Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 119, Grizzlies 104
Hawks executed L.D.'s blueprint to near-perfection. (AP Photo)
Memphis– Smoove said it before and I didn’t believe him. After what has to be considered a smashing debut for L.D.’s Hawks, Josh said it again: “Preseason is preseason. That’s what people have got to realize.”
– It didn’t take long for me to get the message. I think it happened around the time I realized J.J. wasn’t hitting, Al hadn’t scored and yet the Hawks were in control. On the road, even.
– “Give credit to the Atlanta Hawks and our coach,” J.J. said. “We were poised tonight. We made plays when we needed to.”
– Everyone who played for the Hawks did something good. That’s what it tends to look like when the bench has 50 points, 19 rebounds, 12 free throws and makes 18 of 34 shots. It looked like a bona fide 10-man rotation for the Hawks.
– The starters got to chill for long periods because the bench was beating the Grizzlies. “It’s outstanding any time they can give the starters a rest and be focused,” Josh said.
– “There are going to be games where the bench has to pick us up, like tonight,” J.J. said. “They did that, and we were able to come in and finish them off.”
– J.J. was only 6 of 16 from the field but that wasn’t because he was forcing things. “I got a lot of wide open looks,” he said. “I just didn’t make a lot of shots. At times I was a little too excited. For me to not have a great shooting night and for us to win big like this tonight, it’s perfect.”
– Seven assists and 11 free throws for Joe. The former is no surprise because he will share the ball but the latter was a change. I even saw him barking at officials a couple times.
– Josh had five blocked shots. Eventually the Grizzlies were looking for him when they went to the basket. “He bailed us out of a few plays with some blocks,” L.D. said. “When he plays like that, we are a good team.”
– There was one play in the first half that sent an early message that Zaza was going to outwork the Grizz. He was trying to work a pick-and-roll with Al but tripped and fell on the roll. By the time J.J. shot and missed, Zaza had picked himself up, collected the rebound and scored.
– It got to the point where Grizzlies fans booed each time Zaza pushed their team around. I guess seeing an athletically limited, 6-11 reserve center take it to their 7-foot-3 No. 2 overall pick made them a bit grumpy.
– “The reaction felt good,” Zaza said. “You want to keep that going. It’s all about helping the team.”
– Mo soared past Thabeet for a baseline layup. No signs of the knee slowing Mo, who made all three of his field-goal attempts and was active defensively.
–Marvin locked up Rudy Gay, made 5 of 6 shots and was strong on the boards.
– Jamal’s on-ball defense wasn’t the best and he tended to give up at the first sign of a screen. But his anticipation led to three steals. The Hawks are going to get baskets out of the motion but when things break down, there still aren’t too many better than him at putting the ball in the hole.
– Josh Powell had eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes. He’s aggressive and showed good footwork in the post.
– You still can’t leave Bibby open. He made all four 3-point attempts, including back-to-back daggers in the fourth in case Memphis had any ideas about coming back. When Atlanta’s offense is clicking like this Bibby will get his looks and he will make a high percentage.
– The Hawks scored 12 of their 26 fastbreak points in the first quarter. Al pushed the ball and found Bibby for a 3 and Josh fed Zaza for a layup.
– Mike Conley looked like he was going to bring the Grizzlies back in the third quarter. Then L.D. sent in Teague, who didn’t let him get in the lane and create havoc. Memphis didn’t have anyone else out there who could make things happen.
– “We had a few problems with Conley on the high pick-and-roll but we made a few minor adjustments,” L.D. said.
– Teague also made a nice floater with the shot clock running down during that 12-0 run to end the third quarter. “His confidence has risen,” L.D. said. “One thing I have been trying to instill in Jeff is the fact that with him on the floor, his speed, his quickness and his ability to push the ball. He can guard. We need that type of energy and he’s the only guy on our team who has it.”
– Memphis was without Marc Gasol. Then Zach Randolph went down with a back injury. Either or both of those guys might have made it tougher for Zaza to have his way inside and also give the Hawks problems.
– “We just don’t have much offense inside after the three bigs we have,” Grizz coach Lionel Hollins said. “The other guys aren’t offensive players but it’s more than just Zach going out. We didn’t compete as hard as we needed to compete early on.”
– Al picked up two early fouls and L.D. rode Zaza. “I didn’t want to put him in for the second quarter especially when Zaza was going well,” L.D. said. “I spoke to Al on the bench about that and he was fine with it.”
– Al never really got into the flow. “Zaza really played a great game just being a strong body down there,” Al said. “I think coach felt like I didn’t have to play in the second quarter. It was one of those games where I couldn’t get it going. I just have to get back focused and get ready for Friday.”
– The Hawks’ motion offense was working (witness J.J. scoring on an oop) but they didn’t stick with it exclusively. Jamal and Joe still got theirs on some good old-fashioned pick-and-rolls and isos. “I thought the mixture was pretty good,” L.D. said. “It kept them off balance a little bit. We were effective.”
– The only real negatives for Atlanta: 15 turnovers, another s off-kilter outing by Al and no one but Teague able to stay in front of Conley.
– Smoove said L.D. and his staff gave created a great gameplan for the Grizz. L.D. got the game ball. “It’s my first win so I’ve got to enjoy it,” he said.
– I predicted the Hawks would be fine on offense and that Marvin, Zaza, Mo, Bibby and J.J. would benefit from the motion offense. Finally, I’ve managed to look smart.
– But these being the Hawks, there’s always a chance I will look dumb again come Friday night in Philly (or after that but it won’t have anything to do with the Hawks). “There can’t be a letdown,” Al said.
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
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161 comments Add your comment
Mike is back
October 28th, 2010
8:58 am
MC, don’t worry…you call the Hawks RIGHT!!
TREMENDOUS WIN BY THE HAWKS…but it only counts as one game. Early success will lead to early buy-end. LD will have his biggest challenge with Josh. Dude, must have forgot he is one of the leaders on the team…that’s why I said having a guy like Powell…could be invaluable. Now LD can put his asssss on the bench…when he starts pulling those shenanigans.
Can I get a little respect for MO now…the way JC1 was whiffing at guys on defense…MO will be sorely needed…Bibby was at lease trying to making an effort on defense…overall great effort by the entire team.
GO LD, AND GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
steve brown
October 28th, 2010
9:17 am
Oh my g-d, I saw multiple back door plays on offense (never before seen in modern Atlanta history) and players running up and down the court. Can this be the Hawks. Can this be professional basketball players. Can this please last!!
i_am_soulstar
October 28th, 2010
9:31 am
@steve brown,
I’m with you man.
I could not beleive what I saw last night. I have NEVER witnessed the Hawks move the ball like that.
Even my girlfriend, a well-known Hawks hater and Celtics lover, couldn’t believe it. She says, “After this game, I might have to invest in a Lary Drew jersey.”
GO… Larry Drew???
i_am_soulstar
October 28th, 2010
9:34 am
*believe
Rev in Tampa
October 28th, 2010
9:50 am
If it hadn’t been LD’s first win as a head coach I would have lobbied for the gameball to be given to Jordan Crawford for his first shot as a professional. It wasn’t just an airball, it was ugly.
darrell starks
October 28th, 2010
9:58 am
LD great coaching his rotation is the best i have every seen since watching the hawks, 9 or 10 guys playing together as a team, good job LD.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Astro Joe
October 28th, 2010
10:00 am
I was complaining about Jamal last night, but the reality is that there will be many times during the season when Drew will need to say “here’s the ball, make a basket”. I was struck by how many times we DIDN’T use the motion offense last night (not a ton of assists) so we need players who offer a diverse means of scoring the ball. Still disappointed in the defense, giving up over 100 points to a Memphis team with virtually nothing from Randolph and Gasol isn’t good. Josh still is a mixed bag, even defensively. Blocks a bunch of shots but let’s an unknown like Darrell Arthur have his way, by simply ignoring him. Josh did that last year too, it’s like he doesn’t respect all of the players he goes up against. Once Z Bo left the game, Josh almost decided he could exclusively go into weakside defender mode, meanwhile, Arthur went for a career high.
darrell starks
October 28th, 2010
10:00 am
LD defense still have be this team number 1 focus, that will be the hawks bread and butter for succes this year and for him as a coach.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Astro Joe
October 28th, 2010
10:01 am
The box score from last year’s opening game. Some similarities (a lot of offense) and obviously, some differences (much more scoring from starters).
http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=291028001
I.MUS WRITE
October 28th, 2010
10:03 am
Ray stop spreading rumors we are not doing S&T for Horford LOL. Did someone from the front office call you. I wouldnt mind though if we could get one of the Lopez brothers or Kaman…
-JC1 is not even trying on Defense
-ZAZA was a beast last night but will most likely return to the ZAZA we all know and love
-Horford is really struggling offensively
-Giving Teague the keys to the car is a mistake he’s okay but not ready
-Bibby is slow and old but is really valuable with his shooting ,passing and veteran leadership.
Marvin played good D- he still needs to be more agressive on Offense
Just my 2 cents…………….Congratz to LD and the boiz on their first win of the season.
i_am_soulstar
October 28th, 2010
10:09 am
Memphis didn’t have a lot of scorers in the game though. So I’ll be interested to see what rotation LD uses against a team with 3 to 5 offensive threats on the floor at all times.
I know the sample size is small, but I have a whole new respect for Josh Powell after seeing what he can do with decent minutes.
JeJe
October 28th, 2010
10:16 am
Can someone please wake up Jeff Teague? Even if he’s a little hurt, he has to contribute something to this team.
I loved what I saw from ZaZa and Marvin. If Marvin can keep finishing like that and knock down shots when he has to, this team will be good. Joe, Bibby also played well. Why the hell is Smoove taking only jumpshots? Drew said he’d POST HIM UP
And this win does not erase the 6 years of forgettable failures by our former coach
FIRE WOODY
JeJe
October 28th, 2010
10:17 am
JOSH SMITH, GROW UP AND STOP TAKING JUMPSHOTS. WE NEED U IN THE DAMN POST. AND STOP GAMBLING ON EVERY DEFENSIVE PLAY.
IF WE ARE INSTALLING A NEW OFFENSE, THAT MEANS U SHOULD NOT BE AT THE 3 PT LINE THE WHOLE TIME
JeJe
October 28th, 2010
10:17 am
Wow @ Acie Law.
Made Teague actually look good out there
Rufus1
October 28th, 2010
10:42 am
Don’t say it’s just one Game!!!
We are a 53 win team, it’s just one game for a up and coming team….WE ARE HERE! We are better than the Griz and we should have beat them. IF THIS WAS THE MAGIC IT WOULD BE JUST ONE GAME, but no other team gets that disclaimer.
RACE CAR
For 6 years Woody was using a RACE CAR for a taxi and now LD has simply put the car on the race track.
That is the difference between a COACH and Woody. LD is trying to maximize his talent(His Athletes)…Woody tried not to lose. We are already a better team, BUT THE SPORTS HISTORY IN ATL MAKES MANY OF YOU SCARED ENBRACE OBVIOUS.
Think about this….
We won 53 games with no offensive or defensive strategy and now we do…..WOW, the possibilities!!!
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 28th, 2010
10:44 am
Do ya’ll know how good we could be if Josh went to the rim instead of taking jumpers?
Why doesn’t Josh understand that?
hawks_4_life
October 28th, 2010
10:49 am
JeJe did we win the game? From your comments its very hard tell. Did you even see the game? Teague outplayed Law, he was shaky but still better. Its the first game of the season, we won, stop b!tching. I wonder what you would say if we loss, you would probably be thrilled.
hawks_4_life
October 28th, 2010
10:52 am
P.S. we lead our division lol.
STEEL(Formerly VenomSpitter)
October 28th, 2010
10:55 am
LOL @ this analysis of Nique’s commentating
http://dealingdominiquewilkins.blogspot.com/2010/10/dominique-wilkins-color-commentator.html
niremetal
October 28th, 2010
10:57 am
I’m telling you. We need to set Smoove up with one of these and push the button whenever he takes a shot from outside 12 feet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZag1zlecGI
O'Brien
October 28th, 2010
11:00 am
Jeje,
Did u not hear when LD gave credit to teague for shutting Conley down in the third quarter? Did u watch the game?
AJ,
Agreed about Josh. He was 1-5 from jump shots early on (although he made 2 jump shots late in the game). Its one thing to take and make them against Memphis. But if we are playing the magic in a close game, we’ll see how he does.
Bibby looked good on offense, but Conley had his way with bibby on defense. Teague needs to develop his shotmaking (even if its just the floaters for now), because we will need his defense against the better teams.
And team defense needs to improve. Our players were active on offense, and really enjoyed scoring, but the defensive effort wasn’t consistent. Part of that though is probably due to the big lead we had most of the night.
dukester
October 28th, 2010
11:14 am
Hey a win is a win. Thats who Memphis marched out there and we took care of business. I would hate to see if this win was by 5 pts instead of 15. Ole JeJe would have a stroke. LOL As far as Marvin we need performances like that every night man! And Bibby might not have the footwoork but we need a veteran like that with that ice water running through his veins.
Bottom line is so goes Marvin and Zaza so goes the Hawks. When we signed those 2 to the contracts they have and are not willing to move them. They will be the ones that make us or break us.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2010
11:17 am
““Gay’s got to be very careful. He’s doing a lot of reaching and touching down there.””
LMAO
Astro Joe
October 28th, 2010
11:18 am
OB, didn’t we applaud when the new coach said that Josh would not be on the perimter during his first press conference? This is a carryover from the pre-season as well. So far, Josh is doing what Josh wants to do offensively. I think it is quite possible that we will continue to go with a 2-headed PG, as each guy has opposite strengths/weaknesses. But on a one game sample, Teague showed nothing to convince me that he is a guy who can play 28+ minutes for a 50-win team.
Hawk n the Ham
October 28th, 2010
11:21 am
The Cavs look better than the Heat
I second the comments on Josh taking the open look to the rim, and NOT jumpshots. Josh would have a lot more and-1 chances, rather than bricking his jumpshot, and the Hawks losing the ball.
Big props to Zaza and Powell. Josh Powell looks like a great add, and will be a consistent player for this ball club. We needed that from the PF position. And what can I say about Zaza’s play last night? WOW!
MC, you were right about LD’s offense will benefit Marvin. Marvin is a player who needs structure and knows his place in the system. I saw some aggression from Marvin on the boards I haven’t EVER seen last night. Go on Marvo wit ya bad self!
hawks_4_life
October 28th, 2010
11:22 am
Astro Joe you are right on about Josh and Teague. Ill give Josh the benefit of the doubt for now (ten games) because like you said old habits die hard. Teague needs experience, in ways this is like his rookie year all over. He would now be a senior in college.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2010
11:28 am
How the hell did they do an entire analysis of Nique’s commentary without using the word “nimbers”?
dukester
October 28th, 2010
11:29 am
And also i believe as the season goes on LD will find Josh a home on the offensive end at it will not be futher than 12 ft. One thing i can say LD has control with vision so all we can do is wait and see.
Astro Joe
October 28th, 2010
11:52 am
Unfortunately, ‘Nique will keep that job for as long as he wants to be a game analyst. That’s the price you pay when you hire a franchise’s all-time player. You simply can’t terminate his contract. Not only was Steve Smith much better, but so was Grant Long, who had the gig prior to Smith. Any insight during the broadcast comes when Stinger gets his 2-3 minutes of TV time.
KevinM
October 28th, 2010
11:53 am
Listening to last night’s telecast, you could hear the giddiness in Rathburn, who had totally bought the LD system. He sounded glad that the season was anew.
And if any bench hits these numbers, you do not lose many games:
50 points, 19 rebounds, 12 free throws and makes 18 of 34 shots. It looked like a bona fide 10-man rotation for the Hawks.
Kudos to Coach Drew and his first HC win in a not so easy environment. Gasol and Randolph injuries helped, but he made adjustments and kept the Grizzlies was coming back.
Philly next; it looks like a game that can be won just by duplicating last night’s effort.
A good start and a new attitude for the core going forward.
Ry
October 28th, 2010
12:18 pm
Offense looked good, but defense still looks atrocious. Please remember, this was Memphis they were playing and not Boston or Miami. If they were playing a team with better shooters, this would have been a tough one. I think the win had more to do with a bad Memphis team than it did with a good Hawks team. I still think they will just be average = Good Offense – Bad Defense = average
Ryder
October 28th, 2010
12:21 pm
What I was most impressed by last night was the team’s ability to maintain their composure when the home team made their usual third quarter run, especially on the road.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2010
12:33 pm
“Listening to last night’s telecast, you could hear the giddiness in Rathburn, who had totally bought the LD system. He sounded glad that the season was anew.”
To be fair, Rathbun sounds giddy about damn near everything.
Section 303
October 28th, 2010
12:42 pm
You have to love Bob Rathbun, though. Good dude. His giddiness is one of the things I like about him the most.
I wish we could bring Steve Smith back to take over for ‘Nique. ‘Nique gets a little worse every broadcast. I don’t feel like I learn anything from him and he has no command of the English language.
lewis
October 28th, 2010
12:43 pm
riley drops the hammer on lebron — interesting read, if even minimal truth is involved
http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/15114
JeJe
October 28th, 2010
12:52 pm
hawks_4_life,
Give me a break, dude. I watched the entire game and probably saw more things than you did. Teague still is garbage, can’t make a jumpshot, can’t get in the lane, is timid, and can’t finish. When he finally starts actually playing well I will give him his props.
And what else of my observations gives you the impression I didn’t watch the game? Smoove pissed all of us off, Horford sucked, Marvin did well, Joe and Bib did well, Crawford was okay, and ZaZa was phenomenal.
Don’t talk about things you know nothing about
JeJe
October 28th, 2010
12:59 pm
Bottom line is this team will not get to the next level if Teague does not play well. We can’t have overweight Bibby being a 32 mpg PG, taking contested shots every night, if our other PG is just a timid stiff with no jumpshot who can only play okay defense
Rufus1
October 28th, 2010
1:01 pm
Bad defense not so much….
When you speed-up the tempo each team get more shots = more pts for both team.
What we need is less turnovers from the 2nd unit.
Rufus1
October 28th, 2010
1:01 pm
Bad defense not so much….
When you speed-up the tempo each team get more shots = more pts for both team.
What we need is less turnovers from the 2nd unit.
hawks_4_life
October 28th, 2010
1:09 pm
JeJe
Dude the way you blast everyone on the team in every aspect make wonder if you are a fan. The team is a work in progress we all know this, we all know the downfalls but you are like a broken record. How bout good game whoever just one time. Its not going to kill you.
terrell
October 28th, 2010
1:22 pm
Most of you guys laughed at the Powell acquisition, and now your’re showing him love. Hilarious! Told yall he was an upgrade over Joe “im old enought to be your grandaddy” Smith. lol!
lewis
October 28th, 2010
1:25 pm
call me crazy, but powell seems just like everyone else on the hawks, concerned with scoring and not defense
I.MUS WRITE
October 28th, 2010
1:33 pm
LOL@ Davenpoop…………………….. Nimbers, cracks me up every time he says that. Its going to be a long season listening to Nique.
Ahhh Yes JeJe is back lol………You’re in midseason form with the negativity.
I.MUS WRITE
October 28th, 2010
1:39 pm
Acie Law is a borderline NBA player. I never saw anything special in this guy. After 3 years he looks worse IMO……….If we could only get a do over and pick Aaron Brooks with that 11th pick.
O'Brien
October 28th, 2010
1:47 pm
JeJe,
U really think teague is who will take the hawks to the next level if he plays well? That sounds like very high expectations for a second year PG who played sporadically his rookie year.
AJ,
When it comes to Josh and his jump shots, we are on the same page. And I agree that teague has not earned his 28+ MPG. But the Guy is a second year PG (the seventh drafted), and he played sporadic his first year.
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for the first 20 games or so (a quarter of the season). If he hasn’t figured it out by then, then drew will need to evaluate accordingly, or sund needs to make a move.
Grandad
October 28th, 2010
1:54 pm
vava74 said:
“And what about that [zone] Larry Drew came up with and disrupted
the Grizz offense completely”
Thank goodness you saw it too.
I posted about the zone last eve but you are the only other one.
*[Ld's adjustment]
(Josh then Marv up top) point on the zone.
I was beginning to believe I dreamed it.
AJ said:
[about Jamal]
LD will need to say “here’s the ball, make a basket”.
[great perspective]
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2010
1:58 pm
I like Rathbun, giddiness and all, don’t get me wrong.
Astro Joe
October 28th, 2010
2:03 pm
OB, or we just continue to use a 2-headed PG until that no longer works. Seriously, if the team is successful, does it really matter if Teague and Bibby can only play around 20-28 minutes in a given game (based on situational match-ups)? Some folk may even call that “depth”. The team’s success may not require a 36 minute/game PG like John Stockton or Jason Kidd. I say we judge the position and not the players. We should think of it like a baseball platoon… 2 guys bringing their respective skills to a single position. Did we get good PG play against Memphis? Yeah, we did. That’s all that really matters… the platoon worked.
Grandad
October 28th, 2010
2:03 pm
The “Bloginator” got me last eve on this one!
[Concerning Josh & his outside shooting]:::::
Josh needs to make the Xtra pass.
It’s not that LD puts him outside strictly to shoot.
Many times he catches the ball and then quits thinking.
Josh wants to make the assist.
When the assist pass is not there………………………….
That’s what happens to Josh.
Then he shoots.
It is a skill, rather a gift to be able to assist the assister.
Call it B-ball IQ, slowing the game down, seeing two plays ahead,
whatever jargon you wish, but Josh has not developed it yet.
Many teams even have a statistic for this;
“a pass that leads to an assist”.
Bird may have been the best at this; let’s call it a gift.
However, the off. is still a new shiny toy, so give them all time.
Making the Xtra pass to reverse the ball in order to change sides
of the floor *[changing sides of the floor is fundamental] is a
habit that Josh, et al, will need to develop.
truthspitter
October 28th, 2010
2:04 pm
I like some things I saw from the offense but it is less than brilliant to have Josh Smith and Al Horford playing so far away from the basket on a constant basis. I like Joe getting to the line more and even Bibby got a layup but this offense will not be really effective until Al and Josh are hanging out on the block or getting to the rack just as much as Joe seemed to be able to do last night. Joe got 4 or 5 layups or dunks. If the offense can get Joe, Josh, and Al 4 or 5 cheap buckets a night I am all for it. Until it does that I am not that much of a fan.