Atlanta Hawks at Knicks, AKA Trapped In A Zone
Super commenters Najeh Davenpoop and O’Brien voiced their concerns about the Hawks vs. zone looks after the Heat used one to stymie the Hawks late in the game Saturday. The Mavericks did the same thing to come back and win on Feb. 26, and you’ve got to think the Knicks will show some zone tonight. Why wouldn’t they? The Hawks tend to seize up and waste possessions when they see it.
There’s even less player movement than normal, there are pointless passes around the perimeter and there are rushed shots. Woody has said most opponents back off the zone once the Hawks shoot them out of it. But what about those games like the two recent losses where they don’t shoot them out of it? Then it’s another “We missed good shots” lament after a defeat.
Clearly the Hawks have to figure out something else. So what exactly is the plan vs. a zone? “Good ball movement, attack the defense and penetrate and dish,” J.J. said after the loss to the Mavs. Sounds good. Now maybe the Hawks should try doing it.
– The New York Post says J.J. is “on display” tonight. The story notes J.J.’s good relationship with coach Mike D’Antoni and agent Arn Tellem’s good relationship with Knicks boss Donnie Walsh and speculates that Johnson could end up in New York. New York media desperate for the Knicks to be relevant again clearly covet LeBron–notice how the stories are about LeBron even when they aren’t–but now they seem to be focusing on J.J. as a consolation prize.
– D’Antoni wants to “speed up” the game by possibly giving Toney Douglas more minutes at point guard. Or maybe it will be Sergio Rodriguez. Either way, I don’t have to tell you that “quick point guard pushing the pace” isn’t something the Hawks really want to see.
– T-Mac is questionable because he’s feeling old.
– All Hawks players were at shootaround today and are good to go, reports FSN South/SportSouth Hawks sideline reporter James Verrett. I’m not with the team but will blog off television.
– Talk amongst yourselves, Hawks fans.
MC
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493 comments Add your comment
bigdave
March 8th, 2010
9:55 pm
knicks win..
rob
March 8th, 2010
9:55 pm
what a joke. josh smith freaks out when he gets the ball in crunch time
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 8th, 2010
9:56 pm
nevermind
Venom
March 8th, 2010
9:56 pm
I’m sick of the hawks. Can’t beat the hawks or the heat pathetic
Zach
March 8th, 2010
9:56 pm
are you kidding me
terrell
March 8th, 2010
9:56 pm
Crawford shoulda shot that.
vava74
March 8th, 2010
9:56 pm
There either a complete and absolute lack of play development or a complete lack of brain cells.
Wabe
March 8th, 2010
9:57 pm
Can’t believe it.
3 losses to the Knicks.
I’m sorry, but what kind of expectations should a Hawks fan hold for this team at this point in the year after they just managed to lose 3 games to the Knicks. So frustating.
Venom
March 8th, 2010
9:57 pm
I hope the hawks keep losing. so they really have areason to fire woody
buick59
March 8th, 2010
9:57 pm
now that was hilarious. what a bunch of chokers, pretenders, frauds. Clowns.
bigdave
March 8th, 2010
9:57 pm
i guess we didnt have a time out..
rob
March 8th, 2010
9:58 pm
that play wasnt even the game breaker. it was those weak ass jumpers Joe Blow kept puttin up. Coach just stands around lookin like Mr. Potato Head.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 8th, 2010
9:58 pm
Time for Woodson to pull another gimmick to inspire the team again. He’s more of a clown than a coach anyway.
First he got rid of his “old school playa” steve harvey half-fro with the fresh line up and mustache…..and went for the “tough guy” bald head and goatee look
then he shaved his eyebrows
….always so innovative in pulling out of the ordinary gimmicks to get the team going.
maybe he’ll shock the team soon now by actually coaching. That’ll be the biggest surprise ever.
JeJe
March 8th, 2010
9:58 pm
Wow i can honestly say that this team is garbage. I have no idea how they won 39 games.
Where the !@#$ is the 4th quarter execution? Every game is the same damn 4th quarter collapse.
WTF is Woodson doing?
WTF is Crawford doing? YOU ARE PLAYING @ YOUR FORMER TEAM. YOU ARE AN ASSASSIN ON THE COURT. DO NOT PASS THE BALL UP ON THE LAST SHOT. STOP DEFERRING TO YOUR TEAMMATES. YOU ARE A SCORER, NOT A DAMN POINT GUARD.
SPEAKING OF POINT GUARDS, MIKE BIBBY IS STRAIGHT-UP TRASH. FORGET THAT AWKWARD STIFF WE HAVE AT SHOOTING GUARD. BIBBY DOUBLE TEAMS PLAYERS FOR NO REASON AND GIVES UP 3”S LEFT AND RIGHT
HOW THE !@#% DO U LOSE A COMBINED 6 GAMES TO MIAMI AND THE KNICKS?
Chockers v. Knicks
March 8th, 2010
9:59 pm
Hawks 1 and done in the playoffs, if they even make the playoffs … they might even choke that away too.
It’s no wonder why this team can’t compete with Orlando or Cleveland
JeJe
March 8th, 2010
9:59 pm
JOE WOULD RATHER TAKE 30 SHOTS AND LOSE A GAME THAN TAKE 15 AND WIN
IT’S ALL ABOUT JOE. HE THINKS HE’S THE SUPERSTAR SO HE HOGS THE BALL.
GOD DAMNIT
buick59
March 8th, 2010
9:59 pm
funny, funny, funny, funny
kwooden1
March 8th, 2010
10:00 pm
1 Assist from our 3 PGs!!!
GAME OVER HAWKS LOSE
Dan
March 8th, 2010
10:00 pm
The culprit, once again Josh Smith!!!!!!
Wabe
March 8th, 2010
10:00 pm
I’m offically on the “Get Rid of Woody” bandwagon. His approach to coaching is too simple. You can’t win games on pure talent, there has to be some sort of scheme implemented. And our lack of scheme really hurts us when we need buckets.
dub366
March 8th, 2010
10:00 pm
Woody ass got to go Rick Sund
Zach
March 8th, 2010
10:00 pm
they’re not garbarge and they’re not one and done. They just lost by one point on the road to a team that has their number, for whatever reasons, so stop overreacting after ever loss. My goodness you people are stupid.
NBA (National Betting Association)
March 8th, 2010
10:01 pm
This game was decided before he started. Trust me im strategic gambler. NBA = Pro Wrestling.
Thanks for the money knicks!!!
AM
March 8th, 2010
10:01 pm
Hawks were fortunate enough to have a soft schedule coming out of the break and now they are blowing it. I would give anything to know what goes on in the lockerroom after such a bad loss.
buick59
March 8th, 2010
10:01 pm
actually, Woodson makes Mr Potato Head look smart.
Venom
March 8th, 2010
10:01 pm
Josh wasn’t the reason they lost it was Joe hoggin the ball and stopping ball movement. And Woody’s lack of coaching
terrell
March 8th, 2010
10:03 pm
Mike Bibby for 2 MORE years, and Marvin for 4 more is almost laughable. Way to go Sund. Must be listening to Woody. This team is going NOWHERE with those two clowns as starters. PEROIOD!
Dan
March 8th, 2010
10:03 pm
How big is that missed free-throw by Joe Johnson or how big is that missed technical by Jamal?
Venom
March 8th, 2010
10:03 pm
Joe and Woody have to be gone next year
buick59
March 8th, 2010
10:03 pm
they’re not stupid…they’re realists. They know what the Atlanta Hawks are….frauds
Wabe
March 8th, 2010
10:03 pm
What is Marvin’s “good games in a row” count at now?
Jose
March 8th, 2010
10:04 pm
INCONSISTENT!!! We can lose to the Nicks or any team below .500. We can never be certain to win. We may finish 4th or 5th and then get early elimination. May be Rick Sund will do something. It’s a MOCKERY!!
Dan
March 8th, 2010
10:04 pm
Why is Josh taking a jumper in crunch-time? Why is Josh taking jumpers at all?
Najeh Davenpoop
March 8th, 2010
10:05 pm
I didn’t see this game until the final minute, thankfully, but someone please tell me I should be positive about the playoff chances of a team that went 1-3 against the Knicks. The Knicks, a team that lost to the Nets two days ago. The Knicks, a team whose roster is mostly just a bunch of expiring contracts at this point, similar to the Hawks in 2004.
Can’t judge everything from the box score, but I see that Teague played 5 minutes while Bibby scored 1 point. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Don’t even know what to say about that block by Chandler. Hell of a play by him — similar to many plays Smoove has made in the past — but Smoove has to find a way to make that play. Crawford made a GREAT pass and he doesn’t deserve any blame for that at all. Smoove has to convert that somehow. No excuse for getting blocked in that situation.
I’ll say this though — putting aside the fact that I’m a Hawks fan, that final minute was amazing. Must have been really exciting to be a Knick fan at this game.
Big Ray
March 8th, 2010
10:06 pm
Well, here we are. Can we compete with Washington, having lost to a team that just lost to the Nets?
bigdave
March 8th, 2010
10:06 pm
would’ve thought we might have come out with a game plan to exploit the lack tissue paper middle of New York…
hmm.. guess not. lets just approach tonights game the same way we do every other opponent. you know all teams are the same with equal strengths and weaknesses.. so we’ll just play them all the same… b/c our scheme is just unstoppable…
clinton,nj
March 8th, 2010
10:06 pm
Is it me or does JJ fade about this time every year?? The Hawks will never get to the next level if they cant beat the Heat, and will go nowhere losing to the Knicks. The Knicks just lost to the Nets and the Hawks couldnt beat them???? PATHETIC!!!!!
Kitis
March 8th, 2010
10:07 pm
What got us back in the game was going inside and getting to the line. When we cut it to 4, then 2, then 1, Joe and Josh start hoisting up ill-advised shots and stop trying to work it inside. It is baffling, frustrating, all those things, but we were still a millisecond of stealing one against a team that was unconscious from long range tonight. Doesn’t mean I don’t wanna throw up. I can’t stand NY teams.
50 wins?
March 8th, 2010
10:07 pm
need to go 10-9 rest of the way…don’t think they will do it.
AM
March 8th, 2010
10:07 pm
Zach,
Have you been following this team all year? Honestly…those of us who have watched every game (I maybe missed 5 or so) are sick of seeing the same loss patterns. We see teams with far less do far more, and thus our frustration. Not trying to knock your opinion, but I think it’s more than ok to demand more from this squad. Good teams lose games like this…Great teams don’t. Maybe our team is only GOOD with Woodson as most of us believe.
RA
March 8th, 2010
10:08 pm
I’m going to have to side with Zach, except for the stupid part. It’s not polite to call people names. No, for whatever reason, when the Knicks see the Hawks, their eyes light up and the basket becomes the size of the paciffic ocean. No, for whatever reason, the Knicks are a matchup nightmare for the Hawks. It shouldn’t be, but it is. But the concerns of a lot of fans can’t be dismissed that quickly. The fact is that the Hawks were 1-3 to the Knicks, 1-3 to the Heat, are 0-3 to the Orlando Magic and 0-2 to the Cavs. And the above having been said, this game was Atlanta’s to lose. All they had to do to win was pound the ball into the paint on every possession, but inexplicably, they forced up one jump shot after another… They’re a good team, but they won’t be a great team until they can see where their strengths are and use them. Also, and I can’t say it enough, basketball is a game played for 48 minutes, not 15, not 30, 48. These long stretches of stupid that Atlanta is becoming known for are going to have to end, or who knows how long their trip into the playoffs will last.
bigdave
March 8th, 2010
10:08 pm
how many points did Woodson allow a 6′10 player score on his starting PG? defense looked a whole lot better when we got away from switching huh…? we stopped playing 5 on 6 or 7…
Dan
March 8th, 2010
10:08 pm
On the bright side, they fell behind by as much as 11 points in the 4th quarter and came back. They had a defensive stop to give them a chance to win at the end. One question, though, were the Hawks out of timeouts? When Jamal grabbed the ball with 8 seconds left, don’t you call timeout to set the winning play?
Melvin
March 8th, 2010
10:09 pm
The Cavs beat the Spurs without Lebron….
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 8th, 2010
10:10 pm
look at those stats
3-17 from 3 for the hawks……..10-15 for the knicks
most of the other statistics went in the hawks favor
for a team that relies so much on shooting…..you just have to knock them down..
Najeh Davenpoop
March 8th, 2010
10:10 pm
By the way, there is precedent for firing a coach after a 50-win season. Rick Carlisle won 50 games in 2002-2003 and was replaced after the season by Larry Brown, who ended up leading that team to a title.
I’m not in favor of firing a coach if you don’t have a better replacement in mind already, but please don’t tell me that the Hawks should be satisfied with where they are at right now. 1-3 against the Heat, 1-3 against the Knicks, 20-17 in their last 37 games despite a strength of schedule in their last 25 games of under .500… please don’t tell me this team is ready to go deep in the postseason right now, because they’re not.
bigdave
March 8th, 2010
10:11 pm
Woodson..
“we’re not matched up well for some reason”
“our offensive shot selections were awful coming down the stretch”
“again i should’ve called a TO”
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 8th, 2010
10:11 pm
Do you guys hear this post game interview??? Woodson just admitted he’s a bad coach.
“We just dont match up well with them…FOR SOME REASON”
Mike “Good Coach” Woodson doesnt even know the reason(s)” ????????
Dan
March 8th, 2010
10:13 pm
The Knicks normally suck, but they were shooting the ball over 50% all night. It doesn’t have anything to do with defense. They were making the three’s. it’s that simple
Wabe
March 8th, 2010
10:13 pm
We’re not matched up well?
Are you kidding me Woody?
Look at the team you’re playing. It has little to do with the matchups. We have nothing but mismatches. You’ve got two prolific scorers on the perimeter, a DPY candidate at PF, and an All-Star C going up against another All-Star.
Seriously, where are these mismatches? They come in the form of SWITCHING! When you switch on every pick at the top of the key, you’re gonna have mismatches with a David Lee matched up against a gaurd.