Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks: Sitting On It (UPDATE: Marvin to play, other starters to sit)
Cavs coach Mike Brown said today at shooataround that LeBron and Shaq
won’t play tonight. Woody said he hadn’t made up his mind: “Game-time decision.” But chances are Hawks starters won’t play or get only token minutes considering the Hawks can’t improve their playoff seeding and that’s the way Woody approached last season’s finale under similar circumstances.
(EDIT: In pregame, Woody said Marvin would start alongside Teague, Joe Smith, and Zaza.)
The consensus among Hawks players is they’re fine with sitting.
“If anything, it helps after such a long season, Al said.
These two will watch the game tonight. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
For Brown, the main motivation behind sitting LeBron and Shaq is to avoid injury. “That had a lot to do with it,” he said.
This will be the fourth healthy scratch in a row for LeBron. Shaq just recently was cleared to return after missing six weeks with a thumb injury.
The Cavs will enter the playoffs with their full lineup of LeBron, Shaq, Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker having played together for just three full games. Brown wasn’t ready to say that’s not a worry because his team is so veteran.
“You worry,” Brown said. “As a coach you worry about a lot of things. You hope your worries don’t come true.”
After the shootaround, LeBron joked about whether his Atlanta fans want to see him play. Yeah, they do, and by the way does he feel for fans who bought tickets to games to see him as the main attraction? He shook his head: “I’ve played in every arena this year.”
That’s true, though I doubt it’s much solace for his fans who picked the wrong game to buy tickets. Some advice for those fans: If you want to see a star player on a good team, and his final visit is scheduled within the last week or so, best to catch him the first time he comes to town.
– There’s a feeling among the Hawks that the Heat might not go all out to beat the Nets tonight because Miami would rather face the Hawks than the Celtics. That’s not hard to believe. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says manipulating the seeding would be “messing with the basketball gods” but, depending on how many lines you want to read between, the Hawks’ suspicions can be confirmed by looking at this Miami Herald story by Izzy:
Jermaine O’Neal, who missed one game and started only five against the Hawks (in the playoffs) last year because of a concussion, said the difference between the Hawks and Celtics is predictability.
“[The Hawks] can put you in a tough situation, especially in Atlanta,” O’Neal said. “They play at another level. But you never really know what to expect with those guys. But with Boston, you know it’s going to be very physical, it’s going to be a grind-out type of a game, every-possession-counts type of a game. So it’s kind of like, pick your poison, really.”
Of course, even if the Heat tanked it would need the Bucks to beat Boston tonight to “secure” the No. 6 seed. That should happen since the Celtics are likely to rest their starters, too, but you never know. Maybe the Bucks want the Hawks, too.
MC
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543 comments Add your comment
kwooden1
April 14th, 2010
11:10 pm
HAWKS VS. BUCKS!!!
I hope JJ’s thumb is ready for battle because the Bucks aren’t going to lay down! I don’t like predictions so I will just talk in terms of hope and expectation. I hope the HAWKS win in 5, but I expect them to win in 6. I think we’re a mature enough team not take the Buck’s lightly, but also aware that Salmons gives us a lot of problems. I am looking forward to seeing how Horford and Smoove play this series. With Horford being able to knock down jump shots and Smoove attacking inside (with NO back to back games), it should be fun to watch!
But all eyes will be on CRAWFORD!!!
GO HAWKS!!!
Wabe
April 14th, 2010
11:11 pm
I hear ya Big Ray.
I’ve never wanted Woody to jeapordize the team’s chances at getting a W by developing the rook. I just never thought it’d come to that. I just can’t buy that argument after watching our starters blow so many 4th quarter leads. There have been way too many other issues (lack of ball movement, lapses on defense) that have gone unaddressed THAT HAVE jeapordized our chances of winning games. I won’t ever get how people can seriously believe JT0 getting 5-6 extra minutes would.
Like you said though, 53 wins is a hell of an acheivement. I’m willing to wait to see the kid play. I’m just sick of hearing the bogus “he does’t have enough talent to play with the big boys” argument. But as you said, Woody himself has said that he sees JT0 leading this team in the future. So, I guess I gotta take his word for it.
northcyde
April 14th, 2010
11:11 pm
I’ve been on the highway for the last 2 hrs and I saw the boxscore for tonight via my phone. After that, I read through this blog.
LMAO @ the comments.
WOW . . . this is all I was asking for out of Teague. I just wanted to see ONE TIME if this kid could ball or not. Just show me some of the talent that people hyped him up for.
I don’t give a damn who you play against. 24 pts ( 11 – 19 FG ) and 15 assists is DAMN IMPRESSIVE. Condense that down to his usual 7 – 9 minute a game output, and you’re talking about 6 pts – 4 assists. And I’d take that all day if he were able to do that in a short stretch.
It’s funny how people got on me when I asked the dude to give me 14 pts – 7 assists in 22 minutes . . . or 14 pts – 4 assists in that same time frame . . . but try to call me out when he goes HAM like he did tonight.
Now Jeff . . . channel this performance in the playoffs, and play at a HIGH LEVEL in the 2nd quarter when you get into a game. We know you can do it. You’re going to have 6 – 8 minutes to make that initial impact on the game.
Go ahead and go out and DO IT.
No more looking like you’re scared.
No more timid play.
Just go out there and PLAY YOUR GAME.
The “Rook” got baptized tonight. So I now want to see a “born again” Teague come the playoffs. Play with confidence, not with apprehension.
Show me state
April 14th, 2010
11:12 pm
Why does da headline say “With LeBron a spectator, Hawks beat Cavs 99-93″….instead of it being dat…it should read…”Teague sets career highs, as Hawks rout Cavs 99-83″……i’m so tired of hearing about LeBron not playing…our top 5 guys didn’t play either….but Atlanta’s B team routed Cleveland’s B team…plain and simple…Go Hawks!!!!
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:13 pm
Lascho,
You hold your tongue about Mike Bibby! He is a saint and deserves respect. OUT OF ALL THE STARTERS HE HAS THE MOST PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE. And he a saint, so you direct your criticism for the bucks
Show me state
April 14th, 2010
11:15 pm
But great way to finish da season Hawks….53-29….34-7 home record….4 game winning streak….and ended the 9 game losing streak v.s. Cavs….overall thanks for a great regular season….and let’s do it big in da playoffs…..too bad i don’t stay in Atlanta….i would be at da “Highlight Factory” for some playoff games….Go Hawks!!!
Lacsho
April 14th, 2010
11:16 pm
Zach- I’M JUST SAYIN…… SMH…..LMAO
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:17 pm
state,
because everyone hates the hawks and they have to justify every cleveland loss with some crap. I’ve seen other game recaps:
“Officials don’t allow Lebron to go to the line 25 times, Cavs lose by 7 (but it really was 1)”
“LeBron eats bad tuna for lunch, cavs lose. ESPN buys out restaurant to prevent service to its superstar”
“Orlando cheats, cavs complain”
its sad.
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:18 pm
No Lacsho, no no no! Mike Bibby is the reason why we didn’t lose by 50 every game in the Cleveland series last year. I expect no less this year.
Wabe
April 14th, 2010
11:19 pm
Northclyde,
I don’t think you can expect the kid to get right into a game and make have a serious impact on it if he’s not even in the game long enough to settle down. You can’t expect to see consistent numbers from a kid that gets inconsistent minutes.
JT0 did much of his damage tonight in the 2nd half. He was almost at 10 assists at halftime, but he definately got more aggressive looking for his own shot in the 2nd half. As many here have already mentioned, in most cases this season, JT0 hasn’t really had the chance to be as aggressive – simply because the offense is running through JJ/Jamal or some of the frontcourt guys. But tonight, he was able to play aggressive. And once he turned it up a notch, he was pretty impressive(relentless getting to the hoop). He also did a pretty good job staying in front of a much bigger Delonte West.
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:20 pm
Plus Mike Bibby averages 16 and 5 in the playoffs. What more do you want?
Grandad
April 14th, 2010
11:20 pm
When I 1st saw that Granbad feller, I couldn’t believe what I was sayin’
Then I thought to myself, I’m not dyslexic.
Mad Hatter, you almost got me on that one.
‘Granbad’…now that’s funny.
Stat Man
April 14th, 2010
11:21 pm
Tiger Woo–
You obviously didn’t watch any of the Heat game if you are guessing the fix wasn’t in.
The only problem is that Jersey’s starters are worse than the Heat’s backups.
They (Heat) shot 38% from the floor, jacked up twice as many 3 pointers as usual, committed an obvious charge late in regulation when a basket wins them the game and the Nets scored over half their points on layups and dunks.
To hell with them – glad they had to go longer and have to play double OT – too bad somebody didn’t get hurt – would have been what they deserved.
Anyway, I’m just glad the Hawks weren’t a position like that – I will admit, it’s pretty much a no-win deal, but get real Miami!!!!
kwooden1
April 14th, 2010
11:21 pm
I really wish I saw this game, because it sounds like Teague showed what he can do. I think for the Playoffs, Woody needs to stick with 5-8mins in the first half for Teague but start giving him 4-5 minutes in the 2nd half. (probably at the end of the 3rd) Teague needs to come in the game and concentrate on defense 1st and penetrating 2nd. I suspect that the Bucks will start double teaming Crawford, when he’s on the floor without JJ, so Teague can take advantage by getting in the lane. Woody’s going to ride Bibby hard, so the best we can hope for is he sticks with the plan that got him this far. Hopefully add a few more minutes.
GO HAWKS!!!
JeJe
April 14th, 2010
11:21 pm
. . . and Bibby is overweight – just like I like my men . . .
Wabe
April 14th, 2010
11:21 pm
“play with confidence, not apprehension.”
Ask yourself, why do you think the kid plays timid. Why isn’t he more confident?
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:22 pm
KS, Big Ray back me up on the bibby thing.
Lacsho
April 14th, 2010
11:23 pm
OK I’M GOING TO BED…….GO HAWKS…….BIBBY MVP……
JeJe
April 14th, 2010
11:24 pm
Stat Man,
Despite all that, the Heat had chances to throw the game if they really wanted to.
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:24 pm
right on Lacsho….glad to see i’ve converted you
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:25 pm
JeJe,
I don’t think if you took 5 bloggers on this website we could have thrown that game against the nets.
Lacsho
April 14th, 2010
11:29 pm
awoken suddenly 16-5? NOT IN A HAWKS UNIFORM……falls back to sleep….. I’m so greatful we have MIKE BIBBY………..
tiger woo
April 14th, 2010
11:29 pm
Miami reserves wanted to win – it obvious – so much for the “fix” theory.
By the way, the Honorable David Stern would never tolerate teams throwing a game – just like he didn’t tolerate gambling and dressing like a hip-hop star (Iverson).
Zach
April 14th, 2010
11:32 pm
thats his career 16-5 his hawks is 12-4 still not bad!
Stat Man
April 14th, 2010
11:32 pm
Tiger Woo:
Too bad your ‘honorable’ NBA commissioner DID tolerate the Cavs clockkeeper convienently robbing the Hawks earlier this year. How can you explain Stern not replaying the final couple minutes when there was clear video evidence the 24 second shot clock “lost” 10 seconds on a down the stretch Hawks posession in a tight game?
tiger woo
April 14th, 2010
11:37 pm
Stat Man,
How dare you question the commisioner’s integrity! He’s basically a walking saint.
Stat Man
April 14th, 2010
11:38 pm
He’s basically a walking phallus.
bigdave
April 14th, 2010
11:39 pm
“this is all I was asking for out of Teague. I just wanted to see ONE TIME if this kid could ball or not. Just show me some of the talent that people hyped him up for.”
where were you summer league and camp?
i dont think in 48 mins Bibby gives you 11-19 shooting 24 pts 15 assist 5 rebs against the same competition playing along side the likes of Mario West and Joe Smith…
RLP
April 14th, 2010
11:44 pm
Comparing the final regular season records for the Hawks and the former BIG 3 only the Hawks won more games this year than last year. Boston declined the most by winning 12 fewer games this year than last year. I actually think the Heat should be favored to defeat Boston this year in the first round. Boston’s decline should be obvious to all. The one area where they were able to maintain good results was their road record (26-15). I think this reflects the veteran status which gave them the ability to no panic late in the game on the road.
Cleveland won 5 fewer but the team’s personnel changed and I think they should be favored to win the East this year. However I think either the Hawks or the Magic will give them a run for it AND it will not be a big surprise if either were to defeat them in the ECF’s this year.And I will be cheering for either team to do so because until they got Antawn Jamison I was agreeing with Sir Charles that Orlando was the team to win the East. Or maybe my personal prejudice is showing because I do not like LBJ’s game.
Orlando’s final record exactly matches last year’s record. I think it is difficult to judge Orlando because of the exchange of Turkoglu for Carter. Last year I thought Turkoglu was the Magic’s best player. Carter is not an improvement. However, Jameer Nelson is definitely an improvement over Rafer Alston. So it would not surprise me at all if the Magic comes out of the East again.
The Hawks improved by 6 games over last year. They won three more games at home and three more games on the road where there record was 19-22. But the lack of focus on the road is the team’s biggest weakness. At home they matched the Magic’s win total and were only one lost before Cleveland. Had the Hawks matched the Magic’s road record (26-16) then they would have also matched Orlando’s overall record. How many of those blown fourth quarter losses were road games?
If I were to place bets on the East I would bet on the top three seeds plus Miami to win in the fist round. In the second round I would bet on the top two teams to prevail. And I would also take a plunge on the Magic to defeat the Cav’s once again. But as a non betting Hawks fan I think the Hawks have a definite shot to surprise the odds.
Clyde
April 14th, 2010
11:50 pm
FIRE WOODY
Grandad
April 14th, 2010
11:57 pm
Zach:
Bibby – 9.1 pts. & 3.9 assts. [this season/current]
JeJe
April 15th, 2010
12:04 am
Woodson playing Teague 48 min tonight was basically Woody telling Teague: “Look, I don’t use the bench in games that matter. You won’t play in the playoffs more than 4 mpg unless Bibby fouls out in the 1st, so enjoy tonight”
Geoff
April 15th, 2010
12:05 am
congrats to Teague on his first double double, hopefully there’s more to come.
Mel
April 15th, 2010
12:05 am
I just hope Charlotte puts up a fight like we know they can.
Grandad
April 15th, 2010
12:14 am
Zach:
bibby:
*Min – 27.5
*fg% – 41.6 – [not good]
*3 pt. fg% – [real good]
*ft% – 86.1 – [good]
*reb – 2.3
*asst. – 3.9 [below par]
*steals – 0.8 [below par]
*blocks – 0
*t.o. – 1.1 [asst. to t.o. ratio roughly 4 - 1 / good]
*fouls – 2[probably due to loss of quickness/stls to foul ratio/bad]
*9.1 pts. per [bad] **due to Bibby is basically a shooting guard now.
*intangibles – excellent
rusty
April 15th, 2010
12:15 am
teague has what it takes to be a star in this league. shame on woody for not giving him more playing time. he would have improved our record & would have developed more
Grandad
April 15th, 2010
12:16 am
Dadgummit – “Bibby” I gotta get that shift key fixed.
northcyde
April 15th, 2010
12:20 am
Wabe . . confident dudes play confident regardless.
Salim was one of the most confident dudes I’ve ever seen. There was NO FEAR in that cat. He just couldn’t get it done on the NBA level. He didn’t lack confidence in his ability one bit though..
If Teague is a baller, he needs to play with confidence at ALL TIMES.
sam'l
April 15th, 2010
1:14 am
Blast…..we were 0-2 against the Thunder this year, unless we beat them in a meaningless exhibition game
Big Ray…..Collins isn’t injured.
Why do I have to correct everybody…..why isn’t y’all perfect?
(Go Hawks…..but not to Las Vegas)
Ken Strickland
April 15th, 2010
8:51 am
WABE-BIG RAY-how can anyone say there was the remotest possibility of us losing a single gm by giving Teague extended mins and opportunities to develop JTeague during the regular season? It’s not like Bibby was lighting it up offensively or defensively. Please explain to me how we were at risk of losing gms by giving more mins to Teague. Then explain how a so called DEF minded HC shielded us from any unnecessary loses by playing Bibby, a veteran PG that lacked:
(1) speed, quickness and the ability to penetrate and breakdown DEF,
(2) the ability to consistently create easy scoring opportunities for others,
(3 the ability to consistently push the ball on fastbreaks and/or take it all the way to the basket,
(4) the ability to play DEF(his HC felt the need to impliment a gimmick swithching DEF to compensate for his DEF shortcomings),
(5) the ability to adequately compensate for his DEF inadequacies by providing solid, consistent OFF production, like JCrawford does.
Bottomline, Woodson’s approach and philosophy toward handling JTeague guaranteed the team would get nothing more than very limited and inconsistent production and development from him. If anyone thinks it benefited the team more to play Bibby 27.4MPG, and end up getting .08SPG, 3.9APG, 9.1PPG on .416FG%, along with NO DEF, is not being realistic.
Teague managed 1.7APG, .05SPG, and scored 3.2PPG, with a .396 FG% in 10.1 very limited and inconsistent mins. I don’t see any logical justification for Woodson not giving him an additional 7-8 consistent MPG, which would have solidified his development and confidence, plus given us the speed, quickness, penetrating ability and DEF we’ve never gotten from Bibby.
If Woodson is resigned, it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll repeat this yrs philosophy of limiting JTeague’s mins, opportunities and development, while continuing to be stubborn and insist on playing Bibby extended mins and have the team carry him for another yr.
Wabe
April 15th, 2010
1:12 pm
Ken Strickland,
I’m not sure if you misunderstood my post, but here’s what I said:
“I’ve never wanted Woody to jeapordize the team’s chances at getting a W by developing the rook. I just never thought it’d come to that. I just can’t buy that argument after watching our starters blow so many 4th quarter leads.”
I’ve always felt that there were numerous nights where we basically got next to nothing from Bibby. I never thought that letting the rook clock some extra minutes would do anything to hinder our chances of getting a W. That’s the point I was trying to make.
I appreciate every one of those 53 wins. But, it seems that some of the arguments some make here suggest that we would’ve had around 43 wins if we let the rook clock more minutes instead of the 53 we got – WHICH I DON’T BUY.
WilmaFlinstone
April 15th, 2010
2:07 pm
Im glad woody had the sense to give teague a lot of minutes last night. Now woody knows the mistake he made by not giving teague more minutes during the season. Had teague been given more quality minutes and had played a lot throughout the course of the season, Teague would have been the equivalent of Chris Paul and the Hawks problems at point guard would have been resolved.
Ken Strickland
April 16th, 2010
9:36 am
WABE-you certainly got it right, I definitely misread your post, and I apologize for that mistake. I’m actually glad that I did, because there are still fans who think like Woodson when it comes to Bibby. Bibby is a complete liability if he’s not hitting his jumpers, and he’s a DEF liability no matter what.
I don’t buy into his INTANGLES as an excuse for him playing 27.5MPG and giving us limited scoring, assists, no penetration, creativity, or creating easy baskets for others, and absolutely no DEF. It’s just downright stupid to think we can continue to compete with the BIG BOYS with a slow, unathletic PG, with so many limitations on both ends of the court, playing so many mins.
The Orlando Magic’s entire OFF philosophy is based on penetrate and dish, and we’ve been unable to compete against them over the last 3yrs because of our inability to defend against it. And what is Woodson’s counter? He insists on using MBibby, our worst DEF player, to somehow stop JNelson’s penetration, or have JJ, AHorford, Zaza, JSmith or JoSmith try to stop him. This is his solution, rather than taking advantage of the speed, quickness, penetrating ability and DEF skills of ROOKIE PG JTeague, our best on the ball defender. STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES!!