Hawks Squawks: Hawks 108, Nets 84
East Rutherford, N.J.–This was a real professional effort by the Hawks, who never let the Nets back in it after taking control in the second quarter. And they did it without J.J..
– “It feels good,” Jamal said. “They are down but you can’t take anyone lightly. We are getting better at not giving teams a chance to put together a run and come back.”
– OK, so it was the Nets, who could end up historically bad. But these are the Hawks, who less than a week ago messed around with the Wizards and lost to Golden State’s skeleton squad not too long ago. Now they’ve looked sharp while beating down inferior opponents in the last two games.
– “There are no ‘gimmies’ in this league,” Woody said. “We’ve had games like this where we came out on the other end. I thought our guys came out focused.”
– The Hawks were a bit sluggish from the jump. It reminded me of the game in Washington: a low-energy start in front of a sparse, downtrodden crowd. I’m starting to think the Hawks just don’t come out with good energy under those circumstances. I know I don’t.
– But then the Hawks dominated the second quarter by getting the tempo more to their liking. They got off and running by getting 18 rebounds to New Jersey’s seven. The Hawks made 13 of 24 shots to 5 of 20 for the Nets.
– Jamal made a 29-foot 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. “I told Mike if he gave it to me, I’d make it for him,” Crawford said. Jamal went for 15 of his 25 points in the period.
– Shaky first start for Teague. The rook’ was out of sorts early, dribbling off his leg at one point. He rushed shots, missing a couple of them ugly. The Hawks played faster when Jamal and Bibby were out there.
–”We kept asking him before the game if he was nervous, and he was saying, ‘I’m good,’ but he was nervous,” Smoove said. “Naw, he did pretty good. He’s just got to get some minutes and get a feel for the game.”
– Teague’s assessment: “So-so. OK. Not too bad. It felt a little different at first. I was a little nervous because I didn’t want to mess up and everyone would be like, ‘Look at that rookie out there, he’s terrible.’”
– Woody didn’t think his rookie was that bad. “He was OK,” Woody said. “Probably a little nervous. He played pretty good. He’s got to work to get better and he will get better. We’ll push him. He played pretty well considering he’s not played a lot of minutes. Not by any measure am I disappointed in his play.”
– Horford had a career-high seven assists a game after Smoove set his career high with 11 dimes. “I’m constantly telling my ‘bigs’ in practice when they handle the ball they’ve got to make good decisions,” Woody said.
– Joe Smith played in his 1,000th game. “It don’t feel like the Day One, I can tell you that,” he said. “It feels good to be able to do this for so long.” I had to remind Joe he’s still a young man in real world terms.
– The game got testy when Terrence Williams hammered Mo Evans in the final seconds. Mo said Nets players told him they were upset because he was trying to score with the shot clock off. He said he thought there was more time.
– He wasn’t happy with the flagrant foul. “Don’t act like you’ve got all this pride when you are (7-60), you know what I’m saying?” Mo said. “If y’all have got a no-layup rule, then you wouldn’t be in this predicament. You’ve been getting disrespected all year. To his credit, (Williams) came up and apologized.”
– Mo also noted that he got called for a flagrant on T-Will in an earlier meeting. But he said he was going for the ball on that play while Williams just grabbed him.
– Man, do I miss T-Will at the Ville.
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
100 comments Add your comment
Sautee
March 17th, 2010
10:11 am
Truth-serum,
You said this: “Right now, I can see why Bibby starts over a physically superior Teague.”
So can I.
T-s that was one of your best posts here.
Kudos.
terrell
March 17th, 2010
10:12 am
Kevin A, already calling Teague a back up pg, are you? Wow! I bet you wanted to trade Josh Smith last year too, didnt you? Impatient, impatient, impatient. lol!
terrell
March 17th, 2010
10:15 am
Kevin A, I meant a CAREER backup pg.
Sautee
March 17th, 2010
10:21 am
“What if the Hawks go a similar path and every 3-4 years, acquire a PG to lead the team for a while, would that be awful?”
AJ, that TOTALLY depends on their choices. Speedy, Lue, and Anthony Johnson couldn’t get it done. Bibby has, but it cost a LOT to get him.
But, no that is not a bad way to go IF you make good choices. I’d like to find the next Chauncey Billups myself.
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
10:23 am
terrell.
Teague in year three may be fine. I think he is a keeper – but like Marvin and Josh, I am willing to be patient.
O'Brien
March 17th, 2010
10:28 am
Teague looked like a rookie who was nervous making his first start. And that’s understandable. Do I think he should be our starting PG? Not right now. Bibby is the guy. I just think he should have been given more minutes earlier in the season when Bibby was struggling.
I hope Teague will develop like Aaron Brooks did in Houston. This is Brooks’ 3rd year. His rookie year he averaged 11 mpg, last season he averaged 25 mpg, and this season he is averaging 36 mpg.
Or maybe Teague will become a solid backup PG. And that’s okay too. I am okay with the Hawks dealing for a young veteran PG to take over when Bibby leaves in 2 years if Teague is not up to the task (I wanted us to sign Jack instead of Bibby last offseason).
And if Teague does not develop into a reliable player, we’ll trade to bring in other assets.
From espn.com daily dime. Coach of the year watch:
1. Scott Brooks, Thunder:
2. Scott Skiles, Bucks
3. Nate McMillan, Blazers
4. Larry Brown, Bobcats
5. (tie) Lionel Hollins, Grizzlies, and Rick Adelman, Rockets:
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
10:33 am
That’s right terrell, career backup at best. A point guard, IMO, has to be a triple threat in order to be credible. An effective PG is a floor general who the defenses respect his ability to (1) penetrate and create his own shot, (2) penetrate and create for a team member, or (3) pull up from anywhere with a deadly jumper. JT0 has shown none of the above. At 6′ 2″, a set shot that doesn’t draw iron scares no one.
On the defensive end, he seems to be going to the Mario West school of defense. Mistaking hyperactive folishness for aggressive play; the result with both is silly, untimley fouls.
Oh yeah, a point guard doesn’t try tricky dribbles between his legs (well, tricky is you don’t have handle), while no one is defending you, miss your opposite hand and just dribble the ball out of bounds, No exactly floor general material.
Spit out the kool-aid folks, it’s bad for ya.
I’d love to see this kid prove me wrong, but after watching him all season, I’ve seen zero improvement in his skills. I’m no fan of Woody either, but the one good thing that he’s done all year is not put winning at risk in the interest of giving PT to a player who is not up to the task.
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
10:35 am
terrell,
You can’t teach speed. He has shown flashes of very good passing and decent defense. If he learns to use his speed to be a facilitator and focuses on defense – I think he has tremendous upside.
He does not have a good feel for the game. He is not a natural thinker. It will take time – but he can be a good player in the long term.
At the beginning of the year I thought we would be between 50-54 wins. I also think we will be better in 2011 and better yet in 2012. All predicated on the upside of Josh, Al, Marvin, ZaZa and now add to the list Teague.
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
10:53 am
Since the All-Star break the ball is going to the big’s more often. Even Marvin is getting a few more touches. We do not need a PG that needs the ball to be effective. Remember the Lakers have Fisher. The day is coming soon we will not need 20 pt’s from JJ or 17 from Jamal. Marvin, Josh and Al will take over. The key to our improvement is to look for the pass and all players attack the rim in the flow of the offense. We are headed in that direction and we are looking good. Team ball without a superstar is what we have and we need JJ and Jamal to buy into it.
It is unfortunate that Bibby can’t defend and get’s exploited by the Jason Kidd’s of the league. I love him to death but his time is coming to a close. PS I applauded Sund for the Bibby resign. Looks like a two year deal would have been better.
Lacsho
March 17th, 2010
10:58 am
I see people with multiple ID’s are trying to push their agenda through against Teague.
SUSPECT 1 STATED A GREAT PG:
(1) Penetrate and create his own shot,
I don’t know what team you’ve been watching, but Teague does that. Perhaps he will get better at it with consistent minutes. I can’t say that Bibby does that.
(2) penetrate and create for a team member
This sounds the same as your number one. The kids hits open teammates every game.
, or (3) pull up from anywhere with a deadly jumper.
So a great point guard is required to have a deadly jumper?
REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!
You don’t have a clue about basketball!!!!
A good pg is the coach on the floor and he’s a facilitator.
Mike is Back
March 17th, 2010
11:01 am
Big Ray, agreed with you on when I see Teague I see a baller. Now I’m not saying he is at that point right now…however the ingredients are there. As bad as his shot looks…the only way he is going to get some rhythm with his shot is to keep shooting. Once he gets his shot going…or if he gets enough consistent minutes to get some rhythm with his shot…his game will take off.
This will be a great opportunity for him to build some confidence…once he gets some confidence the game will become easier for him. I thought Woody was very candid…MC too…you want to see Teague do good…but it has been a struggle. However, lately I’m starting to see some signs that he is starting to figure it out. With his sporadic minutes…you really can’t expect more than that at this point in his career.
newkid
March 17th, 2010
11:17 am
If some of you cats are correct about the growth of our front line and the prowess of an ‘inside out’ approach to offense over the next year or more, couldn’t we insert Ray Allen for JJ (with JCross continuing to come off the bench) without losing much of our offensive production? Couldn’t Allen – as a player who thrives in a ball movement offense rather than an iso offense – be our ‘bridge’ to a longer term solution at the 2-spot?
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2010
11:35 am
newkid, I hear you. Clearly, it is way too early to make a call on Teague, other to say that any thoughts that he is ready now can be put to bed. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t be ready as early as November. Just not now.
Sautee, that would be nice. I also think that with Smith’s new point-forward role, the type of PG needed may have changed slightly. I’ve read posts criticizing that our PGs typically bring the ball up and hand it off, at the same time, I watch guys like Rondo dribble until there are 4 seconds left before trying to make an assist. In both cases, we’re talking about one pass in a possession. Seems like this team is best served by a guard who can play very good defense AND knock down open jumpers. And to your point, that sounds a lot like some of the best qualities of Billups (along with leadership).
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
11:37 am
newkid,
That idea is fine with a Allen type player. I keep waiting for Allen to fall off a cliff in production. I think he is like 35.
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
11:39 am
So Lascho, let me get this straight. You say “A good pg is the coach on the floor and he’s a facilitator”.
Is coach on the floor somehow different from floor general?
If not the tools that I pointed out, what skills whould you like your “faciliitator” to display?
If other teams don’t respect your PG as a weapon, he becomes ineffective; case in point with our boy.
Any of these names ring a bell to ya:
Mo Cheeks
Isiah Thomas
John Stockton
Magic Johnson
Chris Paul
Steve Nash
Stephen Curry
Jason Kidd (developed jumper later in his career)
All great PGs with the skill sets that I described, that made their teams and team members better.
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
11:41 am
Sorry for misspeling your nams Lacsho
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
11:41 am
Name. Damn keyboard!
heelsfan
March 17th, 2010
11:41 am
Joe is a good player and has brought alot to the A but is it me or did the offense have a much better flow to it minus the Nets.
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2010
11:42 am
newkid, I’ve been thinking about Mike Miller. He is a guy who is used to playing some SF, has shown a willingness to pass the ball and involve his teammates and can obviously shoot from distance. I can see Miller and Jamal playing well together in the 4th quarter. For 2-3 years at a reasonable price, that may be one way to make a good cheeseburger.
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
11:44 am
Astro Joe,
Seems like this team is best served by a guard who can play very good defense AND knock down open jumpers.
A guard like that with the Hawks may be worth 3-4 more wins a season. Add facilator skills to the list, 6-7 assists, and we might be an elite team. We don’t need great/All-Star, we just need very good.
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2010
11:46 am
heelsfan, don’t forget the following portion of your question “the Nets”. A team on pace to be the worse in league history… “the Nets”.
Sautee
March 17th, 2010
11:47 am
AJ,
Thanks. Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking.
Plus, Billups has, In my opinion, the best feel for what’s going on out on the floor, of any point guard currently playing. We truly need some of that.
Which is why I’ve been mostly silent on Teague, who sorely lacks that kind of feel, though I still believe that regular minutes would speed up the process.
nunna yo biznezz
March 17th, 2010
11:48 am
Truth said:If I were teague I just be excited about where I am at and the opportunity to witness and learn from some of the best players and minds in the game.
Woodson is doing an excellent job with teague, so sit down Bubba crew.
I say:C’mon son,i would feel better if my rookie PG would want to get out on the floor asap!!
Teagues main strength is to penetrate and find the open player or take it in himself.
And,to run,run,run every opportunity he gets..
this is why i challenged the comments from woodson to big ray yesterday.
i hear what woody was saying,like he wanted to use teagues speed and to run,but what happens when we do get rebounds and go up the court?? josh,horford and all looked for bibby and he jogged up the court..
this was the perfect time to dish the ball out to JT and let him turn on the jets and do something as we got the rebound,but noooooooooo,it was pass the ball to bibby or give it to teague and we jog up the court behind him..
the only time he looked relaxed and played well and his game was when he came in for garbage time during the final 6 minutes of the game..
he had mario,mo,zsa zsa then collins and randmo and he did not have crawford nor bibby to hand the ball off to and he found open players who didn’t hit their shots and he got open for a breakaway dunk as well..
he had no bibby and no crawford,and no joe.it was he,the PG aka Floor General aka The Coach on the Floor aka The Leader aka The Man..Playing his game..
the only time he has players in with him to play his game is the end of the bench players..
His teamates,the coaching staff,and you too truth,should know his game and tendacies..Now do i think we should all bow down and cuddle him and do only what he knows and whats good for him when he is out there? under normal circumstances no!!! but,u have no choice when u want someone to lead in a game where he is frustrated and nervous because for 1. he has to give the ball up and run into a corner and 2.he does not want to mess up and be looked at as a bust..
hey teague,i know u reading this..
you have to take over and show woody how u play your game and not only do u have to adjust to your teams plans but they have to adjust with what u bring to the table..
woody will not respect u unless u go out and do u,and be productive while u are doing it..
look at josh and his wild shots..look at how bibbs let every pg scoot right be him..look at how crawford comes and gets the ball from u and does his own thing..and look at how everyone stands around and watches the iso joe show!!
you have to get like mo,and josh and have that “i can work within this system and add my game to it”mentality son..
what are u waiting for..
DO IT!!!
Sautee
March 17th, 2010
11:55 am
On another note: I wonder just how many times ‘Nique will say “Rapners” tonight?
Michael Cunningham
March 17th, 2010
11:55 am
@ Big Ray: “Tell you what gets twice as old: pointing it out every time Teague looks bad, and ignoring it every time he looks good.” not sure who you mean here, but that’s not me. i call them as i see them. the kid was the 19th pick and gets irregular burn on a vet team so expectations shouldn’t be too high. and of course what you are saying works the other way for some: if he struggles, then it can only be because he doesn’t get enough minutes; if he balls, then Woody is stupid for not playing him more.
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
11:55 am
Great post Nunna, and good advice as well. I hope he is reading this and heeds your words. It’s ultimately up to him to win the respect and admiration of his team, his coach, and the league. He alone has to DO IT!!!
Michael Cunningham
March 17th, 2010
11:59 am
one other note: Woody said the Hawks had two hard practices in the last week and Teague was good in both of them. the feeling I got from that is it would be to Teague’s advantage for the Hawks to get in more hard workouts with competitive scrimmages so he can show Woody he deserves more burn. the problem is the schedule doesn’t allow for many of those right now.
newkid
March 17th, 2010
11:59 am
Not a beef kinda guy AJ, but I’d order that cheeseburger.
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
12:00 pm
Astro Joe,
To add, we don’t even need any more offensive production from our PG. Just hit the shots the defense gives us. Get a couple more rebounds, drive and kick a couple and pick and roll a couple and push the ball.
If we had a PG that could take some pressure off our big’s by the quick guards who regular torch us, that would be huge.
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
12:07 pm
MC – tonight should be one of those games – Toronto plays lousy defense. A quick tempo works great against the Raptors. Something Teague will have to learn is not to out run our big’s and force it. Our big’s will beat theirs down the court – just be patient and pass the ball.
Lacsho
March 17th, 2010
12:09 pm
Hawksfan11- some teams need a pg that has a great shot, other teams like the Hawks need a guy who can dish out 8-10 assist per game. I agree with your points on penetration.
I’m not saying Teague is ready to start and lead this team, but I am saying he needs to get 15-20 quality minutes per game, not just garbage time. Since we know the Hawks are not going 82-0 why not let the rookie get some quality burn. Some people automatically equate more playing time for Teague equals more losses during this current season. If we can win with a below par starting pg, why can’t we win with Teague getting quality minutes.
Some people say he should learn while watching; some people learn better as they get on hand training. This is like any other job. One can learn while watching another person, however; one truly learns once they start doing that actual job.
cp
March 17th, 2010
12:12 pm
Great post ray, O Brien, and nunna. The thing that I didn’t like was the fact that they had Teague playing off the ball. Its obvious that playing off the ball is not his strength. I think it would have been better to let him handle the rock and let Bibby be the one to play off the ball… Hopefully tonight he is not as nervous and he does better. Its like Najeh said last night, you could tell he was doing too much thinking instead of playing his game. Toronto is not known for defense so I hope we push the tempo and attack the hoop.
KevinA
March 17th, 2010
12:45 pm
Lacsho
March 17th, 2010
12:09 pm
I’m not saying Teague is ready to start and lead this team, but I am saying he needs to get 15-20 quality minutes per game, not just garbage time. Since we know the Hawks are not going 82-0 why not let the rookie get some quality burn. Some people automatically equate more playing time for Teague equals more losses during this current season.
I agree is some part. But let’s be honest. Playing time with limited skills is a small role. One of Teague’s problems is he has not figured out how to be effective being the 5th option. He keeps making plays out of the flow of the offense. In time he will learn that. We still have an outside chance at the second seed. There is little time for a rookie that is lost.
Lacsho
March 17th, 2010
1:10 pm
Kevin- I think Teague posses more than limited skills. Bibby has been playing with limited skills all year, and the team has done fine. Your pg should never be your fifth option. He should be setting up options for his teammates on offense. Therefore he is the first option. At this point in Teague’s career, he should never play the two guard; He should run the point. When you let Bibby and Crawford run the point while Teague is on the floor, he’ll look a little lost b/c he’s playing out of position. When he runs the point, he tends to get easy assist and good penetration. I don’t care about his shooting at this point; I want to see him set up the offense and get people in their right spots, so the offense can run fluently. Tony Parker was a horrible shooter coming into the league, however; Pop allowed Parker to develop, now he can shoot jumpers with the best of them.
Fresh
March 17th, 2010
1:11 pm
I don’t post much but I visit the blog alot while I’m at work. I think I must have missed something though…
Nunna,
What is the bubba crew?
MsDee
March 17th, 2010
1:30 pm
I dont care what no body says, when Teague played that game in LA against the Lakers, I would say that was his best NBA performance ever so far but Woody did not allow him no more game time for the next 3 or 4 games there after and that my friends/fans of the HAWKS was when Teague started to look the way he did last night..scared to make a mistake, nervous, timmed, ect.. Woodson had no right to not play him anymore. He did the same thing to Salim when he scored all but 20+ points in the 4th quarter alone..Salim saw no more day light after that. So all yall who keep saying, “Teague is no baller, Woodson knows what he is talking about cause of Salim, Acie, and Ivey, Teague doesnt have what it takes…,yall dont know what yall are talking about!!! Woodson just SUCKS when it comes to rookies PERIOD!!!!
MsDee
March 17th, 2010
1:34 pm
I bet if Teague would have been under Doc Rivers, NO ONE HERE COULD HONESTLY SAY THAT TEAGUE WOULD HAVE PLAYED LIKE IT DID LAST NIGHT!! Look at the ‘no respect’ talk Rondo got when he entered the NBA and look at him now. Mann,,I would luv to have Doc as a head coach!!
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2010
1:37 pm
KevinA, we clearly need a better defender at the point. But let’s face it, who is keeping Derrick Rose (as an example) out of the lane? Not Rondo… anyone remember last year’s playoff? Great players just don;t take advantage of lesser players, they’re usually able to “go off” on any and everyone.
Sautee, the interesting thing about Billups is that he struggled to find his way during his early years in the league. One ownders if he would be the player he is today if he had to continue to be a traditional PG… pounding the ball while waiting for a teamate to get open. There’s a good chance that “the next Billups” is a not-well-regarded player who has mostly been a square peg trying to operate with a round hole. Someone who most fan bases would NOT be excited about acquiring.
Grandad
March 17th, 2010
1:55 pm
Fresh:
I suppose I’m ‘an’ elder statesman of the ’supposed’ ‘Bubba Crew’.
This sobriquet was bestowed upon a lineup of “The Usual Suspects”
by the mysterious ‘Truth Serum’, a.k.a. ‘Sybil’, amongst many, many,
other alias and @ the risk of offending my fellow ‘crew’ comrades
I will reveal some of the crew:
Ken Strickland…K.S….Keyser Soze
Sautee
Big Ray
Clyde
And myself…kobayashi…of course!
terrell
March 17th, 2010
2:20 pm
Thanks Lascho.
Sautee
March 17th, 2010
2:22 pm
Fresh,
I’m sure it’s confusing, and all the more so since many times, for example, I’ll DISAGREE with, say Ken Strickland over the use of Teague and Bibby, or with Clyde over Horford, but that never stops Truth-serum from using the “bubba crew” designation. He seems to think there is a organized cabal specifically to bring down Mike Woodson. Of course if you read our posts, you’ll find a HUGE difference of opinion about not only Woodson, but about the Hawks in general. Anyone who thinks that a cogent group of posters at a sports blog could actually conspire to agree, hasn’t been to many sports blogs.
But, be that as it may, basically, truth-serum is using the old “me vs. the world” idiom to define himself on the blog. Which is harmless until he starts making KKK references or using profanity. Then he’s stepping out of bounds.
And, by the way, nunna was quoting Truth-serum in his post.
terrell
March 17th, 2010
2:27 pm
Hawksfan11 said “Developed jumper late in his career”, but your’re already killin Teagues jumper in his 1st year? Hilarious! People said the same thing about Rondo’s jumper. Now he’s an All-star.
terrell
March 17th, 2010
2:29 pm
And btw, Hawksfan11, when was the last time you saw Jason Kidd shoot a jumpshot?
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
4:13 pm
terrell,
Weren’t you looking on February 26, 2010 at Phillips Arena? Jason Kidd was 4 of 10 from 3 point land.
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
4:22 pm
And you’re right, Rondo is an All-Star. An All-Star with 2 out of 3 critical PG skills. NBA teams dare him to shoot the jumper. His strength is creating for others.
0.234 – 3P%
9.7 – APG
terrell
March 17th, 2010
5:26 pm
I never said Kidd cant shoot. He shoots a set shot, just like Teague does. Teague will get better, just like Kidd did. If that makes any sense. lol!
terrell
March 17th, 2010
5:27 pm
And you dont think Teague can create for others?
The Man
March 17th, 2010
5:31 pm
No, the Bubba crew leader is Ken Strickland! Ive heard T.S. say it many times and the “Bubba Crew” is in reference to the Woody Haters on this site who are likened to the hate of the KKK.
Grandad you werernt around when this was all happening but Im sure he would credit you with a membership.
Every body on here using some form of strong words. There is a filter that screens profanity so I dont think you are being honest either.
AG
March 17th, 2010
6:04 pm
Big points to last night, Marvin shot over 10 shots. Do the research, when Marvin shoots over 10 shots, the Hawks are VERY successful. Also, ZaZa should live in the weight room and develop his body to be an enforcer. When Wade, James etc come through the lane, he should deck them. He should never have fewer than 5 fouls. He should be the tough guy. I also watched Josh. He is not even trying to rebound. He continues to fail to block out.
Professor Krump
March 17th, 2010
6:47 pm
M. Cunningham, what do you think we could get for teague in the way of a trade?