As Cavs look to load up, J.J. says of Hawks: “We’ve got to be real scrappy”
Dallas– When the post All-Star game discussion turned to the best team in the East looking to add Amare Stoudemire, Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson let out a “Whew!” and smiled.
“They are just being selfish,” J.J. joked.
“They are trying to stack it, man,” Johnson said of the Cavs. “They are trying to do whatever it takes to keep ‘23′ (LeBron) there. And not only that they really, really are trying to shoot for a title. What they’ve got now, I think it’s a possibility, and getting Amare makes it even stronger.”
Does he expect the other East contenders to react to Cleveland’s move?
“Probably not,” he said. “A lot of the top teams, when you look at Boston and Orlando, they are pretty much set where they are at and feeling like they can win a championship with what they got.”
And what about the Hawks?
“I think we’re solid,” he said. “With what we got, we’ve got to be real scrappy and want it more than the next team. That’s the only way we are going to get over the top. We can’t come out relaxed or being too cool. We have got to come out and hit first every night.”
My translation: As it stands now the Hawks may not have the talent or depth to match up with the Cavs or Magic (the latter being the more pressing concern as a potential second-round opponent), so they’ve got to do it with effort and edginess.
The theme for the Hawks when they return from the All-Star break today is “refocus,” and J.J. said he’s ready to take the lead.
“Going down the stretch run, we really have to come together and find our identity and see what kind of team we want to be in the playoffs,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back and pretty much set the tone with what kind of team we want to be. We need to have a no-lose attitude, coming out and paying closer attention to detail and focusing in on what we need to do to position ourselves to get a good spot in the playoffs.”
The improvement likely will have to be internal since there’s been nothing to suggest the Hawks will waiver from GM Rick Sund’s stance that he would not make a major trade before Thursday’s deadline. Those moves have already been made as the Hawks built the core of the team through the draft (Al, Marvin, and Josh) and trades (J.J., Bibby, and Jamal). It’s stayed together through re-signings as the victory totals have increased.
Now the Hawks will see how far this group can go. Johnson said he understands the philosophy.
“We’ve been together for four or five years now,” he said. “Honestly, each year we’ve gotten better, we’ve gotten further. We are still growing as a team, we are still getting better.
“Who knows how good we will be this year? We’ve still got a lot more room for improvement. We’ve got to just keep working and know what’s at (stake).”
Meanwhile, Cleveland will get the headlines over the next few days as it looks to add Stoudemire. The Hawks will quietly try to get better with what they’ve got.
“The owners and Rick feel that way,” Horford said after the All-Star game. “We have grown in the short time I have been here. Hopefully we keep growing and keep developing.”
He added with a laugh: “Stay in the West, Amare.”
MC
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127 comments Add your comment
Al Horford
February 15th, 2010
9:46 pm
Im having a basket give away friday night. No limit. meet me under the rim at the highlight factory. Bring a camera.
O'Brien
February 15th, 2010
9:56 pm
When will people realize that defense begins on the perimeter? Didn’t you read the article some time ago when JJ said the guards have to step up their defense, because a lot of times they left our bigs in bad situations?
Did you know that after Denver traded Camby (a former DPOY), their defense improved. Why? Because they got Chauncey Billups playing PG, and not Iverson.
Lets face it. Bibby sucks defensively, so guards get by him into the paint. And because of our switching defense, our bigs end up guarding the opposing guards sometimes, and sometimes, our bigs end up out of position.
Horford is not the problem. He is a part of the solution,
niremetal
February 15th, 2010
10:14 pm
O’Brien,
Why didnt he let Marvin play out the year and become a restricted free agent, and then the Hawks would have the right to match whatever offer he got?
This past year was Marvin’s RFA summer. The Hawks had the right to match offers this past summer, but would not have had that right if Marvin had just accepted the Hawks’ QO and played out this year as the last of his contract. And with half the league having cap space this coming summer, odds are excellent that Marvin would have commanded the price he’d gotten assuming he played at the level he did last year. Of course, now that Marvin is not playing at that level, it looks like he’s overpaid. But even granting that, he doesn’t even come in the top 25 most overpaid players in the league. Teams routinely pay Marvin’s salary (or a more) to sign long young forwards. Just look at the contracts that Jaric, Nocioni, Tayshaun, and Kirilinko. All are at least a little “overpaid,” at least (in the case of Tayshaun and Nocioni) if you just look at their stat lines.
Marvin’s contract is not crippling. It’s barely 10% of the luxury tax threshold. He is the 96th highest-paid player in the NBA, which means that, on average, each teams has 3 players who make more than Marvin. Isn’t that about right?
More importantly, his contract does not include annual raises – ie he won’t be getting $10M four years from now, which is how most contracts starting at $7.5M are structured. Marvin is a slightly above average player. We are paying him a slightly above average salary – the rate paid to most borderline starters in the league. It is what it is.
niremetal
February 15th, 2010
10:16 pm
*at least in the case of Tayshaun and Kirilenko
Tired of excuses.
February 15th, 2010
10:26 pm
Horford is not the problem. He is a part of the solution for the other team who has little bitty guys DUNKING over hoe ford. Yes any guard in the nba can out run another guard. All guards are quick and fast. What you want and expect out of your center is to be able to protect the rim against who ever comes against it. Most little bitty men dont run up against camby and lopez and howard and shaq because they now what will happen.
Most little bitty men run up against hoe ford because they see his slack defense as away to build up their points per game average, they see him as the solution to their problem.
Astro Joe
February 15th, 2010
10:29 pm
Strickland, Bibby plays about a third-less minutes and makes about half the salary of Rondo. Based on those two numbers alone, no one is putting them into the same category (it would be akin to comparing Mo Evans to Manu Ginobli).
Bibby has a physical limitation in his ability to effectively defend. As a result, he played around 24 minutes/game in January… a significant decrease from previous seasons. Yet, you seem to ignore the fact that Woody has reduced his time on the floor. Unlike a player with a mental issue, Bibby really can’t get better at this stage of his career. The good news is that Joe and Jamal are capable playmakers, along with Josh who has recently excelled with his assists.
There is NO evidence to suggest that Woody is holding Teague down. To the contrary, there is far more evidence to suggest that Teague struggles in practice and can’t take advantage of Bibby’s poor performance. If Teague can’t find open teammates or hit jumpers over Bibby in practice, why would we be anxious to watch him fail in a game? Josh Smith had to “find his own way” after 5 years in the league in large part because Woody refused to sit him when he continued to make bone-headed plays. He didn’t correct the behavior and so Josh never learned. Why would we want the same problem from our young PG… the guy who is running the team’s offense and the first wave of our defense? If Teague isn’t get it done in practice, then I’m all for teaching him the right way until he is ready. Joe, Jamal and Josh are doing fine.
I’m much less worried about our PG play than I am the performance of our back-up bigs. It’s easier to scheme around a defensive liability than it is to scheme around the failure to rebound or defend the paint for very close to 48 minutes.
Al Hoford
February 15th, 2010
10:30 pm
Thanks for the defense OBrien, Maybe you can help me during the game. You play defense for me.
I going to improve on that #18th for center in the nba for blocked shots thingy. Next year, Im going to ask Josh if he will give me some of his blocks.
Keeping it real!
February 15th, 2010
10:38 pm
DD-10th, PPG-#12, RPG-#10, BPG-#18
There are only 12 centers in the NBA who score more points per game than horford
There are only 9 centers who grab more rebounds than horford
There are only 17 more centers who block more shots than horford per game
There are only 10 more centers who have higher double doubles than horford.
You cant win a championship with this kind of talent on your team.
GET REAL!
Astro Joe
February 15th, 2010
10:47 pm
How’s that working for NJ… having a big center like Lopez? Is it working any better for the Clippers with Camby? Surely Hasheem Thabeet is on his way to rookie of the year, right? Hello! Is this thing on? Please, somebody tell me that Biedrins or Dalembert or Brendan Haywood (pre-trade) were dominating the game for their respective teams. After all, once a team has a true center, they are well on their way to an NBA Finals appearance.
Ramon
February 15th, 2010
11:45 pm
Astro, the funny part about that is the team has a Finals center lol. His name is Collins and he was there twice lol. I guess Luc Longley, Ostertag, Bill Wennington, and others would be the missing piece to this Hawks’ puzzle that many others on this blog think the Hawks are lacking.
Its funny Shaq came in the league, and although his size and power was awesome. I remember a 6′10, 230 pound center outworking him in route to a sweep in the NBA Finals. If they say Shaq and Howard are one of a kind centers, why do they think its so easy to go and find ATHLETIC sizable centers who can guard Howard. I mean Howard is averaging a double/double and close to 14 rebounds a game. So when he goes 18/14/3 against us, he’s doing the same thing that he’s doing against every other team in the league also.
I wish some bloggers would learn all star centers aren’t TRADED but their drafted!
Jody
February 16th, 2010
12:04 am
I see alot of people like to throw out numbers as to why Horford is a legit center. However, it’s not all about the numbers, it’s also about the fit. I’m sure if the Jazz put Karl Malone at center, he would have still put up All-Star numbers. However, center was not the best position for him. The same could be said for many power forwards who have or could have played center over the years. Horford is defenitely a keeper, but he is a power forward and the Hawks do need more size up front. If they didn’t need more size, they wouldn’t reportedly be talking about the idea of getting Kurt Thomas. A switching defense and poor perimeter defense are not the major reasons the Hawks struggle rebounding the basketball. With that said, I don’t think the Hawks will or should make a move just for the sake of doing so. However, in the future, they will need to think about acquiring a guy who will give them more size IN ADDITION TO HORFORD AND SMITH.
Again, having better numbers doesn’t mean a guy is a better or true center. Mark Eaton was no where near the player Karl Malone was. But, he was a better CENTER. Sometimes, the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
tony
February 16th, 2010
3:15 am
Let me repeat myself. We need a enforcer who can dominate in the low post so we can put pressure on teams like Orlando, Cleveland, LA, San Antonio and Boston. The Atlanta Hawks have never made it to the nba finals because they never had a enforcer who could dominate in the low post. We had good centers and power forwards in the past who were go defenders but from an offensive standpoitnt they weren’t that good of a scorer. Yes, we had Moses Malone but not in his prime.
We need to send a package deal to Torondo for Chris Bosh. Bosh will give those teams that I mentioned earlier problems in the post. If we do this, we can get to the nba finals for the first time since the hawks moved to Atlanta. If we sign Bosh we will have no weakness from an offensive standpoint because Crawford will torch teams from the perimeter. Also Bosh boaster our already good defense. He average over 11 rpg and 1 bpg.
Send Joe Johnson and Joe Smith to Toronta for Chris Bosh.
PG-Mike Bibby
SG-Jamal Crawford
SF-Josh Smith
PF-Chris Bosh
C-Al Horford
vava74
February 16th, 2010
3:41 am
The pipe has been passing around heavily around here:
An expiring Bosh for an expiring JJ? Why would the Raptors trade an expiring contract for another expiring contract? Just for fun?
There are 18 C who are better defenders than Al Jair because they average more swats? Truth/JoeM/…/…/… Don’t lose any more credit around here. A funny act is a funny act if you don’t repeat it until it loses its punch.
Do you even know what is a switching defense?
Jamison is 34 years old. Why would we jeopardize our future trading away a 23 year old for an old
man?? One that does not even play SF? Would we start Josh at the SF slot? To shoot from outside? Or Jamison guarding quicker opponents? Lebron, Pierce, …
O'Brien
February 16th, 2010
7:19 am
nire,
Thanks for the clarification on Marvin. I hope he’s able to step his game up, because I would love to be having a conversation next year as to whether or not he’s underpaid. That would be great for the Hawks.
Its amazing some of the trade proposals on here.
tjhook
February 16th, 2010
7:53 am
Hawks should look at Eric Mussleman as an assistant coach. He’s a strong offensive strategist. He was on a good track coaching at Golden State (Sacramento) until he received a DUI. Was also a former Hawks assistant coach earlier in the decade.
terrell
February 16th, 2010
9:42 am
Bosh an enforcer? Please!. And where’s our bench with that lineup. Crawford IS THE BENCH. Did you see the game against Miami? And again, Josh Smith is not a sf.
terrell
February 16th, 2010
9:49 am
Tony, imagine Bibby and Crawford trying to guard the perimeter. It wouldn’t matter if we had Oakley and Laimbeer in the paint. Much less Bosh.
terrell
February 16th, 2010
9:52 am
Where in the hell is Acie Law?? Seriously. No wonder Woody went with T “dribble,dribble” Lue. And Anthony “I’m old enough to be your grandad” Johnson. lol!
darrell starks
February 16th, 2010
11:14 am
TONY no way you starte bibby, jamal in back court they will be eaten a live on defense.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
February 16th, 2010
12:30 pm
ASTRO JOE-This isn’t the 1st time you’ve used this POOR PRACTICE PERFORMANCE crap to justify your preference for not playing Teague more. Exactly how many practices have you attended this yr? Isn’t it funny how SStaudemire, ALaw and JTeague had no trouble excelling against Bibby and other teams PG’s during every one of their training camps and preseasons.
I want to pose a question for you about your PRACTICE THEORY. Please explain how Bibby can mysteriously excel during these practices, yet his gm performances and production are steadily declining? And yes, his Mins are down, but that’s because his overall gm and his production are so bad, especially his DEF, Woodson has been forced to limit his mins and the damage he’s doing. The problem is, while Woodson has reduced Bibby’s mins, he’s refused to use those extra mins to develop JTeague and get more production from him.
After making an issue of those who claim C AHorford is our biggest problem rather than PG MBibby, only OBRIEN offered a comment on the subject. If fact, there were still comments about us needing a center and no mention of Bibby. Horford’s overall production is going up, while Bibby’s overall production is going down.
I know this is going to be very hard for all of you BIBBY LOVERS and HORFORD HATERS to grasp, but:
(1) if Horford and the rest of our frontline didn’t have to concentrate so much on protecting the lane from Bibby’s GATEWAY TO THE LANE DEF, they could concentrate more on defending their own man.
(2) if Horford and the rest of our frontline wasn’t forced to spend so much time on the perimeter guarding opposing SG’s & PG’s, the result of Woodson’s beloved switching DEF, they could do a better job of defending the opposing C’s, PF’s and the lane.
But of course, none of you BIBBY LOVERS and HORFORD HATERS can afford to recognize, accept or acknowledge these factors. Otherwise, you’d actually have to start dealing with reality and making intelligent responses, rather that the selfserving BS you’ve been offering.
Allen Iversion
February 16th, 2010
4:11 pm
Like ken said, Al Horford is the 18th center in the NBA as far as blocked shots and its Bibby fault!
From now on any one who think Al horford is playing out of position and is a poor defender will be call a hater. YOU CAN NOT CRITICIZE THE # 18th DEFENSIVE BLOCKING CENTER WITH OUT HATE!
HEAD DRAGON - BUBBA CREW
February 16th, 2010
4:14 pm
GOOD JOB KEN, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO CRITICIZE HORFORD. SEE YOU AT THE NEXT RALLY.
MIKE WOODSON
February 16th, 2010
4:22 pm
KEN, HORFORD SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME UNDER THE BASKET. ID LIKE TO KEEP MY BIG MEN UNDER THE BASKET OR NEAR THE LANE. DONT WORRY. ILL SPEND THE NEXT 4 YEARS TRYING TO DEVELOP AL INTO A BETTER DEFENSIVE PLAYER. ID LOVE FOR YOU TO COME DOWN AND HELP OUT. ILL PUT AL UNDER THE BASKET AND LET YOU DRIVE ON HIM. THIS OUGHT TO EMBARRASS HIM TO THE POINT HE WILL GET ANGRY AND START BLOCKING YOUR SHOTS. I KNOW YOU CANT PLAY BUT THATS MY POINT. HE S NOT EMBARRASSED BY ALL THESE MANY,MANY GUYS WHO ARE SHOW CASING DUNKS ON HIM, IM HOPING HE WILL BE EMBARRASSED BY YOUR FAT BUBBA CREW AZZ TRYING TO DUNK AZZWHOLE.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN COME DOWN.
Ken Strickland
February 14th, 2010
2:33 am
I just can’t believe how anyone with an actual basketball IQ could think Allstar center AHorford is a bigger problem for the Hawks…Among all centers, Horford’s ranking is: DD-10th, PPG-#12, RPG-#10, BPG-#18, SPG-#11
Ken Strickland
February 16th, 2010
6:52 pm
It seems I’ve hurt the feelings one of our more disturbed fans and caused him to use multiple and silly names to voice his/their objections. Oh, next time, try reading my comments more slowly, or get someone with reading comprehension to explain my comments to you before complaining. MY COMMENTS WEREN’T ABOUT CRITICIZING AHORFORD, IT WAS ABOUT MAKING A BIG ISSUE OF HIS “ALLEDGED” DEF SHORTCOMINGS, AND CLAIMING HE’S THE TEAMS BIGGEST PROBLEM, WITHOUT MAKING MENTION OF MBIBBY’S RAPID DECLINE AND HIS BLATANT OFF/DEF SHORTCOMINGS, MORON!
Try this on for size. Denver got rid of MCamby, the NBA’s DEF player of the yr and leading shotblocker, as well as high scoring PG AIverson(26PPG). They replaced Camby with Nene, his backup, and Iverson with CBillups. Nene is nowhere near the shotblocker and rebounder Camby is, and CBillups isn’t the scorer Iverson is. However, his overall DEF, especially his on the ball DEF, is head and shoulders above Iverson’s. If you can keep PG’s, SG’s and SF’s from consistently driving into the lane, you don’t need a prolific shotblocking center, idiot. The Pistons proved that as well.
MIKE WOODSON
February 16th, 2010
11:12 pm
Horford’s ranking is: DD-10th, PPG-#12, RPG-#10, BPG-#18, SPG-#11
Dezz Nuttz
February 16th, 2010
11:16 pm
Why yall hatin on my man Hoe ford? He blocked a shot…..once.
tony
February 17th, 2010
12:18 am
terrell, Bosh average 24.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game. Those numbers are the best in the league at his position. That’s what I call an ENFORCER my friend. We also will have a pretty good bench.
PG-Mike Bibby / Teague
SG-Jamal Crawford / Maurice Evans(GF)
SF-Josh Smith / Marvin Williams
PF-Chris Bosh / Morris Randolph
C-Al Horford / Zaza
You talked like Bibby and Crawford can’t defend. Think about this? Who can stop Jamal. If I remember correctly, didn’t Jamal lit up the heats for 52 points in just 39 minutes back in 07? You meant to say “Imagine teams trying to guard Bosh down in the post and Jamal around the perimeter.”
I don’t no how old you are or how long you been a fan of the hawks, but I go all the way back to the days of John Drew, Armond Hill, Eddie Johnson, Dan Roundfield and Tree Rollins. I have seen the hawks play in 8 straight playoffs games only to get knockout in the early rounds. The reason why the hawks can’t get to the nba finals is because they never had a BIG who could put pressure on the opposition frontline offensively. The hawks aways had trouble guarding players in the post but the opposition never had any problems stopping the hawks. Here’s a list of BIGS the hawks couldn’t contain in the playoffs: Jack Sikma, Robert Perrish, Wes Unseld, Kevin Mckale, Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, Shaquille O’Neal.
It’s time for the hawks to go out and get a BIG who create havoc against the opposition frontline. Chris Bosh is that BIG. STOP THE BLEEDING NOW!