Are you ready for opening night?
Al Horford and the Hawks insist they are ready to get things cracking in the Eastern Conference this season. We'll all find out soon enough. Horford and the Hawks face the Pacers Wednesday night at Philips Arena.
HAWKSVILLE – Answer the question.
Are you ready?
Are you ready for more of the craziness that is the NBA season and the Hawks’ role in it?
Are you ready for the season you love to hate, the team you love to hate and the game you just love to love?
Of course, you are.
You’ve been waiting what seems like forever, just like me and everyone else around here.
You couldn’t wait until the Hawks’ opener against the Pacers tonight at Philips Arena, could you?
We understand. Cleveland and Boston was a fine way to open the season, what with Rasheed Wallace posing a most frightening sight out there stroking shots from deep with the for flowing and sporting that classic Celtics uniform (and yes, that was Shelden Williams logging quality minutes for the Celtics early on, so maybe we were all wrong about the man some of you affectionately refer to as Mr. Parker?).
Not much else has changed for the last two teams to dispatch the Hawks in the playoffs. Kevin Garnett is still a monster. Same goes for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, when the Celtics knock the dust off those old legs and get up and down the floor. The supporting cast looks rejuvenated and hungry.
LeBron James is already in MVP form. But the Cavaliers remain the flawed team we witnessed in that conference finals series against Orlando last year. They can bust out of the gate and build a double digit lead faster than any other team in the league. But they’re almost guaranteed to lose it just as fast when they’re dealing with another one of the league’s elite (and this is my formal challenge to Shaq and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a foot race. Give me a month and I’m doing my Usain Bolt on those cats).
Seriously, the stuff we saw from Orlando in that preseason game last Friday reminds me of the same things we’ll see from the Magic and Celtics all season. They have the kind of talent across the frontline that will give everyone else in the East, the Hawks included, fits on most every night. They’re just too good, too deep and too versatile for most teams to handle when all things are equal.
Before the Hawks can worry about any of those teams they have to deal with the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center Sunday (at least they weren’t invited for Tuesday’s ring and banner raising ceremony). And that’s after they tussle with the Pacers and Washington Wizards (Friday at Philips) first.
Are the Hawks ready?
Are they ready for the season that seems like it never ends; the roller coaster that always seems to be their season?
Jamal Crawford (back), Kasim Reed (middle) and Ludacris (right) get it in during a recent fundraiser for Reed, the Atlanta mayoral candidate.
We’ll get our first real glimpse soon enough.
POLITICALLY CORRECT
Jamal Crawford political activist has a different ring to it.
It may be a bit of a stretch for the Hawks’ guard with the rapid-fire handle and endless bag of offensive tricks.
But Crawford showed off a different side earlier this week when he helped host celebrity fundraiser for Atlanta mayoral candidate Kasim Reed. Crawford joined Grammy award winning artist, actor and philanthropist Ludacris, music mogul and philanthropist Chaka Zulu and several others in throwing their public support behind Reed.
“Hey man, I’m all over, man,” a smiling Crawford joked when asked about his political activity. “A lot of people in his position talk the talk and promise a lot of stuff. I just like that he’s doing it. He cares about people. And I know how important some of the stuff he’s talking about doing is for the kids in this city, especially the recreational activities for young people. That’s where I lived when I was growing up. Things like late night [basketball] programs, that’s what kept me out of trouble when I was growing up. I was always in the gym. He wants to take it a step further with technology and education along with the sports programs and I think that could literally save a lot of kids’ lives.”
We’ve always stayed away from politics in this space and I’d suggest we continue that practice (Blog-Z does not endorse any of the candidates since he can’t vote in that election anyway and plans on running in the next Smyrna mayoral election). But I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised that a player is plugged into the local political scene, particularly one that has only been in town for a few months.
“The thing about it is, you can’t please everybody,” Crawford said. “You just have to do what you think is right. And I think he’s the best candidate.”
VICTORY
Count Hawks coach Mike Woodson among the growing legion of fans of veteran power forward Joe Smith’s lyrical alter ego, Joe Beast.
Woodson got his first listen to Smith’s Hawks’ anthem (”Victory”) after Tuesday’s practice and offered to sign Smith to his record label, which we all know doesn’t exist.
“Did you really make this?” Woodson, doing the worst impersonation of a hip-hop impresario ever witnessed, asked Smith. “That’s unbelievable that you could come up with that stuff. Unbelievable.”
Smith said he planned on doing something along the lines of the playoff anthem he did for Cleveland last season anyway, but he sped up his process at the behest of an unlikely source.
“That intro music would come on at the start of our preseason games and Jeff Teague would look at me every time we played and say, ‘come on Joe, what you gonna do?’” Smith said. “So you know I had to go into my lab and come up with something.”
Smith has been dabbling in music for more than a decade, since the early days of his career. It’s only recently, he said, that the finished product has caught up with his ambitions.
“When I first started I really wasn’t that confident in what I was doing,” he said. “But lately, I’ve been getting better and better and more and more confident in what I’m doing. I’m getting close to being ready to putting something out there. I’ve got my own equipment. And the technology is so good now that I’m able to tote some of it on the road with me and I write [lyrics] on the plane on road trips and other times when I have a little solitude and time to myself.”
Woodson was genuinely impressed.
“He’s got a talent that not everybody has,” Woodson said. “He’s worked at it, too. That’s not amateurish stuff right there. That’s impressive stuff.”
If you’re at Philips 90 minutes before the tip of the Pacers game, you might want to listen for the song. It’s full of interesting stuff about Smith and his teammates, including a shout out to Teague.
“I’ll take that,” Teague said before breaking into a dance move in front of his locker as Smith recited lyrics. “I’ll take that”
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306 comments Add your comment
Ariose
October 28th, 2009
12:40 am
FIRST!!!
JeJe
October 28th, 2009
12:49 am
This is the same average team from last year.
We let average players have monster games. Tomorrow (today) you will see TJ Ford drop 28+ points on us. This is the first to come of many outbursts. Except the usual players like Thadd Young, Thornton, Vince Carter, etc. to make us their bytches when we play them.
See my post from the previous blog for the true fire though
1) NO SHOT BLOCKING
2) NO INTERIOR DEFENSE
3) MARVIN AND HORFORD DO NOTHING FOR US. MARVIN IS AWKWARD AND CAN’T INITIATE ANYTHING IF GUARDED. HORFORD HAS NO OFFENSIVE PROWESS AND IS THIN
4) NO HALF COURT OFFENSE
4 Seed, lose in 2nd round in 5 games as stands
Benjamin
October 28th, 2009
1:03 am
The same average team from last year, JeJe? We were a fourth seed, weren’t we?
I don’t understand the lack of love for the Hawks. Do people want them to go back to the glory days of Glenn Robinson and Antoine Walker? We’ve finally got an exciting team to watch, and people expect the Lakers or something.
Atlanta will compete for the Southeast Division crown this year because we’ve got one of the best starting fives in basketball and some depth behind that on the bench. We’re a good coach — which, in my opinion, Woodson isn’t — and a breakout year from Horford, Smith, and/or Teague away from real serious contention, but regardless, this team is going to be fun to watch. Plus, much as I don’t like the prospect of him leaving, we’ve got Joe Johnson playing for money this year. That alone could be worth the price of admission.
I think Atlanta wins 47-50 games and finishes in the 3-5 seed range again. Though they’ve looked really impressive so far in the preseason, I don’t think Orlando’s going to be as good as they were a year ago. Losing Turk is going to have an effect on them, and VC, for all his talent, has always had something missing even when healthy, which hasn’t been a guarantee in and of itself.
Time will tell.
richbrave
October 28th, 2009
1:10 am
I saw a totally different team than any I’ve seen since the playoff teams in the seventies. OBERTO, MILLER, FOYE, HAYWOOD, ARENAS, and SAUNDERS have transformed the WIZARDS. These guys might actually win 45 this year. They shut down DALLAS going away. Nowitz et.al. shot 27% in the fourth, and only pulled in three offensive rebounds for the game – if I counted correctly. Heads up guys. Be ready to play on the 30th.
Benjamin
October 28th, 2009
1:16 am
The Wiz have improved, I believe, but I still think they’re a little way away from being relevant, even in the East. Time will tell.
Ed
October 28th, 2009
1:51 am
The Hawks have a tough 2 game stretch for opening week after they open the season against the Pacers. The Wizards got off to a flying start, and the Hawks have to be thinking about Sunday’s matchup against the Lakers, which makes the Wizard’s contest a trap game. If they stumble out the gate against Indiana then we will really be up against it.
Last year the Hawks started out playing every game like it was the seventh game in a playoff till the loss to Boston. This was a carry over from the 7-game series in the playoffs against the Celtics the year before. Don’t look for Atlanta to come out the same way this year. Hopefully they take a more workmanlike approach and come to play every night.
Gilley
October 28th, 2009
2:04 am
Lets not look past the Pacers and Wizards…..But beating L.A. @ home would make up for our dismal preseason outing against Orlando. I mean we have beaten them at home before but it was dismissed and overlooked but if we do well and do well on the road we can get the respect. But yes, I am ready for the season to start. I wont be able to make ot to the game but I will be in front of the tv, no doubt!
Ramon
October 28th, 2009
2:38 am
It 2 AM so I get to dream for a moment. If the Blazers would take Bibby, Williams, and Horford for Outlaw and Oden, how many of you guys would be for that deal?
PD
October 28th, 2009
3:01 am
Ramon I think Oden is too injury prone…….Also I don’t think the salaries match
vava74
October 28th, 2009
4:47 am
Ramon, no way!
JustaThought
October 28th, 2009
6:25 am
You Hawk optimist are a joke. It’s always the “if and but” with you guys. Then you crucify the national media because they won’t “give” the Hawks no respect. They must really be hurting for ticket sales.
I tell you what, if Oden don’t make better progress by the trade deadline, I think the Blazers would be willing to make a trade. But I’m still not sold on this guy, for all the hoopla surrounding him in my opinion he’s been a major disappointment.
JeJe
October 28th, 2009
7:13 am
4th Seed….Who Cares? Most of the 4-last teams in the East are OK / Average / Bad
We let players have career games, we have no shotblocking, no interior defense, our half court offense looked just as bad last Friday as it did 2 years ago (no improvement). I don’t care what anyone says about our record — we have no shot of competing with the big 3 and you will see me in April saying this
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:27 am
Ramon,
Salaries aside, that deal wouldn’t help either team. The Blazers already have too many 2s and 3s and are actually playing Outlaw at PF most of the time now. And No. Way. they give up Oden. He looks iffy now, but you don’t give up #1s just 2 years after you draft them. And why would they want a 3rd point guard who’s making $6M a year? The Hawks’ defense would crumble to dust after that trade because Outlaw is a terrible defender at any position and Oden is still a walking foul machine. That also leaves the Hawks without a proven PG. So neither side would be interested in that trade.
Richbrave,
Wiz didn’t look good last night so much as the Mavs looked really bad. Terry was missing everything even when he was getting open looks. I still say they’ll struggle to make the playoffs in the East.
Craig
October 28th, 2009
8:23 am
Sekou –
Any idea where an out-of-towner can download or listen to a copy of Victory? I checked out Joe Beast’s myspace but that cut is no where to be found…
Samuel
October 28th, 2009
8:44 am
Isn’t Sheed one of those “malcontents”? The Celtics are doomed. LOL!!
vava=zaza
Willie Coyote
October 28th, 2009
8:51 am
Alright fine, call me an optimist but the Hawks take the Southeast. No “ifs” or “buts” there.
You people who come on the Hawks blog when you don’t like the team are the ones who trip me out. Even more funny are the ones that do it at between 1am & 7am. Why are you up so early/late thinking about a team you don’t care for?
Sekou Smith
October 28th, 2009
8:58 am
Joe hasn’t hooked it up on YouTube yet. He said that’s on the way. I’m working on getting a copy of it uploaded here.
Sheed played his role to perfection last night. It was something to see. I wonder what he’d have looked like in a Hawks uni (again), had their pursuit of him produced anything.
The Truth
October 28th, 2009
9:04 am
Willie Coyote
Good Point
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:09 am
be careful Sekou some might thing you have a “man crush” on him b/c you think he could(ve) help the the Hawks.
me and you both though…
Mike N.
October 28th, 2009
9:25 am
And Sekou…we also got to see what an extremely thin bench Cleveland has. Moon, Hickson and Boobie Gibson is not scaring anyone. Thats why it was so good to see us add Jamal, Teague and Joe Smith to go along with Z and Mo Evans. I am sure Cleveland won’t admit it and it is only the first game but this has to be a concern for them.
This work day cant go fast enough…I am ready for the game tonite. Ready to see if Marvin can step up and be that 17-18 point scorer we need…Ready to see if Josh gets 10 boards and 4 blocks and no shot attempts outside the paint…ready for Al’s improved offensive game…and ready to see if Woody will play Teague and not pull him after his first turnover.
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
9:27 am
Tim Legler talked about the Cavs offense down the stretch (against the Celtics), and it reminds me of the Hawks. The Cavs stand around on offense a lot, and just wait for LeBron to do something. And when LeBron is out of the game, the Cavs struggled.
The Hawks tend to do the same thing. Stand around and wait for JJ to do something. While teams like the Celtics, Magic and Lakers, have good ball movement. I hope thats something the Hawks will improve on this year.
ILL-logical
October 28th, 2009
9:28 am
After last night’s exhibition of professional basketball being played as it should be in the Celts -Cavs contest, I had a dream. I dreamed about how the Hawks could compete/beat either team : 5) Jason Collins was my center. He banged with both Kendrick Perkins and Shaq with equal outcomes and he set great picks as well as played the pick and roll to perfection. Plus he got 7 boards in 20 plus minutes.4) Calypso Al didn’t fare as well against KG as he did against Varejoe. KG kinda dogged him but Al wore Varejoe out on both ends of the floor. When he took a blow, Joe Smith handled his business against both KG and Rasheed but had some problems keeping up with JJ Hixson.3) Josh stayed on the block and wore Paul Pierce out and prevented him from grabbing some key rebounds.Against LaBron he had to have help from Marvin because of foul trouble but had major boards and blocks to excite and ignite the team.2) Joe played Ray Ray to a draw and poste the Cavs guys at will.1)Jamal was the difference maker in both contests. he handled Rondo on the offensive end and stuffed his penetration on the defense side. Mo Williams got schooled and didn’t get the open shots that LBJ normally sets him up for because we didn’t have to switch as much on defense because Bibby wasn’t on the court a much. Speaking of Bibby, when he did play he really lit up Eddie House and was able to keep him from going off; JTO put the breaks on Booby Gibson and had his time breaking down the Cavs D ala Rondo.
Zaza and Mo played key roles as well.
But then I woke up and realized that it was all a dream.
Mz. Hawkdafied
October 28th, 2009
11:04 am
Hellz yeah I’m ready for opening night! Can’t wait to hear Joe Smith put the flow to a beat for the Hawks.
LOL @ ILL-logical! Agree with O’Brien the Cavs were kinda looking like the Hawks offensively. The part that tripped me out was when Mo Williams tried to dunk on Sheldon Williams. Had that ball went in it would have been fly. That would have made the highlights I’m sure. Oh and I’ve always thought the Cavs and Hawks were similar on offense, which is why I felt the Hawks could have beaten them more last season. I saw the Lakers get their rings, loved the way Derek Fisher presented the banner, 1, 2, 3 tah dah. Missed the Wizards in action but from Inside the NBA I gather Arenas is back. So our Hawks need to be on it dog gone it.
Ramon
October 28th, 2009
11:15 am
Niremetal, I totally agree. Its funny that if the Hawks would’ve had the number 1 pick, that they would be the one with Oden now instead of Horford. I will say if there was anyway the Hawks could trade for Oden without giving up a starter, I would be all for that. Since the beginning of the preseason, Oden has already been showing more mobility than I’ve seen from him since Ohio State.
Doug
October 28th, 2009
11:41 am
Sekou: Good stuff…except…Shelden Williams?? I agree with Foxsports analysis that he was “horrible at both ends…an unmitigated stiff” He is playing only because of Baby’s idiocy and he is still brutally bad
Dos Hawkquis
October 28th, 2009
11:55 am
Is anyone else out there paying attention to how Lebron is being “catered too?”
Here me out:
Breylon Edwards is involved in a fracas with one of Lebron’s buddies, in Cleveland, and he is shipped out within a week, off of a Cleveland Brown’s team that could use him. A 1st rounder was traded for a scrap pile.
The league officially acknowledges that 2-steps will be allowed after receiving the ball. I felt that it was in response to Lebron’s “crab-dribble.”
These 2 incidences, in particular, has me scratching my head, not to mention that Stern DID NOT fine Lebron after he showed poor sportsmanship after losing to the Magic. Would Stern have done that same thing for Artest or Rasheed?
The league is working overtime to keep Lebron in Cleveland. Please pay attention to how he is treated throughout the season.
“I don’t always watch basketball, but when I do, I prefer the Hawks. Stay thirsty my friends.”
Ken Strickland
October 28th, 2009
11:57 am
I’M DEFINITELY BOTH READY AND EXCITED ABOUT TONIGHTS OPENING GM!!! Starting tonight, all of the things that’s been said about the Hawks and MWoodson, both good and bad, will playout. I JUST WANT TO SAY GOOD LUCK TO BOTH HC MIKE WOODSON AND ALL OF THE HAWKS THIS SEASON. I hope you and the Hawks make liers out of all that have voiced doubts about you and the team, including me. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today’s Celtics Links 10/28 « Flceltsfan’s Weblog
October 28th, 2009
11:58 am
[...] 95-89 PBN Wallace’s contributions off bench help Celtics send Cavs a message AJC Are you ready for another ride on the Hawks’ roller coaster? Epoch Times Celtics Beat Cavs in Season Opener Big Green Machine C’s Clip Cavs On Opening [...]
JerryWest
October 28th, 2009
12:06 pm
Teague needs to observe Ford very carefully tonight. Much to learn.
Hoops
October 28th, 2009
12:51 pm
GO HAWKS!!! YOU BE THE BEST IN 2009-2010!!!
Dos Hawkquis
October 28th, 2009
1:36 pm
Yes, the Celts looked good last night, but I wonder how Rasheed and Rondo are going to play out during the course of an 82-game season. Both are malcontents.
Yes, Orlando looks helluva, too. But I wonder what their chemistry issues will look like over 82-games.
“I don’t always watch basketball, but when I do, I prefer the Hawks. Stay thirsty my friends.”
2 FOR JOHN DREW
October 28th, 2009
1:52 pm
I’m pumped …… Would love to see attitude, agressiveness, energy, & swagger.
JJ is quiet we know, but give me some kinda emotion. remember when KG brought all that stuff to BOSTON, even Ray Allen, & Paul Pierce perked up & played w/ purpose. Speaking of Boston, what happened to that round bald spot Rasheed had on his head. Nice ‘Fro Sheed !! Let’s do it HAWKS !!!
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
1:55 pm
Am I ready for tonight’s game? – HECK YEAH!
Am I ready for the rollercoaster ride called NBA action (via Atlanta?) – SHOW YOU RIGHT!
Hopefully there will be longer peaks and fewer valleys for The Hawks this season.
Its impressive to see Jamal Crawford (or any athlete for that matter) express there concerns for the community and political views unabashedly – JC attaching himself to the pulse of the city so soon is equally impressive – Warrick Dunnesque.
I too look forward to hearing Joe Beast’s jam although I must say that Coach Woodson signing him to Woody Records would ruin Joe’s budding music career due to the fact that Woody would shelve his album just because he is a rookie artist! jk
Go Hawks!!!
I MUS WRITE
October 28th, 2009
2:03 pm
Ditto Obrien……. Stand around and wait,wait for a pass from a guy thats double and trippled teamed.I really would like to see more movement tonight and less standing.
Joe Smith,Chris Webber,Ron Artest are all expirements gone wrong, Stick to hoops and leave the rap for Soulja Boy and the other 19/20 year olds. I dont understand the love fest between the Blog author and Joe Smith….Who the hell cares about his raps he’s rich….HELLO
If we gonna talk about Hoopers that do music. Wayman Tisdale had real talen and his albums were pretty good,RIP big fella
GeeMack
October 28th, 2009
2:16 pm
The Lakers and Celtics looked impressive last night. Time for the Hawks to do their thing tonight. Go Hawks!
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
2:27 pm
7:00 can’t get here fast enough. I’m ready to see the Hawks lay the smack down on Indy tonight. I’m predicting a 50-55 win season. Hopefully I’m wrong and they win more than 55 games…. Go Hawks..
richbrave
October 28th, 2009
2:42 pm
niremetal:
Don’t take the ‘ZARDS for dog-meat. They look like a real NBA team not a D-league cellar dweller. One game does not make a season. I’m just sayin’ be ready with the heavy ammo. Concentrate on BLATCHE, and make OBERTO beat you at #4.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
2:50 pm
Aight Hawks, let’s do this thang!
FGH
October 28th, 2009
2:52 pm
WE R THE WORLD
2 FOR JOHN DREW
October 28th, 2009
3:11 pm
Here’s a question ? How many double-figure scorers will the HAWKS have tonight & who will have the most dimes ?
theZaZaguy
October 28th, 2009
3:23 pm
Who dat say gonna beat them Hawks!
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
3:35 pm
theZaZaguy
PLEASE no Saint’s references on this blog. I live in Nawlins and get enough of the Who Dat noise down here – lol.
Mz. Hawkdafied
October 28th, 2009
3:37 pm
Hip Hop/Rap doesn’t have an age limit I MUS WRITE! Music period has no age limit. Pretty sure Joe Smith doesn’t let the music interfere with the b ball. It’s okay for the team to have a life other than basketball. It’s a surprising thing to learn about Joe Smith, he can play basketball and rhyme. Don’t get mad with him cause his skills got him paid. DON’T HATE, CONGRATULATE.
ATL Hawks squad in action on the real tip 2nite. Another season (offseason has passed, preseason is finished, regular season as commenced) for the Hawks time to turn the intensity up another notch. GO HAWKS, NO EXCUSES, JUST MAKE IT DO WHAT IT DO!
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
3:38 pm
I MUS WRITE
why cannot the old heads indulge in Hip Hop? – Its the young guys like Soulja Boi, etc who are killing it. Its Ron Artest’s right to rap about QB just like it was Tisdale’s(R.I.P)right to play jazz.
Pacers/Hawks ESPN Live Chat Tonight at 7:00
October 28th, 2009
4:13 pm
[...] offers some more insight on his Hawks [...]
26 years of ATL Hawks
October 28th, 2009
4:14 pm
I’ve watched the Hawks for most of my life. This year has to be our best shot since 1987 to really shake things up. We have our flaws, but if folks play their roles we can be in the top 3. It all starts with interior defense, Josh’s rebounding & shot blocking, and motion on offense. We’ve got alot of tools on offense if we use our strengths. We can’t just randomly shoot the 3. We need ball movement and shots in the flow of the game. When it’s in the flow Bibby, Marvin, Joe and Crawford can be assassins, when it’s not they’re all masons. Use your size inside to control the paint, use Teagues speed like Spud in the old days. We’ve got potential. We just have to stay focussed and use it. I pray each player looks deep tonight as the season starts and plays with 10% of the heart Mario West showed them each and every night. That’ll be enough to lock up a 3 seed and compete for a chance at the Eastern Finals. If we played w/ all of Mario’s energy and heart we’d be visiting LA in June.
Nothing but love…win or lose. I just pray we use what we have to it’s maximum potential. Few teams rival us if we do. No one can argue that. It’s all about consistent, intelligent effort.
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
4:17 pm
nice post 26. I agree totally
theZaZaguy
October 28th, 2009
4:29 pm
“who dat” was what we did in high school back in the 80s at Decatur(oops, gave my age away). I also think we should bring back the tradition of Boodiehead and “Go back to….Foot locker!”.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
4:35 pm
IMUS ,
Woop! Woop! Pull it over.
Sir, do you know why I stopped you? I paced you for about 4 sentences, and noticed some serious deviation on the Joe Smith music issue. Have you been drinking hater-ade today sir?
You do know that hater-ade is a controlled substance, and that drinking and blogging is a serious offense, do you not? Normally, I would stroke you a quick citation for BUI (Blogging Under the Influence) and take you in for intox. However, on account of the fact that you exercised due dilligence in mentioning Wayman Tisdale and his soulful contributions to music, I’ll let you off with a warning this time. Try to keep it on the road, sir. Blog safely, and leave the hater-ade alone.
A Thinking Fan
October 28th, 2009
4:36 pm
Put-up or SHUT-UP time for the HAWKS whole organization! No excuses from the COACH, OWNERSHIP, PLAYERS, MASCOT, CHEERLEADERS, ETC.
theZaZaguy
October 28th, 2009
4:41 pm
Randy Wittman had a 56 percent shooting percentage. Why? Because every time he got a midrange jumper, he ran past 2-3 picks set for him while he ran across from one side of the court to the other. This was good for 15-20 points a game. If we could do that with an un-atheletic aging second round pick, we could surely do that with Marvin, Joe, Bibby, Crawford……….
jerrywest
October 28th, 2009
4:43 pm
Remember how we came out like gangbusters last year? That’s when Smoove got injured. Any paricular reason we should come out worse than last year?
Ken Strickland
October 28th, 2009
4:44 pm
Rap isn’t new. If fact, it’s been around for quite some time(remember LRawls(Tobacco Road), JBrown, IHayes, BWhite, The Sugar Hill Gang, Last Poets, etc). It was also a method often used to present poetry and it usually had a socially and/or politically redeemable message.
Unfortunately, it has morphed into what currently passes itself off as Rap, which is more closely related to CRAP than anything else. The vulgar, demeaning and degrading lyrics, and what attempts to pass itself off as a message, has no meaningful or redeemable social, political or moral value whatsoever. It’s meerly a glorification and reflection of the moral, spiritual and social decay we’re seeing everyday on the streets and in the neighborhoods of those who embrace that RAP CRAP. JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION!
26 years of ATL Hawks
October 28th, 2009
4:49 pm
Whitman comment is classic. Definitely got my ideas pegged there. Oh the days of Nique, Battle, Rivers, Spud, Tree, Levingston, Kontract, Carr, Whitman. Things that got a little kid going back in the day. We gotta hit the ground running tonight. Start a few 50+ win seasons to really remember. Whitman used his strengths. He didn’t try to be someone he wasn’t. Every one of our kids have the talent. It’s all in how they use it.
What’s with the music bashing? Has anyone really listened to the crap we play at our arena? I think some Joe Smith grooves would pump up the fans and the team. It’s gotta be better than some of the stuff we already play. We used to roll out to House of Pain at our games. That’d get everyone bouncing.
Traceman
October 28th, 2009
4:57 pm
Let’s get this party started! I am very excited about the start of the season and I look forward to seeing what we can do. All I ask is that the guys play hard every night and that they play as a team. If they do that, they will win their fair share of games and it will be an exciting season.
There are those who feel that we can’t compete with the so-called “Big Three” in the EC and that may prove to be true. It also may prove to be way off base. That is why they play the games. That being said, There is no shame in not being as good as those teams (or the Lakers for that matter). LeBron and Kobe are the best players in the game and both have stellar supporting casts. ORL has the league’s most physically dominating big man surrounded by 3 other players who have played in the All Star game. BOS has 4 players who have played in multiple All Star games and a 5th (Rondo) who may yet play in one. Those teams are all special.
For us to compete with those teams, more than one of our still young guys will have to take their games to another level. Will that happen this year? I don’t know. But I sure look forward to finding out. Go Hawks!
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
4:57 pm
theZaZaguy – thanks for clarifying that my man.
Officer Big Ray – couldn’t have said it better.
Ken Strickland – good looking on the references to Last Poets and James Brown etc as true artist they were.
Ken Strickland
October 28th, 2009
5:12 pm
THEZAZAGUY-Bobby Knight, Woodson’s college HC and mentor, was very successful using baseline cuts, backcuts, having players continuously cutting to the basket and attacking the basket. Larry Brown, his NBA employer and mentor, employed an almost identical system for RHamilton, as the one you described for RWhitman.
I mentioned a couple of yrs ago that I believed Woodson wants to separate himself from his mentors and establish his own destinctive identity. He’s trying to accomplish this by putting in HIS system, which bears no resemblance or contains no components of either of the systems used by his mentors. Even though his system isn’t getting the most out of the talent of his player, or the team as a whole, he refuses to accept that failure as the result of his system, because he sees it as a direct negative reflection upon him. That’s also why he blames the players, or lack of talent, experience, vet PG etc. It’s also why he refuses to take advise from his assistants or employ any outside help.
Despite all of that, I hope we get off to our usually good start and maintain it throughout the season. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JustaThought
October 28th, 2009
5:38 pm
I didn’t relize Rondo was a malcontent for the Celts……..He seems to run that team fairly well, as a matter of fact if he was to go down by injury, I think we all will see how improtant he is to making the Celts flow.
cp
October 28th, 2009
6:18 pm
We have a better team than the Pacers. I hope the guys come out focused and put them away early. The Hawks are known to play down to their competition so I hope they are focused tonight. I hope to see something new with this offense. If the game against Orlando is any indication of what to expect on the offensive side of the ball then its going to be a long season. Woodson needs to look at some better basketball tapes or something and open this offense up. I’m sick of the ISO and stand around and hope somebody makes a shot offense. Get some motion going , set some screens, some pick and pop, some pick and roll, something period.
rms
October 28th, 2009
6:42 pm
They wont be focused. Their excuse will be “We just werent ready to play! They played with more energy and focus. We just have to correct our mistakes and get better. Its only the first game. We’ll be okay”. Typical Hawks. The most consistent inconsistent team in the NBA.
vava74
October 28th, 2009
6:48 pm
just a few minutes to go…
cp
October 28th, 2009
6:54 pm
And please no heat check tonight from Nique
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
6:59 pm
LETS GET IT!!!
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
6:59 pm
Rondo is no malcontent – he plays with a maturity beyond his years. Rasheed is no malcontent, as long as he is winning.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:01 pm
The Hawks 2009-10 season has officially started. Lets get ready to RUMBLE.
MyView
October 28th, 2009
7:21 pm
Is anyones tv showing a college football replay instead of the hawks
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Joe and Bibby are having a terrible first qtr….
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Josh looks like an all-star, Joe looks bad early
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:32 pm
An All Star? How many points has Murphy burned him for? Come on.
fudd21
October 28th, 2009
7:34 pm
Joe and Bibby aren’t looking too good right now. Josh has energy and is attacking the basket.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:34 pm
I won’t reserve my venom for Josh. JJ is shooting like crap and Marvin is playing crappy D too. But Josh has played amazingly lazy D. He got one steal but has been incredibly slow closing out on Murphy – who has already hit two shots before Josh even got back on D.
This is eerily like the inconsistent Hawks we all know and love/hate. The good (Josh’s thunder dunks and some nice passes by Bibby) and the bad (see above).
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:36 pm
I’m not gonna bother. Pretty clear people are only seeing the things they want to see.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:38 pm
Nire…
mainly on the offensive end sir… though he does have a steal… and it was quite the exaggeration… its game 1…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:39 pm
i think the rotating d has been lazy… Bibby’s been late.. Joe… Marvin..
clearly Josh has been the best Hawk on the floor…
fudd21
October 28th, 2009
7:39 pm
Nire, I’m just glad to see him attacking the basket. but you are right they arent guarding granger or murphy at all.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:40 pm
Nire,
How can you single out one person for the team defensive lapses when the Hawks are switching defenders on defense? How many open shots have Granger gotten?
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:40 pm
Foster in the game… someone alert the APD…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:40 pm
oh yea.. he’s playing laaaaazy alright…
pff…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:42 pm
he did something like that at G-St…
my goodness… he’s in the building…
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:43 pm
Great steal and shot to end the 1st qtr. Good or not that was a great shot… Welcome to Atlanta J Crawford…..
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:45 pm
well NY…
1st highlight out the gate…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loOQJOwr2uw
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
7:45 pm
Heh. I knew Josh would get the first barb….
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:45 pm
Melvin,
I already said Marvin’s played lazy D. Marvin’s been the worst player out there tonight. But Josh’s D on Murphy has been atrocious, and you’re just making stuff up if you’re blaming it on switching. Not one of Murphy’s shots has been when someone had switched off onto him. Sorry, but they haven’t. Every single one was Josh not getting back on D, not respecting Murphy’s range, or otherwise not watching his man.
Josh is attacking the basket. And that’s gotten us 10 points. But his lazy D has cost us 11. That’s not a net good thing.
fudd21
October 28th, 2009
7:47 pm
wow! woody using a 10 player rotation already. now that is something new
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
7:48 pm
Solo sighting this early in the game? Oh wait, he’s playing for Indiana now….
DawgHaek
October 28th, 2009
7:48 pm
I have att-uverse and am getting the Al-Tenn. football replay and not the Hawks!
WTF!
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:49 pm
I’m just getting tired of this. People only notice the flaws in the players they don’t like and ignore the ones in the players they do. I know that’s par for the course, but it’s getting tiresome.
And no, I didn’t ignore my favs’ flaws. JJ and Marvin have both played quite badly tonight – Marvin has frankly been atrocious, two backcourt steals notwithstanding. Horford has actually looked pretty good in general, but he hasn’t been playing good help D.
Why is it so hard to remove the filter when watching the game? I’m just getting tired of people only seeing what they want to see.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:51 pm
goodness i like what Joe Smith brings us…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
7:53 pm
Getting outrebounded like this is not going to work. I sure hope the bench can help here, but as usual, the problem remains with the starters.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:54 pm
wow… Woody letting em’ rest…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
7:56 pm
Jeff Teague and Joe Smith look like they already have a nice chemistry working. Teague already has two dimes to Smith, and set him up with another wide open shot that Smith bricked.
Unfortunately on the defensive end and on the glass the Hawks are getting outworked. They need to step up the effort on that end.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:57 pm
Don’t get too excited yet, bigdave…let’s see if Woody can keep them out past the 7:00 mark.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
7:57 pm
Teague has a lot of work to do on the defensive end. The steals are nice, but he’s letting his man get by him way too easily, and that’s where he has the most potential to help the Hawks since Bibby has a hard time keeping his man in front of him as well.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:58 pm
gotta get around that screen young fella…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
7:58 pm
Joe sets up Teague for the three. VERY nice….
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:58 pm
Teague playing PG
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
7:59 pm
But on the flip side I guess I should be happy just to see Teague on the floor, after Acie Law rotted on the bench during his entire Hawks career.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:59 pm
Nope. Heh.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:59 pm
The Hawks’ D is just nonexistent tonight, though.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:59 pm
Nire…
thats like putting my dinner on the floor and my dog not eating it… but it was progress…
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
7:59 pm
Marvin with 2 buckets in a row.
Good 3 pt by Teague. When JJ got the steal, he pushed the ball. And thats what the Hawks need to do.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:03 pm
Marvin’s looking good in this second quarter… keep feeding the man.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:03 pm
Is it just me or are Bibby’s passes looking much crisper?
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:03 pm
i like.. i like…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:04 pm
way to be aggressive Marvin…
DEEZ NUTZZ
October 28th, 2009
8:04 pm
STEAL THEN A BLOCK BY LAZY JOSH
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:04 pm
This looks like one of those 113-108 games.
Where is the defense Hawks?
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:05 pm
Marvin’s still playing too far off Granger. He can’t leave Granger open when Granger’s feeling it, especially since Marvin doesn’t have the height advantage that he normally does.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:05 pm
i like…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:05 pm
NOW the Hawks are starting to look better. Great fast break.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:07 pm
Way to get back Josh. I’d still have much preferred he keep Murphy in front of him to begin with, but hopefully that’s a sign that he’s not underestimating Murphy like he was early.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:08 pm
Hawks are playing better now… Pacers started the game shooting lights out from the perimeter. Its plays to the Hawks advantage if they continue to play on the outside instead of feeding Hibbert in the paint…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:08 pm
good sign at the line
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:09 pm
Nothing looks better than such an improved contribution from our frontcourt contingent, instead of watching another round of Bibby/Joe shooting 6-21….
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:11 pm
Marvin cannot stop Granger. 20 points in the first half.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
O’brien, i thought we couldnt stop Murphy (11pts)….
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
Did Nique really just say that no one threw a punch in the Pacers-Pistons brawl?
Time for a heat check, Nique…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
Josh racking up points, steals, assists. Nice!
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
Josh would have taken that shot last year
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
Josh is looking very good with his passes/decision making…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
Excellent inside pass from Josh to Mo Evans. That is the most underrated part of Josh’s game to me — when he is in the post, he is a very good passer for the PF position. People assume he can’t pass because he commits a lot of turnovers, but most of the turnovers come when he’s trying to force the action by handling the ball on the perimeter.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
Melvin,
You gonna tell me Josh was stopping him early? Take off the lens, bro.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
LOL @ Nire ….please, no “heat checks”….
Blast
October 28th, 2009
8:15 pm
Josh Smith might have the most Hawk assists tonight. His passing so far is surreal.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:16 pm
Nire,
Just say it “you dont like Josh” and get it off your chest…lol
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:16 pm
Co-sign Najeh
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:16 pm
My god, I’d forgotten about that video. Nique and Divac need to be banned from wearing sleeveless jerseys now…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:17 pm
Speaking of heat checks, I turned the game on after like 6 minutes or so had already passed… has Nique dropped his first “heat check” of the season yet?
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:17 pm
Oh my, Magic beating Philly by 23pts at halftime. Raps up on the Cavs by 15 in the 2nd qtr..
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:17 pm
I was miffed that Josh only has one rebound, but if he’s guarding Murphy, doesn’t that take him away from the basket more? Still, I want to see more rebounds…
Blast
October 28th, 2009
8:18 pm
Joe is forcing things.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:18 pm
Oh geez….
pound, pound, pound, brick…. sigh …
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:19 pm
Dang it. Why did Joe Smith leave Murphy open on the 3pt line to end the half???? I meant Josh or was that Joe????
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:20 pm
Yeah… if there was any disappointment offensively to me in that half — especially in the 2nd quarter — it was Joe Johnson. Everyone else looked in sync and ready to go, and mostly I was seeing people take good shots. The front court is looking terrific.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:20 pm
Melvin,
For heaven’s sake read my posts. I like Josh fine, and I’ve given him credit for his offensive aggressiveness (and now I’ll throw in my compliments to his outstanding passing so far). I just get pissed when people ignore the flaws in their favorite players’ games. And you were doing that with Josh early when he was playing 8 feet off Murphy, who was torching him as badly as Granger was torching Marvin in the 1st quarter. I acknowledged that Marvin has played atrocious D on Granger and that JJ was playing very poorly. Why can’t you acknowledge that Josh was playing lazy D on Murphy early? How does that reflect on me instead of you?
cp
October 28th, 2009
8:26 pm
I like what the bench is doing although Crawford didn’t get into any rhythm. Josh and Horford playing well. Marvin is getting owned by Granger. Joe looks like he forgot we had a game today. More of the pound pound pound take a bad shot. Tell Joe its ok to trust his teammates every once in a while. We have to play better on the defensive end. We are lucky to be up even 1 with the so called D we have been playing.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:28 pm
Everyone played unevenly in the first half:
- Horford played the best overall, but still needs to rotate a little more quickly on help D
- Josh was the most active on offense, and Bibby has done a great job finding him. Josh’s court vision was also great, which is good to see, as is the fact that he only took two long jumpers. The bad: He didn’t bother to defend Murphy early. He seems to have learned his lesson, though.
- JJ can’t seem to make up his mind about what he wants to do when he gets the ball. He actually was the one playing the best D, but he’s been manic on the offensive end.
- Marvin was just atrocious in the first quarter on both ends. He found his stroke in the 2nd, but Granger kept killing him on the other end.
- The second unit looked solid – they didn’t get burned, which all we need from them. I’m not happy that JJ played 20 minutes in the first half, though – he was the last starter off and the second one to come back. Considering that he was the 2nd-worst starter in the first half, that made no sense.
- Our offense looked a lot crisper, but seemed more “flow of the game” than designed plays. We’re playing Jim O’Brien’s style of ball. That might seem good now, but it’s an eerie indication that we still let the other team dictate the style of play.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:30 pm
Nire,
i will re-post my initial post from earlier along with yours and bigdave. I made no reference to defense. The attorney in you, is trying to turn the talking points of the conversation or twist my intent. Now since you have admitted that Joe is playing poorly, you agreed with my initial evaluation of the game unless you are going to say Bibby had a good 1st qtr.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Joe and Bibby are having a terrible first qtr….
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Josh looks like an all-star, Joe looks bad early
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:32 pm
An All Star? How
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:32 pm
Nire,
i will re-post my initial post from earlier along with yours and bigdave. I made no reference to defense. The attorney in you, is trying to turn the talking points of the conversation or twist my intent. Now since you have admitted that Joe is playing poorly, you agreed with my initial evaluation of the game unless you are going to say Bibby had a good 1st qtr.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Joe and Bibby are having a terrible first qtr….
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Josh looks like an all-star, Joe looks bad early
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:32 pm
An All Star? How many points has Murphy burned him for? Come on.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:33 pm
17 of 26 FGs in the first half were assisted – including 6 of Josh’s 7 FGs (which is VERY good, because Josh is at his best when we feed him in motion). That’s a very good sign…but only if it’s by design and not just a sign that we’re playing O’Brien’s style of ball.
Sautee
October 28th, 2009
8:34 pm
Here’s one thing Bradley said on HIS blog”
Mark Bradley
October 28th, 2009
8:24 pm
There was a sequence late in the half where Joe dribbled for 10 seconds and shot. (And missed.) I’m hoping we’ll have less of that this season and more of what we witnessed in the first half — more shots for Josh and Horfy.
DEEZ NUTZZ
October 28th, 2009
8:36 pm
JOE PLAYED LIKE THE NON STAR THAT HE IS, THERE WAS NOTHING GOOD ABOUT HIS GAME!!
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:37 pm
good pass joe
tagurit
October 28th, 2009
8:38 pm
The hawks can’t win shootouts, they have to play better defense.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:38 pm
Melvin,
Funny that you stopped before your first post that was directed at me:
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:34 pm
I won’t reserve my venom for Josh. JJ is shooting like crap and Marvin is playing crappy D too. But Josh has played amazingly lazy D. He got one steal but has been incredibly slow closing out on Murphy – who has already hit two shots before Josh even got back on D.
This is eerily like the inconsistent Hawks we all know and love/hate. The good (Josh’s thunder dunks and some nice passes by Bibby) and the bad (see above).
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:36 pm
I’m not gonna bother. Pretty clear people are only seeing the things they want to see.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:40 pm
Nire,
How can you single out one person for the team defensive lapses when the Hawks are switching defenders on defense? How many open shots have Granger gotten?
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:45 pm
Melvin,
I already said Marvin’s played lazy D. Marvin’s been the worst player out there tonight. But Josh’s D on Murphy has been atrocious, and you’re just making stuff up if you’re blaming it on switching. Not one of Murphy’s shots has been when someone had switched off onto him. Sorry, but they haven’t. Every single one was Josh not getting back on D, not respecting Murphy’s range, or otherwise not watching his man.
Josh is attacking the basket. And that’s gotten us 10 points. But his lazy D has cost us 11. That’s not a net good thing.
…
Where did I single Josh out? Hmmmm? You made your post after I had also called out Marvin for his D, but you conveniently ignored that in your rush to defend Josh.
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:39 pm
good one deez nutzz…
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:39 pm
nire,
I dont have a style of ball. Oh you mean Jim O’Brien
Raps up on Cleveland by 15? Cleveland has a tough opening schedule though. 4 games in 5 nights.
When JJ has nights like this, it increases the chances that he’ll be back with the Hawks next year…
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:39 pm
everyone is passing well…that is good to see
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:40 pm
gee wiz… the ball is moving… so are off ball players…
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:40 pm
As I said, take off the lens Mel.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:41 pm
Sautee ,
You naughty dog, you! Combining two of Nire’s biggest pet peeves in one post…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:41 pm
i dare you to make a sub right now Woody…
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:42 pm
Nire,
Did I rush to defend Josh or did I took the blame off of one player and place it on the defensive scheme that the team is playing?
fudd21
October 28th, 2009
8:42 pm
starting frontcourt shootinf 18 for 26 thus far. that is very impressive. al hitting that 15 footer consistently and josh attacking. those are good signs for us
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:42 pm
aww,,, Crawford at PG
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:42 pm
A lot happens to get ignored in a rush to defend a favorite player…
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:43 pm
bigdave,
Look like woody heard you sub Crawford for Bibby…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:44 pm
Well now, it seems that loser of an undersized center of ours has 16 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists. Didn’t somebody say we wouldn’t get squat from him?
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:44 pm
i cant believe we are doubling on the perimeter…
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:44 pm
I am very impressed by the ball movement thus far.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:44 pm
Dang! Josh with his 8th assist , and Horford with an “And 1″!
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:45 pm
Im liking the unselfish play I’m seeing from the Hawks tonight…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:45 pm
Woody is showing off.. he’s about to sub JT for Joe..
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:46 pm
Heads up – now that we’ve established the frontcourt game, JJ is getting more open looks.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:46 pm
I think Bibby mins will get reduce alot this season…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:47 pm
hmm… for Marvin… it would have been too good to be true to let the horses run…
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:47 pm
Ya spoke too soon, bigdave…
fudd21
October 28th, 2009
8:48 pm
JJ just took an awful shoot. i really hopes it gets through his head that he doesn’t have to force stuff for us to be successful
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:48 pm
I dont like those 2 shots by Teague
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:49 pm
I dunno, Mel. Amazingly enough, Bibby has played better D than either tonight. That’s a bad, bad sign.
fudd21
October 28th, 2009
8:49 pm
crawford can get bickets whenever he gets good and ready to. i’m go really like having him around.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:51 pm
agreed Nire… not good… hopefully their still getting acclimated…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:52 pm
Here we are again with Joe playing so many minutes. Why? He’s starting to shoot better than he was in the first half, but we’re not exactly dying without his offense.
On the flip side, at least he’s not having to work hard on defense. I mean, Brandon Rush? Hah. Not exactly a challenge.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:53 pm
look at AL!!!!
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:53 pm
Man, we have GOT to play better defense than THIS.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:53 pm
Nire,
We are in a shoot out tonight. I like the fact that we are scoring more points in the paint then the Pacers. Let them kill us by the jumpshot, I like our chances better…
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:55 pm
Jeff Foster = Annoying
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:56 pm
Dang, how many “And 1″ do the Hawks have tonight..
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:56 pm
Al Horford: 20 points, 11 rebounds . Yeah, we won’t get anything worthwhile from him….heh heh heh…
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:57 pm
The Hawks look so much better when they push the tempo. And its not like they’re playing good defense. But yet Woody always talks about how the Hawks can only run if they play good defense.
On another note, ZaZa has not done much (in my opinion) tonight.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:57 pm
Come on, Josh. Would another rebound be too much to ask? Oh wait, you’re not in the game right now.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
8:57 pm
Dag it ZaZa.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:58 pm
Melvin,
That sounds nice, except we’re playing the Pacers’ style of ball. That’s a bad sign, because it seems too much like the old Hawks who let other teams dictate the style. We can’t win 50 games playing this little D…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:59 pm
O’brien ,
Good point about running/defense…
We still have to play better defense than THIS, though. Ugh…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:59 pm
i think our 2nd unit plays better at a slower tempo…
go ahead and hound me…
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:59 pm
Yeah. When Mike Bibby has 3 times as many rebounds as Josh, Marvin, and JJ combined…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:02 pm
Oops. Charge on Joe.
rob 2.5
October 28th, 2009
9:03 pm
If Al Horford keeps playing like that he can be an all star this year!
Can we please TRADE JJ?
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:03 pm
Joe! What was that shot about?
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:03 pm
don’t like Joe Ray?
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
9:03 pm
And why bother put JJ back in the game. Just have him rest for the rest of the quarter, and the intermission. Or is it just me?
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
9:04 pm
Nope, you’re right O’Brien. Put in Marvin, play Mo at the 2…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:05 pm
im interested in seeing what lineup Woody inserts in a close game down the stretch…
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
9:06 pm
That is, if you sub at all. I’d have just kept Crawford out there another 45 seconds and had him play soft D. Not like it could be worse D than we already were doing. Heh…
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
9:07 pm
Woody is going to run Joe back into the ground again this season… Why put him back in the game with less 2mins to finished the 3rd qtr? Most vet coaches allow their start player to rest at the end of the 3rd and start of the 4th to finish the game strong. Nope, not Woody…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:07 pm
Mercy… that was authority…
no Foster kneed him in the nuts.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:08 pm
Come on, Josh. Hit a couple more free throws and you’re a 20-point scorer.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:09 pm
Melvin ,
Woody = not fast learner
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:09 pm
kill em Joe…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:11 pm
I’d love to see Joe back his defender down more. How many 2 guards can handle him like that?
Josh gets his second rebound….hooray….
Here comes Murphy and Granger. Clearly Jim O’brien is smarter about subbing than somebody else I know.
rob 2.5
October 28th, 2009
9:11 pm
I hope JJ takes over like he did vs the celtics in the playoffs!
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
9:11 pm
My Goodness. 10mins left in the 4th and we have gone to ISO Joe already.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:11 pm
Marvin made the wrong pass from the jump… he should have went to Horford instead of swinging it further to Josh…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:12 pm
Josh with the airball. Got all tied up, and nobody was moving…
Pacers are lights out from 3, there goes the lead…
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
9:12 pm
Even ‘Nique knew that shot by Josh had no chance of going in…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:12 pm
Zaza has blown at least three or four easy opportunities in this game. We are seeing “Bad Zaza” tonight. Josh set him up perfectly with that pass, as he’s been doing all game with his interior passing.
Loving the intensity and overall play from the front court on offense (well, just as I type that, Josh shoots an unnecessary airball over Troy Murphy). Unfortunately they have not played well defensively. I hope this inability to guard good perimeter shooting teams doesn’t become a pattern during this season. The Hawks have been too late to challenge shooters all game, whether it’s the Pacers’ front court or back court doing the shooting.
fudd21
October 28th, 2009
9:12 pm
the ball movement has slowed down and we are going back to iso joe
rob 2.5
October 28th, 2009
9:13 pm
TRADE JJ FAST!
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:15 pm
bigdave ,
Don’t try me. You know it’s not like that. Didn’t like the shot selection at the time, that’s all. Didn’t like Josh’s airball either, but he won’t get the benefit of the explanation of being defended, without teammates moving around. It is what it is…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:16 pm
They got lucky with that wide open brick from Murphy. Is it really that hard to identify the shooters and step out on them?
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:16 pm
SWEET shot by Bibby. That’s what he brings, man.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:17 pm
Good help defense by Josh to help Marvin on Granger, forcing the travel .
Great drive by Bibby, yet another steal by Josh.
Great follow by AL!
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
9:18 pm
Great steal by Josh. Nice dunk by Al.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
9:18 pm
Woody = stubborn old man, stuck in his ways. Sheesh.
Roller-coaster it is Bibby is still clutch though.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
9:18 pm
Horford has a little showboat in him but I like it… Timely shots by Bibby…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:19 pm
i hear ya Ray… it just was reading like excessive nit picking but who cares…
good d from Joe on Granger.. he’s in his hip pocket… great ball denial allowing the steal…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:22 pm
That was fantastic one on one defense by Marvin on Dahntay Jones. Great block. You know, inside the 3 point arc the Hawks’ defense has gotten a lot better over the course of this game. If they would just keep their eyes open for the shooters better they would lock this game up.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:22 pm
knock that down Joe…!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:23 pm
Finally Joe takes it to the rim. With his strength he really should do that more.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:23 pm
he’s blowing by his defenders… his first step is looking good again.. but its game 1.
Blast
October 28th, 2009
9:23 pm
Pacers are running out of gas. And time. And life.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:23 pm
Joe with a less-than-good move, bailed out by Al, then a great drive.
‘Bout time Granger gets called for a foul on Joe.
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
9:23 pm
Its a good thing the Pacers are missing shots now, because I would hate for this game to come down to a tired JJ with 20 seconds left.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:26 pm
Granger’s freakin’ fast. I thought maybe we should take Marvin off Granger and let Joe have a shot at him, but that’s actually a worse idea.
Granger is just nasty, and I’m not sure anybody outside of the Artests, Battiers, and some other top notch perimeter defenders can do much with him. Jim O’Brien’s offense is taylored to him, but I don’t think there is much doubt as to why….
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:26 pm
“bailed out by Al” he didnt look like he was driving to dump it off?
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:26 pm
Sekou tweeted a little earlier that he was puzzled why Crawford hasn’t played more. My guess is that Crawford, being an instant offense guy who takes a lot of shots, is not needed quite as much in a game like this where the Hawks’ offense is clicking on all cylinders, the defense needs work, and the opposing front line is too big to go with the Bibby-Crawford-Johnson lineup. I’m guessing in games against better defensive teams Crawford will get more burn.
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
9:28 pm
I know this is only game 1, but JJ has played 35 minutes already, and Crawford has only played 14. What’s up with that?
Is it just Woody being Woody?
vava74
October 28th, 2009
9:28 pm
Our team motto should be: “Toying With Disaster”
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:28 pm
Sekou just pointed out on Twitter that Horford has been destroying Hibbert inside all night. I think it’s worth pointing out that Hibbert is 7′2″ and 278 pounds, while Horford is 6′10″ and 245 pounds.
It ain’t all about size, folks.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
9:29 pm
The frontcourt has been a lot quieter offensively in the second half, but that’s just fine – we established the frontcourt early, which opened the floor for the perimeter players late. JJ is getting a lot more single coverage, and he’s taken advantage. Josh has really buckled down defensively in the second half, and JJ has quietly played outstanding D all game long.
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
9:30 pm
This looks like a preseason game.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:31 pm
“and JJ has quietly played outstanding D all game long.”
agreed… as he does against most top tier players…
Blast
October 28th, 2009
9:32 pm
Still a lot of time, but Hawks have been exciting so far. Al is finally coming into his own. Josh has added a twist, assists, to his game, and up there in steals and blocks. He can score too, you know. Had some phenomenal dunks tonite. Joe needs to step it up. Teague is gonna be great. Go Hawks, Go!
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:33 pm
Wow, Larry Brown can’t be too happy… Charlotte has 39 points and the 3rd quarter is almost over in that game. I know they are at Boston, but still, damn that is terrible.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:34 pm
get you a pull up game Marvin… they playing that drive brother…
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
9:34 pm
Bibby still willing to take and make a big shot. That was a charge should’ve given the ball up there.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:35 pm
bigdave ,
Looked to me like he was driving to score, Al got it, then gave it back. Debatable, as most things are. As for him quietly playing good defense, who has he been defending? I know it wasn’t Granger if his defense was good. But like I said earlier, I don’t think it’s a good idea to put Joe on him.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:35 pm
this look like rookie year Al on HGH…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:36 pm
Attention Hawks fans:
With 1:10 left in the first game of the season, Dominique Wilkins said “heat check”.
As far as I can tell, this is the first heat check of the season.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
9:36 pm
DAMMIT. Almost went a whole game without a “heat check.”
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
9:37 pm
Nice move by Woodson taking Al out so he could get some applause.
Mike
October 28th, 2009
9:39 pm
Joe…39 minutes. Way to go Woodson.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:39 pm
I gotta say I’m pretty happy with the overall performance. Obviously the perimeter defense needs major improvement, and the Pacers probably could have made a game out of it if they took better care of the ball, and it’s not like they were going up against a defensive juggernaut, but it’s clear right now that the offense is going to be a lot harder to stop and a lot less one-dimensional this year. And we know from the past that this team is fully capable of playing much better D. I’m feeling pretty optimistic after this game.
Blast
October 28th, 2009
9:41 pm
Beautiful opening night win, man, considering how well Indiana shot the ball. How about Bibby, huh? Didn’t do much all night, got beaten on defence, but came up big when it counted.
Washington Next!
Go Hawks, Go!!!!!!!!!!!
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
9:41 pm
Good win to start the season by the Hawks. What I like the most about tonight game is that each starter seem to have a hot streak on offense during different parts of the game. Solid win. Go Hawks…
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
9:41 pm
It’s a win and that all that counts. Al gave us a glimpse of what he can be, if he plays like that throughout the season then I can see the Hawks going much further in the playoffs.
That said, the team is not yet a finely tuned machine yet especially on defense.
Samuel
October 28th, 2009
9:41 pm
Isn’t Larry Brown supposed to be a great coach?
Fire LB
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:42 pm
Ray..
as you know in our defense particularly as it pertains to Joe… nobody is guarding the same man all night. i agreed with that statement b/c when Joe is asked to defend the opponents greatest offensive threat he does well, as he did tonight when he had the Granger assignment. he even played good post defense on Murphy. so Granger did all that damage on Joe…? you’re kidding me.. u heard the broadcast.. for most of the 4th Granger was quiet. guess who was guarding him…
Mike N.
October 28th, 2009
9:42 pm
i like 6 guys in double figures…just dont think Joe needed to play 39 minutes tonite. I know Crawford was in foul trouble but move evans to SG or play teague and bibby when Indiana had Watson and Head in the game.
Sautee
October 28th, 2009
9:42 pm
Woodson: “yeah, I burned Joe too much last year”
Joe Johnson: 39 min.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:45 pm
Nire ,
I don’t know which was less likely to happen: ‘Nique not saying “heat check” or Woody not playing Joe for 39 minutes in a game.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:46 pm
Joe’s mins last year = Joe’s mins this year
put me down for that…
Mac-Town
October 28th, 2009
9:48 pm
hmmm….How is Crawford going to adjust to just being a role player?
not many minutes….not many attempts…….
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:50 pm
bigdave ,
Never said Granger did all that to Joe. I said no way Joe was guarding him all night, and it wasn’t a good idea to do that anyhow, considering how tough he can be. And as I recall, Granger scored on Joe as well, just not as much. All I’m saying is that Joe’s defensive assignments for the evening weren’t too strenuous, and that’s a good thing, considering the minutes he played. Clearly, he hardly had to deal with Granger at all in the first half, when dude went off on us for 22 points.
I know you’re a big Joe fan, did you think I forgot that?
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
9:50 pm
what happened to ‘Hawks Live’?
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
9:52 pm
Yup. Last year, JJ averaged 39:32 per game. Tonight he played 39:23.
buckhead benny
October 28th, 2009
9:53 pm
Can you tell me how they come up in the box score for the totals for Jeff Teague and Mo Evans- it looks to read where it should be 7 for teague instead of 5 and 14 instead of 12 for evans- maybe i am blind- Something can’t be right about the totals-
Sautee
October 28th, 2009
9:53 pm
Just a reminder…..
Monitering the voice of ignorance
October 27th, 2009
8:39 pm
“When you have no inside game you have no choice by to try an score outside. One thing is for sure….You aint getting Sh!t out of Horford and Zaza. Hamburger and his helper.”
OOPS!
Horford: 24 and 16 with 4 ast and 2 blocked shots!
And that, my friends, was against 7′ 2″, 278 pound Roy Hibbert.
Actually I’m SURE that truth-serum is pleased to be wrong, at least for tonight.
And IF (and that’s a HUGE if) Al can do this consistently, I’ll wager that he’ll win truth-serum over. How could he not?
In Other News
October 28th, 2009
9:54 pm
The Cavs look like boo boo. A ring for the King is going down FAST!!!. But damn Toronto Miami and the Wiz are coming on strong.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
9:55 pm
Either way, our defense as a whole looked like crap for the better part of three quarters. We did force a lot of turnovers (and nearly as many were unforced), though.
Have to play better defense against better teams, or we’ll be like Golden State: trying to outscore the competition.
Having said that, I’m glad that we won opening night (especially at home), and was ecstatic to see the offense flow through the frontcourt early and often. Al and Josh looked pretty damn good on offense.
Josh had 8 assists, 1 turnover to go with his 18 points and anemic 3 rebounds. Not to mention 5 steals and 2 blocked shots.
Al was an absolute beast with Dwight Howard-like numbers. 24 points, 16 rebounds, 2 blocked shots?
Where are the Al haters at?
The bench was fairly solid, and I was glad to see Woody play those guys. Mo Evans was the highlight of that crew.
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
9:56 pm
I thought JJ would play about 35 minutes, and Crawford would get around 20. But instead JJ got his 39:23, and Crawford only got 14.
What I found interesting is that Crawford did not sub for JJ much. Instead, Crawford played some PG, and when Crawford played SG, JJ played SF.
I just think there is no reason for JJ to play more than 35 minutes, especially against the Pacers.
Sautee
October 28th, 2009
9:56 pm
Horford was Prime Rib tonight.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
9:56 pm
A lot of blowouts in the NBA tonight. Philly and New Orleans are the only supposed playoff contenders on the wrong end of blowouts, but it’s interesting to see the Cavs about to go 0-2 for the season and have a second straight poor shooting game — this time against a team that is supposed to have a weak defense.
Blast
October 28th, 2009
9:57 pm
Toronto beating up on the Cavs, tonight? Wow! Whats up with Cleveland?
ILL-logical
October 28th, 2009
9:57 pm
Smith F 35:12 7-10 4-7 0-0 +23 0 3 8 2 5 1 4 18
M. Williams F 31:14 4-8 5-6 1-1 +12 0 4 0 2 2 2 4 14
A. Horford C 33:31 11-17 2-3 0-0 +15 3 16 4 2 0 1 3 24
J. Johnson G 39:23 10-21 3-4 2-5 +17 0 0 6 0 4 4 2 25
M. Bibby G 30:43 4-7 0-0 2-3 +16 0 4 5 0 3 2 1 10
Z. Pachulia 16:29 1-4 2-4 0-0 -7 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 4
M. Evans 15:08 4-5 3-3 1-1 -5 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 12
J. Teague 13:56 2-7 0-0 1-1 -8 1 3 4 0 1 0 2 5
J. Crawford 13:36 1-3 1-1 0-1 +1 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 3
J. Smith 10:48 2-5 1-1 0-0 -9 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 5
J. Collins 0:00 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
R. Morris
Good scoring balance tonight in an otherwise lackluster win. Tonight’s defensive effort will not cut it against the Wizards. But hey, at least we aren’t 0-2 like the Cavs!
Another thing: let’s watch our use of words/phrases like”lazy’; low IQ and similar potentially incendiary language when it is directed at a particular group of people as some do here. IMJS
Blast
October 28th, 2009
10:00 pm
For those who say trade Al or Josh for Bosh, looking at the raw numbers, both Al and Josh outplayed Bosh tonite.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:01 pm
Samuel ,
Larry Brown is a good coach. But what’s that you say, “It’s all about the players..”
Uh, what’s happening up there in Cleveland? They playin’ possum up there?
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
10:01 pm
“As for him quietly playing good defense, who has he been defending? I know it wasn’t Granger if his defense was good. ”
hmm.. it could easily be implied thats what you meant. but hey, im not 2nd guessing ya.
no by design he didnt draw the Granger assignment exclusively much of 1st half… but he sure did in the 4th Granger got 3 shots up.. hit a 3 with Joe’s hand in face. Joe did his work early on Granger, ball denial and such.
of course ya didnt forget!!
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
10:01 pm
Good win Hawks.
Lets focus on our defense for the next game tho
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:03 pm
Ok, how much of this do we chalk up to experimentation and first game “lack of focus?”
Okay, all except the part about JJ’s minutes. Damn am I tired of that already, and it’s only been one game.
Sautee
October 28th, 2009
10:03 pm
Truth-serum
Something to soothe your soul:
In 3 quarters, your boy Brook Lopez is goin’ OFF!
27 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast. in 3 quarters. WOW!
Two good young bigs coming in to their own. tonight. Of course only ONE of them is a “true center”.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 28th, 2009
10:06 pm
Great win to start the season! Great game by Horf!
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:09 pm
Heh. Andrea Bargnani scored 28 on the Cavs in less than 30 minutes. I guess somebody forgot to stop the “Euro punk”…
Cleveland’s problem is that LBJ is still the starting point guard, the starting 2-guard, and the starting small forward. Delonte West is in Loonyland, and apparently Mo Williams has yet to move out of Chokeville.
And for our sakes, I hope the Cavs remain befuddled on the court.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:13 pm
bigdave ,
I’ll refer to what I said earlier: “A lot gets missed when a person is in a rush to defend a favorite player”
And before I can be accused of it by anybody, notice I wasn’t all up in arms to defend Josh Smith, as I have been in the past. Then again, there wasn’t a whole lot to attack him on, as I’m sure just spoiled some people’s day…
The Hawksta
October 28th, 2009
10:14 pm
I should have known my fellow Hawkstas were posting over here! Silly me posting on Mark’s blog all night. None of the lifers were there. Oh well 1 down 81 to go.
The defense looked alot like our last preseason game against Orlando. By the way they look like beast! So do the Celtics! Go Hawks!
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:20 pm
“no by design he didnt draw the Granger assignment exclusively much of 1st half… but he sure did in the 4th Granger got 3 shots up.. hit a 3 with Joe’s hand in face. Joe did his work early on Granger, ball denial and such.”
Again, I thought that was a GOOD idea. Woody played Joe damn near 40 minutes…AGAIN. My comment was based on the idea that even though Joe played so many minutes, at least he wasn’t tasked with guarding Granger all game long. It was actually smart strategy to put Joe on him in the 4th, while keeping him off of him for the better part of the first three quarters. Two things happened that were different, despite JJ’s excessive minutes: he got PLENTY of help on offense, to the point of where he became the helper rather than the chief contributor. And, he didn’t have the toughest defensive assignments for the majority of the game.
Of course, the only problem with that is you either have to agree that this was smart strategy on the part of Woody (and you know I’m not a big Woody advocate), or you have to declare it an accidental or coincidental happenstance. Much as I’d normally declare it coincidence, I have to think this was by design, and Woody gets credit for it . Or, I’m wrong…
Strange how my “implied” point was entirely missed, and all that came out of this was me “implicitly” bashing JJ. Gee, I can’t imagine how that happened.
Rod from College Park
October 28th, 2009
10:21 pm
Answer me this. Why was our best perimeter defender as some of you say not guarding Granger. You want to know why? Because he (Marvin) is not our best perimeter defender as I stated many times. Joe is our best perimeter defender. Would some of you (you know who you are), still take Marvin over Granger. Good win by the Hawks. Good game by Horford, Josh and Joe.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:25 pm
The Magic still look scary.
Yet…uh, I know it was against the Pacers but, uh… Horford had slightly better stats than uh….Dwight Howard …
I just heard a sound like a dull “thud.” Oh, that was the Spurs stepping on the Hornets….
Ariose
October 28th, 2009
10:31 pm
10-28-2009 Indiana Pacers Post-Game Press Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzdmnDKcfiY&feature=sub
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:32 pm
Rod ,
Heh, heh, heh…I had you pegged for posting this sooner, but what the hey. All I can say is that Granger is for real, offensive design or not. As for who’s better at defending on the perimeter, I think bigdave has stated the case for JJ rather well (so has Nire ).
I also think it should be obvious why JJ wasn’t guarding him for the bulk of the game. It was better to let him get his earlier, then clamp down on him more in the 4th quarter. Just my opinion, though.
As for Marvin, he did typical Marvin stat-wise. 14 points, a few boards.
Josh and Al were off the chain, though.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
10:34 pm
I guess it would be hypocritical for me to point this out, since I was sitting on my couch watching this game on TV, but it’s disappointing that a 2nd round playoff team can’t sell out its season opener.
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
10:38 pm
Would some of you (you know who you are), still take Marvin over Granger. Good win by the Hawks. Good game by Horford, Josh and Joe.
You assume that Granger would be a good fit on this team. While tonight’s performance was very good, it is a long season and I’m not sure Granger could defer to JJ or be willing to play whatever role he needed to play given what the team needed game to game.
It would be easy based on tonight’s game to answer “yes” to your question, but I don’t think it is such an easy one to answer if we look at fit.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:41 pm
Hmmph. After watching Ariose’s youtube link, we’ll have to see what happens with Joe as the games wear on.
Clearly Woody is not yet ready to cut back on Joe’s minutes and trust bench players a little more. Hopefully that will change, and quite soon. It’s a combination, though. Woody has to get it done, but the bench guys have to show that they can get it done as well. We’ll see, but I think it will shake out alright.
Part of it has to be Crawford adjusting to a bench role, as well as being expected to play better defense than he’s used to. And of course, Teague, though exciting and bursting with potential, is having to learn as well.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
10:42 pm
Kirk ,
Great point.
Jody
October 28th, 2009
10:57 pm
Kirkinga,
I’m excited about the win, but c’mon man. Danny Granger would be GREAT on this Hawks team. Does anyone HONESTLY AND TRUTHFULLY believe that if a deal involving those two players was proposed that the Hawks would say no because Marvin’s a better fit? LOL! Let’s keep it real folks. No offense to Marvin, but Granger hands down.
Game ball for this win goes to Josh Smith. Kid did it ALL tonight.
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
10:57 pm
Ray, I think you correct. I think Coach Woodson and his staff have yet to clearly identify and define each player’s role this season. I think that is one reason why we saw some old habits back on display tonight. I also think Coach was determined not to lose this first game of the season.
As I’ve said previously, trusting and developing his bench is going to made even more difficult by his lack of job security. Too easy to fall back into those habits when survival is on the line.
I think we also need to give a little credit to the Pacers for playing better than I think most of us expected. The Hawks probably didn’t think they’d have that much of a fight on their hands.
Go Hawks!!
Samuel
October 28th, 2009
11:04 pm
Good win over a team we should beat. Yea ray, Cleveland has a long way to go. 80 games left. they will be there when it’s all said and done but right now the two best teams in the East are clearly the magic and the Celtics.
I said that the Wizards would be hard to beat if Zero comes back healthy. Guess what, “He’s Baaaccckk”. Should be an exciting game coming up.
RLP
October 28th, 2009
11:08 pm
The important point about the defense is that after allowing 65 points in the first half they allow only 15 in the fourth quarter.
Also just a reminder that the Hawks could wind up with the fourth seed even if they were to finish with the second best record in the Conference behind the Magic. Although the Celtics look good and the Cavaliers look bad it is a long season. But would it not be exciting to see the Hawks breaking up the three headed monster all the prognosticators talk about? I am not predicting it but it is something to think about.
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
11:09 pm
Jody, I’m not denying that Granger is a palyer. My point is that if we are going to ask a question such as wouldn’t it have been better to have picked Granger instead of Marvin, then we need to think more comprehensibly than just perimeter defense, or any one aspect of the game.
I would think that was the case if Granger did not have the kind of game he had tonight in which case I bet that question doesn’t get asked.
Fit and chemistry count. I believe Marvin does some things that don’t show up in the box score that nevertheless help this team to win. If anything, I think there has been more of a discusiion about Marvin becoming more assertive. Granger is on a team where it is easier for him to play a different than what Marvin is asked to do for the Hawks.
We have no idea if Granger would be a fit for this team no matter what his stats may be. In Marvin’s defense, I seem to recall that that he was said to have the most upside of anyone in his draft class by nearly every NBA observer. So it feels a bit beside the point to ask that question now.
Go Hawks!!
Ken Strickland
October 28th, 2009
11:10 pm
I don’t know of anyone, other than CLYDE, that’s been critical of Woodson for as long as I have. That’s why I’m very pleased to offer my congradulations to Woodson and the Hawks for an outstanding win. Over the last 5yrs, I’ve never seen the Hawks pass the ball inside and attack the basket the way they did tonight. That had to be by design, and Woodson gets a lot of the credit for that.
We also played some excellent DEF, even though it didn’t show in the 1st half. But, when the opposition shoots over 65% for the 1st half, including from the 3pt line, and we find ourselves leading at the half, it means we played some serious basketball. I also have to take my hat off to MBibby, who’s DEF certainly didn’t hurt us. This was a total team win, from the sidelines to the court. I noticed we didn’t switch defensively at every opportunity, and it allowed our best DEF players to handle their man. By not switching everything and ending up with so many mismatches, we got better rebounding and shotblocking from our 2 best shotblockers and rebounders.
I also like the use of a 10 man rotation. If we continue to run, attack the basket, pass the ball inside and utilize our bench the way we did tonight, we’ll win 50-55gms this yr. Cleveland went down again tonight. I hope you can remember when I said they wouldn’t repeat 66wins because Orlando exposed their achilles heel and teams would start the season attacking that weakness. I also said that although Shaq might bring an added dimension to the team, he’s probably worse than Ilgoukas at defending the pick and roll, which was their achilles heel, along with their poor transition DEF.
AGAIN, GOOD WIN TONIGHT HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
kwooden1
October 28th, 2009
11:11 pm
I saw the final 10mins of the game, definitely a tough win! I can nit-pick about what I saw, but Bibby made some some big shots and the defense looked like it really kicked in late. Al had a great game and Smoove was very efficient. As everyone’s stated, I didn’t like the minutes that JJ played, but it was clear to me that Woodson left him in for defensive purposes. I hope that Jamal gets the hint about playing better defense. I have to assume that his defense wasn’t that great so Woodson was forced to leave him on the bench. Very good win!
GO HAWKS!!!
Jody
October 28th, 2009
11:27 pm
Kirkinga,
Sorry buddy, but we’ll just disagree on this one. There’s nothing (if anything) that Marvin does better than Granger. Because of that, I don’t think chemistry would be as big a deal as some try to make it. Simply put, you’d be hard pressed to find even ONE NBA gm or executive who would take Marvin over Granger today. The teams competing for the title this year will tell you that better players equal better teams. That simple.
cp
October 28th, 2009
11:45 pm
Glad we got the win. Saw some things I did not like though… We wont beat the Wizards if we play defense like they displayed tonight. We played well when we pushed the tempo and moved the ball. For some reason we got away with that at one point and went ISO Joe again. We always seem to go away from whats working. Luckily tonight it did not cost us. When we give our bigs the ball they produce. Im not worried about Crawford and Teague. I think they will be fine and just had one of those nights. Im disappointed we let Solo go but kept RandyMo around. They showed RamduMo on the bench a few times and it looked like he was either bored or in La La land. Indiana is a nice place for Solo. I think he is going to finally show that potential that a lot of us saw in him.
KevinA
October 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
I do not know if we have the team to beat the top 7-8 teams in the league over a series but we will win many of these types of games against many of these types of teams in the future. Call this a trust building type of game. Trusting team mates. Woody still went to the well with Bibby and JJ during the last 7 minutes, when he didn’t have to. So why didn’t the coach have trust? Who the heck knows. The team mates on the floor show much more trust by passing freely and at will. Much better ball rotation and much better balance.
I for one do not mind the go slow and prove it to me play as long as the balance of scoring attempts remains even between the front and back court. Ok I take it back, no reason for JJ to be in game with 7 min left to go with a 7-10 point lead. I think it was a lost opportunity to show Crawford he can replace JJ till the end of the game or at least give him a 2 min rest. The former the better. The same idea with Marvin and Evans. Give them the chance to finish games. Not because they are better but for later in the season experience. We need to exploit the idea we have multiple players capable of finishing games. I for one think they have paid their dues and can handle it.
One new wrinkle to a plus side of Woody coaching. He is giving Al the ball with more opportunities. Al looked crisp tonight, he won’t always. Lets hope he gives the young feller opportunities in every game. If JT and Crawford get the same opportunities we may lose a couple games early but we will be tough coming down the stretch come play off time. Coaches are like fans – we buy into every win. Can we buy into a system that dev elopes. A system of trust.
kirkinga
October 28th, 2009
11:58 pm
Jody, no problem. Disagreeing is how it is sometimes around here. I will say that I agree that most people would take Granger over Marvin now.
I believe you discount chemistry. I’d humbly suggest you consult Shaq and Kobe and get their feelings on the subject before you dismiss it out of hand.
Go Hawks!!
KevinA
October 29th, 2009
12:03 am
cp,
Im disappointed we let Solo go but kept RandyMo around
Not to mention we have yet to see what Collins can do. What if Solo ends up better or as good as Joe Smith. Pacers seem to love him. I thought he was solid tonight. Grass greener on the other side of the fence?
KevinA
October 29th, 2009
12:05 am
Jody
October 28th, 2009
11:27 pm
Kirkinga,
Sorry buddy, but we’ll just disagree on this one. There’s nothing (if anything) that Marvin does better than Granger. Because of that, I don’t think chemistry would be as big a deal as some try to make it.
If Grainger was 4th option would he look so good? I am still waiting for Bibby to become 7th option.
Jody
October 29th, 2009
12:07 am
Kirkinga,
Cool. Glad to know we peacefully disagree. Lol. I know we all want to see the Hawks win. Now, I’m not trying to be funny when I ask this, but didn’t Shaq and Kobe win three titles together?
Big Ray
October 29th, 2009
12:08 am
Samuel ,
Yeah, it will be interesting. We’ll get our butts beat if we don’t play better “D”. Easily.
Kirk ,
Good points, once again. I think we need to exercise a little patience in this regard. Holy crap, did I just say that?
Jody ,
There are no doubts about Granger’s ability, particularly as a scorer. However, having him here means a change in roles. No two ways about it. Based on Granger’s game, if you’re bringing him here, you’re substituting him for Joe, not Marvin. Granger’s role is more like Joe’s. And the two may not fit together. So, really you replace Joe with Granger (though you lose the playmaking ability and defense immediately), though Granger would still have to play the 3, then you put a Marvin-like role player at the 2.
DecDawg
October 29th, 2009
12:14 am
Jody…you might not be able to find one GM that would take Marvin over Granger but I’m willing to bet you will find more than one GM that would take Granger over Joe Johnson.
Jody
October 29th, 2009
12:19 am
Big Ray,
I know where you’re coming from, but I just look at this way, if ya got game, ya got game. Lol. Basketball ain’t brain surgery (thank goodness). If guys like Pierce, Allen and Garnett can play together, then I know Granger and Joe could play together.
Big Ray
October 29th, 2009
1:05 am
Jody ,
True. Two quick caveats:
1) It takes a certain kind of coach to deal with more than one ego, especially if those egos collide. Is that Woody?
2)It also takes certain kinds of personalities to exist, as well as certain conditions. Pierce/Allen/Garnett all had one thing in common: all three had spent the bulk of their careers being the featured guy, trying to get to the promised land. All three had failed to do it on their own. All three were only too glad to have each other as teammates, as they could help each other to that common goal.
Granger is quite young, and is only in his second year of being “the man” on his team. Is he ready to give that up or share it? How about Joe? He’s been “the man” for several years now, but does this relationship work, and does this work better for the team than the role Marvin plays? Consider that with Granger on board, Josh and Al suddenly get fewer touches…don’t they? Granger is a scorer, not a role player. So somebody would have to take on a role like Marvin’s. Horford is more mentally ready to do that than Josh is, yet we need a low post presence. Hmmmm…
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I wouldn’t go for that trade. Good is good, and Granger is damn good. All I’m saying is I don’t know how well it would work, and fit accounts for a lot in this league.
But yeah…Granger is Granger. Marvin is Marvin. One guy averages 25 a game, the other doesn’t. One guy is the focal point of his team’s offense, the other isn’t.
More than anything, Marvin-for-Granger makes NO sense for Indiana.
JoeH
October 29th, 2009
10:12 am
I was there last night…This is a much improved team over last year..
Truth-Serum
October 29th, 2009
12:53 pm
Good insights Ray!
Ken Strickland
October 28th, 2009
11:57 am
I’M DEFINITELY BOTH READY AND EXCITED ABOUT TONIGHTS OPENING GM!!! Starting tonight, all of the things that’s been said about the Hawks and MWoodson, both good and bad, will playout. I JUST WANT TO SAY GOOD LUCK TO BOTH HC MIKE WOODSON AND ALL OF THE HAWKS THIS SEASON. I hope you and the Hawks make liers out of all that have voiced doubts about you and the team, including me. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOT THAT IT’S HARD TO CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE A LIAR, KEN, WITH MALICE INTENT.WE ALREADY KNOW THAT. IT IS NICE TO HEAR ANYTHING POSITIVE COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! FOR THAT I APPLAUD YOU, IM SURE THAT WAS QUITE CHALLENGING FOR YOU. GOOD JOB!
I EXTEND MY HAND IN A OFFER OF TRUCE, LET’S AGREE TO LET THE SEASON PLAY OUT BEFORE FINALIZE OUR CRITIQUES. LET’S LET THE SEASON PLAY OUT AND SHARE COMMENTS POSTFACTIOUSLY.
Just a reminder…..
Monitoring the voice of ignorance
October 27th, 2009
8:39 pm
“When you have no inside game you have no choice by to try an score outside. One thing is for sure….You aint getting Sh!t out of Horford and Zaza. Hamburger and his helper.”
OOPS!
Horford: 24 and 16 with 4 ast and 2 blocked shots!
And that, my friends, was against 7′ 2″, 278 pound Roy Hibbert.
Actually I’m SURE that truth-serum is pleased to be wrong, at least for tonight.
And IF (and that’s a HUGE if) Al can do this consistently; I’ll wager that he’ll win truth-serum over. How could he not?
BIG UP’S TO SAUTEE AND HIS ALI SIS- LOL
YOU ARE RIGHT MY VERBAL CHALLENGE TO THE HAWKS ORGANIZATION TO ADDRESS OUR LOW POST WEAKNESS IS WROUGHT IN GOOD WILL AND HOPE FOR A HAWKS CHAMPIONSHIP. TO BE A CHAMPION YOU HAVE TO THINK LIKE ONE. I HAVE NIGHT CLASSES SO I MISSED THE FIRST HALF BUT THE BOX SCORE SHOWED GOOD NUMBERS FROM HORFORD. MY INSISTENCE IS THAT THE POINTS NOT COME FROM GARBAGE PUT BACK, FOLLOWING SOMEONE ELSES MISS, BUT FROM CREATING HIS OWN SHOTS AND OFFENSE. THE REASONING IS THAT DEFENSES HAVE TO PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO OFFENSIVE THREATS AND OPENS THE DOOR FOR AN IN AND OUT GAME.. GARBAGE BASKETS ARE NEUTRALIZED BY BOXING OUT AND FLOOR SPACING. THE HAWKS AND WOODSONS NEEDS HORFORD TO COMMAND AT LEAST ONE MAN BE ON HIM AT ALL TIMES IN ORDER FOR THE OFFENSE TO FLOW. THAT WASNT THE CASE LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE. WHEN I DID GET TO THE GAME I SAW A LOT OF FOLLOWS AND PUT BACKS, TRUE, BUT IT DID LOOK LIKE HE WAS THE BEAST IN THE POST AND THAT HE WOULD MAKE THEM PAY FOR LEAVING HIM UNATTENDED. HAVING SAID THAT, LETS BE REAL, WERE TALKING ABOUT THE PACERS HERE. I BELIEVE ‘YOU’ MAY HAVE LOOKED GOOD AGAINST THEM, SAUTEE.
ON THE FLIP SIDE, SAUTEE, IT SEEMED THAT DURING THE THIRD QUARTER WHEN THE PACERS WERE STILL IN THE HUNT, WHEN EVER THEY NEEDED A BASKET THEY TOOK THE BALL IN THE PAINT, TO THE POST, AND SCORED. NOT GOOD@! WE NEED TO DEFEND THE POST LIKE IT’S OUR HOMES. TEAMS NEED TO FEAR GOING IN OUR POST AND CHOOSE TO SETTLE FOR OUTSIDE SHOOTING. EVEN IF THEY GET LUCKY AND HIT THOSE OUTSIDE SHOTS, I WILL BE HAPPY THE GAME IS BEING PLAYED THE RIGHT WAY.
A WIN IS A WIN! TO THE WHINERS WHO ARE SAYING ITS ABOUT TIME WOODSON WENT 10 DEEP…. WELL YOU HAVE TO HAVE TEN DEEP TO PLAY TEN DEEP. THIS ISNT THE BOYS CLUB OF AMERICA WHERE YOU PAY AND THEREFORE SHOULD PLAY. THIS IS HIGH STAKES BASKETBALL. WERE TRYING TO WIN HERE.IF YOU WANT TO SEE JOHNNY RUN JOIN THEY “Y” LEAGUE.
IT’S NICE TO SEE WOODSON HAVE 10 DEEP TO RUN WITH. ACTUALLY THE TWO DNP’S ARE DECENT PLAYERS TOO.
TWO WORDS: SHELDON WILLIAMS…GO FIGURE! DID SOMEBODY LIGHT A FIRE UNDER HIS BUTT?
SAUTEE, ITS JUST ONE GAME. YOU ARE RIGHT. I WANT CONSISTENCY. I WANT HORFORD TO BE ABLE TO CREATE HIS OWN SHOT AGAINST ANYBODY OUT THERE. THAT’S HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO UP HIS GAME, NOT WOODSONS. WOODSON WILL CALL ON HIM. IT’S UP TO HORFORD TO RESPOND WITH RESULTS
DID JJ PLAY 39? WHOSE TEAM IS THIS? I THINK THIS IS STILL JJ’S TEAM! IF YOU WANT TO KEEP HIM YOUD BETTER RESIGN WOODSON. JJ IS THE THREAD THAT KEEPS THIS FABRIC TOGETHER. HE IS SWEET IN THE PAINT.
BY THE WAY, SAUTEE, IF HORFORD DID LOOK GOOD, LETS ACKNOWLEDGE WOODSON, AS YOU REMINDED ME ITS WAS HIS COMMENT THAT HE WOULD WORK WITH HORFORDS TO DEVELOP A GAME. BY THE WAY I GO TO SCHOOL AT NIGHT BECAUSE I WANT TO ELEVATE MY GAME. MY BOSS DOESNT TEACH MY CLASSES, SET MY CURRICULUM OR DO MY HOME WORK. I GROW AND LEARN BECAUSE I HAVE A DESIRE TOO. I HAVE THE FIRE AND WILL WITHIN ME. YOU CAN’T STOP ME! THAT’S THE ATTITUDE I LOOK FOR IN A CHAMPION. NOT EXCUSES. QUIT WHINING, PLAY BALL! IT’S A PLAYERS GAME
Ariose
October 29th, 2009
2:41 pm
WOW! READ IT!!! READ IT NOW!!!!
http://dimemag.com/2009/10/tim-donaghys-book-excerpts-are-crazy/#more-23063
I dont care what I have to do, I WILL get my hands on this Book.
reedeak
October 29th, 2009
3:22 pm
Any news on Joe Smiths song????