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6:04 pm November 26, 2009, by Ken Sugiura

Happy Thanksgiving, all-

I hope you all have had joyful times of sharing with family and friends today before settling into some Hawks basketball. (and thanks, Honest Abe, for the kind words about the story. And, while I’m on that topic, thanks to all of you all for making me feel welcome in your space and for all of your encouragement. It’s made this a lot of fun.)

7:10 p.m. Mike Bibby will go. He tested out his ankle at shootaround and evidently feels good enough to go. He said he can go as long as necessary.

“I wouldn’t be dressing if I couldn’t,” he said.

Also, he and Joe Johnson have all-red Jordans, and it looks like those wearing headbands (Bibby, Josh Smith, Teague) are going red.

Also, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he told Dwight Howard to be more aggressive with the ball. Remarkable stat — In the last five games, Howard’s shot totals – 5, 7, 4, 13, 5). He averaged 12.4 shots per game last year and 11.9 a year before that.

The Hawks’ PR staff says Mike Bibby is a game-time decision. He participated in the shootaround, which leads me to think he’ll play some, but perhaps his minutes might be limited.

One thing worth noting – Magic point guard Jason Williams played 39 minutes on his 34-year-old legs last night, three days after playing 39, so he might not have so much in his tank, either.

Got a tight deadline tonight, so don’t know how much I’ll be able to participate on the blog, but I’ll do my best.

Some links: a pre-game scouting report from the Orlando Sentinel

Some more national love: Yahoo! sports weighs in

An NESN.com (New England sports cable network) story on the Hawks.

Hope you’ve all had a Happy Thanksgiving. Let’s see what happens tonight…

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307 comments Add your comment

JeJe

November 27th, 2009
6:45 pm

When is the last time someone on this team provided a spark off the bench and had 20 points? Can’t Teague be that guy? Why will Woodson trust Marvin over Teague? Teague hits a beautiful layup last night and immediately is taken out. The guy is faster than 95 % of the league. Let him stay in. We’re playing a horrific team tonight which will still challenge us hard, but we will still win. Let Teague play 20 minutes, and rest Bibby’s legs.

JeJe

November 27th, 2009
6:49 pm

Something that pisses me off that no one talks about is Joe Johnson’s rebounding. 5.5 rebounds in 38 mpg? That is pathetic. He never boxes anyone out. I watch him after shots are taken just standing under the basket. Last night i watched Vince get an easy tip-in because Joe just stood there.

At 6″7 and 240 pounds he should be able to battle some PF’s out there, yet he gets 5.5 boards a game. This number needs to go up for someone his size.

These next 2 games are must-wins.

Woodson, use your bench. Let Teague get a spark. Play Collins. The guy started 2 years in a row in the Finals vs. Shaq & Duncan. I want to see some energy off this bench. Don’t let Marvin play 35 minutes just because he’s 6″9

JeJe

November 27th, 2009
6:49 pm

*Someone off the bench besides J-Craw

JeJe

November 27th, 2009
6:54 pm

Orlando is just way too deep to not go to the Finals this year.

I mean, they got Anderson, AJ, and Bass — players that don’t get big minutes, who can all put up serious numbers when needed. This team doesn’t even need Shard and Vince to score much. This team is just freaking loaded. Did anyone even think during the game that ORL didn’t even have Jameer (an ALL STAR)? Orlando’s 2nd lineup could beat most teams in this league and I mean it.

We have no shot of beating ORL in a series at all. Vince and Shard can hibernate and let Dwight do most of the work, and when teams start hounding him, the Magic have deadly shooters on all cylinders.

We CAN, however, beat Boston and Cleveland.

Kudos to the whole Orlando organization for building such a superb team. Fatigue last night? Yeah right. When you’re 12 deep and have players who know their roles and can hit 3’s from everywhere, you’re going to be this good.

JeJe

November 27th, 2009
6:58 pm

I still don’t understand Woody not calling a Timeout during that ORL run during the 3rd quarter. I was like, “when is this guy gonna stop the run?”

WTf was said during halftime? It was obvious ORL did NOT want to lose 2 division games in a row, especially after they got completely robbed in that MIA game (should’ve been offensive-goaltending on Beasley). I think 99 % of the other diehard fans on this board could’ve motivated the players at halftime and said the right thing.

Woodson could’ve simply said what Doc Rivers said to his team during our playoff series in 2007: “You gotta hit them down, and when they get up, you gotta hit them down again”

Comments like that should really stick with players. Not this “guys, I don’t care about offense. Just play defense, ok?” or comments similar to that which I’m sure Woody implies. Ha.

Talk to all you Hawks Friends after the game

Blast

November 27th, 2009
7:24 pm

I would really be worried if Hawks lose again tonight. Really worried.

Woody might have lost this team. If he can’t draw up effective plays for a team he has coached for five years, if he can’t reign in an out of control JJ hell bent on getting a max contract, Woody might have lost this team. And if that is the case, we all see why he has not been extended yet. The next two games are really crucial for Hawks psyche. Hawks cannot afford multiple losing streaks. They just need to share and move the damn ball!

Big Ray,

You crazy, man!

george hild

November 27th, 2009
8:11 pm

all true hawk fans want to see our team to be competitive & not get blown out of games which should be easy with all our talent. if we are
critical of woodson or jj for our lack of ball movment & poor offense
planning so be it

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