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Another one of the sides battling for one of the few playoff positions in the East. Here is my analysis:
Centre Position - Theo Ratliff/Nazr Mohammed
When healthy Ratliff is the best shotblocker in the league. He proved that in his last season in Philadelphia, when he led the league in the 50 games that he played with about 4 blocks per game. Is a bad offensive rebounder, but a solid defensive rebounder. The reason, why his rebounds hover around 7-8 per game, is that he tries to block every shot, that comes in his vacinity. problem here, is that they need the power forward ready to get the rebound, should Ratliff, not be able to block the shot. Can hit the 12 foot jumper when hot, but offence is decent but not great. Great presence on defence, can intimidate the guards penetrating the lane. Key to reducing his effectiveness, is to draw him out of the paint, and force him to defend the perimeter. Set high picks at the top of the key and have the guards rolling to the basket. This is one tactic to get him out of the low blocks, which he loves.
Nazr Mohammed - Solid rebounder, not so good shotblocker, for a centre of his quality and salary. can be slow at times, and has struggled guarding the quicker centres. I saw him getting cleaned up against guys like Marcus Camby and Tony Battie, two more athletic quicker centres. this is the key to stoppoing his effectiveness. Use a quicker or makeshift centre on him. use this speed to an advantage. For example, a guy like McDyess would be a good matchup against him, as he would get to the boards and just jump over Mohammed. I see that he can bang in the paint and likes physical contact. My tactic would be to go at him and try to score on him, as he is not a good shotblocker. try and get him into foul trouble, by penetrating through the guards regularly. Is a better backup than starter, in my opinion. can also play power forward, but is a bit slow and could be exposed in the long run.
Power Forward - Shareef Abdur Rahim/Alan Henderson
Shareef is a star. He is not a superstar, as he has not proved that he can produce and perform in the playoffs as he has never even been to the post season yet. Can score and rebound with the best of them. Struggles to pass out of the double team, and that is a tactic that I would use against him, and that teams have had success against him at the Grizzlies. I would like to see him played at small forward with the Hawks, utilizing his deep outside shooting and offensive creativity on offence. the Hawks could go with Ratliff, Mohammed Abdur Rahim making a huge front line against Eastern Conference beat em up teams. My take on Abdur Rahim is that he settles for alot of outside shots, when he can get to the hole whenever he likes. is a great player though and great to watch, just has always needed more help.
Alan Henderson - The sky was the limit, when he took Christian Laettner's starting spot with the Hawks a few seasons ago. Struggled with injuries lately and just seems a slow player to me. I would put a quicker player on him and just get that player to create on him. He cannot guard a playmaking forward, such as a Grant Hill or Kevin Garnett type of guy.His time in the NBA is running out. Is very overpaid for the output he gives. Although in the past he has shown some sound rebounding form a few seasons ago.
Small Forward - Dermarr Johnson/Toni Kukoc
A feel that Johnson will play a lot at the 3 spot. Really started to show some solid signs at the end of last season. Showed great shotblocking potential, with some games of 5 and 4 blocks in a game. Can shoot the lights out, but has not been able to get his shot off against tight NBA defences. Has been criticized for poor defensive work in the past. But he has the tools to be good. is a 6"9 player with good reach and can be a T-mac kind of guy. Can really dunk hard, with the best of them. Key to stopping him, is to double team him and force him to find the open man. With younger players this is their weakness. When he plays the two spot, he will have a huge height advantage against the smaller defender. Although his post up game in non existent at the moment. I would play the defender in front of him at all times, as he just does not seem to demand the ball, as he is just a 2nd year player.
Toni Kukoc - Spasmodic player. Has some big games, then has some quiter games. his best is well behind him. i would like to see him come off the bench and just let him score and create. is a great solid passer and can shoot from long range, though subject to inconsistency at times. Weak defender and has always been. Let him run through picks on offence and make him work. this is his weakness, a poor desire to stop the opposition guy. Hard to post up as he is 6"11. Knock on him at the Bulls was he played the offensive player too close, leaving them able to get around him with ease and score. Hard to block his shot as he is so tall, and can take you both inside and out and run you through screens. You have to watch him like a hawk and deny him the ball. He is always going to get the ball on offence, so you have to be aware and look to block out the passing lanes near him, for the steal.
Shooting Guard - Jason Terry/Dion Glover
I personally prefer Terry at the point guard as he will struggle to stop the Ray Allen, Allan Houston,Stackhouse due to their size and weight advantage over him. If he plays the two spot, I would like to see a big point guard take the shooting guard on defence and Terry to guard the point guard. A rumour for a Penny Hardaway trade would help here. is a good shooter but can run hot and cold at times. Perhaps looks to score to much but he only really has Shareef to help him most of the time, and Kukoc, when he is firing. is very quick and hard to guard. Has a wicked crossover and reminds me of a young Timmy Hardaway, with his movement. Key to reducing him is to play a big backcourt, such as a Grant Hill, T-Mac, Mike Miller, and post him up with regularity. Only has a small frame, so when he drives look to hammer him and stop him from driving. Bang him through screens and make him tire out, in order to reduce his offensive play.
Dion Glover - Inconsistent. Very athletic player, decent rebounder. Can be a solid bench contributor. Can take some heat off Terry and play the two guard spot, with Terry at the point, to ease the defensive pressure on Terry. Season to produce is coming now, and is running out of time to produce. Has a decent upside and can be groomed to be a solid player. A very good dunker.
Point Guard - Dan Dickau/Jacque Vaughn/Emmanuel Davis
Vaughn is probably gone. Missed his first 22 shots of the season, but is a good offensive playmaker. Will not be back. Davis is a 6"5 point guard, who is more of a combo guard. Is a good 3 point shooter but is too shot happy for my liking. To be a shoot first point you need to be consistent, and he is not. A poor poor defender for his height and struggled on this aspect while at the Sonics, he hardly played behind Gary Payton.Dan Dickau, is also undersized, like Terry. can shoot great in college but will he be able to get his shot and find open space against NBA quality defence? I am not sure. if the Hawks start with Dickau and Terry, they will get killed and beaten up badly. I would try to intimidate him early, playing a 6"5 or 6"6 defender on him and just get a hand in his face at all times. try to get turnovers out of him and look to stifle his shots all the time.
Chris Crawford/Cal Bowdler - Please these guys have been in the league almost 4-5 years and still stink. they are not NBA players and they need to go, NOW!! Can not shoot and can not defend. they are just taking up roster space.
The Hawks, need one more power forward . if they had their pick this year, if not for the Lorenzen Wright trade, they should have taken Melvin Ely. They could have had Ratliff, Ely and Shareef, with Johnson and Terry giving a huge starting five. Anyway they will miss the playoffs in my opinion, just not enough overall talent and can Ratliff play a full season???
Centre Position - Theo Ratliff/Nazr Mohammed
When healthy Ratliff is the best shotblocker in the league. He proved that in his last season in Philadelphia, when he led the league in the 50 games that he played with about 4 blocks per game. Is a bad offensive rebounder, but a solid defensive rebounder. The reason, why his rebounds hover around 7-8 per game, is that he tries to block every shot, that comes in his vacinity. problem here, is that they need the power forward ready to get the rebound, should Ratliff, not be able to block the shot. Can hit the 12 foot jumper when hot, but offence is decent but not great. Great presence on defence, can intimidate the guards penetrating the lane. Key to reducing his effectiveness, is to draw him out of the paint, and force him to defend the perimeter. Set high picks at the top of the key and have the guards rolling to the basket. This is one tactic to get him out of the low blocks, which he loves.
Nazr Mohammed - Solid rebounder, not so good shotblocker, for a centre of his quality and salary. can be slow at times, and has struggled guarding the quicker centres. I saw him getting cleaned up against guys like Marcus Camby and Tony Battie, two more athletic quicker centres. this is the key to stoppoing his effectiveness. Use a quicker or makeshift centre on him. use this speed to an advantage. For example, a guy like McDyess would be a good matchup against him, as he would get to the boards and just jump over Mohammed. I see that he can bang in the paint and likes physical contact. My tactic would be to go at him and try to score on him, as he is not a good shotblocker. try and get him into foul trouble, by penetrating through the guards regularly. Is a better backup than starter, in my opinion. can also play power forward, but is a bit slow and could be exposed in the long run.
Power Forward - Shareef Abdur Rahim/Alan Henderson
Shareef is a star. He is not a superstar, as he has not proved that he can produce and perform in the playoffs as he has never even been to the post season yet. Can score and rebound with the best of them. Struggles to pass out of the double team, and that is a tactic that I would use against him, and that teams have had success against him at the Grizzlies. I would like to see him played at small forward with the Hawks, utilizing his deep outside shooting and offensive creativity on offence. the Hawks could go with Ratliff, Mohammed Abdur Rahim making a huge front line against Eastern Conference beat em up teams. My take on Abdur Rahim is that he settles for alot of outside shots, when he can get to the hole whenever he likes. is a great player though and great to watch, just has always needed more help.
Alan Henderson - The sky was the limit, when he took Christian Laettner's starting spot with the Hawks a few seasons ago. Struggled with injuries lately and just seems a slow player to me. I would put a quicker player on him and just get that player to create on him. He cannot guard a playmaking forward, such as a Grant Hill or Kevin Garnett type of guy.His time in the NBA is running out. Is very overpaid for the output he gives. Although in the past he has shown some sound rebounding form a few seasons ago.
Small Forward - Dermarr Johnson/Toni Kukoc
A feel that Johnson will play a lot at the 3 spot. Really started to show some solid signs at the end of last season. Showed great shotblocking potential, with some games of 5 and 4 blocks in a game. Can shoot the lights out, but has not been able to get his shot off against tight NBA defences. Has been criticized for poor defensive work in the past. But he has the tools to be good. is a 6"9 player with good reach and can be a T-mac kind of guy. Can really dunk hard, with the best of them. Key to stopping him, is to double team him and force him to find the open man. With younger players this is their weakness. When he plays the two spot, he will have a huge height advantage against the smaller defender. Although his post up game in non existent at the moment. I would play the defender in front of him at all times, as he just does not seem to demand the ball, as he is just a 2nd year player.
Toni Kukoc - Spasmodic player. Has some big games, then has some quiter games. his best is well behind him. i would like to see him come off the bench and just let him score and create. is a great solid passer and can shoot from long range, though subject to inconsistency at times. Weak defender and has always been. Let him run through picks on offence and make him work. this is his weakness, a poor desire to stop the opposition guy. Hard to post up as he is 6"11. Knock on him at the Bulls was he played the offensive player too close, leaving them able to get around him with ease and score. Hard to block his shot as he is so tall, and can take you both inside and out and run you through screens. You have to watch him like a hawk and deny him the ball. He is always going to get the ball on offence, so you have to be aware and look to block out the passing lanes near him, for the steal.
Shooting Guard - Jason Terry/Dion Glover
I personally prefer Terry at the point guard as he will struggle to stop the Ray Allen, Allan Houston,Stackhouse due to their size and weight advantage over him. If he plays the two spot, I would like to see a big point guard take the shooting guard on defence and Terry to guard the point guard. A rumour for a Penny Hardaway trade would help here. is a good shooter but can run hot and cold at times. Perhaps looks to score to much but he only really has Shareef to help him most of the time, and Kukoc, when he is firing. is very quick and hard to guard. Has a wicked crossover and reminds me of a young Timmy Hardaway, with his movement. Key to reducing him is to play a big backcourt, such as a Grant Hill, T-Mac, Mike Miller, and post him up with regularity. Only has a small frame, so when he drives look to hammer him and stop him from driving. Bang him through screens and make him tire out, in order to reduce his offensive play.
Dion Glover - Inconsistent. Very athletic player, decent rebounder. Can be a solid bench contributor. Can take some heat off Terry and play the two guard spot, with Terry at the point, to ease the defensive pressure on Terry. Season to produce is coming now, and is running out of time to produce. Has a decent upside and can be groomed to be a solid player. A very good dunker.
Point Guard - Dan Dickau/Jacque Vaughn/Emmanuel Davis
Vaughn is probably gone. Missed his first 22 shots of the season, but is a good offensive playmaker. Will not be back. Davis is a 6"5 point guard, who is more of a combo guard. Is a good 3 point shooter but is too shot happy for my liking. To be a shoot first point you need to be consistent, and he is not. A poor poor defender for his height and struggled on this aspect while at the Sonics, he hardly played behind Gary Payton.Dan Dickau, is also undersized, like Terry. can shoot great in college but will he be able to get his shot and find open space against NBA quality defence? I am not sure. if the Hawks start with Dickau and Terry, they will get killed and beaten up badly. I would try to intimidate him early, playing a 6"5 or 6"6 defender on him and just get a hand in his face at all times. try to get turnovers out of him and look to stifle his shots all the time.
Chris Crawford/Cal Bowdler - Please these guys have been in the league almost 4-5 years and still stink. they are not NBA players and they need to go, NOW!! Can not shoot and can not defend. they are just taking up roster space.
The Hawks, need one more power forward . if they had their pick this year, if not for the Lorenzen Wright trade, they should have taken Melvin Ely. They could have had Ratliff, Ely and Shareef, with Johnson and Terry giving a huge starting five. Anyway they will miss the playoffs in my opinion, just not enough overall talent and can Ratliff play a full season???
