Whaddya know?
Greetings, all-
Hope you are well. As things sometimes go in my life, I was just about to post a new blog but I was messing around with it and it all disappeared. That’s how I roll. So this will probably be not quite as in-depth. Trust me, it was awesome. (I am being cynical.)
Anyway, I’ll give you some links and invite you to join in a contest.
Links
1) Sekou has started at nba.com and has his blog up.
2) nba.com’s new power rankings are up. The Hawks are in the top slot. For some of you guys who’ve been around, that must qualify as mind-boggling.
3) nba.com’s David Aldridge caught up with Billy Knight. Knight looks back on the Marvin Williams over Chris Paul draft – “Sure, if you had taken one of those guys, there could have been a whole domino effect of things that happened. But that’s not what happened.” – and gives his take on the Joe Johnson trade.
4) Interesting story in the Oregonian about Brandon Roy and Joe Johnson. (One matchup to watch, obviously. Another is Greg Oden-Al Horford. Somewhat interestingly, the last time the two faced off in Atlanta was in the 2007 NCAA championship at the Georgia Dome, a game I happened to cover.)
The contest
I’m guessing most of you didn’t see the Hawks’ 8-2 start coming. So that got me thinking, what happens over the next 10 games? Here are the rules. Guess the team’s record over the next 10 (10 points), predict each game (one point each) and offer a prediction on something that happens over that span (1-10 points, to be judged by me on creativity and probability of occurence. For example, “Joe Johnson will lead the team in scoring at least once” is a 1. “Jeff Teague will average a triple-double” is a 10. Actually, if you make that prediction and it comes to pass, you’ll win the contest outright and Rick Sund may come calling for you.)
I reserve the right to decide that only entrants who pick the record accurate can win, depending on how busy/not excited about tabulating scores I am. Not sure what the prize will be, but I’ll try to come up with something good.
(Entering multiple times under different screen names is not cool and not sporting.)
Deadline is tipoff of tonight’s game.
Good luck to ya.
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497 comments Add your comment
Ken Strickland
November 16th, 2009
10:04 pm
Another excellent win. When we play straightup DEF, instead of switching everything, we are a much better DEF team. Bibby played his best DEF gm of the yr, and Marvin did a good job on DEF. How about the performance of that UNDERSIZED PLAYING OUT OF POSITION NATURAL PF AHorford. He took Oden out of his gm from the 2nd qtr on, and virtually dominated him the 2nd half.
I’d like to take my hat off to HC MWoodson for using his bench effectively, playing Teague some valuable mins at a critical juncture in the gm, and making sound oveall decisions. I would also like to especially commend him for not giving up on Marvin and allowing him to contribute on DEF, even though his OFF is in disarray at the moment. There was one play where Marvin had the ball out of bounds and threw it out of everyones reach and Woodson caught it. You could see from Woodson’s expression he wanted to knock Marvin’s head off, and he immediately took him out of the gm. But in crunch time, he put Marvin back in the gm and trusted him to help us pull this one out. BRAVO!!
TO ALL ATLANTA HAWK FANS, WE HAVE A TEAM!!!!!
Now we have to prepare for a Miami team that played Cleveland tough in their last meeting, which they lost. GOOOOOOOO HAWKS!!!!!!!
vava74
November 16th, 2009
10:06 pm
Awful game, awful calls, most benefiting us.
BUT
Good composure and guts to come back against a strong team (stupid decision not to foul before Rudy got the ball in regulation).
JJ stepped up and our front court was terrific, Al and Josh were excellent.
Crawford had his first bad game, should have driven instead of shooting treys since he was wide open.
JT0 saw little light but played better than on Saturday. A shame that he did not dunk that botched lay up.
Pachulia was great on the boards.
ILL-logical
November 16th, 2009
10:06 pm
Two nits : why didn’t Woodson keep Joe in with possession and 14.7 seconds to go? He is the best foul shooter. Second, when ZaZa and Al were playing together , they were dominent. Why not see that look a little longer?
Ok, back to our regularly scheduled program. OUTSTANDING!!! Playoff caliber game and both teams refusing to lose. And Jamal was not a factor. Congratulations to the organization,staff and players.
GA Bulldawg
November 16th, 2009
10:06 pm
Haha Al Horford when asked about that 3: “That was nice!” I love AL
bigdave
November 16th, 2009
10:07 pm
slow down Bulldog…
who even compared Flip to Crawford? thats a landslide buddy…
he rolled a big number in a divisional matchup so i commented… our start is huge, however, it would be ideal to see Orlando struggle early.
Big Ray
November 16th, 2009
10:09 pm
Wow. 9 and 2!
I’ll take that win, yep. Came back and didn’t give in to them, this is a different team.
Joe gets 35 points, but needs 31 shots to get there. The good part is, he hit shots late in the game, when we needed him to. Also, he had 8 assists. Sorry, but “black holes” don’t get 8 assists in a game. Dude is averaging 4 or 5 a game.
Josh is doing what many of us always hoped he would, and only some of us truly believed he would. For those of you who loved to call him dumb and everything else…it’s okay. We’ll let you back on the wagon…
Second game in a row he has scored well and rebounded excellently, along with good defense. Just think, he’s still not quite 24 years old.
Bibby’s stats don’t look overly impressive, but he is STILL a big shot guy. He hit a couple that we really needed, and he’s good with handling/protecting the ball.
Here’s one of my favorite parts: Greg Oden- 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block. Al Horford- 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks. ‘Nuff said.
Oh, and he had magnificent help from his backup, Zaza. Yes, the big fella that some love to hate on gave Oden plenty of headaches, racking up 9 rebounds and 7 points in 20 minutes of work. Nice!
It’s not just impressive that we’ve beaten this team twice this year. It’s impressive that we outrebounded them 47-37 (we had 15 offensive rebounds). My friends, that is sheer effort.
Way to go, Hawks!
GA Bulldawg
November 16th, 2009
10:10 pm
^^^I wasn’t directly talking about you bigdave…its just that everytime I read a Hawks blog, someone ALWAYS bring up Flip so it was more of a general comment but you’re right. I would love to see the Magic struggle too but thats even more unlikely because Rashard Lewis is back from a suspension
preston
November 16th, 2009
10:11 pm
this was one of the best wins I have seen out of these hawks during the Woodson era…….the hawks should have lost this game, none of thier shots were falling, and for the first time all year, J. Crawford couldnt buy a bucket. This team finally has a mental edge and toughness that they are bringing to every game….it would have been weasy for them to come down from the high of finally beating Boston in Boston, but these guys keep grinding out wins…no matter who they play. Josh Smith and Al Horford have really come into their own, those guys are really getting it done in the paint…..and just to think just last yr some people were saying that the hawks should have goten rid of him. Joe J. played like a man possessed tonight, he put this team on his back and willed us to win. Woodson and this team have earned all of the attention that they have garnered thus far this year. This team is looking like the creme of the crop in the east. KUDOS TO WOODSON AND THE HAWKS!!!!!
Big Ray
November 16th, 2009
10:11 pm
POSTED BY KEN STRICKLAND
I’d like to take my hat off to HC MWoodson for using his bench effectively, playing Teague some valuable mins at a critical juncture in the gm, and making sound oveall decisions. I would also like to especially commend him for not giving up on Marvin and allowing him to contribute on DEF, even though his OFF is in disarray at the moment. There was one play where Marvin had the ball out of bounds and threw it out of everyones reach and Woodson caught it. You could see from Woodson’s expression he wanted to knock Marvin’s head off, and he immediately took him out of the gm. But in crunch time, he put Marvin back in the gm and trusted him to help us pull this one out. BRAVO!!
Ken, I couldn’t agree more. That was a good move.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 16th, 2009
10:14 pm
If J-Smoove continues playing like this, he will achieve that goal of being an All-Star pretty easily.
bigdave
November 16th, 2009
10:15 pm
Ray…
i dont mind the high shot volume of Joe.. being that most of his attempts, and misses, are coming in the painted area. eventually (hopefully) this will translate into foul shot attempts… definitely can’t knock the attempts tonight when lots of the makes were buckets we needed desperately…
Najeh Davenpoop
November 16th, 2009
10:16 pm
Can ajc.com give the Hawks a little more front page love? The front page story right now is about the floundering Falcons and their offensive woes. They don’t play until next Sunday. How about some love for the high flying Hawks? Best record in the league baby!
Big Ray
November 16th, 2009
10:18 pm
You know, upon closer observation of the replay, that Rudy Fernandez shot was BS. He should have been called for traveling. He caught the ball and slid (on both feet) about 2 feet or more….
kwooden1
November 16th, 2009
10:20 pm
You can’t say enough about how tough this team has been playing! Hats off to Smoove and Horford for holding the down the paint again!!!! GO HAWKS! GREAT WIN!
Grandad
November 16th, 2009
10:21 pm
Sautee: I’m one of the one’s who keep calling for an athletic big to patrol the middle. I could care less if he could score (re Zaza). However, in no way am I criticizing Big Al or Josh. I would love for each to have some help come playoff’s when the pace slows down. For those who criticize Zaza, please observe what all he brings to the table. Spirit,enthusism,toughness, and competitiveness don’t show up in the stats. Woody may have grown some as a coach. More on that later.
Marv’s gonna be alright, have patience. He’s playing really hard.
(probably trying too hard). Big-time confidence builder Tonight !
Big Ray
November 16th, 2009
10:22 pm
Bigdave ,
I minded the decisions he made earlier in the game. I have NO problems with the fact that he took (and made) more shots late in the game, which as you and I both have stated, were very much needed. It was when he was 7-19, then later 8-22 that was bugging me. It’s not that I wanted him to stop shooting, just make better decisions and take better shots. He did, and that’s one of the biggest reasons we managed to pull that one out. For a while there, the only thing separating him from Crawford was defense and about twice the number of shot attempts.
Samuel
November 16th, 2009
10:22 pm
Ken,
When you see that “bald headed” Rick Sund. Ask him why in the hell doesn’t he give Woodson an extension. Ask him WTF is he waiting on, The whole basketball world wants to know.
Woody=COY
kwooden1
November 16th, 2009
10:26 pm
Ken, great assessment on Woody! The best part was he brought Teague in during a situation where he could play to his strength, “driving to the basket”. With Marvin, he did the same thing. DEF/OFF substitution with Crawford late in the game. Playing to Marvin’s strength in terms of defense and making things tough for Roy.
Reggie (The Bird and Indian)
November 16th, 2009
10:27 pm
I’ve been disappointed that I’ve missed blogging during the games.
We got a team here, don’t we folks?
O'Brien
November 16th, 2009
10:30 pm
I dont understand these +/- ratings. Marvin is +10, while JJ is +8.
I will say this about Marvin. These are the kind of games where I wish he could give us a spark offensively. But for whatever reason, its not happening. He looked so lost and frustrated sitting on the bench when Woody took him out (after Marvin passed the ball to Woody from out of bounds).
But its a long season, and we’ve been able to win despite Marvin’s lack of offensive contribution. I hope he is able to get it together, because if Marvin is hitting shots, that makes us even more dangerous.
bigdave
November 16th, 2009
10:32 pm
Grandad…
agreed about Marvin. he’s struggling but he’s definitely playing hard out there. honestly, for the most part, he did a good job on his defensive assignments. you can tell that this slump is taking a toll on his confidence, one shot of him on the bench comes to mind. it will be nice to see him have a big offensive game in the coming days and watch how it propels him. as a young player confidence is everything, good to see Woody stay with him in crunch time unless there was an offensive/defensive sub with Crawford; go figure, we’re making offensive/defensive subs now… coming a long way, and we will need Marvin contributions more than most think…
Ken Strickland
November 16th, 2009
10:32 pm
BIG RAY-thanks. Woodson could have easily benched Marvin and assumed the same negative attitude toward him as these Marvin haters, and destroyed what’s left of his confidence. Instead, he continued to start him and play him in critical situations. That’s dam good coaching. Once we abandon the use of the switching DEF as our primary DEF, our overall DEF will improve, and we’ll prove to be one of the NBA’s elite teams. WE’RE GROWING AND IMPROVING AS A TEAM WITH EACH GM, BOTH ON THE COURT AND ON THE BENCH.
After only 11 gms into the season, do those of you who said we were no better than a 4-5seed at best still feel that way now?
cdog
November 16th, 2009
10:37 pm
after making the trailblazers lose their way on their trail now its time to throw water on the lucky heat whos luck will run out in atlanta. d wade can’t do it by himself because will be cooled by the hawks.hawks are no. 1 and will dosh the heat wednesday.
Big Head
November 16th, 2009
10:38 pm
What a win for the Hawks tonight. Maturity, poise, determination, and high levels of execution down the stretch. Amazing how Josh and Al and ZaZa outworked Oden, Aldridge and Pryzbilla. It doesn’t seem possible. Earlier I was a bit down on JJ. Man he came through in the last part of the game tonight. This is a really solid team. Perhaps we’re a 3 seed – maybe a 2. Orlando and the Celtics are still the teams to beat. But the Hawks are for real. They proved it tonight.
Big Ray
November 16th, 2009
10:40 pm
LOL.
Last I saw, Rick Sund has more hair on his head than Mike Woodson. Of course, with Woody it’s a choice. With Rick, it ain’t.
Samuel ,
My guess is because 9-2 does not a full season make. Relax, the way this team is playing, I don’t see Woody having any problems getting an extension.
Also, we have to consider that while this is the job that Sund does, he also has to have the owners’ blessings. It may be that he has not given him an extension because he has not been allowed to yet.
bigdave
November 16th, 2009
10:41 pm
Ray sure…
i understand statistically it looks bad, however, he misses lots of high % shots in the painted area; vs jumpers ill take those from any of our players. my point was that when there is contact, like when Roy bumped him going up, or Oden on the clutch lay up, id hope he gets the calls. he “Kobe’ed” (shoot til’ you get hot) his way out of it tonight, Joe rarely loses confidence in his game, tonight that yielded positive results.
jerrywest
November 16th, 2009
10:41 pm
Where is Tractor Taylor when the Bucks could have thrown him on the top of that pile. Dirk was traded to the Mavs for Tractor Taylor
Melvin
November 16th, 2009
10:50 pm
Even Alan Aldridge(misp) on NBATV said Rudy got away with a walk on that 3pt shot to send the game into overtime. Take that Blazer fans. Take that…
Big Ump
November 16th, 2009
11:03 pm
If you a Hawk fan and can’t appreciate the good job the team and HC doing then I better stop I don’t want to hurt no one feeling
Mychelfromatl
November 16th, 2009
11:07 pm
Just got back from the game. First I gotta give a BIG SHOUTOUT TO THE FANS!!!!!! The Crowd Was Alive Tonight! Cant wait for the game wednesday against Miami!
KevinA
November 16th, 2009
11:07 pm
I was screaming the Hawks had reverted to the Hawks of old and then an amazing thing happened. JJ got hot. I was cussing everybody but the big’s and then JJ go hot. As the game was fading and I was ready to fire Woody an awesome thing happened the team simply shut down the blazers and JJ got hot.
This team is not the same team of last year. Our big’s are talented and our other pieces play great but when the stuff hit’s the fan JJ gets hot. Tonight is no night for minute counting, complaining or explaining coaching moves. This was a game won by grit and determination. I will be honest – I did not see this coming but you got to love it when JJ gets hot.
Lets be honest Smooth the MVP of team.
JSS
November 16th, 2009
11:13 pm
He has been bashed, denegrated as a “poser,” and has been placed as the poster child of all that ails this franchise… So, tonight and I don’t care if it is for one night only, congratulations to our ‘franchise player” Joe Johnson for doing what he’s paid big bucks to accomplish in the clutch…
Ken Sugiura
November 16th, 2009
11:19 pm
DANG!
You guys are getting treated to some pretty entertaining (and satisfying, I’d imagine) basketball. I’m glad that the long sufferers among you are seeing your team win. I just posted the game story, in which both Josh Smith and Joe Johnson both said that this is a game the team would have lost in the past, and I imagine you agree.
Coming back from 12 down against the best defensive team in the league?
Pretty impressive.
Samuel – We’ll have to re-visit the Woodson contract.
O’Brien – the plus/minus rankings are the scoring margin for each player when they are on the floor. For instance, if Player X goes in when the game for the first time and the score is 50-50 and leaves when his team is up 58-50, his plus-minus is +8.
Thanks to those of you who entered the contest. I forget who said that JJ will have multiple 30-point games, but I guess that puts you in the early lead.
Jay
November 16th, 2009
11:23 pm
We are the best team in the NBA. Just say it out loud and savor it. Its almost too surreal to be true.
tony
November 16th, 2009
11:23 pm
Like I said before the draft, we should have taking Eric Maynor. He’s a distributor first – shooter last. Jeff Teague is not a pg. BAD PICK RICK SUND!
Kurdt Kobain
November 16th, 2009
11:42 pm
Dunno what you’ve seen of Teague that suggests he’s a shoot first PG. I like him a lot.
cp
November 16th, 2009
11:44 pm
Great win. It seems that we have finally found our defense. Josh is rebounding like a monster out there. He has always had the athletic ability to be a better rebounder but he never did the little things as box out and etc. He has always relied on his jumping ability to get boards but this year he seems focused on being a better rebounder and its benefiting the team. We really need to get Marvin going. Yes we are winning now but we will need him as this is a long season. Maybe he is thinking too much right now. He should probably drive to the hoop more until his jumper starts falling again. Like I said about Teague in another blog, he has to just dunk that ball when he is that close. He gets to the rim with no problem but finishing has been his problem but a guy that athletic and explosive should just dunk it anyway until he perfects his floater.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
November 16th, 2009
11:48 pm
Whaddyaknow – the Hawks are Best in the NBA at 9 and 2. They are atop of the pack in Espn’s and Nba.com’s powerrankings and if they win out the rest of the week or maybe even lose 1 game its safe to say they are officially in the top 4 in the East ( NO MORE BIG 3!)
RLP
November 16th, 2009
11:53 pm
There are times when JJ pounds the ball too much. There are times when JJ puts the team on his shoulders and wills it to win. Tonight was one of the latter. But having said that it still would not have happened without Josh and Al. This is a team with a great sixth man. (Sometimes it is just not your night.)
There are still problems but now is not the time to dwell on them. This team is playing like it deserves to be in the hunt for the elite in the East. However, most of those predicting the next 10 games failed to predict a win against Orlando. If I am not mistaken the Hawks could have the second best record in the East and STILL wind up as the fourth seed because each divisional champ gets a top three seed. So the Hawks could must win the division to get a top three seed.
I rejoined the blog too late to make a prediction for the next 10 games but I will predict wins against both the Magic and the Heat during this period. The Heat plays Orlando on National TV the night before the Magic travel to Atlanta for the back game of a two night set. Hawks will have last played five days earlier.
The most difficult game during the next nine will be the Dallas game Both teams will have played the night before but Dallas will be at home. This is my prediction for the only game they lose of the next nine.
For a tiebreaker my prediction will be that JJ will be the leading scorer in all nine games as he feels the game coming to the team. Marvin will continue to struggle for a while but the HC will demonstrate his faith in him and continue to play him. That faith will be rewarded later in the season. But in the meantime JC will receive more PT and give the team an extra dimension that contributes to the hot spell the team is enjoying.
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
November 16th, 2009
11:57 pm
Great start folks..9-2 BEST in the league..I believe Josh Smith has taken that next step. He finally is showing that he knows his role. Not so many jumpers…focusing on being a big man…getting boards….getting points in the paint….and playing TO HIS advantages.
The team has taken a turn too, we dont panic when we get down and even when not playing our best we can still overcome it and get the W.
What I hope the hawks realize is they have to play this way AN ENTIRE SEASON AND POST SEASON to go far. Limit the mental errors and have unlimited energy and hustle the entire way. GO HAWKS!!!
I just hope we can get rid of marvin for a banger type of PF, PF/C or C and have another legitimate post presence….and that Jeff Teague continues to develop and contribute more.
Grandad
November 17th, 2009
12:33 am
bigdave – Thanks,I don’t understand all the folks who will not give this kid a break. Fine young man, doesn’t get in trouble, tremendous role model. Plus I don’t think all of sudden he forgot how to play. Also his scoring avg. will probably stay lower than a year ago due to personel, and increasd production from others.
tony – Your kidding, right?
ATL GER
November 17th, 2009
4:07 am
This goes out to Everyone!
Go to phillips and watch Hawks games!! its sad to see a F$%”!§$g awesome hawks team and so little attendance… I live in germany and follow every hawks game, stuck with em through the horrible times. I wish I could go and cheer them on but i cant.. Its you in ATL who have to take care of that!!
drewscrilla
November 17th, 2009
4:56 am
DID HORFORD HIT A THREE MAYBE NOW WE CAN REALLY SPREAD THE FLOOR
Samuel
November 17th, 2009
6:53 am
Ray,
It’s not about that. It’s about respect and fairness and respectability as a franchise. What other organization would be dragging it’s feet on signing their coach if they were in the position the Hawks are in right now. Again, what is he waiting on? Opie to get fired, Diantoni or Flip so he can interview them. Some clown here even mentioned interviewing Byron. For “freekin what”? You got a good coach who is on a roll right now. Sign the man. hell, you just gave a “fat slob” like Jarred Collins a guaranteed contract.
Truth, maybe Sund is the grand wizard of the Bubba Possee.
Extend My Woody
Big Ump
November 17th, 2009
7:01 am
Samuel that was funny.
Daniel
November 17th, 2009
8:24 am
I got to go to the game last night. It was a small crowd, but very mighty. Nobody sat down from the mid point in the 4th through overtime.
All the Hawks fans need to vote for our All Stars. Clearly, Joe is an All Star again. Josh Smith and Al Horford deserve our votes. Josh getting double digit rebounds!!! C’mon that’s what I am talking about.
We had a terrible shooting night, but still found a way to win.
Move over Chauncey. It is Big Shot Bibby!! For those who can’t see past the stats, he makes a huge difference for this team on the court.
Marvin- terrible game, but stayed in there defensively down the stretch. I hope he can shake this off.
JT0, Za, Joe Smith- Uh, where are all the people who complained about Woodson’s use of the bench after the Knicks (win)? Melvin stepped up. Where are the rest of you?
dap01
November 17th, 2009
8:27 am
The entire basketball world wondering why Sund has not offered a new contract? I don’t think so. Woody is not working for free. If Woody starts having to coach without a paycheck, then we should complain.
If the Hawks keep progressing, he will get the extension. If Sund does not offer him a contract, he will quickly get a job if he is as good as you say.
Sund has had a great year so far. I trust him on the contract issue.
Great win when not playing your best against a very good team.
Go Hawks.
Grandad
November 17th, 2009
9:05 am
Daniel, Im right here, Ive given Woody his props on this board @ least 3 times. Others have as well. I’m proud of the Hawks, glad Woody is growing as a coach, happy for the fans, and still waiting for J.Teague to come on strong. Hope you had a nice weekend. I sure did. Go Dawgs !
preston
November 17th, 2009
9:27 am
I didnt have much of a problem with Sund not extending Woodson’s contract before the season began. Everybody knows that this was a make it or break it year for the coach, because he finally has a team that has matured and jelled, and he has a good bench. So this was his time to show what he can do with the resources that he has been given. Of course there is a growing momentum of outrage now that Woodson has his team playing as good as any team in the league, and his team has statistically (in terms of wins and losses)gotten better under him. But c’mon had the hawks started out 2-9 as oppsed to 9-2, we all would be calling for his head at this point. So, I do have to commend Woodson for shutting us all up, and looking like a better coach than we may have given him credit over……..lol, even Clyde hasnt has given up on his repetitive ” Fire Mike Woodson” mantra……..so he must be doing something right.
preston
November 17th, 2009
9:29 am
I meant to say, even Clyde HAS given up on his “fire Mike Woodson” mantra.