Atlanta Hawks Squawks Game 1: Hawks 102, Bucks 92
– Any questions about the Hawks’ ability to crank it up for the playoffs were answered immediately. They buried the Bucks from the jump in a wave of energy. The Bucks were shook. “The first half we were a little shell shocked,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said.
– Once that early energy jolt wore off some of those other questions about the Hawks resurfaced but set those aside for a moment and admire that display before halftime. The Hawks shared the ball. They exploited mismatches on offense. The were sharp when switching on defense. They defended with vigor.
– They did all of those things and used a rowdy home crowd at Philips Arena to rattle the Bucks. “We’re at home,” Woody said. “We’re playing playoff basketball and we’re playing in front of our fans, who were fantastic tonight. That’s the energy. We came out and jumped them right away.”
– The Hawks scored 34 points in the first quarter, their third-highest total for the period in the franchise’s postseason history. They led 62-40 at halftime after posting their sixth-highest total in the first half of a playoff game.
– The Bucks might have folded without Brandon Jennings, who for a while seemed to be the only Milwaukee player who wasn’t rattled. He scored 20 points and made 8 of 14 shots in the first half while his teammates combined to score 20 points with 8 of 28 field goals made.
– “I feel like we have to come out with a little more intensity,” Jennings said. “I think we were a little nervous.”
– Without Bogut the Bucks had mismatches all over the place. One of the most lopsided was Delfino trying to check Josh, who would have done more damage if a few shot attempts hadn’t spun out.
– “Early in the game we were letting Josh catch it where he wanted to,” Skiles said. “They threw it in to him, he backed us down and scored. We didn’t react very well, just standing around watching. He can score on almost anybody, especially smaller players.”
– Then again, when the Bucks doubled Josh, the Hawks worked it around for open perimeter shots and J.J., Bibby and Marvin all were making them.
– When the Hawks played at Milwaukee on Monday, Al kept forcing the issue against Kurt Thomas, who is too wide and solid to move in the post. This time Al took Thomas outside and stuck jumpers early.
– First half for the Hawks: 62 points, 62 percent shooting, four turnovers, 13 assists on 26 baskets, 6 of 7 free throws, four and turnovers. Smoove and Al combined for 23 points, 11 of 15 shooting and six blocked shots. The Bucks were 38 percent from the field with just 14 of their 40 points scored in the paint.
– Second half for the Hawks: 40 points and 44 percent shooting. The latter isn’t terrible but it came along with nine turnovers, just five assists on 15 baskets and 8 of 12 free throws. Smoove and Al were a combined 2 of 9 for four points. The Bucks shot 53 percent from the field and scored 28 of their 52 points in the paint.
– “We had a great first half,” Jamal said. “The second half, we slacked off a little bit.”
– The Hawks started doing the opposite of the many good things they did in the first half. One problem was they stopped exploiting the matchups in the post Skiles was talking about. “We definitely got away from it,” Smoove said. “We’ve got to stay with that gameplan. That’s what’s going to be successful with Bogut being absent.”
– But, to be fair, Josh and Al also didn’t respond very well when the Bucks started pushing them farther from the basket. The Hawks did try to throw it to the post a few times but the entry passes were sloppy and the Bucks kept easily poking them away. The post-ups and the passes have to be crisper.
– In the first half Josh and Al generally did a good job when they switched out to guards. It looked like the last meeting in Milwaukee, when the Bucks were passive and Josh and Al recovered nicely when they did get the ball to the rim. But the switches didn’t work so well once the Bucks shared the ball better and finished stronger at the rim in the second half.
– Someone asked Woody a question in which they said the second half is “indicative of our Hawks.” The question was legit but the phrasing was indelicate, and Woody didn’t much like it.
–”First of all, I don’t agree with you that that’s indicative of our Hawks,” he said. “We’ve played solidly all year. We’ve had some close games, and when you get into playoff basketball, you can build a big lead but teams are going to make runs and you’re going to see that in the playoffs the rest of the way out.”
– Bibby’s final ledger was positive–he made shots to stymie the Bucks’ rally in the second half. But once again he was better at the start (4 of 4 field goals, three assists no turnovers in first half) than the finish (two straight turnovers leading to Bucks layups when the Hawks led 96-84).
– Jamal was just 4 of 11 from the field but notice how his shooting covered up the sins of the bench. His eight points to start the second quarter kept the Bucks at arm’s length.
– Despite his status as a 10-year vet, Jamal admitted to being nervous for his first postseason game. “It’s good to just get that first game out of the way,” he said .“The intensity level (is) like going from preseason to regular season, but it’s even more magnified here.”
– Rook’ had a tough time chasing Jennings. But so did everyone except J.J., who picked his pocket twice to stymie a Bucks surge in the third quarter. Milwaukee’s rookie is a tough cover.
– In my five things to watch I said the Hawks might be in trouble if both Jennings and Salmon got going. Jennings certainly did, but Salmons didn’t until it was too late. If he gets off to a better start in Game 2 the Hawks might wish they had one more perimeter defender.
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
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153 comments Add your comment
JSS
April 17th, 2010
10:56 pm
Solid start!
Hawks vs Bucks
April 17th, 2010
11:03 pm
“The second half, we slacked off a little bit.”
I knew someone would say that!!!
why would you slack off .. in the PLAYOFFS!?!?!? This team does a lot of good things but then they do things that just leave you scratching your head.
slacking off will not get you where you would like to go.
drmaryb
April 17th, 2010
11:15 pm
As a matter of facts:
JJohnson: 22pts. 7reb. 5assists
Jennings. 34. 3. 3
James. 24. 6. 5
Rose. 28. 7. 10
Bucks. 35
Hawks. 40
Bulls. 38
Cavs. 50
Ree Roe
April 17th, 2010
11:19 pm
Unfortunately I didn’t see the first half, but I did see the 2nd half & I wasn’t impressed. It was enough to win the game, but where is the killer instinct? This should have never been within 15 pts down the stretch. Overall I felt like it was a solid opener despite the 2nd half lulls & I hope we come out focused & win Game 2 convinvcingly. Let’s squash any confidence MIL might have gained late in the game.
MC, can you answer why Mario West comes into games for us? I just don’t understand his purpose/role on this team in close games late in the 4th.
-REEason to Roe!!!
O'Brien
April 17th, 2010
11:44 pm
Ray,
From the last blog,
When the bulls let skiles go, I think they were hoping for d’antoni, who made the wrong choice (in hind sight) by choosing Knicks.
Great first half from the hawks. Not surprised by how we played in the second half. But we still got the win.
Lets go out and win game 2. Bucks will be confident and less nervous. Can we sustain our focus for 48 minutes?
Man, total meltdown by the heat. They were leading 61-47 in the third. Celtics outscored them 38-15 the rest of the way.
Cali girl
April 18th, 2010
12:09 am
I DONT CARE WHAT NOBODY SAYS IN THE PLAYOFFS A WIN IS A WIN BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY WE NEEDED THE WIN I DON’T CARE WHAT WE DID NOT DO IN THE SECOND HALF BECAUSE TUES THAT WON’T EVEN MATTER ALL WHAT WILL IS HOW WE PERFORM IN THHE FIRST HALF THEN AND 2ND HALF THEN BECAUSE THE 1ST GAME SHOULD NOT DICTATE OUR GAME 2
U WILL TAKE ANY WIN AS LONG AS U WIN ITS NOT ABOUT HOW BECAUSE U TAKE THOSE MISTAKES AND LEARN FROM THEM AND I AGREE WITH HORFORD BECAUSE U NEED A REALITY CHECK TO REMIND U THAT HEY WE CANT JUST THINK WE CAN BE UP BY 22 AND STOP DEFINSIVELY AND OFFENSIVELY!!
I THINK FOR GAME 2 WE NEED THE SAME INTENSITY AS TONIGHT’S FIRST HALF AND FOR THE SECOND HALF AS WELL TO JUST SHOW THE BUCKS WE DEF MEAN BUSINESS!!
AND WHO CARES THE BUCKS ALMOST MADE A COMEBACK IT STILL DOES NOT GET A WIN AND WILL NOT BE TALKED ABOUT CAUSE THE HAWKS IS THE BETTER TEAM THEY JUST GOT A LITTLE TOO COMFORTABLE WIT THAT LEAD THAT IS Y THEY SAY U LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES EVERYTHING HAPPENS 4 A REASON… SOMETHING THEY CAN SEE ON VIDEO
AND THE HAWKS ARE STILL A GOOD TEAM POINT BLANK PERIOD THEY JUST NEED TO BE CONSISTENT
Moxie
April 18th, 2010
12:14 am
You know I “love” how Sports Illustrated titles their headlines.
“Cavs dominate Game 1″; “Hawks win Game 1, lack killer instinct”.
Ummmmm didnt the same thing happen in both games. Oh well. I wish the Hawks would play a whole 48 minutes but they arent going to start now. Good win and I’m really excited and proud.
Cali girl
April 18th, 2010
12:19 am
@moxie i agree its crazy but the Cavaliers let the Bulls back in w/ a 22 point lead they blew by the Bulls getting it down to 7 BUT whats so crazy is that nobody mentioned not one thing about that. But they mention our situation only because we don’t have Lebron. That is why. I hate that they constantly dog the Hawks about how inconsistent the Hawks are. They say this is the best we got & we not going any further. Basically they are saying we don’t deserve to play in the Finals. They want someone who has ET like characteristics Dammnitt already we got the win & its simple, just because on paper Magic or Cavs may be better does not mean a thing.
If you want something, you are going to play like there’s no tomorrow & it’s your last day living cause tomorrow is not promised. I truly do believe in the Hawks.
Its the playoffs everybody will make a run in a game gosh! nobody is perfect! don’t be surprised if a team does catch back up they are not going to just lay down like the regular season its the playoffs so its go hard or go home so I don’t blame the Hawks for blowing the lead completely the Bucks just continued to play because they believed they could win.
E43
April 18th, 2010
12:33 am
i think some people are just panicking for no good reason. id rather beat a 5 seed by 10 than be sloppy with an 8 seed like Cleveland was earlier.
KAI
April 18th, 2010
12:44 am
yeah true true like the (cough) CLEVELAND !!
Big Daddy
April 18th, 2010
1:37 am
Moxie, Cali Girl you are both right. Cleveland had a 22 point lead on Chicago but let them back in the game and got the score down to a 7 point difference. Although I was surprised at them, but not at the Hawks. What I also noticed in that game was their fans NEVER gave up on them. They cheer them right through to the end. I think the history in Atlanta sports indicates don’t get too happy because you may be disappointed. We have got to overcome that. When we cheer them we let them know we believe in them and despite what anyone says they feed off of that.
We won because we were better than them. We will keep on winning because Woody and his coaches are going to come up with a plan to thwart any adjustments Skiles makes like he did in the 2nd half. What happened in the 2nd have should have Woody and the coaches up at this hour trying to figure out what changes can be made.
We will win Game 2 because we are better than them and we will come out and show it. Wear your jerseys, don’t stop cheering and keep the faith. This is a good start, period. GO HAWKS!!!!!
JeJe
April 18th, 2010
2:06 am
LOL @ there being plenty of empty seats.
Anyone look at the box score and notice how ZaZa, Mo, and Teague hardly played?
IT’S BECAUSE THE GAME GOT CLOSE IN THE 2ND HALF AND WOODSON DOES NOT USE THE BENCH IN 2ND HALVES OF CLOSE GAMES. AND THIS WAS SUPPOSEDLY AN EASIER WIN FOR US
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
2:46 am
I was at the game, and those of you hating on the crowd have your anger misplaced. Blame the moron schedule makers who scheduled this game at 5:30. When the hell do sporting events ever get scheduled at 5:30? The crowd arrived really late, but by halftime I’d say there weren’t more than 1,000 empty seats in the place. And maybe most important, the crowd was loud and involved all game.
I agree with Jamal’s statement. The Hawks played as well as they have played all year in the first half, but it was almost like they came out in the 2nd half expecting the Bucks to lay down. They didn’t allow the Bucks to make it a close game mainly because the talent disparity is too wide in this series, but they have to be able to close out these kinds of games in the 2nd round. Of course, part of the problem once again is the Hawks’ lack of an offensive system, which directly leads to their long scoring droughts like the one they had in the 3rd.
Another, more surprising reason for their 2nd half swoon was uncharacteristic sloppiness with the ball. This team is one of the best in the league at protecting the ball, but they committed several turnovers in the 2nd half that were totally unnecessary.
A lot is being made of Brandon Jennings’ great scoring night, and he definitely was stroking it, but a big reason this didn’t translate into the Bucks making it a closer game is because he did very little to involve his teammates until it was too late. If I’m not mistaken, the Bucks had six assists as a team going into the 4th quarter. That is pretty sad, and the Hawks deserve credit for limiting the Bucks’ passing lanes for most of the game. As far as I’m concerned, Jennings can score 50 points per game the rest of the series if it means the rest of the Bucks stand around and do nothing.
The Hawks got good games from two of their more inconsistent players, Marvin and Zaza. The Bucks went with a small lineup for long stretches of the game, playing Ilyasova at center, which is mainly why Zaza didn’t play more.
In the end, if the Hawks take care of the ball and shut down the rest of the Bucks, they can let Jennings do whatever he wants and they will still win simply because they have more talent. Of course, I’d prefer to see the Hawks just blow them out…
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
2:48 am
Props to the ASG for the 40% off jersey promotion during today’s game. Got me one of those ATL jerseys.
Cannon
April 18th, 2010
2:52 am
The defense that we played in the first half might of been the best half of defense we played all season! Woody and co. will take a look at the second half film, make adjustments and have our boys ready for game 2. LET’S GO HAWKS!
Big Ray
April 18th, 2010
2:54 am
The reason why Cleveland got the press clippings (and we got the shaft, again) is three-fold:
1) It’s Cleveland. All media hail the King. Especially ESPN. Screw ESPN.
2) The Bulls have a name attached to them that shines brighter in the media lights than anybody on the Hawks roster, whether you like it or not. His name is Derrick Rose. It’s a household name now, if it wasn’t before. Even Joe doesn’t get that kind of recognition.
Rose is one of those guys who can do so much with (or despite) so little. And he does it on the big stage. We could have had a pg like that, once. I’ll stop right there.
3) The national media doesn’t like us all that much, and what have we done to dissuade that attitude? Not a whole lot. And don’t quote me 53 wins (as much as I enjoy that fact). The Dallas Mavericks made a living in the last decade out of 50-win seasons and not getting out of the 2nd round. The one time they did something worthwhile, they were totally loaded. They still lost to Shaq and D-Wade….and Stern’s officials (according to some, but we won’t go there).
So it goes. Get to the 2nd round and then DO SOMETHING WHILE YOU ARE THERE. If the Hawks don’t, then they’ll continue to get the same treatment. That simple.
Big Ray
April 18th, 2010
2:59 am
Najeh ,
Good points, all. Jennings is not yet that kind of pg who can get his teammates involved while he dominates the ball and scores a lot of points. Maybe he never will be, I don’t know, but I’d say it’s too early to make such a judgment, he’s only a rookie.
The names of guys who can and do: Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Steve Nash (not quite as prolific a scorer as the others), Chris Paul. Two of those names still make me cry in my sleep.
Good points on our offense as well. Methods that get you to 53 wins do not ensure or otherwise guarantee successful postseason results. No matter how you spin it.
Clyde
April 18th, 2010
4:10 am
FIRE WOODY
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
4:24 am
Najeh . . . you mean like how college football games are late in the evening ( 6 PM start )? Just say that the crowd just don’t make it a priority to make it to the game on time. LOL @ can’t make it to a 5:30 PM Saturday start.
Let's be honest . .
April 18th, 2010
6:41 am
we are playing the Bucks . . i mean yeah Atlanta fans are classically late to sporting events, but the Bucks haven’t exactly been relevant on a national stage in a while (in fact the Hawks, Bucks, & Bobcats are the only East playoff teams that haven’t played in the NBA Finals in the last 12 yrs). . . and i was at the game & we the fans were into it, despite it being a blow out / leading by 10+ points most of the game.
Steve Levy on took a shot at the fans on Sportscenter & the cheap seats for sale . . .but i say the Hawks just keep proving their mettle & the fans will come out in full force.
Go Hawks!!
richbrave
April 18th, 2010
8:27 am
Based on what I saw, it’s a sweep. GO HAWKS.
lewis
April 18th, 2010
8:52 am
incredibly disappointed that game 2 is on NBA TV. Now I can’t watch it on league pass. turrible kenny.
Joe Johnson is right, where was the help defense in the second half? And where was the bench?
Phenomenal start though, I will say that. Win is a win, but we need to figure out how to close it out.
JeJe
April 18th, 2010
8:58 am
“The crowd arrived really late, but by halftime I’d say there weren’t more than 1,000 empty seats in the place. And maybe most important, the crowd was loud and involved all game. ”
1000 empty seats? LOL. It’s a SATURDAY. WTF are people doing that they’re getting late to a PLAYOFF game?
Hawks73
April 18th, 2010
9:23 am
The Hawks put together a solid effort against the Bucks and did what they had to to win the game. I found it amusing that after the game was completed, that ESPN ran the crawl at the bottom of the screen stating the final score, then “Milwaukee outscored Atlanta 30-19 in the third quarter”…ESPN absolutely sucks!!!! You would have thought the Bucks had won the game by that information.
lewis
April 18th, 2010
9:33 am
Saturday in Atlanta….
The only guarantee is traffic.
People have to get wasted before they get there because its too expensive to drink at the stadium.
Most people think all Josh Smith still does is throw up threes.
No one understands that quietly, Joe Johnson is considered a small time super-star.
When it all boils down, this team is marketed terribly. How am I supposed to convince someone to dish out that kind of money for a playoff game when all they see is negative media coverage or no coverage at all? People say that being nationally recognized doesn’t matter. I don’t know about you all, but I watch Sportscenter in the morning, not the local news channel. Doesn’t help that no one reads the AJC anymore (well, that little, overpriced piece of paper they call the AJC, nothing against any of the sportswriters)
I’m guilty of fair-weathering myself. Everything about the lifestyle of living in metro atlanta makes being a hawks fan difficult. I don’t know why, something about the fact that its difficult to know where/when you are gonna be in this city.I can be looking forward to friday night game all week than miss the first half because of traffic. The city is frustrating, i(along with the other fat lazy atlantans), for the regular season at least, would rather watch in HD than in person.
p.s. as a fan, there’s nothing that pisses you off more than buying good seats to a game, seeing a great first half, than seeing a total lack of effort in the second. It almost makes you feel betrayed.
thats my 5 minute rant of the day
drmaryb
April 18th, 2010
9:44 am
We typically CRUSH teams in the 3rd & struggle in the 4th when we lose.
Last night we did the opposite iof that.
Hey we are 1-0 in a best of seven series. What would be a better result! I for one, am Stoked.
Let’s GO Hawks!
Kai
April 18th, 2010
10:12 am
I still believe we can take game 2 its just hard to play us on our home court no matter how many points we score either in the 4th or 3rd lucky enough we didn’t go on a drought in the 4th quarter can people at least give the Hawks credit for not letting the Bucks at least get it within 5 or four and then catch up and win because that is what happened in that Golden State game and others….
However we got the victory we still fought and won because even though it was like a 1 min and sec left we still kept playing
A win is a win regardless its better than the bucks 1-0 cause we are 1-0
I think the media just does not like the Hawks that is why they don’t give us any attention
THIS GAME CAME ON ESPN, after the Nuggets vs Jazz game they mentioned every game but the Hawks when the show’s introduction came on! WTF… the Hawks did terrific in the 1st half but they didn’t even mention that or our great plays we made they only point out the bad things in the Hawks because they want to just put all of the attention on Lebron and his team and Magic so they can say they are the true elite teams and are going to repeat to the eastern conf finals
I dont think it is fair but regardless of how we played that first half we won!! we are leading the series by 1 we are going to learn from this and improve and know what to do better
Its the playoffs so this time around we weren’t going to blow a lead and give away a game
THE HAWKS NEED TO SHOCK EVERYBODY AND I STILL BELIEVE WE WONT GET THE RECOGNITION EVEN IF WE WENT TO THE FINALS ITS ALL ABOUT KOBE LEBRON DWIGHT HOWARD AND not joe johnson, etc.
and also they talk about Lebron’s blocks, what about Josh Smith and Al Horford’s blocks tonight a combined 9, they don’t talk about them because they praise him like he’s GOD you got to beat em to stop them so hawks ALL THE WAY!!
Jody
April 18th, 2010
10:12 am
This game would not have been this close had the officials called the game correctly. In the second half, whenever Horford, Smith of Joe went to the basket, they would get fouled CLEARLY multiple times, and yet no whistle. I give the Bucks credit for playing hard, but the lack of calls inside for Atlanta definitely added to their momentum. In game 2, Atlanta has to do a better job defensively for 48 minutes and they have to do a better job of consistently forcing the issue inside and putting more pressure on the officials to blow the whistle.
DawgNole
April 18th, 2010
10:35 am
Big Ray: “The national media doesn’t like us all that much, and what have we done to dissuade that attitude? Not a whole lot. And don’t quote me 53 wins (as much as I enjoy that fact). The Dallas Mavericks made a living in the last decade out of 50-win seasons and not getting out of the 2nd round . . . So it goes. Get to the 2nd round and then DO SOMETHING WHILE YOU ARE THERE. If the Hawks don’t, then they’ll continue to get the same treatment. That simple.”
You nailed it, Big Ray. Atlanta fans should not expect media respect, or a full house, when the franchise has NEVER made it past the second round while playing in this city–and that’s in 40-plus years! KEEP WINNING, QUIT SLACKING OFF, DO SOMETHING FOR MORE THAN ONE ROUND. That, and that alone, will generate media respect. It also will fill those remaining empty seats.
i_am_soulstar
April 18th, 2010
10:46 am
Terrible job by the referees. From section 119, I yelled, “Ref, you’re fired” and everyone in the section clapped, so it apparently wasn’t just me.
Oh and BJ had a great game, but he is not consistent. Might I suggest putting Super Mario on Salmons when he gets hot to cool him off?
When Mario was in the game, that may have been the first time I’ve seen a Hawk poke the ball away from Salmons in one-on-one defending this season.
He has frustrated better men (players).. myself included
N-Trigue
April 18th, 2010
10:51 am
Man the Hawks did the same thing in the 2nd half like cleveland did we won by ten Cleveland won by 13 we both had big leads cut down inthe 2nd half but we both still won. I don’t hear anybody saying that cleveland played bad in the 2nd half! Does anybody feel me on this? MC your thoughts?
Cali girl
April 18th, 2010
10:58 am
@N-TRIGUE I agree w/ you a 100% that is what we have been saying all long but the media and press will not word it like that because of the fact that Lebron plays for the Cavs they will only mention his blocks or how they dominanted the first and second half knowing they didn’t nothing at all cause the Bulls cut it down to 7pts but the Hawks are overlooked and the media just doesn’t think we are Finals potential Visit NBA’s website and the Hawks are nowhere on that little slideshow thing it’s like we aren’t even in the playoffs
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
11:46 am
GARNETT threw 2 elbows and pushed a ref. will he be suspended one game?
terrell
April 18th, 2010
11:47 am
“Admire that display before halftime.” Come on man. We’re used to seeing this team play well in the 1st half. Nothing new there. It’s the 2nd half the scares the heck out of me. No lead is safe with this team. Good win and all, but this team is gonna make me have a nervous breakdown. lol!
Wabe
April 18th, 2010
11:49 am
First, please excuse the language, but FU***************K OFFFFF JON BARRY. He’s got to be the most irritating “analyst”, just a big ol’ hater.
As for the game, the 1st half was a thing of beauty. The 2nd half lulls are concerning, but not surprising. We’ve built a repuation as a team that lets other teams back in games.
It’s the playoffs, there’s no such thing as moral victory. If you’re in the playoffs and you have to get beat by “only 10″ to think you can compete with another team, then you never really had much of a chance from the get-go. Last season, we BEAT DOWN Miami in the 1st game, but they still came back and won the 2nd game in Phillips. The result of one game in the playoffs means nothing the next game. Adjustments are made, and gameplans change. If the Bucks come out next game and take one from Phillips, Jon Barry will credit the Bucks 2nd half performance in game one, but I’d credit Scott Skiles and company for making the necessary adjustments.
IT’S PLAYOFF BASKETBALL.
THEY COMPLAINED WHEN THE HAWKS PLAYED IN BLOWOUT GAME AFTER BLOWOUT GAME IN LAST SEASON’S SERIES VS. MIAMI, AND THEY COMPLAIN IF WE DON’T BLOW TEAMS AWAY.
They’ll never be happy.
F ESPN.
JeJe
April 18th, 2010
11:51 am
If Boston uses garbage-ass Tony Allen for 24+ minutes last night, why can’t Mario get minutes? Put him on Jennings or Jameer or Vince in these 1st 2 rounds.
USE THE DAMN BENCH. DON’T JUST USE STARTING 5 + CRAW EVERY GAME AND COUNT ON THE, . U HAVE BENCH PLAYERS
FIRE WOODY
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
12:20 pm
woody is in love with marvin. if he doesn’t play him, that will be a reflection on him for pickin’ marvin 2nd. so he has to play marvin JEJE. offensively mario is a liability, too.
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
12:22 pm
WABE,
so how do you feel about ESPN? specifically jon barry? lol
hawks_4_life
April 18th, 2010
12:26 pm
EXTEND WOODY….RESIGN JOE…..BUT BEFORE ALL OF THE…..GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWKS!!!!
terrell
April 18th, 2010
12:27 pm
JeJe, I’d take garbage ass Tony Allen over garbage ass Mario.
hawks_4_life
April 18th, 2010
12:29 pm
Terrell
Just a question, is Allen a liability on offense like Mario is?
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
12:30 pm
HAWKS 4 LIFE,
let jj walk. some team will over pay for his “non-services” durin’ crunch time. jj will never get us over the hump. he ain’t got that killa’ instinct.
woody is a horrible coach. CASE AND POINT: marvin get undeserved minutes. mo’ evans is playin’ considerably better, but woody defers to marvin. marvin is the EXACT reason why chills wanted out. he said that he felt he was better than marvin. woody’s inability to play the BEST player alone is reason to not extend him.
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
12:37 pm
Let’s keep it real. Milwaukee isn’t a “sexy” enough team for the casual fan to go watch. Let that been Miami ( with Dwyane Wade ), and there would been very little crowd issues. Even if they didn’t actively cheer for Wade, they would want to see the Hawks play them, instead of Milwaukee.
But the crowd that was there were into the game from the start, which is good to see. Excuses need to stop though. If the fans don’t show up, it’s simply because they don’t want to be there.
As for the national media coverage, that’s to be expected. They’re going to talk about Lebron and Kobe the most, because that’s the Finals they want to see. And until we do something spectacular ( whether it be as a team or some great individual effort, nothing will change, as far as media exposure.
The Hawks do need a stronger radio station to broadcast games though. 790 the Zone just isn’t going to cut it. When they were on 750 AM, you couldn’t hear that signal outside of a 70 mile radius outside of Atlanta in the daytime . . but you could hear it up to 400 – 500 miles away at night.
With 790, the signal pretty much dies at nighttime. LOL . . you’re lucky to hear that signal within a 20 mile radius of their station. So they should simply find an FM radio station, or another very strong nighttime AM station, and broadcast games on that station.
If the entire metro Atlanta area can’t hear a Hawks radio broadcast, that is a problem. The TV coverage is great, but sports fans also need that strong radio outlet as well.
hawks_4_life
April 18th, 2010
12:38 pm
ANT
If JJ walks dont you think we will take a huge step backward? I do.
I hear you on the Marvin point but if we are to make a splash we need his size atleast on defense against forward like LBJ where we both know Mo is too small to guard, Im for keeping JJ and Woody if change comes in the off-season I hope it includes Marvin. The kid is too timid and everything experts say he wasnt but if he goes off (big if) in the post season……………………………..
drmaryb
April 18th, 2010
12:41 pm
Ant Banks
Mr. Woodson IS the coacj! NOT the GM! He does NOT make draft picks. Billy K. DID & Rick Sund does
Why do you think Mr. Woodson drafted Marvin? His job is to coach him. Besides ALL the draft analyst determined Marvin was the consensus #2 pick. Not just Billy.
How do you know the GM is NOT telling him to start Marvin, to save their faces for picking him?
The Draft Lottery Picks are called “LOTTERY”. Because its a GAMBLE! You draft on potential, because no one can judge a mans heart!
Sund paid Marvin 7.5Million/year …. Mr. Woodson, did not dpo that! He barely has a Job as Coach! He is stuck with Marvin – who has regressed AFTER getting paid!
Please, go back to sleep!
drmaryb
April 18th, 2010
12:47 pm
What COACH in his right mind would have chosen a DUKE player like Shelden – over a PG when CP3 & Deron is sitting on that board? When the coach does NOT have a PG nor Center & the #2 pick?
Only Billy K. Would do something so Assinine! That’s why he was FIRED & NOT Mr. Woodson – when he tried to back stab Woodson. He’s gone & Woodson is still here FOR that very reason!
Wabe
April 18th, 2010
12:51 pm
ESPN didn’t whisper a breath after the shot-clock debacle in that game in Cleveland (the home & home back to back), but felt obliged to share with the world that they thought JOE TOOK 3 STEPS at the end of the Magic game?
Like I said, ESPN, F-OFF.
Wabe
April 18th, 2010
12:56 pm
And drmaryb,
CP3 and Derron Williams were on the board in the 2005 draft, the year we selected Marvin, not Shelden.
I believe Shelden was picked up in the 2006 draft. And then we took Horford and Acie in 2007.
LouFan
April 18th, 2010
1:06 pm
Good win, we just need to focus on three things and we will sweep the series:
1. Utilizing the bench more.(Come on Woody!) Even though the schedule is really weird…. Why do we have so many days off between game two and three??
2. Ball movement. (Lack of second half)
3. FOCUS.
I do enjoy the fact that we did not blow them out by a huge deficit because if we remember last year, we beat the Heat by 26 points and then arrogantly lost the next two. This helps us stay humble and make adjustments. We will be fine.
PS. F*CK YOU ESPN
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
1:08 pm
Speaking of JJ . . he played a really good all-around game yesterday. You could tell from the jump that he was ready to assert himself . . on BOTH ends of the floor. He led us in points ( 22 ), assists ( 5 ), and steals ( 3 ), and +/- ( +18 ) . . and tied for 2nd highest in rebounds ( 7 ).
Other than the shaky 3rd quarter in which he took a few rushed shots and turned the ball over a few times, he played an OUTSTANDING game. The 2 rips on Jennings back to back were things of beauty. Defensively, it was one of the better games he’s played all year. And he came up big down the stretch with those 2 midrange jumpers.
Just a very good game by our Captain yesterday.
LouFan
April 18th, 2010
1:13 pm
I agree with you northcyde.
JJ did a wonderful job. I just wish he drove to the basket more like he did in the first half. He did a little ISO action too at the end, which I didn’t really like. Yet I am proud of his performance.
I just hope JC gets on it next game… 4-11. Thinking this is his first playoff game so I am going to cut him some slack. But that lack of accuracy let the Bucks get some confidence in the third quarter.
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
1:20 pm
As for people saying to use the bench . . this is the playoffs folks. Rotations will shrink across the board.
- Boston, who usually goes with a 10 man rotation, really only used 8 guys yesterday ( with Nate Robinson not even getting into the game and Finley logging only 6 minutes ).
- With the return of Shaq, Cleveland basically went to a heavy 7 man rotation, with Moon and Big Z logging under 10 minutes. J.J. Hickson, a guy who has helped them all year, only got in at the end of the game.
- Chicago gave heavy minutes to their starters, only seeing 7 guys log double figure minutes, with Hakim Warrick being the only other guy in the rotation ( 9 minutes ).
- Even with the Okur injury ( and other people hurt ), Jerry Sloan and the Jazz significantly reduced their rotation . . basically playing 8 guys.
**************
Of the 8 guys that the Hawks usually go with off the bench, only Crawford is guaranteed minutes. If Evans and Zaza isn’t playing effective basketball, there is no need to keep them on the floor, if the starters can extend their minutes and do the job. Guys like Mo and Zaza do not deserve a set 18 – 22 minutes a game. They better play well if they want extended minutes.
i_am_soulstar
April 18th, 2010
1:21 pm
All this talk of letting JJ go and firing Woody. Who would/could you replace them with?
Besides D. Wade or Kobe as a substitute, JJ is irreplaceable at the 2 guard. No one can guard him 1-on-1.
You can make an argument for Brandon Roy, and he and JJ are about evenly matched as 2 guards, but the edge goes to Joe as Brandon Roy is often injured. That’d be like trading Al Horford for Greg Oden. Silly move when you consider durability.
4 stars: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford = 1 mega superstar
But Joe is star of this particular motion picture, and the others are supporting actors. Let your star walk and you’ll find that the movie just doesn’t quite flow.
Keep these guys together, continue to add above average players with good character, and
trade draft picks for proven players, since Woody’s not great at trusting rookies.
Hold onto Teague, I believe he can very well blossom into a top-10 point guard in the league. He definitely has the skills, just needs a little more on-the-job training.
And what about Woody?
GM’s fire coaches all the time hoping that a new coach can take the team to another level.
Joe Dumars’ firing of Flip Saunders 4 days after the Pistons lost in the Eastern Conference finals instantly comes to mind. 3 years of success simply overlooked.
But the Pistons haven’t been as good or barely even relevant since.
Would letting Woody go be the mistake that haunts the franchise for years to come?
i_am_soulstar
April 18th, 2010
1:29 pm
Northcyde,
Oh yes, good game by our captain yesterday, 2 back-to-back steals on the opposing teams high scorer was just the momentum changer we needed.
And OMG, Jamal Crawford took Brandon Jennings’ soul with that crossover in the 2nd half.
He left him in the locker room with that one.
cdog
April 18th, 2010
1:32 pm
jon barry of espn, is a has been.he’s knows nothing about the game or the hawks.he reminds me of the legendary dan jiggets who use to have a venetta against the falcons because they use to knock the redskins out of the playoffs so when use to announce games for the nfl he would put down the falcons because of it.he use to target especially deion sanders.barry is doing the same thing with the hawks.he should be banned or cut off from his microphone everytime he opens his mouth.hawk fans, don’t pay any attention to him.he knows nothing.he is against the hawks because they let him go.he’s trying live off his father rep now which is not working.
Cali girl
April 18th, 2010
1:38 pm
i see ESPN is getting no love here right about now but hey it is what it is cause they dont show us no love they never mentioned us not even once what do we have to do to even let folks stop talking trash WIN!
GO HAWKKKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
cdog
April 18th, 2010
1:38 pm
also, to all, coach woodson isn’t going anywhere but here with the hawks next year.if you want be critical, look at the braves situation.you can use your coaching fantasies there.the hawks are a solid playoff team who without woodson would still be winning only 15-20 games a year.we got milwaukee to beat not woodson.it won’t do any good to run your mouth about woodson anyway, he’s the hawks coach for as long as he wants to,like it or not.go hawks all the way to the finals!
NUNNA YO BIZNEZZ
April 18th, 2010
1:50 pm
drmaryb,
it was woody who wanted marvin,and bibbs back..sund would like to bring in other players to fill those roles,but,it was woody who wanted to keep this group in tact..
sund is sitting back and waiting for the end of the hawks season to point out how things woody wanted didn’t work well..
it was sund who signed,mo/crawford/joe smith/flip/collins(who has a decent outside game/and drafted teague..
flip is gone,but,what would u say if he were here instead of bibby?? better offense and better on the defensive end as well..bibbs is decent on the offensive end,but his skills on defense are eroding fast..
can you imagine having flip and crawford in the game together??
crawford would be more of a pg,and he would work well with flip..
if you let this man(sund)do his thing and you develope your bench,you will come out on top..
p.s. i didn’t forget othello nor thomas gardner..both of whom had great upside potential,but i bet you this,we will see the rise of othello once he gets on a team that will allow him some playing time,and it will hunt woody when he does…
NUNNA YO BIZNEZZ
April 18th, 2010
2:07 pm
cdog,u must be freakniking??
this team wins in spite of woody’s coaching..
he has a formula every time we lose on what happened to the media after every game..
so why in da heck does he not address those issues and put in players when others (like the starters or those who do get burn) don’t carry out his marching orders???
why can’t he make the needed adjustments??
i bet you that scott skiles will..
our m.o. is that we do let others back in the game and you have to wait for our mid 3rd qtr.-mid 4th qtr. to happen and be ready to climb back in..
lewis
April 18th, 2010
2:14 pm
hawks need some adderal
sam'l
April 18th, 2010
2:31 pm
The Hawks win. Staffs break down tapes. “Watch what happens.”
The most interesting match to me surprisingly was Boston-Miami. Here I have been touting Spoelstra as “crazy-smart,” but last night Boston got into their classic defense and it was Spoelstra who failed to make adjustments, and bad shot after bad shot was missed. The Heat crashed and burned after a promising start. Watching that defense…..Boston players perfectly spaced….you can see openings and are tempted to go in that direction…..but players move in unison to cut off those openings…just close enough to maybe not block shots but cause irritation so shot strokes are changed, body positions are awkward, 4 hands defending instead of 2. The result is those shots don’t go in, fouls aren’t called and it looks like a leprechaun sits above the rim swatting the ball away or pushing bounce backs to the side. In truth, it’s the energy of 5 players working in perfect unison forming a moving net. .
I’ve been saying Miami is a scrappy bunch, and last night’s pseudo-brawl fits in. Can’t win the game with talent, create some controversy. Maybe Garnett will leave the game. Wade is full of swagger….Takes a crucial foul shot in the last minute, then goes hanging on the rim for fun.
. .
I think any other opponent, Bobcats, Heat or Bulls, would be more exciting than Milwaukee, and that would explain the empty seats, the national ho-hum mentality and my own torpid reaction. Turns out the “best” team to play for strategic reasons is the Bucks, but the least interesting.
No….this isn’t about firing Woodson…just want the Hawks to put these guys away. You know, they’re still sitting around, guzzling booze and screaming “Fear the deer!” I visited their blog yesterday, and Hawks bloggers, true to Atlanta’s “Vibes” are more fiery and confrontational and totally divided, but at least they’re not living in a 50s mentality and are about 500% more interesting as writers qua writers and analysts.
But here’s a note to the “lovers”….cause if some of us are haters, the opposition must be lovers, right? In truth, ain’t no lovers or haters, just different opinions, which I subscribe to an overall lack of intuitive thinking and disorganization plaguing the metropolis called Atlanta, leading to traffic problems diagnosed decades ago, a rather violent mentality and inability to field a viable basketball franchise, and oh yeah, marauding funlovers seeking a good time wandering the streets being hustled off the streets by cops who are getting paid to do their marauding. . .
Maybe if we take Woody out of this for a minute and do an example, you’ll get it. Think of Spoelstra sending in troops into Boston in the fourth quarter without a battle plan and watching them get killed, then doing the same thing time after time while his 12- or so-point lead disintegrates and Pat Riley’s turns even more dour if that was possible. (On the same subject was that Danny Ainge or Glenn Beck…couldn’t tell). On an extreme scale, this is what rational Hawks fans want to avoid in an Atlanta coach.
In our case it has been more subtle but longer lived and just as deadly.
Game 2 would be interesting….but it’s still the Bucks. Hawks in 4…..
Go Hawks.
sam'l
April 18th, 2010
2:41 pm
Sorry, didn’t have my coffee yet.
Sautee
April 18th, 2010
3:02 pm
northcyde,
You said this: “As for people saying to use the bench . . this is the playoffs folks. Rotations will shrink across the board.”
Last years Finals:
LAL Gm. 1 – 12 players
Gm. 2 – 10 players
Gm. 3 – 10 players
Gm. 4 – 12 players
Gm. 5 – 9 players
ORL Gm. 1 – 10 players
Gm. 2 – 10 players
Gm. 3 – 9 players
Gm. 4 – 10 players
Gm. 5 – 10 players
So why weren’t these rotations shortened? After all it WAS the playoffs.
Seattle Hawks Fan
April 18th, 2010
3:08 pm
Congrats on the win Hawks but, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM IN THE SECOND HALF!!!! We would be a 70 win team if we didn’t implode in the 2nd half all year. That crap will get us past the Bucks but not the Magic. What is going on? It looks like we just fall apart. Not just one player but the whole team. But a WIN is a WIN! GO HAWKS!
drmaryb
April 18th, 2010
3:23 pm
Wabe
My bad. That’s what I meantm. Thanks. Btw. I love reding your posts all the time.
-smiles-
drmaryb
April 18th, 2010
3:35 pm
Sautee
I believe LAL & ORL both have deeper talent on their benches. Why not mention ALL the teams in the play offs & not just those two?
Like you said, were talking about the playoffs.
Btw, I love reading ALL your posts ALL the time.
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
3:46 pm
DRMARYB,
there is no logical explanation as to why woody keeps playin’ marvin. marvin +/- is 11 when he is on the floor. childress said that is the reason that he left, woody kept playin’ marvin, who was strugglin’ over him.
and what’s wit’ the “go back to sleep” comment? i am expressin’ my opnion as are you.
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
3:51 pm
this team wins inspite of woody. we are the only team in the league with 4 arguable allstars (horford, crawford, jj, and josh) and we can’t show up in any of the magic games. name another team with 4 allstars who don’t DOMINATE. clev has 4 allstars: shaq, lbj, mo, and antaun. THEY DOMINATE. boston has 4 allstars: kg, rondo, pierce, and ray allen. they don’t dominate this year, but the past 2 years they did.
all i am sayin’ is that woody don’t get the best out of his guys
bonquesha
April 18th, 2010
3:51 pm
The first half was great, but it is INDICATIVE of OUR Hawks to give the fans their money’s worth.
terrell
April 18th, 2010
3:53 pm
MaryB, it was Woody who didn’t want Paul or Williams. BK said in an interview that Woody preffered VET PG’S. Woody and Dominique were in love with Marvin’s sorry azz. BK hired Woody, so he had to draft what the coach wanted. And it for damn sure wasn’t a rookie pg. When BK knew he was leaving, he drafted Acie, just to piss Woody off. lol! I also remember Woody saying that he thought Deron was too slow, and Paul couldn’t shoot. If Deron is too slow, wtf is Bibby?
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
3:54 pm
WOODY=BOBBY COX. bobby cox had atleast 4 hall of famers durin’ the 90’s: glavine, maddox, smoltz, chipper and some other allstars and he couldnot coach them up. 14 straight pennants and one world series? tampa bay go 2 rings, with 2 completely diff teams.
cp
April 18th, 2010
3:55 pm
Yea I cant lie, ESPN was so bad i looked to see if i could get a feed listening to Nique. Its just frustrating trying to watch your team play but you have to constantly be reminded of how good Cleveland is. The game was the Hawks vs the Bucks but hell you heard almost more about Cleveland than the two teams that were playing. Then you had Mike Tirico or whatever his name is take a shot at the Hawks. I have never liked that guy. I haven’t been a fan of ESPN in a long time and watching the game yesterday reminded me why. I rather watch TNT than ESPN for basketball. And thank God for the NFL network because I refuse to watch ESPN for the draft. ESPN also ruined the NBA draft by having corny azz Stuart Scott on there.
hawkfan
April 18th, 2010
3:57 pm
on a side note, what is going on with ron artest’s hair?
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
3:58 pm
DRMARYB,
see TERRELL’S 3;53 post. thanks TERRELL
JohhnyWalking
April 18th, 2010
4:01 pm
Great Game yesterday. Phillips was rocking! Some seats were empty, but people were everywhere. Maybe thats why. A sweep would be nice but the Hawks just need a Playoff road win BAD. The Magic seem to be the forgotten team in the Playoffs with all the LA and Cleveland talk. They are the team to beat in my book. Hawks get past em, there will be a Helluva parade on Peachtree in June.
sam'l
April 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
Think BIBBY will be the difference next game? “Watch what happens.”
LouFan
April 18th, 2010
4:29 pm
Wait a sec… Thunder only 7 points behind. Did the Lakers become Jekyl and Hyde too? Of course not, they are on the Lakers’ d*cks. Stupid ESPN.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
4:47 pm
“Najeh . . . you mean like how college football games are late in the evening ( 6 PM start )? Just say that the crowd just don’t make it a priority to make it to the game on time. LOL @ can’t make it to a 5:30 PM Saturday start.”
Just keeping it real. 5:30 is a weird time to start a game, and no matter how much you want to complain about those fans not being good enough or whatever, you greatly reduce the chances of them being late by starting the game at a normal time. A lot of people walked in halfway through the first quarter and were genuinely surprised to see that the game had started already. Start the games at 7:30 or 8 and there will be a lot more people in the stands at tipoff.
Also, comparing pro basketball to college football in a college football city is pointless. If nothing else, people don’t show up three hours early to pro basketball games to tail gate like they do at college football games.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
4:51 pm
Y’all can complain about ESPN all you want, but you’re just going to drive yourselves crazy. We all know they are biased towards big markets and superstars, and the Hawks neither have a marketable superstar on the level of Wade or LeBron nor are they a big market on the level of New York or Chicago. If the Hawks keep proving their critics wrong, steadily improving, and going farther in the playoffs, they will earn the respect they deserve.
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
5:31 pm
Sautee
April 18th, 2010
3:02 pm
northcyde,
You said this: “As for people saying to use the bench . . this is the playoffs folks. Rotations will shrink across the board.”
Last years Finals:
LAL Gm. 1 – 12 players
Gm. 2 – 10 players
Gm. 3 – 10 players
Gm. 4 – 12 players
Gm. 5 – 9 players
ORL Gm. 1 – 10 players
Gm. 2 – 10 players
Gm. 3 – 9 players
Gm. 4 – 10 players
Gm. 5 – 10 players
So why weren’t these rotations shortened? After all it WAS the playoffs.
***************************
You guys always think you’re making a point. The difference though, is that the vast majority of you FAIL to research when you’re think you’re posting something informative. And you guys also FAIL to understand that I’m the KING of RESEARCH around here. If I tell you something, I can usually back it up with facts. And I know what websites to use to back up my facts.
Game 1: Lakers 100 – Orlando 75
See . . . to the regular NBA watcher, that would immediately tell you something right there. But to a person like you, it doesn’t. The game is A BLOWOUT . . so everyone is going to play. Before that game got completely out of hand in the 3rd quarter, Orlando was basically playing 8 guys . . , while the Lakers played 8 guys as well. So after Orlando was down 23 at the end of the 3rd quarter, of course everybody is going to play.
Game 2: Lakers 101 – Orlando 96 in OT
Orlando uses it’s regular 10 man rotation, even though Courtney Lee ( a starter ) played a whopping 11 minutes, seeing most of his time go to Redick and Pietrus. The Lakers, while playing 10 people, saw 3 of those guys play 6, 5, and 4 minutes respectively. And Bynum ( a starter ) only played 16 minutes.
Game 3: Orlando 108 – Lakers 104
Lakers play basically 8 guys, with Vujucic playing only 3 minutes and DJ Mbenga playing 16 seconds. Orlando shrinks the rotation and the bench minutes even more, seeing that only 7 guys played double digit minutes. 3 Magic players play 40+ minutes in the game. Redick, after getting big minutes the previous game, didn’t even hit the floor.
Game 4: Lakers 99 – Orlando 91 in OT
Lakers uncharacteristically play 12 guys in the first half. But that was due to Odom, Bynum, and Gasol all picking up 2 fouls in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd half, Phil Jackson makes up for that by playing 8 guys in the 2nd half. But Kobe and Gasol played the ENTIRE 2ND HALF, and the last 2 guys into the game in the 2nd half, ( Walton and Farmar ), played a combined 5 minutes total in that 2nd half. So he basically went with a 6-man rotation in the 2nd half of that game . . something that Woody would get absolutely KILLED FOR. At the end of the game, the Lakers still only had 7 players log double figure minutes.
Orlando plays 10 guys, but once again, the starter ( Courtney Lee ), plays only 7 minutes, and Gortat plays 4 minutes. So it’s basically an 8 man rotation for the Magic.
Game 5: Lakers 99 – Orlando 86
Lakers see 8 players log double figure minutes. Orlando also sees 8 players log double figure minutes.
*****************
Now we can play this silly game if you want to. People complain about our bench playing MORE MINUTES, not simply getting into the game. Just becauseyou get into the game, does not mean that you’re part of the rotation. Woody played 11 players yesterday. 8 of those guys played double-figure minutes. Teague played 6 minutes . . Joe Smith played 5 minutes . . Mario played 1 minute.
But no one will say that Woody extended the rotation, seeing that Woody went with his usual 8-man rotation in the 2nd half.
In the playoffs, even coaches like Phil Jackson and Stan Van Gundy are NOT going to waste minutes on guys who aren’t producing ( outside of their core guys ). So even they shortened their rotations in the NBA Finals last year.
Now . . . keep playing the game, so I can post the actual game links proving everything I said.
cdog
April 18th, 2010
5:38 pm
NUNNA YO BIZNEZZ, WOODSON MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. HE HAS HIS TEAM IN THE PLAYOFFS FOR THREE YEARS STRAIGHT.THIS IS SKILES FIRST YEAR IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH MILWAUKEE. IF HE IS SO GREAT, WHY WASN’T HE THERE THOSE OTHER SEASONS? 53 WINS AND YOU CAN’T ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS PART OF THE HAWKS SUCCESS? YOU HAVE MUST SNEAKED OVER TO FREAKNIK AND TOOK PLACE IN ALL OF THE SMOKING POT AND OTHER DRUG ACTIVITIES SECRETLY.YOU HAVE THE OLD SLAVE MENTALITY THINKING THAT HAS EVERYONE HATING ON COACH WOODSON,THE BLACK MAN IS DUMB WHERE AS THE WHITE MAN IS SMART. COACH WOODSON LIKE IT OR NOT HAS TURNED THE PROGRAM INTO A WINNER
bigdave
April 18th, 2010
5:47 pm
from the early looks of it.. this Bobcat/Magic series has the potential to be a good 1..
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
5:48 pm
Najeh . . . if people don’t know what time a game starts, then that’s on them. Anybody going to that game should have known that the game started at 5:30 PM.
Fans didn’t have a problem with the 2:00 PM start on MLK Day vs the Thunder . . they just didn’t show up. The Milwaukee game back on March 1st had a 6:00 PM start time on a Sunday . . no problem there either . . . they just didn’t show up.
So call it like it REALLY is. Let that be the Heat that we’re playing, and they don’t show up to the game all late like that.
The only legit excuse as to why the crowd showed up that late to the game . . would be that maybe thousands of people lined up at the ticket gate right at game time, trying to purchase a ticket.
It’s a late Saturday evening on pretty much a perfect day weather wise. No excuses for people not getting there on time for the game.
bigdave
April 18th, 2010
5:52 pm
a healthy Jameer Nelson is going to be a problem this playoff…
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
6:02 pm
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
3:54 pm
WOODY = BOBBY COX. bobby cox had atleast 4 hall of famers durin’ the 90’s: glavine, maddox, smoltz, chipper and some other allstars and he could not coach them up. 14 straight pennants and one world series? tampa bay go 2 rings, with 2 completely diff teams.
******************
And what Hall of Famers/All-Stars have Woody had?
I like the way people are tying to condemn Woody before this playoff run is over. Let’s just see how this turns out.
JeJe
April 18th, 2010
6:37 pm
Watch the Bobcats/Magic game and you’ll realize why Orlando is so much better than us.
Jameer had FOURTEEN in the 1st quarter and didn’t come back in til 5:30 in the 2nd. SVG trusted the BACKUP POINT GUARD for 7 minutes while his main PG was RESTING. Charlotte cut it all the way down to 4, and Dwight stayed on the bench.
WOODY DOES NOT TRUST THE BENCH IN CLOSE GAMES
FIRE WOODY
cdog
April 18th, 2010
6:41 pm
YEAH BUT ONE THING SEPARATES WOODSON WHETHER HE USES A BENCH, A CLUB OR WHATEVER, HE WINS.THATS WHAT COUNTS IN THE END
drmaryb
April 18th, 2010
7:19 pm
Ant Banks
Bobby?
OMG he’s a manager!
Bobby doesn’t Pitch or Hit! R U Kiddin, Me?
All he does during Game-Time is make PITCHING changes!!!!!!
Give Me A Break, I sure deserve one!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
7:31 pm
Watching this Magic-Bobcats game, it seems like what happened to the Hawks in game one is becoming a common thread throughout these playoffs. Better, more experienced playoff team gets off to a hot start and has an early double digit lead; scrappy, inexperienced team cuts it back to single digits by the 3rd. In the case of the Cavs, Hawks, and Lakers, the better team came out on top despite relinquishing a large portion of the lead.
ATL Shawty
April 18th, 2010
7:39 pm
@najeh davenpop
so true cause the higher seeds team in the playoffs so far have been off to hot starts but then just come flat in the 2nd half i think because the lower seeds were just nervous and in 2nd hald they got the hang of it
so i do not understand why the Hawks are the only ones being discussed as far as blowing a lead the Magic blew a 22 point lead so did the cavaliers but y isn’t no one mentioning that cause they don’t like the Hawks and will find any reason to say they aren’t elite yet and ready for the Finals!!
its the playoffs nobody is just going to come out and lay down so I just think this whats going on the Hawks still got potential no matter what!!
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
7:40 pm
JeJe . . Orlando is better than us because they have Dwight Howard and a plethora of long range bombers.
And let’s see how long Jameer stays out of the game when he leaves in the 2nd half. And it’s a big difference between some of the guys we have, and a veteran PG like Jason Williams. But with Charlotte making a little bit of a run now, let’s see how much rest Jameer gets in the 4th quarter.
SVG does just like all coaches do in the 2nd half of playoff games. He won’t hesitate at all to reduce the minutes of the bench if they’re not producing.
Jameer averages 29 minutes a game, and he’s already reached the 29 minute mark.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
7:42 pm
How the hell Ice Cube is still making money off that wack-azz “Are We There Yet” franchise is beyond me. That man has done a complete 180 from “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” and “Death Certificate” in his career.
Sautee
April 18th, 2010
7:43 pm
northcyde,
No need to. You already proved my point, when you said “they UNCHARACTERISTICALLY used 12 players”, and “In the playoffs, even coaches like Phil Jackson and Stan Van Gundy are NOT going to waste minutes on guys who aren’t producing ( outside of their core guys ).”
They played 10 to 12 players most of the games. Did they waste any minutes?
BTW, I’d LOVE to be there when you tell D.J. Mbenga to his face that HIS minutes were a waste.
LOL.
rusty
April 18th, 2010
7:59 pm
woody makes the dumbest substitutions hasnt he learned by now that he dont need to take out horford & josh at the same time. what is he thinging about with jj, bibby & teague playing together. what the hell is teague supposed to do in that lineup. hasnt he realized that crawford and jj does not play well together,why does he give mw huge minutes when he is not playing well. why does he let jj play iso stopping all ball movement. why does he pull teague out for little mistakes when bibby plays no defense & makes sloppy passes; if i was teague i would be pissed. woody has hurt his rookie year & he shouldnt always be calling him rook,i doubt teague has any use for him.
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
8:00 pm
SVG played Jason Williams another 5 minutes in that 4th quarter . . “trusting him”.
And they scored 2 points in that 5 minute stretch.
So if they lose, blame that.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
8:00 pm
If the Hawks end up beating the Magic in the 2nd round, it’s going to be because they force Vince Carter to shoulder the offensive load. He is shooting the Bobcats back into the game right now.
Charlotte’s blueprint is a good one. They kept taking the ball at Howard, and even though he blocked 7 shots in the first quarter, they eventually got him in foul trouble. He’s on the bench with five fouls now, and without him the Magic are just another team that relies too much on perimeter shooting.
Wabe
April 18th, 2010
8:01 pm
Where’s Jon Barry?!?!?!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
8:02 pm
Correction: not on the bench, but he does have five fouls. Either way, the Magic are on their heels defensively and Charlotte can now drive to the rim whenever they want, knowing Howard won’t be as aggressive.
Wabe
April 18th, 2010
8:02 pm
TNT > > > > > ESPN
amazingly grateful
April 18th, 2010
8:05 pm
vince carter done fouled out the bobcats got the ball back did anybody see that rebound he got! i say the bobcats taking this one to 7 and dont be surprised if they win what a comeback!
Kiki
April 18th, 2010
8:06 pm
I hope Woody and Horford are watching this game. Charlotte has neutralized Carter and Howard by getting them on foul trouble. That’s a game plan!!
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
8:08 pm
rusty
April 18th, 2010
7:59 pm
woody makes the dumbest substitutions hasnt he learned by now that he dont need to take out horford & josh at the same time. what is he thinging about with jj, bibby & teague playing together. what the hell is teague supposed to do in that lineup. hasnt he realized that crawford and jj does not play well together,why does he give mw huge minutes when he is not playing well. why does he let jj play iso stopping all ball movement. why does he pull teague out for little mistakes when bibby plays no defense & makes sloppy passes; if i was teague i would be pissed. woody has hurt his rookie year & he shouldnt always be calling him rook,i doubt teague has any use for him.
*************
- The JJ, Bibby, Teague lineup was +3 yesterday . . ( and Teague only played because Crawford had 2 fouls, and because Milwaukee went extremely small )
- Bibby hit his first 7 shots, and went 8 – 9 FG in the game yesterday, for 19 points
- You have to play JJ and Crawford together, unless you’re going to reduce Crawford’s minutes to 14 – 17 a game . . because JJ is going to play 35 – 38 minutes regardless.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
8:10 pm
Too many teams take the bait and treat Dwight Howard like he’s a go-to scorer, opening up driving lanes and wide-open 3-point shooters for the Magic. That’s exactly what the Magic want teams to do. The Bobcats are doing what the Hawks did on March 24, focusing their defensive attention on the perimeter players, and they improved on that game plan by driving the ball repeatedly at Howard on offense. Talent usually wins out in the playoffs, so I’d be really surprised to see the Bobcats pull the upset in this series, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see this series go 7 games.
The Hawks, on the other hand, do have the talent to pull the upset in a series against Orlando; question is, can they implement this game plan for every quarter in an entire series without slacking? We’ll find out soon enough…
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
8:11 pm
i would try the HACK-A-HOWARD technique.
bigdave
April 18th, 2010
8:11 pm
Orlando is in for a series…
Najeh Davenpoop
April 18th, 2010
8:13 pm
It must be fun to root for Gerald Wallace.
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
8:13 pm
DRMARYB,
and woody doesn’t take charges or shoot 3’s either. they are both the “leaders” of their respective teams. their decisions alone can effect the outcome of a game. neither were able to get the best out of their players…
oh what do you know, you are a woman. never mind. lol
O'Brien
April 18th, 2010
8:17 pm
Bobcats were down by 22, only to cut the lead to 5. That definitely seems to be the trend so far.
I give the Bobcats credit though. They have played Orlando tough in Orlando. And Howard is not dominating the game.
I havent seen most of it, but I hope Woody looks at these tapes (along with the tapes of our games) to come up with a plan that neutralizes Howard, because as we have seen, his offensive game is mostly dunks and putbacks.
Wabe
April 18th, 2010
8:19 pm
I’m with Najeh on the Bobcats gameplan. Charles Barkley echoed it at halftime too. It really doesn’t make sense to double down on Howard and let those shooters get going, because that plays right into what they’re trying to do. You play Dwight straight up, and if he averages 30+ throughout the series, you tip your hat and call it a series.
O'Brien
April 18th, 2010
8:33 pm
Wabe,
I dont know what took Woody so long to figure it out, because we were getting blownout from last season. Hopefyully Woody and the players will execute the game plan the way we did the last game against the Magic.
Home teams are 6-0 in the playoffs so far.
I’m keeping an eye on the Spurs game. Popovich must have liked the way the Spurs played the last month of the season with Hill starting. So rather than making a change, he decided to start George Hill in the playoff game, and bring Tony Parker off the bench.
Interesting move by Greg. I dont know if I would have done that…
Blast
April 18th, 2010
9:14 pm
So far, the playoffs have followed a predictable trend. Top seeds starts off smoking, lesser seed makes a big run, cuts the huge deficit from 20+ to sometimes single digits, but top seed ends up prevailing in the end. Only deviation was Miami/Celtics, though Celts still won.
So anybody hating on Hawks for winning by ten is just crazy! This is the playoffs, man! The best 16 teams left out of 30 are duking for a championship! It’s gonna get tougher from now on.
No upset so far, but Hornets had a chance to pull one out tonight. And OKC could have beaten Lakers if Durant didn’t try to be the hero.
Wild card, baby. Top seeds better come out strong!
Blast
April 18th, 2010
9:16 pm
Not Hornets, but Bobcats.
Pardon me!
JeJe
April 18th, 2010
10:03 pm
“I havent seen most of it, but I hope Woody looks at these tapes (along with the tapes of our games) to come up with a plan that neutralizes Howard, because as we have seen, his offensive game is mostly dunks and putbacks.”
LOL. You think Woody is going to watch tapes and come up with a plan. Wow. You are talking about Mike Woodson, right?
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
10:18 pm
OBRIEN,
that’s the diff between POP and woody. he is bringin’ tony p off the bench. he must have seen somethin’. i can’t explain why woody won’t bring marvin off the bench and start mo’
ant banks
April 18th, 2010
10:19 pm
is the season a failure if we get knocked out in the 2nd rd?
we will let mo’ walk and try to resign chills. do you agree with this?
i like mo’ and what he has done for the team.
big grady 2000
April 18th, 2010
10:32 pm
i say dont double howard because then he passes the ball out to vince carter, rashard lewis pietrus to shoot 3s and yeah jamere nelson u can live wit dwight scoring big so even if u have to foul get him on the foul line cause he is not a good foul shooter and like the bobcats did go to the paint force him to put his body on u for a foul sacrifice your body regardless of what
i hope they are watching this game
the bobcats will be ready game 2 i see this thing coming down to 7 games
JeJe
April 18th, 2010
10:32 pm
Chills is staying in Greece. He pretty much said he would. Gonna fulfill his contract and make bank
FIRE MIKE KNAPP
JeJe
April 18th, 2010
10:40 pm
Charlotte is probably a tougher team defensively for Orlando, but we score points easier (even though WOODY DOESNT HAVE AN OFFENSE)
FIRE WOODY
Arrogance unheard of
April 18th, 2010
10:59 pm
NORTHCYDE, THE KING OF ALL BLOGDOME SPEAKS, AND YE SHALL HEAR IT!
“You guys always think you’re making a point. The difference though, is that the vast majority of you FAIL to research when you’re think you’re posting something informative. And you guys also FAIL to understand that I’m the KING of RESEARCH around here. If I tell you something, I can usually back it up with facts. And I know what websites to use to back up my facts.
***************
Well there it is, finally. The scurvy knave snatches his internet crown and proclaims himself king of all he surveys. Anybody who misses HB ANDO has just found a more than adequate replacement with less intellectual capability.
northcyde
April 18th, 2010
11:21 pm
Arrogance unheard of
April 18th, 2010
10:59 pm
NORTHCYDE, THE KING OF ALL BLOGDOME SPEAKS, AND YE SHALL HEAR IT!
“You guys always think you’re making a point. The difference though, is that the vast majority of you FAIL to research when you’re think you’re posting something informative. And you guys also FAIL to understand that I’m the KING of RESEARCH around here. If I tell you something, I can usually back it up with facts. And I know what websites to use to back up my facts.
***************
Well there it is, finally. The scurvy knave snatches his internet crown and proclaims himself king of all he surveys. Anybody who misses HB ANDO has just found a more than adequate replacement with less intellectual capability
*******************
*******************
*******************
It is what it is man.
It’s common knowledge that coaches will reduce their rotations come playoff time. But some people would rather believe that the Hawks do something totally different from the rest of the league.
I’m thorough and detailed. So if you come at me, you better have your facts straight. Point blank.
It is what it is.
Hawk n the Ham
April 18th, 2010
11:27 pm
The worst thing about the playoffs are the schedules. Why draw it on forever? It’s a 7 games series, but game 2 isn’t until 3 days later? There’s not even a travel date involved there between game 1 & 2. So why so long? The NBA needs to start squezing these games a little closer together.
RLP
April 18th, 2010
11:33 pm
I’ve been following NBA playoffs since the 1960’s. I agree with northcyde on this point. Come the playoffs coaches typically shorten rotations.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2010
1:02 am
You really gotta appreciate what Nate McMillan has done in Portland. That team lost Oden early, dealt with other injuries all year, and are now in the playoffs without their best player, and he still somehow has them in position to win on the road in the playoffs in one of the toughest places to play in the league. It’s hard not to pull for a team like that. McMillan hasn’t received enough COY consideration in my opinion.
Wabe
April 19th, 2010
1:14 am
Again Najeh beat me to it.
Props to McMillan and the Blazers. They’re proving to be no push-over no matter who goes down.
northcyde
April 19th, 2010
1:23 am
It makes you think what could’ve been here . . . if we’d gone out and got Andre Miller, instead of re-signing Bibby. I didn’t mind Bibby coming back, but I was big on getting Miller here, because his ability to drive to the hole was something we needed on this team.
Nate knows his team. And Miller has took full control of the leadership role while Roy is out. Portland is a well constructed team. They have guys who can make outside shots, combined with guys who attack the rim relentlessly. That team would be straight up scary if healthy, because their bigs could’ve matched up with a big team like the Lakers.
That’s how I knew we were a good team. Because we beat Portland twice when they were at full strength. The switching defense gave their guards fits, and they couldn’t stop Crawford in the first game, and JJ in the 2nd game.
hawks_4_life
April 19th, 2010
1:37 am
Portland winning only makes me appreciate the fact ATL didnt take the Bucks lightly in game 1…..
vava74
April 19th, 2010
2:56 am
Dwight Howard is the most overrated and protected player in the league.
Yesterday I watched game 4 of last year’s Finals and it was a sorry to see all Lakers getting fouls after fouls whilst Howard was pushing and shoving them for rebounds and positioning.
Further to that, apart from dunking he only made ONE of the several layups he tried.
As for tonight’s game, I didn’t get to see it but you can all bet your asses that Howard WILL NOT be called for more than 4 fouls until this series ends and if we do face ORL in the secod round he will push and shove all that he wants.
Howard is a terrific athlete but as a basketball player, he is more or less at the same level of Diop.
The difference is that he gets a free pass from the NBA to bully everyone.
At least Lebron – who is also protected – know how to play.
vava74
April 19th, 2010
3:54 am
“sorry sight”; “knows how to play”
Grandad
April 19th, 2010
5:00 am
vava74:
Besides special treatment from the officials:
Look @ their [DH & LbJ], shall we say, acquired yet austere musculature, & it’s obvious [only a select few] get access to
Mr Stern’s repository of the very best vitamins & minerals
the world has to offer. Plus other nutrients and training
supplies that only the “chosen ones” have access.
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
6:18 am
LOL@ northcyde acting like this is UFC or something.
Dude…it’s a sports blog. I’ve had people “come at me” too many times to count. Had people spoof me, post as me, make fun of me. Who really cares? If you can watch the Hawks stress free, then you can also blog stress free.
I saw your comment on the “king of research around here.” Personally, I’ve been around this blog since it’s inception through Sekou Smith, now of NBA.com. Really cool dude. Perhaps you benefit from the absence of Niremetal and MannyT whose research skills would make you back off that statement.
Oh well, no harm in staking your claim as big fish in the blogosphere pond. Seen this before, and you won’t be the last. I just can’t believe you had to verbalize it like that. That was pretty funny, dude. Big words. On a BLOG. LOL.
Hey, it’s all good.
vava74
April 19th, 2010
7:03 am
northcyde,
You cannot dismiss the fact that when a player logs 5, 6, 7 or 8 minutes he is contributing at least to rest the starters. Consequently, a player that plays that amount of minutes MUST be considered a part of the rotation.
Your reasoning seems to indicate that being a part of the rotation means a minimum of 10 mpg.
I guess that if 5,6,7 or 8 minutes of game time are irrelevant we should ask JJ to play 48 minutes every game since the minutes in which he is out and another guy is playing 7 or 8 minutes we are basically playing 4 against 5.
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
7:44 am
northcyde,
Although Andre Miller averages 7 assists per game for his career and is good at posting up, I think one reason Woody would not have wanted him was because he is a career 21% 3pt shooter.
One thing I like about the deal he received from Portland is that its a 3rd year team option, whereas Bibby’s 3rd year is guaranteed (that’s one of my complaints about the Bibby deal). For the record, I the guy I wanted was Jarertt Jack (younger, cheaper, better defense).
Great game from Bibby yesterday though, so hopefully he keeps it up.
Also, did you see Camby cleaning up the boards last night? I think he had 17 rebounds. Gerald Wallace also had 17 rebounds for the Bobcats, so I can’t help but wonder why we can’t get more rebounds from Marvin.
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
8:02 am
Blazers take down Spurs. What a job McMillan has done with that group despite the massive injury bug bite, and the initial disgruntlement of Andre Miller. Having a hard-headed young player is one thing, and I give Mike Woodson credit for doing what he did with Josh Smith. I have to give credit to McMillan for what he was able to accomplish with his floor general. That’s a tougher task, in my opinion.
doc
April 19th, 2010
8:09 am
najeh been saying it all year every time i take time to look at the standings, how has nate done it?
najeh thereal coy got railroaded off the path with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. not sure but if he had stayed well the nuggets might have been co-favorites for the championship and holding home court advantage for the playoffs. karl has been huge in denver right from the start taking over a team mid-season and been playing at .600 or better ever since. impressive run that only got better with billips.
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
8:12 am
O’brien ,
I also think the ability to at least adequately defend one’s own position factors in. For that reason, Woody should be glad to have such a player, and though he’s older than Bibby, Miller is a tough customer on both ends of the court (not saying he’s a great defender, but he can usually get it done). I know he outdueled Tony Parker in game 1…..
On the flip side, I can’t argue with your suggestion that Woody wouldn’t want a guy who won’t get it done from the perimeter, more specifically the 3 point arc. I wanted Jarrett Jack as well, and he hit for 41% from 3 point land this season. Oh well, it is what it is.
Hope Bibby can keep the pace when he’s needed. I don’t see it being as much of an issue against Milwaukee. Now the second round opponent is a different deal. It’s not just his shooting we need. We also need that polarizing presence that keeps our offense from getting too stagnant for too long. And you just can’t count on a couple of shooting guards to do that. They’re called shooting guards for a reason…
JeJe
April 19th, 2010
8:27 am
LOL @ Portland winning in PHX without its top players. Looks like they play hard when their stars are out.
When the Hawks’ stars are out, we can expect losing. You’re not allowed to win games if you’re the Hawks when players are injured.
Mike is Back
April 19th, 2010
8:39 am
Well Hawks fans…so much for the Hawks stave off the Bucks BS. Now that all of the game ones are in the books…I see the Hawks wasn’t the only home team that let a big lead get away. Those ESPN and TNT analysis…man what a joke.
@northcyde, comparing yourself to the great HB,”CMON MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!” lol
GO HAWKS……………….JUST KEEP WINNING BABY…THE H WITH THE NAY SAYERS.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2010
8:55 am
O’Brien is right. If the Hawks replaced Bibby with Miller, they would need Marvin to become as reliable of a 3-point shooter as Bibby to compensate.
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
9:02 am
Ray,
Blazers beat the Suns and Nash, but I know what you mean.
But yeah, even Miller’s defense is an upgrade over Bibby. And thats an interesting thing with Woody. He is a defensive coach, who preaches defense, but yet Bibby (and Flip and Crawford) are his guys. Maybe Sund has not given him the players to play defense AND make shots.
We saw Jennings go off (JJ didn’t slow him down either until the fourth, and that was after Jennings was sitting for a while), but Bibby’s offense made it worthwhile to keep him out there.
However, Nelson went off yesterday against the Bobcats, and he could be a tough matchup for Bibby in the second round. If Bibby is not knocking down shots, it will be interesting to see how Woody handles his minutes.
darrell starks
April 19th, 2010
9:41 am
Woody have go big in the fourth, even if he haven’t done it all season now will be the time in the playoffs 2 make a change.
JAMAL, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, ZAZA.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
doc
April 19th, 2010
9:58 am
mike, it was not self proclaimed. i think arrogance compared him to hb. agree no comparison though the contrasts in “arguments” would have been entertaining.
maybe with andre we would not have had the reliance on the three and would have worked inside more. josh and al might have gotten a few more inside looks as well as marvin. there would have been balance as marvin is not that much a drop off. bibby is very streaky and we could have finished a few games with jamal, jj and miller. can anyone really say bibby has been worth the 25 mil he has been paid the last 2 years of service? i like him but he was at too big a price.
miller has been huge in portland though he and nate got off to a slow start it seemed in the press. miller has done for the blazers what billips did for the nuggets. you only have to look at where philly is without miller to see his true worth.
overall, would have preferred the inside outside game of roy and jj over any of it instead of shels then bibby. it could have been easy and entertaining.
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
10:21 am
#8 Seed Bulls came back on thje #1 Seed Cavs (7 points in 4th Qrtr!
#7 bobcats on #2 Seed Magic at (7 points in 4th Qrtr!)
#6 Bucks on the Hawks at (7 points in 4th Qrtr!). We drew the higher Seeded Team!
What’s the difference people? Except, that we drew the HIGHER SEEDED team of all three!!!!!
We get No Respect in the Natl. Nedia. If our game is not on Sporth South then I will turn down the volume & listen to my CD’S on the stereo & tune out ESPN. I do like TNT and NBA TV commentators though. They call the games evenly IMO.
No mre Jon Barry insults for this girl! I can’t waite til tomm. Nite @ 7pm to see my Hawks come out focused for 48 total minutes & hopefully some great Def. Let Jenny from the block shoot all she wants. If they only have 3 players in dble figures? I’m ok with that. We just have to keep moving the ball from sise to side on Offense & share the ball, until its ISO-Joe/Jamal time! I have no problems with some ISO plays to mix it up &
Penetrate when the opponent goes to the ZONE DEFENSE scheme!
Our 2 guars are un-stoppable in those situations and can draw fouls as opposed to shooting long jumpers into the zones. We got to play inside-out to sweep this team. They have no interior defense whatsoever!
Sorry Bogut is hurt, but that’s not my problem. Last year we had Joe, Horford & Marvin hurt & we got swept!!
No one felt sorry for us! We just get slammed for being swept – that’s all I keep hearing about our last 2nd round showing.
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
10:27 am
doc,
Miller did for Portland what Billups did for Denver. I agree with you there. However, Bibby did the same thing for us when he came over at the trade deadline.
Although his salary was high when we traded for him, I was okay with that, because the Hawks needed stability at the PG. If we dont make the trade for Bibby, I dont know if the Hawks make the playoffs (although if Pacers did not choke, we dont make the playoffs anyway). Plus he was good for us last year.
And although I wanted Jack, I was okay with the Bibby re-signing. I think the $6 mil price is good, but I dont like the 3rd year guarantee.
But he is a streaky shooter, so I hope he continues to make shots, because if he is struggling, Woody will go with JJ and Jamal, and our offense will too guard-oriented/dominated. Or he will leave Bibby in the game, and watch him give us nothing…
I like Roy too, but he can’t stay healthy consistently (along with CP3). Its like they’re always banged up.
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
10:36 am
Yeah Portland handled the Upset, w/out Roy! ODEN’s been out for what 3 years straight now.
This team moved on w/out Oden a looong time ago.
But to be fair, have you looked down that Bench? Man it is stacked down to the 12th player!
When they get Roy & Oden back? Look Out West-Coast!! That will be the TEAM to beat.
Aldridge, Camby, Miller @ PG? IDK who will get past ALL that?
They might win this Phoenix series though, even short-handed! A surprise to me would be that upset.
Everybody was saying how hot the Suns & Heat ended the regular season, but
Its The Play-Offs now baby! Everybody was O – O when this post season started & its a new ball game now!
I, For pne am very excited!
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
10:51 am
OBRIEN
I enjoyed yoir post up there about Miller & Bibby. I def will co-sign that right-there.
There does seem to be some injury-proned issues with both CP3 & Roy.
Our team has been fortunate to avoid that this year. But, the play-offs can get pretty physical though.
What happened to Pierce & KG on the side-lines. No one even touched Paul?
LOL! What Quinton said, “I was going to take the ball out – & inbound it. I thoughe Pierce was getting him some rest, like he always does!”. LOL! Some more.
That ISH was so funny. Looks like KG will be watching the next game on TV like most fans!
He made a dumb mistake, pushing the Ref & Elbowing everbody? That was bush-league.
Didn’t that happen to Alonzo swinging on Dennis Rodman for grabbing his nutz?
They went on lose that series also, I believe?
I hope Josh doesnt. Lose his Cool like that? KG is a starter for Christ- Sakes! Geez!
And Paul wasn’t even hurt? Maybe he was resting, after all he is getting old.
Mike is Back
April 19th, 2010
11:26 am
Doc, that he to be it. lol
Mike is Back
April 19th, 2010
11:46 am
Big Ray, Doc I agree McMillan and Karl have done a terrific…lest not for get, these guys are far from being rookie coaches. They got some time in service…I guess that is point some keep overlooking with Woody…he can improve over time too u no…AS STRANGE as that make seem to some. He has his team in position to make it to the ECF…that is a tremendous accomplishment…all they have to do is take one game at a time.
LETS GO HAWKS……..SHOW’EM WHATZUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike is Back
April 19th, 2010
11:47 am
Doc, my bad…that should have read…that must be it. Can u tell I got a lit free time on my hands? lol
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
5:10 pm
Ant Banks,
Yeah man, I actually LOVE reading all your posts. I never scroll-on – on – YOU! Just debating w/U & having some fun! That’s it.
About our 4 All-Stars -vs- the ones you mentioned. The Cavs & Magic both have penetrating PG’s & the DOMINATE center. Those are the key positions to build a team around & are the Hawks GLARING weakness.
Cleve & Magic also have a bench filled/packed/jammed with what? STARTERS!
Hell , Cleve got 2 damnrd 7 footers! That just doesn’t seem fair at all!
Please don’t tell me you thing our kids in their 1st break-out seasons can even compare to all that.
Hey Baby-Banks…we are NOT done building just yet. Let’s stay together & add some more key ballers? Man watch out ! Its gonna be hell for them top-feeders!
Hawks 4 Reel!
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
5:16 pm
SamL
I loved your post @ 231pm in think that was yesterday? But great points, nice vocabulary. I love exotic words & that intigues me!
I forget that word u used now, but I had to get my Roget’s Thesaurus after that one! LOL!
Keep it coming – Hard!
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
5:24 pm
Darrell Starks,
I love that BIG line up too! Problem is, if Horf & Zsa pick up fouls (you know they will be attacked by the PF & SF right?). Then who do we bring off the bench? I say Big-Joe Smith & Jason Collins! At least Jason can earn his per diem – right? Doesn’t look like the big fella missed any meals – right?
I think Jason C. Played great in the seasons last game! He earned some PT – IMO.
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
5:49 pm
NorthCyde
You are my man & you know that!
But you don’t really wanna F#*k with
BLUE-RAY
(Mega-Pixels)
I know its tempting to do – (I’ve been there & done that too) Trust me N-Cyde…that dude is
Too BIG on this here blog! He runs thangs &
He knows somebody – who knows somebody – who’s got a GUN! NorthCyde Man, that’s the
Po-Po!!! You’re gonna mess around and get a ticket for “Driving Too S L O W.
Know, say you’re Sorry & apologize!
drmaryb
April 19th, 2010
6:07 pm
NorthCyde,
I commented BEFORE I read your post earlier! LOL!
I was just responding from
Blue-Ray’s. (Clear-Image) response to you!
Man you are crazy! You are I’m play-off form & I see you are stepping up your game! You must have ate some wheaties! Keep kicking that knowledge – you always do!
But, you can’t F#*k with Blue-Ray? That is just – WRONGE man! LOL!