Hawks ready for business?
Joe Johnson and the Hawks are ready to battle DeShawn Stevenson and Washington the top spot in the Southeast Division this season.
HAWKSVILLE – It’s a fair question to ask at this stage of the (pre)season.
And one the Hawks are more than ready to answer, Monday night, when the Washington Wizards come to town for the home preseason finale (the next time you see the Hawks on the floor at Philips Arena after this game will be for the regular season opener Oct. 28 against Indiana).
“I think everybody’s getting anxious for the real thing to start,” Josh Smith said. “It’s not just us. You sense it around the league, at least wherever we’ve been so far.”
The Hawks need the test that will be this game against the Wizards. Hawks coach Mike Woodson has already made it clear that the starter’s minutes will rise in these last three preseason games (all three against Southeast Division foes).
“It’s time to buckle down a little bit and get really serious about what we’re doing,” he told me over the weekend. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
Whatever the Hawks accomplish this season begins and ends with the work they do in the division. One of the main factors in their rise up the ranks the past two seasons was the injury-driven fall of the Wizards, who have a healthier and retooled roster for Flip Saunders to work with this season.
“We’ve had some good battles with them over the years,” Smith said. “They used to be the team in the same spot we’ve been in the past couple of years in the division behind Orlando. There’s no question them Magic is the team we’re all chasing. So you have to start there and work your way up and that’s what we’ve done.”
Something tells me the Wizards (with Agent Zero, or whatever moniker Gilbert Arenas goes by these days, back to form) won’t accept their current fate willingly, which makes not only Monday night’s game but the Oct. 30 game extremely interesting viewing for all of us.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
There was some serious bird bonding going on Sunday night at the Georgia Dome. Falcons were on the field. Hawks were in the stands. The nest was big enough for everybody.
As many as half of the players on the Hawks’ training camp roster were making plans to attend the Falcons-Bears game, including Hawks center Zaza Pachulia. ZP was apparently an American football virgin prior to the game. The proof came via Twitter, where he proclaimed: “I’m kind of emberrased to say this but first time in my life I’m going on football game tonight. Falcons vs Bears.I hope I will like it.”
Trust us Zaza, you will like it.
RA’S TAKE ON THINGS
There are few things in life more consistent than the rapid-fire vitriol of our good friend RA when he senses bias from the national punditry regarding his Hawks. He was on fire over the weekend. It seems our friends up north have dismissed his Hawks one too many times and he’s firing back. RA’s latest salvo:
“It was kinda funny. ESPN, the [Mark] Bradley proclaimed world leader, was previewing the Sourtheastern division and they had three pictures of players on the website, from Orlando, Miami, and Washington. Sekou! When was the last time Washington made the playoffs again? Remind me because I forget. I also had the privilege of seeing the video interview that Tim Legler had talking about the Hawks. He said that Atlanta was a second tier club. That’s debatable, but he also said that there was such a huge gulf between them and the top three teams in the east that it’s impossible to rank them up there with them. Well, that’s just hooey. I’ve watched a lot of basketball Sekou, and I can tell you without reservation that the greatest strength of the “big three” is also their greatest weakness. They all run through and for one player. Just hear me out. Orlando, Dwight Howard, need I say more? Vince [Carter] might help with the scoring but the bottom-line is that if Dwight Howard went down, Orlando’s playoff chances would go right down with him. Aside from that, they’re going to miss [Hedo] Turkoglu more than they realize. Cleveland, Lebron James. They might make the playoffs if he ever went down, but it’s not likely. The guys on that team really need to start thinking beyond the LB era because once this year is over, he’s gone, and this is a league with a long memory. All the showboating that they did and terrible sportsmanship, it’s coming back to them times three once their god leaves them (note I used a little g on that). Which brings me to Boston. Yeah, Boston lost Kevin Garnett and still made it to the second round of the playoffs, even with a sub par effort from Ray Allen. Well, the wrong one got hurt. If Paul Pierce had gotten hurt, Boston doesn’t make it out of round one. Yeah, they’ve got the names, Allen, Garnett and [Rasheed] Wallace, but as far I’m concerned only one name matters in Boston, Pierce. All of the big three have nice pieces, but that’s what they are, pieces to compliment one great player. Atlanta has a team of very good players and they don’t have any one spot that you could point to and say, “well, if they have an injury there, it’s over.” Now, don’t get me wrong, when the chips are down and it’s make or break, having that one great player is a big deal because you know he’s going to bring you home, but at the same time, in a league where “depth” is everything, having one player whose absence could make or break your team’s chances is a little bit….scary.”
OFFICIALLY SPEAKING
From the I-didn’t-know-this-existed-until-recently department comes this trusty link from our friends at NBA.com. It’s true. No one reads anymore. And why would they when you can watch the video? This is smart stuff.
Now if the league could just provide us with some virtual referees until the real stripes get their whistles back the world would be a better place.
WHAT’S HOT
Big Ray has been bringing heat on the Hawks Fans Nest on a regular basis. If you haven’t been over there you need to make a trip. Check out his latest delivery and weigh in with your own take.
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121 comments Add your comment
MsDee
October 19th, 2009
10:32 pm
unless block attempt is not the same as having a BS
Melvin
October 19th, 2009
10:35 pm
Big Ray,
You are going form at the mouth with another game and another GT0 highlight package. The kid just make plays..
http://www.nba.com/video/games/hawks/2009/10/19/0010900085_was_atl_recap.nba/
Melvin
October 19th, 2009
10:39 pm
*I meant JT0 = Jeff Teague…..
RaJaH
October 19th, 2009
10:47 pm
Legend
+/-:Team net points while player is in game, TO:Turnovers, PF:Personal Fouls, BS:Blocked Shots, BA:Blocks Against
MsDee
October 19th, 2009
10:53 pm
oh..ok thx RaJah
jerrywest
October 19th, 2009
10:58 pm
BA= Block Against. when you shot gets blocked.
Ken Strickland
October 20th, 2009
12:24 am
ANT BANKS-welcome to the club. I see JTeague bringing the same type of energy, dynamics and versatility to the Hawks starting lineup that CPaul and TParker bring to their respective teams. Yes, Bibby is savy, has experience and a winning clutch attitude, but he doesn’t have the ability to change the dynamics or tempo of a gm and he doesn’t make the players around him significantly better by breaking down DEF’s and creating easy scoring opportunities for them.
Bibby can be stopped by a single defender, which we saw witnessed in the playoff series against Boston. It would take a team effort to consistently contain the speed, quickness and penetrating ability of Teague the way Boston contained Bibby. Can you imagine a team trying to consistently double teaming JJ, like they consistently do with Bibby as our starting PG, while trying to contain Teague in a 4 on 3 situation?
Teague won’t make it difficult for Woodson to keep him out of the starting lineup, but he will make it difficult for him to explain why he won’t give it serious consideration. Woodson is too old school, especially when it comes to PG’s, and he’s not about to put his coaching future in the hands of a rookie PG as long as Bibby is healthy enough to play. Teague will most likely get the JChildress 6th man treatment. As far as this season is concerned, he’s more interested in getting a contract extension than getting the Hawks to the next level, although both would be acceptable. That focus will likely come after he gets his extension.
Ken Strickland
October 20th, 2009
12:44 am
Oh, if you watched the highlights you’ll notice Teague can throw alley oop passes as well as Bibby. THIS YRS HAWKS ARE GOING TO BE A LOT BETTER THAN A LOT OF YOU THINK. We’re going to see noticable improvement in Horford, Smoove and Marvin, Teague will add a dimension to the PG position that’s been missing and Joe Smith will bring an added dimension to the PF position.
I watched part of the Orlando/Chicago gm and Vince wasn’t very effective. Teams have automatically collapsed their DEF to contain
DHoward’s inside presence, which will make it more difficult for Vince to make his patented drives down the lane and force him to become more of an outside scoring threat, which isn’t his strength. Washington isn’t going to be a problem for us, but we’re definitely going to be a problem for Orlando.
vava74
October 20th, 2009
3:07 am
Ooooh my Goood… we are going to rock this year…
JT0 is moooooney!!!! But don’t count out Bibby just yet either.
We may have the best NBA PG rotation in the making right now people… talk about complementary characteristics…
vava74
October 20th, 2009
3:08 am
#2 seed anyone??
GeeMack
October 20th, 2009
10:44 am
Ant Banks
Thanks for the compliment. I’ve been told I was a genius.
Ken & Ant Banks
I gotta say JT-0 is the truth. Ken I agree he gives us something we don’t have, however at this point I gotta see if he can do this against starter talent verses guys trying to make a team in preseason.
Bibby is the man right now but I like the idea of him starting at some point during the season.
Ken, Ant Banks, Daniel, & vava74
If JJ walks next summer and Marvin gets to 20ppg. What do you all think about moving Marvin to SG Smoove to SF & Al to PF and spent that money on a center?
Sautee
October 20th, 2009
11:02 am
Before we hand the reins to Teague, consider that when Bibby got here, our turnovers went DOWN by almost 2 per game. That’s 2 extra possessions for the other team which in a tight game could easily mean the difference.
Bibby is a defensive liability, no doubt, but he DOES take care of the ball.
Ken Strickland
October 20th, 2009
1:40 pm
GEEMACK-JCrawford was brought in as a possible replacement in case JJ walks. Therefore, there won’t be any need to move Marvin to a different position. We’ll only have to replace what Crawford will bring off our bench this yr. To be honest, Crawford brings an added dimension that even JJ doesn’t bring. While JJ is a better defender and is more offensively consistent, Crawford is a more dynamic scorer, with the ability to penetrate without pounding the ball looking for an opening like JJ does. With Crawford and Teague as our starting guards, there won’t be any uncertainty about us being a fastbreak or uptempo OFF, and there won’t be any double teaming either. I’d venture to say we’d become the NBA’s most exciting team to watch. We’d be a bigger, faster, quicker more versatile and athletic version of the Suns, before the failed Shaq experiment, that actually plays good DEF.
However, I still want us to resign JJ. I would also like to see us go all out next yr to try and resign JChildress. If we can pull those 2 feats off, we’d have all of the elements of a championship calibur team, assuming Woodson can handle this much talent and versatility.
I’ve been attacked in the past and called a HOMER because I saw the positives in this team and the potential from the growth of our young guns, and I was right because we’ve improved each yr as a result? I’ve also been called a HATER because I’ve consistently made an issue of the flaws in Woodson as a HC, and the fact Sund wouldn’t offer him an extention after such a successful season says a lot. I’ve recently been questioned about my belief that we’d be much better with Teague as our starting PG than Bibby, as well as the idea of ORGANIC GROWTH, or the individual improvement of our young guns, having a much greater impact of our team than adding players like Shaq, Sheed or Vince will have on the top 3 Eastern seeds.
I’m not afraid of being wrong, but I’ll be damned if I’ll back down from what I believe just because someone else can’t see what I see or is afraid of change or of making change. We’re going to be a damn good team this yr. In fact, we’re going to be the most improved team in the East because of the additions of Crawford, Teague and Joe Smith to our bench, as well as the discounted idea of ORGANIC GROWTH, which no other team in the East will be able to match.
Adding new starters to your team often means nothing more than an offset of what was lost. Can Carter and Bass replace what former starters CLee, HTurkolu and RAlston brought to the team? Even if they do, it doesn’t necessarily make them better, just not any worse. Can Shaq make Cleveland noticably better, or can he even replace what Ilgoudkas provided as a starter. I have to admit, their bench has definitely been improved. With the additions of Crawford, Teague and Joe Smith, along with our organic growth, we’ve definitely erased most, if not all, of the gap that Boston’s had over us the last 2yrs.
While I’m not convinced we’re on Cleveland’s level at this point, because of their improved bench, I definitely believe we’re on the same level with Boston and Orlando and much better than any other team in the East.
inquiring mind
October 20th, 2009
3:51 pm
Ken, when its time to replace crawford, why dont we see if flip is available. He can score. Hs’s unselfish. He will cost millions less than Crawford.
Sautee
October 20th, 2009
4:22 pm
Ken S,
I’m SURE that you remember how much I thought Acie was under utilized last year.
That said, I see a LOT more in Teague than Acie showed. And I LOVE the idea of him being “good enough” to start.
However, even though he’s having a pretty good preseason with a decent A / TO ratio (2.27 / 1) he IS still turning it over at a rate higher than Bibby.
Last year Bibby was at 3.08 / 1.
I get your point about the way he’d make us play faster, and I agree. But if it comes with TOO many turnovers, it’ll make our D more vulnerable as often TO’s lead to fast break points for the opposition.
I also realize that to some degree you are “wishing” for him to become special (don’t we all?), but it’ll take something major for Woody to not start Bibby.
All of that to say that unless Teague can play at or near Bibby’s A / TO ratio, we’re likely better off with him coming of the bench, IMHO.
KevinA
October 20th, 2009
5:05 pm
I like to keep the box score while listening to the game. last night I noticed that most of our guards had more assists than shot attempts for much of the game. This is the kind of ball movement and unselfish play that leads to big wins.
Ray, I’ll take the poke in the eye with a grin. But who was to know Crawford would dish out 9 assists. We all look at past and comments from numbers to get a feel for what kind of a player a new addition is. I certainly had not looked at anything that would prepare me for Crawford’s performance.
I will glean a satisfaction from seeing the Hawks play great by spreading the ball around. The front court had one more attempt than the back court. 32/31 with the swing men putting up 14 shots. Great balance.
Ken Strickland
October 20th, 2009
5:14 pm
SAUTEE-isn’t Teague doing just about everything at a higher rate than Bibby, especially scoring and creating much easier scoring opportunities for everyone else? Any team or player that consistently runs and attacks the basket is bound to have more turnovers, as well as scoring opportunities. They’re also more likely to draw more fowls and shoot more FT’s. Don’t you think Bibby’s ability to limit his turnovers is directly related to his limited penetration, interior passing and unwillingness/inability to generate easy scoring opportunities for others? Don’t you think limiting turnovers is an extremely thin reason for not replacing him in the starting lineup with Teague?
So far, Teague has measured up and/or passed every test presented to him so far, yet certain fans want to create imaginary or extremely weak excuses for not starting him. I love Bibby and how he’s managed to remain productive despite his many limitations, but this team can’t move forward if they have to continue making so many sacrifices to accomodate his limitations. He was exactly what we needed when he arrived a yr and a half ago, but it’s time for us to extend our appreciation for what he provided during that period and accept that Teague is now the new and improved Bibby of the 2008/10 season.
Bibby doesn’t stop teams from successfully doubling/tripling JJ. They are successfully using pick and rolls to take advantage of his limited speed, quickness, athleticism and lateral movement to create mismatches. It became so much of an issue Woodson had to resort to a switching DEF in order to limit the damage. As a result of the switch both the overall team and individual DEF of Horford and Smoove, our 2 best shotblockers and interior defenders, has suffered.
The Hawks aren’t going to get better, let alone get to the next level, until we stop depending on/starting an aging PG with limited speed, quickness, penetrating ability and DEF ability. REMEMBER, A CHAIN IS NO STRONGER THAN ITS WEAKEST LINK. Isn’t it odd to see teams that were obviously better than we were last yr add new players to their starting lineup and their bench in an attempt to improve, while the Hawks are willing to improve our bench, but not our starting lineup. WHERE’S THE LOGIC?
Ken Strickland
October 20th, 2009
5:27 pm
SAUTEE-I was right with you on the Acie saga, and like you, I see a whole lot more in Teague, which is why I want to see him start sooner rather than later. Even though Teague has more speed, quickness, penetrating ability, athleticism and versatility than Bibby, even when he was in his prime, some want to keep him on the bench because of what isn’t known with any degree of certainty. Yet, they want Bibby to remain the starting PG despite what is known for certain, and that’s no breaking down DEF’s, no penetrating and creating easy shots for others, no D and no preventing teams from consistently doubling/tripling JJ.
IT’S NOT WE HAVE TO CUT BIBBY OR GIVE UP THE POSITIVES HE BRINGS TO THE TEAM IF WE START TEAGUE. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Sautee
October 20th, 2009
7:45 pm
Ken,
You said: “Don’t you think limiting turnovers is an extremely thin reason for not replacing him in the starting lineup with Teague? ”
Depends TOTALLY on HOW many TOs Teague were to make vs. Bibby.
Here’s what I said:
“All of that to say that unless Teague can play at or near Bibby’s A / TO ratio, we’re likely better off with him coming of the bench, IMHO.”
MEANING that IF Teague can play at or near Bibby’s A / TO ratio then I’m ok with him starting.
Any less, and I think he’s be better off the bench. And I ALSO added IMHO.
Ken Strickland
October 20th, 2009
11:39 pm
SAUTEE-it’s obvious you’re a big MBibby fan, as am I, but not to the extent that you and Woodson seem to be. I still think your A/TO ratio argument is very weak justification, at best, for keeping him as our starting PG. Consider the following:
MPG APG TOPG TOP48mins AST/TO ratio
MBIBBY 34.6 5.0 1.6 2.2 3.06
DWILLIAMS 36.8 10.7 3.4 4.4 3.18
CPAUL 38.5 11.0 3.0 3.7 3.73
TPARKER 34.1 6.9 2.6 3.6 2.67
CBILLUPS 35.5 6.4 2.2 3.0 2.86
SNASH 33.6 9.7 3.4 4.8 2.89
The fact that Bibby has such a low TOPG is reflected in his low assist rate compared to the others. That’s because he takes very few chances and doesn’t create many scoring opportunities for others. You made the following statements: “DEPENDS TOTALLY ON HOW MANY TURNOVERS TEAGUE WERE TO MAKE VS BIBBY”, and “ALL OF THAT TO SAY THAT UNLESS TEAGUE CAN PLAY AT OR NEAR BIBBY’S A/TO RATIO, WE’RE LIKELY BETTER OFF WITH HIM COMING OFF THE BENCH, IMHO”. Well, since every player on this list has considerably more TO’s than Bibby, are you saying you’d start him ahead of all of them? Or, since both CPaul and DWilliams have higher A/TO ratios than Bibby, are you saying a team would be better off starting Bibby ahead of either of them as well?
LIKE I SAID, YOUR ARGUMENT IS EXTREMELY WEAK AT BEST.
Sautee
October 21st, 2009
10:24 am
Ken,
I’ll agree to disagree. I clearly added IMHO, meaning exactly that. I’m sorry if my opinion makes you doubt your side of the argument or threatens you in some way. Frankly, I’m surprised. You usually allow plenty of give-and-take, but somehow I’ve pushed your hot button.
Before Bibby got here we lost WAY too many games with late turnovers that gave opponents extra chances to score. That was the MOST notable difference when he arrived.
The reason I used A / TO ratio is that it shows a point guards’ efficiency. I TOTALLY agree that some of Bibby’s efficiency is because he takes fewer chances. I’d say that up til now that’s EXACTLY what a young team needed.
And Bibby WILL have to rachet it up a notch JUST BECAUSE TEAGUE WILL PUSH HIM.
If Teague shows that he has the talents to play like CP3 and Deron, ok fine start him. But there is a reason that he wasn’t a top 5 pick like they were.
Don’t get me wrong, Ken, I LOVE what I’ve seen of this kid, but I’ll stand by my statement. I don’t care if you think my argument is weak. I can handle that.
By the way, my use of the ratio was not the be-all-end-all of my point (which you made it out to be). I wasn’t defending the use of Bibby relative to ANY PG, just for THIS team, which is all we have to deal with. Therefore, despite the obvious fact that I’d rank Bibby behind at LEAST a dozen other point guards, his ratio shows that on THIS team, he takes care of the ball better than others that we have.
We can disagree. But I’ll err on the side of FEWER turnovers every time.