Bobcats at Hawks, AKA Here Comes Yet Another Gritty Opponent
Remember those stretches this season when the Hawks were running opponents off the floor? Forget it.
Here come the Bobcats Charlotte, who follow the Kings, who followed the Thunder. Different levels of talent among those teams. Similar levels of energy and effort.
The Bobcats allow the fewest points per game in the league. Adjust it by possessions, and it’s the same thing.
It won’t be easy for the Hawks to score. They tend not to like that. If they abandoned (or just failed to execute) the offensive plan at times against Oklahoma City and the Kings, it’s not hard to imagine them doing it more often against the Bobcats.
“We are going to have to grind for 48 minutes,” Woody said, “which is OK. Last year we didn’t have a lot of blowouts and we had to grind. That’s good. It helps keep guys on their toes. With blowouts, you start to take things for granted.”
The Hawks insist they aren’t doing that with the Bobcats. Of course, they said the same thing against the Thunder and Kings yet still lost focus for stretches. Maybe those Woody-Larry Brown-Stephen Jackson-Flip Murray connections will have them alert from the jump.
“They are a good team,” Smoove said of the Bobcats. “They are buying into that (toughness) philosophy. That’s how Larry Brown has his teams play. It’s going to be a fight.”
– You are concerned about this one. At Peachtree Hoops, hawksdawgs explains how the Bobcats tend to play with his emotions:
I did not circle this game as being a must watch game before the season started. Not because I thought the Bobcats were going to be bad but because the Bobcats make me cry. They find ways to eek out victories against the Hawks in the most painful way possible or they just beat the ever living crap out of Atlanta. Neither is good for my soul.
Blog commenter Astro Joe fears a Bobcats beatdown:
Anyone else concerned that Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Flip will come in tonight and punk us in our own gym? I am… I still think that we are a soft team. Charlotte may try to take our lunch money tonight and the Hawks will go whining to the refs (as opposed to fighting back). I have a nasty feeling that the Bobcats will wear their bully hats and we’ll be grousing about another heartless (effort).”
That was pretty much the theme of Woody’s post-practice speech to the team Thursday (regarding the Bobcats coming in straight gangsta, not about his team being soft). So the Hawks are aware, at least.
– Woody’s desk was piled with letters from an elementary school class in Charlotte asking him to vote Wallace as an All-Star reserve. Nifty PR move.
– The fans loved Zaza’s dunks the other night. But he’s from the leave-’em-wanting-more school: “If I do it every time, then it’s not as exciting anymore,” he said.
– The league announced the All-Star starters on Thursday night. The reserves, voted on by coaches, will be revealed next Thursday.
John Schuhmann at NBA.com thinks J.J. makes it, Al Horford gets a “tragic shaft” (hey, hey, easy) and Smoove is a “wildcard.”
– Talk amongst yourselves, Hawks fans.
MC
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237 comments Add your comment
DrewCat
January 22nd, 2010
8:36 pm
I’m just gonna keep it real. BIBBY is useless. He can’t even get the ball up court on his own! Hopping up and down the court like a 50 year old. He is a defensive liability in the Hawks’ switching defensive scheme, and his minutes are only validated when he is hitting shots (which he has NOT been doing lately)
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
8:38 pm
Hey Gun Play why don’t you go watch that white only league. Maybe if your lucky they can do some spectacular layups for u to see.
KevinA
January 22nd, 2010
8:38 pm
The Bibby hand off to JJ and then ISO is not good. Feed a big-win a game.
Carl
January 22nd, 2010
8:41 pm
This is what happens when you depend on low IQ thugs like Josh Smith as one of your key players, get rid of that bum. Isn’t he from around that same area where that “rapper” was shot a couple days ago? What’s that gentleman’s name? “Wake Flocka Flames” is it?
Sautee
January 22nd, 2010
8:42 pm
Never thought I’d see Horford play a half and not get a rebound.
He’s gotta step it up.
terrell
January 22nd, 2010
8:42 pm
Carl, you feel like a man now?
Carol
January 22nd, 2010
8:44 pm
Carl is gay . . .
vava74
January 22nd, 2010
8:44 pm
bad crowd around here tonight. just ignore them
DrewCat
January 22nd, 2010
8:44 pm
Get bibby off the squad
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
8:45 pm
Hawks playing some good, balanced ball on offense. On defense, there are still some lapses that make us grateful that the shots are falling. Part of the problem is being outrebounded in a game where there aren’t a bunch of rebounds to have anyway.
Second half will likely include some sort of adjustment by Larry Brown and his team. We have to counter-punch, don’t get lulled into doing repetitive and ineffective ISOs, and clamp down on defense. And, we have to win the battle on the glass.
Blast
January 22nd, 2010
8:46 pm
Hawks in a dog fight now.
terrell
January 22nd, 2010
8:46 pm
Bibby does look old out there. Gotta agree with that. I dont know about 50 though.
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
8:46 pm
Sautee ,
Horford has been credited with one rebound. Still, as you say…..gotta step it up. A LOT.
terrell
January 22nd, 2010
8:47 pm
I wish I could hear Woody’s halftime speech.
Sautee
January 22nd, 2010
8:47 pm
It’ll be interesting to see how much the bench (other than Crawford) plays this half.
Blast
January 22nd, 2010
8:49 pm
Yeah, Cats killing us on second shots right now. Hawks play good initial defence, but Cats get the rebound! Hawks have to clean that up to win!
vava74
January 22nd, 2010
8:49 pm
Bibby is clearly playing worse since his injury. He had a couple of reasonably good games since, but the rest have been quite bad on average.
Sautee
January 22nd, 2010
8:49 pm
Ray,
yeah, I wrote the post before I updated my stats. But it’s not at all like him.
O'Brien
January 22nd, 2010
8:52 pm
I agree. Bibby has looked really old the last month or so. I can’t imagine how bad he is going to look next year.
O'Brien
January 22nd, 2010
8:52 pm
and the year after that.
northcyde
January 22nd, 2010
8:54 pm
Gerald Wallace played the ENTIRE 1st half. If Woody would’ve done that with JJ, people would have a fit.
Oh well, they blew a great opportunity to put this game away. I’m betting that Jackson can’t keep up this scoring pace ( although it will help if they stop letting him get layups )
Larry isn’t going to let the Cats quit, so we have to make them quit. Since Teague didn’t do much of anything, expect Mario to play in the 2nd half and not Teague.
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
8:54 pm
Damn. I think even Rod felt that Marvin dunk…
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
8:56 pm
Heh….we blew a great opportunity to put this game away. Gee, I guess Woody should have played JJ the entire first half, and we would have been up by double figures…..
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
8:56 pm
Thats the first good thing that Bibby has done in like 12 games
tiger woo
January 22nd, 2010
8:57 pm
Nice play Bibby – silence the haters!
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
8:57 pm
Go Marvin wit yo goofy azz
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
8:57 pm
Ha Ha, Bibby got away with that one…ball went off him I KNOW
vava74
January 22nd, 2010
8:57 pm
I understand slowness, but I can’t understand lack of balls.
When Bibby drives (even slowly) and looks for contact, he can get calls.
The problem is that he usually does not look for contact…
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 22nd, 2010
8:57 pm
lol……..if a dude does 1 thing right after screwing up so many times before, that still doesnt change anything unless he starts performing like that consistently, forget albino Bibby.
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
8:58 pm
BONE ,
I read your comment earlier about Bibby and the “albino frog”…..I must have spit my drink halfway across the room!
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
8:59 pm
nice brick jj
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 22nd, 2010
9:00 pm
Bibby would so much better in a Maine Red Claws jersey, he already has the socks to go with the uni.
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
9:01 pm
Bibby does look like an albino Kermit. And he talks like him too lol.
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 22nd, 2010
9:02 pm
lol marvin dunkin alot lately…sign him up for the dunk contest!!!
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
9:02 pm
Beautiful passing. Especially by that kid with NO IQ….what’s his name again?
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 22nd, 2010
9:03 pm
lmao@BONE…lol
vava74
January 22nd, 2010
9:03 pm
nice job… defensive intensity up and the game back into control…
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
9:03 pm
Whats worst to look at?
Bibby’s defense or Shelden Williams’ face
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 22nd, 2010
9:03 pm
Shaq already said he’ll get Lebron to be in the slam dunk contest if guys like Marvin will be in too
Blast
January 22nd, 2010
9:03 pm
Hawks are running away with it!
Joe with two sweet assists!
Go, Hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Ray
January 22nd, 2010
9:04 pm
Hey Carl , Josh Smith has three steals. You shouldn’t be surprised. That’s what thugs do, right?
vava74
January 22nd, 2010
9:08 pm
so easy off a pick… my godness why don’t they do this ALL the time??
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
9:09 pm
Why would woody call a timeout?
Don’t kill the flow
Blast
January 22nd, 2010
9:09 pm
Let’s can this Josh Smith with low IQ stuff right now. Everyone knows that’s not true. Josh was a victim of youthfull exuberance, and he has shown his maturity this year. To me, Josh is Hawks MVP, even though Jamal has been balling like crazy. But Josh can stuff the stat sheet like no one else in the league.
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
9:10 pm
vava woody doesn’t like to do things that make sense.
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
9:11 pm
Not this instant. Are you trying to imply that woody is a better coach than Larry Brown?
tiger woo
January 22nd, 2010
9:11 pm
Hey BONE, is Larry Brown still out coaching Woody?
Carl
January 22nd, 2010
9:12 pm
Always a “victim” huh Blast??
BONE
January 22nd, 2010
9:13 pm
Not this instant.
Blast
January 22nd, 2010
9:14 pm
Philly would not have wanted to pay 58 mil to a player with low bball IQ.