Hawks Squawks: Bobcats 109, Hawks 100
Charlotte–Well, what to make of this one? You could hate on the Hawks for coming out with no urgency though they needed more of it without J.J and Bibby in the lineup. Or you can look at their 64-50 advantage in the second half and praise them for at least not folding.
– Shoot, I don’t know, maybe it’s something in between? “We didn’t come out ready to play,” Woody said. “It wasn’t pretty in the locker room at halftime. I thought we came out and played Atlanta Hawks basketball in the second half but the effort came too late.”
– The Bobcats raced out to a 21-8 lead and were up 34-14 after the first quarter. The Hawks had no energy, cohesion or communication. “We got off to a sluggish start,” Smoove said, and if you saw it you know that’s an understatement.
– The Hawks certainly looked like a different squad after halftime. Too bad they were already buried under Charlotte’s dunks and layups. “I don’t think we came out with enough energy to stop that early,” Al said.
– Another way to look at this game is to figure the Hawks didn’t have enough depth to beat a capable, desperate team that is tough on its court and just look at how the fill-ins played. “We are looking to see what guys are willing to step up and play in the absence of other guys,” Josh said. “We want guys who are not scared and can add that extra depth.”
– Mo was quiet early and great after halftime (20 points, 8/11 FG in the second half!). Teague was bad early and pretty good after halftime (seven points, four assists, no turnovers after halftime). And Mario . . . well, there’s a reason Mo played all 24 minutes in the second half (though Mario did have another nasty dunk).
– Teague said calmed down after Bibby pulled him to the side for a talk. ““That (bad start) let me know what I need to work on,” he said. “I was timid at first. When you are a rookie making your second start and things go bad, all of that is in your head. I’m glad I have veteran teammates who talk to me and support me.”
– “The rook’ was good,” Jamal said. “That’s what it’s all about is getting experience and getting comfortable out there.”
– “Jeff Teague did an outstanding job,” Smoove said. “He may have been a little shaken up in the first half but he came back in the second half and answered the bell.”
– Teague’s teammates are pulling for him. Woody wants Rook’ to do well, too. He said before the game he would let Teague play through mistakes, and he did until things started to get out of hand. And then he went back to him (yeah, I know, the options were slim but he put him out there).
– Woody credited Teague with sparking the Hawks after halftime. “I liked the way we picked it up,” he said. “Jeff Teague came in and was more aggressive offensively and pushed the ball. I like the way we competed in the second half.”
– Marvin’s early foul trouble hurt because Mario had to play small forward and the results were not good. Six points and three rebounds in 23 minutes from Marvin are just not enough when the Hawks are shorthanded. Teague had a more productive game in nearly equal minutes.
–Bibby tried to go at shootaround but couldn’t because of an ingrown toenail on his left big toe. He said he’s had issues with the nail before with the usually remedy to remove some skin so he can function without pain. But he said the right half of the nail was removed this time to avoid an infection.
– He said he’s not sure if he would play at Detroit. “I will try it when we get there,” he said. “I hope so. I hate to miss games.”
– The injury situation worsened for the Hawks when Jason Collins suffered a right foot injury before tipoff. Woody said he would have used him if healthy. Collins said X-rays were negative, so it’s probably a sprain.
– Then Zaza was lost to a hip injury in the second quarter. He said he has tendinitis in his right hip flexor. He’s also struggled with tendinitis in his left hip this season. “It was tight before the game,” he said. “I stretched it and warmed it up really good. I went in the game and it got worse and worse.”
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
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116 comments Add your comment
JeJe
April 7th, 2010
3:53 pm
“You can tell how good a coach is by how well and much he uses the media to critique his players. Boy, that is exactly what I want from my coach.”
Do you know who Phil Jackson is?
Calling out players is better than calling players into your office every 3 months to tell them they suck
O'Brien
April 7th, 2010
4:00 pm
JeJe,
Each player is different, so calling them out in the media does not always work.
As for calling out Marvin in the media, Rick Sund talked about him in the media this offseason and said he needs Marvin to step up his game. Woody has talked about him in the media, saying he needs to stop deferring, and be more aggressive. And Woody has also called him into his office recently.
What more can Woody do?
As for the playoffs, regardless of who the Hawks play in the first round, I will be surprised if we dont make it to the second round. After all, we have one of the best home records in the league, and we will have 4 games in ATL.
Against the Celtics 2 years ago, we won all 3 home games in the playoffs, and last year against Miami, although we lost 1 home game, we did win on the road.
I expect a similar performance in the first round this year. Survive and advance.
That being said, if the Hawks dont make it out of the first round, then I will be on Clyde’s bandwagon.
GeeMack
April 7th, 2010
4:03 pm
BirdDawg
The Hawks and Celtic are neck to neck, and the Celtics 2 best players missed a total of 21 games due to injuries this season. How man games you think the Hawks would win if Josh & JJ were out for a combined 21 games.
The Magic has 4 current or recent all-stars((Vince, D12,Rahard, & Jameer), the Celtic sent 3 guys this year (Rando,PP, & KG). Clev (Shaq LBJ Mo Williams, and Big Z) a few years ago.
My point was, there has only been 2 out 60 Championship teams that didn’t feature at least 2 elite players 94 Rockets & the 04 Pistons, all the others had a trio, or a great 1-2 punch. The Hawks don’t have that.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
4:04 pm
For those of you supporting the idea of signing Manu Ginobili if Joe Johnson leaves, it looks like the Spurs are about to extend his contract.
GeeMack
April 7th, 2010
4:21 pm
Hawks Fans,
During the offseason we all agreed the Hawks would win 50 to 54 games this season.
There was alot of hoping that injuries would slow the Celtics, and it has.
There was alot of hoping the Orlando situation wouldn’t work, but it has.
There was a lot hoping the Shaq experiment in Clevland would back fire, but it hasn’t.
The top 3 teams in the East made better offseason moves, therefore they are performing at a higher rate than the Hawks.
The eastern conference is better this year, and the Hawks play in the most competative division in the east. Yet they were still able to improve there win total from last year.
I’m not sure how some blogger scan fix their mouth to say the coach is not doing a good job.
Can he get better?
Sure, but he has this team in a better position than they were a year ago.
RachaelEvans
April 7th, 2010
4:29 pm
When Marvin was the second player selected out of the draft, right then we should have drafted Marvin Williams straight up for LaBron James. Of course its too late now but could you imagine either Labron James or Chris Paul playing in place of Marvin? That would be totally awesome!
Westurd
April 7th, 2010
4:31 pm
Trade Marvin for a real duck butt……..quack quack
JeJe
April 7th, 2010
4:33 pm
So does Woody just tell marvin once to step up?
STAY ON HIS CASE AND MAKE HIM PLAY BETTER
DawgNole
April 7th, 2010
4:47 pm
Daniel, I believe you’re dwelling too heavily on the word “stupid.” You’re nit-picking the word and its literal meaning. As I indicated earlier, perhaps “ignorant” (of the frachise’s history) would be more appropriate. Forty-plus years of ownership’s same satisfied-with-less-than-a-championship tradition is not a fluke. And our Atlanta pro sports franchises, sadly, are steeped in that tradition. It never fails to surprise me that people actually believe the Hawks have improved beyond their “tradition” of never advancing beyond the second round. I chose to call those people stupid because their beliefs are based on ignorance of–or refusal to acknowledge–the frachise’s well-documented history of failure. Based on that history, expectations of true success (advancing beyond the second round) are not “reasonable” at all; they’re stupid (or ignorant). Again, that doesn’t mean you don’t WANT the team to be successful, but don’t be shocked (or satisfied, for that matter) when they fail once again. That (failure) is the time-honored tradition of all Atlanta major professional sports franchises (with the notable exception of the ‘95 Braves) over the past half-century; thus the label “Losersville.”
northcyde
April 7th, 2010
5:08 pm
JeJe . . . seriously . . . how old are you?
If all it took for a coach to make a player better, is to stay on his case, then everybody in the league would play at a high level every night. You can try to coach up desire and effort, but in the end, the player has to WANT to play with desire and effort.
How many times over the years have you seen Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and any other NBA commentator talk about LAMAR ODOM, his lack of aggressiveness? Everybody in the world has either told or commented about this trait that Odom continues to show.
Has it helped him elevate his game? I would have to say NO. Lamar does what he always does . . . shows flashes of greatness every blue moon, but doesn’t play nowhere near his potential as a basketball player. From a skill set standpoint, he’s one of the most versatile basketball pllayers in the NBA. From an aggressiveless and desire standpoint, he’s one of the most inconsistent players in the league.
So for a guy like Marvin, who has FAR LESS TALENT than Odom, it becomes a HUGE problem. It also makes Marvin the likely target to spend long stretches on the bench, especially seeing that both JJ and Mo Evans can play his position.
And to Woody’s credit, he hasn’t hesitated to send Marvin right to the bench when he’s unproductive.
( side note: . . . and people shouldn’t act like Mo was playing well enough before the All-Star break, to take Marvin’s spot. He JUST started coming around to being more like the old MO in the last 3 – 4 weeks or so. )
Clyde
April 7th, 2010
5:45 pm
Woody quit on Boris Diaw in his second year. Now Marvin is in his 4th and has shown no signs of progress, but Woody puts him in the starting lineup.
FIRE WOODY
JeJe
April 7th, 2010
6:29 pm
I am 13 years old . . .
cp
April 7th, 2010
6:37 pm
lol Clyde. I think with Marvin, Woodson really wants the kid to succeed. He has done everything he can with him but its just not working. I think a change of scenery might be the best option for Marvin. This is his what 5th year? I don’t think we need another year to find out the same thing we know already. He is an inconsistent, average sf who isn’t aggressive.
Ken Strickland
April 7th, 2010
7:40 pm
People, the idea that Woodson needed to do something to help Marvin become more productive came out of his mouth, not mine, and so far he’s done nothing that anyone has see. It would be different if Marvin had a history of not producing, but we all know that isn’t the case. If the 2 starters that control the ball and the OFF, Bibby and JJ, don’t routinely call plays that include Marvin in the OFF, and Woodson has acknowledged on several occasions he needs to be included more, WHO IN THE HELL SHOULD BE BLAMED BUT THE HC, AND WHO’S RESPONSIBILITY IT IS TO MAKE THINGS WORK FOR EVERYONE?
If a play is called for Smoove, Horford, Bibby or JJ, other than run the play the way it was designed and for who it was designed, what in the hell is Marvin suppose to do? He’s a total team player, and unlike JJ, he’s not going to disrupt the OFF to go ISO. He’ll do what he’s asked to do, and no more. You can’t have a team full of players who go off on their own like JJ and Bibby, and even Crawford, have often done.
The only reason Smoove and Horford have gotten more touches and opportunities is due to go inside more because of Bibby’s almost total OFF meltdown, and Woody’s insistence on continuing to play him heavy mins. This idea of crediting Woodson when everything goes right and blaming the players for everything that goes wrong is BS.
This team is much better than last yrs team in every respect. We have lost the fewest gms to injury than any team in the NBA this yr. Yet, we’re struggling to win 50 gms, after winning 47 last yr. We should have past 50 wins before now. THIS ATLANTA HAWK TEAM HAS PROGRESSED BEYOND WOODSON’S LIMITED COACHING ABILITY.
terrell
April 7th, 2010
8:01 pm
Why is Marvin still in the NBA?
terrell
April 7th, 2010
8:26 pm
We’re up by 2 on a D-League team.