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
HawksFan11
April 12th, 2010
10:03 pm
JJJJJJJooooeeee Johnson
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
10:03 pm
that’s the JJ we need to resign
VenomSpitter
April 12th, 2010
10:04 pm
Joe is havin his best game in a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG TIME
VenomSpitter
April 12th, 2010
10:04 pm
Bibby looked like he was crip walkin lol
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
10:05 pm
lol ref make up call
BONEY
April 12th, 2010
10:05 pm
Nice double-double for Teague – 2 points – 2 assists !!
VenomSpitter
April 12th, 2010
10:05 pm
Did ya’ll like that great Bibby D.
Wabe
April 12th, 2010
10:05 pm
Yall see JT0 after Woody pulled him?
Kid wouldn’t even look Woody in the face.
Blast
April 12th, 2010
10:05 pm
Al keeps fouling! Guess it’s Zaza to round up the game.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 12th, 2010
10:06 pm
Hawks in 7
cp
April 12th, 2010
10:06 pm
Teague played some nice d on Jennings. Bibby has gone cold since the first quarter and yep he just gave up an and 1
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
10:06 pm
i dont understand why bibby fouls him and josh is right there
terrell
April 12th, 2010
10:06 pm
Has Bibby done ANYTHING since the 1st qtr???? Why take Teague out?
Ree Roe
April 12th, 2010
10:06 pm
lol @ BONEY. 1 basket & Teague has got the Internet goin nuts!
*and the inevitable 4th Q collapse begins now…SMH.
Glad Teague got taken out
-REEctify it Roe!!
Jody
April 12th, 2010
10:06 pm
The Hawks can’t afford to give this one away!
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
10:07 pm
hawks will sweep this team…people forgetting crawford is not playing tonight in a 7 game series hawks should sweep them
HawksFan11
April 12th, 2010
10:07 pm
What I don’t understand is is he’s going to foul, why let him get the shot off.
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
10:08 pm
Woody don’t like to be ignored. JTO
Greg
April 12th, 2010
10:08 pm
Bibby couldn’t guard my grandmother.
N-Trigue
April 12th, 2010
10:08 pm
Bibby can’t check Jenning put teague back in!!
Jody
April 12th, 2010
10:08 pm
Folks should be pating Teague on the back. Yeah he made some mistakes, but the young man gave the Hawks some good minutes. It’s a crime shame some folks want to rag on him considering the fact that they’ll go out of there way to pat Marvin on the back for a 7 point 3 rebound game.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 12th, 2010
10:08 pm
he was tryin to ease away from Woodson..lookin off to the side….and woody pulled him back towards him@Wabe
Woodson The Soul Killer
cp
April 12th, 2010
10:09 pm
Ree Roe you’re the same guy who blamed the rook for the interior defense getting absolutely murdered a few games ago. I’m sorry but i cant even take you serious.
Wabe
April 12th, 2010
10:09 pm
Half the minutes, just as many assist.
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
10:10 pm
bench horford
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
10:10 pm
Ree Roe ,
Okay, I’ll try this again, since you asked. I used the 5 game stretch (which you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, despite posting it several times) to illustrate how well Teague did when he consistently got 20 mpg. The concept of consistent minutes relating to consistent play just can’t be that hard, can it? As for why Woody cut his minutes, why don’t you tell me?
Or better yet, take the easy answer I already gave you: Woody said….and I can’t believe I have to repeat this AGAIN…that he intended to bring Teague along SLOWLY.
I was glad to see that Teague did so well over that stretch of games, the ONLY stretch in the ENTIRE 82 game season in which he got consistent minutes. Believe it or not, that DOES affect a young player’s ability to progress and perform. It even affects veterans.
BUT….I also recognized that Woody chose to go with his veteran pg, and that was the right way to get to 51 games. I argued over Woody’s PRESEASON BASED decision. I have sense seen the wisdom in it. Instead of sacrificing the team’s progress by overplaying a rookie for the sake of grooming and developing him, Woody went with his vets and let the rook get a bit of playing time here and there, and more when the team either was missing a guard (like Bibby) or the game was well in hand. A few times, like tonight, Woody let Teague get in there when the pressure was up, so he could feel what it was like.
But he always maintained that he would not “throw him to the Wolves.”
I don’t know how many more ways to say it, but Teague doesn’t play because he simply sucks. Woody didn’t want it this way. If you don’t believe that, take it up with Woody. He said it himself, so go argue with HIM.
N-Trigue
April 12th, 2010
10:10 pm
Put zaza baqck in too we need his tuffness this game!
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
10:10 pm
big ray nobody will read all that
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
10:11 pm
late in the game and nobody wants to shoot. cept Marvin.
N-Trigue
April 12th, 2010
10:11 pm
Put zaza back in too we need his tuffness this game!
Blast
April 12th, 2010
10:11 pm
AL should have shot that ball right away.
Go, Marvin!
cp
April 12th, 2010
10:11 pm
Jody your post makes too much sense. Let these guys tell it the rook was supposed to go for 20 tonight. The Bucks are now down two and the Rook is not even in the game. Lets see how Ree Roe puts the blame on the rook although he is not in the game
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
10:12 pm
lmao a cross over by bibby
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
10:12 pm
Big Al stayed with it. good hustle.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
10:12 pm
So Teague is out of the game, and the lead has dwindled even more. I wonder how we’ll explain THIS or all the 4th quarter collapses that have happened without him?
In the meantime, we see how a REAL rookie pg does it. You’re 2 for 11 in a close game, so you ignore your teammates and shoot a 3.
Wonder who feels better about their pg for the playoffs? Mike Woodson with Bibby, or Scott Skiles with Jennings?
Nique's Revenge
April 12th, 2010
10:12 pm
horford MVP!
BONEY
April 12th, 2010
10:12 pm
Nice execution by Bibby / Horford – I hope Teague took note.
Nique's Revenge
April 12th, 2010
10:13 pm
except for that last pass
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
10:13 pm
Mike Bibby, the vet, keeps getting the ball to guys like Joe and Big Al for buckets down the stretch.
“Take charge” rookies like Brandon Jennings ignore John Salmons (best guard they’ve had since Michael Redd was healthy) and take shots outside the arc.
Now what would happen if Teague did that?
joBjo
April 12th, 2010
10:14 pm
Marvin to the rescue.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 12th, 2010
10:14 pm
wow I cant believe Marvin just stopped on a dime like that to save the ball from goin back court.
cp
April 12th, 2010
10:14 pm
Good play Marvin. This is like the third game in a row where Bibby has a good first quarter and does nothing the rest of the game.
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
10:15 pm
Nique’s revenge ,
Horford will be big in the playoffs. We need to remember what he can get done against lineups like this. He will be a solid third or fourth option on offense, I think. And I don’t just mean scoring. Just putting the ball in his hands. He can pass pretty dang good.
J.J.M.
April 12th, 2010
10:15 pm
lol@mac i bet his eyes got wide
Big Ray
April 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
I think the energy of other guys is rubbing off on Marvin. He’s been making plays as well. We might even see an “And 1″ out of him.
cp
April 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
lol at mac town. Marvin has showed up tonight. Hopefully he remembers to do that in the playoffs.
VenomSpitter
April 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
marvin actually has 14 pts! wow I wasn’t expecting that
Jody
April 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
Exactly cp. Folks need to take all of their biases toward or against certain players and throw it out the window. When you don’t look at the game objectively, you’re going to sound really silly when you try to make informed (or not) points.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
lol@I thought he was goin to trip over an invisible rope again. He’s lookin ok tonight though, must have switched energy drinks
drmaryb
April 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
Crunch – Time! No more 4th qrtr pattie-melts!!!!!
This is the Play Offs Maane!
Another L eVEL! Seems like All teams got bored down the stretch!
That’s O V E R now!