Atlanta Hawks at Magic Game 2: J.J. is All-NBA but is he fading away?
J.J. can't find his groove.
ORLANDO–A reminder that J.J. is considered to be among the best players in the league, at least by media types: He was named to the All-NBA Third Team, the league announced today. It’s the first time for J.J. and the first time the Hawks have had a player selected since Dikembe in 97-98.
The timing is interesting since J.J. is slumping in the playoffs. He’s not the only one, of course, but he’s the lead dog. Before the playoffs opened, J.J. said he knew that as the Hawks’ veteran star he would take the heat if they don’t meet expectations or get the glory if they make a breakthrough. He said he embraced that role. Now, though, both J.J. and Woody seem to want to avoid putting the onus on him to deliver a big game when the Hawks need it most.
Looking at the other guys on the All-NBA teams, all of them except maybe Bogut would be looked at to be The Man for their team in trying times. J.J. needs help–more from fellow All-Star Horford, second-team All-Defense Smoove, Sixth Man of the Year Jamal and Woody. But if the Hawks’ All-NBA star doesn’t come through it’s hard to see them making this a series. It also could end up costing him in free agency.
– You have to be an Insider to read it, but ESPN.com’s John Hollinger makes a case that Iso-heavy offenses like the Hawks and Blazers run are good for the regular season, not so good for the playoffs.
Atlanta, as the league’s third-best offense, should at least be able to battle these defenses [Milwaukee and Orlando] to a draw. But even before Tuesday’s Game 1 implosion against Orlando, they were struggling. The Hawks can’t make shots, ranking just 14th out of 16 teams in postseason TS percentage. While they’ve still been able to generate second shots (they lead all teams in playoff Offensive Rebound Rate) and have been somewhat successful at avoiding turnovers, the net result put the Hawks 11th among the 16 playoff teams in postseason Offensive Efficiency.
So what is it? Perhaps the Hawks and Blazers have just had some bad games against some pretty good defenses. But between the two, we’ve built up a 31-game sample showing that something more nefarious might be at work.
Obviously, this has important implications for Atlanta’s Game 2 in Orlando on Thursday. Iso-Joe has had its moments; Game 4 of the 2008 Boston series, for instance, when Johnson single-handedly tore apart one of the best defensive teams in history. But in the aggregate, its failures have been far greater than its successes, and it’s notable that the most similar offensive team has faced similar troubles.
Is there something about iso-heavy offenses that makes them vulnerable in the playoffs? We can’t say it with certainty yet, but the case is building rapidly. The Hawks have three games left to show that Iso-Joe can be as effective in May as it is between November and April.
– In Game 1, the Hawks ran two isolation plays in the first quarter, one for Bibby (miss) and one for J.J. (a make, but it came just after a steal and Orlando’s defense hadn’t yet set). They ran four isos in that awful second quarter: Marvin (miss), Zaza (miss), J.J. (miss) and Jamal (miss). Of those six plays, all but two were long, challenged jump shots: Marvin got his layup blocked by Dwight Howard and Jamal missed on a runner near the end of the half.
– I covered Stan Van Gundy so this doesn’t surprise me. The guy is fanatical about not letting his team slip. And the Magic are aware of what happened against ‘Nique’s Celtics in ‘95. Still, I keep wondering what lesson there is to learn from a series they ended up winning, anyway.
– Slam Online ranks the Euroleague players and puts Childress at No. 5.
MC
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815 comments Add your comment
JSS
May 6th, 2010
10:38 pm
They PANICKED!!! That is not on the coach!
Wabe
May 6th, 2010
10:38 pm
They gave up.
It’s a wrap.
4 quarters.
That’s all I wanted.
4 quarters.
We were down 1 at the end of 3. We’re down 14 at the moment.
make it 17.
VenomSpitter
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
Joe and Josh are responsible for this loss. Just bad decision making.
Old Hawks Fan
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
23-6 in 4th Quarter for Magic.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
23-6 Magic in this quarter.
So the Hawks played one quarter before melting down yesterday, and three quarters before melting down today. Maybe they will play four quarters without melting down on Saturday?
I’ll believe it when I see it…
What!
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
IF WE HAD JUST PLAYED WIT SUM HEART IN THA THIRD AND KEPT THAT CUSHION, WE WEOULDN’T BE IN THIS MESS RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, THEY WERE GONNA GO ON A RUN IN THA 4TH ANYWAY, BUT AT LEAST WE’D BE EVEN OR A FEW PONTS BEHIEND INSTEAD OF GETTIG OUR DOORS BLOWN OFF RIGHT NOW. TOO IMMATURE, CANT EVEN PUT A WHOLE GAME TOGHETHER!!!
THANKS A LOT BIBBY AND JOSH.
O'Brien
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
If Woody gives the Hawks a play in the timeout, the Hawks will do any and everything to run that play, regardless of what the defense gives them.
Woody and Hawks need to do better. Be more flexible. Geez…
And Josh with a bad turnover, and what would have been a bad shot anyway.
And now the Magic are running away with it.
northcyde,
Thats why we need a ball movement type of offense, because it is more consistent.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
competing for 3 1/3 quarters and ending up getting blown out…is worse than getting blown out for an entire game.
bigdave
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
we wear ourselves out on defense…
Wabe
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
F********************************************
Old Hawks Fan
May 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
Hubie……….”Magic will make the extra pass to get the Basket”
Big Ray
May 6th, 2010
10:40 pm
no Ray… the coach is the idiot for allowing it..
Right, Bigdave. Of course, that concept is beyond some people. Considering his lack of defensive effort in this second half, I’d have benched his butt right after that play.
But like O’brien said, Josh has been allowed to do this all season. Huh.
STILL….it was a dumb move. And he should have known better. But Josh is like the average person…it ain’t a problem until he gets caught. And he doesn’t get caught all that often, leading to dunks and assists…which we conveniently forget.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 6th, 2010
10:40 pm
Switching D leads to a Vince Carter dunk.
Game over.
Wabe
May 6th, 2010
10:40 pm
this bs gets me so damn heated
Big Ray
May 6th, 2010
10:40 pm
That’s what really has me mad, is Josh’s lack of urgency on defense in this half.
He’s playing like Joe Johnson out there. Disgusting.
Old Hawks Fan
May 6th, 2010
10:41 pm
Hawks will ISO and Shoot as oppose to how the Magic move the ball. The difference is Da Hawks are a selfish bunch of egos.
VenomSpitter
May 6th, 2010
10:42 pm
Welcome to the Joe and Josh show everybody:
Introducing Joe BALLHOG Johnson. Joe enjoys hogging the ball, stopping the offensive flow, and demanding a max contract when he is a Robin.
Introducing Josh UHHHHH Smith. Josh enjoys making boneheaded plays, complaining about calls, walking back up the court instead of running, and doing his best Magic Johnson impression.
drmaryb
May 6th, 2010
10:42 pm
Now were playing to not lose by 43!
I guess we consider losing by 20 a move in the right direction?
Ah So Joe
May 6th, 2010
10:42 pm
This Hawks team is just plain dumb.
Old Hawks Fan
May 6th, 2010
10:43 pm
It’s I NOT TEAM with these Hawks and Woody doesn’t help the cause EITHER! Fire Wodson!
bigdave
May 6th, 2010
10:43 pm
Coach K.
O'Brien
May 6th, 2010
10:43 pm
Bad shot by JJ again.
Can somebody tell me how many points JJ scored in the second half? On that dunk by Carter, both JJ and Crawford did not even rotate over and try to take the charge, or try to foul him.
Pathetic.
bigdave
May 6th, 2010
10:43 pm
Bibby shouldnt start another game in a Hawk uni.
NUNNA!!
May 6th, 2010
10:43 pm
LMAO..I WAS LOOKING AT WOODY WHEN WE JUST CALLED TIME OUT..
HE REALLY THINK HE HAS BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB THESE PAST 3 YEARS AND THAT WILL CARRY HIM TO ANOTHER JOB,LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….
FIRE WOODY!!
I GAVE HIM KUDO’S EARLIER AND IT WAS WORKING..BUT,HE WON’T MAKE THE SUBS LIKE SKILES DID WHEN HIS PLAYERS ARE NOT PLAYING WITH THEIR HEADS IN THE GAME..
CAPS OFF..
we might as well,let him go and let the assistants run this game come saturday..
sund is not bringing this joker back so why don’t he just let him leave now and see if we can salvage this playoff run without him..
Najeh Davenpoop
May 6th, 2010
10:44 pm
I wonder if it will escape the notice of anyone that for three quarters, the Hawks shared the ball, drove inside, made a concerted effort to get to the free throw line, and ended up shooting 50% from the field. Then, in the 4th quarter when the chips were down, they went back to the isolation that has caused failure after failure all season, and they melted down offensively.
F-ck Iso-Anyone.
Mystikal
May 6th, 2010
10:44 pm
This was a typical hawks loss at least, play tight for 3 quarters and lay down in the 4th!
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
May 6th, 2010
10:44 pm
Where’s Max player Johnson?…dont they show up late in games more than every blue moon??? Ah well let him go to Chicago where he can take a back seat to a younger Rose in these situations.
VenomSpitter
May 6th, 2010
10:44 pm
Al I’m so sorry u have to play with these candy azzez u call teammates u deserve better.
VenomSpitter
May 6th, 2010
10:45 pm
Welcome to the Joe and Josh show everybody:
Introducing Joe BALLHOG Johnson. Joe enjoys hogging the ball, stopping the offensive flow, and demanding a max contract when he is a Robin.
Introducing Josh UHHHHH Smith. Josh enjoys making boneheaded plays, complaining about calls, walking back up the court instead of running, and doing his best Magic Johnson impression!
w
May 6th, 2010
10:46 pm
has Joe had a good game yet in these playoffs?
bigdave
May 6th, 2010
10:46 pm
good game Al…. Marvin… Jamal..
Wabe
May 6th, 2010
10:46 pm
Woody must still go.
Despite a pretty well-coached game for 3 quarters, again, it’s his lack of a go-to-offensive play/scheme that kills our chances of winning.
The players don’t get off without blame.
Boneheaded mistakes + taking plays off, SMH.
You have to play 4 quarters without taking plays off. You have to play 4 quarters and minimize mistakes. The game is right there for the taking at the end of 3. You’d think these guys would come out with a focus we haven’t seen all season to try and pull this one out. They know they’ve struggled in 4th quarters, but they fall into the same trap they’ve fallen into in numerous 4th quarters all season – lack of ball movement/dribble dribble dribble.
Mystikal
May 6th, 2010
10:46 pm
Magic have four 20+ point scorers, they just have more gunz!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 6th, 2010
10:46 pm
Damn, Pietrus is horrible at free throws…
Najeh Davenpoop
May 6th, 2010
10:47 pm
At least the Hawks are competing with the game out of reach, cutting an 18-point lead to 12. A hell of a lot better than what they did in Game 1.
JSS
May 6th, 2010
10:47 pm
Come on and pull a Milwaukee!!!
Mystikal
May 6th, 2010
10:47 pm
Byron Scott!
VenomSpitter
May 6th, 2010
10:48 pm
What a pathetic 4th qtr showing. AGAIN
Wabe
May 6th, 2010
10:48 pm
This one will end in 5.
I don’t see the Hawks holding home court.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the Magic got a sweep. I think we’ll manage to win one at home, but this thing is done in 5 tops. Would’ve had a chance to make this series had we won tonight.
bigdave
May 6th, 2010
10:48 pm
its was clear that win we moved the ball and players offensively we could score. its a shame that we cant do that consistently.
JSS
May 6th, 2010
10:48 pm
That’s me being an optimist
O'Brien
May 6th, 2010
10:48 pm
Bibby ONLY played 12 minutes, but he is -14.
This is another reason why Teague needed consistent PT during the year, because we just cannot count on JJ, Crawford and Bibby every game.
Especially Bibby, because he has sucked except for a couple good games against Milwaukee.
Mystikal
May 6th, 2010
10:49 pm
Dang, Dwight Howard is a big mofo!!!!!!!!!!
Big Ray
May 6th, 2010
10:49 pm
My keys to this loss-
1) Josh’s pouting and total lack of defensive effort in the second half, coupled with his “I’m trying to make something happen” turnovers. His attitude put a real damper on the second half, right from the start. Disgusting.
2) Joe Johnson, bad on both ends (just who DID he defend?), and apparently getting worse from game to game. He ended up shooting 42% against Milwaukee, and is down in the mid 30s percentage wise against Orlando so far.
3) Our brilliant offensive game plan once again going away from Al Horford when the Magic have clearly not been able to stop him. I just love an offensive game plan that involves “let’s try and see if we can get Joe and Jamal to 20 points apiece tonight.”
4) Mike Bibby gave us nothing. Jamal Crawford came in for him and gave us some good shots before joining Joe off the deep end.
VenomSpitter
May 6th, 2010
10:50 pm
Bibby has avg like 3 pts and 1 ast so far. What a waste off skin.
drmaryb
May 6th, 2010
10:50 pm
ETREMELY selfish basketball plays! One after another! When do you sit their azzes DOWN for not making 4-5 passes on every Off possession??????
WIRED:
TO in the 2nd Qrtr! I heard, Great job rebounding the ball! Everybody rebound the ball!
Then what Mo-Fo?
How about this?: EVERYBODY touch the (d a r n e d) ball before the shot goes up!
JSS
May 6th, 2010
10:50 pm
3 and a half minutes of just bone headed basketball
VenomSpitter
May 6th, 2010
10:51 pm
Any team that would give Joe more than 4 mil a year is crazy.
Mystikal
May 6th, 2010
10:51 pm
Magic are focused on the chip, might be a sweep
bigdave
May 6th, 2010
10:51 pm
was a winnable game..