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
Thats some funny shhytee!
March 24th, 2010
10:48 am
*we have a point guard, who cant play defense and a center who doesn’t want to.
rusty
March 24th, 2010
10:50 am
let woodson walk,sihn avery
Grandad
March 24th, 2010
10:53 am
northcyde: (when you said…lets play a game…can anyone play?)
I hope that was not just for ‘HawksFan11′ [I love this stuff]
*I would NOT re-sign Wdsn. [surprise]*answer – Tom Thibodeau(short list)
*asst.coaches:
*perhaps: Jeff Bzdelik [off.coordinator] Thibodeau’s a def. guy.
Jeff has coached in the league[Denver]asst/& HC, versed in princeton off., not known if he would leave Colorado. Give him a call.
*Rick Mahorn: ‘Bigs’ coach. *keep Mark Price on staff.
*Add Paul Silas to staff as an older vet coach, add respect factor.
*would consider Larry Drew.
*Joe Johnson:
Re-sign Joe @ all costs! Cannot be adequately replaced.*[CBA]
*immediate needs:
*The jury may be out on Teague but not in my book.
*Astro Joe made a good point on another blog:
Draft for a specific criteria. He mentioned Jarvis Vanardo as well.
However, if we stay put in the 20’s, I would go for ‘Ekpe Udoh’,[Baylor]
it’s interesting that one mock draft has him currently going to us.
Some have him going much higher. I like Vasquez also, and if
Keith Benson [Oakland] comes out, he’s another possibility.
*Relly though if we could trade up high enough, Xavier Henry,
would be my 1st choice.
*Last – I would seek a [5].
look @ what it would take to sign Haywood.[doubtful]
Use Marv & Childress + maybe Zaza as trade bait:
Bargnani as a stretch [5].
He fits our personel. Al & Josh are inside oriented, so we need an
outside threat; ‘Big’. Would give us a very versatle front ct.
Oh yeah – What offense to run? :
*our personel seems to be a perfect fit for the triangle.
However, whomever the coach is or would be, makes that call!
Anything with player movement, and ball reversal making the defense
guard both sides of the floor. Not to mention one that take advantage
of all our assets.
That’s enough for now…What if Joe leaves…ask me later?
I’ll be happy to opine.
Kelvin
March 24th, 2010
10:54 am
I wouldn’t be shocked if this team didn’t make it out of the first round.
Hawk n the Ham
March 24th, 2010
11:01 am
Fire Woody. Hire Happy Gilmore……
“Just tap it in, just tap it in…..give it the ole tap,tap,tapa-roo!”
Grandad
March 24th, 2010
11:04 am
Addendum to previous post:
I can’t believe I left a name off my short list:
I would make a call to ‘Steve Smith’ & gauge his interest
in becoming a Head Coach. It would be great PR.
He has the intangibles, not sure about the desire.
O'Brien
March 24th, 2010
11:29 am
Grandad,
Barring a collapse in the playoffs, I would resign Woodson, because the grass is not always greener on the other side. Why replace a proven HC with an up and coming assistant?
That being said, I do like Tom Thibodeau. And both Byron Scott and Avery Johnson are out there.
I would love to see Hakeem be our big man coach though. Maybe he can do for Al and Josh what Ewing is trying to do with Howard.
Fundamentals
March 24th, 2010
11:33 am
Tonight is the night to prove we are watching film, we can compete and we have a chance. If we pull the same, weak, no effort, no balls performace then stick a fork in the boys for the playoffs.
I can hear my buddies ribbing me already for sounding harsh, but it’s reality. Whomever wins the ECF will have to beat Orlando. We’ll meet MIL, CLE, then ORL. Tough road, but winnable if we give 100% physically and mentally.
All the talk about records and getting the 3 seed doesn’t matter. We can’t catch ORL so we won’t be getting homecourt in the second. We’re a definite 4 seed barring a collapse. Beating Boston in the chase for records doesn’t matter if you can’t get the higher seed. Face it, we’re playing for pride and playoff preparation.
Orlando and Cleveland are our measuring stick. I’ve preached giving chances and developing players all season. Time is now to step out as MEN and show us what you’re made of. It’s playoff time! Time to separate the pretenders from the contenders! We all have our opinion of who we might be.
Time is now, no excuses!
Fundamentals
March 24th, 2010
11:36 am
O’Brien – Dream would definitely be an awesome tool for Josh and Al to utilize. He’s a proven winner with heart. I like Ewing, but he never got his teams over the hump. Dream won 2 rings with equal/less talent. Good call.
Fundamentals
March 24th, 2010
11:44 am
We missed our chance at Doc just before signing Woodson. Steve Smith would be a good PR face, but I’ve never heard him mentioned in the coaching conversation. My wife longs for the days when we had Smitty commentating instead of hearing all about the heat checks and nimbers. Sorry Nique, but you need some coaching from Smitty.
Coaching debate is a situation I’m glad I can give 2 cents, but have no responsibility in making. I’m hopeful we’ll compete well in the 2nd round and maybe have a shot at the ECF. With that said we’ll most likely have Woodson on board in a new deal. He’s due if he can get this team to the next level. Many agree or disagree. It’s a tough decision, but I believe the man needs to be rewarded and respected for meeting and exceeding expectations each year. Expectations are set by ownership and management, not unrealistic fans with agendas. He’s met all expectations thus far. His next challenge is round 2 in the playoffs. If he fails miserably in the second round, by all means explore the opportunities, but remember, the grass ain’t always greener.
Main key for the offseason is adding some key position coaches would be nice. Adding a few peices such as a strong defensive/penetrating point guard and strong rebounding/defensive center to our rotation are critical to our future. All that will depend on what Joe decides to do? Ball is in his court. We’ll see what he’s all about this summer.
Wabe
March 24th, 2010
11:52 am
I’m be at tonight’s game. All I ask from the Hawks is to go out and make this a good basketball game. I’m tired of us looking like we don’t even belong on the same court as Orlando.
Ken Strickland
March 24th, 2010
12:24 pm
We’ve suffered 6 consecutive beatdowns by the Magic, and that doesn’t include preseason. It’s past the time for Woodson to try something other than the same old thing against them, which hasn’t come close to working. He needs to get it through his thick stubborn head that we need to abandon his beloved switching DEF against them and change the lineup.
He should stop being a gutless coward of a HC and bench Marvin, move Smoove to SF and insert RMorris @ PF against them. That move would automatically create favorable mismatches for us at PF and SF, and would put a lot of DEF pressure on DHoward to protect the basket against RMorris, JSmith and AHorford.
While SF MBarnes is an excellent defender, he’s no match against Smoove in the paint. RMorris, and his polished inside moves would eat PF RLewis alive in the paint. Howard would be forced to drop back off Horford to provide help, and that’s when Horford and JJ would kill them with their midrange scoring ability.
We should pressure them full court to make their frontline come out and assist in getting the ball across halfcourt and take time off the clock. That move alone would force them getting into their OFF sets, as well as take away any sideline communictions and play calling from the sidelines, since everyone would have to concentrate on getting the ball across halfcourt.
We should let Horford, JSmith and RMorris go after DHoward relentlessly. You want to make him work hard on DEF, try to get him in foul trouble and/or force their other defenders to collapse and help him in the lane. Other than DHoward, should we really be so concerned about RLewis, MBarnes, JNelson and VCarter’s ability to set effective picks that we should be afraid to fight over them, rather than switching everything and creating favorable matchups for them?
These young, quick, fast, athletic and talented Hawks have reached the point in their development where what they now need most from their HC, Woodson has consistently demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to provide.
O'Brien
March 24th, 2010
12:41 pm
Ken S,
I agree with changing up our defense, but I would keep the same starting lineup. Randolph Morris does not get enough PT to warrant a start against the Magic.
Play Howard straight up and try not to give up any dunks (foul him if you have to, and make him earn him at the FT line). Foul Gortat too. They are both .60 – .65% FT shooters. I hope Mario is in street clothes, because we will need Collins and Morris to commit their fouls.
Do not leave the shooters to double, because they will make you pay, and we need everybody to crash the boards. Do not switch on defense if it ends up being a mismatch. Who wants to see Bibby on Lewis, or Josh on Jameer? Hawks need to adjust their switch all the time philosophy, and pick and choose when to switch.
Every team in the division has beaten Orlando at least once, while we lose to them by an average of 22 points? That’s unacceptable, Woody and Hawks players. Even if you lose this game tonight, it needs to be close down the stretch.
Coach of the year awards on espn.
“There are a ton of coaches who don’t crack the top five — Atlanta’s Mike Woodson, Utah’s Jerry Sloan, Houston’s Rick Adelman — who are having fine seasons. This list is filled with coaches of teams that are big surprises or had to overcome a lot of adversity”.
Their candidates are Scott Brooks, Scott Skiles, Nate McMillan, Lionel Hollins and Larry Brown.
BullDurham
March 24th, 2010
12:52 pm
The Hawks are capable of BLOWING OUT THE MAGIC TONIGHT. Why? Because like i said yesterday the Magic have a team that is worse than the team from a year ago. Last year the Magic had Hedo Turkelu (one of the five most talented players in the nba) and Rafer Alsen (one of the best point guards in the nba subbing for the injured Jamir Nelson). Last season the Magic won 59 games (nearly 60). They let Alsten and Turkelu go and compensated by picking up a horrible Vince Carter (who has allways underachieved his entire career). Picking Carter was a definite downgrade for the team and gave the Hawks a chance to win the southeast division. Unfortortunately for the Hawks, the Hawks didnt take advantage of it and lost about 10 games that they should have won. This year the Magic wont win as many because the team is not as good. The Hawks should have won 60 games this season and should have won the southeast division; but because Woody is still coaching them with his ghetto coaching style, the Hawks will finish winning between 44-48 games which is pathetic in light of their talent. The Hawks are capable of blowing out the magic tonight. Will they do it? No. The Hawks will get blown out by at least 30 points or more because they have a rotten coach and the players have no heart at all.
Wabe
March 24th, 2010
12:55 pm
Feed Horford early and often. Period.
I think the best way to neutralize their size is to get Dwight in foul trouble. We tend to get too far away from the rim when we play Orlando. Too many jumpers. Feed Horford early and often in this game to see if he can get Dwight into foul troule early.
I don’t want to see a gaurd-dominated game. Our BIGS have been non-existent in games vs. the Magic, and I’ll assume that their size bothers us. It also doesn’t help when you have a guy like Rashard at the 4 who can stretch the floor, which moves Smoove (our shotblock specialist) out towards the 3-point line.
It’s obvious we struggle to matchup defensively with Orlando, and this hurts because we’re an up-tempo team that thrives off miss shots. But, stops are hard to come by against the Magic. This leaves us stuck in the half-court on offense, and we don’t attack the paint against them as much as we need to. Guys like Jamal and JJ settle for jumpers because Big Dwight is occupying the lane. Everything we do inside is altered (from JJ’s floater in the lane to Jamal taking a guy off the dribble). We instantly become a jumpshooting team. We’ve got to find ways to get points. THE BIGS MUST BE INVOLVED!
PatrickTabler
March 24th, 2010
12:58 pm
Key Point: Having coach Mike Woodsen coach the Hawks is almost as bad as having Mike Vick coaching them. Both are underqualified to coach what they are incapable of coaching. At least if Vick were coaching the Hawks you could rest assured they would be a fast-paced, running and gunning team and would be running the fast break all the time.
terrell
March 24th, 2010
1:17 pm
Obrien ,what has Carlisle done with that same team?
terrell
March 24th, 2010
1:21 pm
And I’m not the biggest Avery Johnson fan, I was just making a point.
HawksFan11
March 24th, 2010
1:23 pm
Fundamentals
March 24th, 2010
11:33 am
Now that was well said.
GO HAWKS!
terrell
March 24th, 2010
1:23 pm
And yall no good and Darn well that STERN WASN’T GOING TO LET SHAQ AND WADE GET SWEPT. IT WAS AVERY COACHING AGAINST RILEY AND THE REFS AFTER THE MAVS TOOK THE 1ST 2 GAMES..
KingCobra
March 24th, 2010
1:28 pm
Wabe: Good Blog. You are absolutely right about Horford. That is why i think the Hawks are vastly superior this season to last season because #1) they have jamal craford who is instant offense (18pts a game) #2) Al Horford is so much better and much more mature; he is lethal down low and #3) Josh Smith is so much better, and is probably the most improved player on the team and plays now within his talents. If the Hawks use Horford as a weapon against Howard down low, Howard will get into foul trouble and the Hawks should have their way against the Magic. THE HAWKS SHOULD DOMINATE AGAINST THE MAGIC AND IM EXPECTING THEM TO DO SO TONIGHT.
GMAN013
March 24th, 2010
1:38 pm
Hey guys here is an interesting article on why the Hawks lose to the Magic so bad
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/?gcid=C12289×022>kw=Hoopinion
JeJe
March 24th, 2010
1:39 pm
Don’t let northcyde sway your opinion. The guy thinks we’re an elite team and that we can make it past the ECF.
He thinks that we match up well vs. the elite teams and that we have a shot of beating them. Orlando OWNS us in every facet of the game — Horford has made it clear he hates playing defense and guarding the big man — watch how he played vs. Duncan for more information — no, his stat line doesn’t tell you !@#$. He had no idea how to play the P&R and the idiot Woodson ran TWO plays where Horford iso’ed on Duncan — are you serious?
And Philips Arena is hardly a home advantage. We are just a good home team now, as is evident by our losses to Miami, twice to the Knicks, OKC, and our pathetic performance in the playoffs vs. Cleveland last year
Done in 2nd round in 4 or 5
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
1:47 pm
Who actually thinks beat the Magic 2nite. I mean seriously.
CherylWilson
March 24th, 2010
1:54 pm
I think the Hawks will CLOBBER the Magic tonight if Al Horford runs wild in the paint like an angry bull and drives recklessly towards the basket either stuffing it home or picking up fouls going to the line. That strategy will get Dwight Howard into foul trouble and put the Magic on their heels all night long. Hawks should win by 40 points tonight.
Jay Dubu
March 24th, 2010
1:58 pm
The Hawks have to close out games better than they have this season. They should have at least 7 more wins that they have.
The Spurs played the Hawks on Sunday, and went and beat OK City on Monday. They are an older team, and had the energy to come back on a back to back game.
I think that OK City is a better team than the Bucks, and the Hawks had less of a distance to travel than the Spurs, so that excuse (reason) goes by the wayside.
There’s some intangible missing from this team, and until they can get it on a consistant bases, they’re not going to compete night in and night out with the elite teams in the NBA.
Let’s Go Hawks, and beat Orlando tonight!!!
SWAT Native
March 24th, 2010
1:59 pm
Venom Spitter,
I think the Hawks finally beat the Magic tonight – and I’ll be at the game trying to help them. They’re overdue just like they were overdue to beat the Spurs.
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
2:01 pm
Well I’m glad you are optimistic SWAT Native but I know you wouldn’t bet money on the Hawks winning now would you.
Nacho
March 24th, 2010
2:05 pm
I wonder what (if) goes through Woody’s head before a big game? What strategies (if any) are pondered?
Fundamentals
March 24th, 2010
2:06 pm
We need solid effort on both ends. Moving Smoove to the 3 and going big would allow him more time to rebound and defend instead of being pulled out by Lewis. I don’t think we’ve got a solid big to start to give us that opportunity. I preached getting Morris, Collins and ZaZa groomed for this moment. Even preached signing a big on waivers or from the D-League just for athleticism, boards and D, but it didn’t happen. Nice try Ken, but it won’t happen cause we’re not there yet.
We need a monster game from all of our bigs to survive tonight. It starts and ends in the middle. We lose every shootout we enter – even against Golden State and New York. What makes them think they can outshoot the Magic? It all starts on D & ends with the boards.
We have a chance to win a close game. Only way there will be a blowout is the same one we saw the last 6 games. It all started with the surprise beat-down we gave them in their home opener. From that night they play us with a vengence. We’ve never responded.
When you get punched, punch back or at least quit crying for your Mama! MAN UP! Time is NOW!
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
2:12 pm
The thing is the Hawks imo are probably the worst 3pt defensive team in the league. Even if you told them that a team was only gonna shoot 3s they would leave them wide open.
STAY ON THE DAMN 3 PT SHOOTERS. IT AIN’T THAT HARD.
SWAT Native
March 24th, 2010
2:15 pm
Venom Spitter,
I wouldn’t bet money on the Hawks winning, but only because it’s illegal in Georgia.
Fundamentals
March 24th, 2010
2:17 pm
Orlando presents a matchup problem because, like Ken said, needs a different approach than the switching defense. We leave them open because we keep switching. We’re slow, we give them mismatches and boom we give up open 3’s or easy mismatches to Dwight.
To beat Orlando we need a different scheme. Man to man – featuring hard fouls on Dwight or a 3-2 zone with hard fouls on Dwight. Either way we need to commit to solid, strong D from Horford, ZaZa, Collins and Morris tonight 1 on 1 and everyone else locking down man to man or in zone to hold the perimeter. We can’t help, we can’t effectively double. They are too good and too fast for that. They’ve proven it repeatedly.
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
2:20 pm
I hope that Woody does somethin different this game. Like a Lineup changs. Or a different defensive scheme.
Jay Dubu
March 24th, 2010
2:30 pm
Thats so funny…
Didn’t the Pistons win the championship with Rip Hamilton, Prince, Sheed, etc! The Hawks can play with any team in the league, but they have to do it consistantly to make tye finals, and to win the title.
It looks as if they sometimes lose their focus on defence, and they must have offensive plays to execute other than the iso.
vava74
March 24th, 2010
2:38 pm
Ken,
RandMo will not even dress tonight. We need West to provide perimeter defense to close quarters and he has proven to be useful as a utility man in that role.
RandMo has not seen enough daylight to warrant a start. Although I get your logic, I don’t think it is feasible since he is so rusty and mentally out of game shape that it would be Lewis eating him alive and not the opposite.
It’s bewildering why we keep on dragging this kid back and forth in street clothes when he could be seeing some daylight in Utah with our affiliate NBDL team.
OB,
As I said above, RandMo will not dress.
As for Ewing being responsible for much of Howard’s improvement, I don’t buy that. Ewing was not a polished low post player, relying a lot on jump shots and dunks more than in actual low post moves.
He was not good enough to lace Hakeem’s shoes and I think his contribution towards Howard’s game is limited, at best.
To be frank, Howard’s offensive game still s*cks big time and his production is materially linked to the refs allowing him to push and shove at will in a way that I can only qualify as sickening.
As for Hakeem, I have no idea why he is not earning millions as a special assistant somewhere since his moves were unstoppable.
Josh picked up a bit and should have gone back two more years to continue his apprenticeship.
At least one or two times a game Josh manages to coordinate himself and execute a perfect low post move and that clearly came from his short experience with Hakeem.
Al would also improve tremendously. His biggest problems is that NO ONE buys his pump fakes and he gets blocked or bothered going up a lot when he is down low.
Hakeem was listed many times as being 7′0” and 255lbs however he was closer to 6′10” according to more accurate reports which means that with more polished low post moves, Al could also be a monster.
Rod from College Park
March 24th, 2010
2:53 pm
For all of you who think we should just dump the ball down low to Horford, guess what. Dwight Howard is one of the best defensive big men in the game. Horford’s strength is that 10 to 15 foot jumper, which would draw Howard out of the paint. He will not have much success posting Howard and trying to score that way. The one guy who has killed us this year, who no one has mentioned is Jason Williams. Can’t let him destroy us tonight.
vava74
March 24th, 2010
3:01 pm
Rod,
Almost everyone who has mite of speed and a reasonable outside shot has been grilling us.
Our switching defense works well many times but it also converts scrubs into Allstars in as many others.
Indeed J-Williams killed us, but so did Anthony Johnson…
This means that we don’t need to focus on player A or B but to play sound man to man defense against teams which have a strong perimeter offense in order to avoid getting killed like we did against the Bucks.
Yes, Salmons was on fire, but the crucial element was AGAIN our poor perimeter defense and the three 3 pointers in a row, that cut our lead to almost nothing, sandwiching our 2 or 3 typically bad Hawks’ possessions: if I am not wrong, Jamal, Josh and Bibby missed from 3 during that period instead of driving and getting some easy baskets or fouls.
Ken Strickland
March 24th, 2010
4:46 pm
ROD FOR CP-you obviously think just like Woodson and share his FEAR FACTOR mentality. The teams that have defeated the Magic challenged him and his shotblocking ability and successfully got him into foul trouble. THEY DIDN’T DO THAT BY BEING AFRAID OF HIS SHOTBLOCKING ABILITY AND RESORTING TO SHOOTING JUMPSHOTS EXCLUSIVELY, LIKE YOU AND HC MWOODSON SEEM TO BELIEVE.
VALVA74-you must keep in mind that Hakeem developed his quick feet, and thus his unbelievably quick ballet type moves, from growing up playing soccer in Nigeria. There’s no way Smoove can develop that kind of footwork at this point in his career. I’d be satisfied if he’d introduce himself to the square about the rim and bank more of his shot attempts, like TDuncan.
Instead of always trying to force his way to the rim, he should show some of the patience he said he admired in TDuncan and position himself close to the lane so he can shoot 6-8′ bankshots. When he goes toward the middle of the lane and gets cut off, he should then spin hard and go up and shoot a bank shot, or fake the shot and draw a foul. If the defender doesn’t take the fake, being left handed, he’s in perfect position to bank a jumphook.
terrell
March 24th, 2010
7:25 pm
LMAO at the Hawks!