Magic at Atlanta Hawks Game 3: Final(ly) Movement?
The strange thing with listening to the Hawks talk about their problems with stagnating offense is they all seem to agree on the problem:
“Ball movement, like there was in the first three quarters [in Game 2],” J.J. said. “In that fourth quarter, we did a lot of ‘iso’ instead of moving the ball and getting good shots.”
“It all starts with our guards,” Al said. “We have to create movement, we have to have guys moving around. When our guards are doing that, it opens up for us and opens up for them, as well. [The Magic] can’t just sit there and pinpoint.”
“We’ve just got to have more movement and guys have got to make shots,” Woody said. “It’ ain’t scientific or no big secret.”
The Hawks say these things and then they go out and fall back into iso at critical times of the game. When things go bad and the pressure is on, it gets even worse. It’s not always about just missing shots they normally make, it’s about getting better shots, particularly in the playoffs. And the Hawks (and every team) is much better at that when players and the ball are moving.
The Hawks missed some open shots in the first three quarters of Game 2, but didn’t they also get better looks until they faded late?
“Yes but we made shots, though, too,” Woody said. “Joe made a 3, Jamal made a 3. We had some good looks in Game 1 and we didn’t make shots. You can’t have starters and guy coming off bench go 11 for 54 not going to beat nobody in the league.”
According to Hoopdata, in Game 1 the Hawks were 6 of 26 on long jump shots, the bane of basketball number-crunchers, 15 of 25 from closer than 10 feet and 2 of 13 on 3-point shots. In Game 2 they were 7-for-22 on long jumpers, 9 of 20 closer than 10 feet and 6 of 11 on 3-pointers.
If the Hawks stay away from iso, maybe some of those long jump shots become open, spot-up 3-pointers or shots closer to the basket. None of that would solve their considerable problems with defending the Magic, of course. But because of their abilities, talent and temperament the Hawks’ best hope to at least make this a competitive series might be moving the ball and scoring enough points to overcome their defensive deficiencies.
They seem to know iso isn’t the way to do that even if they don’t always show it.
MC
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621 comments Add your comment
Not so casual observer
May 8th, 2010
10:03 pm
Josh Smith was 2nd to Dwight Howard for defensive player of the year in a vote of the media.
Voting by the coaches for the All-Defensive team put him on the 2nd team with the 8th or 9th most votes.
Looks like the coaches, those with the knowledge of the game, do not think as highly of J Smoooove as the media.
Wabe
May 8th, 2010
10:05 pm
8th or 9th most votes means he’s a scrub?
Rick Sund
May 8th, 2010
10:05 pm
Clyde I can tell you don’t know what you are talking about. If we hadn’t have kept those guys that you mentioned, we wouldn’t have CONTINUITY. I have been in the league 30+ years and although I have never won a CHAMPIONSHIP, I know what it takes to be an ELITE team which is based on the REGULAR SEASON, not the PLAYOFFS.
Clyde
May 8th, 2010
10:06 pm
JOE’S COMMENT HAS MADE ME HOT!!!!!!!! HOW BOUT YOU JUST TELL MANAGEMENT YOU DON’T WANT TO PLAY FOR THE HAWKS NO MORE AND SIT OUT MONDAY’S GAME.
PUT PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT WANT TO PLAY NOT PEOPLE THAT JUST DON’T GIVE A F$%K.
TAKE YA @SS BACK TO ARKANSAS JJ.
FIRE WOODY
slim
May 8th, 2010
10:07 pm
Josh does not have a clue..His basketball IQ is very low…And he plays off athletic talent. But is lazy upstairs. You cant hide from Coaches around the league who watch him on film. He is totally over rated by the media…
Rick Sund
May 8th, 2010
10:07 pm
Slim I am not delusional. You’re just another UNGRATEFUL fan who EXPECTS too much and don’t realize that IT TAKES TIME to build a CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. REAL fans like BIG RAY are SATISFIED with where we are because they know we are still YOUNG.
J.J.M.
May 8th, 2010
10:09 pm
I would trade marvin and the 1st pick to the nets for lopez their center and i would heavly target chris bosh and john salmons this summer….nets have a new owner and is moving the team dont be surprise if the hawks trade josh and marvin to the nets for lopez and devin harris… See More…you get a great young center and a provin point guard…line up could be lopez at center bosh at power forward horford at small forward salmons shooting guard and devin harris point guard…also remember if the nets have the 1st pick they are likely to draft john wall so devin should be on the trading block
dap01
May 8th, 2010
10:12 pm
Woody has been exposed. He is a fake. He is horrible. Basketball 101 would not pass basketball 101. The hawks are the worst prepared playoff team of all time. Woody has been exposed as the fake that he is. He has nothing to add. Who wants to interview him? Who wants to ask him how he intends to coach the next game. He is irrelevant.
JJ is not worth the max. He is a great player but he is not a great player. He loves Woody because Woody simply said, Joe shoot every shot. But JJ would be so much better with a decent coach.
JJ left Pheonix to come to ATL. You have to question his reasoning skills.
The Hawks SUCK.
slim
May 8th, 2010
10:12 pm
Rick, ATLANTA’S been WAITING OVER 40 YEARS FOR IMPROVEMENT!!!!! HOW BOUT WINING A FREAKING CONFERENCE FINAL FOR STARTERS??????????????????????????????? NOT EVEN TALKING CHAMPIONSHIP……GROWTH!!! WHAT A PATHETIC JOKE ON THE FANS OF THIS GREAT CITY….WE HAVE HAD IT WITH LOSERVILLE, YOUR ATLANTA HAWKS!!!!!!!!
Not so casual observer
May 8th, 2010
10:13 pm
Woody did win more games each year but I could argue the East has declined in each of those years and 60% of the games are played against Eastern Conference teams. From a seat near the bench I see a coach who does not make in-game adjustments, continues to switch his center on to a point guard (this same tactic beat San Antonio last night) and the offense may well be the poorest design in the league. I know Greg Popovich is a great coach but the switching very nearly beat the Hawks in the 1st round and tonight the same switch was made at least twice even when there was no screen on simple postion swaps directly in front of the Hawk bench.
The manner in which the Hawks often look lost on defense seems to indicate the defensive schemes are not well planned or are poorly explained to the team. Layups seem to be a freebie in the Hawk defensive plans.
2 FOR JOHN DREW
May 8th, 2010
10:13 pm
HEY MY FRIENDS ….GAME 4 WE’LL BE PLAYING FOR … I DON’T KNOW … PRIDE, MAYBE . I’D BE INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT KIND OF POINT DEFERENTIAL Y’ALL THINK WE’LL BE LOOKING @ WHEN THE CURTAINS GO DOWN ON THE HAWKS’ SEASON ON MONDAY
Tellitlikeitis
May 8th, 2010
10:14 pm
Hawks are all gay wanna-be thugs
slim
May 8th, 2010
10:14 pm
Woody is a pretender, just like his former boss BILLY KNIGHT and so is your, ATLANTA HAWKS!!!
Sautee
May 8th, 2010
10:15 pm
Truth-serum,
You said: “I dont hate horford. Hes is a nice man and a very good player, but we will never go far with him as our center. You distort this view of mine and twist it to serve your own misguided bubba crew veiws.”
T-s, I don’t HAVE to twist your words, they speak for themselves. You SAY that you like Horford and think he’s a nice man but you are continually denigrating his name by purposely misspelling it in a, shall we say, less than flattering way (and you KNOW what I mean, as does most of the blog).
Is THAT the way you treat those you like?
And just how many “bubba crew”members gave Woodson a B- rating and praised him often during the year for improvement?
The whole “bubba crew” thing…..SMH.
BILLY KNIGHT
May 8th, 2010
10:15 pm
YO WOODY YOU STILL HAVE NOT CALL ME BRO, CALL ME A.S.A.P.
slim
May 8th, 2010
10:15 pm
Hawks play like wnba! In fact they could probably win the east??? Naw………………………
mykhalc
May 8th, 2010
10:16 pm
Rick Sund…glad someone is bring’ some humor to the blog!!! might as well be humor when there can be no happiness nor joy!!! GO HAWKS of 2010-2011!!! welcome coach…ehhh????
Justin
May 8th, 2010
10:16 pm
Basketball 101, you have some funny arguments. I guess you don’t even take into account the postseason? Anybody who has taken basketball 101 should know that Horford has come up huge in the playoffs. He was by far the best player we had in the first series and he had a huge game 2 this series against Howard, who we all know is the best center in the NBA. And Horford is regularly credited for his defense around the NBA. He was voted by the coaches to the All-Star team for a reason. And JJ is very good…sure, but he disappears in April and May every year. And he has zero chance of getting any better than he is. While Horford has a lot of room to grow by continuing to improve his post game.
Not so casual observer
May 8th, 2010
10:17 pm
Wabe,
I did not say he was a “scrub”. I simply made the point that the coaches did not think as highly of J Smoove as the media.
Who would you want to pick a team for you? The media or the coaches?
slim
May 8th, 2010
10:17 pm
I’ve got a great idea for game 4. The hawks players should all take a sick day!! It has never been done before??
Rick Sund
May 8th, 2010
10:18 pm
Slim please remember that Rome wasn’t BUILT in a day. We have PLENTY OF TIME to get better. We are almost there. Slim we need you to no have HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Can’t be HAPPY WITH ALL WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THIS YEAR. We are the 3rd seed. We won 53 games which automatically makes us ELITE.
irishmafia116
May 8th, 2010
10:19 pm
Hey Joe you moron without us fans you be repeating “you want fries with that?” all day every day. Thank your lucky a@@ we put up with your ignorant butt
Clyde
May 8th, 2010
10:21 pm
RICK SUND YOU MAKE SOME GOOD POINTS. EXPECIALLY THE ONE ABOUT LITTLE RAY. SMH
FIRE WOODY
slim
May 8th, 2010
10:23 pm
Basketball 101 put down the pipe. Woody 6 yrs record as a head coach is around .400% which is below .500 which would eventually get you fired!! BYE-BYE WOODY…By the way he loosing on the road in the playoffs by an average of almost 20 points!!! 2-12, not good…sorry dude….
VenomSpitter
May 8th, 2010
10:24 pm
LMAO @ this Craigslist ad:
“Hawks fans:
Are you astonished that Iso-Joe doesn’t work, when we use it as our solitary offensive play?
Are you baffled when our defense switches on every screen, leaving our lumbering big men flailing away at our opponents’ lightning-fast point guards; and our 6′1″ point guards attempting to block the best 6′11″ center in the game?
Are you befuddled at our box-out strategy of allowing Dwight Howard to collect his own rebounds, uncontested, off of his own missed free throws?
Does the multitude of poor coaching decisions confuse you? Well, it obviously doesn’t confuse our opponents. I could almost hear Van Gundy cackling with glee as ZaZa attempted to swipe at Orlando’s 971 open three-point attempts in Game 3.
Don’t worry, Hawks fans. Come join the celebration on Monday night, when we send off Mike Woodson forever. These are great seats, Section 110, Row H on the aisle. Face value is $85, but I am giving you the opportunity to send Woodson on his way for $65/ea. This is an incredible value, especially when you consider that Philips Arena will have spa services standing by to shave your eyebrows off in support of our soon-to-be ex-coach.
-Shout in amazement when they re-enact Jason Kidd’s crash into Woodson, who was illegally standing on the court, which drew a technical foul which cost the Hawks an overtime game against the Mavericks.
-Cheer with glee when the jumbo-tron tries to show Avery Johnson sightings in the stands.
-Cry in shame when they show our 2009 Game 7 win over the Miami Heat, which saved Woodson’s job and set our franchise back a year.”
Clyde
May 8th, 2010
10:26 pm
53 games don’t mean sh#t right now
FIRE WOODY
J.J.M.
May 8th, 2010
10:27 pm
its just a theory of mine that most likely wont happen
Sautee
May 8th, 2010
10:27 pm
Truth-serum,
Here you go lying about Horford AGAIN!
Why do you keep on misrepresenting the truth?
You said this: “By the way, Horford built his average of 2 blks against the bucks who had no center. When he play against the magic today he had 0 and last game one which is .5 blocks agame and closer to his season average of .41 pergame”
Wrong. Here’s the link: http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3213
Scroll down to postseason game log and you’ll find that Al had TWO blocked shots in both Game 1 AND Game 2. His blocks per game average for THIS series is now 1.3 / gm.
And, by the way, his regular season average was 1.11 blks / gm., NOT .41
STOP LYING. Or am I twisting your words somehow by cutting and pasting you post?
Clyde
May 8th, 2010
10:28 pm
LOL @VENOM
FIRE WOODY
Simpdawg
May 8th, 2010
10:29 pm
The first thing the Hawks need to do this summer is to decide whether Mike Woodson fits into their future plans or not. Second they need to establish an identity as a team. Third they need to find the players to make their identity applicable, and if they replace Mike Woodson they’re probably going to lose Joe Johnson as well. If that happens, the Hawks will need to resign Josh Childress and try to sign John Salmons or make a trade for Devin Harris if the Nets win the draft lottery. The Hawks will have to improve their bench as well. To sum it up the Hawks need players with a high basketball IQ and heart.
mykhalc
May 8th, 2010
10:31 pm
too funny Craigslist ad!!! LMAO
Simpdawg
May 8th, 2010
10:33 pm
Don’t worry about Mike Woodson getting fired, because his contract expires shortly after the playoffs.
Clyde
May 8th, 2010
10:34 pm
WOODY SO SORRY THEY NEED TO RESIGN HIM FOR A DAY AND THEN FIRE HIS A$$
FIRE WOODY
Sautee
May 8th, 2010
10:36 pm
mychalc,
Glad to see you blogging my friend. We’ve missed you.
Still kickin’ the low end?
Sautee
May 8th, 2010
10:37 pm
Damn, Mykhal, I misspelled your name. Sorry, bro’
mykhalc
May 8th, 2010
10:39 pm
hey Sautee…what up man!! yep still kickin’ it here in the Bay!!! howz the music on your end these days?? yeah i popped in a couple of times this year but like i told Doc…Woodson coachin’ keeps me away!!! looks like i might be back…soon…new coach on the way!!!
Grandad
May 8th, 2010
10:40 pm
Sautee:
I keep a close eye on the ‘Mad Hatter’.
I kinda’ hate that he got one over on me.
Good for you ‘Hatter’……Touche!
My turn:
“fried liver strategy” – Ng8
Your move.
mykhalc
May 8th, 2010
10:40 pm
no worries bro. i knew who you were talkin too!!LOL
Clyde
May 8th, 2010
10:41 pm
Even Sekou going in on the Hawks.
@sekousmith01 A-Town down…literally.
It would make my day if Sekou sent out a FIRE WOODY
FIRE WOODY
Simpdawg
May 8th, 2010
10:43 pm
Rick Sund here’s a list of available NBA head coaches. Avery Johnson, Paul Silas, Jeff Van Gundy, Sam Mitchell, Dave Cowens, Mo Cheeks, Bill Laimbeer and Byron Scott. Good luck.
doc
May 8th, 2010
10:47 pm
boy, it has taken what five years for jj to be a stand up guy and say “i am not leading these guys sometimes when we lose”. then he takes it back and says he is above criticism by saying fans who see this for what it is and tell him about it dont matter and he doesnt care if they come to games or not. my goodness let him go and let the door hit him on the way out if he does his iso joe thing to slow it down. he better hope folks dont show up for game four. he has provided them with a huge reason to express themselves more. we will see him sulk a bit again is my guess.
has the team finally quit?
yes, i guess it would be relevant to see how good and how far this magic team goes before completely judging what this team can do in comparison to others. the question is will the magic continue to dominate all the teams as it heads for a championship? only problem is we have not looked as good as the bobcats so we may not be as good as them as the season concluded. we certainly havent improved as the season went on which was my greatest concern.
basically this team doesnt have an identity. it is not an defensive team. it is not a team that knows how to score important points when it has to because it doesnt know whether it is best to work it inside out, through josh or to do it by isolating jamal and jj with the occasional touch and shot by its point guard left watching the action instead of leading the charges. whatever marvin is left out of the offense completely making it four on five every possession. who designed this juggernaut?
northcyde did terrell take you up on your wager?
N-Trigue
May 8th, 2010
10:49 pm
My final words dor 09-10 Hawks Season! We had a good year josh and al showed improvements and we increased win from last season! Moving forward we need 2 trade joe and marvin next year. Trade joe for either Stoudamire or Rudy Gaye. Marvin and Bibby for darren collison. Our starting lineup would be Collison,Crawford, Josh, Horford, Stoudamire or Collison, crawford, gaye, Josh, Horford both would be better teams then we currently have!
Grandad
May 8th, 2010
10:53 pm
Simpdawg:
Don’t forget asst’s.;
* Mike Budenholzer*
* Tom Thibodeau
Also Doc’s contract is up.
Plus Steve Smith
And last but not least…Rick Mahorn.
Grandad
May 8th, 2010
10:53 pm
Simpdawg:
Don’t forget asst’s.;
* Mike Budenholzer*
* Tom Thibodeau
Also Doc’s contract is up.
Plus Steve Smith
And last but not least…Rick Mahorn.
JeJe
May 8th, 2010
10:54 pm
LOL @ rick sund
LOL!
FIRE WOODY
doc
May 8th, 2010
10:55 pm
hey myk dog.
been missing you around these parts. funny to see you back. you must smell blood dude.
Wabe
May 8th, 2010
10:56 pm
Basketball 101 or TS, whatever you choose to go by,
I just found it a bit humorous that you’d rant for 3 or 4 posts about how the Hawks won’t get any further with Horford in the middle. But then, in your preceding post, you write about how we could use a “Lebron” or “Kobe” or a “Wade” or a “MJ”. Not a center…
I just figured you’d at least mention one of those precious centers that you’re constantly drooling over on here.
You said yourself that at this point, Horford offers the most value. Just ask yourself, why is this the case? Why would other teams value Horford? He’s the 18th ranked shotblocking center. You can’t build around him. What “true-center” would we get?
And, I’m not about to go back and read through all of your baseless posts to find one name. I’ve yet to hear you mention ONE center the Hawks have a legitimate chance of snagging. Until you do, I’ll take you for what are…
A guy with a nagging hatred for a certain individual coupled with a bunch of contradictions to justify your hatred.
JeJe
May 8th, 2010
10:56 pm
JOE JOHNSON IS A FRAUD
LET HIS PATHETIC ASS GO. IF ASG IS BROKE, SIGN JOHN SALMONS AND LET MO EVANS WALK. SIGN VETS FOR CHEAP LIKE MATT BARNES
JeJe
May 8th, 2010
10:57 pm
HOW COULD JJ CARE LESS IF THE FANS SHOWED UP? WHAT A !#@$ING DOUCHEBAG. U ARE A TRUE PIECE OF !@#$. NOTHING IS EVER YOUR !@#$ING FAULT U SCUMBAG
mykhalc
May 8th, 2010
10:58 pm
yo Doc!!! i’m circlin’ like a shark brah!! and to add onto what you said…the HAWKS are all those things you said ’cause they haven’t had a HC to lead ‘em…PERIOD!!!