Big shoes to fill
What’s up, Sekou readers?
Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for your patience in waiting for this blog to get churning again. My name is Ken Sugiura, and I have the unenviable task of following up the master. Sekou, if you weren’t aware, took a job down the street at nba.com after five years of excellent Hawks coverage for the AJC. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but Sekou is a great guy, a great reporter and we will miss him plenty.
I’m going to be filling in on the Hawks until a full-time replacement is hired. I’ve got a good bit to learn, but I’m looking forward to it. As Sekou shared with me, it’s a good group to cover and the team, obviously, is on the way up. Hopefully it’ll be a fun ride, however long it lasts.
Anyway, I’m here for you guys, so fire any questions at me you’ve got, either on the blog or e-mail. I don’t have the wealth of NBA knowledge that Sekou does, but I’ll do my best to get you answers.
Enough blathering – on to the two-game trip to New York tonight and Boston Friday.
From Mike Woodson on down, the talk Monday and Tuesday was about defending better, which obviously will be a factor in both games, against the “Seven seconds or less” Knicks and then the three-headed monster in Boston.
Different guys were saying they need to get back to defending the way they did last year. The sample size for this season is small, obviously, but some numbers for comparison – 2008-09 – 96.5 points per game, 45.4 FG percentage from the field, 35.3 percent from three-point range. This year, 102.1, 46.0, 40.0.
One thing I heard a few different times was that the players aren’t doing a good job of communicating – calling out switches and the like.
Said Joe Johnson, “When we’re guarding our man and we’re supposed to switch, we’re not calling the switch. I think we’re assuming more than anything. It’s just guys not on the same page. Therefore, two guys are going on one man and another guy’s laying it up.”
Al Horford also mentioned the communication lapses, but added that “I think it comes down to effort.”
So, something to be watching for tonight (Wednesday) and Friday.
You may find this interesting …
Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague and Horford all mentioned looking forward to playing at Madison Square Garden. For Teague, it’ll be his first trip. Horford said it’s probably his favorite place to play, citing the arena’s history.
Said Crawford, who played a little over four years there, “It’s like you’re on stage. … The court’s lit up and the crowd’s kind of dark. It’s like you’re on a stage performing. So it’s really cool.”
Crawford also mentioned that over his time there, he became friends with Knicks fans such as Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Adam Sandler and Fat Joe.
Said the rookie Teague of going on the road, “Flying from city to city, you’re getting on planes, carrying bags and having so much luggage. It was kind of difficult at first, but now I think I know how to pack a lot better. I took too much stuff last time.”
One big difference between college and NBA road trips: “No homework at all. That’s a good thing.”
Your take
Anyway, let me hear from you, readers – Is 1-1 a successful road trip? Woodson has mentioned multiple times that he wants the team to go .500 on the road, so he said that the West Coast plus Charlotte trip was good, because it was 2-2, despite the trip-ending disaster in Charlotte.
What do you want to see from the Hawks?
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460 comments Add your comment
Big Ray
November 11th, 2009
8:52 pm
Ramon ,
On a night that he’s playing like this , I’m not certain I’d let him play even that long. Here’s what’s perplexing, even if it sounds like I’m jumping to conclusions or bashing the guy: He talks about guys not knowing their roles, but he’s the one forcing (and missing) the most shots, and also has the most turnovers. Against…the Knicks??
I really don’t get it. Nobody on this team can guard him. NOBODY. Not even Larry Hughes, who could give him problems for a minute, until Joe took him down into the post.
I don’t get it.
As for the defense, I’ll have to co-sign BONE and Grandad .
This team was much better defensively last season. We didn’t lose anybody from the team that would have made us this much worse on defense. Claxton didn’t play, Law didn’t play enough, and West was a spot duty guy when Woody felt like it. Same for Solo. It has to be the defensive concept. I’m racking my brain, and not coming up with anything else….somebody feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
Sautee
November 11th, 2009
8:52 pm
With no true shot blockers inside and fairly small point guards for NY, wouldn’t it seem a PERFECT time to play Teague?
I mean if you were going to draw up a scenario for a perfect hypothetical opponent…….
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
November 11th, 2009
8:53 pm
Woodson’s coaching style is just too erratic and it’s effects show on the team……
erratic coaching = erratic team…..
Najeh Davenpoop
November 11th, 2009
8:53 pm
Lost in the shuffle of this game, though, is that Josh Smith continues to show marked improvement in his decision making. He is giving up the ball after crossing half court instead of trying coast to coast drives and he has passed up at least two open perimeter jump shots to drive the ball inside instead. Not all of his inside shots have gone, but he has the right idea by going inside. This has been a constant pattern this year and it’s nice to see him putting it all together mentally, even if the scheme doesn’t do him any favors.
Grandad
November 11th, 2009
8:53 pm
Big Ray: Jamal was hurting Joe’s chances of making the all-star team. Either that or Joe is jealous as Ive said before.
Bibby probably decides how much Teager plays.
Blast
November 11th, 2009
8:57 pm
Hawks haven’t been very prolific on block shots tonite. This guy gonna shoot three free throws?
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
8:58 pm
there you go Al…
BONE
November 11th, 2009
8:59 pm
Why is it so difficult for this team to beat pathetic teams
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
8:59 pm
time to take this game…
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:00 pm
Marvin is such a dissapointment
Blast
November 11th, 2009
9:01 pm
4 point game, and Hawks showing life.
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:01 pm
f is that…?
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
November 11th, 2009
9:01 pm
Did u guys see how the whole defense slept for like 1-2 secs on that pass???
Blast
November 11th, 2009
9:02 pm
Stupid foul by Marvin.
Melvin
November 11th, 2009
9:02 pm
Josh just had three bad series of plays…
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:02 pm
there must be someone under the court who opens a panel every time Marvin goes near the basket…
Melvin
November 11th, 2009
9:03 pm
Just like that Josh comes back with two straight good plays…lol.. u gotta love him…:)
Blast
November 11th, 2009
9:03 pm
Josh Smith is a superstar!!!!
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:03 pm
Josh is the best player for the hawks
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:04 pm
haha… David Lee…
Grandad
November 11th, 2009
9:05 pm
Bone…pretend for a second Bill Belichick was a basketball coach; now would his teams consistently struggle against lesser foes?
Ramon
November 11th, 2009
9:05 pm
The Knicks SUCK!!! There’s no way this game should be this close!
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:05 pm
Ohhhh Al thats what i’m talkin about
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:05 pm
well damn Al… strong arm…
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:06 pm
I don’t know grandad
Big Ray
November 11th, 2009
9:07 pm
Najeh ,
That will continue to go largely “unnoticed” by many until some national credit kicks in. Even then, you will almost never hear an acknowledgement for him from some, who will also not have one word to say about the bad play of certain other players….some things NEVER change, lol….
Najeh Davenpoop
November 11th, 2009
9:07 pm
“Bone…pretend for a second Bill Belichick was a basketball coach; now would his teams consistently struggle against lesser foes?”
If you ask me, Gregg Popovich is pretty much the NBA version of Bill Belichick…
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:08 pm
this is Gainesville Al right here… the two Hawks that struggled 1st half are bouncing back nicely in the 3rd…
Blast
November 11th, 2009
9:08 pm
Woody riding his starters right now. Only Crawford getting some run from the bench. But Kicks ain’t going away.
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:08 pm
i wanna see Teague…
Big Ray
November 11th, 2009
9:09 pm
Melvin ,
I can’t stand it when Josh makes bad plays, because they are usually VERY bad. But I always like a player who is looking to make up for it on the very next play. It’s better than sulking, scowling, and disappearing…or simply not doing better at all.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 11th, 2009
9:09 pm
Jamal Crawford with the rhythm-killing brick… as good as he is, he has always been prone to poor shot selection.
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
November 11th, 2009
9:09 pm
look how good a rookie can be for u when u give him time to shine…..
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:09 pm
Teague had sex with Woody’s daughter thats why he wont play him. Meanwhile douglas is lighting us up.
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:10 pm
i vouched for TD on draft night… what would it have mattered with Woodson…
Blast
November 11th, 2009
9:10 pm
How come New York has such a bad losing record? 1-7? Did they save it all for the Hawks tonight or are the Hawks playing that badly?
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:11 pm
Bone Acie must have hit too…
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
November 11th, 2009
9:11 pm
BONE, it must have been in Woodson’s house IN HIS BED…
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:13 pm
I bet Acie did hit it Bigdave and Mac-Town he probably did do it in Woody’s bed lmao.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 11th, 2009
9:13 pm
Josh Smith is getting really good at these length-of-the-court dimes… seems like that’s the 4th or 5th one of those I’ve seen him make this season.
bigdave
November 11th, 2009
9:13 pm
yessir…
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:13 pm
Al puttin in work
Blast
November 11th, 2009
9:14 pm
Another assist for Josh and 5 more points for Al. Now Hawks have the lead!!!!
Grandad
November 11th, 2009
9:15 pm
Al better be careful or he’s gonna get a lecture from Joe about understanding his role. (I fear he is scoring too many points)
Big Ray
November 11th, 2009
9:16 pm
Yesss!! Al is beasting, finally!
I was hoping he would step up next to Bibby and Josh….
DrewCat
November 11th, 2009
9:16 pm
I still don’t understand Woody’s playing rotation. the only reserve to log minutes this quarter is Crawford. I mean why overexert your starters, especially when you see they’re having trouble offensively???
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:16 pm
Marvin has the worst +/- stat of any starter again.
Big Ray
November 11th, 2009
9:17 pm
ROFL @ Grandad ……
BONE
November 11th, 2009
9:18 pm
I think Joe is gonna sit Al down and have a talk with him after the game lol
Blast
November 11th, 2009
9:19 pm
Y’all seeing how this is turning around? All you doubters out there….