he picks and chooses when he wants to play hard.

He mostly brings the effort in 4th quarter. But for the 1st 3 quarters his effort waxes and wanes

The playoffs have a way of exposing every single weak tendency that you have repeatedly. Josh Hart has got up in JJ's shit & for 7.5 quarters Jalen wanted no parts of it.

He made stuff happened late in the 4th. But JJ needs to redeem himself.

Hawks can win this series if Jalen wants them to.

Kuminga has his flaws but what I admire about his game is that he’s fearless(for better or for worse), aggressive & he gives effort.

Jalen just has a nonchalant vibe to his approach.

I've tried to give him some grace but holy shit man.

At least he made some plays late in that game but stlll

Kuminga & CJ were both lights out.

When Kuminga is patient in his offensive approach & he’s attacking in transition he’s a really good player.

His defense has been damn good his entire tenure.

CJ McCollum for President!!!!!!!!!!

Hawks finally took advantage of Jalen Brunson & BBQ'd him

It's less about him being bad & more that ppl kill him for not being a true rim protector & his rebounding being hit & miss.

I still see the value that OO brings tho

I wasnt in on Castle during that draft in part because we still had Trae. And even if we moved off im not butt hurt over Castle when we have NAW/Dyson.

Clingan could've been Clint Capela with a jumper on this team

And yeah the Omari pick was definitely bad lol

The pick should've been Clingan.

AJ Dybantsa high end comp in my eyes is Joe Johnson

But I see some Jaylen Brown, Demar DeRozan & Deni Avdija in his game.

Either way I want him on the Hawks more than any player in this draft.

He’s the exact type of player this Hawks roster is missing & needs.

A true halfcourt bucket getter

Ive seen some ppl compare AJ Dybantsa to Deni Avdija.

I actually like that comp.

At least when it comes to the current players in today’s NBA.

You see it.

Literally all they need to do this offseason is use this draft to find a younger/athletic version of CJ. Go after a real backup Center to fit around Jalen/NAW/Dyson/Onyeka.

Resign CJ & Kuminga back on shortterm contracts and you're cooking.

I dont think Jalen had a "lights too bright" game in ways that I feared but hes gotta pick it up defensively.

Too many missed rotations & not helping enough.

At some point, hes gonna learn that he cant pick & choose when he wants to defend

My predictions for the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs:

Thunder over Suns in 4
Spurs over Blazers in 5
Nuggets over TWolves in 5
Rockets over Lakers in 5

Pistons over Magic in 5
Celtics over 76ers in 4
Cavs over Raptors in 6
Knicks over Hawks in 6

At the end of the day, the gamble on Penix was bad, as well as paying Kirk. Nothing else will matter with this team until they find stability at that position.

Awful

Series vs NYK is gonna come down to:

Can ATL keep Mitchell Robinson/KAT off the offensive glass.

ATL pushing the pace at every opportunity.

Whether Jalen can handle the bright lights. Hes also gotta make enough middies/threes because the Knicks are gonna clog the paint.

Terry Fontenot did so much incomprehensible damage to this team.

He makes Thomas Dimitroff look like Howie Roseman

Think ppl are reading too much into that recent Pistons game a lil bit.

I have my concerns about how the Hawks will look on offense in the halfcourt in this series but at the same time theres been plenty of times this year we've seen the ball in Jalen's hands and hes made shots in the clutch

That 2016 off-season made me so furious

I preferred Cavs cuz they’re worse defensively & their team outside of Mitchell is soft.

But it’s cool. Dyson/NAW can matchup w/Brunson.

Also ATL can find ways to hunt Brunson/KAT on offense.

On the flipside. ATL doesn’t have a real answer for KAT in general or Mitch Robinson on the glass.

He couldve sat instead of Gabe lol.

I'm just calling it like I see it.

I want Zacch to have a successful career I just find it hard that it'll be on the Hawks longterm. Especially where I think where they're going to do moving forward

Risacher playing today is Just another pile of evidence that Quin doesnt vibe with him that much and that hes likely getting moved this summer.

Any player who's a real key priority on the team wouldnt be playing today

It feels odd saying this because hes the best player but Jalen is actually the XFactor IMO.

Jalen is gonna have the Mobley matchup on both ends. He cant look the way he looked on Wednesday.

Can he seize the moment?

I like NAW, CJ & Even Kuminga in a matchup vs the Cavs perimeter defenders.

Mitchell is gonna get his because hes awesome but Dyson/NAW can make him work. Harden is gonna have 2 great games in this series but we all know he shrinks in the biggest moments when you really need him.

I lean Cavs > Knicks as far as preferred matchup for ATL.

CLE is worse defensively than the Knicks. While Mobley/Allen are quality bigs, they aren't big/physical like KAT/Mitch are. Mobley doesnt always play up to his talent consistently & Allen turns into a lemon every year in the playoffs

a basketball player is holding a basketball in front of a large hawks flag ALT: a basketball player is holding a basketball in front of a large hawks flag

Playoffs in the 1st year of a retooling year.

Got an All NBA Player who’s 24 making $30AAV

Got the likely MIP winner/fringe All Star whos making $15AAV.

Young Elite perimeter defender whos improving offensively.

Elite Coach

Elite GM.

Incoming top 10 lottery pick

I just see where this is heading with Zaach. Felt this way about John Collins 3 years ago. DeJounte 2 years ago.

Its just not gonna work with him here. Still think ZR can grow into a pretty solid player in time, I just have a hard time seeing it being on the Hawks.

Ive was on the Clingan boat from the start.

I never wanted Zacch.

His defense is fine but with NAW/Dyson/Kuminga they're solid there even without ZR. He plays like 15 minutes a game as is lol.

They get Zaach production from Gabe Vincent now.

He needs to be elsewhere.

Frankly I would be surprised if Zacch & his camp didnt ask for a trade this summer

Zacch isnt that good of a shooter. Thats one of his issues IMO.

I wouldnt give him away but if I can trade him for a protected 1st, i'll do it. They need to retool the bench anyway.

They need another Big and they need to find a hier apparent to CJ(ideally in this draft with that Pels pick)