Atlanta Hawks at Bucks: Too Much Fun Preparing For Games? (UPDATE: Crawford out with toe injury)
Woody's mad and Jamal is hurting. (AP Photo)
Milwaukee–(EDIT: Jamal Crawford (toe) is out. He said he hurt his right toe late in the Wizards game when (he thinks) big JaVale McGee came down on his foot while challenging a shot. He said he had turf toe during his New York days but that injury was “much worse” than this one. Crawford hopes to play Wednesday vs. Cleveland even if the game has no bearing on seeding for the playoffs.)
Tense scene at Hawks shootaround today. Woody was going over the Hawks’ defensive rotations and he felt some players were taking the lesson too lightly. So Woody told them in salty terms he didn’t see what was so funny considering opponents had been exploiting the Hawks’ in that very situation late in games.
Woody headed for the bus without talking to reporters. (Edit: In pregame Woody said: “That’s my time. That’s time for me and my staff. I don’t want to have to keep repeating myself because that means you’re not listening.”)
Clearly he’s not happy with the Hawks’ focus with game No. 81 tonight.
“That just comes with having a young team,” J.J. said. “Honestly that’s something we need to work on as players is locking in and having more attention to detail. Because that does come back to haunt us late in games.”
These things happen over the course of a long season, of course, but the circumstances had to bother Woody.
The Hawks are still playing for the third seed in the East. They aren’t a very good road team and have a tough task against the Bucks tonight, especially if with Jamal (toe) sits out. Leaving shooters open due to lax rotations has been an issue for much of the last half of the season–you only need to look back to the Wizards game Saturday to see how the Hawks can be nonchalant about rotating and closing out.
The Hawks seemed to take Woody’s blowup in stride.
“It can be tough late in the year like this,” Al said. “You don’t want to look ahead but you can’t help but look ahead at the playoffs. We have to do a better job as a team trying to key in and finish the right way.”
– The Bucks are 3-1 in games without Bogut. Old pro Kurt Thomas is picking up most of Bogut’s minutes and as pointed out by Charlie G., my old colleague at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Bucks are adjusting on the fly without Bogut:
“Bucks coach Scott Skiles has to do a balancing act with his lineup now that Bogut is absent and the team is relying on a center trio of Thomas, Dan Gadzuric and Primoz Brezec. At times, Skiles has elected to go with a smaller lineup, as he did in the fourth quarter Saturday with Brandon Jennings, Luke Ridnour, John Salmons and Jerry Stackhouse combining with 6-10 Ersan Ilyasova.”
Thomas is in his 15th season. Obviously there’s a dropoff from Bogut to Thomas in production, skill and size. But Thomas still is a pretty good pick-and-pop shooter
and a tough rebounder and post defender.
“He’s a very solid vet that knows how to play,” Horford said. “That’s the kind of guy you like to have on your team.”
Look for Al to take Thomas out to the perimeter, where he should have little trouble zipping by him.
– The only thing that can be settled for the Hawks in the playoff picture tonight is eliminating Charlotte as a potential foe. That happens if Miami wins at Philadelphia tonight to draw 3 games clear of Charlotte with each team having two more to play. Both the Bucks and Bobcats would win a tiebreaker over the Heat.
Jon Newberry at Hawksbasketblog breaks it down: “(T)here are too many possible scenarios of how things could shake out to go through them all. The simplest scenario is if we win our last two games against Milwaukee and against Cleveland and Miami wins their last two game. In that case the matchups would be ATL (3) vs. MIL (6) and BOS (4) vs. MIA (5).”
– THHB has a poll up at Peachtree Hoops asking who Hawks fans would rather face in the first round. So far it’s the Bucks in a landslide.
MC
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339 comments Add your comment
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
8:51 pm
Baha Moute? go Nique.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
8:51 pm
Zaza and Joe Smith. Good looking tandem off the bench right now. Lots of energy.
How do we keep letting Jerry Stackhouse get free? Dude ends up open all over the place!
Oh wait…..it must be Teague. Dastardly rookie.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
8:52 pm
Good thing Mo Evans caught that pass right in his hands, under the basket. Teague was trying to throw it away, I think.
Blast
April 12th, 2010
8:53 pm
How come Hawks get called for an over the back at the other end, and we can’t get the same call on the same play at our own end? Can NBA refs ever call a game straight for once in their miserable lives?
drmaryb
April 12th, 2010
8:53 pm
Great pass JT0!
Why didn’t sign Stack? Our bench needs scoring weapons! Not 2 second Def – Stops at end of games!
bigdave
April 12th, 2010
8:53 pm
Moe has the presence of mind not to just stand while Teague is on the floor… the offense should actually have movement with no iso or spot up guards on the floor..
Teague could have 8 dimes a game..
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
8:54 pm
Stack pushed off Joe on that J.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
8:55 pm
Teague fails to stop STackhouse again. Oh wait, he’s out of the game now.
Meanwhile, Joe lookin’ like Playoff Joe right now. Oh yeahhhhhhh….
Ree Roe
April 12th, 2010
8:56 pm
@ Big Ray, I understand you’re a Teague fan. I get it. But just b/c he’s ya boy doesn’t mean that he’s not a liability on offense & a spectator on defense. Yall put on your Superman cape anytime Teague is criticized. Gimmie a break…
-gREEn Roe!!
bigdave
April 12th, 2010
8:56 pm
Mo the new baseline bum…!
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
8:56 pm
Hawks tried to sign Stack, drmaryb. he thought grass wuz greener in Milwaukee
Blast
April 12th, 2010
8:56 pm
Mo reminds me of Chills. Moving well without the ball.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
8:56 pm
Holy crap, Zaza is all over the glass!
Mo Evans looks great…well, except the missed 3 and the foul….though I actually liked the foul….
bigdave
April 12th, 2010
8:57 pm
there you go Mo… if he wanna act like he got clotheslined thats his b. i…
Melvin
April 12th, 2010
8:57 pm
Is there any doubt that Stackhouse can still play????
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:00 pm
Ree Roe ,
It’s a smart-a$$ cape. Get it right, dammit.
And I realize you hate Teague and he can do nothing good in your eyes, and Rick Sund is Buffoon of the Year for picking him in the draft. I’d rather we try for our pg of the future than pick another Marvin over a CP3 or Deron Williams. But hey, that’s just me. Try not to take it personal.
Or…we could just say he’s a rookie with faults in his game (imagine that), and he has room to improve, but probably can’t be expected to have done so in 9 mpg over the course of a year, while learning from a 11 year veteran who plays crappy defense of his own. But that might make too much sense.
I have no silly tag line to add to my posts, but if I try real hard…..maybe I’ll be as funny as you some day. Nah…
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:01 pm
Melvin ,
Just think. We eventually ended up with Super Mario over Stackhouse, who was right under our nose the whole time.
Blast ,
I agree!
BONEY
April 12th, 2010
9:02 pm
My dog Jodie Meeks has 21 points in 19 minutes for Philly – 5 for 7 in threes.
northcyde
April 12th, 2010
9:02 pm
( sigh )
Melvin
April 12th, 2010
9:02 pm
“Not just Richard Jefferson…Atlanta’s Maurice Evans will likely be opting out of his 2.5 million $ contract this summer as well I’m told.
Jonathan Givony- DraftExpress”
Oh well, extra money to give the Childress…..
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:03 pm
WHOOOOOOOO!!!! Joe with the sweeeeet move!
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
9:03 pm
Marvin is unstoppable.
BONEY
April 12th, 2010
9:04 pm
Childress can stay in Europe – he’s scared of the NBA.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:04 pm
I don’t know what I hate more, the whoopin’ Stack is putting on us, or the fact that we decided to pass on him, when we could have had him for very little cash.
Meanwhile, Josh is getting torched with fouls on the perimeter as he is forced to guards 1s, 2s, and 3s.
God, I love the switch defense. Playoff preview anyone?
Blast
April 12th, 2010
9:04 pm
Ever since Stackhouse signed with the Bucks, he has been looking for ways to show up the Hawks. Just another example tonight.
He could not convert on the rare 4 point game, though.
drmaryb
April 12th, 2010
9:05 pm
Stack is NO JQuick/JCross when it comes to 4 point plays!
Melvin
April 12th, 2010
9:05 pm
Big Ray,
We will see the value of Super Mario in the playoffs when he will stop DWade from scoring the last basket before halftime in Game 1.
HawksFan11
April 12th, 2010
9:08 pm
Joe going for 40 tonight
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:09 pm
Smokin’ Joe Johnson. Playoff preview, people.
We will need Joe so much, and he will be against Milwaukee what Dwyane Wade is against many teams: something to be feared. Only, Joe does it without all the ticky tack foul calls (or any calls at all, actually).
Blast
April 12th, 2010
9:10 pm
Joe is on firrrrrrrre!
This is the Joe I know and love! Making quick decisions, scoring the ball! Now he has guard duty on Stackhouse. Hope he keeps it up!
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:12 pm
Blast,
That’s true. But look what he does for the Bucks in 20 minutes a night. 8 points, 2.4 rbs. We get 2 more points and 2.6 more rebounds out of our $37.5 million starting SF, in about 10 minutes more per game.
Ewwww…
Ree Roe
April 12th, 2010
9:12 pm
@ Big Ray,
I’m not sure if you caught the last discussion I had on the Rook, but I bare no ill will towards Teague. Quite the contrary. I want the young man to succeed & help the Hawks reach that championship level. I was happy when we drafted him & gave his poor play a pass for the first 3/4 of the season. But now I believe he is not ready to help the Hawks this yr & he is a liability to have on the court, especially in playoff type games. Hopefully he improves next season, but as of now he gives us NOTHING.
As for the taglines, who said I was tryna be funny?
-REEady made Roe!!!
BONEY
April 12th, 2010
9:13 pm
Why do the Hawks always draft players with “broken” jumpshots?
Josh Childress
Salim Stoudamire
Acie Law
and now . . . Jeff Teague
drmaryb
April 12th, 2010
9:17 pm
Time for a Beer Break.
I heard Mr. Woodson got S A L T Y in walk through today. Setting up the Defensive rotation for tonight & guyswere horsing around!
Looks like Joe stepped up to settle the guys down. It seems like Joe is verbal in the club house settings.
This is still his team if he wants it. The guys do defer to Joe as such.
Everyone looks focused tonight & Came to play ball!
Ree Roe
April 12th, 2010
9:18 pm
Watch out BONEY. Big Ray won’t like you talkin about his PG like that
-REEd Roe!
Blast
April 12th, 2010
9:19 pm
About Stackhouse coming to Hawks, Jerry did drop numerous hints that he would like to play with the Hawks. Who wouldn’t want sunny weather vs cold and snow 10 months a year? Or a 51 team vs a 45 win team?
Personally, I feel it might have come down to money, and maybe the ASG under estimated Jerry’s skills, so a deal was not done. Or maybe he wasn’t even on Sund’s radar at all.
Be as it may, Hawks have played so well on the road so far vs a possible playoff opponent, that it would be a shame if they end up losing. That would be a heartbreaker!
cp
April 12th, 2010
9:20 pm
You have to love some of the fans on here. One wants the rook to put up numbers even the starter does not put up. Whats funny about that is he is the same guy who said the rook doesn’t deserve minutes and isn’t as good as the starter. But now somehow the rook is supposed to put up numbers the starter cant even sniff….. I really wish Joe Smith would move closer with his jumper. I don’t know the last time he hit one. You have to love blaming losing the lead on the rook as if he was the only one on the floor. I guess the other 4 players were playing lock down d and the rook was getting abused. Nah that didn’t happen but lets just go with that anyway. Hard to rack up dimes as a pg when the guys you’re passing too cant hit a jumper. I like the chemistry between the rook and Mo Evans Evans seems to be the only one with enough sense to keep moving without the ball..
And Stackhouse really must still be mad at the Hawks for not signing him. He talked all summer and even during the season about how he wanted to play for the Hawks. The Hawks being the Hawks opted for Mario West. smh . Stack has probably scored this game what Mario has scored the past two seasons. I hope we are done with the Mario experiment after this season.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:20 pm
Ree Roe ,
Come on, now. I refuse to believe you’re that slow. I warned you I had my smart-a$$ cape on, didn’t I?
I recall your last discussion on Teague. I just felt like you exaggerated your view of how I see Teague (he’s not my boy, he ain’t earned that distinction yet), so I replied in an exaggerated way. I know you don’t hate the guy. And believe me, I am WELL AWARE of his faults.
At the same time, how can you ignore the quotes from Woody, who has said he planned to bring Teague along slowly, as he had the luxury of a legit starting pg in Mike Bibby, and a great 2 for 1 backup in Jamal Crawford? Teague gives us more than “nothing”, but he doesn’t give us a lot . Again, how much do you expect from a guy who is “allowed” 9 minutes per game on average, and sometimes doesn’t get to play at all? How can you ignore the five game stretch that I pointed out, wherein Teague got a consistent 20 mpg and put up stats that are as good as those Ty Lawson was getting in 20 mpg in Denver? Facts are facts, man. I just refuse to throw out the kid as a waste when he was never expected to even get to do a whole lot in the first place, AS WOODY SAID IN THE FIRST PLACE.
That’s all we’re arguing about. I never expected the kid to do much, considering Woody said (I can’t say this enough) that he planned to bring him along slowly. I still wanted him to play more though, because I don’t like the idea of using just one guard to relieve two guys (Jamal subs for both Bibby and Joe, just like Flip did last season). But that’s my opinion. I’m not even arguing the decision of a coach to do so with his rookie pg when he has three capable veteran guards and his methods (and the team’s talent) have resulted in 51 wins so far.
I just don’t agree that Teague sucks, or gives us “nothing”, as you describe it. Not when he showed what he could do with consistent minutes, which he rarely got.
Nique's Revenge
April 12th, 2010
9:20 pm
wow jj showing up tonight for a change
BONEY
April 12th, 2010
9:21 pm
I’m sorry Ree, but has Jeff Teague made a jumper this year? If he came in and scored some buckets, maybe Woody would leave him in the game for more than 6 minutes a night.
northcyde
April 12th, 2010
9:22 pm
( sigh ) @ Ree Roe . . . I agree 100%
To be a effective PG in the NBA, you have to have a “take charge” attitude, along with the skill to match.
I don’t see it. Other than the athleticism, this is Acie Law all over again ( so far ).
Teague . . work on your jumper this summer, and come back next year being able to knock down the 15 – 20 ft jumper off the dribble.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:23 pm
CP ,
You have to love some of the fans on here. One wants the rook to put up numbers even the starter does not put up. Whats funny about that is he is the same guy who said the rook doesn’t deserve minutes and isn’t as good as the starter. But now somehow the rook is supposed to put up numbers the starter cant even sniff..
Precisely. That never ceases to amuse me. But you DO know that saying things like this means that said rookie is now “your boy.” No, really. Pointing things out like that means you are now claiming the player as your own, will put him on your medical insurance, and even claim him on your income tax return paperwork.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:25 pm
I’m sorry Ree, but has Jeff Teague made a jumper this year? If he came in and scored some buckets, maybe Woody would leave him in the game for more than 6 minutes a night.
Yep. That also explains why Bibby gets to stay in a game after he shoots 2 for 8. Even if he does it night after night. I give up….
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
9:27 pm
I just turned to the game wtf is up with the horn sounds?
VenomSpitter
April 12th, 2010
9:27 pm
Marvin is WADDLING
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
9:28 pm
sound like the vikings stadium
cp
April 12th, 2010
9:29 pm
Ray thats why i stay away from most of the Teague discussions. Some guys on here exaggerate so much that its beyond funny.
drmaryb
April 12th, 2010
9:30 pm
Marvin passes the ball like its a HOT potatoe! Why is he so scared to make a play for himself?
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
9:32 pm
Northcyde ,
Wow. So Teauge is supposed to “take charge” on a team that features Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, and Mike Bibby, run by a coach that prefers to bring his rookie along slowly, while using his veteran guards to help the team to 51 wins.
So, shooting 48% over a five game stretch was an aberration that deserved the immediate return to 2, 3, and 4 minute games, Woody was flat out lying when he said that he “felt Teague played good for a guy who doesn’t get many minutes”, and if Teague hits the 15-20 foot jumper consistently enough…..he’ll what ?
I wonder how Speedy Claxton (when healthy), Brevin Knight, Ray Felton, and several other pgs I could name, managed to survive in this league? Maybe a little defense and the ability to get teammates involved, while playing their role had something to do with it.
Nevermind. Those are clearly the delusions of an insane mind, and I made it all up in my head.
Justin
April 12th, 2010
9:32 pm
I’m glad that Josh got this game out of his system before the playoffs start. Clunker for him tonight.