Your first-place Atlanta Hawks
BOSTON - Only by a half-game over Miami, but pretty strange, I bet, for some of you to read.
I’m at Logan, waiting for a 7 a.m. flight back home. While I’ve got a few minutes, I figured I’d dump a few more quotes on you and look ahead. The big news is that Chris Paul won’t be in the lineup, out with a sprained ankle sustained Friday against Portland in new coach Jeff Bower’s debut. That obviously tilts the balance a bit in the Hawks’ direction.
Some links:
Boston Globe story on http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2009/11/14/atlantas_growth_spurt_was_the_biggest_factor/;
Boston Herald game story.
My http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/with-huge-rebounding-night-197066.htmlfiled after the print deadline.
From the locker rooms at the TD Garden:
Kevin Garnett: “They draw one on ones a lot, a lot of isolation basketball. Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson are two of the best at that. I thought team-wise, they spread us out and they did a good job. Kudos to them. They beat us up tonight.
Crawford: “I could definitely tell (it meant a lot to the team to beat Boston). This is a big test for us. It’s only one game, but I think it does a lot for our confidence and makes us [know] that we can play against anybody, back home or on the road.”
Johnson: “They came out and made a run (in the third quarter). I think they went up six or seven. Like I said, we kept our composure, kept working, kept moving the basketball and mainly we got defensive stops that led to transition baskets.”
“Defensively, we had to do the little things. When there were loose balls, we were getting them. We were quicker to the ball than they were. Those are the things that count that don’t show up in the stat book.”
You can point to a lot of different parts of the game that factored, but I think that first half of the third quarter that Johnson referenced was pretty important. The Hawks got down seven, tied it up, then got down six and tied it up again. Not long after that, Johnson hit a three to go up 63-62, and the Hawks never trailed after that. It was like the Hawks took the Celtics’ best punch and then counterattacked.
I’ll be curious to see what shakes out in coming weeks. I think it’s not very realistic that they’ll play at this level all the time. They’re going to kick another one at some point like they did to Charlotte, like Denver did against the Hawks last Saturday, like it looks like the Lakers did against the Nuggets Friday. But I wonder to what extent this will increase their belief in what they’re doing and motivate them to keep the foot on the gas.
What do you think?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
92 comments Add your comment
kwooden1
November 14th, 2009
12:37 pm
It was a great effort on the boards for Horford and Smoove last night. I think they also did a very good job guarding the 3pt line. I didn’t realize that the Celtics were 1-15 until after the game, it was probably because I didn’t see a lot of open 3’s. Bibby did a great job of knocking down open 3’s during that tough stretch in the 3rd. Bibby had a tough time with Rondo, but I didn’t realize Rondo is shooting so poorly! Bibby can guard Rondo fine, if Rondo keeps showing ~40% from the free-throw line. Hack-a-Rondo!! Marvin had a nice step-back and short jump hook on Pierce! Made Pierce look silly.
The most important thing from this game for me, is how steady they were all game long. They lost the early lead and then went down in the 3rd, but never lost their composure! They didn’t rush on the fastbreak and took what the defense was giving them. Smoove didn’t force any shots and was outstanding on the defensive end.
GREAT WIN!!
GO HAWKS!!!
JeJe
November 14th, 2009
12:37 pm
My goal for tonight is an easy win and for Teague and RandMo to play 25+ minutes. I want Teague playing serious minutes and I want Marvin to f’ing show up
JeJe
November 14th, 2009
12:38 pm
Marvin is only good for putbacks
dap01
November 14th, 2009
12:43 pm
If Marvin shoots more, who is going to give up the shots. We are winning. Marvin can not score 20 ppg if JC, JJ, MB and JS are primary options. Quit gripping about Marvin, he is a part of a winning team. And he is still a great option for the end of a game for a guard to penetrate and dish off to Marvin for a shot.
By the way, isn’t it great to have a guard that can penetrate, dish and also score?
JeJe
November 14th, 2009
12:43 pm
Hawks should win 6 of next 8, and December schedule looks soft. Gotta keep winning these games.
Seriously, play like we did vs. PTL, DEN, and last night, and I have no doubt we’ll be a top 3 team in the East.
And Marvin sucks
mattchualan
November 14th, 2009
12:53 pm
Great Win. Coach Woodson really worked the rotations well. Horford is clearly our IMPACT player who brings energy and stabalizes the defense.
However, the remaining games of this month will be the true test for the Hawks…
With games against Portland, Miami, Orlando, it will show where the hawks truely are in their development. I must say, if they can pull of wins in these 3 key games, they must be considered elite.
SWAT Native
November 14th, 2009
1:37 pm
Huge win for the Hawks last night. I was also pleased to have Hubie
Brown do a Hawks game, because he gives you real analysis of the team (rather than just the usual line) and has actually seen the Hawks play before. Most of these “experts” don’t even really know the Hawks team.
And for those of you who don’t think this was a big game for the Celtics, I think you’re wrong. The Celtics are a veteran, championship level team, and they know that they need to smack down young teams on the rise like the Hawks whenever they can because they know that they may see them in the playoffs and want the psychological advantage. Just like last night was a big game for the Lakers, and you could see how much Kobe hated to get beat by the Nuggets.
Until last night, the Hawks felt deep down that they couldn’t win in the Garden. Now they know they can, and that makes them dangerous come playoff time.
i_am_soulstar
November 14th, 2009
1:44 pm
Can believe Woodson coached as well as he did. Keep it up Woody!
cp
November 14th, 2009
1:48 pm
I guess coach deserved that extension after the Bobcats blowed us out too huh. The one guy who has been yapping all summer about how we are not as good as Boston, Cleveland, or Orlando is now flip flopping..I agree with Ken on the switching defense, it has to stop. And wow what a concept a rookie came in and made some rookie mistakes. I thought I would never see the day where a rookie would do that. Marvin for Travis Outlaw straight up…. Marvin just isn’t doing it out there on the court. I would rather have Outlaw who does everything I wish Marvin could do.
Ryder
November 14th, 2009
2:16 pm
Here’s what I noticed about last night, Jamal Crawford gives this team a swagger that they normally lacked the past two seasons. My only concern is that this team still doesn’t have that mindset of “we expect to win” when they play at opposing arenas, whether it’s against the Celtics or a team like Minnesota.
If the Hawks want to be taken seriously in May and potentially June, then they must stop acting surprised when results like last night happen. Ok, so it was fine to get a win at Boston after two years, but it means nothing if they come home and lay an egg against the Hornets tonight.
Great teams must be able to put their foot on the throats of weaker opponents and not get flustered when they get down by 10 points against an upper-tier team like LA or Orlando. The past two games we’ve seen this team get tougher and not allow early deficits to hold them down like in years past. I just think they need to continue playing with that mindset.
Btw, how would you like to be Chris Paul right about now? Two years ago the Hornets were a game away from the Conference Finals, now they may not even make the playoffs.
Bottom line, Atlanta must realize that they are faster, more athletic, and possess more hustle than any competitor in the East. While they may not have an A+ level superstar like Dwight Howard, LeBron, or Garnett, they must possess the swagger needed to take it to them in the spring.
Ken Strickland
November 14th, 2009
2:18 pm
MZ. HAWKDAFIED-Don’t sweat it. If you’ll notice, the ones making an issue of any criticism, whether constructive or destructive(I don’t believe they’re intelligent enough to know the difference), of their heros have very low basketball IQ’s. Allow me to demonstrate an example of that low basketball IQ and overall low intelligence. This particular example shows the particular individual has an extremely limited, if not completely nonexistant, abiility to employ cognizant reasoning ability.
In my last post, I acknowledged that we were winning, and used the Cleveland Cavaliers as an example of how winning alone won’t necessarily get you where you what to go. I also explained why we rank so high in points in the paint, fast break points and PPG. ANYONE THAT’S BEEN ON THESE BLOGS FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME KNOWS I’VE BEEN AVOCATING THAT WE NEEDED TO PLAY UPTEMPO. Now, here’s the response I got from BIG UMP, “THE HAWKS ARE WINNING NOT BECAUSE CERTAIN BLOGGERS SAYING THAT WHAT THEY BEEN ADVOCATING FOR YRS ABOUT THE UPTEMPO GMS”. How can anyone with a clue believe any team could increase its points in the paint, fastbreak points and PPG by shooting jumpshots, instead of driving to the basket more, running more fastbreaks and getting easy inside scoring opportunities?
It doesn’t take a genius to realize Woodson made the decision to abandon his preferred halfcourt jumpshooting style of OFF and switch to our current uptempo style only after GM RSund demonstrated his concern about his coaching abilities and contributions to last yrs accomplishments, and refused to give him a contract extension. Another thing BIG UMP:
GOOD HC’s don’t wait for their GM’s to recognize the need for a change, and have their jobs put on the line, before making the necessary changes.
GOOD HC’s, particularly so called DEF minded HC’s, aren’t dumb enough to continue using a DEF that allows their PPG allowed to increase.
GOOD HC’s don’t constantly use DEF’s that have their shortest and smallest players trying to defend the oppositions tallest and biggest players in the lane, and their tallest and biggest players trying to guard the oppositions smallest, quickest and fastest players out on the perimeter.
BIG UMP-you have the right to be as stupid and as basketball illiterate as you want, and you’re obviously taking full advantage of that priviledge, but don’t take your shortcomings out on everyone else, especially me.
JeJe
November 14th, 2009
2:19 pm
we need to RUN the ball!
Samuel
November 14th, 2009
2:33 pm
WHY DID IT TAKE SO MANY YRS, AND THE THREAT OF POSSIBLY LOSING HIS JOB, FOR WOODSON TO FINALLY ACCEPT WHAT HAS BEEN SO OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE ELSE?
2004-05 Atlanta hawks
20 Jon Barry
1 Josh Childress
40 Jason Collier
00 Tony Delk
13 Boris Diaw
14 Predrag Drobnjak
54 Obinna Ekezie
7 Tom Gugliotta
3 Al Harrington
36 Royal Ivey
10 Tyronn Lue
34 Jelani McCoy
2 Anthony Miller F
15 Donta Smith
5 Josh Smith
44 Michael Stewart
0 James Thomas
8 Antoine Walker
42 Kevin Willis
.
2005-06 Atlanta Hawks:
Roster
11 Esteban Batista
1 Josh Childress
00 Tony Delk
54 John Edwards
16 Anthony Grundy
3 Al Harrington
36 Royal Ivey
2 Joe Johnson
10 Tyronn Lue
27 Zaza Pachulia
15 Donta Smith
5 Josh Smith F
20 Salim Stoudamire
12 John Thomas F
24 Marvin Williams
2006-07 Roster
11 Esteban Batista
6 Cedric Bozeman
1 Josh Childress
12 Speedy Claxton
4 Matt Freije
36 Royal Ivey
8 Anthony Johnson
2 Joe Johnson
44 Solomon Jones
10 Tyronn Lue
14 Stanislav Medvedenko
27 Zaza Pachulia
32 Jeremy Richardson
5 Josh Smith
20 Salim Stoudamire
7 Dijon Thompson
24 Marvin Williams
33 Shelden Williams
42 Lorenzen Wright
DUUUUHHHH!!!!
Truth-Serum
November 14th, 2009
2:40 pm
Samuel I think Ken gets his Jollies on being willfully ignorant and malicious.
Samuel
November 14th, 2009
2:48 pm
Slava MED-VE-DENKO
jhan
November 14th, 2009
2:59 pm
Great win by the Hawks last night! Glad to see the whole team involved & producing.
cp – great comment about the Bobcats game. Didn’t hear people clamoring for the extension after that game. I’m sure he was coaching at an elite level that night but the players just weren’t listening!
I personally feel Woody is coming along as a coach. I would compare his development to Marvin Williams – both getting better but not top notch material.
I would be interested in interviewing Byron Scott before offering Woody an extension. Don’t know how anyone could say Woody is a better coach than Scott. Woody does have a history with these guys & that should count for something.
Go Hawks!!
Truth-Serum
November 14th, 2009
3:00 pm
You know its bad when ken has to revert to using Samuel’s name to voice his hate. Hate on Ken.
I bet you that Woodson gets an extention on a new contract by the end of the year. Sund would have to continue to be a fool if he did not sign Woodson, for 2 reasons. 1 there are many teams that would love to have Woodson build their team and develop it as he has the hawks and 2 the Hawks player appreciate and respect Woodson, they have excellent chemistry which is not easy to replace in the NBA. Sund would have to continue his foolishness not to try and get Woodson under contract. Woodson can get another job… Sund cant. Hell end up being a Bubba crew blogger.
Truth-Serum
November 14th, 2009
3:01 pm
Did Byron Scott get fired? Oh My, haghahahah! what did not his players like him? Was he not winning?
Pete
November 14th, 2009
3:44 pm
It’s early but this team is………..a TEAM.
Basketball is a team game.
The Hawks know and trust each other and………..they don’t have the “baggage” of having a prima donna on the roster to poison the team chemistry.
They will go as far as the lack of serious injuries allow them to.
Great win in Beantown, Hawks !!!
jerrywest
November 14th, 2009
3:50 pm
Look who is #1 in power ranking:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/nba0910.htm
Sagarin rating is the most objective of all.
We had the 6th hardest schedule and we have beaten teh #2, 3 and 4 teams. 3 & 4 on the road.
Mz. Hawkdafied
November 14th, 2009
4:18 pm
Truth Serum I think you have it twisted. I have been talking about the depth the Hawks acquired in the offseason. I was and am referring to the 2009-2010 squad. What are you talking about? Why would I be concerned with the 08-09 squad? Is it not 2009? In your effort to discredit anyone whom you consider to be Woody haters you are overlooking one very important thing: WE ARE ALL HAWKS FANS! WE ALL WANT TO SEE THE HAWKS PROGRESS!
Oh my bad I guess you and Woodson supporters are more concerned with Mike Woodson’s welfare. So I think you need to take a look in the mirror and ask yourselves are you Hawks fans or Mike Woodson fans. Make up your minds which is it?
Anyway excellent win for Coach Woodson and the ATL Hawks.
Ken Sugiura
November 14th, 2009
4:27 pm
what’s up? sorry i haven’t been on today, been kinda wiped out from traveling. Back to work in a little bit.
I’ll need to start up a game blog.
Mr. Thomas Anthony "The Taxman Cometh" Jones, SR. Waf-SS (ret.)
November 14th, 2009
4:32 pm
As a long term hawks Fan I am pround to tell everyone that the hawks are ready for 2009-2010, not just 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. The hawks are young, strong, tough and they will leave old teams like the Celtics in the dust. They have the Future on their side. I only wish they had had the common sense to sign Josh Childress to a long term contract. If had both of the Joshes the East would be in the bag. Childress did all the dirty work while Josh Smith wows the fans. If we let Jeff Teagle loose on the other teams we will be nearly unstopable. The only player in the NBA draft than Mr. Teagle is Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise. The 2010’s will be the Hawks decade as the Celtics retire. Sooner or later Kobe Bryant will retire and we rule the NBA. Hopefully one day we will get Josh Childress back and then we could have three or four Champions hips here in Atlanta. The hawks are the best pro franchise in the city of Atlanta, not the Braves or the Falcons. Come see us in 2012 and 2013 as we hold the NBA hostage for Championship after championship!!!!! The folks in new York, Washington, and Philadelphia will be jealous of our Atl;anta hawks!!!!!
Ken Sugiura
November 14th, 2009
4:36 pm
A couple things – when I say that the Hawks are unlikely to keep up this level of play, I meant the 48 minutes of intensity along with sharpness. It’s just a lot to ask. I’m not an expert, but I don’t know that any team could do that.
Concerning Teague, I meant to include something that Shelden Williams said that sounded like a veiled criticism of Woodson. He was saying before the game that one reason he felt comfortable in Boston was that he knew his role and knew that minutes were coming. (Off topic, but he didn’t play too hot against his old team Friday.)
One thought about switches, and I’m just throwing it out there. Is one possibility that Woodson goes with switching as opposed to sticking with your man is that, in the latter, you leave yourself more vulnerable to pick and rolls?
Perhaps it’s better to risk a mismatch than a player rolling to the basket for an uncontested basket? Again, just throwing it out there and trying to foster dialogue.
Check back with you pre-game.
Grandad
November 14th, 2009
4:42 pm
Truth Sybil: I see you crawled out from under your rock. At 8:23 you had a lucid, sensible, and logical post that I was/am going to congratulate you for formulating some well pondered thoughts. I agree
Big Al is an all-star 4 playing the 5. Also, you may have noticed I gave Woody his props late last evening. /// Then you reverted to your boorish,inane,non-sensical other self/selves. You and Samuel use such foul and offensive laguage/refereces that you lose any credibility. You say things that would land you on the seat of your pants if said face to face (or spanked if you are the age you act). You and your
cohorts/other selves talk about hate in regards to woody…what is yawls man crush with him all about ? Can’t you just be happy and positive about a big win w/o all the venom. Once again congats to
Woody, you deserve it today. Team, you helped some also !
Zach
November 14th, 2009
4:56 pm
1. Sheldon William is the third worst basketball player in his family (I think that his wife and his baby are better)
2. is it just me or has joe been the most selfish player on the team, this is something I don’t really understand after his “me, me, me” comments. Maybe what he meant was that people were selfish in holding the ball and not getting it to Joe so he could be selfish himself.
3. Marvin has got to step it but, but also Woody has to give him more time in the game. Give Joe or Mike some time off when Crawford comes in the game.
Grandad
November 14th, 2009
4:59 pm
Ken – w/o getting into a full blown debate on x’and o’s, I don’t really
think Woody thinks that deeply, otherwise he would scheme for individuals and teams according to personel/stengths/weaknesses. He played for Coach Knight – CBK played a switching man def. – and I think it’s that simple. In Woody’s defense; “basketball is a simple game”.
However, there are ways to play combo man def. where certain players
switch and some don’t. Ex. Bibby and or Zaza. Too much x’s and o’s.
Sorry about that.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 14th, 2009
5:29 pm
The switching defense has to be a situational thing. The problem with it is that smart teams will just get you to keep switching until they get the matchup they like, and then they’ll just take you to the hoop. It may be true that if they don’t switch they leave themselves vulnerable to the drive, but with two premier shot blockers inside that shouldn’t be a huge concern. Bottom line is the Hawks are versatile enough to where they can throw multiple looks at opposing teams, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t capitalize on that.
RLP
November 14th, 2009
5:48 pm
Great win last night. But the Hawks face danger if they let that win undermine their readiness for tonight’s game. Based on their poise last night I do not think that will happen tonight. The difference in this game and the Carolina game is that it is being played at home.
Last years team’s biggest weakness wan an inability to win on the road. The 4-2 start on the road this year is very impressive. I do not think we can put the Hawks in the elite category yet however. But there is definitely promise of great things to come if they can maintain their current pace without getting to full of themselves. Going through the tough years should help keep that from happening.
It is certainly a fun time to be a Hawks fan so we should all try to draw in the claws a little on deep seated disputes that will have less relevance if the good times continue to roll. Yes we are 7-2 but yes it has only been 9 games. Let’s all sit back, take a deep breathe and wait a while to engage in some of the battles.
Truth-Serum
November 14th, 2009
5:53 pm
Ken, I never said Al was an all star forward playing the 5. I said he was a forward playing the five. The announcers on the ESPN telecast said the same thing. I guess its a startling revelation for you.
Reality: Horford is not as good as Josh. If this team had a real center Horford backs up josh and the new center. Maybe….ZAZA is playing lights out right now! He is finishing in the paint and creating his own shots, in addition his turnovers are down.
The hawks are the epitome of Woodson’s Work, so if you like the Hawks you are reallying saying you like Woodson. Lets not let this man get out of town. It nice to have a progressiwe winning coach. Not an underachiever like Mark Richt.
Boneyard Randy
November 14th, 2009
6:03 pm
YES! Smiling huge after that win! I love seeing us turn Kendrick Perkins into a cry baby.
Truth-Serum
November 14th, 2009
6:05 pm
RLP I must agree with you. Ive enjoyed the short season,too, inspite of the anti Hawks/Woodson crew. I also agree we are not an elite team yet and yes, the boys are playing at a high level. I think we are a center away from competing for a title.
Id like to run some of the fat off Collins tonight and get teague so more learning moments,in tonights game.
Mz. Hawkdafied, I am both a Woodson fan and a Hawk fan. Right now you cant separate the two. This team has Woodson’s stamp all over them from 13 wins 5 seasons ago till now. This team is Woodson’s.
So we agree on this so Ill just copy and paste your comments and let our conversation have this posture and we will find good and advancing conversation:
“Anyway excellent win for Coach Woodson and the ATL Hawks.”
We agree.
Big Ump
November 14th, 2009
6:31 pm
Ken you the last person to call someone stupid. You have no basketball knowledge at all. You are the most childish person and dumb a– on this blog. Sometime I think you don’t have it all upstairs. Do me a favor and go check yourself out. It wouldn’t hurt.
smh
November 14th, 2009
6:36 pm
Its amazing that Mrs. Woodson gets any QT with her husband with the amount of time Samuel and Truth rides his lap day in and day out. Give it a rest. I’m starting to think you two are either related to Woodson or just have the biggest man crushes in the world. You two bring nothing to the blog but your over the top unconditional love for Woodson.
Big Ump
November 14th, 2009
6:38 pm
Truth Serum you know nKen don’t have a brain to think with.
Ken Strickland
November 14th, 2009
6:52 pm
GRANDAD/MZ. HAWKDAFIED-have you noticed how everytime I mention words like MORON, STUPID, IDIOT or ANAL MINDED, clowns like TRUTH SEMEM(SYBIL) and SAMUEL immediately respond? Also, have you noticed how none of these clowns bothered to answer the 2 questions I posed in my 11:14am post?
GRANDAD-you once asked SYBIL why he/she/it singled us out to unleash his/her/its ignorance and hate. Well, I’ll answer that. Numerous bloggers have registered their dissatisfaction with MWoodson and his consistently inconsistent coaching and often stubborn unwillingness to do what’s best for the team and/or players. However, they basically just mention their dissatisfaction without offering any particulars or reasons for their feelings. You and I have typically gone into specific detail in explaining our feelings, and why, and Sybil/SAMUEL can’t stand it when presented with logic, facts, common sense and details. The typical response for clowns like this is, IF YOU CAN’T DISCREDIT THE MESSAGE, ATTACK THE MESSENGER.
So, if one of these fools attacks you because of something you’ve said, particular about their love interest, MWoodson, it proves what you said made a lot of sense.
Samuel
November 14th, 2009
7:09 pm
Fact: Hawks are 7-2. The only fact that counts.
Granddad
November 14th, 2009
8:16 pm
Ken, why do they call you Dic Breath? Does your breath really smell like azzse?
Granddad
November 14th, 2009
8:16 pm
Enter your comments here
David
November 14th, 2009
9:29 pm
Zach,
That’s just stupid. No way that Candace Parker is good enough to play in the NBA.
Kasey C
November 16th, 2009
3:57 pm
My Hawks are doing work and i’m proud to be a fan. Keep it up guys.
Fan
November 18th, 2009
12:51 am
Someone stated :WE ARE ALL HAWKS FANS! WE ALL WANT TO SEE THE HAWKS PROGRESS”. No offense to the writer, but I can’t tell. Stop freakin complaining everybody and rejoice! They are winning and you can’t expect every player to have a good game every night.
Personally I wasn’t a Hawks fan until Bibby came here.(I’ve been a fan of his since day 1 of his NBA career; and check your records; Damn right he can guard Rondo….he took the time to school (mentor) him! Say what you will…but changes came about when he graced the court!
Kasey C I agree with you!