kick out to the spot up shooter.
Exactly right. That's why athleticism and getting up and down the court fast isn't a unique skill set. It's a common one in the NBA. Like 200-250 players common.
The Hawks are showing you do not need a Top 5 player. They go two allstars, two allstar reserves but the team and coach are the superstar. You need the team to play well and play consistently and without having to fear of being traded at least for two seasons (make that commitment) Get in a good coach that could be young and have an innovative system. A Morey coach not GM. Who would have thought Demarre Caroll was a starter in this league? He wasn't much of one when he was with the Rockets that is for sure. That way Dmo and Terrence can be allstar reserves in the East.
I like the Hawks. I like the way they play. I really think what the Hawks are showing is how important ball movement is in today's NBA. They have been playing for much of the season with ball movement reminiscent of last year's Spurs team. That same ball movement was present in the Rockets in the first half and for parts of the 3rd quarter. That ball movement disappeared for us in the 4th quarter as we slowed down and settled while Atlanta bumped up the D and crowded. I'm not sold on Atlanta being big enough to make it out of the East. I think that's a problem for them. But I do like their team and their style of play very much. They get way more production because they play together in that style and trust each other than they do when you just look at each individual player on paper.
Tjones is great on offense has a high Bball IQ on the ball Defense he is also great, off the ball defense he wanders on the court - causing gaps, still has some work to do, but at 22 he is pretty danged good overall. DD
This year is a year of opportunity. Indy is out, Miami is not at their best, Bulls remains to be seen in the playoffs Cleveland dangerous but not consistent on D Toronto dangerous and remains to be seen. There is no clear cut favorite in my opinion. If Atlanta can produce at their best this is their year. At least make a run at the third round (EC Finals) We can talk about it in the DISH BTW.
This seems to get forgotten a lot with Jones. Dude is 22 freaking years old and came in as the 18th pick. He's absolutely terrific given what we got him for and where he's at.
one of the reasons i love following basketball is you can see players develop. it's fun to watch Jones take in some moves from DMO(that fake then hook shot that i saw at the game tonight) and he looked like a mirror image of josh smith taking the ball up the court with confidence. last season he would hesitate and looking around for a guard first before taking it up the court.
Both him and Dmo were missing their defensive assignments. Both of them don't know what they are doing when any team run their pick and roll on them. Teams have scouted them that's why they run it so much against us.
More and More he reminds me of a Young Horry . A Glue guy. He is not the Anchor of the defense but the wanderer their to cover for teammates none the less. If he developes a DAGGER THREE and a Johnny On The Spot Mentality . .. . . I am in the NO TRADING TJONES Squad now . . . .. firmly Rocket River
Because I live closer to Atlanta, I saw the ATL feed of the game (versus Houston feed). The ATL announcers were giving some serious high praise for T Jones. They loved him in that game.
Yeah, Dominique loves him. After Jones posted up Korver Dominique was hollering, "That boy can really play!" Of course, Dominique doesn't understand why we are shooting 3's instead of long 2's. And he raked on Donuts every time he shot a 3, kept saying "We'll give him that. That's a bad shot."
