Miami Delivers 107-87 Beat Down To Atlanta At Philips Arena

Kind of quiet around here today

and its disheartening management said that we need that yet they are not backing up the players.
Its disheartening to see fake tough guys like the Heat come out and dominate. But its realistic how they got their points.

We took what = good shots with our team but the miss = a turnover against the Heat. All Billy Knight’s 6’8 jump shooters, no size and nothing easy inside.

Even if we had hit our shots, they were still jumpshots and only certain teams/players can build an offense around jump shots.

Smith looked undersized vs Bosh out there (on both ends, I mean he was no way capable of blocking Bosh’s shots man to man) and sharp contrast to Ry Anderson and Turkoglu guarding him. Lebron locked up JJ.

And Marvin Gaye Williams. Couldnt hit the side of a barn when open for 3. Couldnt hit the side of a barn when driving or open for mid range. Too small to post up inside. Everyone from Mike Miller to Lebron to Wad was taking turns guarding him so they could rest!

Its so obvious. As for the next game Hard to see us matching up better with Lakers twin towers although we are “more athletic” I doubt we can up tempo them. They’ve lost Odom off their bench and they are spread thin.

A beatdown from Miami is to be expected. Marvin is the weak link imo and cant expect JJ and Smith to dominate their matchups. But a weak link like that we cant have that against the Heat esp without Horford rebounding and pushing the ball. Will he be able to do that come playoffs or is he out for the season?

A win in LA would boost spirits but we will eventually have to go thru Miami in the playoffs and management needs to do some damage control, leak something saying they are looking for trades, timetable on Al’s return or trade. Connect with the fans. Give us some insight. All we ever hear is LD saying he was dealt these cards and Sund is mum.

Well, actually JJ said it himself they were all jump shooters. 1-5 all 6’8 or smaller players with no ability to get inside plays against the athleticism and length of the Heat.
The weak link is Marvin never became a PF. Marvin is a “small” Forward And Vlad turned out to be a SF, and McGrady is also a SF. Smith is no shooter so how do we go big if we have no power players who can shoot?

This all came down to matchups but to take the sting out we will see what happens in LA on Tuesday. Lets all take a step back and hope management makes a move.

I fail to see what Dampier is for. He is not a PF/C to pair with smith and one that can shoot.

Maybe NJ would be willing to part with stretch big man Okur for a 2nd rounder? Or better yet Vlad??

Teague+Joe+Josh+Zaza (Vlad)
KirkMcGrady(Marvin)Ivan+??

McGrady+Marvin could be the bash bros. off the bench. I’m not saying long term but in retrospect to counter the Heat or today counter the Lakers.
Hope Marvin and McGrady can be that spark off the bench and Vlad can get more open looks with starters and then there’s his steals etc etc.

LD said Vlad played well with Pachulia and we saw what he did as a starter. Its not perfect but it might help throw other teams off and get better shots (3s from Vlad and inside muscle points posting up Marvin+McGrady together off the bench).

ESPN Radio was just reporting that DRose is seeing a back specialist tomorrow, and that Rose is despondent.

This may be a long, recurring thing for Rose. Or it may be next to nothing. It should be interesting to follow for a little while anyhow.

Chicago is still really good without DRose. I do think his loss would hurt them in the playoffs bigtime, way worse than the regular season. They’re so deep, they could still probably win a bunch of games in the regular season. But you need that crunch time guy in the playoff’s, and that would be lacking on the Bulls is he goes down.

That slips up inexplicably against weaker opponents but can hold ground against tougher competition instead of what we are. I’ve seen too many of these types of teams in Atlanta. In the playoffs, we’re only gonna see quality teams. Darned mediocrity

Bottom line, I don’t care about wins and losses on a playoff team. I want to see consistent progression toward getting ready for the playoffs. At this part of the season, this is damning to me. Not end of the world – doesn’t mean we won’t make the playoffs, but I was quiet because I’m on the road (I’ll be at 40/40 in NYC to watch the Lakers/Hawks games) and because I was at the game and they didn’t have the heart and toughness that you need to win playoff games. The idea that Horford matters or the bench matters or the coaching will get better can be debated, but what can’t be debated is that the Hawks are punkable and as long as that’s the case – we will never be a contender. This is the biggest issue for this team – why we can’t get leadership vs. top teams when times get tough? No one on this team provides that, not even Stackhouse (SMH)