Eastern Conference Semi Finals - #2 Orlando Magic vs #3 Atlanta Hawks

[Richfield Kid]

Lol yea, I'm sure he'll be relieved to not have an All-NBA Defensive team player guarding him. But then again, Jameer Nelson has been on fire, especially against Charlotte which is surprising considering the Bobcats were so good defensively. I guess Mo won't get a true break until LA, since Fisher is horrible at defending quick guards.

Nelson's getting great looks. Shaq changes everything, hopefully. Guarding a shooter is easier than a PG like Rondo. Mo has really lit up Nelson in the past IIRC.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

 

[Triumph36]

Joe Johnson is a superstar, but he's not a ball-dominant player like LeBron is for the Cavs. In other words, he's replaceable. I think it can be argued that Crawford was more valuable to Atlanta than Joe Johnson was this year.

As for rebuilding, I don't think that's necessary. If I was Danny Ferry, I would offer Mo to them in a salary dump, just to have a chance at getting a big time free agent this summer (like Joe Johnson?). We have Boobie and Telfair that would probably produce just as much as Mo did/does in the playoffs, and for less money. Or they could sign and trade Johnson to a team and get a couple solid players back.

Edit: Here's 1 scenario:

CLE in: Erick Dampier, DAL 1st round pick 2012, ATL 1st round pick 2010
CLE out: Anthony Parker, Mo Williams

ATL in: Mo Williams, Shawn Marion
ATL out: Joe Johnson (S&T max contract), 1st round pick 2010

DAL in: Joe Johnson, Anthony Parker
DAL out: Erick Dampier, 1st round pick 2012

Cavs get ripped off on talent, but get a couple draft picks and free up space to pursue a 2nd star for LeBron.
Mavs get a young, elite SG that could make the Mavs true contenders and not pretenders.
Hawks get 2 solid players in exchange for Johnson, who will probably leave anyway.

First of all Joe Johnson is not a superstar. MAYBE if you have a VERY loose definition of "superstar" but even then it's a stretch.

But yeah, like others have said this deal doesn't really help with flexibility and makes the team worse. Plus it's really bad for Atlanta. I would've liked Dampier this time a year ago, because then he could have been used in a deal for one of the legit superstars in the league in this off-season. The Mavs obviously wouldn't have given him up though. But trading for him now would be a step backwards IMO.

Also, on-topic: a +101 PD in 4 games is ridiculous.

 

[Da_James_Gang]

Way to earn that new contract Johnson. He doesn't deserve a contract higher than the one that just expired but we will see what happens with the Knicks. But 5yrs for 60-70m is what he should be worth imo. If the Bulls can't land one of the first tier guys he should be on their radar imo.

 

[Obawan12]

Joe Johnson is a superstar, but he's not a ball-dominant player like LeBron is for the Cavs. In other words, he's replaceable. I think it can be argued that Crawford was more valuable to Atlanta than Joe Johnson was this year.

As for rebuilding, I don't think that's necessary. If I was Danny Ferry, I would offer Mo to them in a salary dump, just to have a chance at getting a big time free agent this summer (like Joe Johnson?). We have Boobie and Telfair that would probably produce just as much as Mo did/does in the playoffs, and for less money. Or they could sign and trade Johnson to a team and get a couple solid players back.

Edit: Here's 1 scenario:

CLE in: Erick Dampier, DAL 1st round pick 2012, ATL 1st round pick 2010
CLE out: Anthony Parker, Mo Williams

ATL in: Mo Williams, Shawn Marion
ATL out: Joe Johnson (S&T max contract), 1st round pick 2010

DAL in: Joe Johnson, Anthony Parker
DAL out: Erick Dampier, 1st round pick 2012

Cavs get ripped off on talent, but get a couple draft picks and free up space to pursue a 2nd star for LeBron.
Mavs get a young, elite SG that could make the Mavs true contenders and not pretenders.
Hawks get 2 solid players in exchange for Johnson, who will probably leave anyway.

I hope this joke. Even if Boobie and Telfair did give us the same production as Mo in the playoffs, we would be fighting from about the 4th seed instead of the first seed because we would have one of the worst backcourts in the NBA. Give me a break...

 

[Andrew]

The Hawks suck

 

[blank964]

Orlando became the third team in the past six years to sweep its first two best-of-seven series, joining Miami (2005) and Cleveland (2009)

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300510001

If history is bound to repeat itself, I guess I need to go put my money on whoever wins the Cavs/Celtics series

 

[ButterMPancakes]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playo...st=hollinger_john&page=magicsweepgame4-100510

 

[3 Da Hard Way]

 

[Piston Observer]

It's too bad that Woodson has apparently lost the respect of the Hawks. They're better than they've shown, but they're not motivated to play for him and are getting humiliated for it.

I won't be surprised to see Atlanta's management group blow the team up in addition to letting Woodson go.

 

[ncf135]

Re: #2 Orlando Magic vs #3 Atlanta Hawks

I somewhat agree about our match-up with Boston, at least as long as we continue to not play JJ, but you can't be serious about Orlando. Right now they are the best team in the league...

And ncf win again

ncf - 1056
obawan - 0