Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 104, Sixers 101
Proof the Hawks did in fact play some D. (AP Photo)
Philadelphia–It didn’t take long for the same old Hawks to make an appearance. Well, that’s not quite right because they did pull out the victory after trying to give it away, but you know what I mean: Stagnant offense, careless turnovers, poor shot selection, awful transition D, lack of poise . . .
– “It was a little flash of what we were doing last year,” Al said.
– — “We just kind of made some boneheaded plays down the stretch, with me leading the pack definitely,” J.J. said. “We’ve got to know the time and the score. In the fourth quarter, under five minutes [to play], we’ve really got to take care of the ball. That’s on me.”
– Instead of going with motion sets late, L.D. kept calling for Bibby to set a pick so J.J. could end up with a mismatch on Lou Williams. That led to a lot of standing around for J.J.’s teammates and a critical turnover when Williams poked away the ball and Nocioni scored on a fastbreak.
– “We’ve had some success running the pick-and-roll with Mike and Joe, and they did a good job defending it,” Drew said. “We came up with a couple of bad possessions.”
– They won with a bad possession, too, unless you think Smoove shooting a corner 3 with the game on the line is a good idea. It was the textbook “Nooooooooo . . . yesssss!” play for Smoove. Or, from the Sixers’ fans perspectives the arena: “Shoot it! Shoot it! . . . Shoot!”
– “We was able to get it done,” Josh said. “It wasn’t pretty. You are going to have games where it’s not pretty like how it was in the end. But we found a way to get the job done.”
– That dagger aside, Smoove is still shooting and missing jumpers. This is (not surprisingly) going to be the first big challenge for L.D. He’s said he wants Josh’s teammates to stop giving him the ball in bad positions, but what are they supposed to do when they are looking for ball movement and he’s the open guy?
– Thing is, the game is over and you look at Josh’s line and he did most everything else right. Glaring exceptions being those three fourth-quarter turnovers and a technical foul when he kept jawing at Bob Delaney, who was trying to give him some slack.
– Al rediscovered his jump shot plus some. He pushed around Spencer Hawes, controlled the defensive glass and played big around the basket. Al was 6 for 6 with four rebounds in the first quarter, but then you sort of always expect him to have a good game after a bad one.
– L.D. so far has made good on his pledge to use the bench liberally. He sticks with lineups like Teague, Jamal, Marvin, Powell and Zaza for long stretches. Then again, the bench guys make it easier when they hold it down.
– Zaza was physical on the boards again. Powell doesn’t have great touch around the basket but he’s got some nifty moves. Jamal is still Jamal, balky back and unmet contract demands be damned.
– The Hawks are winning because they are scoring with relative ease for long stretches. But the defense is still suspect. The perimeter guys other than Teague struggle to keep ballhandlers out of the lane and aren’t much better at closing out on shooters. Smoove can’t do everything.
– And don’t even mention the transition D. If the Hawks are going to turn the ball over they at least need to get back, especially against high-energy opponents like Philly. “We got a little lackadaisical an we didn’t get back on defense, which was one thing we really wanted to do against this team,” L.D. said.
– Teague can’t get a call when he goes to the hole. The only way for that to change is for him to keep forcing the issue until he gets his respect from refs.
– When Jamal and Teague are in the game together it’s like each is trying to play a different style. Teague wants to slow down and run some sets and Jamal wants to attack and do his thing. Both were aggressive, though, so maybe they can work it out.
– J.J. had ice on his left hand after the game. He said he took a hit during training camp. “It’s something that’s not ever going to heal because I get hit in the hand every game,” he said.
– Joe had 12 free-throw attempts and Jamal had seven. The Hawks were 26 of 31 from the line. These are all encouraging trends for the Hawks.
– We’ll see if blowing road leads becomes a trend like last season. “As I told them after the game, sometimes it’s not always going to turn out the way we want it to turn out but the main thing is we found a way to get a win,” L.D. said.
– Home opener vs. the Wiz tomorrow.
– I’m out, Hawks fans.
MC
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124 comments Add your comment
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
11:15 am
orangejuicejons, I.was calling pretty loudly for Jamal to be traded, but after watching how he has changed the pace of the game when he enters I have changed my.mind for the timebeing. Even with his defensive shortcomings he is helping the team be better. I like what his “selfishness” is bringing to the Hawks so far.
Art Vandelay
October 30th, 2010
11:23 am
Happy to be 2-0, but this won’t last unless someone can beat it into Josh’s head that HE IS NOT, AND NEVER WILL BE, A JUMPSHOOTER. How long will it take for him to realize that he has the ugliest jumper in the league? Dude puts up these rainbow bricks that are just as likely to miss everything as go in. Just because he hit a 3 last night doesn’t mean he’s a shooter, but he’ll just use that one shot as a reason to keep chucking up bad ones, because eventually one of them is bound to go in.
Nice effort last night by the Hawks to hold on and win 2 straight on the road to start the season, but we won’t have any long-term success until Josh learns his place on the court — which is either under the basket posting up, or slashing to the basket with the ball. When he’s standing still, he’s useless.
darrell starks
October 30th, 2010
11:23 am
GREAT WIN HAWKS.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
O'Brien
October 30th, 2010
11:29 am
did not see the game. But from the comments and box score, our 2 biggest issues are defense (especially transition D) and turnovers. 2-0 on the road is something to build on though.
Teague will have to step his game up tonight. Hopefully he can play defense without fouling tonight, especially against john wall.
I still don’t like Josh and the amount of jump shots. If he misses that 3, its 99-97, and Philly has the ball. However, since he insists on shooting them, I hope his percentage will increase.
lKevinM,
You don’t think iggy could help us? Imagine if he could ay SF? He is not on carmelo’s level, but I think he is very talented. In hindsight, he might have been the better pick instead of childress.
wordsmithtom
October 30th, 2010
11:38 am
Art Vandelay, with all due respect, LD is using Josh as a point forward by design, during times when he doesn’t feel his guard point is up to the task. Or maybe he thinks there is a good reason to post a power forward on the high post to facilitate. I think the latter, as the scheme worked with MW as it did with JS. Yes, offensively he does better under the basket and when he’s slashing. But, on occcasion he has to shoot some of those shots or defences will continue to collapse and eat the space the wings need for backcuts etc. Unless MC is lying to us, JS hits those shots in practice. They may not look pretty, and probably never will….but if he can increase his accuracy to mid 40% from mid 30% and learn to be more selective when shooting them, the weapon is viable because it keeps defensive pressure honest. As it is, they are collapsing and daring him to shoot it. Well, at times he would be better off passing, but late in the clock he has no choice and quite frankly, I think he will learn as he goes.
KevinM
October 30th, 2010
11:39 am
OB, he might have been the better pick, but his salary just kills this roster….I am glad we aren’t having to pay Chills that kind of coin…If we had him in place of Chills, we wouldn’t have needed to go for Marvin and probably have that big time PG here already.
Some numbers:
Iggy – 12.3, 13.5, 14.7, 15.9 – while he is better than Marvin, I would perfer Melo – 17.1, 18.5M….but he’s trying to get a JJ type deal done b4 the CBA comes around.
With the ASG being stuck on the cap, this is about as much as we can expect them to give Atlanta as far as competitive basketball. I see no way they go Orlando/Houston/Boston/LA. way of thinking.
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
11:40 am
Iggy did not like the motion offense. If I’m not confusing him with someone else I believe he openly opposed the coach who tried to implement it in Philadelphia.
TrueHawksFan
October 30th, 2010
11:40 am
It’s funny how just 3 days ago everybody was talking about how terrible the Hawks were going to be this year, only in Atlanta. Drew will be the coach of the year and the Hawks will improve on their win total from last year and finish a 3rd seed once again. For the last 2 years everybody including these so called fans here in the A have projected failure for this team, and they just keep getting better.
hawks_4_life
October 30th, 2010
11:40 am
Section 303
Im a soldier stationed in belgium, you know you are a fan when you hunt the game down online and wake up ant 2am to watch them. (time zone difference)
darrell starks
October 30th, 2010
11:45 am
JC2 have not played yet because there is no way JC1 can play small forward, LD coaching have been great so far with the knowledge of the game and understanding that defense come first before offense good job LD.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
Fundamentals
October 30th, 2010
11:52 am
Great wins for LD. Everyone can gripe about what’s lacking, but if this group gels and fine tunes the kinks they’ll be a load for most any team. We’ve just gotta believe. We’ve got to gel. Props to Crawford for coming out strong and meshing with the team.
Great games. GO HAWKS!
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
11:58 am
hawks_4_life, I appreciate you service in our behalf.
hawks_4_life
October 30th, 2010
11:59 am
Rev in Tampa
Thank you, Its what i do and I love it.
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
12:27 pm
Since the blog is slow right now I’m going off subject to gloat as a parent. I’ve been baking in the hot Florida sun all morning at my two oldest daughters’ swim meet. Both have made it out of districts and into regionals already this morning, but my oldest just knocked 2 seconds off her best time (100 backstroke) and smoked eveyone else in the pool.
KevinM
October 30th, 2010
12:31 pm
TrueHawksFan, please explain how the rest of the teams will line up if you think LD can get this team to a number 3 seed? They can’t be 3rd in their division for that to happen.
I do not see this team as dead and being a bad team; what I see is a managment group that plays by their rules while the teams around them go beyond the cap limits and try to build a championship model.
The cap isn’t going to bring a championship model. The elite player needed isn’t on this roster to overcome the salary gap between us and the Orlandos and Bostons.
KevinM
October 30th, 2010
12:33 pm
Rev, kudos to you and your family this am…..those are the kinds of things that make you proud to be a parent.
Continued success and enjoy the great weather. This stuff is lower on the priority list.
Ramon
October 30th, 2010
12:45 pm
hawks_4_life, Daye may end up paying off for you. He gets a lot of minutes. That’s all you can ask.
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
12:46 pm
Thanks KevinM. What really makes me proud is watching them reach down within themselves to achieve a level of effort that few ever experience. This experience of achievement will carry them above their peers in other areas of life.
Even though I am bragging on my oldest daughter my middle daughter is the real monster when it comes to competition. She can will herself ahead of others.
This is what I’m looking for in the Hawks on the road. I’ve caught a couple of glimses from Marvin lately and I like it.
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2010
12:50 pm
While we can all find something to complain about, including me, we are 2-0, and both were road wins no less. As long as we have Bibby and Jamal playing significant mins, we’ll continue having issues with our perimeter DEF, and thus our overall DEF. In both gms, we saw teams get off to hot starts, fueled bye their PG’s. And in both instances we saw LDrew bring in Teague, and both our OFF and DEF picked up and we gained control of the gm. PERIMETER DEF has been one of our biggest weakness, and it affects our interior DEF.
Teague’s DEF ability is something we could have taken advantage of last yr, but satisfying some stupid personal rookie PG bias was more important than the overall team I guess. For well over a yr now I’ve been making an issue of the negative affect the switching DEF was having on our frontline players ability to defend the lane. With our improved perimeter DEF, and our frontline players now playing straight man DEF, we’re now see the old intimidating, shot blocking JSmoove again.
We’re even seeing Zaza’s DEF improve, and we’re blocking more shots overall. Not relying on ISO’s, and having everyone clearout and just stand around, like last yr and last night, our OFF rebounding has definitely improved. Our players are still trying to incorporate the many facets of the Motion and High post OFF’s, and make them 2nd nature. Old habits, that have become ingrained over the last 6yrs, aren’t easy to break. I do have one observation to make about Bibby.
When the Sixers started pressuring the ball, his ball handling deficiency was exposed, and it forced him to pull up 2-3ft beyond the 3pt line. Starting the OFF this far out created poor passing angles, and allowed the defenders to take chances and go for steals, since there was little scoring threat with the ball so far from the basket. We even ended up taking a few desperation shots well beyond the 3pt line.
But, we can’t be too critical so early in the season. As I said in an earlier post, LDrew is going to use the early part of the regular season as an extention of training camp. Oh, I do recall a few NEGATIVE MINDED, GLASS HALF EMPTY HATERS saying JPowell was a scrub, as well as our bench overall. Even thought it’s still very early in the season, do any of you think he’s a scrub now, and can anyone name another bench that’s out performed ours so far?
HAWK-4-LIFE-I certainly feel you. I was stationed in Okinawa for 19mos during Viet Nam, and there was no internet to surf. There were no international broadcasts of American sporting events. Armed Forces TV network didn’t even have commercials, so you couldn’t take a quick bathroom break without missing part of whatever you were watching. I’m telling you this to let you know it has been a lot worse. We even had to use short wave radio’s to call home. Imagine saying “HEY, OVER, HOW’S EVERYTHING BACK HOME, OVER, DO I STILL HAVE A WIFE, OVER?”
You hang in their soldier, it’ll get better for you. I just want to say you have my admiration and respect for the sacrifices you’re making. I’m as big a fan of our soldiers as I am the Hawks, and you know that’s not half stepping.
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2010
12:56 pm
REV IN TAMPA-congradulations to you and your grands. I know that hot sun remark wasn’t a negative, but a willing sacrifice filled with joy and pride.
hawks_4_life
October 30th, 2010
1:11 pm
Rev congrats on you future Phelps in the making.
Ken Strickland thank you but to serve during Vietnam takes alot of guts. You are my trailblazer lol.
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2010
1:18 pm
I watched the 2nd half of the 0-2 Bucks andTimberwolves gm last night, and the Timberwolves dominated them, especially down the stretch. It looks like they’re being affected by the CHEMISTRY and ADJUSTMENT issues I raised during the off season, as well as injuries. I wonder if the Bulls will have the same issues?
Ramon
October 30th, 2010
1:28 pm
Ken, the Bulls simply can’t score with anyone. You look at their roster and don’t see how they will be able to score 105 ppg it takes now to beat a team (especially with Boozer on and off IR).
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2010
1:35 pm
HAWK-4-LIFE-In some ways you’re serving under more trying conditions. At least during Viet Nam, and before, soldiers had the right to rotate, be discharged, and/or retire after meeting their obligation. But George Bushwhacker and his Republican Posse changed all of that. So many brave soldiers would be alive today if Bush’s policy hadn’t forced them to serve beyond their time and/or obligation. My brother was killed after his application for retirement was denied after 22yrs of service, and he was deployed to Iraq for the 5th time.
RaJaH
October 30th, 2010
1:42 pm
What happened to the link button on the AJC blogs? I have an Iphone and I use them to hold my place.
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2010
1:43 pm
RAMON-This is what I was trying to tell everyone that insisted the Bulls had improved enough to make up the 12gm deficit we had over them last yr and surpass us in the Eastern Conference standings. On the subject of the Bulls, Bucks, Heat and Celtics finishing ahead of us in the standings, I’ve noticed a deafening silence among those who promoted that BS before the season started.
Mike is back
October 30th, 2010
1:47 pm
MC, great analysis of the events that unfolded in the game…it may have been ugly…but a win…is a win. I expect to see games like this early is the season…we have to remain up beat.
I hope LD don’t fall in the same trap as Woody. You are right on it…with the focus on transition defense…However, when you have JC1 and Bibby on floor at the same time…YOU CAN COUNT THAT HAPPENING. I know at times…the game dictate having both guys on the floor at the same time…THE TRAP IS…DON’T go with that line up too long. I hope LD learns from this experiment…he definitely go other options…he can go with.
If transition defense is our glaring weakness…WHY ARE WE TAKING OUT MARVIN…AND BRING IN JC1 to close out a game…especially if we are trying to make it difficult for the opponent to score. More often than not…that gamble is going to burn you. Well-coached teams…are going to attack that lineup. Better to go with a more defensive lineup.
Bibby may have his deficiencies on defense…but clearly, he is better than either JJ or JC1 at running the PG, and getting the team into the flow of the offense. I think in that situation…depending on how many fouls Josh and Al has…now you can go with Marvin, Zaza, or Powell…AND let Bibby run the point with the game on the line…that way we want get…so stagnant on offense.
If nothing, else…start leaving Marvin on the floor in some of those games…instead of always taking him out. I still hear some of the same chatter about Marvin…but clearly, he is a different guy this season…I hopes he continues to play with aggression…it want always show up in the stat line…but I see the effort Marvin is putting in. Keep it Marvin up…your hard work is going to pay off.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Geemack
October 30th, 2010
1:52 pm
J from the A
I agree with you Josh takes too many jump shots,but the Hawks players as a hole is jump shot happy. Their first 10 possessions last night were all jump shots.
LD called time out, and they started taking the ball to the basket.
Different team same recipe for defeat (Horrible shot selection, bad transitions defense, and bad rebounding habits)
Section 303
October 30th, 2010
1:57 pm
hawks_4_life, I had you confused with someone else, I guess. Thanks for your service. You guys are true heros.
Section 303
October 30th, 2010
1:58 pm
Boys, I’m off to Philips. Huge sports day! Michigan State vs Iowa at 3:30 (GO GREEN!), at Taco Mac. Off to the home opener after that.
GO SPARTANS!! Go Hawks!!
Geemack
October 30th, 2010
2:07 pm
Ken Stickland,
Defense wins championships. Teague is out best PG on the ball defender…so why is he not starting? I could careless about the offense with JJ, Josh, and Al on the floor.
The Hawks biggest challengen is on the of the defensive end of the floor. The longer we go into the season with the same starting line up the less likely it is to change.
truthspitter
October 30th, 2010
2:18 pm
Sund is outsmarting himself on this one. He should resign Al to a contract worth atleast 5 year $65 to $70 million and be done with it because I have a feeling that unless the new CBA is going to make it impossible for him to get more that the open market will be willing to give him Boozer money which is 5 year $75-80 million. Look at how often Boozer has been hurt and the fact that he is not as tall as Al you have to think someone will give him that type of money as a PF on the open market. This really needs to get done so the Hawks will no what they have to spend on Jamal and move on with business
Ramon
October 30th, 2010
2:18 pm
By the way, everyone talking about the 3pt Josh took last night to in the game, it wasn’t early in the shot clock. There were only 5 seconds on the shot clock when he shot that, and he was trapped in the corner because Al brought the trap with him when he dribbled to the corner. Look for yourselves…
http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-hawks its on the main page.
Ramon
October 30th, 2010
2:21 pm
Geemack, Teague didn’t play great defense last night. Actually his defense in the 2nd half was terrible. He was called for the same type of foul four times! Until Teague learns not to leave his feet on a jump shot, its going to be hard to justify putting him in for long stretches.
O'Brien
October 30th, 2010
2:21 pm
Geemack,
Imo, Teague isn’t starting yet because he is not a good shooter. In the first quarter, we need to get the offense going, and bibby is still a very good shooter. When bibby makes shots, it opens things up for jj.
Ken S,
Even Beasley looked good for Minnesota too. Like Marvin, he has been inconsistent, so it will be interesting to see if he becomes a better player with the change of scenery.
As for the hawks game, we saw them lose lots of games like This on the road last year. I give them credit for getting the win.
The Truth
October 30th, 2010
2:47 pm
Add one more extension to the list:
“The San Antonio Spurs announced Saturday morning that they have signed point guard Tony Parker to a multi-year contract extension. Per team policy details of the extension were not release. Early reports suggest that it is worth $50 million over four years. ”
Read more NBA news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17763#ixzz13rxAehoV
Ramon
October 30th, 2010
3:04 pm
@ O’Brien, exactly, they won! That is a huge improvement from what they normally would’ve done after giving up so many turnovers in the end. And a good part is the turnovers were mainly committed by Joe. Why I say that is a good part is, I have all the confidence in him that he can correct that going forward.
By the way, do people realize that Boston lost a game like this right after beating Miami.
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
3:06 pm
The ESPN game preview for the Wizards-Hawks says that the Hawks are 83% favorites to beat the Wizards. Don’t know how much trust to place in the prediction. At least its not picking the Wizards to win…
MB in SC
October 30th, 2010
3:07 pm
hawks_4_life: Where are you finding the games online? I moved to SC from GA and I’m really missing watching the “new look” Hawks under LD. I’ve been telling all of the naysayers the LD hire was a good pick and now I can’t even watch them play.
About Josh shooting, I don’t know why the shooting coaches he has had won’t try to change his mechanics. He needs to hire Ray Allen for some freelance quick release lessons.
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
3:08 pm
I hope we see Cheeseburger make his debut against some of the Wizards big men.
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
3:14 pm
The Hawks have won 9 in a row against Washington – not counting the ugly preseason game. And Washington only won 17 games on the road last year. It bodes well for Atlanta.
It will be interesting to see how much energy the Hawks will play with since they played last night.
Rev in Tampa
October 30th, 2010
3:17 pm
MB in SC, the NBA League Pass is free until Nov. 1. Thats how I watched them the past two games.
I moved to Tampa from Aiken, SC. I really miss South Carolina. Aiken is a special town.
northcyde
October 30th, 2010
3:17 pm
Typing live from Birmingham, AL at the Magic City Classic.
While the Hawks definitely tried to give that game away, there are still more positives than negatives to the Hawks so far. We already knew what the potential negatives were, but the story of the year so far is the play of the bench. It can’t be just Jamal every night, so I’m glad others are stepping up.
The problem last year was that they were so terrible defensively, that you couldn’t leave them on the floor as a unit. And if Jamal was off, the others couldn’t pick up the scoroing slack. So as long as the bench can hold the fort and not let the opponents bench grossly outplay them, Drew can continue to give them extended minutes.
As I said all summer, the Hawks have a golden opportunity to get off to a very good start, due to the very winnable road games we have this month. The Memphis game was one that I actually thought we had a chance of losing, but the timely injuries and the great play of the bench made sure that didn’t happen. So when you look at the rest of the road schedule, we should be favored in every game . . . except aganst you know who.
Win all but one of those road games, and at least go 5 – 4 at home, and you’re talking about the Hawks being 13 – 5 going into December.
That’s where we need to be to stay right in the hunt. Win the games we’re supposed to win.
HawkEye
October 30th, 2010
4:07 pm
I just made an obsevation in regards to Jamal not buying into the system or playing similar to the way he played last year. Do any of you think L.D. saw success in what Jamal did last year and wants him to continue? In an motion offense does L.D. want to have Jamal play an ISO type of style to keep the defense geussing at times? Again, these are only observations but one can wonder if L.D. is utilizing Jamal in a similar but different way.
doc
October 30th, 2010
4:09 pm
rev that means as bad as they were last year they were almost as good as us last year on the road. geez, we were that bad as we won only what 19?
Ramon
October 30th, 2010
4:27 pm
Doc, I think that is the main stat going forward this year. The Hawks’ winning percentage on the road will be the tale of their story. If the Hawks can win 60% of the time on the road, and win 75-80% at home, they will have shown the maturity to be ready to advance further in the playoffs. And the crazy stat is the Hawks didn’t lose that many road games against PLAYOFF caliber teams. Many of their losses on the road came against mid-tier teams.
Mike is back
October 30th, 2010
4:32 pm
Rev, I want to see cheeseburger too. We’ve been hearing all this chatter about how much his conditioning has improve…I want to see WHATZUP.
I need to know do we have another Big that can step in and play like Zaza and Powell. That would bode very well for LD. If CB is through selling hamburgers and ready to play some ball…than we definitely, have solid ten-man rotation.
After last night…it’s clear we need to stick with the motion offense…when we are trying to close out games. Put the ball in Bibby’s hand, and let him initiate the offense. I just feel better with that ball in Bibby’s hand.
JJ and JC1 makes me nervooooooooooous…when they get the ball at the top of the key…all I can think of is a Timex watch or an Hour glass. lol
DHunt
October 30th, 2010
5:04 pm
I’m late to the conversation so bear with me, but some things I need to get off my chest.
First, who said that Larry Drew was going to be anything like Mike Woodson? I didn’t get to watch a single minute of pre-season, but after watching all of the first two games, I’m believing that LD might actually be what was needed to get this team over the hump. This is a totally different team from last year, and it’s showing all over the place. And since the only major change was Coach Drew, I think we can safely assume, he is the author and architect of that change. This just does not look like a team that is going to fall short of it’s potential. The coach looks like he knows what he is doing, and after watching Woodson for the last few years, that is the most welcome change.
I expected there to be some serious stutter steps to start this season. What I’ve seen is a team that isn’t quite as comfortable as they could be with the new offense. After all those years of ISO offense, I honestly expected the transition to be a much more difficult proposition. I can see that they have a lot of work to do, but the entire team looks like they bought into the new regime. The sight of JJ looking to pass is stunning, and once he realizes that he will get more and better looks when other defenses have to worry about his passing out of double teams, I think he is going to really prosper and stack the stat sheets for points, assists, and rebounds. And he will be a fresh defender at all times cause he isn’t spending 20 minutes pounding the basketball every night.
Josh is taking more jumpers because he hasn’t really figured out the best open spaces for him to slide into for this offense. He may have the hardest learning curve, because all he’s ever known is what Woody taught him. You know he didn’t get much coaching in high school, other than run fast jump and and everybody else stay out of his way. So LD has a project on his hands. But imagine for a second, Josh catching some of those passes that he is now getting at 18 feet, at 14feet, with a lane to the basket. Now imagine Josh immediately slashing to the rim instead of pulling up for the jumper. That plus learning a better back to the basket game, and Josh will be a beast in this offense.
There is nothing but upside for this Hawks team right now. They still have a lot of growing to do, but they are talented enough, and now well coached enough to perform and win games even while they adapt to new things. This team can compete with a one (super)man Orlando team, that will wilt under pressure and miss those jumpers when they are tested. This team can compete with the Heat, Marvin can defend LaBron and JJ can defend Wade, and Josh as the X-factor. This team can score with anybody. Remember you heard it hear first.
hawks_4_life
October 30th, 2010
5:30 pm
MB in SC i watch at http://atdhe.net/
northcyde
October 30th, 2010
5:40 pm
DHunt . . why coddle Smith and shift the blame to Woody and Drew? Smith shoots jumpers because he WANTS TO. Josh would much rather take an 18 footer than go hard to the rim.
Woody would call ISO plays for Smith in the high and low post, and constantly told that dude to go to the hole. Eventually, Drew may have to do the same thing, just to get Josh an adequate number of shots, so that he won’t feel the need to jack up midrange and long jumpers.
I’ve always thought that Smith had a better shot at averaging 6 assists a game, than to be a 20 ppg scorer. With the lack of playmaking from our PGs, it would be nice to see Josh flly embrace the role of playmaker.