Lakers at Atlanta Hawks: Yeah, it’s big
The Hawks are still taking it one cliched game at a time.
It’s just that this one is bigger than most.
“There’s always more energy when you play against the top teams,” Jamal said. “You get a chance to measure yourselves against the best teams and the best players. Those games are always a lot of fun. I don’t care what anyone says, they are a little more special.”
Even Woody, loathe to acknowledge that any game is bigger than the next, said this one is significant.
“You want to play your best,” Woody said. “When you play the world champions it is a test to see how you fare.”
In the big picture, the standings are the most important reason for the Hawks to get a W. They aren’t going to catch Orlando but for the first time Woody said finishing ahead of Boston for No. 3 in the East is important, too.
“It’s a major goal,” he said.
There’s also the matter of getting 50 victories for the first time since 1997-98. That seems almost certain but you never know.
“There’s no reason we shouldn’t win 50-plus games if everyone is committed to finishing the season strong,” Woody said.
–The Lakers have a guy named Kobe Bryant. He’s pretty good. He’s also angry about the Lakers’ effort in their loss at New Orleans on Monday and worried they might get complacent as the season winds down.
“Everyone is on edge is I think is a good way to put it,” he said today.
The Lakers are in a sort of holding pattern. They aren’t going to catch Cleveland for the league’s best record and homecourt in a potential Finals meeting and Dallas won’t catch the Lakers for No. 1 in the West.
Bryant wants them to stay sharp, anyway. From the LA Times:
“It’s important for me to put my foot on the gas and have in our mind’s eye the kind of urgency that we need to play with in order to defend [the championship],” Bryant told NBA TV host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kevin McHale and Chris Webber. “The trap that you run into is you play with that sense of urgency when you’re down 10, 12, 13 points and that’s the kind of mentality I do not want us to have going into the postseason. You kind of lollygag around for a series and now you’re down, 3-1, now it’s time to play. You kind of fall into that false sense of security and all of a sudden it’s time to go and sometimes it’s too late to turn it on.”
– Phil Jackson said the Hawks remind him of Oklahoma City in the West.
“The Hawks have a little more experience obviously than Oklahoma City,” he said. “They are still relatively young but with Bibby, Johnson and Crawford it gives them experienced guards. Both (teams) are tremendously athletic.”
– It will be interesting to see Kobe and Jackson’s triangle against the Hawks’ switching defense. I asked Jackson about the pros and cons of that approach.
“I personally watched the San Antonio-Hawks game a week ago Sunday and Ginobili was tearing them up,” he said. “Certainly it is tough for them to guard Ginobili with one person. I started watching Josh not really wanting to make that switch all of a sudden after Ginobili goes by two or three times. That’s the issue. Who are you going to switch on Kobe? Are you going to switch somebody on who does not have the capability of staying with him. We have always admired the ability for teams to switch. It’s a remedy against what is prevalent in this league and that’s the screen-roll.”
Kobe said the Hawks “are the only team in the league that (switches), but they have the athleticism to do it.” In fact, he said the Hawks “are the most athletic team we’ll face all year.” Not sure about that but you get his point.
What are the keys to attacking the switches?
“Just understanding what their defense is doing and countering it,” Kobe said. “Our offense is pretty flexible. If we are paying attention to what they are doing, hopefully we can capitalize on it.”
– Jamal said the Hawks’ shootaround was all about defense. Kobe probably was discussed at some point.
“He’s one of the best to ever play the game,” Jamal said.
“He’s probably going to get his with the number of shots he takes,” J.J. said. “We’ve got to contain the others.”
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
259 comments Add your comment
bigdave
March 31st, 2010
9:19 pm
check Tip and Dro down there front row… Dro in Red sweater TI white tee and hat..
and i must say.. they been raising hell all night..
the natives no what time it is… nobody stutin Kobe and dem… man!!! lets go!!!
Blast
March 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
That 3 by Joe signals……Ballgame!!!!!!
Melvin
March 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
Joe hit that dagger from Master tournament (Augusta)….
terrell
March 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
Anybody still wanna get rid of Joe?
joBjo
March 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
worst case of snakebit I done seen in quite a while. can’t even get the ball over half court?
Sautee
March 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
JJ playing like northcyde’s dreams on BOTH ends.
L
March 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
uh oh…kobe’s havin a *itchfit!!!
vava74
March 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
clutch super long three!
Blast
March 31st, 2010
9:24 pm
Can’t wait to see NBA Gametime tomorrow!!!!!!!
Melvin
March 31st, 2010
9:24 pm
Get the Lakers out of here….
terrell
March 31st, 2010
9:24 pm
Now this is when Marvin should be coming in the game.
Maavelous
March 31st, 2010
9:28 pm
Did y’all Suthern homies see th’ Maavelous one’s baxet? It was a thin’ of booty an’ sent Kobe into a funk. Shet mah mouth! Heelo, it’s me, th’ Maaaavyone. Ain’t I pretty? My clown feet rock.
VenomSpitter
March 31st, 2010
9:29 pm
Whew What a game. Good game hawks. And Woody coached a good game for once.
Go Hawks
Sautee
March 31st, 2010
9:29 pm
Only two turnovers against a pretty decent defensive team.
bigdave
March 31st, 2010
9:30 pm
aye.. the guys bonded tonight on the floor.. complete game… team game… good coaching.. effort…
best win all year for me..
Sautee
March 31st, 2010
9:31 pm
Sorry, make that 5 to’s. I’ll still take it.
VenomSpitter
March 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
THis is the way I wanna see Joe play. He wasn’t holding it. He was goin somewhere with it. Not too many Isos.
This game kinda makes me mad becuz the Hawks can play like this all the time but they don’t.
Wabe
March 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
Don’t think there’s anything for anybody to complain about tonight. Woody coached a great game, and the players played a great game. You guys saw how effective we are when we have a front-court guy come off the bench and play the kind of minutes Zaza played for us tonight. The same goes for what Mo Evans bought to the table at the 3-spot.
The regulars did their thing and the bench sustained the effort. Great game. 9 straight at home?
Blast
March 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
Always knew Hawks could play against the best the West has to offer. Lakers, Dallas, Denver, and Spurs. Hawks are 1-1 against those teams. Hawks biggest problems are the East top teams. Orlando and Cleveland. I always felt that if Hawks can somehow come out tops in the East, they would have a good chance of competing against the West best for the championship.
But that is the big problem: Coming tops in the East!
vava74
March 31st, 2010
9:33 pm
great game. we came prepared and executed.
the lakers are very very short in their bench when they are forced to insert Odom in the starting line up due to Bynum’s injury.
we won again against a team which was on the last game of a 5 game road trip missing one player.
very satisfying but we got another nice break from that end.
JeJe
March 31st, 2010
9:34 pm
FIRE MIKE WOODSON
bigdave
March 31st, 2010
9:34 pm
aye the miller light commercial with Jason Weaver and Stan from Martin got me rolling..
bigdave
March 31st, 2010
9:36 pm
TIME TO DETHRONE THE QUEEN..!
Ah So Joe
March 31st, 2010
9:36 pm
The Crackerbockers should be dazzled by my game tonight. I smell that max contract coming as long as Crawford slows down on his gunning. Like this was his team or something.
JeJe
March 31st, 2010
9:37 pm
LOL @ that Marvin flagrant. Dude was way outta control (what a surprise) and had no idea what he was doing
Blast
March 31st, 2010
9:37 pm
If Woody wasn’t so bone headed, I would start Mo over Marvin and have Marvin come off the bench. Maybe that will light a fire under Marvin’s sorry ass. Start Mo for the rest of the season, Woody!
JeJe
March 31st, 2010
9:38 pm
If Mo and ZaZa play like this in Playoffs, going for every offensive rebound—wow…..And where the hell was Marvin? DO U WANT TO BE A STAR OR NOT IN THIS LEAGUE? SHOW SOME DAMN HEART? U DONT HAVE TO SCORE 15 BUT AT LEAST CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING. DRIBBLE THE BALL
cp
March 31st, 2010
9:39 pm
A very impressive win. I’m not a big fan of Woodson but you have to give him credit because he coached one heck of a game.. Joe looked great on both ends of the court. I thought his hand was bothering him at one point but I guess not with all those shots he was hitting. Big Al bounced back from that foul trouble. Josh was solid as always. Bibby played well. Pachulia looked like the old Za Za out there. Mo was great, Teague played well when he was out there. Craw was Craw. They played the type of game we all know they are capable of. They had a lead going into the fourth and instead of going iso crazy they continued to share the ball and everybody was involved… With a win like that there is nothing negative that should be said. With Marvin Ill just say he wrapped the towels around his neck nicely. See nothing negative.
KevinA
March 31st, 2010
9:40 pm
Awesome game, fun win. WTG Hawks. Got to love the effort by ZaZa and Mo.
Good team ball.
cp
March 31st, 2010
9:42 pm
Blast the problem with that is I doubt Marvin would perform any better off the bench. At this point I don’t know what would light a fire under him. He just goes through the motions on the court most times. At this point with Marvin all we can hope for is for him to play solid defense, hit the glass, and knock down a few open shots. Like I said HOPE but I just don’t know with that cat anymore. I try to root for him but his on court performances make it hard.
JeJe
March 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
DAMNIT HAWKS PLAY LIKE THIS EVERY NIGHT
GIVE MO AND ZAZA 24 MINUTES EACH. ATTACK THE GLASS. LET OUR BENCH PLAY. LET TEAGUE PLAY. HE HAD A NICE PLAY IN THE 2ND AND WAS TAKEN OUT WTF
Zach
March 31st, 2010
9:46 pm
Can someone explain to me how Cleveland shoots 34 MORE free throws than the bucks, including a 17-0 margin in the fourth quarter? Is anyone surprised that this is in cleveland?
bigdave
March 31st, 2010
9:50 pm
good job Stinger…
Sleepy
March 31st, 2010
9:51 pm
Good win but the real kick in the nutz to the league is Friday on national tv. Go into Cleveland and get a convincing win and it sets everyone on notice .
terrell
March 31st, 2010
9:55 pm
Jeff Green knocking down back to back 3’s on the Celtics. Thunder by 4. Haha!
terrell
March 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
Should Marvin even be on the Playoff roster? Seriously!
Taylor
March 31st, 2010
10:03 pm
Wow, there were so many damn blogs tonight I went to the wrong one. No wonder no one was talking and I didn’t see the regular crew. Great win Hawks!
Taylor
March 31st, 2010
10:05 pm
Josh Smith said he told the Lakers fans behind the Hawks bench to go home! HAHAHAHAHAHA
cp
March 31st, 2010
10:07 pm
lol@terrell. If Marvin is stinking it up in the playoffs as he has in the regular season I hope Woodson doesn’t hesitate to pull him. Dude has had so many invisible nights that its not even funny.
northcyde
March 31st, 2010
10:22 pm
This team dang near played the perfect game. Mo and Zaza definitely deserve game balls tonight. As reserve players, that’s what you have to do. Come in and IMMEADIATELY affect the game.
Zaza used his body very effectively tonight, banging Gasol and DJM all night. And it was nice to see Mo Evans come out of the gate firing and making shots.
And what can I say about the Captain. Just a big time performance tonight by him. This is the type of game that he needed to have with the home folks watching. And I liked the way he used the 3-ball tonight. When a shooter like him hits a few deep ones, he has to be assertive and look to tae that shot until he mises 2 in a row. Great shooting and overall performance by JJ in that 2nd half.
This was just a good all-around win on both sides of the ball.
3 – 0 vs the Spurs, Magic, and Lakers at home.
Now for the ultimate test . . . can we win a road game against the best team and the best player in basketball on Friday night?
JeJe
March 31st, 2010
10:29 pm
3-1, not 3-0
Clyde
March 31st, 2010
10:35 pm
We beat the Lakers.
FIRE WOODY
Atlanta Fawks
March 31st, 2010
10:36 pm
Are the Hawks bipolar?
Truth-Serum
March 31st, 2010
10:39 pm
cp it was indeed nice to see the hawks show some power in the paint. True, the lakers were minus Bynum thats huge, and Gasol was force out of his game to fill the lane but, still, the hard fouls by Zaza and Mo and Marvin made it clear that the hawks understand that you need to be a force in the paint. I dont know how this would have played out over a 7 game set but, still, the hawks were strong inside. That take down by Marvin made it clear that there would be no waltz to the rim as has been the case so many times before. We have got killed in the paint too many times. Great all around physical game from The Z man!
terrell
March 31st, 2010
10:39 pm
Ajc must be blocking posts. That makes 2 that didn’t get posted. Wtf!
terrell
March 31st, 2010
10:40 pm
Now I know they are, because that one went up. Bustas!
Blast
March 31st, 2010
10:41 pm
Cp,
If Marvin cannot come up big with the bench, then what good is he? Well, when you look at it, the bench; Jamal, Mo, Zaza and the Rook has been balling hard, so I won’t be surprised if Marvin keeps laying more eggs even with the bench.
I have always loved Marvin since he became a Hawk, and I am one of the last few folks to bash him on the blog, But I’m just tired of the dude not showing up at all. Not with how many years he’s been in the league and how much millions he is making. I just pray there is hope for him in the playoffs. To Marvin’s credit, he seems to be trying, but he is just not getting the results, so if he keeps trying hard, maybe there is hope for him at all. He has to feel the hate on this blog.
48th win of the season coming at the expense of Lakers no less!! It cannot get better than this….unless we beat the Cavs on Friday!
terrell
March 31st, 2010
10:41 pm
Marvin is the Greatest. Is that one o.k AJC?
JeJe
March 31st, 2010
10:42 pm
FIRE WOODY
THIS WIN DOES NOT ERASE THE FACT WE LOST TO FREAKING PHILLY. OR GOT SWEPT BY OKC. OR LOST TWICE AT HOME TO THE KNICKS, LOST 3 TO MIAMI
WE BEAT THE LAKERS EVERY YEAR. BUT WE ARE NOT BEATING ORLANDO OR CLEVELAND IN THE 2ND ROUND, MEANING WE HAVE NOT IMPROVED SINCE LAST YEAR. REGULAR SEASON RECORD MEANS NOTHING – PLAYOFF RECORD DOES
terrell
March 31st, 2010
10:46 pm
What has happened to this blog? When you critisize, it doesn’t get posted. What a joke!