Hawks-Heat
What’s up, folks?
Another big one coming this evening with the two teams with the best record in the East taking the floor. Some gleanings to share
Worth noting:
1. This is just Miami’s third road game of the season, having played nine of their first 11 in Miami. The Heat has won both games on the road, at Indiana and Washington.
2. I’m always leery of “Player X does Y when Team Z wins” and not just because I don’t like algebra. It stands to reason when the team wins, a player’s numbers will be better. I guess causation is the issue. At any rate, one player to watch is Heat forward Michael Beasley. He’s actually scored more when they’ve lost, but been otherwise more productive when they’ve won.
In seven Heat wins: 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.3 assists 1.0 blocks.
In three Heat losses: 3.3 rebounds, 0 steals, 0.7 assists, .7 blocks.
3. Joe Johnson has had a nice two-game run distributing. It looked to me like he was trying to get other guys going early against Portland. He had seven assists against the Hornets and nine against Portland.
Said Johnson, “I’m just trying to make plays. Whenever I’m drawing two, three guys, I’m just making the easy pass, whether it’s a dunk or somebody shooting a wide-open jump shot. That’s just easy basketball.”
He sounded eager to face up against Dwyane Wade two days after getting the better of Brandon Roy. Johnson’s strategy for defending him – “Just try and make his catches tough and any shot he takes, make sure you have a hand in his face.”
4. Zaza Pachulia has had a pretty good run, and should see considerable time with 6-foot-8 Udonis Haslem and 6-foot-9 Joel Anthony getting significant minutes off the bench for Miami.
5. On being ranked No. 1 in the nba.com and espn.com power polls, Mike Woodson said what you might expect him to say.
“I don’t even know anything about those polls. The only thing I look at is our division. I look at the divisions around us. I could care less about who’s ranking what. It doesn’t mean a [darn] thing to me, it really doesn’t. What’s important to me is where we stand in our division and how we’re playing as a basketball team.”
This may be old hat to you, but he said something this morning that I found interesting about how he views offensive production.
“I don’t get on a lot of guys about offense that much, unless they’re being selfish. My job is to make sure that they defend and rebound.”
5. How Jamal Crawford does after his first single-digit scoring game (2-10, six points) bears watching. I suspect he’ll be fine, but will he be more eager to assert himself?
6. A couple links. Shaun Powell’s nba.com column on Crawford.
espn.com story on Al Horford.
7. Woodson would like to see you. Monday, Philips was pretty sparse for the Blazers game. Attendance was around 12,000, I think, but looked far smaller.
“All I can say to our fans is we need the support. These guys are playing for something this year. It’s fun watching us play and I know the fans are out there and we just ask you to come out and support us. They need it. I think amazing things can happen when the house is filled.”
What do ya think about tonight?
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190 comments Add your comment
bigdave
November 18th, 2009
6:02 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRLgvJFhYM0
just plain ignorant… EEWW!! in your eye Wade!!! LETS GET IT!!!
bigdave
November 18th, 2009
6:03 pm
FROM THE DAMN HAWK WING!!!
bigdave
November 18th, 2009
6:07 pm
look at dude at the bottom of the screen in the sky blue shirt by the ref hitting him wanting the AND1… !!
bigdave
November 18th, 2009
6:11 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr926p32xWM
Josh goes behind the back on a pusssssssss…
Ken Sugiura
November 18th, 2009
6:15 pm
a break for the Hawks – Udonis Haslem is out with a shoulder sprain.
bigdave
November 18th, 2009
6:15 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdyg0gbOQME&feature=related
Smoove decides to send a basketball to some marine life somewhere out on south beach…
bigdave
November 18th, 2009
6:17 pm
done… just a little footage from our 2 All-Stars…
ya dig…
Ken Sugiura
November 18th, 2009
6:18 pm
a little tidbit from Jamal Crawford.
“They do different things (on defense). They show really hard on pick and rolls. That’s one thing you have to look at, and they help a lot. They help in different areas of the court.”
So moving the ball is important?
“Ball movement and getting it side to side.”
bigdave
November 18th, 2009
7:03 pm
LETS GET IT…
Ken Strickland
November 18th, 2009
7:07 pm
Any HC that’s interested in building a championship team pays close attention to detail on OFF and DEF. It’s perfectly acceptable for him to concentrate on DEF from a personal perspective, but to refuse to hire someone with an OFF resume, and still say you don’t pay attention to the OFF, is irrisponsible. Our OFF, especially OFF rebounding, is the primary reason we’re 9-2, not or DEF, which has been giving up a lot of PPG.
Remember, Portland came into the gm Monday leading the NBA in total DEF, and lost because their OFF didn’t score enough points to win. AS A HC, YOU CAN’T IGNORE ANY ASPECT OF THE GAME. THAT WAS A DUMB STATEMENT TO MAKE AND AN EVEN DUMBER PHILOSOPHY.
O'Brien
November 18th, 2009
7:09 pm
I think the Hawks should double team Wade. Force him to give up the ball, and force other players to make shots.
And if Wade gets going, I look for JJ to D him up (JJ did a good job on Roy).
Also, I hope JJ doesnt do too much of his customary dribble dribble pound pound shoot…
BONE
November 18th, 2009
7:11 pm
Hopefully fans show up for this game becuz the attendance for the last game wasn’t good.
O'Brien
November 18th, 2009
7:14 pm
Wow. Where was the foul on Al? I know Wade gets those calls, but JO?
BONE
November 18th, 2009
7:15 pm
Josh just drive. Beasley can’t stop u.
niremetal
November 18th, 2009
7:17 pm
For Wade, that’s an And-1. For JJ, just the bucket.
O'Brien
November 18th, 2009
7:25 pm
Beasley is on fire. What happens when DWade gets it going?
The Hawksta
November 18th, 2009
7:30 pm
D Wade hasn’t scored yet! Beasley’s shooting everything like I said on my previous post.
The Hawksta
November 18th, 2009
7:31 pm
The refs aren’t blowing the whistle on the Heat. The Hawks are taking it strong to the basket and aren’t being rewarded for it. Stay in the game fellas the whistle will come
Blast
November 18th, 2009
7:32 pm
Watch out for the refs! They already swallowed the whistle several times, refusing to call fouls for the Hawks!
Quit whinning and bitching, Wade. Just play ball!!!
Blast
November 18th, 2009
7:34 pm
Always great when Hawks get off to a good start.
BONE. You bitch about the arena being empty every game, but I don’t see you there rooting for the Hawks! Lol!
The Hawksta
November 18th, 2009
7:34 pm
Good call KEN! Udonis gives us problems on the offensive rebounding end!
The Hawksta
November 18th, 2009
7:44 pm
Marvin makes to buckets in a row! Yes we need him to get it going. I’d like him to really get it going!
Melvin
November 18th, 2009
7:45 pm
Hawks should be able to increase their lead while DWade is on the bench. Miami 2nd unit is not that good offensively…
BONE
November 18th, 2009
7:45 pm
LMAO Blast u ain’t there neither lol
Najeh Davenpoop
November 18th, 2009
7:46 pm
Marvin’s playing much better in this game than he has recently. Maybe Sekou’s tweet a few minutes ago inspired him.
niremetal
November 18th, 2009
7:47 pm
Yeah, but Blast isn’t complaining about other people not being there.
O'Brien
November 18th, 2009
7:50 pm
If Marvin can improve his shooting percentage, the Hawks will be that much more dangerous.
It might be time to bring JJ back…
O'Brien
November 18th, 2009
7:51 pm
I mean it might be time for JJ to work his magic.
Najeh, What was Sekou’s tweet to Marvin?
Melvin
November 18th, 2009
7:51 pm
Oh well, forget what I said about Miami bench b/c it look like the Hawks bench didn’t show up tonight…
I MUS WRITE
November 18th, 2009
7:51 pm
The Defense is looking real good tonight……….. Well Whadda Ya know -A Marvin Williams sighting.
KevinA
November 18th, 2009
7:53 pm
Wadda u tnk – feed a big? Like Josh?
Najeh Davenpoop
November 18th, 2009
7:55 pm
Josh Smith is murdering Beasley in that low post.
KevinA
November 18th, 2009
7:55 pm
Imagine that x2
Melvin
November 18th, 2009
7:55 pm
What a tip pass by Bibby to Josh. Nice play by Bibby…
KevinA
November 18th, 2009
7:56 pm
Al do not shoot a jumper early in the clock – rem – inside out?
Najeh Davenpoop
November 18th, 2009
7:58 pm
O’Brien, here was Sekou’s tweet, about halfway through the first quarter:
“Marvin is struggling in ways that are hard to describe. He just doesn’t seem plugged in out there.”
While I agree this can be applied to his recent play, I think he hasn’t been bad in this game. He’s made some nice plays, although there were some which would have been much better if he had finished them.
Blast
November 18th, 2009
7:59 pm
Hawks so beautiful to watch when they play controlled and efficient. The starters, anyway.
Me thinks Hawks are in Wade’s head.
Josh will be at the All Stars game next year.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 18th, 2009
7:59 pm
Also, the Hawks are doing a terrific job of denying Wade the ball in his sweet spots. They have given up some easy shots to his teammates in the process, but they are doing a great job shutting Wade down, and the overall strategy has been effective so far.
Melvin
November 18th, 2009
8:01 pm
Great defense by the Hawks. The Heat look like a deer in headlights and don’t know what to do…
terrell barron
November 18th, 2009
8:02 pm
Anybody still wanna trade Josh Smith???
vava74
November 18th, 2009
8:02 pm
soooo simple coming off a screen! JJ for threeee…. (why they don’t this more often?)
The Hawksta
November 18th, 2009
8:03 pm
Man they make it look easy when they play together!
niremetal
November 18th, 2009
8:03 pm
The Hawks have put three different people on Wade over the course of the game – they alternated between JJ and Marvin early on, and then put Mo on him when Mo came in. The different looks have both helped deny Wade the ball because no one person had to chase him around on every possession, and have kept him off balance by giving him different looks when he has the ball.
Blast
November 18th, 2009
8:04 pm
I ain’t there either, Bone. Is why I don’t gripe about it. It’s all love, though.
Are Hawks beautiful to watch or what? Josh Smith! Al Horford. Joe Johnson! Jamal Crawford! Mike Bibby!
I MUS WRITE
November 18th, 2009
8:07 pm
Well Dam!!!! Al with the monster Dunk!! Josh is on fire tonight 2 steals,2 dunks and a block in 2 minutes that yung’n is on his way to big things ….Dallas 2010
niremetal
November 18th, 2009
8:07 pm
Complaint of the night: I can’t stand the way that people refer to the Heat in the singular (”The Heat has had a bad game”). I know it seems grammatically necessary to do it that way, but it just sounds awful.
Melvin
November 18th, 2009
8:07 pm
Miami look discombobulated. They are struggling in every facet of the game…
I MUS WRITE
November 18th, 2009
8:08 pm
No Shyt Terrell, anbody still wanna trade Josh for Beidrins from G.S.
Man Crawford is slick with the rock…..
Melvin
November 18th, 2009
8:09 pm
Uh oh, Josh took his first 3pt shot of the year to end the half….lol
Ken Strickland
November 18th, 2009
8:10 pm
After seeing what we’re doing on OFF, maybe Woodson can afford to ignore the OFF, heh, heh, heh.