The morning after
The Hawks' frustrations were fueled by their own mistakes against the Lakers Sunday night at Staples Center.
LOS ANGELES – It probably feels just as nasty this morning as it did last night, that taste in the Hawks’ beaks after the Lakers kicked dirt all over them.
How a two-point game mushrooms into a 24-point rout in a matter of minutes would normally require CSI-level examination.
But not where the Hawks are concerned. The anatomy of their latest road debacle is similar to so many of its predecessors.
By now you know the routine. The Hawks trade punches, they make a decent game of it until things go slightly awry and the sky starts falling. The fall began with their disastrous third quarter, when the Hawks started handing the ball over to the Lakers like they were ordered to by the LA County Sherriff’s office.
And they wouldn’t stop giving it up. Play after play, they just kept turning it over. Josh Smith got his hands dirty, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford and Zaza Pachulia did, too.
The meltdown on the bench soon followed, with players shouting back and forth about the sloppiness.
The Lakers didn’t need the help. But they were happy to take advantage of the Hawks ineptitude and immaturity.
They piled up 12 fast break points in the third quarter alone, an 18-0 run ensued and the Lakers ended the game a good 20 minutes before the final buzzer sounded.
“We were so sluggish with the basketball, throwing it all over the gym,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “They had a lot to do with it because they got up on us defensively and we went the other way.”
It didn’t help that the Hawks’ momentum early was halted by a head-scratching substitution. Joe Johnson was on a tear in the first few minutes of the game, piling up 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, when Woodson inexplicably pulled him from the game with 2:39 to play in the quarter. For all the times we’ve moaned and groaned around here about JJ playing too many minutes, this was not the time to interrupt his flow. The playing rotation be darned, let the man shoot until he missed five straight. He stays on the floor until he misses, right?
Not this time.
Lakers star defender Ron Artest deserves a lot of credit for holding Johnson to just one field goal the rest of the way (Kobe Bryant certainly had no luck slowing Johnson down), but in hindsight, that quick and unexpected hook from Woodson seems even more perplexing after the fact.
“I’m not the coach of this team and I don’t decide who goes in and who comes out or when they do it,” a still upset Johnson said after the game about his groove being interrupted. “That’s beside the point. We didn’t fight at all in that third quarter. We just let things get out of hand and didn’t take it on ourselves to man up and defend the way we have to. You saw it, we just let them punch us in the face and we didn’t stand up for each other, we didn’t help each other at all. That can’t happen, not against a good team or any team. That just can’t happen.”
It did, like it has many times in the past for this team.
And the Hawks took yet another shot to their pride and profile on the big stage.
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213 comments Add your comment
HEY STUPID.
November 2nd, 2009
7:00 pm
ONE MAN CANT BEAT THE LAKERS. IT TAKES MORE THAN JJ. IT TAKES A TEAM INSIDE AND OUT. WE NEED F_cking balance
kw
November 2nd, 2009
7:00 pm
The Hawks back court has never been the problem the problem is the front court every one of those guys are playing out of position let start with Al he should be playing power forward the hawks should have never started the season with him playing center Josh
Smith is a small forward at best the guy has a lot of tools but as long as he continue playing out of position standing out on the perimeter and not in the area of the low post what good is he and last but not lease Marvin William should have began the season coming off the bench if he’s that good let him earn his position this guy never worked for his position I always through Childress should have been in the starting lineup instead of him and didn’t they pay him more than they offered
Childress now that’s something to really think about.
Put the damn ball in the basket
November 2nd, 2009
7:02 pm
Horford cant shoot over the big guys
Ken Strickland
November 2nd, 2009
7:02 pm
It’s amazing how little these BAND WAGON JUMPING FAKE HAWK FANS know about basketball. Since the gm ended last night, these blogs have been flooded complaining about who didn’t score, or how sorry our OFF was, or this player was. Well, when you score 110pts and lose by 8, you certainly can’t attribute the loss to a lack of OFF. Even though we were 22pts down in the 4th qtr, we mounted a strong comeback that put a big enough scare into PJackson he reinserted his starters to finish the gm. It was our DEF, not our OFF that triggered that comeback.
Another thing, our braintrust has to show more innovativeness and awareness and start taking advantage of matchups at both ends of the floor. EXAMPLE 1: Since Horford wasn’t scoring, and was having trouble with Bynums length, it would’ve been the perfect time, and a safe move, to send JCollier into the gm. What would it have cost us to find out if he could have used his size and experience to take away some of the easy inside scoring opportunities Bynum and the other Lakers were enjoying?
EXAMPLE 2: Since Smoove wasn’t scoring outside or inside, it would have been a good move to replace him with JSmith. He’s a better inside and outside scorer and would’ve kept Odom from dropping off and providing help DEF, like he routinely did with Smoove.
EXAMPLE 3: After JJ torched Kobe in the 1st qtr, PJackson switched Artest to guard JJ. Since Artest is their SF, and Marvin wasn’t contributing offensively, it would’ve been a good move to switch JJ to SF and bring Crawford in to play SG. When we started falling behind, instead of sticking with the starting lineup, or standard rotation, I would have made adjustments and played the following lineup: SF-JJ, C-JCollier, PF-JSmith, SG-JCrawford and PG-JTeague. That lineup would have given us a much better DEF matchup in the middle and the speed, quickness and scoring ability to attack from any position anywhere on the floor, except center.
There were a number of things that could have and should have been done that would have made a difference in the outcome of that gm, and all of it cannot be blamed on any 1 or 2 players or MWoodson. THIS WAS A TOTAL TEAM LOSS, PERIOD!!
richbrave
November 2nd, 2009
7:09 pm
doc:
Here’s a current article about our man “CRITTER.” written by MICHAEL LEE on his blog “WIZARDS INSIDER.”
“I also ran into Javaris Crittenton after practice. He was elated to have the cast removed from his left ankle, allowing him to walk freely in a boot. But he was disappointed that the Wizards declined to pick up his fourth-year option worth $2.28 million. He will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
“I was shocked, really,” Crittenton said. “I feel like I progressed when I got the opportunity to play. I feel like I did some good things out there. I don’t know what the reason was — it could be because of the injury.”
Crittenton shrugged. “I talked to Ernie [Grunfeld], and he said he couldn’t get a chance to evaluate me because of my injury or whatever to see how I fit in. That kind of shocked me. I didn’t expect to be a free agent, but maybe it will be a blessing in disguise for me.”
Crittenton said he should be in the boot for another week or two and then begin working out again. I asked Crittenton how hard it was to be out with an injury and facing an uncertain future.
“It’s not tough, it just puts a little bit of pressure on you because you’re on a one-year deal,” he said. “Being on a one-year deal and you’re hurt? I don’t know. I’m trusting in God about this, making the best of it. No negative thoughts went though my head. I just try to be positive about this whole thing because that’s the mentality I’ve tried to have since the injury. Having this on top of the injury is kind of tough. You think about it. But at the end of the day, it is what it is.”
To reiterate my previous comments, I believe GRUNFELD is really hacked-off by JAVARIS’ unauthorized play this summer and resulting injury. I believe they were ready to trade MIKE JAMES’ 6.46 million year for a breathing body, and were forced to keep him instead for insurance purposes.
Here’s an IVAN CARTER comment on JAMES from March 2009.
As for his future, James holds a $6.46 million player option for next season. No chance he walks away from that so, barring a trade, he’ll be a Wizard.
By Ivan Carter | March 24, 2009; 1:06 PM ET
Not held in high esteem by FLIP SAUNDERS either, he’s been wearing the DNP-CD sign all season – the ONLY player in that position. EVEN the fifteenth man PAUL DAVIS got some garbage time against the NETS.
JAMES has been collecting splinters in his azz along with POLLIN’s checks much to my personal delight on both counts. As far as ownership is concerned, I believe in the old adage, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”
But IMHO, everybody in the management end of the franchise is doing a slow burn at not being able to get out from under MJ’s contract, and all daggers are pointed at CRITTENTON. Of course, you are aware of the WIZARDS’ precarious fate where guarantee contracts and the salary cap are concerned. This is not a good situation for our man to be in. I think there’s a fifty-fifty chance he’s not offered as a free agent and he walks after this season. The HAWKS have obviously filled his slot with JEFF TEAGUE, so who knows where he’ll go.
But unless he wows the management with on-court time which will be exceedingly difficult to come by this season, he’s toast in WASHINGTON. And I haven’t even mentioned that he was the key ingredient in the ANTONIO DANIELS deal, not JAMES. This leaves ERNIE G. with much egg on his face, and I’m guessing GRUNFELD is not someone you want to cross in any way.
Such a shame. I really like the kid’s game. He’s got serious potential.
JeJe
November 2nd, 2009
7:36 pm
“it would’ve been the perfect time, and a safe move, to send JCollier into the gm.”
Wow you are a true @$$hole. Good job
vava74
November 2nd, 2009
7:36 pm
ILL-Logical,
Thank you for the dedicated post. I enjoy your contributions as well, which, I am sure you do not deny, are not deprived of opinionated remarks.
I thoroughly enjoy Sekou’s work, however, just because it’s Sekou’s opinion I am not forced to agree with him wholeheartedly.
First of all I would like to point out that I have absolutely no “hidden agenda”, no “pet-hatred” or “special admiration” for any of the Hawks, including Josh, Woody, JJ, …
I am neither a teenager with maturity issues nor a frustrated guy who can only escape life going into blogs to voice opinions against X or Y. I just happen to love BBall, been a Hawks fan since the mid-80’s and like to have fun here in the blog discussing about this and that.
Hence, my sincere (and romantic) desire is that THESE HAWKS get it together and prove that you can build a team from scratch with a bunch of young players mixed with a few selected vets/outcasts.
I’m that type of guy: I love the underdog, the hard fought victory, the defiance of the odds…
Consequently, I am biased against trades and major shuffles just for the sake of change since I have a strong belief that you can be successful with just about any group of players provided that they all pull in the same direction and learn and embrace their roles.
I acknowledge that this is not possible with ANY group and that possibly our group is not viable or that Woody is not the man to lead us there.
However, it is precisely within the above philosophy why I pick(ed) on Josh!!!
If only I had his physical ability and his present pack of skills… my god… if you think that Rodman was a dominant rebounder/defender… I would eat the parquet floor if necessary to defend my turf and to get us to win. If necessary without taking a single shot in 82 games!!!
Yes, this is a “delusional” rant, but it is merely devised to illustrate that, if only Josh realized that he is blessed with a specific combination of tremendous physical ability and a somehow limited bball talent he could take us very far. He only needs to maximize his characteristics… and stop attempting to do things he will never do well enough.
Basically, I pick on him because he is the most “frustrating” member of the roster.
Back to my posts: my point in relation to JJ’s benching is that we were heading nowhere with JJ scoring at will (I even suspect that this fact was part of Phil Jackson’s plan and I still feel that JJ was not being guarded seriously by the Lakers on purpose).
And yes, I would have loved to see him score 50 or 60, one of those unique BBall moments…
However, when Woody yanked him, I was already convinced that that would not happen and that shortly after Phil would either double team JJ or assign Artest to him and he would not be able to continue to score that way sending us into a funk.
I would also like to point out that even with JJ in the bench for an extended period we remained in the game until the half time when, if not for two misses to close the second quarter, we could have gone down only 3 or 4 points instead of 6.
With JJ out, we were only -4points and when he came back it was not him that was particularly cold, it was the Laker’s defense that was already working him differently: he took only 3 shots – all missed – and got to the line once in 7.30 minutes.
As for me not bashing other players which would be also deserving… well that would only minimize the effect of the message.
If you have 5 right things to say but 2 are in your opinion more important, you should focus on the 2 and leave the others to be highlighted by someone else. That is what I did.
Indeed other players deserved a lot of criticism. Al for instance could not contain Bynum, although he won the battle of the boards – (9-3) a showing that he at least fought.
Again, how about Josh? He got out-rebounded 5-14 by Odom. I think that this is the mark of someone who was not fighting the right way (specially when you are working as a PF).
Marvin and Zaza, no question. I mentioned them briefly and I was the one that against the Wiz shouted to give him some coffee so he could wake up.
Woody? I am not very fond of the switching defense, at least not during the whole match and not against any adversary.
I also think that his offense lacks simple basic things like shooters coming off picks, etc… however, once you see Josh launching the long ball like he did yesterday, going 3-10 and only once to the line for a +1, then you are bound to realize that there is an element of lack of discipline that is hindering Josh’s game and ours. There is actually a very simple rule for Josh to follow: when beyond 12 feet from the basket, “pass” or “drive”. That’s it!!
JeJe
November 2nd, 2009
7:42 pm
GET RID OF MARVIN WILLIAMS
Clyde
November 2nd, 2009
7:46 pm
FIRE WOODY
niremetal
November 2nd, 2009
7:52 pm
VOTE FOR PEDRO
cp
November 2nd, 2009
7:52 pm
I’m sorry but this roster is nothing like the Boston roster from a few years ago when they wanted Doc fired. They were even younger than this team and didn’t have as much talent. I also believe Pierce was hurt a lot that season. Doc has done more with less. Look at what his teams in Orlando did although the only thing he had was Mc Grady. Once again this roster is nothing like that Boston team from a few years ago. They were younger and did not have this much talent. Al Jefferson wasnt the player then he was now. Rondo was still learning to play the pg position. Gerald Green was using his athleticism to get by. That team just was not very good. Those young guys had not matured yet and their best player stayed hurt.
CTrim
November 2nd, 2009
7:53 pm
Anybody see Marvin? We could change his name to “ghost” since no one can see him. Wish Josh wouldn’t cry to the refs after every call. He seemed like a different person in Atlanta. Wish Jason Collins came in to clog up the middle and make it look like someone was there. I heard he was really good at that. In the 16 minutes Zaza played we were outscored by 15 points. I kept hearing that Lamar Odom’s length gives everyone fits. I thought Hawks were built around length to give other teams fits. I guess Odom must be “lengthier”. It was nice to see Joe go off, even for just a quarter. Bibby is still an offensive force and a defensive liability. He is perfect for this team but he might need to be the one to come off the bench, not Crawford. It was good to see Sweet Teague come in and get us back in the game. The future is bright.
Champs showed us why they are the champs. It’s Kobe’s team. Although very entertaining to watch, Hawks are still taking applications.
cp
November 2nd, 2009
7:53 pm
I mean he wasn’t the player then he is now.
Sautee
November 2nd, 2009
7:59 pm
The immense overreaction on this blog for ONE LOSS is absurd.
Funny, I don’t see the sky falling.
vava74
November 2nd, 2009
8:01 pm
IT’S ALL SAUTEE’S FAULT!!!
O'Brien
November 2nd, 2009
8:03 pm
Ken,
I agree with your 7:02 post. I asked Sekou whats up with Jason Collins (is he injured?), but he hasnt responded.
For the season, the Hawks are averaging 110 pts per game. Unfortunately, they are giving up 105.3 points per game. And thats unacceptable.
vava74
November 2nd, 2009
8:04 pm
People were hoping for a stronger showing against a prime time opponent on an away game and we laid an egg again… and that is disappointing.
From my side, I was very sad to see Josh reverting back to his Mr. Hyde’s status in full bloom.
Big Ray
November 2nd, 2009
8:13 pm
Vava,
LOL. Yes, we get it. In a sea of Hawks, there is only one wayward bird….holy crap man….
ILL-logical
November 2nd, 2009
8:17 pm
VaVa 74
Thank you for your reply. It demonstated,once again , your passion and unique perspective. and your capacity to disagree,strongly, without becoming disagreeable.
Now, about those Hawks. The team ,organization and ownership have come a very long way in a relatively short amount of time. As noted before, this time last year, the hope was that the long pending law suite would not end the tenure of professional basketball in Atlanta; that a winning record could be obtained; and the players with expiring contracts would/could be signed.
Now these issues have been resolved in the affirmative and some observers are allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good. It’s their right to feel as such, I just have some differing views.
One, the intensity of the love/ hate relationship with Josh Smith amazes me. How a 23 year kid-it doesn’t matter how many years in the league a player has ,there are 30 year olds who cannot conduct themselves on or off the court with any measure of maturity( Iam looking at you Ron Artest) Here is a guy that the immortal Jay Bilus pronounced unfit on draft day on national television. Welcome to life as an 18 year old! Then for the next 4 years you are moved into 3 different positionss by a rookie head coach and you have a GM that drafts at your position in the first round for the next 4 years! My point?
This guy has had some challenges, overcome them and has kept a positive for the most part throughout his tenure. Poor judgement, lack of focus and more may be fairly ascribed to his behavior at one time or another. But he has never quit on the team ;shows up big in the playoff’s big games and wants to succeed.
I don’t know him and have only met him briefly at a summer league game here in atlanta.However, within the context of the team’s recent history- he seems like a building block to me. Of course, it is very appearant that the current incumbant head coach stongly differs.
Two,folks the no one within the Hawk’s camp from the top to the bottom rung expects this group to win a championship.Period. What I believe everyone -including many of the participants on this board- does expect is a marked improvement in the play and record of the team. And when they /we don’t see it, we react. Even after three games. It’s human nature in most respects and I am human. So when I question the comments of a paricipant I am trying to keep my and their eyes on the prize: a team that will continue to go and grow. And someday will obtain the Larry O’ Brien trophy.
Jody
November 2nd, 2009
8:40 pm
ILL-logical,
Excellent post and great points,
After watching last nights game, I’ve seen many folks in several places try to throw a lot of the blame for the loss on Josh Smith and to do that is both inaccurate and unfair. Did Josh make some bad decisions last night? Yes, but so did alot of other Hawks players (taking so many jump shots comes to mind). For anyone to expect Josh to consistently score in the paint against the Lakers frontline (6′ll and 7′1) is beyond me.
ProudTechFan
November 2nd, 2009
8:48 pm
i dont know what made me think i would come on here not here people calling for woodsons job after the third game of the season against the world champs. it took kobe 41 points to beat us. and we def could have won, as much as i would have loved to beat the lakers on the road, i can live with a lost like that to a better team on the road. Correction the best team in the league. get off woodsons back and get behind the team for a change, dam…
GO HAWKS!!!!
vava74
November 2nd, 2009
8:51 pm
ILL-Logic,
Fair view on Josh’s hard road up until now, however, I disagree on your view that Woody dislikes him or limits his role.
Josh is not suited to play SF because he can’t shoot and, with a high degree of probability, will never shoot well, his frame is now a bit heavier (its seems that this year a bit less) and he is on the weak side on some basic fundamentals.
Hence, his only possibility of REAL success is if he embraces the PF role and that involves that he focus on points where his physical capabilities can assist him to reach a plateau of excellence: defense and rebounding, and a develops a better shot selection and a couple of reliable moves down low.
Until this happens, he will not shine as much as he could (or not as often).
There wasn’t a single line on my posts where I attacked Josh Smith the man, the individual. I don’t think his character is flawed in a bad way, simply that he is a certain type of individual that “always knows better” and rejects guidance.
This image as the young-high-flying-reckless-and-extremely-spectacular-but-indisciplined player who has made the jump from high-school is very appealing to many, who identify themselves more with him rather than with a quiet(er) character like JJ who is known for not doing anything bad and doing almost everything reasonably well without excelling at anything in particular.
It’s a fact, flawed/quirky characters are more appealing than good/balanced ones and that is one of
Josh’s appeals, his well-intentioned-rebel-quirks in which people see themselves reflected.
The vast majority of people do not like discipline nor routines and set procedures, hence, they sympathize with with players which shine whilst eluding the system and acting creatively.
That is why people still like Iverson in spite of the fact that he clearly does not respect his colleagues by not accepting that practice and discipline within the game are fundamental for team sports success (again, I would like to emphasize that I believe that he is not mean intended).
Samuel
November 2nd, 2009
8:57 pm
You guys are wasting a lot of time blaming this guy and that guy. The bottom line is that the Lakers are world champions and are twenty points better than the Hawks. Actually, we played them pretty good. It was their length and athleticism that beat us.
You guys have been bashing Woody all season and last about playing JJ too much. You wanted to see your boys JTO and Craw. Well last night, you got your wish. Now, I guess we can stop with the “JJ is playing too many minutes” BS. Woody made his point.
Josh, still hasn’t learned. Love him to death but obviously has No grain in the silo.
EJH
November 2nd, 2009
9:01 pm
As I read some of the comments here it is hillarious to think because the coach pulled joe johnson in the first quarter that that is what caused he hawks the game. Woody is right they lost because the hawks did not play good defense or any defense, Joe Johnson man scored 41 points, but some people here thought the game only goes one quarter, the first quarter obviously. The game was not one or lost in the first quarter. It is won over four quarters and the hawks only played 2 1/2 qiarters. For all of you people saying woody lost the game because he took joe out in the first quarter, you have no basketball IQ.
Clyde
November 2nd, 2009
9:08 pm
TIME TO ORDER A NEW BATCH OF T-SHIRTS. Just like I said Bibby, Zaza and Marvin just got new contracts so they have nothing to play for. Veterans will quit on you but rookies will bust they tail to prove themselves.
I miss Mario West. He hustled and he played with heart. On the other hand Marvin Williams plays like a sissy. I ain’t never seen Marvin dive to the floor for a loose ball or take a charge. Woody is the only coach in the NBA that would start Marvin on his team.
FIRE WOODY
Grandad
November 2nd, 2009
9:13 pm
Id like to see Woodson fired. I have no particular reason or rhyme, but if Ken wants him fire I do too.
I did it Ken. How’d I do?
Undisputed Champ!
November 2nd, 2009
9:15 pm
Good post Samuel!!!
Grandad
November 2nd, 2009
9:22 pm
Georgia Sports 12:16 a.m. Monday, November 2, 2009
Bryant, big 3rd quarter push Lakers past Hawks
By GREG BEACHAM
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant had 41 points and eight rebounds, Andrew Bynum added 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away with 18 consecutive points in the third quarter for a 118-110 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night.
Enlarge photo
Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, left, goes up for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, left, goes up for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. ()
Enlarge photo
Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, right, goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, right, goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. (
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, right, goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, right, goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
More Sports stories »
Lamar Odom had 11 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the defending NBA champions, who bounced back from a loss to Dallas with an overwhelming second half in Atlanta’s first defeat.
Story continues below ↓
Joe Johnson scored 18 of his 27 points in the first quarter for the Hawks, who opened a four-game road trip with an embarrassing third quarter before a late run made the score respectable.
Rookie point guard Jeff Teague also made another strong impression with 12 points in the fourth quarter of the Hawks’ fourth straight loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Bryant capped the 97th 40-point game of hiscareer with eight points in the final minutes to hold off the Hawks’ last rally.
The Lakers’ home loss to the Mavericks on Friday night left coach Phil Jackson concerned about everything from their pick-and-roll defense to their overall intensity. Jackson postulated that Los Angeles’ ring ceremony earlier in the week distracted from his team’s focus, and he wasn’t pleased by either of the Lakers’ last two practices.
Los Angeles also played its third straight game without forward Pau Gasol, who’s growing frustrated with the slow pace of his recovery after straining his right hamstring three weeks ago.
The Lakers took control with a 22-3 run in the third quarter, and Bryant scored 19 points in the frame. Starting with a dunk by Bryant midway through, the Lakers got into their ideal offensive flow for the first time this season while holding Atlanta scoreless for more than five minutes.
The run was highlighted by a four-basket sequence that had the crowd on its feet.
After Bryant made a graceful behind-the-back pass to Ron Artest for a fast-break dunk, Odom threw an alley-oop pass to Bynum for another dunk. Artest then got loose for a breakaway dunk, and Odom capped it with a midcourt steal and a pass to Bynum for an uncontested jam that put Los Angeles up 90-70.
Bryant, Odom and Bynum all returned to the game after Atlanta trimmed a 24-point deficit to 14 midway through the fourth.
Jamal Crawford added 17 points and Mike Bibby had 15 for the Hawks, whose struggles against top opponents have been a focus of coach Mike Woodson’s improvement plans this season. But the Hawks couldn’t keep up with the Lakers’ transition game, and they grew increasingly sloppy with each big play by Bryant and the Lakers in the third quarter.
Gasol, the Lakers’ second-leading scorer and leading rebounder last year, will accompany the Lakers on their two-game road trip to Oklahoma City and Houston, but still might not be ready to play.
NOTES: Johnson scored 14 of the Hawks’ first 17 points in the first eight minutes, and he added a four-point play on a foul from Bryant moments later. … Gasol missed just one regular-season game last season. … Courtside fans included Ryan Seacrest, David Beckham (about 2½ hours after the Los Angeles Galaxy’s playoff game ended), the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp and actor Andy Garcia.
___
Clyde
November 2nd, 2009
9:23 pm
LOL @GRANDDAD
Grandad
November 2nd, 2009
9:23 pm
Andrew Bynum added 21 points
Andrew Bynum added 21 points
November 2nd, 2009
9:24 pm
Where the HELL was horford and zaza?
Andrew Bynum added 21 points
November 2nd, 2009
9:25 pm
Well lets see how Horford does against a real center. NOW WE F_CKING KNOW!
Andrew Bynum added 21 points
November 2nd, 2009
9:27 pm
Odom threw an alley-oop pass to Bynum for another dunk. Artest then got loose for a breakaway dunk, and Odom capped it with a midcourt steal and a pass to Bynum for an uncontested jam that put Los Angeles up 90-70.
WHERE THE HELL WAS HOE FORD AND ZAZA
Yupperz
November 2nd, 2009
9:58 pm
Where the hell were you during the first two games when Horfrod outplayed two 7footers?
Johnny Walking
November 2nd, 2009
10:46 pm
Mannn we got alll Gravy compared to the Nets right now. GEEEEZZZZ.. Damnnn. Who put that junk together?? Did Frank ever get fired. If not he is probably walking the Green Mile.
Ken Strickland
November 2nd, 2009
10:56 pm
The Hawks play their 4th gm of the season tomorrow, that’s right 4th gm of the season. I know that’s hard to believe after reading all of the finger pointing crap from all of the BANDWAGON JUMPING FAKE FANS, after just one loss. It’s now time for all true Hawk fans to do like HC MWoodson, and move on to talking about what we need to do to defeat Portland. We’ll leave it to the FAKE FANS to continue whining and b!tching about what and/or who coulda shoulda done this and that against the Lakers.
Portland is another tall team. They might be taller than the Lakers, and Aldridge, their 6′11″ PF, can really shoot from the outside with range. We need to control BRoy and limit his damage. Offensively, we’re scoring enough points to get the job done. We’ve definitely got to come up with something much better than what we’re currently doing defensively if we expect to continue getting better.
I see us sweeping the remaining gms of this rd trip. Now, if we do that, what in the he!! will all of you negative minded, finger pointing, BANDWAGON JUMPING FAKE FANS have to b!tch and complain about then? It’s like BIG RAY said, certain ones, you know who you are, use any excuse to express your dislike for a particular player and blame that player for any and everything that’s perceived wrong with the Hawks.
niremetal
November 2nd, 2009
10:56 pm
My girlfriend is a Blazers fan, so no matter who wins tomorrow…I lose.
HAWKSFAN11
November 2nd, 2009
11:11 pm
This offseason we should have thru our money at another playmaker. instead of signing marvin for 37 million y not sign turkaglo for around the same or ariza or even artest.. if we get artest then joe wouldnt have to guard the kobe’s or the vince carter’s he could guard somebody else while artest plays the best player from the other team… marvin does absolutely nothing besised being outta control… we need another all-star to go along wit joe.. we DO NOT need to let joe go unless were getting d-wade… joe needs to go to the hole more becuase he shoots too many jumpers… we have no plays besides iso… josh smith will never in his life be a superstar, y does he think he can run the fast break? do u see garnett running the break? no he gives it to rondo then go catches an alley hoop… y does josh not go inside he spots up and shoots jumpers…
neshield
November 3rd, 2009
1:59 am
So did everyone have their TVs off by the time that Lamar Odom got posterized by the soon to be rookie of the year Jeff Teague. I love the fact that he was not afraid to take it strong to the hoop. Maybe even Joe Johnson can learn something from the rookie. Stop with all the floaters in the lane and take all 245 lbs or more and body somebody underneath the basket. They want to take the charge…ok fine you run into them with at full speed like LeBron would and next time they WILL move out of the way! Same goes for Josh Smith and Marvin Williams. The three of them need to start playing hard and don’t worry about the refs. Ron Artest gets the benefit of the don’t most nights because he doesn’t care. He will “body” you, push you, hold you, whatever it takesfor you to not get to the basket. We need more heart and some nastiness. When was the last time we had a technical foul for defending our basket at all cost.(oh thats right when Horford made TJ Ford cry!!!) Defend the basket at all cost and make them hit some jumpers for crying out loud.
Simpdawg
November 3rd, 2009
4:12 am
I think the Hawks made a big mistake in resigning Marvin Williams. The Hawks organization should have resigned Josh Childress over Marvin Williams. Josh Childress was the perfect slashing guard forward that could move without the basketball and create offense off of hustle plays. He was a better defender than Marvin, and the Hawks will struggle this year because they’re in dyer need of a player like him. Hell I would have rather sign Trevor Ariza than resigning Marvin to that contract he signed. I’m just saying!!!
Simpdawg
November 3rd, 2009
4:31 am
“Damn,” it’s about time someone stepped up and held this team accountable. It doesn’t make sense for this team to allow the Lakers to out score them 18-0 or 20-0, or whatever that run was in the third quarter. As Captain, Joe has every right to say what he said, and I hope this team listen and learn, because if this team fails to improve, you don’t have to worry about Joe Johnson because he won’t be here next year.
dap01
November 3rd, 2009
7:53 am
If we had Larry Bird at the Small Forward, we would still have ISO Joe.
If we had Dennis Rodman on defense, we would still switch everytime.
If we had Rick Mahorn, we still would not know how to execute a pick.
If we had Magic Johnson, we still would walk the ball up.
If we had Wes Unseld, we still would not throw an outlet pass to start the break.
If we had Dennis Rodman to get rebounds, we would still let him stand at the 3 point line.
vava74
November 3rd, 2009
8:15 am
Aldridge is questionable for tonight.
The Blazers have been out-rebounding and out-hustling their opponents which makes it a tough match up for us if we do not come in focused and in a fighting mode.
Hopefully they will also continue to shoot the rock poorly as they have been (.422) and we can get away with a win.
Blake is slow enough for Bibby to keep up with and JT0 could make use of his superior speed against Andre Miller who is also not known to be fast; I hope that we do not use switch defense all the time since I think we can match up favorably here.
JJ – Roy is the key match up and Crawford vs Rudy could be an offensive showdown since neither is a good defender;
Maybe – just maybe – Marvin will wake up since he will be playing closer to his home state that he can get now that the Sonics are gone.
His matchup with Martell and or Travis Outlaw could be a key as well since they seem to be shooting well from 3pt land and we should not allow that to happen.
Josh should be alright if Aldridge does not play. If he does play, he needs to step up his interior defense and his rebounding dramatically in order for us to win.
Al vs Oden is a intriguing match up: Oden has yet to prove that was deserving of his #1 draft position, however, he has a significant size advantage. Hopefully Al will be able to use his superior speed and avoid the elbows. Zaza vs Przybilla should be favourable to Przybilla due to his superior defense if Zaza is not able to start sinking his mid range shots.
Unfortunately I will not be watching the game since here is +7 hour difference in relation to Pacific Time… I already got up at 2.30AM to see us lose against the Lakers and I simply do not have the stamina anymore to repeat this today.
Maybe we need to give some light to Collins today if Oden starts pushing Al around too much. A couple of well placed elbows should do the trick.
However, the right man to do an actual scouting report is nire.
kwooden1
November 3rd, 2009
8:19 am
Undisputed Champ! – if you want open shots for JJ and Bibby you have to start inside and work the ball back out. Horford isn’t going to grow more than another inch, so he’s going to have to learn to score on people taller than him. David West and Boozer do it all the time, and the only way you learn is in real game action. The HAWKS had a terrible 5-10min stretch during that game. It might have been really embarrassing for everyone involved, but it is what it is! If they secure the ball, box-out and play inside-outside they would have at least been in the game until the end. Those types of games are part of the learning process, we’ll get to see if they have learned anything tonight.
Portland might be missing Aldridge tonight, which won’t give Smoove the true competition he needs, but otherwise makes life a little easier. Oden is playing very big right now and is starting to show signs. Portland has a win and loss against Houston, who’s starting center is 6′6″ Chuck Hayes! There’s a lot I can say about that, especially since Chuck starts over ex-HAWK (some what!) Dave Anderson? but I will leave that alone. Houston got there win by having big games from their guards and allowing Roy/Aldridge to score but limiting everyone else. The HAWKS are going to have to defensive rebound well as usual but attack Oden inside. Marvin should be able to get a lot of open looks this game, because Webster and Roy will have to pay alot of attention to JJ. Crawford should also do very well because, Portland doesn’t have anyone on their bench to stay with him. Certainly the HAWKS can lose this game, but if they learn from last night they have a good chance of winning!
GO HAWKS!!!
ILL-logical
November 3rd, 2009
8:59 am
Last nit to pick:
Saying some can’t shoot when their field goal percentage was %49 last season and until saturday,%71 is clearly stating an opinion not supported by fact.What was perhaps implied was that a certain lack of facility for shots longer than x feet.
Annd to suggest that the self same lack of facility prohibits a player from playing small forward ignores the offensive styles of players such as Adrian Dantly, who ammassed a prolific scoring total despite being 6′4″ and operateing almost exclusively in the paint. There have even been players like Tayshun Prince whose small forward role focused primarily on defense.
IMHO, Woodson’s system does not favor any significant offensive participation by the front court in general and the small forward specically. See ,Williams, Marvin et al.
Therefore the discussion may in some ways not matter in the larger scheme of things. And maybe therein lies the root of some of the Hawks woes.
GeeMack
November 3rd, 2009
9:24 am
Vava74, Ken Strickland, Daniel, ILL-Logical
All good post.
Cp
Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Rondo, & Ken Perkins are all around the same age. Our young guys are still developing just like those guys. My point was…the Celtics got better results when they upgraded their talent.
We are asking Woody to go out and beat the elite teams without elite talent. I don’t agree with everything Woody does, however I think the guy has done a very good job with the team he’s been given. This is the 4th best team in the east, and their is only 1 all star on this team.
Truth-Serum
November 3rd, 2009
9:32 am
Gee Mack, I said the same thing repeatedly days ago. I guess that we agree on something.
We are asking Woody to go out and beat the elite teams without elite talent. I don’t agree with everything Woody does, however I think the guy has done a very good job with the team he’s been given. This is the 4th best team in the east, and their is only 1 all star on this team.
The only difference between your statement and mine is I mentioned that JJ is a second tier allstar and not a starter or second rotation allstar. Considering the talent level here its an outstanding job by Woodson. Nice to here another mouth utter it.
Undisputed c
November 3rd, 2009
9:33 am
kwooden1
GeeMack
November 3rd, 2009
9:37 am
ILL-logical
Could that be attributed to the players attitudes than a system? Crawford has a scorers mentality regardless of the system. I see how some of the player are aggressive offensively at home, but extremely passive on the road. What you think?
undisputed Champ!
November 3rd, 2009
9:39 am
kwooden1 No doubt that what you say is the absolute truth! Its hard to run an offense when all of the cylinders arent fuctional. Its impossible to play a half court game without the in and our aspect. In order for that to happen you have to man the post with talent. The point guard position and the Center position are by necessity, natural talent positions rather than learned. Skill with out talent is not as good as talent with skill. You dont think with talent you react and flow.
looking forward to tonights game. Its a long season so im not going to hang my head.