Another great week for the mailbag. Thanks to everyone that sent in questions and if your question didn't get picked be sure to try again nex
Twitter user @jsherm23 asks
Isn't it a bit irrational for Lou Williams to be completely cut from the rotation? Going big is one thing, DNP-CD is foolish
The status of Lou Williams was easily the most popular topic for this week's mailbag. This situation isn't any different than when Shelvin Mack suddenly disappeared from the rotation just before the All-Star Break. (Coincidentally that was also about the time the Hawks the skids but that is another story.)
Lets take a look at Lou's situation now. First the Hawks were in a long losing streak that had Mike Budenholzer searching for answers. When asked about Lou's benching he gave virtually the same comment that he gave about Shelvin in that he is looking for different combinations and trying to get more size on the court with Cartier Martin.
Does Williams have a beef? Not really as far as I can see. Lou has appeared in 46 games and is averaging 24.2 minutes a night. All of his shooting percentages have taken hit this season although he has played better offensively of late. Its on the defensive end of the floor where he has struggled the most. According to NBA.com/stats, Williams has the second worst individual defensive rating at 110.2 which is ahead of only rookie Dennis Schröder.
Mack got another opportunity and it is a good bet that Williams will also. Let his sit and watch for a few games and then see what happens when he gets put back in the mix.
Andrew Sutton wants to know:
Why did the Hawks send Lucas Nogueira overseas
This was a hot topic on the site at the end of the summer. Here is what Danny Ferry had to say about Nogueira returning to Spain:
"We are very encouraged by what we've seen from Lucas this summer," general manager Danny Ferry told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday. "Going back to Estudiantes will allow him to continue develop while also playing meaningful minutes against very good competition. We will closely monitor his progress as he works towards his goals as a basketball player."
It hasn't exactly worked out that way as Nogueira has been injured for much of the season and hasn't exactly got the meaningful minutes that Ferry was talking about.
About the decision, the Hawks entered the season with Al Horford, Elton Brand, Pero Antic and Gustavo Ayon as centers. When you also factor in Paul Millsap and Mike Scott there wasn't going to be a lot of leftover minutes available for Nogueira. Rather than start his salary clock running they opted to send him overseas to further his development.
Forum user Georgia Boy 706 asks
Which center would you rather have? Dwight Howard, Joakim Noah, Roy Hibbert or Marc Gasol?
This is a great question. If you had asked me before the season it would have been between Howard and Gasol but with the season Noah has had he is now firmly in the discussion. I'd love to see Noah paired with Al Horford again but if I had my choice I'd go with Gasol.
Noah may very well be the best defender in the league but it was Gasol who was the NBA's Defensive Player of the year for last season. Additionally, Gasol has a more well rounded offensive game. You can't go wrong with either but I'd still go with Gasol if I had my choice.