Atlanta Hawks at Pistons: Bibby’s back, J.J. rests, Pistons show life
Bibby is back in the starting lineup vs. the Pistons. Zaza is available. Collins is not. J.J. is out until at least Friday vs. Toronto. Woody said: “If Joe had to play, he could play. But this gives Joe an opportunity to rest as well. He’s not played as many minutes as last year but he’s still top 10 in minutes played (he’s actually 11th). That’s OK. He’s not burned as much as last year and hopefully that will help for the playoffs.”
Rip Hamilton (ankle) is out for the Pistons. So are Tayshaun Prince (personal), Jason Maxiell (back) and Chris Wilcox (hamstring).
– Other than the daily injury tidbits, it seems the Hawks are in a sorta holding pattern. The Magic clinched the Southeast. The Hawks’ race with Boston for No. 3 in the East looks like it could come down to the final couple games. There’s lots happening elsewhere, though, starting with the Pistons.
Coach John Kuester apparently finally lost it and lit up his team during a practice. Charlie Villanueva, a $35 million bust (both for the Pistons and my fantasy team, though at least I didn’t pay him), took to Twitter to complain about it. So did rookie Austin Daye. And then both players missed the team flight to Philly on Monday. That’s an overpaid vet and a rook on a bad team complaining about their coach getting mad and then making matters worse by missing the flight. Nice.
What happens after all of that? Naturally, the Pistons beat the Sixers last night to end an 11-game losing streak with Villanueva going for 25 points and Daye for nine. So the Pistons might be rejuvenated just in time to welcome the Hawks to The Palace (though Prince did play at Philly).
– The Hawks could use a W since the Chris Bosh-less Raptors will be hard-pressed to put up a fight against Boston tonight. The Celtics are a good road team and they are still smarting after losing to the the Knicks a couple nights after they beat the Cavs.
– Don’t look now but as my boy Perk notes Dwyane Wade is ticked off. He’s balling and the Heat is climbing in the standings at the same time Milwaukee is just trying to survive after Bogut’s surgery. The Heat has unofficially replaced the Bucks as the team the Hawks don’t want to see in the first round.
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
345 comments Add your comment
vava74
April 7th, 2010
9:13 pm
OB, the answer is simple:
because to fix this, you would have to actually know what you are doing and COACH these guys.
Woody is a great guy to deal with the players. They seem to respect and like him to the point that NO ONE complaints about lack of minutes in spite of the act that many could (Mo, Zaza, Teague, JoeS) but he brings VERY LITTLE to the table technically.
drmaryb
April 7th, 2010
9:15 pm
Poor Woody
Did you see that look? Nobody is running his plays on Off nor Def! So so saaad!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:15 pm
I am honestly shocked that Marvin made that shot. Usually when he fades to his left while shooting, the shot predictably misses to the left.
Big Ray
April 7th, 2010
9:15 pm
Rod ,
Homie, I knew you were there. LOL.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:17 pm
Finally, the Hawks seem like they are getting it together, and it’s keyed by good play on both ends by the front court.
Rod from College Park
April 7th, 2010
9:17 pm
Marvin woke up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Ray
April 7th, 2010
9:17 pm
I like our energy right now. We’re on a roll, and all we have to do is play under control.
I think Marvin got embarrassed about getting blocked by Austin “Powder” Daye. He’s playing MUCH harder now.
Melvin
April 7th, 2010
9:17 pm
Marvin is having a decent 3rd qtr..
drmaryb
April 7th, 2010
9:17 pm
Evans playin’ out of his shoes! LOL!
Now just go inside & out & take us home! Blow this team out!
vava74
April 7th, 2010
9:18 pm
Dang! This was probably a crucial possession and Craw made a stupid pass…
Big Ray
April 7th, 2010
9:18 pm
For Northcyde’s Benefit ,
Jamal is turning it over right and left. He’s playing out of control on offense at times, and playing the worst defense of anybody on the team. And that would include BOTH teams.
O'Brien
April 7th, 2010
9:19 pm
Shouldn’t we double team Ben Gordon, and force him to give the ball up?
Oh Oh. Marvin is quietly having a good game so far. 11 points, 5 rebounds.
Celtics leading the Raptors, so Hawks need to win this game.
Hawks are making a run. That’s good.
Melvin
April 7th, 2010
9:19 pm
Look like Teague is done for the game…
drmaryb
April 7th, 2010
9:19 pm
Transition D – dammit!
Play INSIDE! No Jumpers. Give it to the big fella – HORFORD!
Big Ray
April 7th, 2010
9:20 pm
For Northcyde’s benefit Again ,
Jamal is so bad on offense that Josh Smith gets moved up front to guard Ben Gordon one on one. It worked. Had to have been a direct play call by Woody.
vava74
April 7th, 2010
9:20 pm
Fortunately, since Bibby left the game te Pistons started to settle for jump shots…
Cause and effect? Naaaahh…
Big Ray
April 7th, 2010
9:21 pm
Third straight post for Northcyde’s benefit ,
Horrible series by Crawford to end the third quarter. Clearly he is not Joe Johnson. The back of his jersey even says so.
Yes, I have a twisted, warped, and overactive sense of humor.
vava74
April 7th, 2010
9:22 pm
How do we spell “fourth quarter meltdown”?
H – A – W – K – S
G – O
I – S – O
M – O – D -E
O'Brien
April 7th, 2010
9:22 pm
Big Ray,
Crawford as a bench player. Awesome. Crawford as a starter? Too much up and down. And yet some people want us to let JJ go and start Crawford. We need JJ.
Najeh,
Hawks making a run, and its a result of our defense (and the fact that Detroit sucks). Which leads to fast break points.
vava,
Bibby actually has the lowest +/- so far tonight among all the players. But dont tell that to Ree Roe.
drmaryb
April 7th, 2010
9:23 pm
Melvin
Give it a rest puh-lease! We don’t need Teague tonite – dammit!
We need a WIN! Geez! The team is ballin’ now with JT0 on the bench & That’s all you GOT?
vava74
April 7th, 2010
9:24 pm
Rod,
Marvin woke up because tonight is the night where “Underachieving NC players have a go at looking like BBall players”
Sean May is also with 10 points tonight. It may be his season best…
Melvin
April 7th, 2010
9:24 pm
Dang, will Woody make any subs in the frontcourt?
cp
April 7th, 2010
9:25 pm
Well Bibby has gone cold and cant defend a chair but at least they are winning.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:25 pm
Holy sh-t, Chucky Atkins is still in the league? Now he is an ideal “Who He Play Fo?” candidate…
J.J.M.
April 7th, 2010
9:26 pm
lol@charlie “what the hell you doing man”
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:27 pm
That’s at least the 4th pass in this game that Josh has fumbled off his fingers. Get your head in the game, dude.
J.J.M.
April 7th, 2010
9:28 pm
josh should be benched wtf
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:28 pm
Now those — Bibby’s last 2 bricks, and Marvin’s 3-point brick — are rhythm shots that the players simply need to hit.
Big Ray
April 7th, 2010
9:29 pm
Mike Bibby to Josh Smith: “Smoove, after that ugly-azz 21-footer you took, you do NOT get to run the ball back up the court after the defensive rebound. Give it to me!”
cp
April 7th, 2010
9:29 pm
smh when Bibby isn’t hitting shots he is pretty much the Marvin of pgs out there because he does nothing else.
Melvin
April 7th, 2010
9:29 pm
drmary,
Did you see the defense team was playing on Bynum in the 1st half? Bynum was getting the paint and he forced him into 2 consecutive turnovers….
terrell
April 7th, 2010
9:29 pm
Josh still shootin.
cp
April 7th, 2010
9:30 pm
Josh looks like he is out of it. I have no idea whats going on with him tonight. He has been very lackadaisical and is fumbling the ball all over the place
J.J.M.
April 7th, 2010
9:30 pm
lol hes shooting jumpshots like hes been knocking them down all season
J.J.M.
April 7th, 2010
9:32 pm
choke
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:32 pm
Non-rhythm jumper for the Hawks, brick, long rebound, fast break points for the Pistons.
Melvin
April 7th, 2010
9:32 pm
Take Bibby azz out….
Ree Roe
April 7th, 2010
9:32 pm
@ O’Brien, my bad for believing that Bibby is a better PG than Jeff Teague. Is he as fast as Teague? Nope. Is he a better & smarter player than Teague? Yes. And I’ll take the smarter player over the fast one any day. Sorry I missed Teague’s 0 pt, 1 reb, 1 asst game, I was watchin the Braves
-fREE Roe!!
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 7th, 2010
9:33 pm
Bibby got frustrated with his own immobility
vava74
April 7th, 2010
9:33 pm
Out of a time out:
Bad shot!
whoooaaaa! That’ what I call coaching!
Get the Craw, Mo, MW, Josh and Al line up back on!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:33 pm
Which NBA 7-footer can get his shot blocked by Zaza? Ladies and gentlemen, the birthday cake bandit, Kwame Brown.
northcyde
April 7th, 2010
9:34 pm
LOL @ Ray . . I just tell the truth man. Some people act like we have the most talent in the league, and that it’s Woody messing everything up. The facts are that this team lacks elements that some of those other good teams possess. Yet . . we’re still right with them.
If the team just does what Woody tells them on the defensive end, we’ll be OK. LOL . . that run in the 3rd was sparked by guys finally playing some defense. Continue that in the 4th, and we’ll win this game going away.
If we don’t, it’ll be tight like the Raptor game.
O'Brien
April 7th, 2010
9:34 pm
Ree Roe,
I’m not saying that Teague is better than Bibby. All I’m saying is that Woody needs to figure out how and when to mix and match.
Speaking of the Braves though, JJJ can’t get a break can he? Same thing as last year.
Big Ray
April 7th, 2010
9:34 pm
O’brien ,
I agree. I still don’t think we have a choice in whether JJ goes or stays. It’s up to him and his agent. Somehow I doubt Sund does anything less than offer him a contract that, while perhaps not the max we could give him initially, will still be lucrative enough to keep him from being insulted by any stretch of the imagination.
Meanwhile, if the “unthinkable” happens, we can still survive with Crawford at the 2. But only if we:
1) Change the way we run our offense completely, not relying on him as the “head and shoulders above all others” leading scorer, and picking up other complimentary players.
or
2) We let Woody go his way and hire somebody else who has a more tactical and aggressive approach to the offensive side of the ball, while maintaining a keen and effective approach on defense.
But…we’d still not have the firepower on offense that we have with JJ. There is no doubt about that whatsoever. And we would not be the same team.
The funny part is, this team can never be any better than it is without a different offensive approach.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 7th, 2010
9:35 pm
I wonder when the Pistons will switch to the zone…
Melvin
April 7th, 2010
9:35 pm
CP,
I think Josh had some movie theater butter popcorn before the game. He definitely had the butter fingers tonight.
J.J.M.
April 7th, 2010
9:35 pm
we still taking jumpshots
vava74
April 7th, 2010
9:36 pm
Mike Biiibbyyyy…. aaaaa… Or should I say Chuuuuckyyyy!
drmaryb
April 7th, 2010
9:36 pm
Woody’s TO speech
Dammit – didn’t I say INSiDE & OUT! No more F#*King Jumpers! Now put the F##King ball in the Mother-F#*King HOLE! Like Tiger Woods DO!
W I N on 3! 1 – 2 – 3. WIN!
cp
April 7th, 2010
9:37 pm
Why is Bibby still in the game? He cant buy a bucket and he couldn’t guard a man on crutches right now.