Thoughts?
Great defensive Atlanta team. Orlando is coming off a long road trip-- usually a let down game when teams come home from these trips. Orlando hasn't been as bad as I thought they were going to be but the Hawks are as good as I thought.
Hawks vs Magic
Teague > Nelson.. Teague is much younger and much more athletic. Passes the ball better and can get the the hoop on Nelson. They both pass well though. Teague is a much better defender and is great at stealing passes.
Harris < Afflalo.. Afflalo is one of the best defenders in the league. Can get hot with his jumper. More athletic than Harris. Also has a few inches and weight to score well in the post if he needs to but does well with pull up jumpers.
Horford >> Vucevic.. Horford is one of the best players in the game no one talks about. Absolutely skilled at everything. Scoring, passing, rebounding, defense, efficiency. Vucevic definitely needs to put on more weight to have a better effect in the NBA. He's quite decent. Can make that short jumper, rebounds and defends well but is nowhere near Al Horford.
Smith > Davis.. Josh Smith is way more athletic and can affect the game in many more ways than big baby. The only thing is that Smith falls in love with that long jumper like Iguodala and messes the rhythm of the team. Davis can post him up because of the weight difference but Smith is athletic enough to block those shots.
Stevenson > Harkless.. haven't watched Harkless much.. barely averages minutes. I know stevenson is a pretty good defender. He's a bit shorter than Harkless and is more of a 2 than a wing. Would like some insight here..
Bench advantage: Hawks
Lou Williams, Zaza, Morrow (in place of Korver who is NWT, injured and baby born)
Ayon, Nicholson, McRoberts, Redick
Only good Magic bench player is Redick, hes basically playing starters mins and subs in for Harkless. Regardless, I think Lou Williams is about the same as Redick in terms of total output. Redick is a pure shooter and Lou can get on a hot streak. Lou plays better defense and Redick passes better. Pachulia is better than McRoberts and Ayon. I have not seen Nicholson much but he is putting up quite good numbers. Larry Drew is still tweaking with his rotation and is playing matchups. Maybe Ivan Johnson makes an appearance in this game. Tough as nails.
Edit: after watching some archives, Harkless is still learning the way. Vaughn pulls him out and stick redick in key situations so I'm giving the nod to Stevenson.
Great defensive Atlanta team. Orlando is coming off a long road trip-- usually a let down game when teams come home from these trips. Orlando hasn't been as bad as I thought they were going to be but the Hawks are as good as I thought.
Hawks vs Magic
Teague > Nelson.. Teague is much younger and much more athletic. Passes the ball better and can get the the hoop on Nelson. They both pass well though. Teague is a much better defender and is great at stealing passes.
Harris < Afflalo.. Afflalo is one of the best defenders in the league. Can get hot with his jumper. More athletic than Harris. Also has a few inches and weight to score well in the post if he needs to but does well with pull up jumpers.
Horford >> Vucevic.. Horford is one of the best players in the game no one talks about. Absolutely skilled at everything. Scoring, passing, rebounding, defense, efficiency. Vucevic definitely needs to put on more weight to have a better effect in the NBA. He's quite decent. Can make that short jumper, rebounds and defends well but is nowhere near Al Horford.
Smith > Davis.. Josh Smith is way more athletic and can affect the game in many more ways than big baby. The only thing is that Smith falls in love with that long jumper like Iguodala and messes the rhythm of the team. Davis can post him up because of the weight difference but Smith is athletic enough to block those shots.
Stevenson > Harkless.. haven't watched Harkless much.. barely averages minutes. I know stevenson is a pretty good defender. He's a bit shorter than Harkless and is more of a 2 than a wing. Would like some insight here..
Bench advantage: Hawks
Lou Williams, Zaza, Morrow (in place of Korver who is NWT, injured and baby born)
Ayon, Nicholson, McRoberts, Redick
Only good Magic bench player is Redick, hes basically playing starters mins and subs in for Harkless. Regardless, I think Lou Williams is about the same as Redick in terms of total output. Redick is a pure shooter and Lou can get on a hot streak. Lou plays better defense and Redick passes better. Pachulia is better than McRoberts and Ayon. I have not seen Nicholson much but he is putting up quite good numbers. Larry Drew is still tweaking with his rotation and is playing matchups. Maybe Ivan Johnson makes an appearance in this game. Tough as nails.
Edit: after watching some archives, Harkless is still learning the way. Vaughn pulls him out and stick redick in key situations so I'm giving the nod to Stevenson.
