Atlanta Hawks Squawks: Hawks 105, Wizards 99
– After the game the Hawks were pumping up the Wizards as tougher than they seem because they had been competitive in losses lately. “We’ll take it,” Horford said. “They’ve been struggling but I’ve seen them play close games against good teams. We weren’t taking anything for granted.”
– I understand the Hawks taking a victory any way they can get it against whichever opponent, especially after what happened at Miami and New York. And I know all heck would have broke loose with a loss so give the Hawks credit for surviving.
– But come on, man. It’s getting a little late for that “all teams are tough, sometimes you have nights like this” stuff. The Hawks got outworked for most of the game by a team headed for the lottery. They let a bad offensive team have an easy time scoring for long stretches and let a so-so rebounding team dominate them on the boards.
– How does that happen considering what’s at stake? “It is disappointing,” Woody said. “We can’t rely on just mSmoove and Al to get rebounds. They were lacking in that area tonight (too). Blatche and McGee had their way on the boards. We’ve just got to get better.”
– The Hawks had to sweat out a victory against the Southeast’s last place team when they supposedly are trying to win the division. It’s one thing to have a bad shooting night but Woody stressed defense and rebounding and then got neither.
– Woody is putting together a video highlighting his team’s problems in those areas so he can see show his players how they need to pick it up. He will need to splice in plenty of new footage from this game.
– How bad was it? Rookie Alonzo Gee, recently signed to a 10-day contract by the Wizards, got his first NBA basket on a dunk in the second quarter. He should know it’s not supposed to be that easy against good teams.
– But was that easy for the Wizards. They shot 53 percent and scored 28 of their 51 points in the paint in the first half while taking a 19-11 rebounding advantage, including nine on offense. How can the Hawks come out with that kind of effort?
– OK, don’t want to be too negative here. The Hawks forced 21 turnovers with 11 steals so they were active at times. They survived the Wizards’ final surge while reducing their head-scratching offensive plays even when Washington played zone.
– “Good teams find a way to win,” Al said. “We lost the last two close games so it feels good to come out on top like this.”
– The Hawks can thank Jamal’s hot shooting and aggressive drives to the basket for this one. He made two 3-pointers to start that 19-7 run that gave the Hawks some breathing room. He also made 9 of 11 free throws, all in the second half, when nobody else was making them.
– “At this point of the season everyone understands what they are supposed to do,” Jamal said. “When they make a run, it’s up to certain guys to step up. That’s a part of my job description.”
– Good thing because J.J. had another off shooting night (8 of 19) and Josh wasn’t doing it all like usual (noticed a few times he didn’t seem to have the same energy). Also big that Bibby came through with 16 points and 7 of 11 shooting. Zaza made a couple big shots, too.
– But, man, I keep coming back to Washington’s 49.4 percent shooting and 42-29 advantage on the boards. I can’t stop thinking about how listless the Hawks looked most of the night when they were supposed to be desperate. It’s like they think they are much better than they are despite plenty of evidence they aren’t as good as they can be.
– And I don’t care how many close games the Wizards have been playing. They are headed to the lottery and after that trade have maybe three guys who could get major burn for the Hawks.
– Dang, there I go getting negative again about a victory. I think J.J. feels me, though. “Our effort defensively has to pick up for the playoffs,” he said “We’ve been to pretty much the highest level and we know what it takes. We have to come out and execute and play with effort.”
– Iso-Joe in the fourth: missed fadeaway jumper, missed straight-up jumper.
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
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160 comments Add your comment
b.j.
March 12th, 2010
9:50 am
okay the hawks sometimes look lost on D and why does everyonejust stand and watch when JJ and Crawford handle the Rock on “O”, I dnt know but on the flip a WIN is a WIN and ill take it understand folks for all the hate the HAWK are going to Win 50 GAMES, think back to when they won 13 not to long ago everyone takes nights off in the nba ask the lakers they lost to the heat and the bobcats last week as far i see it the team will be judged on how they play iin the PLAYOFFS-GO HAWKS
O'Brien
March 12th, 2010
9:57 am
One thing about the Hawks, is they are known to play up (and down) to their level of competition, so even though I have been very critical of them and Woody, I think they will step their games up in the playoffs.
In ‘07-’08, the Hawks limped into the palyoffs going 3-5 over their last 8 games (they finished 1 game in front of the Pacers, who lost 2 of their last 3 allowing the Hawks to get in).
Now raise your hand if you thought they would push the Celtics to 7 games in the first round.
I dont see any hands.
The players are much better this time around, so I think this team will be more focused in the playoffs. I just hope they will learn from the mistakes they have made during the season.
Dukester9
March 12th, 2010
10:09 am
Didnt see the game but going by this article sounds like we need a center. O well ho hum. Like i said a fun 50+ win season and out in the 2nd round of the playoffs and depending on who we get in the 1st round and we continue playing like this we might get bounced in the 1st round. Front office you should have traded Marvin and Zaza for Sam Dalembert, instead of Mario West a deadly 3pt shooter. Coach Woodson stop half of the perimeter shooting and come up with more plays driving to the basketball. This team says “we gotta get out an run” Um gents you must rebound the ball FIRST!!!!. The ball is shot and Josh and Al takes off running for a fast break. LOL thats ok for running power forwards man. But real centers dont think like that they think rebound and outlet pass. Our center barely take the ball out of bounds. Nothing against Al love him to death. But he is a power forward thats so good he can play center.
Dukester9
March 12th, 2010
10:21 am
I mean the Sam Dalembert trade made so much sense. 1st you would have unloaded 2 dead contracts (Marvin and Zaza)with 2 or more years on them for one dead contract (Dalembert)that ends next year. You would have instantly had 2 of the top 5 shot blockers on your team (Josh and Dalembert)also instant rebounding. A legit big man to at least be a force on the block against Shaq,Howard or anyone other team in the playoffs. Yes Al could have continued his minutes at center. When they needed to go big Josh at SF Al plays PF Dalembert C. Playing small ball ok JJ moves to SF Josh at PF Al at C Crawford at SG. Read my text the last 5 minutes of the playoffs will haunt us in the paint.
vava74
March 12th, 2010
10:25 am
I’m sure that Truth Serum will be having a ball in the coming days on account of the 8 dunks by McGee and Al’s alleged lack of interior presence…
Nacho
March 12th, 2010
10:25 am
Season Change: If think that someone will disagree with you, must you try to label them by calling them “Bubba Crew”. I am apart of no crew but I still can have an opinion on Woody or the Hawks that may or may not agree with you.
We are on this blog because we are Hawks fans.
Westurd
March 12th, 2010
10:36 am
Bibby signed for (3) years
Marvin signed for (5)years
GULP!
21st Century
March 12th, 2010
10:42 am
So Woody is putting together a video to show the team what they are doing wrong?
Excuse me for my ignorance, but I assumed that each team in the NBA would take videotape footage from each game and review it with the players sometime before the next game. Is this not S.O.P. in the NBA? I mean, the technology is there; I’m sure they have a full-time AV tech on staff. Why would they not do it? Time constraints? What could be more important than correcting simple recurring mistakes: pointing out each time MW doesn’t drive when he should. Pointing out players when they take plays off and the consequences;
Each game I say to myself, “Are the Hawks really that dumb as a team? They keep making the same mistakes over and over and over……..and OVER! Surely Woody showed them the film of last nights game and pointed out their mistakes and how to correct them.”
If this idea of making a tape and showing it to them is not the norm; WOODY HAS TO GO.
Sautee
March 12th, 2010
10:52 am
AJ,
From the previous blog:
You said this: “Sautee, you overlooked the number 4 and the word “consecutive” in my previous post.”
Joe, I didn’t overlook anything. I just go back to JJ’s own words before the season: “I’d like to play well enough to join the elite”. He obviously didn’t think THREE consecutive All-Star games had made him elite. Good for him to be still striving upwards.
And my point was and is THAT IF THOSE ARE HIS OWN EXPECTATIONS, THEN IT’S FAIR ENOUGH FOR US AS FANS TO JUDGE HIM THE WAY HE WOULD JUDGE HIMSELF.
Oops, sorry about the caps lock thing. I wasn’t shouting at you. And it’s fine if YOU think that four All-Star games makes him elite. I just don’t think that primarily because of his defensive lapses.
Ken Strickland
March 12th, 2010
11:19 am
MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM-damn good analysis, and right on point. There are fans who chose to make excuses and overlook the inherent problems that have been lingering for sometime and go HURRAY, HURRAY, BUT WE WON!
Yes, we won, this time, but by continuing to make excuses and overlook obvious problems, we are losing too many winnable gms to lottery bound teams by consistently collapsing in the 4th quarter on both OFF and DEF.
In last nights gm, Woodson did a very good thing and it got positive results. He realized he needed to get more DEF, and inserted Teague in the 4th quarter. Teague’s one the ball DEF made it very difficult for them to make easy entry passes. It also made them go almost totally perimeter, and we got a number of steals and deflections as a result.
Woodson finally got it through his thick stubborn head that he can’t effectively pressure the ball and increase overall DEF pressure with Bibby in the gm, and depending on his beloved switching DEF. And Crawford, while an OFF machine, doesn’t do well pressuring the ball against opposing PG’s.
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
11:23 am
It kills me when I hear folks saying “the Hawks are winning, why all the negativity, a win is a win, blah blah blah..” I really enjoyed what MC had to say cause first of all, we are fans who not only want to see our home team ‘win games’ or ‘be good sitting in 3rd, 4th or what ever place it may be’ but to also make it to the big dance. We want our team to STRIVE for the big prize and that’s the Finals. Now I’m not saying we have a 100% chance of getting there cause we dont..plain and simple, but our goal in this NBA experience is to, again STRIVE to get there.
northcyde and ncat96,
I see you guys are only interested in how well the Hawks record is or the fact that we are in 3rd place but yall seem to not care weither the Hawks perform up to par with bigger and better teams that we are going to face in the playoffs. MC and all the confirned fans of this blog wants the Hawks to know how to take care of business against these lesser teams because we are not going to have these same opportunities once the playoffs begin. We should go into these games as if we are in the playoffs right now. When we play Detroit this Saturday, Woodson needs to have his team mind set as if it is Orlando, New Jersey team as if they are Cleveland, Charlotte as if they are Boston cause going into the playoffs to play Orlando, Cleveland, & Boston like we did against GS, New York, & Washington, we would definely be heading fishing quicker than we wanted to.
darrell starks
March 12th, 2010
11:53 am
KEN I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU, THANKS MC FOR KEEPING IT REAL.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
S Hawk Fan
March 12th, 2010
11:56 am
Woody has to go and take his PR man with him…. that is you northcyde!! I bet you can sell swampland in Florida too,right?
b.j.
March 12th, 2010
12:04 pm
Question for everyone the hawks have games left with Orlando,Clevland,and the lakers 3 real games (its 4 total but the last one is the end of the regular season with the cavs and wont matter)if they win 2 of those games do u think they are truly elite?and if they lose all three and only win one are they just an average team with a strong recored?
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
12:24 pm
MsDee . . I’m not going to disagree with you on that. But people have to understand that in an 82 game season, it’s virtually impossible to play at a high level every single night. MC knows this. Shoot, he used to cover the Heat. Even the Heat team that won the title wasn’t a world beater every night.
Like I said yesterday . . a team that wins 50 – 55 games . . is also going to lose 27 – 32 games. If we lost the vast majority of our games vs .500+ teams, people would think we’d have no shot in the playoffs. If we were 3 – 1 vs the Knicks, but 0 – 4 vs the Celtics, the 3 Knick wins wouldn’t matter one bit in the eyes of Hawk fans.
The Hawks definitely have defensive issues right now that they need to work out. A lot of that simply has to do with effort and awareness, more than anything else. We’re winning, despite the lapses on defense.
You say people focus on our record instead of how the team is playing, but I wonder what the talk would be if we’d beaten Dallas, New York, and Miami? Because if we’d won those games, we’re on a 10 game winning streak.
I guess the, people would be changing their tune, sayng that we’re “elite”, despite playing the same way, but making a play or two at the end of the game to win it.
THe Hawks are mentally tough, from the coaches to the players. They won’t panic one bit. That’s the great thing about this team.
vava74
March 12th, 2010
12:27 pm
Ken S,
I don’t think Woody learned anything, at least not enough (I hope that he proves me wrong).
Every once in a while, against weaker opponents, Woody does the right thing and makes a few adjustments (like resting Joe before the end of the 3rd and a few minutes in the 4th or playing JT0 in the 4th).
However, as soon as we face a stronger opponent, I think that Woody will go back to using the starters + Jamal for the whole 4th quarter.
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
12:28 pm
northcyde,
again u are talking about how much we win with the 50-55 win to 27-32 loses..Who cares is a seed 8 team wins it all from heart!!
ncat96
March 12th, 2010
12:41 pm
MsDee. If you have read my post you would have noticed that I do understand that we need improvement. I am not blind to that fact. What I was pointing out is that there are a lot of “the sky is falling” mentality on these posts. Are we only going to point out the bad? I get fact that we are inconsistent in our play in addition to a lot of things that have been stated regarding this team. I, just like you and everyone else on these posts want to see the Hawks win the championship. But is the season a total failure if that does not happen? Or is it a building block for next season?
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
12:42 pm
northcyde,
sorry I rushed this statement..what i’m saying is, who cares about the regular season record with us being 50-55 wins if a seed 8 team comes and win it all from the heart?? The only purpose for the regular season record is for placement seatings only in the playoffs..that’s it!! Its a totally different season once playoffs starts so I could care less about our regular season record right now cause we are going to the playoffs. My concern is how far we go in the playoffs, and what ness changes need to take place in order for us to STRIVE for the GOAL!!
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
12:53 pm
I’m just not a panic-stricken fan folks. The Hawks are notorious to playing down to teams, especially on the road, but flipping the switch and playing at a high level against “good” teams.
I just look at this team a little differently, from what I think is a realistic standpoint. You want the Hawks to be elite. I KNOW they aren’t elite. Therefore, I don’t expect them to play like Cleveland, even if I desire them to play that way. This team plays more like Utah, Denver, and Portland . . . very good, but not elite. And they are vulnerable on the road at any given time.
It is what it is. No way I’m pulling my hair out because the Hawks don’t win pretty enough. I’m just happy that they win in the first place ( especially on the road ).
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
12:55 pm
ncat96,
Well yes, the season could be a total failure if coach Woodson continue to make the same IDENTICAL mistakes as past years have proven. We make it to the playoffs in past years just to lose the same way we lost to GS, New York, Miami..etc..So yeah, I say ‘the sky is falling’ cause Woodson refuse to catch us!!
I MUS WRITE
March 12th, 2010
12:59 pm
For everybody bytchn and moaning -we are currently #3 in the EC.We’ve played well all year -if you know basketball at all you had to know the team would go thru sum rough periods. Its an 82 game season for cry’n out loud…….
Hypothetically-if Woody and JJ walk this summer we will not be in rebuilding mode again. We have good peices without JJ. Smoove,Horford,Crawford will keep this team relevent even without JJ. Just look at the mans stats from last night 8 for 19…JJ has plenty of subpar nights and now he seems disintrested-let hiz azz walk if he doesnt wanna be here.
We could get another solid player for his price tag(14 milli)
Honestly-I would like to see Bibby,Marvin and Woody gone by training camp-Yeah i know what the record is yada yada yada but its time. Bibby looks awful except for the occasional 3, Marvin absolutely dissapointed this year -I want him gone -after 5 years and a big pay day he’s in lala land most of the time and doesnt really show me much.
I know its a long shot but there are options.. EX. Marvin/1st for Marc Gasol or jason thompson, dont know if hes on a rook contract but i would do it. Pick up Rudy Gay with the cap space from JJ leaving and pick up a Pg capable of scoring and playing D… Problem solved
I MUS WRITE
March 12th, 2010
1:02 pm
O before I forget MC please stop with the AKA crap=It makes no sense at all the way You use it….AKA= Also Known As
AKA- Will should Joe Johnson Go?….WTF Come On son You’re better than that- I think
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
1:02 pm
ncat96,
And what are we building on if again Woodson never make any changes. To build up is to improve you rookie play, allow your starters to have ness rest time, to play your bench, not just with all the bench players but in and out with your starters esp if its not the starters night that night. Play the hot person if they are on..The only person I see Woodson doing that to is Jamal. If he isnt on, Woodson sits him for long periods of time but never Joe if he is off a Jamal is very much own..not Bibby if Teague came in a produced very well, not even Mo Evans if his stroke is on..I could go on and on, but I wont.
HawksFan (AKA Fire Mike Woody
March 12th, 2010
1:08 pm
FIRE MC
HawksFan (AKA Fire Mike Woody
March 12th, 2010
1:08 pm
FIRE LEBRON JAMES
ncat96
March 12th, 2010
1:16 pm
Okay . . . we will just have to agree to disagree. Northcyde, I am with you. I am not a panic stricken fan either. I can still appreciate the season for what it is. Is there a better coach out there who can get us a championship next year . . . maybe. There might be a “Phil Jackson” for every “Doug Collins” that exists (Chicago Bulls reference for those of you who don’t know). But until that happens then I am will be satisfied for now with what I have seen so far. That is continual progression in the regular season and the playoffs. Every year under Woodson this team has experienced progression in both areas. Don’t get me wrong, it will be nice to see the progression accelerated. I sometimes don’t like the process that Woodson uses but I appreciate the results.
vava74
March 12th, 2010
1:26 pm
IMUS,
I think you should read the blog more often and take a peek as well into the Hawks’ Nest where niremetal has explained our salary cap constraints.
If JJ walks, we cannot offer any serious money to a top free agent since we will only have our mid-level exception available which given next years’ salary cap should be only 5,5 million per.
So if we consider the possibility of JJ walking the best we can hope for is a sign and trade for which we would need JJ’s cooperation.
O'Brien
March 12th, 2010
1:29 pm
northcdye,
To your (and AJ’s) point about the seaosn being a grind, I think it would benefit the Hawks if they had a more vocal leader on the court.
Vocal leadership is one of the main things that KG brought to the Celtics, LeBron does it in Cleveland, Kobe does it in LA. That way, when our team is looking disinterested on the court, they could light a fire under them (although Chauncey is Denver’s leader, and they have their struggles like we do).
But the Hawks are who we thought they were. Coming into the season, we all predicted the Hawks would get 50-55 wins. We didnt know how they would get there, but thats where they’ll end up. They probably won some games we thought they would lose, and lost some games they should have won. I just want to see more consistency.
Because when the playoff comes, I would not be surprised to see the Hawks struggle to score points in the 4th quarter, I wont be surprised to see Bibby get too many minutes while being abused on defense, I will not be surprised to see our bigs trying to guard the opposing guards and being outrebounded, I will not be surprised to see our starters play the entire fourth quarter and struggle down the stretch.
Thats who the Hawks have been all year, and just because they will be more focused in the playoffs does not mean these issues will go away. I just hope I’m wrong.
vava, Ken S
I give Woody props for giving the bench some PT in the 4th, and I was glad to see the bench played well enough so they should get some more PT next game. Hopefully Woody will keep playing them, because I think they will get better the more PT they receive.
tyger
March 12th, 2010
1:30 pm
Gotta like the Wiz…
Yes, they are tougher than they look, its called addition by subtraction. Minus Arenas, Butler, Stevenson, Jamison, Haywood – the new look Wiz are young, athletic, long and scrappy.
McGhee, Blatche, Thornton, Young, Miller are a nice core to build around. And the Hawks should feel good that they beat them. Losing to them wouldve been awful.
But that’s just like the Hawks and just their problem…they’ll beat most of the also-rans, but fold in the face of adversity. It only takes a couple of mismatches and the Hawks are rattled and consider there’s a mismatch out top every night.
Bibby is the weakest link and he’s signed for 2 more years. Most every team has a quick PG and they exploit Bibby for easy buckets. In order for the Hawks to elevate they’ve got to man up and address that. Bibby has value as a shooter if he’s on, but thats like a sunny day in ATL – rarely.
Astro Joe
March 12th, 2010
1:35 pm
Sautee, I guess it’s all relative and all in the eye of the beholder. Just like Eastern Conference coaches seemingly don’t share the opinion of Horford that TS has, so do they have a different view of Joe (for the past 4 seasons) that you may have. The definition of “elite” is also up for discussion… we have no idea how Joe defines it and therefore we have no idea when he may reach that level in his opinion. Fans may still be judging him after he is convinced that he has achieved the goal. Kobe just spend the off-season learning from Hakeem… maybe Kobe feels he has noot reached at “elite” level and is still looking to improve his game and hit that goal. It seems hard to judge someone like they judge themselves without knowing how they define the target.
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
1:57 pm
ncat96 . . . it’s obvious what is going on here.
They fully believe that the lackluster play vs Washington, Golden St and New York are going to be the reason why we don’t do well in the playoffs. It’s obvious that they put more stock in those games, than they do in the good wins we’ve had this year. The only thing that will change their minds, is if we beat Cleveland or Orlando.
The sky IS falling to some of these fans, despite us winning 7 out of 10 . . . instead of 10 out of 10.
The other thing is that the majority of our fans simply overrate our talent. They’ll freely take shots at JJ, saying that he’s not “elite” or clutch, but what about the rest of this team?
* Smoove and Horford, because of their size, can and will get outplayed by athletic big men
* No go-to back to the basket scorer
* We only have 2 guys on our team who can legitimately create their own shot ( JJ and Jamal )
* We don’t have a big center that can bang effectively on offense ( key word . . effectively ) against other big centers
* We don’t have a good PG who can run the show ( sorry Teague lovers )
* Our best outside shooters are more streak shooters than pure shooters. ( JJ, Bibby, Jamal )
* No great spot-up shooters that can hit wide open outside shots at a high percentage ( ala Kyle Korver )
* Our bench, outside of Crawford, is one of the worst in the league. Most of you, deep down, know this. You cry for more PT for them, but those guys just aren’t good on a nightly basis.
Those are the facts folks.
But the one special thing about our team, is our interchangeability and athleticism. And when we effectively use these things to our advantage, we routinely overcome all we don’t have as a team.
But to overcome what we don’t have, we do have to scrap and fight. That’s why Woody constantly talks about the defense. Because if we don’t defend, it severely take away what we can do as a team overall.
Offensively, yeah, we’re going to struggle to put away teams, if JJ isn’t knocking down shots. If he’s not making the tough shots, along with Crawford, games are going to be closer than what they should be.
Just let all of this play out folks.
About last night: A tale of two JJ’s « control+ATL+delete
March 12th, 2010
2:24 pm
[...] lost defensively at times and again got abused on the glass, but it was a road victory nonetheless. Michael Cunningham listed some of the negatives from the lackluster [...]
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
2:53 pm
northcyde,
Now I agree with all those points u just mension except for this one,
* Our bench, outside of Crawford, is one of the worst in the league. Most of you, deep down, know this. You cry for more PT for them, but those guys just aren’t good on a nightly basis.”
Our bench is not the “worst” in the league. Woodson said it himself in the beginning of the season that now he has a full 10-man rotation. But, of course, he yet re-nigg on playing the full 10-man and continues to settle for 7-man. No, our bench isnt the greatest either but that’s when you mix them in and out with your starters. Dont just ONLY play the bench together cause again, they are not ‘the best bench in the league’. A coach should use the ness pieces at the right time in different situations, like Teague for instance. No Teague is by no means ready to carry a team in the NBA (esp being under Woodson) but you use him in ness situations like last night when the bench gave us a nice lead. In the 4th when Woodson was beginning to bring back the starters, he should have left Teague in, esp right after his DEFENSIVE steal!! Teague made no turnovers at that time, forced no shots, played within his game, and could had gotten some assists with both Jamal and JJ and Horford too along side him.
Lacsho
March 12th, 2010
3:03 pm
Looks like Kirkinga is back LMAO!!!!!!!!
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
3:21 pm
Oh and is it me or do coach Woodson have certain offensive plays for Bibby only?? I have often seen 2 very noticable plays that BIBBY and Josh Smith has like the alley Josh often gets off a time out and also that back cut alley under the basket..why dont Teague get those plays/assists as well??
MsDee
March 12th, 2010
3:22 pm
If anything, Teague should have some plays drawn out for him since he is a rookie and all and let Bibby create plays from his own experience.
Simpdawg
March 12th, 2010
3:29 pm
The Hawks are in a little trouble concerning all-star Joe Johnson, because Joe Johnson’s agent has a deal in place for his client to go to the Big Apple. The Knicks will try to sign and trade for Chris Bosh, and if they include David Lee in the trade it’s a done deal. With Chris Bosh in New York it will be easier for them to steal Joe Johnson from the Hawks. I’m just saying the writing is on the wall.
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
3:50 pm
Simpdawg . . . that’s just NY wishful thinking.
HawksFan (AKA Fire Mike Woody
March 12th, 2010
4:16 pm
northcyde,
Go outside. Get some friends.
Your posts suck and it’s obvious you just put words in our mouths
O'Brien
March 12th, 2010
4:31 pm
I think the 2 biggest challenges for the Hawks to resign JJ are Chicago and NYK.
The Bulls are a good young team (they already have Deng, Rose, Noah, Hinrich, and JJ would help them take another step forward), plus they have a more consistent fan support (unlike ATL), which JJ has publicly acknowledged
And if the Knicks can get one big name FA, then they will have a better chance of getting JJ. I dont see him as the type to sign in NY unless one big name signs there first.
Maybe D’Antoni can convince Amare and JJ to sign with the Knicks. I think they would both put up huge numbers.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 12th, 2010
4:45 pm
“But people have to understand that in an 82 game season, it’s virtually impossible to play at a high level every single night.”
Yes, but it’s not impossible to play smart every night. Of course you are going to be tired on some nights, and that’s going to limit your ability to get rebounds, drive inside, and move your feet on defense, among other things. But fatigue is not a valid excuse for not sharing the ball, not getting the ball in the post, not playing talented bench players more when starters are struggling, etc. Those are entirely mental mistakes, and those are mostly what I complain about.
A few years ago, a Utah Jazz team that was one of the least talented above-.500 teams I’ve ever seen managed 42 wins. This wasn’t because they had better stamina and never got tired; it’s because they played smart every game. It’s no coincidence that their coach is one of the greatest in the history of the league.
I want to see the Hawks play smart every game. If they play smart and get tired and lose, or if they play smart and lose to a more talented team, that’s just fine. But it is my opinion that if they played smart every game, they wouldn’t be losing by 35 points to Orlando or losing at the buzzer to New York or struggling to beat Minnesota and Washington. I think they would play Orlando much closer and they would beat New York, even on their most tired day, if they played smart. In fact I’d even be happy if they played smart in the majority of their games, like they did early in the season.
Jones
March 12th, 2010
4:48 pm
JJ really has no reason to go to NYK. Hawks are better, can offer more money (which they will) and have trading pieces in Marvin and Bibby if anyone takes them.
D’Antoni is a highly overrated coach who will never get close to a ring because he knows nothing about defense. You don’t win rings not playing defense
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
4:57 pm
LOL @ HawksFan.
Like Jack Nicholson once said . . . “You can’t handle the truth.”
If you guys wanna jump off the cliff, go right ahead. Just make sure you give me your playoff tickets, so I can pick out the best seat, and sell the rest.
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
5:07 pm
Question: What games have the Hawks played smart in, but lost?
ant banks
March 12th, 2010
5:10 pm
HOME AWAY
06-07 18-23 12-29
07-08 25-16 12-29
08-09 31-10 16-25
09-10 25-7 16-16 (AS OF MARCH 5TH)
9 HOME GAMES LEFT 9 AWAY GAMES LEFT
despite their efforts, the numbers don’t lie. the hawks are playin’ jus’ as good or better than last year. they should finish up the year better than last year.
Jones
March 12th, 2010
5:40 pm
No teams play smart in games and lose them. Record defines how good a team is, contrary to what Woodson said idiotically 4 years ago. The Nets have played “smart” in a lot of games, but have a horrible record
Sautee
March 12th, 2010
6:45 pm
Najeh,
Would you then say that the mentality of that Jazz team took on the mentality of their head coach?
If so, that’s a frightening observation for us.
Or, put another way, does this Hawks team reflect Woody’s mental approach to the games?
There’s a lot of good AND bad in that take.
Sautee
March 12th, 2010
6:56 pm
Najeh,
Just took a look at the Jazz roster. 42 wins, wow. Smoke and Mirrors, indeed.
One thing that jumped out at me: Sloan played a rookie point guard named Mo Williams 13.5 min / gm. even though his shooting % was .380 and only .256 from 3. Sound like anybody we know?
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
7:09 pm
Didn’t we beat the Jazz twice?