It’s game time!
There were no smiles to be found at Philips Arena when the Hawks' season came crashing to an end in a four-game sweep against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals. But they get a fresh start on a new season tonight. The Hawks open the preseason at home against New Orleans.
HAWKSVILLE – The last time you saw the Hawks on this floor, their heads were dipped and the spirits were sagging. On the receiving end of a series of furious left hooks and right crosses from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the mood was nasty.
Thank goodness for preseason basketball. The Hawks kick off their slate tonight at the building formerly known as the “Highlight Factory” against New Orleans.
While I don’t expect to see Joe Johnson and Josh Smith or Chris Paul and the Hornets’ starters for long, I’m going to cherish the few quality minutes we see from the big boys tonight.
If we get a barnburner by accident, so be it. After all, this is Mike Woodson we’re talking about (he of the “I’m trying to win every preseason game I can” fame of the past few seasons). But the smart money is on seeing much less of the starters and more and more of guys like Hawks rookie point guard Jeff Teague and his draft classmate Darren Collison of the Hornets.
“I’m going to be excited to be out there and to see how we all jell together,” Teague said. “I’m just excited in general to play my first real NBA game.”
The youngster will have to forgive some of his older and more seasoned teammates for not showing up with the same vigor. The veteran Hawks know that what really counts is the games that come at the end of this season and not these pre-Halloween dress rehearsals. I’m not insinuating that the preseason is meaningless, but as a wise general manager told me recently, “Does anybody remember how many preseason games the Lakers won last year?”
Yet I remain addicted to the NBA preseason. I like it because it gives me a chance to see the rookies and the camp invitees at work, knowing this might be the last time we see some of them this season (or at least for a while). Who knows? We might not see a whole lot of Courtney Sims or Aaron Miles after tonight, not to pick on those two guys alone. But you get my point.
Now is the time to take full stock of all the guys you see wearing the uniform, because in a few weeks there will only be nine or 10 of them playing most nights. And that means you’ll have a small sample size to work with on the others (that make the team but don’t make the playing rotation).
IN THE MEANTIME …
All that said, you shouldn’t take your eyes off the big boys. I think we all want to see what the chemistry looks like with the top seven or eight guys. I know I want to see how Jamal Crawford looks out there with JJ, Josh and Al Horford. We’ve seen so little of it during training camp, what with Crawford and Teague working exclusively with the reserve team in scrimmages (simulated and the real thing). I need to see if he fits as nicely as I think he will with those guys.
Other than how he and Teague (and to an extent Joe Smith, though he’s a utility player that should have no problem blending his skills in with whatever a team is doing) mesh with the core group, I can’t imagine there a ton of surprises to be had in this game. One of the benefits of the Hawks returning so much of their core from a year ago is that we should know exactly what we’re dealing with from the opening tip of this season.
Roles have been established. Responsibilities have been defined. Positions are squared away. The only left is to trot out onto that floor and see if it all looks as good under the bright lights as it did with the practice lights on.
The conversation here throughout tonight’s game, so don’t go anywhere.
Oh, and in case you missed the update, there’s a new home for your Hawks information on Twitter. We’re going with a new look and a revamped, corporate style. It’s a permanent move for the Twitter updates, so adjust your glasses to make sure it fits. Everybody starts from scratch on the new spot. Ha.
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126 comments Add your comment
Brandon from Warner Robins
October 7th, 2009
8:42 pm
Block party?
Sautee
October 7th, 2009
8:46 pm
LOVED seeing THIS on the play-by-play:
Jeff Teague steals the ball from Chris Paul. Heh heh
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 7th, 2009
8:47 pm
I wish this televised – I’m lovin’ it. Cannot wait for the season to start! Jeah!!!
Melvin
October 7th, 2009
8:47 pm
Mario West hits a jumper….. oh my…
Danga
October 7th, 2009
8:50 pm
Mario West hits a jumper….. oh my…
Pics or it didn’t happen.
ÛfØ
October 7th, 2009
8:51 pm
teague will not be an all star, that sucks.
J.J.M.
October 7th, 2009
8:54 pm
all these foul calls
Melvin
October 7th, 2009
8:55 pm
Danga,
No pics (do you really want to see it) listening to the radio broadcast.
ÛfØ
October 7th, 2009
8:57 pm
«»››[:)
Danga
October 7th, 2009
9:00 pm
Good point Melvin. Watching those rare Rio jump shots is pretty painful.
J.J.M.
October 7th, 2009
9:01 pm
and here comes the hornets
ÛfØ
October 7th, 2009
9:02 pm
nba.com has game video
TheHawksFan
October 7th, 2009
9:04 pm
TEAGUE GOING OFFFFFFFFF!!!!
Melvin
October 7th, 2009
9:05 pm
Hornets cut Hawks 30 pt lead to 12 going into the 4th. Will Woody panic and put the starters back in…lol
Jin Rummy
October 7th, 2009
9:10 pm
1st Half Action Vid:
http://www.nba.com/video/games/hawks/2009/10/07/0010900017_noh_atl_1h.nba/index.html?ls=gt1hp0010900017
cp
October 7th, 2009
9:14 pm
Sounds like Hunter and Teague have great chemistry together already. They were talking about on the zone radio feed that you can already tell a difference between Teague and Law. Said that Teague has the confidence that Law never had and already looks better.
TheHawksFan
October 7th, 2009
9:19 pm
Folks here at the game talking bout Scott trying to pull a Pop with his starters not playing. NOW he has played them and they cant come back against the Hawks 2nd string lol. New Orlenas IS NOT San Antonio!!
Brandon from Warner Robins
October 7th, 2009
9:23 pm
So what kind of nickname are we going to give to these Hawks?
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 7th, 2009
9:28 pm
CP
Thanx for the info on Teague and Hunter. Confidence goes a long way for floor generals it seems.
BONE
October 7th, 2009
9:30 pm
I will give Mike Woodsoon this Acie wasn’t that good. He had no confidence at all. Teague is completely different.
TheHawksFan
October 7th, 2009
9:33 pm
Ok I’ll pay the differnce for the REFS PAY!!!! Just get the REAL ones in here ASAP!!!. HAWKSSSSSS WIN!!!!!!
Joe
October 7th, 2009
9:34 pm
I can’t wait to see the hawks play this season I’m hoping for the best. Go Hawks.
Joe
October 7th, 2009
9:36 pm
I’m glad we don’t have to see speedy claxton or acie law this season those guys were just a waste of space on the bench last season.
BosnianBaller
October 7th, 2009
9:42 pm
http://www.p2p4u.net/ has the Lakers game on later 2night
BosnianBaller
October 7th, 2009
9:43 pm
Why did Crawford only play 8min 0 points
Joe
October 7th, 2009
9:49 pm
thanks for the link BosnianBaller I’m gonna use that site to watch some good games this year.
ÛfØ
October 7th, 2009
9:49 pm
Äm sûrê thë håwk§ wîll wïn ëvêrÿ prê §ëasøn gamë» ººº «
Joe
October 7th, 2009
9:50 pm
I wonder will the hawks make a trade at the deadline if they aren’t in contention I say a good trade to look at is trade Joe Johnson to Chicago for Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.
A Thinking Fan
October 7th, 2009
9:54 pm
Good effort for a preseason game…
Myrak43
October 7th, 2009
10:00 pm
Joe….. why in the Hell would we trade JJ for Noah and Tyrus Thomas? that’s a dumb trade!!!
BrittishAnger
October 7th, 2009
10:05 pm
Definitely an interesting showing for the first game of the preseason…I’m most impressed with our first half play dominated by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith (the video of the first half, that Horford assist to Smith for the dunk was nasty)…..I’m least impressed with the 2nd teams showing during the 2nd half; while I don’t expect much out of them, and I expect to see a lot less of them in the back end of the regular season, the number of offensive fouls during the 4th quarter is going to be a point of contention for Woody tomorrow morning, if it wasn’t already tonight….both Siler and Randolph seemed rough around the edges, which supports my claim that Garret needs to spend this season in D-League becoming comfortable and improving himself for next season when Randolph will be gone and we can snag him at a reasonable rate to fill that same hole….Lousy night for Crawford and Bibby, no scoring and limited involvement on the other stats, though the potential Teague showed makes me glad that we’ll have him available on nights when those two can’t bring it the way their supposed to….Wish I’d been at that game, can’t wait to see that Dunk on Sportscenter…they better have it, or I’m complaining to Realli….
Melvin
October 7th, 2009
10:05 pm
Hmmm, looking at this one clip. Looks like Marvin improved his ballhandling.
http://www.nba.com/video/games/hawks/2009/10/07/0010900017_noh_atl_1h.nba/index.html
BrittishAnger
October 7th, 2009
10:07 pm
Minor Correction: I doubt I’ll see the 2nd team play as heavy once the regular season starts…how much they play during the back end of it will depend on how deep we go and how many wins we get during the first half of the season….
rms
October 7th, 2009
10:13 pm
Where did Sekou go?? Give us some post game analysis of how he think the team play collectivley and who stood out the most. I know its nothing to get excited about, its just the first preseason game.
terrell barron
October 7th, 2009
10:29 pm
What in the hell happened in the 3rd qtr? The Hornets outscored us by 14 pts. Must’ve been one of those Woody pep talks. lol!
AL HORFORD
October 7th, 2009
10:54 pm
ITS WOODSONS FAULT!!!! HE DID NOT PLAY SPEEDY CLAXTON AND ACIE LAW. HAD HE DEVELOPED THESE GUYS WE WOULD HAVE WON A CHAMPIONSHIP LAST YEAR. I HOPE WE TRADE JJ AND JOSH SMITH FOR ACIE AND SPEEDY, WELL EVEN THROW IN MARVIN. I SEE WHAT THE BUBBA CREW WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT KNOW. WE SHOULD HAVE NEVER LET TALENT LIKE SPEEDY AND ACIE OUT OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA.- OFF WITH WOODSONS HEAD@!
Jin Rummy
October 7th, 2009
10:57 pm
Acie Is playing against the lakers right now. He and Steph Curry are in the backcourt together…..Kobe just scored on him:
http://www.justin.tv/big_bad_15/popout
mavid
October 7th, 2009
11:04 pm
LOL Sekou…
“Jason Collins (out of shape)”
KevinA
October 7th, 2009
11:12 pm
Looking at the boxscore
West with 9 rebounds? Wow
5 players in double figures and two more lacking one point to join them.
Hunter and West both get big minutes. Is the last spot between them?
ZaZa/Josh/Al 15 for 22
JJ/Crawford/Bibby/Teague 8 for 27
Marvin/Hunter 5 for 14
The bigs were very efficient on offense.
22 assists and 12 turnovers – very nice
Won the battle of the boards 41/33 – very nice
Went to the free throw line more 38/31 – love to see the Hawks being aggrssive
JSS
October 7th, 2009
11:13 pm
Sekou, did Woody actually crack a “smile” when Big Garret couldn’t his “pants” off? Or did he give him the Woody?
niremetal
October 7th, 2009
11:20 pm
KevinA,
JJ/Crawford/Bibby/Teague combined to go 14 for 30…not sure what box score you’re looking at…
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2009100701
KevinA
October 7th, 2009
11:28 pm
http://www.nba.com/games/20091007/NOHATL/boxscore.html
shows Teague 4-9
yahoo shows Teague at 6-12
wonder which one is correct?
KevinA
October 7th, 2009
11:34 pm
But yea, math was wrong any way
12-27 or 14-30
niremetal
October 7th, 2009
11:44 pm
KevinA,
It looks like the NBA.com box score shows the total score at 101-84. I guess the guys at NBA.com cut out at 10pm or something…heh.
Melvin
October 7th, 2009
11:56 pm
We may have to keep these replacement Refs. I just watch Kobe go in for a breakway dunk and Anthony Randolph from GS block it from behind and no foul was call. Kudos to the ref b/c replay showed he block it clean…
Also, I saw Speedy contest Fisher on a 3pt shot then outrun Gasol for the rebound on the same play. He didn’t look like a guy who had a knee problem to me…
KevinA
October 8th, 2009
12:03 am
Sekou,
Great post about Woody and the veterns supporting Teague. He must be doing the right things on and off the court to fit in. How about 1 turn over in 26 min tonight. Great game.
The Al to Josh alley oop was sick. The Highlight Factory is alive and well.
SPARTAN NATION
October 8th, 2009
12:14 am
GO SPARTANS!!!
Joe
October 8th, 2009
1:24 am
Myrak43 if that trade happened the hawks can look like this.
PG – Mike Bibby
SG – Jamal Crawford
SF – Josh Smith/Tyrus Thomas
PF – Joakim Noah
C – Al Horford
That looks like a pretty good team to me. So if the hawks aren’t in contention they need to trade Joe Johnson to Chicago for Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 8th, 2009
1:37 am
Joe,
in all likelihood, they WILL be in contention.
JJ stays.
Ramon
October 8th, 2009
2:25 am
Joe, wouldn’t that be the same exact squad that Crawford just played with 3 years ago except for it was Wallace and Deng instead of Smoove and Horford? In that line up who plays perimeter defense? And what happens to Marvin?