Hawks Squawks: Bucks 98, Hawks 95
J.J. took over in the fourth but faltered late.
– The Hawks couldn’t make a playoff berth official on their second try. Elias Sports Bureau screwed up by telling the Hawks on Friday they could clinch with a victory over the Spurs, but waited until Monday to tell the league “Oops!” The Bulls won tonight so the Hawks couldn’t even back in.
– It’s tough to get down on the Hawks too much after this one. They’ve still won four of their last six. The Bucks are hot. The Hawks played a tough overtime game against the Spurs and arrived in Milwaukee early this morning.
– But just when you are ready to say the Hawks are one of those rolls that might last into the playoffs, they squander a 12-point lead and fall apart at the end in front of rowdy road fans. At least they could say they didn’t have J.J. when that happened at Toronto.
– But he was out there this time, and his Iso-Joe duel with John Salmons in the fourth quarter gave the Hawks a chance. But then Dick Bavetta called him for grabbing Salmons, a play so perplexing I looked up at the scoreboard and figured the Hawks actually had a foul to give.
– What the heck happened there? “I was just being aggressive and trying to deny him the ball,” Johnson said. “But he called a foul. That was at a crucial part of the game. That’s a tough call.”
– J.J. then missed a runner that would have tied it. That was the ninth Iso-Joe of the quarter. He made five in a row at one point but missed the last two to finish 6 of 9. “Late in ballgames, these guys look to me to make plays,” he said. “That’s what I was trying to do.”
– The Hawks could have earned a second chance on J.J.’s miss at 7.9 seconds but Luke Ridnour chased down the loose ball. The Bucks beat the Hawks 11-6 on the boards in the fourth quarter and made 11 of 19 shots. That’s how the Hawks lost despite shooting 53 percent.
– “It was a good effort considering we had an overtime game and then got in late,” Woody said. “We had our chances but we had a bad fourth quarter defensively. We gave up 31 points. We were solid on defense up until then. They got hot, made some shots. We matched shots but we couldn’t get stops when we needed top get them. We couldn’t control the dribble. Everybody just picked and choosed when they wanted to drive the ball.”
– Woody played Joe Smith and Mo 15 minutes and Zaza 10 minutes and the bench guys were effective. So you can’t say he rode his starters too hard but was fatigue a factor?
– “Out starters logged a lot of minutes in the overtime game so coming down the stretch you would think they would start to get a little tired and shots would come up short and that’s what happened,” Mo said.
– The Hawks looked to be in control after they took a 74-62 with two minutes left in the third. Even after Milwaukee started creeping back in it and the fans came to life, the Hawks still looked OK when Mo scored for a 76-67 lead to open the fourth.
– Then Salmons, Ridnour and Carlos Delfino started making shots. “They just turned it on,” Smoove said. “We had them in check pretty much the whole game and then they shots lights out early in the fourth quarter. It was hard to defend.”
– At the same time that was happening the Hawks stopped looking to Al. They were creative in getting him the ball in the first half but, just like at Toronto, they seemed to give up once the Bucks made their entry passes more difficult.
– Another invisible night from Marvin, who only took two shots. Consider his three rebounds and three turnovers vs. Delfino’s 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
– The Hawks might see the Bucks in the playoffs. I used to think it would be a tough series for the Hawks but I’m not so sure now. The Bucks play hard and are a good defensive team but for three quarters you could see how the Hawks boast much more offensive talent than the Bucks. Too much for the the Bucks to handle over a series, I think.
– “They play hard. All Skiles teams play hard,” Josh said. “They’ve got a low-post presence who demands a lot of double teams and a lot of shooters on the perimeter. They are a pretty good team.”
– “They’re deceptively good,” Mo said. “You look at their roster on paper and you don’t think they’d have respect. It’s not a team you would say is going to win a championship or go deep in the playoffs but somehow they are still able to contend and earn that respect.”
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
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190 comments Add your comment
Sautee
March 23rd, 2010
10:15 am
Clyde,
about this:
“Its all about protecting the paint and the Hawks are one of the worst at it. ”
I’m not denying that we don’t defend the paint all that well. But this was NOT the game to complain about that. Here’s a link to the shot chart:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=300322015
LOL, if the chart is right (and I’ve found mistakes on occasion) then the Bucks hit TWO SHOTS in the paint the entire game!
At least complain about defending the middle when we actually DO have trouble in the middle. This time that was NOT the problem.
vava74
March 23rd, 2010
10:17 am
The most strikingly stupid event of the game was Woody wasting his last TO to call a ISO play which did not even involve a pick or any decoy movement by Jamal.
Just a simple clear out ISO play.
Why did he waste a TO for that? To give enough time for Milwaukee to rest and focus on the inevitable ISO play?
This has been standard procedure with Woody: the Hawks have the ball following a miss by the opponents and instead of capitalizing on that fact – since following a miss a team’s spirit goes down and the nerves go up – he does the opposite: gives the adversary the opportunity to re-group and we take no advantage since there is no actual designed play drawn up from our side.
Then, the fact that it was our last TO makes it a stupid decision beyond belief.
Rod from College Park
March 23rd, 2010
10:48 am
Lewis,
“marvin williams looked great taking it to the paint twice then he got scared and didn’t touch it. Marvin just isn’t good at running around on offense and getting open, he’s hardly even a distraction. I think he’s one of the tougher players on defense and to defend, he can wear down other teams when he wants to, but where is his heart?”
His heart is with the wizard of oz. He’s one of the tougher players to defend huh. I guess that’s why teams don’t defend him. LOL
Sautee
March 23rd, 2010
10:56 am
Truth-serum said this:
“When the Horford nutt huggers are planting wet kisses they never mention his defense, because they cant.”
I guess he’s forgotten this:
northcyde posted stats a couple of weeks ago that showed (at that time) that Horford gave the fewest points to the opposing center per 48 minutes of ANY center in the league.
That’s right. Numero Uno.
Shocked? northcyde and I both were stunned. I knew Al was solid, but I wouldn’t have guessed HOW solid.
Of course truth-serum can’t believe it. But, as he’s been known to say:
“The numbers don’t lie”
No center in the league gives up FEWER points to his opponent per 48 minutes than Al Horford. In the past week he’s TWICE blocked a 7′ players’ shot and we got the ball.
Inconvenient for those with an anti-Horford agenda. Kinda like Horford being named to the All-Star team.
Oh, that’s right…….it was a conspiracy by the head coaches of the league to make us THINK that Al is an All-Star so we won’t get another center.
LOL, isn’t that how the theory goes T-S?
Section 303
March 23rd, 2010
11:06 am
Andy, really? You want to be held to that going into the playoffs?
I’m going to hold you to that. Joe is a joke. We’ll see. Make sure you come on here when he carries this team to wins in the postseason. I guess you must have missed last Friday’s game?
Section 303
March 23rd, 2010
11:08 am
Andy, one more thing…I watch basketball. I’ve seen Kobe and LeBron miss plenty of last second shots. They don’t make them everytime, either. Just when they do, everyone has to glorify it so much…makes it seem like they always come through. They don’t.
JCC in MKE
March 23rd, 2010
11:20 am
I enjoyed the blog comments and the game last night. It’s refreshing to read intelligent comments. I’ve been hoping the Bucks match up against the Celtics in the playoffs because there’s bad blood between us and the Hawks present us with difficult match ups, but I changed my mind last night as the Hawks are a lot more fun to watch. With Dick Bavetta reffing you never know…anyhow, I’d like to think the fans at the Bradley Center made the difference. We are a rowdy bunch, mainly because we haven’t had much to cheer about for years. JJ kept making shots and shutting us up until the very end. The playoffs are so different from the regular season: no back to backs, coaching adjustments, maybe a little looser refereeing…anyhow, if we do meet in the post-season, I look for a close and very entertaining series. Oh, it isn’t wise to underestimate John Salmons.
JOE
March 23rd, 2010
11:32 am
Marvin invisable again….
S Hawk Fan
March 23rd, 2010
11:38 am
Woody has to be fired!!!!!
CoreyWilson
March 23rd, 2010
11:48 am
The Hawks are simply NOT properly utilizing the talent thats on the roster. Marvin (the invisible man) can do a whole lot more, particularly when he comes off the bench. Williams should IMMEDIATELY be demoted to the bench. Bibby (the over-the-hill veteran) can do much more particular when he is coming off the bench. Bibby should IMMEDIATELY be demoted to the bench. Start Mo Evans in place of Bibby. Start Jamal Craford in place of Marvin Williams. With that starting lineup; Mo Evans, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford and Al Horford, I think those changes makes the Hawks a more potent team capable of winning more games. I would also give the rookie Teague more playing time because he needs to gain enough nba experience in case we need to call on him in the playoffs, provided Bibby is going stale. If you make those changes when you ring the bell to make substitutions to bring in Bibby or Marvin, they will come into the games fresh and bursting with energy and will play more passion and with more energy. I believe making those subtle changes will make a major difference in the Hawks and the results will be dramatic. If those changes dont get made immediately, line woody up in front of a firing squad and fire the guy.
sam'l
March 23rd, 2010
11:56 am
It is interesting that the Hawks have “not made the playoffs again,” but that’s not the story. The story here is that the Hawks are now showing individual excellence on a number of levels and still are capable of losing to an aggressive team. I think that if Woodson really did tell Marvin to “play centerfield” for that play just before the half of the San Antonio game, where Marvin intercepted a half court inbound pass the ball and made an electric buzzer beater…if Woodson really did tell Marvin that, it was an example of one instance of “excellent coaching.” One blogger insists he hears Woodson directing the iso Joes, and if Joe made 6-9 in the fourth quarter last night, that too is an example of excellent coaching. This is encouraging…If Woodson is performing at a high level and actually making adjustments and split second “psychic” decisions, I’d like to know, because I’ve never seen it before.
Personally on the last play, I would have pulled Josh out of the game because he’s the obvious person to leave free on a long jump shot….heck, have him holding his left or something just to confuse the other team, like he couldn’t have come out….Then I would have done everything possible to get a double team on Joe decoy,, while screening to clear out a player who should already be free and make sure there is a cleverly designed play to get an uncontested layup. Maybe leave Josh because when his brain kicks in, he plays like he really wants to win…..
Other teams do this…They are able to design plays for baskets when they need them.
As far as defense, it seems to me that the Hawks have a hard time stopping teams when they really need to….and I haven’t figured that out yet. Is Horford really a liability as some fans say (most notably the guy who calls himself “Fire Horford!”)? Bibby unfortunately seems slow. I would say give Mario a chance to pester anyone who shows signs of getting hot, just to make a point, the Hawks ain’t gonna let this happen, and see who else steps up.
All the Hawks needed last night was a critical rebound (just before the winning shot) or overtime with a clevely designed play or some stamina and recognition when their lead started slipping.
Don’t see DrMaryB who introduced her political crap into this blog….Doctor if you know so much, why didn’t you tell us the mandatory health insurance is being treated like a change in the Tax Code and the agency in this country who is most like the Soviet KGB (the IRS) will be at everybody’s throats to collect? I know the answer. Because this is nothing more than an illegal TAX!
GeeMack
March 23rd, 2010
12:02 pm
CoreyWilson
Why would Woodson make those changes, when what he’s doing is working. If the Hawks go 7-5 over the next 12 games they will be 5 games better than last year, and in a tougher conference.
You’re trying to fire a coach that’s gotten better. Now that makes a lot of sense. You would get GM of the year for that move
rusty
March 23rd, 2010
12:14 pm
we will continue to lose these type of games because this team esp jj insists on playing iso. most of the games we lost when we should have won has been on jj ball hogging . this team will play better without jj.
he is not a good clutch player. he is a streak shooter & is always worried about his points. when he doesnt iso he is a much better player. he is not good enough to ball hog. he always takes the team out of our offensive rhythm. this team will never be real good untill we learn how to pass for better shots. woody is just helpless on eveything.
Nacho
March 23rd, 2010
12:26 pm
When you ISO, you do not use decoys, you have no motion, you help the opposition.
We do not even use a clever iso, we only hand off and stand still. We are not utilizing anyone else.
Simply not good.
JohnDrew
March 23rd, 2010
12:26 pm
The Hawks have shown to be an up and down team like a rollercoaster. Trust me, when the Hawks are on they are good. They may not beat Cleveland or Orlando, but when they are on they can beat just about everybody else. It might be a situation where the hawks simply dont match up against the cavs or the magic. They play everybody else tough. If the Hawks beat the Magic on Wednesday, it will give them a confidence booster and energize them for the rest of the year and into the playoffs. If the Hawks lose to the magic, hawks may lose their opening round series. Its just my opinion based on how ive watch the hawks play this year. You really dont know which Hawks team is going to show up (the good one or the bad one). Mike Woodsen needs to be replaced as soon as humanly possible.
ChippersLoveChild
March 23rd, 2010
12:27 pm
“The Hawks might see the Bucks in the playoffs. I used to think it would be a tough series for the Hawks but I’m not so sure now. The Bucks play hard and are a good defensive team but for three quarters you could see how the Hawks boast much more offensive talent than the Bucks. Too much for the the Bucks to handle over a series, I think.”
Right, I can see how a team that has won 14 out of 16, and beaten teams like Cleveland, Boston, Denver, Utah, and the Hawks in that stretch wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Especially when one of those defeats was to the Hawks in OT in a game in which Milwaukee controlled until Joe got hot and took the game over…. I think Atlanta could be in real trouble if they get the Bucks in the first round.
ChippersLoveChild
March 23rd, 2010
12:30 pm
As for them being tired, this same Bucks team went into double OT with the Kings on Friday, then came back to beat Denver at Denver the next night. I’m not trying to toot the Bucks’ horn, I just don’t think you should make excuses for the Hawks… these are games they need to win. They should have sent a message to a Bucks team they more than likely will face in the first round. Instead, they gave them even more confidence and hope that they can hang with them.
LucilleFrancis
March 23rd, 2010
12:41 pm
The Hawks will do fine if they are playing well, together as a team, AND they are sharing the basketball, playing unselfishly and looking for each other, playing team basketball, THE HAWKS THIS YEAR CAN WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP IF THEY PLAY LIKE THAT. If the Hawks do that they will be fine. If the Hawks look to play iso, 1-on-1 basketball, or hoisting up a ton of 3s, getting outrebounded and playing poor defense, they will lose to whomever they face in the playoffs. If the Hawks continue to play as they have been playing they are going to lose their opening round series. You shouldnt be worried about the Hawks because what I see in the Hawks as of today is a FEAST or FAMINE team. This is a team that as i said earlier can win a world title or they could lose an opening round playoff series. The pendulum can swing to both extremes withi the Hawks depending on how focused they are and how well they are playing.
Mike is Back
March 23rd, 2010
12:42 pm
It is hard to criticize the effort by the Hawks last night…they are playing with passion. JJ was tremendous going down the stretch…my only thing remains the same in those situation…JJ has to make sure to create enough contact to force the Ref to blow the whistle one way or the other… much like Salmons did to Josh…he gave Josh a shove with the off hand to create some contact, and he got the call.
Not sure what JJ was thinking when he fouled Salmons with the game tied…they had already gave him break…the last thing you want to do is put Salmons on the line…but when you are standing right by the Ref making contact…its kind of hard to overlook. lol
I think Al is proving he is a worthy option for Woody to consider in those circumstances. I can’t say enough about the emergence of Al offensive game. He is a BIG GAME PLAYER…that strives under pressure.
I hope Woody starts to call Al’s number in some of those situations.
KEEP IT GOING HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dawgrific
March 23rd, 2010
12:48 pm
I just don’t get how/why the Hawks blow SO MANY fourth quarter leads, and so many of those have been double-digit ones. WHY!!!???
Hawk n the Ham
March 23rd, 2010
12:59 pm
JJ pounded the ball into the basket the whole 4th quarter. Now if that last shot would have went in, everyone on here would be yelling MVP!
O'Brien
March 23rd, 2010
1:01 pm
I read this on nba.com talking about MJ and the Bobcats. I remember northcyde made similiar comments when talking about the ASG.
Jordan said “I don’t see a need to go over the luxury tax unless we go deep [in the playoffs] and we’re a player away or we’re close. I would [then] entertain that idea.”
Hopefully, the Hawks will make a deep playoff run this year. That will increase our likelihood of keeping JJ, and it will increase the possibility of the owners going over the tax.
As far as clutch, check out 82games.com where they have clutch stats. On their website, Clutch is defined as “4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points”.
Check out these clutch stats (FG%).
Kobe – .43%
Lebron – .49%
Billups – .46%
JJ – .46%
Crawford – .29%
Roy – .46%
Wade – .32%
The numbers say JJ is clutch. And watching the games, my eyes say JJ is clutch. Hawks need to resign JJ.
GeeMack
March 23rd, 2010
1:05 pm
Nacho,
Even on ISO plays there is still movement & cuts to the basket, or find the open spot for a high percentage shot. Woody’s been playing ball all his life and has played and coached with some of the greatest basketball minds that ever lived. You know he gives those guys other options in the Iso sets. Now them taking advantage of those options are on the players.
Wink
March 23rd, 2010
1:13 pm
Hawks gave a good effort, but as usual they wasted if by going completely to ISO Joe. During that forth quarter duel between Joe & Salmons, Salmons had other teammates step up and make shots. They must have scored on 8 or 9 straight possessions. The ball should have ended up with Jamal on occassion to give the defense something else to think about. Marvin disappeared again after playing light out in the previous game, but we still should have used Horford as facilitor on a couple of trips down the floor, his game was strong last night.
We can give them credit for winning 4 of last 6 games, but the two losses came after we blew big leads; same with a couple of the wins where we applaused them for being “tough”.
My wish is that we finish 5th, which would not improve our record or playoff position from last year. Using pure numbers Woody should be shown the door at year’s end. Too much talent to keep losing the same way with a team that is so much better than last year, but not a significant upgrade in team maturity & record to this point. Marvin should be running with the second unit where this type of inconsistency could be tolerated; it’s the role he played at North Carolina and he became a lottery pick.
Yes, finish 5th, get us a new coach (Fire Woody), and we still will get the same matchup with the Bucks. Steal home court by winning 1st game and presto its the same as finishing 4th…benefit Woody goes and we lose in second round to Boston, Orlando or the King James Gang (Cavs).
Sautee
March 23rd, 2010
1:48 pm
O’Brien,
I agree that JJ passes the eye test as a clutch player. And it’s true that IF he makes the last shot, and we go on to win in OT, that folks would be ooohing and aaahing about his greatness.
But I would rather lose a game sharing the ball, than lose it with ISO’s.
The worst things about ISO-Joe (or ISO-any Hawk) are:
1) Joe doesn’t know exactly where he’s going so he needs LOTS of space.
2) His teammates have no idea if he’ll shoot it or throw it to them with a few seconds left.
3) It allows the defense to rest 3 or 4 players for an entire possession.
4) We don’t send cutters through to make the defense react. So, all too often it results in a double-team and a highly contested shot.
5) Because of the space requirements (see #1) and the uncertainty about WHEN a shot goes up, rebounders are way out of position, making it, in essence, an all-or-nothing play.
Good when it works, bad when it doesn’t. And it works more often than not, BUT……..
In principle, I’m against something that takes away from TEAM PLAY.
JeJe
March 23rd, 2010
1:50 pm
WE MUST RESIGN JOE. WE CANNOT GO OVER THE CAP IF WE DO NOT RESIGN A CURRENT PLAYER
sam'l
March 23rd, 2010
1:55 pm
Someone named Corey made good sense. Bibby and Williams (but not Pachulia unfortunately at least recently) should save up their energy on the bench and be determined that when they come out, they’re gonna be just like Crawford, ready to seize the initiative and make their mark on the game….and be prepared to play defense as if their life depended on it.
I made the iso joe point because some blogger suggested Joe isod on his own without Woody’s approval and for some reason that threw me a little bit. There is a natural progression in a game…perhaps the first few minutes are VERY important because they set a tone…..then the progression of importance increases up to the last play of the game where you really should have something different prepared. If Joe isoed 9 times in a quarter, have something ready and have shooters prepared to be in certain spots…look at films at what Boston does, San Antonio, perhaps the Lakers, Orlando! they have 3 point shooters who know they can knock it down coming out from down low…..I don’t know how smart Bibby is, but he might want to consider doing this and becoming sort of an assistant coach….
There is someone on this blog who thinks Woody is a great coach because he improves the team every year…..Well, okay, but my opinion is that this team should already have won 50 games this year except for the coaching and another 2 for weird refing….Cleveland time clock game and Dallas Kidd bumping and maybe another 1 for bad scheduling.(2 back to back Boston and Orland in 1 week)…
In other words, the Hawks may already have the talent to be at the top of the league, so Woody’s job is not to improve the club slowly agonizingly, but to put the whole thing together NOW as a great coach with great players will do. So I think the people who criticize Woody don’t hate him as a man but want the best for a team which deserves the best. Anyway, that’s my rebuttal without any rancor whatsoever, Gee Mack. One thing I don’t get is with all the cuts on the iso, why would he take 9 shots in one quarter? I don’t think all that planned cutting and screening is that effective, and the coach is responsible for that too. That sounded snarky. After 50 years of being a Hawks fan, I really want them to win the whole thing or give it their best effort….unfortunately, these guys are headed for a huge pay cut in the upcoming years because you can’t lose millions of dollars every year anymore because the overall value of the team isn’t going up for resale. The Yes Party and the No party both have and will see to that..
sam'l
March 23rd, 2010
2:02 pm
That said, my final thought is I really hope the Hawks beat Orlando, and I know everybody here feels the same way (except maybe that Milwaukee blogger who even gave the Hawks props for being an interesting team). If anybody asked which way I went, tell them “thataway.”
O'Brien
March 23rd, 2010
2:20 pm
Sautee,
I agree about the potential issues with the ISOs. Everybody knows its coming, so they all stand around and watch JJ and his defenders.
But most teams (with a legit All-Star) will run ISOs at the end of the game and depend on them to make something happen. JJ wasn’t able to get to a good spot last night, and he missed, but we’ve seen him (and Crawford) win games off ISOs.
One exception is King James. If LeBron does not take the final shot, he gets criticized. But I like the fact that he will pass to a teamate if he is open (even if there is a lot of ISO LeBron during the game). Just be ready to share the blame if you pass the ball and that player misses.
The one thing I would like to see, is the Hawks play inside out through Horford more down the stretch. He was 5-5 in the fourth against Bucks, he played well in 4th quarter against Toronto and Spurs. Give him the ball more, and let him pass it back out if nothing is there.
But once the initial entry pass is not there, Hawks go away from him too quickly. We are too quick to settle for jump shots.
BarryWhistler
March 23rd, 2010
2:33 pm
Bibby is fantastic at running a fast break. For a half-court, slow down offense or a more methodical time released offense, Joe Johnson or Jamal Crawford can orchestrate or run those probably more effective than Bibby because Bibby has the tendency to hoist up 3s and he doesnt see the offense as well as he used to. The Hawks need a floor general, someone tall enough to see the court (like a Magic Johnson) who can see the plays develop early enough to make something happen. Chris Paul would have been good had we draft him instead of Marvin, but weve got to get someone in here who can run the offense. I say give MO EVANS the opportunity to learn how to do it. Maybe bring in MAGIC JOHNSON to teach Evans how to run the point. Dont let Bibby continue to do it because Bibby doesnt make the lightning quick, razer sharp passes he used to make and a lot of his passes get picked off and are thrown out-of-bounse as turnovers. You need a good floor general to get the ball and whip it around to the appropriate personal. Employee #24 (Marvin) cant do it because he hardly can get himself into the flow of the games. Just get somebody with experience at running the point. Then you will see the Hawks flourish and their talents will start to come alive.
Sautee
March 23rd, 2010
2:40 pm
O’Brien,
Agreed.
It’s really not THAT hard to get a decent entry pass. Horford is PLENTY athletic enough to lob over the top if he’s being fronted. A couple of back doors like Bibby does to Josh would quickly change the tactic of fronting Al. Or simply change the angle of the entry pass. I really HATE hearing the excuse of “well, he was being denied so we went away from him”. What that really tells me is that the WILL to get the ball inside is all too quickly dropped with the least bit of resistance.
We need more WILL from our guards to play inside out. Woody can tell them, but they have to execute.
Sautee
March 23rd, 2010
2:46 pm
BarryWhistler
about this:
“The Hawks need a floor general, someone tall enough to see the court (like a Magic Johnson) who can see the plays develop early enough to make something happen. Chris Paul would have been good had we draft him instead of Marvin, but weve got to get someone in here who can run the offense.”
Barry this doesn’t make sense. Magic was 6′ 9″. CP3 is 6′ 0″.
But, hey, CP3 sees the court pretty well for a runt.
Sautee
March 23rd, 2010
3:02 pm
Barry,
I’m not trying to pick on you but you also said this:
“Dont let Bibby continue to do it because Bibby doesnt make the lightning quick, razer sharp passes he used to make and a lot of his passes get picked off and are thrown out-of-bounse (sic) as turnovers.”
Are you aware that this season is Bibby’s lowest in his career for turnovers?
1.16 / game whereas his career average is 2.3 / game.
His second lowest season was last year (1.62 / gm). If anything, he’s getting BETTER at not turning it over. And yes, as Ken Strickland argues, he’s not penetrating as much, so that has the effect of lowering that stat, but overall, I think it’s a stretch to argue that he’s being somehow more careless with the ball than earlier in his career when the exact opposite is shown by the stats.
And yes, he’s down in assists from last year (one fewer / gm) but he’s also playing 7+ minutes fewer per game than last year.
Barry
March 23rd, 2010
3:11 pm
Hey Y’all:
I love Joe Johnson to death, but we need to stop the “ISO JOE” stuff in critical moments of the game. With 5 minutes to go in the game, the Hawks stopped passing the ball around and instead let Joe do his “ISO JOE” routine. He did it a number of times and scored. He kept doing it all the way to the end of the game where he eventually missed the winning shot. The other players on the Hawks got cold standing around watching Joe do his ‘ISO” thing. They started missing shoots and movement at the critical points of the gam. The other team was pounding in 3’s while Joe was getting his ISO “2’s”. The Bucks eventually caught up and passed the Hawks due to the Hawks settled for Joe’s ‘ISO” 2’s. The entire team should have been in the attack during the final minutes. Points should have come from other players cutting, slashing, and shooting the ball. Not one players stopping and slowly backing into the rim while his team mates watch. Joe is great!! But too much “ISO JOE” during critical parts of the game can throw the whole team of. Especially when he miss with the team out of position to rebound.
Clyde
March 23rd, 2010
3:36 pm
FIRE WOODY
“Joe is great!! But too much “ISO JOE” during critical parts of the game can throw the whole team of.” -Barry
Years have gone by and Woody hasn’t gotten this through his head. This cat will call a timeout and instead of drawing up a play he will say just give it to Joe. WTF
FIRE WOODY
cp
March 23rd, 2010
4:46 pm
The Truth that was a great post. Its baffling that Woodrow says he needs to watch the tape to see what happens. If the team keeps doing the same thing over and over and over there should not be a need to watch tape. As a coach you should know whats going on seeing how your team keeps making the same mistakes. The problem is we have a coach who cant seem to make adjustments therefore the team keeps making the same mistakes in crucial situations. And whats everybody hung up on 50 wins for? If the Hawks don’t perform well in the playoffs those 50 wins wont matter. I’m not worried about how many games we win. I’m more concerned about how we are playing in these games.
The Truth
March 23rd, 2010
4:47 pm
This articlemakes sense. If we lose JJ, Manu Ginobili could be a short term and much cheaper alternative until we acquire some young legs elsewhere. Even better, if we sign and trade JJ plus add Manu, we could dominate depending on who is targeted.
Moe luv
March 23rd, 2010
5:12 pm
I heard on tv that if we get a center, AL would move to the 4 and Josh to the 3. WTF…Josh to the 3 spot? He can’t dribble..he can’t shoot…he can’t play one on one defense. Granted, he is good and getting his teammates the ball to score but I dont think him at the three is the answer.
1) Josh Smith should never be allowed to take a jumpshot in the 4th quarter under 6 minutes (especially if the game is close.
2) Who is our starting Power Forward?? Why is josh always at the three point line in our offensive sets??
LUV JOSH SMITH!!!! HATE MIKE WOODSON AND THIS OFFENSE!
HawksFan11
March 23rd, 2010
5:13 pm
It’s not hard for me to criticize the effort by the Hawks last night. No more “it’s just one game” excuses, or last shot heroics will do.
Ego, and nothing more, cost the Hawks this game. Joe Johnson was simply going to be the Hawks leading scorer and that’s that.
For 3 solid quarters, the team shared the ball, played unselfishly, worked inside-out, played stifling defense, and dominated the game.
Then, in the 4th quarter, with the Hawks still with a sizable lead, all of that came to a grinding halt when Joe & Woody decided that it’s time for him to “take over and make plays”. (I guess you could call that the in-game adjustment we’ve been asking for from the coach) The result? Just like earlier this year in Chicago, the rest of the team stops working and is forced to watch Joe work, disrupting the flow completely.
Not counting the final prayer shot by Crawford, the shot count in the 4th quarter, after JJ came back in replacing Mo Evans is as follows:
Johnson – 11
Smith – 3
Crawford – 1
Bibby – 1
Horford – 0
Horford dominates the paint for six quarter straight, and that’s why we should stop going there and have Joe Johnson take over. ZERO SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR AL HORFORD!
Here’s an adjustment that the Hawks should consider. Gone are the days when Joe had to be, and was “The Man”. Throughout the year, even us lowly bloggers have recounted how this guy stepped up tonight and that guy the next. The Hawks are a different team from that which Joe joined and everyone contributes now.
I’m afraid we’re in for a short 09-10 post season and a long 10-11 season if the current mindset persists.
ToothFairy
March 23rd, 2010
5:27 pm
During this offseason, the Hawks had a wonderful chance to dramatically improve their ball club. They did so by bringing in Jamal Crawford, which was good, but the Hawks could have done even better by getting two more players that were let go by the Orlando Magic: Heido Turkelu AND Rafer Alsten. Had the Hawks signed those two guys, the Hawks would have been in a position to win the title. The Hawks problems so far has been a stagnant offense along with an offense that is predictable (isos for jj, which has become boring). Had the Hawks acquired those two guys-you could have made Rafer Alsten your point guard, and you literally had two guys through which you could run your offense through, either Alsten or Turkelu, either one. That would have been fabulous because both of those guys are great 3pt shooters. Of course, those two guys signed with two other teams: Alsten with Miami and Turkelu with Toronto. Its unfortunate because those are the two guys who could have solved ALL of the Hawks problems. They both have incredible scoring punch making 3s and jumpshots in general and they both have dynamic diversified games whereby either guy can score inside or out. Had the Hawks acquired those two guys their offense would never get stale and the Hawks probably would have had at least 60 wins by now. Who is our general manager anyway.
BIGWORM
March 23rd, 2010
5:31 pm
not talking about marvin this time he only had two shots but woodson i know players play but GOOD coaching can get wins like last night but we don’t have that he don’t have no offensive game plan at all i wonder what do he be drawing on board during timeouts its always iso joe .BULLSH—t
Ken Strickland
March 23rd, 2010
5:41 pm
How many more times does Woodson have to see teams taking advantage of us switching everything before getting it through his thick, stubborn head that some changes have to be made? Once again we saw Horford and Smoove switching off their assignment and getting isolated, backed out and taken off the dribble. HOW IN THE HELL CAN OUR 2 BIGGEST STARTERS AND BEST SHOTBLOCKERS PROTECT THE BASKET WHEN THEY’RE AT THE KEY TRYING TO DEFEND AGAINST QUICKER, FASTER PG’S, SG’S OR SF’S CONSISTENTLY ISOLATING THEM AND TAKING THEM TO THE BASKET?
WE’RE NOW GETTING A STEADY DIET OF THE SAME DAMNED THING, ESPECIALLY DURING CRUNCH TIME, AND WOODSON HASN’T MADE A SINGLE DOGGONE ADJUSTMENT TO STOP IT. WHY can’t we do what teams do to us, and that’s fight over picks? We should at least try it and see what happens, since we’ve seen how what we’re doing is hurting us.
In every post gm interview, we hear Woodson regurgitate the same BS about the team not playing good DEF, but he never knows why. Hell, what else can he expect if he continues to insist on playing his beloved swithching DEF, which constantly puts our players in disadvantageous matchups that teams successfully exploit.
Can anyone explain why we can get a sizable lead by running the OFF and moving the ball, but completely abandon the concept when it comes to protecting that lead in the 4th qtr? Own our last 2 OFF possessions they double teamed JJ, who forced 2 very difficult shots when he could have passed the ball to JCrawford, who was wide open both times.
I guess that’s what happens when a HC insists on closing out gms using SG’s, who are our primary one on one scorers, to run the OFF instead of installing or developing a PG to direct the OFF. It’s very easy for a DEF to double team the player with the ball, but the rules won’t permit double teaming a player without the ball. Why not let JJ or Crawford position themselves without the ball and force the DEF to prevent either from getting the ball with single coverage. That’s exactly what the Bucks did when JJ fouled Salmons, when he tryed to prevent him from getting the ball. That foul basically ended any chance we had of winning that gm.
cp
March 23rd, 2010
6:03 pm
I don’t think we had an assist in the 4th quarter. How Woodrow has not realized by now we are a good team when we share the ball is beyond me. Too many times we get the lead by sharing the ball and everyone being involved only to abandon that plan in the 4th quarter and go iso mode. I don’t mind having iso plays but why do we continue to go away with whats working. We always seem to get a lead by playing one way then throw that concept away and lose the lead.
Sautee
March 23rd, 2010
6:17 pm
cp,
Co-sign
WolfmanJack
March 23rd, 2010
6:24 pm
The Hawks season will be wasted, in my opinion, if they don’t bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy. GO HAWKS! Let’s win the title and gain some respect!
JeJe
March 23rd, 2010
6:26 pm
WE MUST RESIGN JOE. WE CANNOT GO OVER THE CAP IF WE DO NOT RESIGN A CURRENT PLAYER..
JeJe
March 23rd, 2010
6:34 pm
TO BE A TRUE HAWKS FAN, U MUST BE SATISFIED WITH LOSING CLOSE GAMES AND MEDIOCRITY!
IF JOE LEAVES, WE WILL HAVE NO MONEY TO SPEND ON INCOMING FREE AGENTS. CANNOT GO OVER SALARY CAP IF IT’S NOT A CURRENT PLAYER
Clyde
March 23rd, 2010
6:51 pm
FIRE WOODY
Sam'l
March 23rd, 2010
7:29 pm
It now seems Hawks may finish fourth…due to the number of away games, 2 games against Cleveland, the big one against Orlando (go Hawks!), 3 back to backs, and all the various problems mentioned previously.
I have been on the fire woody bandwagon for a few years, and I think the Hawks should have won 50 now, not by the end of the season (not because 50 is such a great number, I just counted up the number of game they blew and added that to the current win total). But what I would like to hear now is a tape of all of Woody’s huddles superimposed on the game itself just to see what he is really saying.
Jeje makes sense. Joe may go…..don’t go Joe. Personally, I think he will go. He can’t stand losing some of these games anymore than we can….I don’t necessarily mean last night….I mean the embarrassing stuff. We competed last night, still shouldn’t have lost, based on our potential talent. I think Joe feels he has given his best night in and night out, and he will want to make sure his franchise won’t go bankrupt before his career is over. Joe is pretty doggone smart, and he thinks for himself. When Joe and Jamal are sharing the ball as in San Antonio, it was really fun to watch what they both do with the ball…..they are both very, very good.
I think this team really could win it all…… I really do……..we’ll see when they play Orlando whether this is just another fantasy….I predict a win…primarily because we lost to the Bucks, and the Hawks are scared to lose too many games……bad motivation, I know……….
rusty
March 23rd, 2010
7:42 pm
hawks fan # 11 i agree with you 100%. this type of play has caused a collaspe of our offense & a lot of losses