Heard ‘Em Say
Some Hawks talk from around the Web:
– Chris Perkins, my boy from back in Miami, is the former Heat beat writer for the Palm Beach Post (we both got whacked from our gigs last year during cutbacks). Writing for Hoopsworld, Perk says the Hawks are a year away from being real championship contenders assuming they bring back Joe Johnson and Woody:
“Atlanta has beaten Boston three times this season. The Hawks (24-13) have the fourth-best record in the East. But does that mean Atlanta beat any of the top three teams – Boston, Cleveland or Orlando – in the East in a best-of-seven series?
Maybe. What it really might mean is the Hawks need to stay together for another year, when they’ll likely be atop the East and have a legitimate shot at the NBA championship.”
– He’s not writing about the Hawks, but Tim Povtak at Fanhouse uses them as a contrast to the old and injured Celtics:
“The Celtics will have trouble getting past the second round this spring. They were lifeless at home when they lost badly to Chicago Thursday night on national television. They already lost three times this season to the much younger and much more athletic Atlanta Hawks, exposing all kinds of holes. The Celtics are more than vulnerable. . . .
“As the season progresses, it’s likely that the Cavs will pull away and both the Magic, who also are struggling now, and the Hawks, will pass the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, which means no home court advantage beyond the first round.”
– Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen places Josh Smith and Al Horford among his “5 Surprising All-Stars.” He’s got some thoughtful quotes from Smoove and good stuff from an unnamed scout:
“‘That kid has grown up immensely, and I’m stunned. I will tell you I hated him — his body language, his physical displays and immaturity on the floor. But this year I’ve seen him sit on the bench and not get playing time in the fourth quarter because the lineup is doing well, and they call him in to get the tip to win the game. And he’s not mad. In fact, he’s up like he’s their best cheerleader. I don’t know what award he should get, but he should get something for making the most emotional growth.’”
– The AJC’s Mark Bradley also weighs in on Smith’s maturation:
“We all kept wondering what Smith would be when/if he ever grew up. We’re getting our answer. Twenty points and 15 rebounds against Phoenix on Friday, when his fourth-quarter work kept the Hawks close enough for Jamal Crawford to win it at the horn. Fifteen points and 11 rebounds against the Celtics a week before that. Twenty-two points, nine rebounds, six blocks and seven assists in the November blowout of Denver.
He has made five turnovers in a game only once this season. He hasn’t fouled out. (OK, so there was one ejection.) He has hoisted only three three-point shots in 39 games. (He tried 87 last season, 152 in 2006-2007.) Put simply, we no longer cringe when Smith gets the ball. He knows what not to do.”
– George Kiel III at nicekicks.com notes that J.J. was sporting Air Jordan 12 Retros with a new color scheme vs. Phoenix:
“Last night, Atlanta Hawks star Joe Johnson and Charlotte Bobcats teammates Gerald Wallace and DJ Augustin were seen in a white and navy blue colored Air Jordan 12 Retro. It also features a hint of red in between the white and navy blue sections and in the form of the Jumpman logo on the tongue. There is no word yet on when this shoe will release.”
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86 comments Add your comment
doc
January 17th, 2010
9:43 pm
look out folks, ok city is 14 and 4 against east competition.
KevinA
January 17th, 2010
9:44 pm
doc,
LOL that was funny. Maybe if we all should send the mental image of a foot, Sheldon might stomp on the Wallace.
KevinA
January 17th, 2010
9:58 pm
Yea they are playing the best basketball since moving to OK. Charlotte beat us once and have won 8 out the last 10. The Kings were playing great now have lost a few. Their last game they took Clev to the brink.
Just glad these next games are at home.
Astro Joe
January 17th, 2010
10:04 pm
Hawks will lose tomorrow. Hawks will take OKC for granted and will be handed an embarassing home lost. The Thunder is a dangerous team with dangerous players and they are still sneaking up on teams. And the Hawks are notorious for thinking they can just show up at Philips and win a game. This blog will be on fire around 5:30 tomorrow afternoon.
richbrave
January 17th, 2010
10:06 pm
The smell from ARENAS’ shoe dump is driving BRENDAN HAYWOOD toward the exits. With an expiring, the rumors are heating up that he will not sign with the WIZ at any price. He’s at 30 years of age and six mill now, looking for that last big retirement contract.
HAWKS, he’s a growed man at 7′ 270. With the right team, he could provide serious ups. He can stand DWIGHT HOWARD up straight and look him in the eye. 10 million would probably net him.
The WIZ are about 10 million over the cap. They will try to bring MIKE MILLER back who’s at 9.75 million now and expiring. Of course, if some fool takes ARENAS’ contract off their hands, or he gets hard time March 26, they’ve got plenty of room.
I know CRITTENTON @ 1.45, JAMES @ 6.45, OBERTO @ 2.1, and BOYKINS @ 1.2 will be off the books totaling 11.2 million barely enough to get them back under the cap.
They have to sign McGUIRE who’s only at 850,000 and expiring. Should re-up at 1.1 mill or so.
ARENAS, JAMISON, BUTLER, BLATCHE, McGEE, YOUNG, STEVENSON and FOYE are contracted for next year.
BUTLER needs an extension this summer as he’s expiring at the end of next season. I can’t see ERNIE G. letting him go if HAYWOOD’s in ATLANTA. Now there would be a nice addition to the HAWKS and he’s in his prime at 29.
sansho1
January 17th, 2010
10:18 pm
A guy who shot 26% as a 34-year-old LAST year, and ya’ll are talking about wanting him NEXT year? Yeah, I’m thinking not.
richbrave
January 17th, 2010
10:21 pm
Thanks KEN:
Sounds like the environment I grew up in all right. Really I had no idea. Thank you again. I could tell you stories, but that’s not fair for athletic patrons here. I grew up in SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA. I was a junior in high-school in April of that year. You can guess from there, I suppose.
Big Ray
January 17th, 2010
10:22 pm
Northcyde ,
I have to agree with that logic. If Stack was still very effective (i.e., Grant Hill), he’d have been snapped up by now.
Astro Joe ,
Thanks for cannonizing my fears! I hope that’s just my stomach grumbling that I hear, and not THUNDER in the distance…
richbrave
January 17th, 2010
10:24 pm
STACK was in his prime, but he wasn’t much in D.C. but he wasn’t happy either.
doc
January 17th, 2010
10:31 pm
kevin it is all fun just some forget it.
been saying it all summer … the celts were over the hill an injury away from dropping below us, the magic may not gel and possibly the cavs stop getting so many ref calls to allow us into the finals. samuel, either didnt believe me or didnt want to tighten the noose too tight on his coy candidate with expectations to keep shooting me down on it. if samuel becomes a believer in my prediction then his man might get the coy tribute and a contract to boot. just biding my time until he has to fess up i was right.
Anthony
January 18th, 2010
12:33 am
Don’t get me wrong, I like Josh Smith and his game but when he doesn’t get a call or doesn’t get his way sometimes he slacks. Sorry to say it but he does. He seems to just turn it on and turn it off and alot of times he doesn’t hustle back on defense when he puts up a bad shot doesn’t get a foul call. That’s when I will love him. When he uses his talent all the time instead of just some of the time.
vava74
January 18th, 2010
6:22 am
Anthony,
That is still true, but getting less frequent. He is maturing and developing into an all round monster.
Astro,
Agree that the prospect of a loss is quite significant, however, how can the Hawks take for granted a team which has a very similar record to us??
OK is 22-18 in a tougher conference and we are 26-13. Not a huge difference.
I think we have a huge advantage in the front court if everyone is clicking: there is no way that Kristic and Green can match up against Al and Josh.
Durant is scoring like crazy but I think a mix between JJ and Marvin should be enough to keep him at an acceptable shooting average (anything below .500 without too many FT would be good for me).
On the other side, Sefolosha is quite capable of slowing JJ and Westbrook will certainly cause problems to Bibby.
Nonetheless, overall, I think that the Hawks should be able to come out with a win by 7-15 points.
Fundamentals
January 18th, 2010
8:21 am
I’m hoping for high energy and effort so we can cap off MLK Day with a 5-7 pt win. OKC will be a good matchup for our team. They’re definitely on the rise and capable of pounding anyone! BEWARE HAWKS! We’ll need or A+ game today to ensure we don’t lose to another KD 3 pointer at the buzzer. Looking forward to a great game.
Lacsho
January 18th, 2010
8:38 am
M. Cunningham I like your music themes. “On to the next one” and “heard Em,say” are two songs I really like. Me and Wifey are going to the fresh fest old school reunion this year. I’m looking forward to seeing Big Daddy Kane perform. Anyways, I think you are doing a great job. Please keep up the good work.
Peace,
Lacsho
Astro Joe
January 18th, 2010
9:27 am
Ray, my apologies… but I think the Thunder will own a 15=point lead (at a minimum) today.
Vava, I think it is in their DNA. And feeling like they can now win close games probably won’t help their drive to take care of business by the mid-3rd quarter.
Check out Eric Maynor today… another guy I lobbied for pre-draft (along with Dajuan Blair). He doesn’t have much flair… he’s old school like an Eric Snow type.
Ken Strickland
January 18th, 2010
9:48 am
DOC-This is my 3rd time trying to post this. I played on the base basketball team that went to Austin, TX for 2 gms. After the gm, a local player took us outside the city limits and down a long dirt rd to a remote location that didn’t have one building within a couple of miles of it. We went at least a mile or so down this long dirt rd until we suddenly came upon what was an actual JUKE JOINT if there ever was one. The lights on the building and car lights had to be the only lights for miles.
We were having a ball until the sheriff showed up with tow trucks. They started hooking up the cars parked on the side of this dirt rd and towing them several yds to an open field directly accross the street from the JUKE JOINT and ticketing them. When we were told what was happening, we had to wait for our host driver to come out of the bathroom, so his wife went to get in the car and prevent them from towing it off.
When were finally arrived outside, we found the car hooked up and about the be towed with her still in it. Since I had been in security and law enforcement and knew some law, I started talking some serious trash to the sheriff. I talked so much trash I actually intimidated them into lowering the car and start unhooking it. I got so carried away with my success, I took it too far and said THIS KIND OF ATTITUDE IS WHY THE RAZORBACKS KICKED THE LONGHORNS ASS THIS YR.
Well, that’s when the sheriff chambered a round into his shotgun and preceeded to inform me, in no uncertain terms, of my social, political and racial status within the great state of Texas. I don’t think I’ve ever been associated with Roy Rogers horse as often as I was that night. As you might suspect, we picked our car up across the street in the field, although they dod let the guys wife out before towing it.
SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO TELL ME ABOUT THE ATTITUDES OF PEOPLE IN TEXAS.
KevinA
January 18th, 2010
9:56 am
Astro Joe,
We have sorta struggled on offense and are due for a break out game. I will bet you a rum and coke we don’t get down by 15 and will win the game. Of course I will be drinking the win or loss on the bet. I am more afraid of getting ahead early and not being able to find that killer instinct. We seem to play to the skill level of sub .500 teams.
Ken Strickland
January 18th, 2010
10:06 am
I don’t think Smoove’s habit of arguing with the refs is a sign of immaturity, but an NBA tradition. We’ve even seen superstars like MJordan, LJames and KBryant complain constantly when they don’t feel they’ve gotten their special allotment of phantom calls. Heck, Tom Heinson has probably been retired longer than the players in the NBA have been alive, and he’s still complaining about not getting calls for his beloved Celtics.
This is a gm that might be won based on which bench comes up with, and takes advantage of, the best mismatches, strategy and/or adjustments. As we all know, but some won’t admit, these are areas where we’re usually at a decided disadvantage.
I’ll tell you one thing I love about this team. It’s really nice to know that whoever we play, it’s up to us to determine if we win or lose, and unlike the past, certain players don’t need to have their best gms for it too happen.
ken
January 18th, 2010
10:12 am
The Hawks are doing ok for now but they could be doing a whole lot better if Coach Woodson can figure out how to utilize his rookie point guard better. The Hawks have little perimeter defense against small, quick point guards because of this. Other coaches seem to know how to get the most out of their rookies such as Ty Lawson in Denver. Woodson seems to destroy the confidence of his rookies by having very little confidence in them during meaningful times in the game. Whenever Teague gets in the game he so tenative because he afraid to make mistakes . I thought coach would be different this rookie, but old habits are hard to die.
vava74
January 18th, 2010
10:14 am
Astro,
Maynor had a very good showing in ATL whilst with Utah, owning Teague for most of the minutes in which they were both together:
Maynor: min 26:32 FG4-5 3pt1-1 FT2-3 (+-) +23 oreb2 treb7 ass7 to2 stl2 blk1 ba0 fouls1 pts11
Teague: min 20:43 FG2-7 3pt0-0 FT3-4 (+-)-24 oreb0 treb2 ass2 to1 st1 blk2 ba1 fouls4 pts7
Maynor – contrary to JT0 – is a mature product, a born play maker and that shows on court.
JT0 has the potential to be astronomical, but if that potential is not developed (within the 3 years of contract that he has) he will quickly be out of the league.
O'Brien
January 18th, 2010
10:24 am
Ken S,
The problem is, its mostly superstars who argue (and get) calls all the time. Josh is not even an All-Star yet. And if JJ doesn’t get them, I dont know why Josh thinks he will. During the pregame speech from Woody (the Suns game), Woody said something to the team, about “leaving the refs alone”. I hope Josh is listening.
This will be a big test for the Hawks. Scott Brooks is a contender for COY. OKC won 23 games last year, and they have already won 22 this year, and they are a very young team. They dont have an established star like JJ or Crawford. But I’m sure Portland regrets taking Oden instead of Durant.
Hawks need to go inside to Josh and Al early. I would also double team KD early to see if anybody else can make shots for them.
vava74,
Hawks need to find out if JT0 is capable of being our starter in 2011-2012 (Bibby’s final year), so Teague does have time to develop. If he gets hurt like Acie did, he could be in trouble. And if Teague is not up to the challenge, Hawks will have to look elsewhere for a PG to replace Bibby. I hope he realizes his potential, because that would allow the Hawks to spend more money elsewhere.
MannyT
January 18th, 2010
10:49 am
@astro…The fans currently name just under 1/2 of the team (the starters). I am just cutting that down about 2 players to limit the madness. I am confident that the game will be a sellout and have decent ratings without T-Mac & AI. Adding roster spots makes it messier. It is already tough enough to get all those guys in the game.
I doubt we take OKC for granted today. In last year’s game, do you recall that Durant drilled a line drive 3 pointer to win it at the end? I’m sure the coaching staff remembers and won’t let the team forget. I expect a good game. I hope the OKC crew got to go out and party late last night for this 2 PM game
@richbrave…I like your 9:41 PM post on 1/17. However, I am a little nervous about Haslett. He’s going to put Haynesworth in the 3-4. I think he is more disruptive in the 4-3. Why pay all that money to turn your knife in the middle into a plug. He can do more damage in the 4-3.
@Ken…arguing calls in the NBA is like the perception of craziness. If you have money you’re not a whack job, but you are eccentric.
If you have a big star rep, you’re making your case, otherwise, you are being a pain in the rear to the refs who will remember you for it. Josh isn’t a superstar yet, so he needs to pick his spots to complain.
@vava74…finally a game at a decent time for you!
Let’s go Hawks!
BWAF
vava74
January 18th, 2010
10:56 am
MannyT,
Yeah! I deserved a break already!!! Thank god for the holiday!!!!
MannyT
January 18th, 2010
11:08 am
Free NBA League Pass now until 1/24…just got an e-mail.
http://www.nba.com/lpfreetrial/?cid=nba187
Yo quiero taco bell
BWAF
Ken Strickland
January 18th, 2010
11:51 am
I don’t mind Smoove arguing calls as long as it motivates his efforts rather than hindering them. You don’t take plays off just to make a point with the refs. By the same token, we’ve all seen how officials treat JJ, who never complains or shows the refs up. Maybe Smoove should complain a little less and JJ a little more.
JerryWest
January 18th, 2010
11:57 am
Doc – LOL. Shelden found a way to help us.
KevinA
January 18th, 2010
11:58 am
http://my.nba.com/cms/NBA%20Blogs/Sekou%20Smith’s%20Hang%20Time%20Blog
Sekou with a little for Josh.
FRESH
January 18th, 2010
12:10 pm
[img]http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/f.gif[/img]
Melvin
January 18th, 2010
12:28 pm
KevinA,
nice link althought it didn’t link directly to Sekou blog. So i will try to repost the link as well… Josh seem to be getting more exposure by the day…
http://my.nba.com/cms/NBA%20Blogs/Sekou%20Smith’s%20Hang%20Time%20Blog
Sam from da Swats
January 18th, 2010
12:50 pm
Man I may post that Jamal Crawford shot on yoursporthouse.com.
O'Brien
January 18th, 2010
1:05 pm
Boston hosts the Mavericks tonight. And Orlando plays at the Lakers. If those teams lose, and the Hawks take care of business this afternoon, they could be one game behind the Celtics for #2 in the East, and a game and a half in front of the Magic.
Sautee
January 18th, 2010
1:17 pm
O’Brien,
about this: “Hawks need to find out if JT0 is capable of being our starter in 2011-2012 (Bibby’s final year), so Teague does have time to develop.”
I respectfully disagree. I’ve watched Bibby for a long, long time. I think his quickness is dropping off the table. I’m afraid that we do NOT have the luxury of waiting until 2011. Don’t get me wrong, he can still hit a 3 and take care of the ball, but, unless he’s hurt and it’s not been made public, then what I see is an alarming erosion of quickness. We will have to either develop Teague to at least partially take over, or make a deal for another PG before the trade deadline.
And believe me, I’m saddened by what I see. Watch him today on D and see if you notice the increased lack of lateral quickness. Yes, Westbrook can blow by most PGs, but focus on Bibby’s legs.
I’d LOVE for him to prove me wrong.
vava74
January 18th, 2010
1:22 pm
Sautee,
Bibby was playing very well until he hurt his ankle, even trying to be less of a liability on defense.
I think he has not healed yet (probably because of lack of rest) and that is causing him to move worse than he already did…
vava74
January 18th, 2010
1:24 pm
Actually, I have a feeling that he will school Westbrook and score 20+ today…
…but I could go terribly wrong too!!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2010
1:25 pm
The NFL has by far the best system for picking their All Stars (ironic since the Pro Bowl is the worst of the three major sports’ All Star games). Split the vote evenly between the fans, coaches, and players. This way fans’ voices are heard but frauds like Iverson and McGrady don’t make it to the team.
As far as today’s game goes, OKC is a very similar team to the Hawks, with their athleticism and versatility at all five positions. Kevin Durant is a superstar who is going to get his, and Thabo Sefolosha is a lock down defender who will probably give Joe Johnson problems. I think this game will come down to whether Thunder PG Russell Westbrook or the Josh/Al inside combination is more productive. If Westbrook is getting in the lane at will, the Thunder probably win, but if Josh and Al are effective at controlling the paint, the Hawks probably win.
BONE
January 18th, 2010
1:30 pm
Bibby might get torched 2day.
But hopefully we can still win