Atlanta Hawks: Hawks at Grizzlies
Memphis–Finally, the games are for real.
Got to see at least some hints about L.D.’s offensive and defensive approaches during the preseason. The one thing that’s still a big mystery is how he will distribute the minutes because (stop me if you’ve heard this one) the injuries made a mess of the rotation.
The Miami game provided the best clue but it wasn’t definitive, unless you somehow think Jamal is going to play just 19 minutes per night.
“I have kind of got an idea of how many I want my starters to play and the guys off the bench,” L.D. said. “I don’t want to wear guys down. I will scale back on a couple starters who played I thought too many minutes in the past. I certainly want to utilize my bench more.”
Like everything else L.D. is trying to do, it remains to be seen if his wishes will match up with reality. He’s committed to going deep in his bench but that means five reserves are going to have to be consistent contributors.
J.J. is all for reduced wear and tear. He said the ideal situation is for the starters to get the Hawks going at the start of the game and after halftime; the reserves hold it down in the second quarter and bridge the third and fourth quarters; and the starters come back to finish the game.
“As long as the starters come out and we start the game off right, come out business-like, that can happen,” he said.
Lakers love
Josh Powell watched the Lakers’ ring ceremony last night and heard Phil Jackson give him a shout out. Some of the Lakers players talked about the team’s cohesiveness. Powell said it was real.
“The experiences and the relationships that I built there are definitely things to miss,” he said. “But I have a new family now and we’ve got things we are trying to accomplish. I wish their organization and team all the best this year.”
No word on when Powell will get his ring.
“I have no idea how that works,” Powell said. “I’m going to get it but I haven’t talked to nobody about that.”
Powell signed with the Hawks for a chance to play meaningful minutes, and L.D. has said Powell will get them. Even when Powell averaged 19.2 minutes for the Clippers in 07-08 the minutes were sporadic.
“For a guy in my shoes for six years and to finally have a real, true chance to be a part of something in the sense of showing what you can do on a night-in, night-out basis and bring somewhat of a leadership role to the guys, I look forward to it,” he said.
Injury report
Mo is still getting his knee up to speed. He said in hindsight he wishes he’d had his surgery earlier in the summer and not pushed the knee too soon after the procedure.
“It’s the residual effects of having arthroscopic surgery and trying to do too much and come back too fast,” he said. “As a professional athlete you are competitive and when I see the guys out there competing, it’s hard to watch. Then you get out there and have success and you get excited and you try to do too much.”
Teague’s ankle isn’t 100 percent yet.
“I feel it sometimes,” he said. “But I will be all right.”
Jamal says his back is fine.
Grizz center Marc Gasol (ankle) is out. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins is starting 6-9 Darrel Arthur in his place with 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet in reserve. Zach Randolph (6-9) can play there, too.
It will be interesting to see if L.D. will go big.
“We’ve got the bodies,” L.D. said. “Against Memphis you may end up using your bodies. They have some bodies and do a good job crashing the boards. You have to block them out. It may take all of our bodies to get the job done.”
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
297 comments Add your comment
Mike is back
October 27th, 2010
8:55 pm
Told you’ll I like Powell…dude might be the steal of the off season.
O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
8:58 pm
We still need to defend the paint a little better though
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
8:58 pm
Yea we look good.
LD>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Woodpecker
Where that punk Samuel
Wabe
October 27th, 2010
8:59 pm
The offense looks nice…
Lovin the ball movement.
Defense needs to buckle down a bit more.
If we can string some stops together, we could blow this one open.
O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
8:59 pm
Guys are standing up, and cheering from the bench. And this is only game 1. I like it
terrell
October 27th, 2010
8:59 pm
This just proves that Woody wouldn’t listen to LD’s offensive ideas. Never seen this team get so many easy looks.
hawks_4_life
October 27th, 2010
8:59 pm
And one ZAZA, anyone miss the ISO Joe yet? lol
Wabe
October 27th, 2010
9:00 pm
Also loved the long breather the starters got from the time they came out till about that 7 minute mark in the 2nd quarter. I know much of that is dictated by how the bench is performing, but, good to see a “rotation” here.
drmaryb (*_*)
October 27th, 2010
9:00 pm
Dribbling with his neck? lmbao
Mike is back
October 27th, 2010
9:00 pm
Spitta, I know things are looking up…when you start throwing out some love…brooooooo.
lewis
October 27th, 2010
9:01 pm
is al hurt or somethin
niremetal
October 27th, 2010
9:02 pm
Mike Bibby: “The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
Najeh Davenpoop
October 27th, 2010
9:02 pm
Bibby looks much, much better now than he did at the end of last year. Granted, he’s not guarding an elite point guard, but still… he certainly doesn’t look like the liability he was last year in the playoffs.
Melvin
October 27th, 2010
9:02 pm
I must say, Bibby look like he found the fountain of youth tonight.
drmaryb (*_*)
October 27th, 2010
9:03 pm
Zsa zsa gone get a dble-dble!
Looks like a starting Center to me!
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:03 pm
Only bad thing Josh taking long jumpers
O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
9:04 pm
4 perimeter jump shots from Josh. he is 1-4. Not good.
His 3rd block? awesome.
Mel
October 27th, 2010
9:05 pm
Im liking the back cuts and the zillion screens the hawks are throwing at the Grizz
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:05 pm
Does Josh know how good he could be if he would play closer to the damn basket. I can’t understand it.
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:06 pm
ZaZa is doin work
Melvin
October 27th, 2010
9:06 pm
ZaZa must have 10 offensive rebs this 1st half…
O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
9:06 pm
I think ZaZa is the happiest person to see Woody go.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 27th, 2010
9:06 pm
Same with Zaza. Last year he was a total liability; so far in this game he looks like a real asset. I don’t know if this is more a function of Memphis sucking than Zaza improving or the new schemes benefiting him, but hopefully he keeps it up.
hawks_4_life
October 27th, 2010
9:07 pm
The announcer said the grizzles got it within eight but too much ZAZA (lol).
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:08 pm
I dare somebody to say Woody is better than LD I’ll slap the spit outta ya mouth
drmaryb (*_*)
October 27th, 2010
9:08 pm
Josh didn’t want to come out for Jamal.
But Drew is in control!
Zsa Zsa is my 2nd favorite Hawk! He fouls hard! Tonight he is banging for rebounds! He just needed some PT!
Everything KenS been saying all Summer is coming to fruition!
Let’s Go – Ken S!
hawks_4_life
October 27th, 2010
9:08 pm
Al is not hurt, picked up two quick fouls and we have a good lead why not rest him til the second half.
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:09 pm
LMAO @ Nique not being able to pronounce excellent
drmaryb (*_*)
October 27th, 2010
9:09 pm
Zsa Zsa making a highlight reel!
Ree Roe
October 27th, 2010
9:09 pm
Zaza is a monster
Motion offense looks great, the passes, the backcuts, the movement w/o the ball…are we in heaven brehs?
-REEspond to Roe!!!
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:10 pm
Marvin getting the rebound
Kitis
October 27th, 2010
9:12 pm
Can we get a 1st half double double Zaza?
O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
9:12 pm
why did we just switch? ZaZa on Conley? Conley knocks down a 3.
hawks_4_life
October 27th, 2010
9:13 pm
Conley is beating down Crawford.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 27th, 2010
9:14 pm
Zaza is beasting tonight in the first half.
lewis
October 27th, 2010
9:15 pm
oh didnt know he had 2 already
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:15 pm
Great 1st half
LD has already proven that he’s better than woody
Najeh Davenpoop
October 27th, 2010
9:15 pm
Even when the Hawks isolate, they are just playing with more energy than Memphis. Zaza crashing the boards and putting back Joe’s iso miss shows that.
Of course, the only thing I’m worried about is that eventually, the Hawks are going to get out-energied by the other team — maybe in the 2nd half, maybe in the next game, but at some point it will happen. When it does, will they be committed enough to the new system to continue to make it happen on both ends of the floor? Because let’s face it, as promising as their play has been so far, a lot of their current 10 point lead is a result of just pure hustle. And while that’s great to see, I also want to know that the Hawks can execute and beat teams even when they are evenly matched in energy and talent.
hawks_4_life
October 27th, 2010
9:15 pm
Excellent half, I love it. Where did Mo come from lol.
Melvin
October 27th, 2010
9:16 pm
Nice 1st half for the Hawks. 31pts from the bench, WOW….
drmaryb (*_*)
October 27th, 2010
9:17 pm
Dude asked Zsa Zsa about no Gasol?
Zsa said it doesn’t matter! Dang! Zsa preaching that truth!
Wabe
October 27th, 2010
9:17 pm
60 point first half…
Offense looked impressive.
Bench play was solid.
Defense is a work in progress.
Zaza 13 points; 9 boards in the first half? Hope to see this all season long.
truthspitter
October 27th, 2010
9:18 pm
Teague needs to show something but this looks good considering that Al nor Josh have done any real damage. I don’t like that Josh is only taking jumpshots with the exception of that one post up. They really need to make sure this does not turn out like the 1st preseason game
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 27th, 2010
9:19 pm
We would be winning by more if Josh would drive instead of the stupid jumpshots.
Mike is back
October 27th, 2010
9:19 pm
Wow, you see that wink FROM LD…dude got swag…man…finally somebody with a pulse. Thanks to the motion offense…I might be able to go to bed on time. It all depends on the 3rd quarter.
If the Hawks don’t give up on LD’s philosophy…IT’S OOOOOOOOOOOON AND POPPIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
vava74
October 27th, 2010
9:19 pm
acceptable first half.
not having to face Gasol and having ZeBo limping helps.
we need to keep a good and professional attitute in the second half,
if not, we may lose control over the game.
Conley is abusing Bibby and Craw… what else is new?
Sleepy
October 27th, 2010
9:20 pm
Great first half Conley is scoring but look at how much dribbling hes having to do to get his points and hes not even setting anyone else up . The entire point of having a pg dribble around that much is that he creates easy opportunities for his teammates but I see Gay and Randolph having to work extremely hard for the few points that they have .
O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
9:22 pm
northcyde,
Looking forward to your comments later since you’re at the game
vava74
October 27th, 2010
9:22 pm
Zaza has been great tonight, however, he is capitalizing on a limping ZeBo and no Gasol.
Don’t get overhyped. He is producing in line with what he should given the above.
cp
October 27th, 2010
9:22 pm
Not much to complain about from the first half. Great ball movement, easier shots, rebounding the ball well, bench playing well, and knocking down free throws. The only thing that could be better are the turnovers. They limit the turnovers and they can put them away…