Hawks Squawks Game 3: Bucks 107, Hawks 89
Milwaukee– The Hawks got their butts kicked. The details of the beatdown seem almost inconsequential in light of the aggregate effect of this blistering in the Bradley Center. The Bucks never got it handed to them like this at Philips Arena, where at least they fought back when the Hawks blitzed them.
– Forget the Xs and Os for a minute and consider the Hawks’ lack of intensity and poise. “It’s unacceptable to get blown out like this,” J.J. said. “We’ll look at the tape and correct our mistakes but more than anything it’s about coming out and playing with more effort.”
– The Hawks spouted some of those playoff cliches: The Bucks simply did what they had to do, the Hawks still own homecourt advantage, they still have a chance to win Game 4 on Monday for a road split. All of that is theoretically true but have the Hawks shown an indication that they can find the mettle it will take to win the next game? It would have been one thing if the Hawks competed and lost but failing to show up is something else.
– “Honestly I have no idea [why],” Joe said. “We knew what to expect and we knew what was at stake. For us to come out the way we played, that’s on the starters. It was unacceptable. Give the Bucks a lot of credit, they ot their team off to a fast start and never looked back.”
– Then again, the Hawks can’t afford to beat themselves up about this for too long. “I’m not taking anything away from the Bucks, they played extremely well tonight,” Woody said. “They did what they were supposed to do but we still hold a 2-1 lead and we still have an opportunity to steal one (in Milwaukee).”
– The Hawks have one road playoff victory in their last three postseasons. Their problems on the road continue to keep them from reaching the level of Cleveland, Orlando (which is looking to sweep Charlotte) and Boston. “We’ve struggled on the road even during the regular season,” J.J. said. “We’ve not been a great road team. We’ve got to find a way.”
– They can start by going back to feeding Smoove and Al inside. Woody had said he was surprised the Bucks didn’t show more resistance in the post in Game 2 after they had success pushing Josh and Al out in the second half of Game 1. The Bucks didn’t make that mistake again.
– “It’s no secret that in the first two games they sort of owned us in the paint,” Scott Skiles said. “We were able to take a few things away tonight.”
– The Hawks waited too long to get Al involved but he also wasn’t as sharp when deciding whether to pick-and-pop or go to the hole. Smoove just wasn’t at all in rhythm.
– The Hawks didn’t help matters by missing a bunch of shots near the rim. That’s how they had 20 offensive rebounds and managed only 12 second-chance points. “They got a lot of offensive rebounds but didn’t turn them into points this time,” Skiles said.
– The Hawks’ pick-and-roll defense was awful. After solid defensive efforts in Games 1 and 2 the Hawks were back to those familiar bad switches and lax closeouts. That meant layups and open 3-pointers all night for the Bucks.
– “Give them credit, they came out and made shots,” Marvin said. “At the same time we didn’t defend the way we usually do.” Marvin’s 1 for 7 shooting line looked bad but he had eight rebounds and probably was the best guy on closeouts.
– There were a few times when the Hawks were close to breaking through and needed patience and ball movement. Instead, J.J. went iso.
– The bench was better, I suppose, though does it really matter in a game like this? Or I guess I should say Zaza was better. Jamal (5 for 13) still can’t get into a rhythm.
– It was a nightmare game for Smoove. He smiled when Bucks fans heckled him near the bench as he sat watching the merciful end of the blowout loss. There wasn’t much he could say, though he was unapologetic afterward.
– “I didn’t say anything about their fans,” he said. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. Some people have different opinions. I gave my opinion and I’m entitled to it. You asked me a question, I gave an honest answer.”
– Hey, I didn’t ask the question to begin with. Milwaukee media folks kept crediting me, too, but it wasn’t me!
– Win Game 4 and the Hawks can forget this one. Mo’s formula for doing it: “Go back to getting the ball inside, get quality shots and play defense first and foremost.”
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
296 comments Add your comment
Mz. You Got Punked Hawkdafied
April 25th, 2010
8:41 am
That comment was meant for Mark Bradley’s blog but didn’t show up so I posted it here.
Mz. You Got Punked Hawkdafied
April 25th, 2010
8:50 am
Just blame it on the red jersey. excuses, excuses. No energy? after a 3 day break. really? excuses, excuses. SMH!
Mz. You Got Punked Hawkdafied
April 25th, 2010
8:56 am
“The Hawks got their butts kicked. The details of the beatdown seem almost inconsequential in light of the aggregate effect of this blistering in the Bradley Center. The Bucks never got it handed to them like this at Philips Arena, where at least they fought back when the Hawks blitzed them.”
MC, this is what pisses me off. When you see other teams show more fight/heart than the Hawks. The Hawks say they are playing for something. Well honestly right now, it looks like their just playing in front of the home crowd. Not that I don’t appreciate defending home court. But it’s time to get this thang going on the road. Forget what the Lakers, Cavs, do. Show what the Hawks can do. Know what I’m saying?
Did you See That????
April 25th, 2010
8:59 am
Pathetic……at least Kobe and the Lakers played worse, but they’re playing against better competition.
Did you See That????
April 25th, 2010
9:05 am
No one is jumping ship, I think the main thing is that changes need to be made. From coaches to players to playing style. Three years in a row now…..the writing is on the wall.
ken
April 25th, 2010
9:11 am
Listen folks, lets just face reality here. This has been happening all year long and will continue because the Hawks coaching staff cannot make adjustments. They knew that Salmons & Jennings were the two players they had to stop yet fail to do so after 3 or 4 days of preparation while the Bucks shut down the hawks inside guys who had dominated the first two games. If you have not figured this out in 85 games you probably won’t in the playoffs. Its all a lack of motivation, focus, and adjustments and the Hawks are lacking in all three areas.
justahawkfan
April 25th, 2010
9:14 am
two days ago you all were talking sweep, now we are the worse team in the play off. prozac anyonr? wait and see how this thing turns out, maybe then there will no reason to complain. patience my friends, patience!!
Joey
April 25th, 2010
9:21 am
The Hawks will win this series, because they are one of the best teams in the NBA when they are at home, evidenced by wins over virtually every playoff team in Atlanta (except maybe the Thunder?)
Their problem is playing on the road, and for that reason, they have NO chance beating the Magic. What’s so bad is this is probably just a mental thing.
Woodie just has to turn this road-game situation into an “us against the world” thing. Give them a reason to play explosively on someone else’s court with the intensity they have at home. Come on Woodie, take a page out of Pat Riley’s book and get your team to play with some fight!
caroline
April 25th, 2010
9:22 am
Interesting how Josh Smith seems to think Milwaukee is “Nowheresville” despite the fact that Milwaukee proper has a larger population than Atlanta proper. Last I checked he doesn’t work for the Travel channel, so maybe he should just stick to basketball…but it seems as though he and his teammates can’t even do that.
O'Brien
April 25th, 2010
9:23 am
Drmaryb,
Although the Lakers got blown out too, the difference is this has been a disturbing trend for the hawks the last 3 postseasons.
We have been blown out 9 out of 10 road playoff games last 3 years. Plus the Lakers have homecourt in the west. We have home court in 1 round.
This is a team loss, but I agree win northcyde. Al, Josh and Marvin gave us nothing early on. And what’s up with Crawford?
I’m looking forward to Woodys adjustments in game 2.
drmaryb
April 25th, 2010
9:30 am
Punk
THey, correction needed; the Lakers were down by 30 points in the 4th & ended up losing by 21 points
(I Think?). The Lakers were blown-out there.
But, we can seek no solace in the Lakers losing. We are NOT the Lakers. But, thiese losses
All over these playoffs do affirm that any team can be defeated on any given night.
These are the BEST players I’m the World! But, we are all humans. This loss was boderline
ABUSIVE to watch. I should have gone out on a blind date last night (at least I would have had a decent meal)or something.
DoBoy
April 25th, 2010
9:37 am
The Hawks STILL have zero road toughness, despite the improvements in wins each year. That’s why nobody being objective seriously believes that the Hawks are a title contender. Bring in Jack Llewelyn (Smoltz’s sports psychologist) and figure out why the Jekyll-and-Hyde act is happening when the game isn’t at Philips Arena.
Solve the road woes. THEN we can debate if the Hawks can win it all…
Fan since 1976
April 25th, 2010
9:43 am
Sometimes this team plays like they don’t have much respect for the sport.
j
April 25th, 2010
9:47 am
well, the rest last night and the fact the Lakers got whooped worse than the Hawks kind of made my anger go away …
j
April 25th, 2010
9:47 am
agreed, get this loss out of the way and move on … Lakers got their butts kicked worse than the Hawks did last night and we are also still up by a game, so really can’t be too angry.
adam, your bucks won a game … whoop-ti-do … that was to be expected but i’ll bet you the hawks take the next two games to finish up the series. if bogut and redd had both been healthy, i can almost bet you the games would have been closer but this loss last night would not have been this badly. they would have had a different game plan in place to deal with those two. looks as if the coach didn’t even have the team ready after the first two beatings.
Chuck
April 25th, 2010
9:47 am
Yep, once Joe leaves, we will be starting over
He is the ONLY one that seemed to have tried last night.
Grandad
April 25th, 2010
10:01 am
TigerWoods:
Maybe your guy Wdsn needs to use some of that tough love on our Bigs
since they are so inept. Maybe he should have, oh never mind, it’s
Marvin’s, Al’s, & Josh’s fault. Wdsn had ‘em ready, they just are not
up to the task of mastering his transcendentally sophisticated concepts or holding up to the rigors of his verbose, imperious, concussive
form of inspiration.
* Or *
Maybe his bluster has worn thin and they have tuned him out.
So, now they’re just hangin’ in the wind.
dawgma
April 25th, 2010
10:07 am
Stuffed Bucks will be hanging above the Hawks fireplace in 5 games. They are a joke who happened to make their shots last night but won’t again.
That doesn’t mean I a sold on Hawks getting past Orlando – you boyz better get your D-on.
b.j.
April 25th, 2010
10:13 am
umm after reading these posts i see any and everything has been said, my opnion is that woody better find some way for the team to be more competivie in every game in these playoffs starting now or he’ll be fired JOSH<MARVIN<HORFOED<and BIBBY MAN UP!!!make shaots,rotate on D,and show some heart and energy enough said from the young hawks fan!
lewis
April 25th, 2010
10:15 am
This was was not just any loss. strong regular season. 2 wins in a row in the post-season. A chance to show the world you are an elite team. A small window of opportunity to really get your city behind you, and you completely fail to show up. schizophrenic players = schizophrenic fans. Thanks for showing up tonight Joe. Have fun with the bulls next year.
lewis
April 25th, 2010
10:20 am
I love Horford, but he was nowhere to be found yesterday.
That said, i’m not sure Woody even called a time out in the second half.
FIRE WOODY
lewis
April 25th, 2010
10:21 am
Horford hit about 4 field goals in a minute and then they continued to stop going to him.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
10:31 am
^ retarded
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
10:32 am
If you’re pinning this loss on one guy, you’re retarded.
I’m sorry, I’m not trying to come at anybody, but your sh********t gets old.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
10:32 am
But an opinion is an opinion, I guess.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
10:33 am
You forget to mention Mike Bibby? Josh Smith? Marvin Williams? Jamal Crawford?
All of them went M.I.A.
darrell starks
April 25th, 2010
10:35 am
Josh smith must have had 2 much old milwaukee beer last night because he look like sh!t next time shut your chopps unless your going 2 back it up.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
April 25th, 2010
10:45 am
The hawks have the worst road team record in the nba playoffs over the last three season, and this a reflection of coach woody not preparing his team, how do you loose 2 the bucks on the road in playoffs with 2 of there best player out.
THE HAWKS ROAD RECORD ON THE ROAD IN PLAYOFFS THE PAST 2 SEASON
1WIN 9LOST WITH AVG 24 POINTS A GAME.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
10:49 am
Dude, TS, are you kidding me?
Did you watch the game?
If you wanna whine about anything defensive, whine about the poor rotations. There’s no winning with you bro. On some nights, you whine about one guy’s inability to block the paint, but then when the Bucks SHOOT LIGHTS OUT, it’s still Horford to blame.
How many times did I see Delfino open in the corner for 3? Poor rotation.
Jennings killed us a couple times from beyond the arc.
Salmons went off, and Woody had no idea how he should play him.
How Horford is the one and only guy you choose to point out after a total team loss last night just leaves me…..
baffled.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
10:52 am
You’re whining about defense in one post…
When that argument fails, you point to rebounds and assists.
If you want to suggest that J.Smith showed Al Horford up last night, you’re absurd.
Why else would you be pointing J.Smith’s stats out to me?
darrell starks
April 25th, 2010
10:52 am
Marvin william sucks as usual, AND HE IS HURTING THE HAWKS IN THE WORST WAY AT THE 3 POSITION.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
10:53 am
J.Smith was a no-show last night.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:04 am
Truth-Serum
April 25th, 2010
10:44 am
J. Smith F 35:46 2-12 0-0 3-6 9 3 12 1 2 0 3 1
12 rbs 9 offensive an assist and a blk.
Wabe (horford nut hugger extraordinaire) I agree:
April 25th, 2010
10:27 am
A. Horford C 30:50 5-9 0-0 0-0 -19 2 1 3 0 1 3 0 1 0 10
Read what you posted. How does J.Smith grabbing 9 OFFENSIVE BOARDS prove he played defense?
Read, kid.
RLP
April 25th, 2010
11:06 am
I remember the “Memorial Day Massacre” back in the early 1980’s. Boston and LA opened the NBA Finals on that day. Because it was on Memorial Day I was not working and the game was played on live TV rather than on tape delay as was the fashion at that time. I do not remember the score. I think Boston won the game. What I remember is that the team that won that day looked totally unbeatable. They won by around 30 points. The other team looked to be in total disarray. They could not shoot. They could not pass. They could not rebound. They were totally outclassed.
But I also remember that the team that lost that game went on to win the championship. The point is that the team did not let their lack of performance in one game destroy them. Plenty of bloggers have allowed one game to be the basis for bashing their favorite whipping boy. It does not matter if that whipping boy is the coach, the point guard, the center, the power forward, the former number two draft pick, or whoever they chose to bash. That is fine. This is the place for that. And it may turn out that they are right. Or it may turn out that they will turn out to be wrong. This team has the potential to go on to win it all if every thing goes right. Some of us are terminally pessimistic. Some cannot surrender their optimism. I guess I belong to the latter group.
I like the Milwaukee fans who showed up to support their team last night. I like the fans in OKC who have never had the opportunity to witness a major league sport post season before but now have the opportunity to show their love. I do not like Jon Barry but I did like his description of the fans in Sacramento back in the day. I loved seeing the Bulls hand LBJ an embarrassing loss. I loved seeing Orlando win a game when Superman was ineffectual and fouled out of the game. I love what Larry Brown has done in Charlotte even though I do not like him I respect his coaching ability. I loved seeing the Trailblazers tie the series with the Suns. In the West I am pulling for them and OKC and Utah. Jerry Sloan is great. I don’t really care about the Texas shootout but I respect Pops a great deal. Dallas scares me as a possible comparison to my Hawks because they have won more than 50 games in each of the past 10 years without ever winning a championship.
We in Atlanta will get at least one more chance to attend a playoff game in the first round. Can the fans show the love of the fans in OKC, Milwaukee, Sacramento and Portland?
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:10 am
TS, no, you’re talking about defense.
Don’t start hugging J.Smith’s nu+s now because you’re baseless argument fell flat. How do you go from talking about Al Horford’s defense, and use J.Smith’s outstanding night on the offensive boards to justify your argument?
Common now, kid.
terrell
April 25th, 2010
11:10 am
Same ole Hawks.
Mike is Back
April 25th, 2010
11:13 am
MC, I sit through the entire game…it was miserable and disappointing to watch…However I never expected the Hawks to sweep the bucks…I think I stated as much when we started talking about Orlando.
Basically, the Bucks did to the Hawks…what the Hawks did to Buck…they attacked us at our weakness. They attacked Bibby and Crawford on defense…that was smart…plus they took away Josh…Because they knew, they had a better match-up with Al against Thomas. It amazing how these wagon riders comes out in droves when the team has a bad game. Kurt Thomas is a savvy vets with years of experience guarding the elite Bigs of the league…he made a living frustrating young Bigs like Al. Al finally figured it out and started going to his jump shot…but by then the flood gates was open.
The biggest disappointment besides the continued struggles of Crawford had to be Josh. I mean you run your mouth ABOUT the opponent’s hometown…then you become listless when the team come out and punch you in the mouth first. I watch numerous plays where Josh was disengaged, didn’t hustle for the loose ball, didn’t hustle back on defense, and just stood around. Okay, the whole team was struggling, BUT, don’t run mouth and come out with an effort like that.
However, Hawks fans its not the end of the world…GET OVER IT…AND STOP YOUR WHINING. They will bounce back. I expected the Hawks to win one of those two home games…and I still do. I expect the Hawks to come out with a much better effort Monday, and go up 3-1 in the series.
Woody, has to make some adjustment at the guard position…Josh will be fine…its a learning experience. What ever momentum we had come out of game two was lost with a four day layoff. If Teague had butterflies the size of golf balls…THEN CRAWFORD GOT BUTTERFLIES SIZES OF BASEBALLS…he needs to shake off the butterflies and STEP THE F UP…we need him. Woody its time to give MO and Teague some PT…Skiles will keep attacking that line-up until we make a change.
I’M CALLING A WIN ON MONDAY….GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:15 am
How can he be in position, in between the basket and the player, if you’re counting on him to be beyond the arc to contest 3-point looks from the Bucks backcourt?
“Again Wanna be, I agree. Horford did not make his rotations.”
terrell
April 25th, 2010
11:15 am
How many times was Marvin on the ground last night?
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:18 am
We had 57 points through 3 quarters…
How many games are you going to win scoring at that pace?
Defense played a role, we couldn’t get stops. But, what I did learn, regardless of whether they’re killing us from beyond the arc or points in the paint, I learned it’s always Al Horford’s fault…
lewis
April 25th, 2010
11:18 am
No, the fans in Milwaukee > the fans in Atlanta. They don’t have as much to do and you can actually get to the arenas without spending hours in traffic. It made me wonder if the fact that their fans were blatantly louder than ours had anything to do with the Hawks fragile mentality. That said, I can’t respect a coach who makes no adjustments. We were within 9 twice and did nothing. Bibby is the root of all evil on defense. When Marvin isn’t aggressive our offense doesn’t go. Move Bibby out of the lineup. Put in Jamal at PG. Johnson to SF and Evans at SG. Have Zaza back up Horford or Smoov but don’t take both of them out at the same time.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:20 am
^ Quit lieing now ^
You’re argument fell flat, kid.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:24 am
And, that’s a wrap.
darrell starks
April 25th, 2010
11:28 am
Marvin william plays with no sense of urgency at all, and he always shaking everybody hands, its just somthing about marvin with no hart 2 win with no fire 2 him.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
JeJe
April 25th, 2010
11:30 am
Good job, Smoove. All you had to do was keep your mouth shut and let us steal these 2 games. Now we are bound to lose every game in Milwaukee because of your idiot mouth. It’d be one thing if the Bucks were talking trash about our team or city, but they weren’t.
And I think MC owes us an apology: the guy came out with numerous articles/blogs about how severely overmatched the Bucks were, and now we lose. So where’s your explanation for that one?
This team last night looked like the Hawks I usually can expect — horrendous defense, 3 on 5 the whole game with Bibby and Marvin doing nothing. Seriously: can Marvin convert a fast-break layup? Why the hell is this guy always on the ground? WTF did Bibby do last night? Marvin does nothing all game, hoping to hide behind the other superior starters – then he picks up garbage points in the 4th.
FIRE WOODY
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:31 am
Have a great Sunday, TS.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:35 am
^ Keep switching up my words to prove YOUR POINTS.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:35 am
“Defense played a role, we couldn’t get stops. But, what I did learn, regardless of whether they’re killing us from beyond the arc or points in the paint, I learned it’s always Al Horford’s fault…”
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:36 am
Switch up your name, switch up my words, still a TS thought.
Wabe
April 25th, 2010
11:37 am
And again, have a great Sunday, kid.