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
LouFan
April 14th, 2010
5:53 pm
So I have been reading all the posts and I am disgusted… Seriously guys? Hawks will destroy the Heat or Bucks easily. You really think that the Heat have a chance? That is amusing. They pretty much have the same caliber as last year. We have Jamal Crawford and a more improved/consistent group. If we play with heart and come out with something to prove, we will demolish the Heat in 5 games. Yes the heat are 3-1… But the regular season means nothing. Mark my words on that.
You do not think Jamal Crawford is not going to come out with a huge playoffs? First time ever going? We are going to surprise everyone this year. Yes, we have flaws. All teams have flaws. But we are young, athletic, and best of all…. the underdog. Most people think we will not make it out the second round, and some people say not even the first round if we get the Heat.
I really think most fans are truly ungrateful for the achievements this team has made. Al and Josh have grown greatly. Joe Johnson is phenomenal and I hope he stays. Bibby and Marvin have done sub par this year but I believe they will kick it up in the playoffs. JC is a great add on. The bench has been stepping up. If we stay healthy, we will give a good fight in the second round and potentially the eastern finals. I am not even worried about the first round. This team is very underrated and I like it. You will see in the playoffs. They will make a run for the eastern title.
JeJe
April 14th, 2010
5:57 pm
JC is a great add on the bench?
Childress? COLLINS?
Marvin will kick it up in the playoffs?
wow……..
The Truth
April 14th, 2010
6:18 pm
I have to admit; Thank God for diversity of thought on these Blogs. When it is customary for playoff bound NBA fans to pause and celebrate a 3-seeded playoff appearance while our players take a virtual victory lapse, some of the “so-call” Hawk Fans can’t seem to bury the hatchet. This is the time when the best of the NBA teams take center stage while the world watch, listen and enjoy competitive entertainment. No doubt, they are watching and taking notes right now.
LouFan
April 14th, 2010
6:22 pm
JC = sixth man of the year. AVG 18 points per game off the bench. Imagine how he will do in the playoffs. Who we have last year? Flip Murray….
Marvin will kick it up in the playoffs. The guy gets barely any touches. Are you sure you watch the regular season? Blame Woodson for that.
Zaza, maurice evans, and joe smith will hold it down just fine.
We are a better team than last year. Period.
Greg
April 14th, 2010
6:44 pm
When Chicago fire Vinnie Del Negro, I don’t know who they’ll bring in, but it’s safe to say he’ll be able to run circles around DeadWood. And job #1 for that new Chicago coach will be to bring in Joe Johnson to team up with Derrick Rose in the backcourt. Consider job 1 mission accomplished. JJ will be in a Bulls uniform next year and they’ll have the pieces in place to make a nice run within a year or two.
NATIVE SON
April 14th, 2010
7:05 pm
I said it last year, and I’ll say it again. Everybody who thinks the Heat are on such a hot streak, better check and see who you beat up before declaring yourself the champ. Wade is way over-rated, makes crummy commercials, and I’ve seen him cry. The Hawks should have no fear concerning #s 5 thru 8,and they are capable of tackling the left coast.
Peace from THE NATIVE
JeJe
April 14th, 2010
7:06 pm
JC = CRAWFORD
Haha thought this guy meant Collins. My fault, Ajc Peeps
philip
April 14th, 2010
7:12 pm
Let’s go hawks let’s cool the miami heat (aka the miami meat)
Craig
April 14th, 2010
7:22 pm
Speaking of Crawford, is he playing tonight?
Big Ray
April 14th, 2010
7:27 pm
Jermaine O’Neal wasn’t telling any lies. You really don’t always know what to expect from the Hawks.
Having said that, the Hawks are a better road team than last year, we’re healthier than last year, and Woody has more offensive options than last year (and more refined ones).
The Heat can say what they want. This won’t be something they can push to 7 games, unless the Hawks fall apart completely, which I don’t see happening.
bigdave
April 14th, 2010
7:28 pm
ESPN just did NBA regular season top plays…
Josh’s put back and Mal’s 3 against PHX made the list… Kenny Mayne felt Jamal’s shot should’ve been 2nd to Kobe’s buzzer beaters…
all in all, we’ve had some fantastic finishes this season… along side some awful meltdowns…
Ken Strickland
April 14th, 2010
7:30 pm
If we’re going to make a big issue of if we’d rather play the Bucks or Heat in the 1st rd, it really doesn’t matter whether we win or not does it, since we’ll likely have to play the Cavs or Magic in the 2nd rd. Think about it, if we’re afraid of teams we might play in the 1st rd, we would be terrified of any team we’d have to play in the 2nd rd, since 2nd rd opponents are almost always better than 1st rd opponents.
We should be completely confident in our ability to dispatch any 1st rd opponent we face. Realistically, we should have the same attitude about any 2nd rd opponent, including Cleveland and Orlando. The only difference should be the number of gms it will take to get the job done.
Basically, HC Mike Woodson is the key to how far we go in the playoffs. If he dispenses with his personal bias’ toward certain players and plays his players sensibly, utilizes his bench effectively and counters moves made by his opponent, before halftime, we can beat anyone in this yrs playoffs, period.
Big Ray
April 14th, 2010
7:31 pm
The Truth ,
Sad, isn’t it? People carry on their personal agendas so doggedly that they can’t even see when people are agreeing with them or “burying the hatchet” as you call it.
By the way, it’s nice to have somebody with the worth “truth” in their blog name, that actually knows what the word means and isn’t continually representing the opposite of it.
philip
April 14th, 2010
7:32 pm
holy s@#t! Were gunna get blown out of our building with our starting lineup today! Hey but ya gotta do what ya gotta do? Rest your starters and key players and hopefully we can beat the miami meat in the playoffs1
Big Ray
April 14th, 2010
7:36 pm
JeJe ,
Jason Collins is out for the season with a foot injury, if I recall correctly. We could probably use some of his fouls in the second round, but I guess we’ll have to settle for that from RandMo instead.
bigdave
April 14th, 2010
7:39 pm
no wade tonight…
i smell puuuuuuuuuuuusssssss…
bigdave
April 14th, 2010
7:40 pm
lol .. can’t believe the mia sweets are going out like that…
motivation Hawks.. motivation…
Samuel
April 14th, 2010
7:52 pm
For all you “scrubb” Avery Johnson fans. This man doesn’t have Kobe Bryant in his Top 5 MVP candidates. That alone proves he has lost it. Say No To Mr. Bill.
Hawk n the Ham
April 14th, 2010
7:57 pm
WooHoo!!! It’s ISO-Mario time folks!!!
Sautee
April 14th, 2010
8:00 pm
Truth-serum (Granbad) is lying yet AGAIN. In the very chart that he posts, he says that Horfords rebounds are down when the post CLEARLY shows his rebounds UP from last year (9.3 to 9.9).
Truth-serum ALSO said early in the year (or maybe it was before the season stated) that he’d be FINE with Horford producing 15 and 10, though he doubted Al could do it. Well, here are his season numbers and he’s VERY CLOSE to 15 and 10 (14.2 and 9.9), and yet here is Truth-serum doing all he can to discredit an All-Star player. Maybe he forgot that he said it.
Truth-serum will apparently go to ANY lengths of lying to discredit our All-Star Center.
I’ll tell you all that I would pay top dollar to see Truth-serum call Al face-to-face any of the vile things he’s called him on the blog.
THAT would be entertaining!
Blast
April 14th, 2010
8:01 pm
Best Hawks team ever. Best Hawks season that I remember. Bigdave was right. We’ve had our highs and some awful lows. We lost games we had no business losing. We won games everybody thought we would lose. We had thrillers, buzzer beaters, mean, nasty dunks, sweet passes, blockfests, swarming defence, and a bad ass 6th man of the year. Regular season I know was frustrating for us fans sometimes, but it’s been a thrilling one. And here are some of Hawks accomplishments this season:
50+ wins. What else can I say?
Hawks got a lot of monkeys off their back this year. Snapped the losing streak in Utah. Finally got some justice when they made the dreaded Texas Triangle trip. Hawks swept Utah, swept Celtics, swept Portland, swept Houston, swept Memphis, along with bottom feeders like Wizards.
Hawks split with West powerhouses LA, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas and Spurs. In fact, the only team Hawks have not beaten at least once this season is Cleveland. I hope they get that done tonight.
So I simply laugh when I read these negative posts. Wish you guys were around when Hawks were winning 13 games. Wonder what you would have said then.
Truth is Hawks are still jelling, still getting better. Hell, they won the 3rd seed without getting virtually anything from Marvin, and even Bibby to some extent. Imagine if those two bring their A game in the playoffs.
Don’t know about you folks, but I have had a blast of a season, and I’m riding this train to the very end!
Go,Hawks!
J.J.M.
April 14th, 2010
8:03 pm
lmao@marvin has to play
philip
April 14th, 2010
8:05 pm
true that! Let’s go hawks get it done!
The Truth
April 14th, 2010
8:07 pm
Big Ray
Thanks for the props
sam'l
April 14th, 2010
8:07 pm
Blog from before Chicago-Bulls game (yes, I’m taking credit for once)
“It looks like Chicago needs this game against the Celtics tonight. The Raptors have better division wins…if I’ve figured this out,tie goes to the Raptors.
I think Chicago may put up a really good game tonight. I think they’ll win.
Have the Champagne ready…..or at least the popcorn. ”
I should have said peanuts…other than that, 100% correct.
Now, what’s happening tonight?
O'Brien
April 14th, 2010
8:09 pm
Listening to a Cleveland station online, most of the fans were complaining about Mike Brown being the team’s only weakness.
They said he is stubborn and slow to adjust. And he does not take advantage of matchups. i felt like they were talking about Woody lol. The only difference, was Brown (a defensive HC) has always gotten his team to play defense.
Anyways, all that doesn’t matter now. Lets play the game, and let the chips fall where they may
VenomSpitter
April 14th, 2010
8:10 pm
lol at Marvin.
It’s duck time
VenomSpitter
April 14th, 2010
8:11 pm
this is marvs time to shine
Blast
April 14th, 2010
8:12 pm
Maybe the 1st time I’ve seen Joe in a suit. He looks good.
J.J.M.
April 14th, 2010
8:13 pm
check out the tux
bigdave
April 14th, 2010
8:13 pm
oh.. Z the freshest Hawk hands down.
Blast
April 14th, 2010
8:14 pm
With few starters, look out for a ragged game.
Sleepy
April 14th, 2010
8:14 pm
Crawford shouldve played tonight even if it was only for 20 minutes . If we dont play Saturday he will have had a full week off and thats just not a good thing with each playoff game being so crucial.The starters will have about 4-5 days off which is right but a full week can easily throw you out of rhythm and Crawford was cooking.
VenomSpitter
April 14th, 2010
8:15 pm
JT gets the roll
Najeh Davenpoop
April 14th, 2010
8:15 pm
Jamal Crawford looks loke the sixth Reservoir Dog.
Melvin
April 14th, 2010
8:15 pm
Teague starting tonite but Bibby dress out as well. Lets see if Woody can fight the temptation not to play him…
tiger woo
April 14th, 2010
8:17 pm
No way Crawford should play tonight! Don’t forget, he’s coming off an injury – why play him in a meaningless game?
J.J.M.
April 14th, 2010
8:17 pm
I wonder who will replace mo evans next season since hes opting out
northcyde
April 14th, 2010
8:18 pm
A lot of milestones reached, streaks broken, and great moments this year:
- won @ Utah for the first time since Tupac was alive
- went 4 – 2 vs the Texas teams . . first winning record over them in ages
- mopped the floor with a good Celtics team
- turned the BIG 3 into the BIG 4
- went 21 – 9 vs the Western Conference
- beat every playoff team at least once, with the execption of Oklahoma City and Cleveland ( which may change tonight )
- winning record vs .500+ teams
- 4 buzzer beater wins
Just a lot of memorable moments about this season so far.
Sautee
April 14th, 2010
8:18 pm
LOL @ ‘Nique: “Jamison has an unarthedox delivery on that shot.”
Big Ray
April 14th, 2010
8:19 pm
Truth Serum ,
I appreciate the words. And if you ever managed to not call me a member of the fabled “bubba crew”, I just don’t know what I would do. Lions would lay down with lambs, the sky would fall, pigeons and seagulls would stop $h!tting on everything they fly over, and Democrats and Republicans would stop slinging mud at each other. Oh, and there would be peace in the middle east.
J.J.M.
April 14th, 2010
8:19 pm
lol this game will be ugly
Blast
April 14th, 2010
8:19 pm
Did I say ragged? Look for Bibby to come in soon.
Melvin
April 14th, 2010
8:21 pm
Mario is a scoring machine…
Blast
April 14th, 2010
8:21 pm
Funny as hell! Mario tied his season high with what? 5 points?
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 14th, 2010
8:21 pm
lol@career night for Mario West already
VenomSpitter
April 14th, 2010
8:22 pm
DAMN
J.J.M.
April 14th, 2010
8:22 pm
lmaooooooo hixon
Melvin
April 14th, 2010
8:22 pm
J.J. dunk that one from Atlantic Station.
Big Ray
April 14th, 2010
8:22 pm
O’brien ,
Have to laugh at the irony. I guess that fans are alike everywhere, eh? I mean damn…could it be that fans for other teams acted like fans for this team? You do realize you have shaken the very foundation of Northcyde’s reality, right? Inconceivable!
Sorry, Northcyde , but there are times when I just don’t even try to resist the urge…