Pistons at Atlanta Hawks: Teague and the (new) Rook’
Just four games into the season and there are some sure signs that Teague has graduated from Rook’ to rotation guy and the new Rook’, JC2, likely is going to have to go through much the same thing as Teague did last season.
First on Teague: Did you see how he checked in at Cleveland in the third quarter last just after the Cavs took their first lead since the first?
“I was kind of shocked, to be honest,” he said. “When I subbed in, we were up two. I thought he was going to pull me back and say, ‘Let Mike play,’ but he told me to go in. That made me want to go out there and play even harder knowing that he believed in me. I’m glad we came back and pulled out a victory.”
Teague almost immediately missed a bad jump but he stayed in the game. He missed two more jumpers near the end of the period yet no one went to the scorer’s table to replace him. Teague didn’t come out until 6:19 of the fourth quarter, by which time he’d contributed a block, steal and a couple free throws while playing good on-ball defense.
L.D. said leaving Teague out there is part of a long-term plan: “A big part of Jeff’s growth process is his ability how to play through those situations. In the past he probably was yanked out of the game when those situations come up. I told him and all our bench guys I expect them to play through those situations.”
JC2, it’s clear by now, isn’t going to see many of those kind of situations. The exceptions will be games like tonight, with Jamal sitting out with an injured toe.
I asked L.D. before the Cavs game if Jordan was still into it after going from playing big minutes in the preseason to spending most nights on the inactive list.
“I’ve got to keep him engaged,” Drew said. “He’s going through a situation a lot of rookies go through. He went from being the man in college to coming to this level and their roles change. He played a lot in preseason because a lot of guys were hurt. It’s a role that he’s going to have to accept and he just has to stay ready.
“There are no guarantees as far as what can happen, injuries can settle in [rotation] guys can get sick. He has to stay ready at all times. He is not going through anything that any other rookie has not gone through. It’s just a matter of being prepared, accepting his role and staying ready.”
J.J. said he’s not sure how JC2 is handling his circumstance but he’s tried to keep him up.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tough [for Jordan] because it is,” he said. “But it is part of it. Once he pays his dues he is definitely going to be one of the good players in this league.”
Injury report
L.D. said Jamal suffered a turf toe injury when he was fouled last night.
L.D. thinks Teague hasn’t been as aggressive since injuring his ankle during the preseason. Teague said the ankle is affecting him “just a little bit.”
“It’s hard to go to the left sometimes,” he said. “Once I get to running, I am all right.”
Worst than the injury is the tape job Teague is forced to play with: “I hate ankle tape. I hate it.”
Out for the Pistons: Rip Hamilton (foot), Chris Wilcox (hamstring), Will Bynum (hamstring), Jonas Jerebko (Achilles) and Terrico White (foot).
Last time the Hawks played the Pistons in a situation like this, they lost 90-88 at The Palace (without Joe, but Detroit was missing Rip, Prince, Wilcox and Maxiell).
“These are games that historically not been good to us [against] teams with injuries,” L.D. said. “We have to come out and establish ourselves early.”
MC
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228 comments Add your comment
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
8:54 pm
Josh Powell just got blocked by a guy 6 inches shorter than him.
WTF is this guy doing in the NBA, and are you seriously trying to tell me there is no better big man the Hawks could have got for the veteran’s minimum?
truthspitter
November 3rd, 2010
8:56 pm
Zaza plays no defense and think he is too smart and slick on offense. I really don’t like this guy as a backup C.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
8:57 pm
If Joe is going to keep missing those wide open shots, this team doesn’t have much of a chance, especially with Jamal in a suit.
J.J.M.
November 3rd, 2010
8:57 pm
and why did joe get all that money?
i_am_soulstar
November 3rd, 2010
8:59 pm
We can win this if they just keep the ball moving.
bigdave
November 3rd, 2010
9:01 pm
lol @ BAWSE
Sleepy
November 3rd, 2010
9:02 pm
Pistons are winless are we seriously gonna lay an egg at home to this team ?
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:02 pm
lol@marvin’s hurt limp looks no different than his regular walk
O'Brien
November 3rd, 2010
9:02 pm
If the Hawks at 4-0 lose to a team thats 0-4, who also played last night, and is without Rip hamilton, that is unexcusable.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
9:03 pm
That’s like the 5th time today that a wide open shooter knocked down a 3 for the Pistons without a hand in his face.
bigdave
November 3rd, 2010
9:03 pm
good work Z
Melvin
November 3rd, 2010
9:03 pm
Marvin need to suck it up and get back out there…
J.J.M.
November 3rd, 2010
9:03 pm
hawks cant make no jumpshots im turning this game is over
cheshire
November 3rd, 2010
9:03 pm
and THIS is why you shouldn’t get too excited about the Hawks.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
9:04 pm
“If the Hawks at 4-0 lose to a team thats 0-4, who also played last night, and is without Rip hamilton, that is unexcusable.”
It’s going to happen. I think I have watched this team long enough to know when they don’t have it, and they don’t have it tonight.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
9:04 pm
Why the f-ck is the game against the Magic at 6:30 PM?
truthspitter
November 3rd, 2010
9:05 pm
Way to make everything you have done seem like a fluke and insignificant Hawks. This feels like the playoff sweeps all over again. Joe not showing up and losing in a way that is just deflating. Can’t get a rebound nor stop. This is the same team from last year
Melvin
November 3rd, 2010
9:05 pm
OB,
We are without Jamal and Mo… Hawks don’t have the same firepower without Jamal. Hopefully Sund will re-sign him during the next TV timeout…
cheshire
November 3rd, 2010
9:05 pm
Joe Johnson with only 8 points????
Way to earn that paycheck Joe!!!
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:05 pm
come on no way…not to the pistons
bigdave
November 3rd, 2010
9:05 pm
Greg landed on him..
Wabe
November 3rd, 2010
9:06 pm
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:02 pm
lol@marvin’s hurt limp looks no different than his regular walk
LMAO
Hilarious
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:06 pm
NO WAY monroe should have got that O-board surrounded by Hawks!!!!!!
bigdave
November 3rd, 2010
9:06 pm
man Al Horford is just watching rebs.
cheshire
November 3rd, 2010
9:06 pm
amazing… we had 3 guys against 1 Piston and couldn’t get the rebound
northcyde
November 3rd, 2010
9:07 pm
First team to 88 points wins this game.
Hawks better turn it on right now.
O'Brien
November 3rd, 2010
9:07 pm
Melvin,
Being without Jamal and Mo is no excuse. We have a much better team than they do.
They played last night, and they are playing on the road tonight.
Last year, under Woody, the hawks had about 16 games where they scored 19 points or less in the fourth quarter.
So far this fourth quarter, the hawks have scored 6 points in the fourth quarter.
Just when you want to buy into the Hawks, they put up a clunker like this.
Hawks need to get it going the last last 5 minutes.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
9:07 pm
Sadly, thanks to the genius of Rick Sund, an injury to the Hawks’ 6th best player might be impossible to overcome, simply because he’s the only guy on the team who can play small forward. Let’s hope he’s OK.
Melvin
November 3rd, 2010
9:07 pm
Does Joe have butter on his fingers…
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:07 pm
BAAAWSE
Wabe
November 3rd, 2010
9:07 pm
Damn nice pass…
Ree Roe
November 3rd, 2010
9:07 pm
Let’s go Hawks. We’re a bit banged up, but let’s see what kinda heart we have down the stretch
-REEpeal Roe!!!
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:08 pm
lmao…BAAWSE showin out
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
9:08 pm
Now THERE was a nice back-to-the-basket move from Horford! I’d like to see more of that on a regular basis…
Wabe
November 3rd, 2010
9:08 pm
Damn nice move by Horford…
Way to not break Hawks.
Hold on and put this away.
Melvin
November 3rd, 2010
9:08 pm
Nice comeback by the Hawks… Charlie V is getting abuse on Defense…
Stizz
November 3rd, 2010
9:08 pm
Finally we play inside. Keep the ball the hell away from Joe Johnson.
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:09 pm
I wonder how serious that injury is
bigdave
November 3rd, 2010
9:09 pm
good counter move from Al there..
truthspitter
November 3rd, 2010
9:09 pm
We need to gang rebound and Joe needs to make a shot somewhere along the line. Watch Zaza get roasted on defense worse than Bibby down the stretch.
O'Brien
November 3rd, 2010
9:09 pm
JJ was 6-21 last night. 3-13 tonight.
If we can find a way to win both games with our star shooting horribly, that will be good.
niremetal
November 3rd, 2010
9:10 pm
If you’re gonna put Josh Smith at the 3, Tayshaun is the guy you want him to cover. And Josh is taking advantage.
Greg
November 3rd, 2010
9:10 pm
See what I mean? Get the ball inside and good things will happen. The Hawks need to get the ball to their bigs down the stretch, because Joe is ice cold tonight and mike Bibby is having trouble getting open looks.
Ree Roe
November 3rd, 2010
9:10 pm
If we can rebound we’ll win, gotta get a body on their bigs
-REEvolutionary Roe!!!
cheshire
November 3rd, 2010
9:10 pm
O’Brien,
Couldn’t agree with your post more. We can’t lay blame on not having our 6th man. Where is Joe??? Highest paid player in the league only scoring 8 points?? Can we lay part of the blame on that maybe?
We could very well still win this game, but when you’re beating taken to the wire at home by a team like the Pistons, it’s hard not to believe this team is just going to give us another “right in, right out of the playoffs” performance.
Wabe
November 3rd, 2010
9:11 pm
J.Smith has picked up his energy defensively.
~~MAC-ToWN~~ (Area Code 478 Westside Macon)
November 3rd, 2010
9:11 pm
that was nice
Wabe
November 3rd, 2010
9:11 pm
And then another damn nice pass by J.Smith.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2010
9:12 pm
All of you who think Smoove doesn’t have basketball IQ need to wake the f-ck up.
Melvin
November 3rd, 2010
9:12 pm
Josh is looking like Peyton Manning with his passes threading thru the defense….