Hawks at Magic, AKA They Can Get Four Ws in One
Orlando– If the Hawks beat the Magic tonight at Pyramid Scheme Arena, then a) they finally figured out Orlando b) Woody coaches the East All-Stars, c) the Hawks extend their lead over the Magic in the Southeast Division to 1.5 games, and d) they stay in front of Boston for No. 2 in the East through the weekend. Lose, and none of those things happen.
So while finishing this week 2-2 would be good, 3-1 means some national shine. And, as Hawks PR Man Arthur Triche notes, it means Woody will be forced to come up with a story to explain his missing eyebrows to the hundreds of reporters who will ask him about them for four straight days on All-Star weekend.
– The smallish Hawks might get a large dose of the Magic lineup featuring both Dwight Howard and Marc He's not Dwight, but he's big too. (www.totalprosports.com)
– Van Gundy is one of the league’s unfiltered coaches. He speaks his mind and tends not to care who takes offense (though, after the way Shaq cracked back on him last season, perhaps sometimes he should care). And so even when he praises the Hawks for their season thus far, he does it like this:
“They’re a very talented team. Their first eight or nine guys are outstanding, and they’ve played the entire year injury-free. So, they’re one of the few teams that hasn’t had to make any adjustments. They get the same eight or nine guys out there every single night. They’ve been together for a long time. They’ve had no injuries this year. It’s rolling along. That has a lot to do with it. They’re a good team, and they’ve faced no adversity whatsoever.”
The Orlando Sentinel’s Josh Robbins says Van Gundy’s tone wasn’t jerky when he said that, he was just being matter-of-fact. I covered Van Gundy, so I know what Robbins means. Nothing Van Gundy said isn’t true (except maybe the “no adversity whatsoever” part) but it seems to me Van Gundy managed to get his digs in, too. He’s never boring, at least.
– Al returns to Gatorland and gets some love.
– Talk amongst yourselves, Hawks fans.
MC
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294 comments Add your comment
Melvin
January 30th, 2010
9:29 pm
Woody better try a rabbit foot and hope the Magic/Celtics lose tomorrow if he wants to go to Dallas…
TM
January 30th, 2010
9:30 pm
This is the 3rd game between ATL & ORL this season.
This back-to-back thing is garbage… both the Magic and the Hawks played the 2nd game of a back-to-back in 2 of the 3 games they’ve played each other this season. Every team in the NBA does it… it only seams to be an excuse for this Atlanta Hawks team.
2nd game of Back-to-Back records this season:
Magic: 3 wins in 8 games.
Hawks: 5 wins in 11 games (including tonight).
Yeah, it’s tough… but No excuses.
O'Brien
January 30th, 2010
9:32 pm
Clearly, our starters cannot beat the Magic starters. I would give the bench more burn to see if they can slow the Magic down, because the startes cant even keep it close.
JeJe
January 30th, 2010
9:32 pm
WHY DO WE SIGN RANDMO AND COLLINS AND NOT USE THEM
JOSH SMITH U ARE !@#$ING !@#$%TY POST PLAYER. YOUR POST MOVES !@#$ING SUCK. YOU HAVE NO FLUIDITY OR KNOWLEDGE WHAT YOU ARE DOING ON OFFENSE. YOU NEVER MAKE JUMPSHOTS, YET KEEP TAKING THEM. THATS WHY YOU AREN’T AN ALL STAR
!@# DAMNIT
Melvin
January 30th, 2010
9:33 pm
I know Eric Snow didn’t throw a low blow at Horford. He was a career bum…
TM
January 30th, 2010
9:34 pm
Thrashers 3-3 end of 2nd period.
At least they are playing well.
D
January 30th, 2010
9:36 pm
Msnn its some straight UP sluggs on here. The Hawks are like a few games out of 1ST PLACE in the EAST. They hammered Boston last night and all you some of you clowns can do is come on here and talk about them . Never ANYTHING positive just negative azz bullcrap. Here is an IDEA, take ur lame AZZES back the drive way to play ball. A bunch of knuckleheads that have never played ball, besides rec league or Run n shoot.
JeJe
January 30th, 2010
9:38 pm
We have a soft February schedule. Most go on a massive winning streak. No more losing to mediocre teams
O'Brien
January 30th, 2010
9:39 pm
Nique has a point. I would not have cared if Horford fouled out (he didnt give us much on offense anyway). And I would not have cared if Collins fouled out, and I wouldnt care if ZaZa fouled out.
Our 3 centers combined for 6 points, and 11 rebounds. Unacceptable.
Now we see why Cleveland got Shaq. They got him for one reason only, and thats to play Howard one on one.
JeJe
January 30th, 2010
9:43 pm
WOODSON THINKS OUR STARTING 5/jAMAL IS OUR ONLY GOOD LINEUP IN EVERY SITUATIUON
LET FREAKING COLLINS/RANDMO GET MINUTES IN A GAME LIKE THIS. JESUS CHRIST. AM I SPEAKING CHINESE? IT’S NOT THAT DIFFICULT. U SIGN PLAYERS FOR CERTAIN REASONS. COLLINS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND MOST SEASONED PLAYERS IN THIS LEAGUE. HE STARTED A BAJILLION GAMES OVER 8 OR SO YEARS. LET HIM PLAY THIS GAME AND LEAVE HIM IN.
RANDMO HAS AN OFFENSIVE GAME NOW AND FREAKING KNOWS DWIGHT AS WELL AS ANYONE AND IS BIGGER THAN SMOOVE.
THIS IS HORSE!@#$.
WE DO NOT HAVE A FREAKING CHANCE AGAINST ORLANDO OR CLEVELAND IN THE PLAYOFFS. WE NEED A TRADE THIS OFFSEASNO TO GET THAT NEXT STEP
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 30th, 2010
9:45 pm
Horford = good…..but not gonna cut it against a beast like Howard.
We need more help down low via trade…or better utilization of the bench bigs that we have
Ken Strickland
January 30th, 2010
9:46 pm
We will continue to get crushed and schooled as long as we have to depend on Woody’s sorry excuse for a halfcourt OFF. None of the players have any confidence in it, otherwise why so much ISO and one on one play down the stretch when facing teams that play good DEF? Woody stopped even trying to coach in the 2nd half. He just decided to limit his rotation and let them sink or swim.
He refused to try and increase the tempo and attack the lane by playing Teague, which would have favored us. Orlando is a much better halfcourt team and we’re a much better uptempo opencourt team. So why does Woodson insist on trying to beat them by playing the style of ball that best suits them and not us?
If the Hawks intend to challenge the top teams, and have to rely on strategy, adjustments and changes to make a difference, we won’t stand much of a chance, especially during the playoffs.
SWAT Native
January 30th, 2010
9:47 pm
Why isn’t Joe Smith playing?
O'Brien
January 30th, 2010
9:48 pm
He talks about the team having no energy. And then we can’t figure it out.
I wish Woody would say its on me as a coach to figure it out, but he keeps saying “we”. Come on Woody.
STRONG HAWK
January 30th, 2010
9:48 pm
UNTIL WE GET AL OUT OF THE CENTER SPOT WE WILL ALWAYAS HAVE A HARD TIME WITH TEAMS THAT ARE LONGER THAN US.HOPEFULLY SOME DAY IN THE NEAR FUTURE WE CAN AQUAIRE US A SEVENFOOTER WHO WILL PLAY GOOD D AND JUST DO GOOD DIRTY WORK THATS ALL WE NEED.
bigdave
January 30th, 2010
9:48 pm
please… blame it on your offensive game plan… and if they were “fatigued” you ask them to go 1 on 1, a bit physically taxing dont you think coach?
cp
January 30th, 2010
9:49 pm
Can we please get a starting sf in here. Whenever there is a moment for Marvin to step up he doesn’t. I don’t want to be here in another 2 years talking about his potential or how he isn’t being correctly. Get somebody in here who will produce. Why is Mario playing when we needed as many bigs as possible? Dude hustles but gives you pretty much nothing else yet he plays minutes as if he is out there producing. We have Joe Smith yet we don’t play him. Too much one on one play, no ball movement.
JeJe
January 30th, 2010
9:52 pm
MARVIN HAD 11 POINTS THESE LAST 2 GAMES
LOL
THIS GUY SUCKS
RA
January 30th, 2010
9:56 pm
Okay,
The Good:
The Hawks fought for four quarters. Orlando never turned this game into a laugher and it was in single digits as late as the fourth quarter. The Hawks showed up.
The Bad: It didn’t matter. Too much Dwight Smith and just enough supporting cast was just too much for a Hawks team that’s still learning to win big on the road. And it has to be said that while Atlanta was playing Boston last night, the Orlando magic were sitting at home or whatever it is they do. However, the inescapable truth is that they beat us, again, and there didn’t appear to be very much that the Hawks could do to avoid that.
What we’ve learned: The Hawks, for whatever reason, simply don’t match up well against Orlando. (It probably has something to do with that beast of center that they’ve got down there.) Are the Orlando Magic 20 pts better than the Hawks? I doubt it, but they have been able to make the clutch plays when they needed them. For example, in the fourth quarter the Hawks were down by ten and JJ Reddick (Hawk killer extraordinaire) made a move and scored in the lane, all of a sudden it’s a 12 pt game and all of the momentum that Atlanta had built up was gone.) The bottomline is this, when you’ve got a force like Dwight Smith working on the inside and the shooters that Orlando has stroking it from the outside, they are a very difficult team for anyone to beat, but if Atlanta’s going to make that next step, at some point or another, they’re going to have to find a way past them.
O'Brien
January 30th, 2010
9:56 pm
cp,
I will take Pietrus or Matt Barnes over Marvin right now. And what makes it worse is that Marvin makes more than both of them combined.
Marvin will make open shots, but he hardly makes them in big games, and he hardly makes them at key moments during the game.
kwooden1
January 30th, 2010
9:59 pm
I’m late to the blog. GREAT WIN against the Celtics last night!!!
I’m very frustrated because we haven’t figured out when to double and when not to double against Dwight. Horford hasn’t figured out when to front Dwight and when to back off. Clearly we don’t have anyone with the length to bother Dwight’s jump-hook so we’re going to have to front or force him to shoot jump-hooks. I like how tough we played in the first and also how Woody used the bench early. I’m disappointed with the lose, but more frustrated!! We’re going to have to figure out how to play good double-team defensive on players like Dwight, Lebron and Kobe. We can’t play those guys straight-up.
This was a good game to wake-up Horford on how much he needs to work on his post-up moves. I like him a lot and he’s really worked on his shot. He needs an up and under move to really be effective in the post.
GO HAWKS!!!
STRONG HAWK
January 30th, 2010
10:00 pm
AGAINE!!!! IF WE CAN GET US A SEVENFOOTER IN HERE MOVE AL TO 4 JOSH TO 3 MARVIN COMING OFF THE BENCH WHERE HE WILLBE MORE EFFECTIVE THE SAME WAY HE DID IN NC THIS TEAM CAN DO SOME DAMAGE.
Hawks v. Magic
January 30th, 2010
10:00 pm
March 24 looks winnable, they play home vs. Orlando sandwiched between off days. After that they better hope one of the road playoff teams upset them.
STRETCH
January 30th, 2010
10:01 pm
HAWKS ARE NOT READY JUST YET. THEY NEED A LEGIT CENTER. EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD EXCEPT FOR SUND N WOODY CAN SEE THAT.
Rod from College Park
January 30th, 2010
10:04 pm
O’Brien,
Marvin stinks? Really.
O'Brien
January 30th, 2010
10:11 pm
Rod,
I wouldn’t say Marvin stinks. I would say that he is overpaid and unreliable.
But to be fair, this was a team loss tonight. It would have helped if Crawford didnt go 6-17, it would have helped if our 3 centers combined for more than 6 points and 11 rebounds, and it would have helped if Woody had some kind of offensive system.
Melvin
January 30th, 2010
10:20 pm
That home lost to OKC may have done Woody ASG faith….
O'Brien
January 30th, 2010
10:37 pm
Melvin,
The only play Woody would run at the ASG would be ISOs anyway lol.
cp
January 30th, 2010
10:41 pm
O’Brien the thing that’s most frustrating about Marvin is how non impactful his contributions seem to be. Its like he scores early in the game then he scores again when the game is pretty much decided. Dude just has not brought it and I don’t know if he ever will.
A true Hawks fan
January 30th, 2010
10:43 pm
All you fair weather fans. Most of you especially Bone is a bunch of boneheads. The Hawks are going to be just fine. Congratulations Hawks, not perfect but by the looks of the whole NBA no team is perfect. Hawks was the number four team just last night in the entire NBA, today they are the number six team in the entire NBA, and thats not bad. So for all you fair weather fans stop using the F word and use the S word to describe yourself “Stupid”. Hawks has no real superstars on their team, but they are still right with those team with super stars. Go Hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RB
January 30th, 2010
10:50 pm
Woody is going back to his bonehead policy of not giving the rookie playing time. It’s evident that Bibby is getting old an less effective. If you don’t start developing a point guard you end up searching the market and ending up with another Speedy Claxton. Wake up Woody!!
A true Hawks fan
January 30th, 2010
10:52 pm
Don’t beleive in rabbit foots, only “thy will be done”
doc
January 30th, 2010
10:53 pm
and the answer to macthing up well to the magic is .. sean willams and fire woody.
wore us down and out again.
A true Hawks fan
January 30th, 2010
10:55 pm
Teague will be just fine, just wait and see
A true Hawks fan
January 30th, 2010
11:02 pm
Fouls
Orlando 15
Atlanta 25, we can’t play teams and refs, and we have been doing that all year. We will never get the respect we deserve, Not ATL. If you seen the highlights of the game last night you would have thought Boston won.
A true Hawks fan
January 30th, 2010
11:06 pm
Doc you sound so stupid why would you fire a coach with a winning record, just because you said so? LOL
STRONG HAWK
January 30th, 2010
11:12 pm
I LOVE JOE BUT HE NEED TO STOP HOLDING THE BALL SO LONG. THE BIG O TOLD HIM THE SAMETHING.
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 30th, 2010
11:20 pm
O’Brien
January 30th, 2010
10:11 pm
“Rod,
I wouldn’t say Marvin stinks. I would say that he is overpaid and unreliable”
……………..
That sounds like a nice way of sayin he stinks lmfao
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 30th, 2010
11:27 pm
A True Hawks fan, why would you keep a coach that has a limited playbook, makes poor in game adjustments, and has his team play AGAINST it’s strengths??? The hawks win in spite of Woody, simply because of individual talent and athleticism….and being in the eastern conf.
The man is clueless
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 30th, 2010
11:32 pm
Dwight Howard needed a physical presence on him,
Collins 5 mins???
Randmo in a suit…for “I hustle but how much diff do i REALLY make??” Mario West???
when we need bigs
lmfao..
PHYRE!! WOODSON!!!!
Fundamentals
January 30th, 2010
11:54 pm
We lacked: Size, Length, Hustle.
Horford is definitely intimidated by Dwight. Seems Collins and ZaZa are a bit too slow. Not having Randmo was definitely a mistake tonight. We never contained Dwight while trying to double team him. It didn’t work the last 5 times, why try it again?
Why not use all our bigs, play him 1:1 and see what happens. We could also use a bigger line-up to deal with their length. I’d like to see them start Randmo or Collins with Horford, Josh, Joe and Teague. Teague could match up with Jameer’s speed and hopefully speed up the tempo. We clamp down on the other shooters and pound Dwight with fouls. That was the idea before the season started, but we’ve never gone to it. Marvin, Bibby & Crawford could add some punch to the second unit. Surely Bibby could keep up with Williams. He did replace him in Sac town. Show us why Bibby?
The next month should get us a real chance to pile up some wins. Hopefully with the lighter schedule Woodson can go more to Teague and Randmo. Probably a dream I know, but it’s critical to our success in the post season. We need those pieces ready.
I still say it’s a mental thing. How else can we hang with them for a 1/2 and then collapse once they get a lead. We give in, we don’t bring the aggression. It’s like a beat-down from a big brother. One day the little bro figures out he doesn’t have to take it anymore. Then and only then does the tide change….permenantly!
GO HAWKS!
A true Hawks fan
January 31st, 2010
1:29 am
Mac-Town, and what team do you coach?
JeJe
January 31st, 2010
2:15 am
WHY ARE RANDMO AND COLLINS NOT BEING USED IN THE RIGHT SITUATIONS?
WOODSON U !@#$ING SUCK. U HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO MANAGE A ROSTER. YOU JUST BURN OUT YOUR STARTERS+J.CRAW. THAT’S NOT COACHING–IT’S IGNORANCE
Mac-Town'z Finest 478
January 31st, 2010
2:42 am
lol and which one do you coach? @ A true Hawks fan
buddy acting like he has some kind of more “authority” over opinions than me
it’s all opinions…I want to see the Hawks do as best as we can…..forget settling for takin a backseat to the Magic….you’re talking about “everything is OK” and these boys have been straight killin us…obviously something must be done.
You dont get in a half court game with ORL….but keep praising woodsux