Hawks at Spurs, AKA Messin’ With Texas
San Antonio– It’s been interesting to see perceptions of the Hawks in Western Conference outposts Houston and San Antonio. Both teams were scuffling and coming off worrisome efforts and both considered the Hawks a threat to continue their slides.
Rockets coach Rick Adelman was matter-of-fact in talking up the Hawks like they are an elite team. He worried about their ability to score one-on-one and their open-court prowess. Then the Hawks used their one-on-one scoring ability and open-court prowess to beat his team. Afterward, Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, a Rockets TV analyst, said of the Hawks: “They are a team that has it all, and they proved it tonight.”
Pop's Spurs falling off?
Now the Hawks are in San Antonio, where Spurs guard Tony Parker tells the San Antonio Express-News (last item): “They’re good — long and athletic. A little bit like the Bulls.” Normally, that might be taken as a backhanded slap since the Bulls are eight games behind the Hawks in the East, but Chicago just beat the Spurs on Monday.
It was the third straight home loss for the Spurs, and that hadn’t happened since 1996-97 (wow). Though coach Gregg Popovich has never been one to put too much stock in the ebbs and flows of regular season, viewing it as a process to get ready for the playoffs, the Spurs sound desperate for a victory. Said Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr.: “This is all a process for the end of the year, and we understand that. At the same time, you know, we’re trying to win games.”
Are the Spurs really in trouble? Woody glanced up at those championship banners inside the AT&T Center and said he’s not buying it: “They are still one of the top teams in the West. Any time ‘Pop’ puts a team on the floor, they are going to compete. You don’t hang four banners in here without doing that.”
– The Hawks will see San Antonio’s first three-game losing streak since ‘96-’97 and raise them 11 straight losses at San Antonio. The Hawks last won here on Feb. 15, 1997. And they haven’t swept all three Texas teams on the road since 1990-91. The possibility of doing so tonight has Big Ray feelin’ good
“Will they pull it off, or will we be singing ‘Two out of three ain’t bad….’? Either way, if you don’t think this is yet another sign of a team that is significantly better than it was last year, then consider the fact that the Hawks didn’t win a single one of these three daunting road games last season. How’s that for perspective?”
– Never mind San Antonio’s struggles. The Hawks will have to be better tonight than they were at Houston Monday night. Hoopinion says (in that very interesting, statistical kind of way) that the Hawks beat the Rockets with just an OK effort:
“Despite the niggling worries, it speaks to this team’s ability that they can go on the road, face a perfectly average team, and win comfortably while playing about 12 minutes of really good basketball.”
– Woody sees winning tough road games as another stage of growth for his team. He said the one constant has to be defensive effort: “Some games on the road you shoot lights out. But you’ve got to have a defensive mentality to win on the road. All elite teams win on the road. Cleveland. The Lakers. Boston. Orlando. It’s not easy.”
– Two days later, and no one with the Hawks seems to know the real story behind Woody’s missing eyebrows. And the accusations and counter-accusations are flying, with everyone seeming to think the person pressing them for info really knows the truth and isn’t saying.
Woody’s still not talking: “To be honest, I don’t know what happened.” And he’s letting them grow back even if the Hawks keep winning.
“It’s growing now as we speak. What am I going to do? Just let it grow.”
After seeing two days’ growth, I’d guess Woody has a good three weeks before they really come back.
– There’s a cattle convention in town. Driving through downtown on the way to the AT & T Center for shootaround, I saw some cowboys with cattle on the sidewalk. I was trippin’ about this. Everyone else just kind of went about their business.
No point to that tidbit, really, just trying to wrap my head around it.
– Talk amongst yourselves, Hawks fans.
MC
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367 comments Add your comment
bigdave
January 27th, 2010
10:37 pm
ZaZa belongs in this highlight…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I38Fln4ULo8
Blast
January 27th, 2010
10:39 pm
That Miller Light Ad might be the worse ever made! All he had to say was I love you too! It doesn’t mean I’m IN Love with you! I love most of my girlfriends, but it does not mean I want to be with them!
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:39 pm
WHY THE F_CK IS BIBBY PLAYIN
O'Brien
January 27th, 2010
10:39 pm
Oh oh. Al and Bibby are both back in. I hope Woody has a short leash on them
bigdave
January 27th, 2010
10:39 pm
well…
Najeh Davenpoop
January 27th, 2010
10:39 pm
“‘Nique, what do you mean the Spurs have found momentum in the last couple of minutes? ”
He means the Spurs are putting up great nimbers.
Blast
January 27th, 2010
10:39 pm
Hawks have had their chances, but they are not capitalizing.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 27th, 2010
10:41 pm
If missed layups got you two points, the Hawks would have taken the lead already.
Spurs have been allowing the Hawks to hang around with some wide open bricks.
O'Brien
January 27th, 2010
10:42 pm
How many times has Nique said “yes he has”. Come on Nique. Add something to Bob’s comments, dont just agree with him.
We need Crawford to get hot again so he can help out JJ
Blast
January 27th, 2010
10:42 pm
Probably the reason Bibby is playing is because Tony is out, and Bibby hit some big time shots last game?…..
bigdave
January 27th, 2010
10:42 pm
well damn.
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:43 pm
Bibby is atrocious. he shouldn’t be allowed on the court.
bigdave
January 27th, 2010
10:43 pm
Joe could make a highlight reel just of the shots he’s made in this game…
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:44 pm
Man are they gona call a foul everytime
Blast
January 27th, 2010
10:44 pm
Refs bailing Spurs out.
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:45 pm
Game Over
Najeh Davenpoop
January 27th, 2010
10:45 pm
Ball hoggery doesn’t work against the Spurs’ aggressive zone D, Joe.
Time to get Teague some playing time.
Big Ray
January 27th, 2010
10:45 pm
That last block on Duncan is exactly why Al was in the game so much early on. He can’t stop Duncan every time, but he’s as good as it’s going to get for guarding him in this game.
Meanwhile, I don’t have one bad thing to say about ISO Joe tonight. Not ONE. Dude has been playing like a guy who should be starting in the ASG. But that steal via the double team was going to happen sooner or later. Joe is clearly winded.
niremetal
January 27th, 2010
10:46 pm
Worst of all possible ISOs: JJ dribbling without purpose, and no one moving to get open.
jean
January 27th, 2010
10:46 pm
joe johnson sucks what a MENTAL MIDGET NEVER HITS A SHOT THAT MATTERS AL HORTFORD WAS A STRAIT BUM…AND JOSH SMITH I THE DUMBEST PLAYER IN NBA ONE PLAYER ON THIS TEAM HAS BALLS CRAWFORD
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:46 pm
Bibby=TURD
O'Brien
January 27th, 2010
10:47 pm
Blast,
Bibby is 0-7 this game. It doesn’t matter what he did last game.
Hawks gave it a valiant effort in the second half, but they were horrible in the first half, and thats what cost them the game.
Taylor
January 27th, 2010
10:47 pm
The way I looked at it was when I saw the next 5 games starting with houston I’d be happy with 3-2. That looks still possible
Big Ray
January 27th, 2010
10:47 pm
LOL @ Najeh….”nimbers”
Najeh Davenpoop
January 27th, 2010
10:47 pm
Wow, I just noticed Bibby’s stat line. He could probably qualify for “Today’s Worst” on ESPN.com’s Daily Dime with that.
Melvin
January 27th, 2010
10:48 pm
Spurs 1st half lead was too big to overcome. Hawks had to play almost perfect ball in the 2nd half to win this game.
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:49 pm
Well we can beat the Celtics but we will get embarrassed by the MAgic again. [sigh]
O'Brien
January 27th, 2010
10:49 pm
I think Woody should have kept Marvin in the game instead of Bibby. At least Marvin was playing defense, and he was 3-7.
Bibby plays no defense, and he was 0-7. Plus when the team made their run, Bibby did not contribute much.
Blast
January 27th, 2010
10:49 pm
Ball Game! Sorry Hawks, it’s all over.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 27th, 2010
10:50 pm
I don’t expect the Hawks to win every game. They have played well in this 2nd half overall, and they have outscored the Spurs by 9 in this half. I would just like to see them play well in every game. Some games, even if you play well, you will lose. I just hate seeing them play like they did in the first half, where they clearly are not giving 100%.
Big Ray
January 27th, 2010
10:50 pm
Co-sign O’brien . Terrible first half doomed the Hawks, despite a competitive second half. Night y’all…
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:52 pm
Tim Duncan scored 21 and grabbed 26. Al should have not been playing him. Collins has the size.
Big Ray
January 27th, 2010
10:53 pm
Tim Duncan with a 20-20 night. Is there a better big man in the business?
Joe with a more-than-valiant effort.
Josh was an all-out warrior.
Jamal was awesome off the bench.
Bibby had his worst game of the year.
Marvin played to his season average.
Horford stayed in foul trouble and couldn’t hit a shot.
Spurs break their losing streak, Hawks have to move on.
bigdave
January 27th, 2010
10:54 pm
lol… at the 0 for graphic right over Bibby’s face…
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:54 pm
LMAO they displayed Bibby’s statline when they showed his sad face.
Damn he sucks
Blast
January 27th, 2010
10:54 pm
You so right O’Brien.
Hawks got that game versus Houston and felt it was okay to lay a brick versus the Spurs. Still not mad. Least they went 2-1 on the Texas road trip. It could have been worst than it has been the last few years.
O'Brien
January 27th, 2010
10:54 pm
Bone,
Before the game, I said I would like to see Collins get some minutes. And especially since Horford started out terribly, why not give Collins a chance?
And why play Bibby 21 minutes, when it was obvious from early on that he was missing shots, and Parker was eating him alive.
That being said, Hawks are 1-1 on the Texas trip, and all things considered, thats ok. Lets beat Boston, and all will be right with the world
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:54 pm
big dave you saw that too lol
Najeh Davenpoop
January 27th, 2010
10:55 pm
If Woody doesn’t give a sh-t about offense, that’s his call I guess, but if he really wants to stress defense to this team, he absolutely has to get them playing better on the boards. Josh Smith and Al Horford give all-out effort to control the boards, but the Hawks are still a very average team in rebounding, and this is mainly because players don’t box out. Way too often today, the Spurs got rebounds not because of superior height or athleticism but because there simply was nobody there to put a body on them. There’s no point in playing great defense — not that the Hawks necessarily do — if you can’t secure the rebound.
Big Ray
January 27th, 2010
10:57 pm
Co-sign Najeh
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:57 pm
Blast I don’t understand how you can be a FAN of this team and not be angry. This team has a captain that said “Nobody can give it their all every night”. Thats Bullsh_t. When the celtics won the title. I remember hearing that KG didn’t let anyone take nites off. Now that is a leader. If KG was on this team I think the Hawks could win a championship. But this team has about a 10% chance. They are too damn inconsistent.
NoleRick
January 27th, 2010
10:58 pm
The bigger question is why does this team come out flat in the beginning of almost every game??
BONE
January 27th, 2010
10:59 pm
O’brien Woody doesn’t like to do tings that MAKE SENSE.
Clyde
January 27th, 2010
10:59 pm
FIRE WOODY
I can just hear Little Ray defending Horford for allowing Duncan to get a 20-20 night. “His hand was hurting what do you expect.”
Jody
January 27th, 2010
11:00 pm
Duncan was simply too big. 25 rebounds. Wow.
FRESH
January 27th, 2010
11:02 pm
LOL…The blog gonna torch Bibby tonight.
darrell starks
January 27th, 2010
11:07 pm
Go get andris biedrins.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
JohnnyWalking
January 27th, 2010
11:08 pm
The Spurs had lost 3 in a row, so you kinda expected this effort. But they do just look oldddd. Nobli and that Bald spot. Damn. Horford’s hand is really bothering his shot. He is usually money from 8 to 10 ft. Bibby has some mental issues going on. He has to give something on the offensive end. The His shot is wayyyy off. He got pissed at Crawford for not passing him the ball. Then waved him off when he started to pass it to him. Still all in all Hawks are 1 win away from 30. I cant really complain.
Jody
January 27th, 2010
11:08 pm
Correction, 27 rebounds. Again, tooo big.
Ken
January 27th, 2010
11:09 pm
Your starting point goes 0 for 7 with 1 assist in 27 minutes and J. Teague plays about 4 minutes. Clearly, Bibby took the night off and should not have been in the game. Coach Woodson refuses to play rookies meaningful minutes . Its hard to understand his reasoning.