Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic: ‘Next step’ for Hawks?

lets get it..

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hope the starters have energy after playing so many minutes last night

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oh god no i have to listen to the condescending orlando announcers all night

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Dang what happened to Nique? He has been terrible on the mic but is this permanent or just for tonight?

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stan van gundy saying the hawks were trying to do more motion and different things on defense in the pre-season but have already reverted to iso and switching so they are the same team

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I would like to be more positive, but I can’t. I really wish tonight’s game would not even be played. The Hawks are just going to get their heads kicked in, again.

I say they just call the Orlando games losses, and move on to the rest of the schedule. Hawks just can’t beat these guys. And, I hate watching the games when these two play.

Hate watching, but still watch….a lot like not being able to take your eyes off a train wreck.

Here’s hoping this is over quick.

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i dunno this guy sounds boring.

Nothin could beat “Rathbun/Smith” !!!

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Dwight is such a monster

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Keep shooting them Josh….

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Good play by Collins to take the charge.

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How many of yall thought Josh was going to shoot that jumper instead of drive for the dish to Collins? LOL

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ORL’s not used to so many moving Hawks

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No Q-Rich starting? Looks like the Hawks are already forcing the Magic to make adjustments.

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Could Smoove be the Hawks’ best player already?

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Nice start for the Hawks… The Magic plays much slower without Jameer.

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Was on vacation the past week so i have not seen any of the games on the 6-1 run, is Nique no longer a telecaster or is he just out for tonight?

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J.Smith making Rashard Lewis actually close out.

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I like what i am seeing: Josh hitting jumpshoots, Twin playing good defense, the 3-point arc well covered. Keep it up!!

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What a coach will do for you… Josh is playin lights out so far !!!!!!

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Dwight with 2 fouls. lol

GO HAWKS!

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What a start by Josh!

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We need Marvin……but would he be better off the bench? Is This THE starting lineup we need here???
Al at PF, A better shooting Smoove at SF?

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Najeh, yes.

we look better than we ever did under mike woodson against them

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How many potential Smoove dimes have the guards left on the table the last couple of nights? Jamal just bricked another one…

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I havent seen this type of defensive effort all year from the Hawks. I wish they would bring it like this every night. The new dude is starting to get into it lol who is this guy

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Orlando is surprised right now…as is the rest of the country…can’t believe the Hawks haven’t bent over yet.

Too Bad for them that we won’t. We are about to take this game

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I’m trying to keep my hopes from getting up high only to have them crushed by the end of the 3rd Quarter.

Is this real?

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The magic commentators are dumbfounded

“the hawks looked like it may take them months to pick up this offfense when we saw them in pre-season, i guess the light went on quickly”

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I love the Rip Hamilton play they have designed for Joe, the one where he runs off a couple of baseline screens for a catch-and-shoot… wish they would run it more.

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I hate the comments section too, and the worst part is that even if I click “Show All”, it reverts back to the other way every time I submit a new comment. At least they should give us the option of setting it to “Show All” permanently.

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Thats why Teague needs to play more…

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Crawford looking bummy

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hell yeah teague get a piece of that

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JC needs to step it up and I don’t mean Jesus Christ…

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“We almost HAVE to win this game now. To start off this good and lose would be devastating.”

It’s bad enough that they started so well and the lead has now almost completely been erased.

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smh Pachulia. He is forever trying to do too much. Good block by Teague

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Man, our bench is playing terrible…

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What is Jamal Doing?!?

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And Jamal has almost single-handedly accounted for the other half of the lost lead.

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get pachulia out the game he is killing us

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Wow…

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Jamal left he shot in Atlanta..

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Whoever it was that made the comments about the payroll…

The 2nd units for both teams pretty much illustrate that point.

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Knew they’d make a run. Still looking better than usual against this team regardless.

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Melvin,

He played the whole freakin’ quarter!

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They are starting off this quarter doing a lot of switching…

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ZaZa is terrible defensively.

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Can Josh Powell PLEASE stop taking jump shots?

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So much for that hot start. Hawks are jacking up jumpers and Dwight is going to work. It’s only a 4 point game, but they are teetering on the brink right now.

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That’s 2 on Horford, and without Marvin available it probably means we get to see a lot more of Zaza until the end of the half, unfortunately.

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Al you gotta do better on the defensive glass sir.. might have cost us the game yesterday.

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The bench is not in any kind of groove tonight…let’s hope they get it back like stella before their next run.

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Al just picked up his second foul. I really hope LD doesn’t take him out. It is clear that the team was struggling when he wasn’t in. Taking him out now would be a horrible move.

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Dwight is making some shots, but Twin is making him work hard to do it. That will make a difference over the course of the game.

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grab a board AL!!!

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ALLLLLLLLLL!

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Twin is making him work.. doesnt matter if we dont secure the board. sheesh…

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good job Jason Collins! We have shown that we can compete

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I actually like the new guy. He gives way more insight than Nique has done in 3 years total… And tonight the Hawks are going to have to ride the starters a lot because Pachulia is awful and Powell thinks he is Larry Bird

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getting the defensive stops.. and we finally have an offense to convert on the other end. scoring points against Orl was just as challenging as defending them..

thanks LD

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Etan!!!

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Etan lives. lol!

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Time for the poet to show it!

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Etan Who . . .

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Josh not getting the rebound then getting dunked on and then his man hitting a short jumper…..unacceptable

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Etan is horrible … no wonder why he hasn’t seen any playing time. smh

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Does anyone else wish we still had WOODY here to blame every bad play on? Or at least to make fun of his oversized suit and funky eyebrows?

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u cant do jamal and bibby what is drew thinking

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Etan just got the ball took from him . . .

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too many damn turnovers

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Of COURSE the refs didn’t see it. It was Howard who pushed Bibby out of bounds from outside the foul line. I guess they thought Bibby was flopping, lol.

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14 1st half 2nd chance pts. and counting.. smh.

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LOL, finally.

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Hmm… offensive rebounds followed by point blank misses? Sounds like Etan’s been hanging out with Zaza…

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Etan Thomas….LOL!

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Is Ethan rusty or just too old…LOL

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Etan…

Cut.

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Etan is a shell of his former self….but then again he hasn’t really played yet so cant really blame him. Still though…layup we need that

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Cut.

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gotta get him out Drew.

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And a travel too? Now all he needs to do is set an illegal screen and Etan’s filled the Zaza role to perfection.

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WOWAWIWA

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damn man.

they’ve pretty much broken us since dude came in the game.

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J SMOOOOOOOOOOOVE

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This team needs to add another defensive big guy, ala Twin. Thomas and Pachulia can’t guard anybody.

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thank goodness…

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give Etan some time folks….he’s a tough defensive player. let him get used to the game speed again

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way to get that board Mike..

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Etan is a 4 trying to play 5 in my opinion.

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L.D. is driving me crazy with these lame substitutions. Etan should not have been placed in the game at such a key point. It obvious to anyone watching the game that the Hawks are much better with Al Horford on the court. It was obvious at the start of the game when the Hawks got off to a hot start, and it became obvious how much they missed him when Al went out early in the first quarter to the bench. Then, Al came back in and the Hawks seized control again. He should have played the rest on the second half. He only has 2 fouls and isn’t that foul prone. Etan has hurt the team more than helped them. L.D. is hurting the team much more by keeping Al out than helping by preventing him from picking up a third foul. The Hawks could have a double digit lead right now if he were in.

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LMAO…

Etan…

Speechless.

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LD got balls staying with Etan lol.

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Very good game so far. The guys are getting after it tonight. The second unit killed them though. The starters are going to log big minutes because I don’t know if i would even want to put Pachulia and Powell back in the game.

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they all played 42 minutes last night LD is resting them for the 2nd half run

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I thought the Hawks would come in to this game emotionally drained from yesterday’s loss, but now it looks like if anything yesterday’s game might have been a bit of a trap game. The Hawks certainly haven’t been lacking for intensity.

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whew….for a minute there I thought the Hawks were gonna have to start singin this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA0wN46d3Co

hereeeeeee
wweeeee
gooooo

here we go again

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Najeh,

You mention that Brandon Bass and Marcin Gortat have been way more effective than they should be. I think that the main reason for that has been due to L.D.’s questionable substitutions. He had Powell playing Gortat at one point, giving up a huge size advantage, and also decided to go with Etan down the stretch of the second half. Both of these substitutions were bad moves in my opinion. First off, Al should have played a lot more than 10 minutes in that first half. He was doing a great job guarding his men. When Al went out, L.D. should have elected to place Zaza on Gortat, and keeping Collins on Dwight. The guys weren’t in heavy foul trouble, and with the number of bigs we have available, I think Zaza is expendable in terms of fouls. Etan’s offense and defense was very questionable during his minutes. I would have risked Al picking up a third foul (which is not likely) and stuck with him and Josh down the stretch of the first half, meanwhile swapping out Collins at Zaza at center while dwight was in, or putting Al at the 5 to guard Gortat. I think L.D.’s rotation hurt the team a bit in that first half. Particularly though, Etan and Zaza played poor bench minutes.

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I agree w/ Leon

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I agree — I would have ideally rather seen Collins stay in the game — but I’m guessing the reason LD played Etan so much is because Collins was as effective as he was (meaning LD wants to use him more aggressively in the 2nd half and doesn’t want to saddle him with more foul trouble) and Zaza was totally ineffective (eliminating the possibility of leaving him on the floor with 2 fouls).

We’ll see. If Collins can play big minutes in the 2nd half and help neutralize Howard, LD’s questionable first half substitution pattern will have paid off.

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Magic are really clamping down on D. Gotta run the offense through Smoove.

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lol.. “very unusual motion”

-new guy

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I know Marvin williams was injured, but putting bid Al at the 4 was a good move. jason Collins ain’t much, but he can get physical defensively down low and is excellent with the screen and roll.

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All things considered, Collins has done a great job on Dwight Howard.

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I hate when this happens…we just cant make a shot to get over the that 2-4 pt. hump

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Look like Fatigue is setting in on the Hawks…

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They have been playing great defense so far. Guys are looking a little tired..

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too much walking the ball up we have to push even on made shots and either attack or get into our offense earlier

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yessir…

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lmfao jason collins

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Mike you owe us 3..

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Horford is money from mid range

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SMoooove

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Still in it

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Zaza is f-cking terrible.

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Joe icing wrist..?

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The Hawks can not play ZaZa against the Magic. He makes too many negative plays for the Hawks against the Magic…

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Dammit, now is really not the time for Iso-Crawford.

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Good 3rd quarter almost 4 point foul but now red dick and carter are in foul trouble just contain Dwight and we are good GO HAWKS!!!

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so much easier said than done tho

thats a big boy

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That was a pretty good third quarter. The defense was solid. The offensive execution was also very good 90% of the time. We had some wide open looks that just didn’t drop, but that was still good execution. My only complaints were some of Jamal’s ball hogging and subpar play from our bench bigs. Zaza is giving Dwight some easy and-1s and Powell has basically been the invisible man tonight.

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Reddick and Carter both have 4 fouls so i would say I would attack whoever Reddick is guarding as I think Pietrus is in the doghouse and injured . Qrich is slow and is a much easier cover for all of our perimeter players

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Do I read this right? Horford has a +20? Seems impossible in this game.

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calm down Z.. keep fouling him and contesting hard.. make him earn em..

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yes…

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Look at Pachulia workin!!!

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4 th on Howard yea get him in trouble

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Z you win the Gortat battle..

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Teague needs to DRIVE, man…

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Teague just isnt aggressive enough for me..

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Joe gotta pass out of that double team faster

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Nice flop Zaza

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4th qrt Joe.. lets get it..

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Hawks need to get Smoove back in this game.

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Nice shot Powell, now please never take that shot again for the rest of the game.

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thats your fault Joe..

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we can win this

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L.D. needs to get the starters back in the game now. The bench did a decent job, but it’s obvious that they are fatigued right now, and the Hawks could be taking advantage with Al and Josh out there right now.

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Go back to the startin lineup plz

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Wish LD would have put Collins back in too… Zaza has been playing OK but I have a lot more confidence in Collins not to do something stupid with the ball.

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y is Josh not n gm

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I actually really like the way the refs have called this game. No ticky tack fouls and not really too lopsided in either direction. If all NBA games were called like this I think there would be a lot less complaining by the players and fans alike.

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If the Hawks can play solid defense down the stretch, this game looks winnable. They need to follow the game plan on the offensive end and keep the ball moving though. Too much isolation leads not only to predictability, but to some bad turnovers leading to easy transition baskets for the magic.

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good mins Z.. Josh fresh for stretch.. c’mon off back to back..

LD know what he doing..

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That’s what happens when you got a shotblocker in there

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o yea.. its fair..

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Damn they keep gettin lucky

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Bibby gotta shoot that 3

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Good timeout. Hawks really need a bucket. Magic have been getting all the bounces the last couple of minutes… time to switch the momentum.

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I can’t believe bibby passed up an open jumper for a Josh Smith three. Wow. The Hawks still have a chance, but they need a basket desperately right now.

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Whatever the result, THIS is how we should compete with an elite team, on their homecourt. And us on a back-to-back. Yeah.

LD has made a change in attitude.

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There’s gotta be a better crunch time play in the playbook than Iso-Crawford. Come on.

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LD shoulda stayed with his big lineup…

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Same old Hawks. No go to guy in crunch time

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Should have stayed with the better lineup.

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GREAT play out of the timeout!

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Switch

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LD kill the switch.

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Poor Horford, get caught in the switch every time….

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The Hawks need another guy like Jason Collins at the 5. I’m suprised he didn’t get in in the 4th quarter. He could have made a difference.

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foul the choke artist..

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need 3.

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Its a tough L but I love the effort from the guys tonight. They didn’t even compete with Orlando last year but they had a chance to win tonight. I know the same cast of characters are going to come on here and gloat about the L but they didn’t quit tonight.

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Eldridge Recasner does make a good point, that the Magic — Rashard Lewis in particular — were ice cold from 3 in this game and were missing Jameer Nelson. With that said, the Hawks’ problems against this team were just as much mental as they were related to talent and execution, and it appears that the Hawks are in the process of overcoming the mental hurdle.

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It sucks that they lost.

It sucks they lost two heartbreakers in back to back nights.

But, be real, the Hawks actually look like they belong on the same floor as the Magic tonight. They actually had a gameplan – stuck with it – and stood toe to toe with the Magic.

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t play for moral victories. But, the Hawks have no reason to hang their heads.

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I have been one of the biggest Teague supporters on here but dude just does not take advantage of his opportunities. He is just way too passive and he cant knock down open shots.

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@najeh

I’m not trying to hear that…Rashard Lewis is notorious for his disappearing acts and the Hawks made a concious effort to guard the three point line and it worked. They played some defense this game

Magic were without Jameer well the Hawks didn’t have an active small forward so it evens out

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Hawks lose but it wasn’t really shocking. After going 6-0 against the “ok” teams, they’re 0-2 against the better teams and they’ve still got to go through two more good teams before getting back to the “ok” teams

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Nice effort from the Hawks tonight. I don’t feel bad about this loss at all. Back to back games and limited rotation, i thought they played well considering those factors.

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I understand those that are pointing out that the Magic didn’t shoot well.

But, how can you say that the Hawks didn’t play a role into their poor shooting performance? It’s not as if the Magic were missing wide open jumpers. The Hawks were doing a hell of a job closing out on the Magic perimeter guys. They let Dwight go one on one for most of this game – but when they came to double, guys did a solid job rotating around the perimeter.

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exactly Wabe..

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“I’m not trying to hear that…Rashard Lewis is notorious for his disappearing acts and the Hawks made a concious effort to guard the three point line and it worked. They played some defense this game”

I’m not taking anything away from the way the Hawks played. They played well enough to beat most teams. But at the same time it’s hard to pretend like this was the best the Magic could play.

Doesn’t mean there’s nothing to take away from this game for the Hawks. This is a significant step forward, even if the Hawks ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

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Excuse me, but I thought the Drew formula was ball movement.

Somebody please tell JJ.

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The Hawks indeed played a major role in the Magic’s poor perimeter shooting and you can thank Jason Collins in large part for that. He was big enough and skilled enough to guard Howard single coverage thus reducing the number of open attempts for their perimeter guys. It’s as simple as that. Their perimeter guys don’t get open looks unless Dwight is having a easy time inside and drawing double teams.

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folks just refuse to believe that a solid game plan and scheme can be put in place to beat this Magic team. .. it being his 1st shot at them, if this is what LD is going to bring to the table against this Magic team who we get WAXED by with regularity.. and if this is how our team will respond.. then im all in.

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our philosophy last year gave us no chance against this team.. LD gives us a shot

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This was a really tough loss, but you have to hand it to the Hawks. They played very well, considering it was the second night of a back-to-back and being shorthanded. The Hawks could have won that game. My only real complaints for this game are the fact that L.D. didn’t use his starters enough and bad execution a couple of critical plays. In a close game like this, those minutes for Etan were very costly and may have decided the game in the grand scheme of things. Aside from that, there really weren’t many costly defensive mistakes. The magic just made some tough shots. Also, if the Hawks would have had their full rotation, they probably would have had better coverage against the Magic’s wing players. I’m sure fatigue played a role in the game for the Hawks as well, but I’m still a bit angry with L.D. for sticking with the bench and Etan at critical points in the game. Al Horford logged only 28 minutes tonight. In a game like this, where he was no doubt needed desperately, LD should have played him at least 30+ minutes. 2 fouls in the first half were not so crucial that he needed to stay out of the game and allow the Magic to make a run late in the first half. Also, in the fourth quarter, L.D. waited until around the 6 minute mark to insert his starters back into the game. He could have utilized his starters more while the Magic had their bench out there. Al could have taken advantage of Gortat, and the Hawks could have secured a fourth quarter lead to force the Magic to execute under heavy pressure and take the crowd out of it. It really may have been that simple. When you consider that the Hawks only lost by 4 and the game could have gone either way, those adjustments were critical.

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while we’re at the ” what are the chances..”

how often will Dwight look like Ray Allen @ the line?

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All things considered, not a bad effort. Looks like they just ran out of gas there at the end which is understandable being shorthanded and having to travel on the back end of a back to back with PHX and ORL. Not bad at all. Clearly ORL has a much better bench but we now see that LD has figured out the formula for us to compete with them. It is what it is though…they have a Dwight Howard and we don’t…

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I enjoyed listening to Brendan Suhr. Lots of knowledge.

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Jody,

Josh had a very good game. Only one negative for Josh. he shot 6-15.

This game is a good confidence builder for the Hawks though. But Teague has to play better, and we need to execute better, especially in crunch time.

And I must say, Horford has looked good at PF.

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EmirS,

No hint. If Josh can continue to improve his shot making, and his shot selection, then he can play some minutes at SF, allowing Al to spend more minutes at PF.

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we got behind 9 in this game..

last year that 9 turns into 19.. hell even 29..

coming down running an iso anybody.. and running doubles left and right at Dwight Howard.

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NBATV saying that the Hawks need to kill the switching.

The Hawks had Horford on Nash at the end of the game last night switching – and it didn’t work.

The Hawks repeated tonight – on a critical possession – Al Horford got caught on the switch gaurding V.Carter.

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Yea Sautee I really enjoyed his insight. Nique usually gives us nothing but tired cliches and mispronunciations. I hope this is a permanent move. Bob sets Nique up all the time just for Nique to repeat what Bob just stated or he cuts Bob off to make some insignificant point such as “he is a good shooter when he gets his feet set” or “he was just too wide open there Bob”.. “they have nimbers”

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bigdave,

I see what you’re saying. It makes sense. I respect what L.D. has done so far. I think he’s doing a very good job in his first coaching gig. But along the way, I still think he has some things to learn. All things considered, I think Horford should have been utilized more at the very least. It’s great that L.D. is showing trust in his bench, but you have to utilize your best players as best as you can. JJ and Josh both logged pretty heavy minutes, because of their performances on the floor, even with the bench out there. Al Horford, on the other hand, could have been used more. He was delivering on both ends of the floor, and I understand L.D. didn’t want to risk foul trouble on one of his key players, but sometimes you need to take that risk. Al Horford is averaging just under 30 minutes per game on the season, and that is obviously not a result of his performance on the court. Al has been great, there’s no doubt that he deserves every minute he gets.

To look at a similar situation, keep in mind that Dwight Howard got into very early foul trouble in this game, yet Van Gundy elected to stick with Dwight for the most part in the second quarter, even knowing that Dwight is foul prone because he didn’t want to let the game get out of hand. He took the risk and was rewarded as the Magic were able to seize control of the game late in the first half. Drew preserved Al, but ended up losing the lead and giving up some momentum. I think in hindsight, that was not the right gamble tonight. But still, coach Drew has done a good job for the most part and he’s still learning, so I’ll cut him some slack for now.

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Like I stated earlier, I have been a big supporter of Teague but he just does not make the most of his opportunities on the court…. He is too timid, too passive, and cant knock down the open shots… I know patience is the key but I’m just not seeing the progress I thought I would.

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bigdave, no doubt. Josh Smith has been terrific this year. He’s an All Star. He should have been one last year.

Tonight’s game changed on two plays, both lat in the 4th: 1. Crawford just misses getting a steal. The ball goes to Williams and he knocks down a three. 2. Josh Smith just misses getting a steal and Lewis knocks down a jumper. I think the Hawks win if they get those steals.

Good effort, but this team is above moral victories. They should have won. Two tough losses back-to-back. Gets no easier with Bucks coming in on Wednesday (a game I am really p#ssed off that I can’t attend. First missed game of the year).

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“I have been a big supporter of Teague but he just does not make the most of his opportunities on the court…. He is too timid, too passive, and cant knock down the open shots…”

its becoming clearer aint it..

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Eldridge Recasner ..

that night, we experimented with defending Dwight just like we did tonight..
what you saw that night was Woodson’s stubbornness levels low where he actually listened to Drew.

so.. im not really buying what you’re selling.

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Leon..

absolutely..

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Eldridge Recasner ..

gangsta handle by the way.. ER had one my all time fav. Hawk names.. not to mention he was here when we were sporting my fav Hawk uni.

but back to your point.. guess what happened the very next time we played them.. converted back to the double teams leaving wide open shooters to drop parabolas on our heads. we lost big.

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We’ll have other games against the Magic to see if “this was the exception”.

There’s no use arguing this. Even if the Hawks came out victorious tonight, that’s the excuse most would’ve fell back on. Until we see this type of effort consistently, you’ll have naysayers.

I don’t blame people for doubting them. We’ve gotten trounced everytime we step onto the floor with them. So, it’s understandable.

But, at the same time, notice that there was a different gameplan in place. Defensively, we stayed home and made it difficult for the Magic perimeter guys. If you call it an abberation, so be it. We’ll see what happens the next time we square off with them.

I personally saw a shift in scheme, both offensively and defensively – and I saw the effort out of the players. The effort by the players indicates that they’re buying into what Drew’s doing. That’s a good sign. But, execution at critical points in the game is key. If we had executed better at those points, we would’ve came out with a W.

Regardless, we’ll see them again. Until the Hawks display consistency, you’ll have those that remain in doubt about what the Hawks are doing. So, the Hawks have to come out and match the performance they displayed tonight against the quality teams.

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so i guess if the Hawks lose the game by the same score, Dwight w/ less pts. couple more assist/hockey assists, it would have been a legit loss b/c we loss w/ them playing the best basketball the Magic could play? lol. look.. they can beat you in a number of ways. pick and roll game with any combo of pg.. sg… pf.. and c as options. good iso player in Carter.. dump it down to a player who can get you positive results w/ his back to the basket either buckets or fouls. thats what makes them a good team. when they play us.. Stan likes to attack in a pick your poison fashion due to our size. we chose Dwight..

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So ya’ll mean to tell me after a few games you’ve given up on Teague? That’s sad I guess Boston should have given up on Rajon Rondo when he didn’t become an instant all-star.

It’s only been 8 games in the season this is Teague’s Rookie season 2.0 with those two factors in play. I’m not judging the guy until somewhere around about Mid February. Even then I won’t be too harsh cause to be called a bust you have to be in the league for about 3 years, and haven’t done a thing.

Not all players came into the league like Al Horford, LBJ, KG, Kobe, and others. So give him some time.

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Rumors of the Hawks looking at Prince and package involving Jeff Teauge and Jammal Crawford .

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lol. Billups took years to develop. And he was the 1st pg taken when he was drafted. They were ready to give up on Rondo in Bean Town. Look at him now. Not saying he’ll turn into one of those guys, but giving up on a pg, in his 1st year with MEANINGFUL min is absurd. And remember, Lawson and Maynor had WAY more pg experience than Teague. He was picked in between those guys, so I used them as examples.

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I’m not giving up on Teague, but I will admit I’m a little disappointed with his start. He has had flashes of goodness, but you would ideally like to see him show out a little in a big game like this. I can’t help but think he’s still suffering some effects of Woody stifling his confidence, but at some point he’s got to get over it. His biggest strengths are driving to the hoop and either drawing fouls or drawing an extra defender and dishing to the open man, but he has done very little of that so far this year. When he does drive he goes to the floater too often instead of trying to absorb contact.

I hope LD pulls him aside and tells him to go out and just play his game at some point. The Hawks need him to develop if they want to succeed.

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On more than one ocassion I’ve stated that even though the Hawks returned 10 of the same 12 players from last yrs roster, THE HAWKS WILL NOT THE SAME TEAM. Also, can you remember what I said about ORGANIC GROWTH factoring into the team overall improvement? To go into Orlando short handed and take them to the wire, after losing the 1st gm of a back to back, proves LDrew is a far better HC than MWoodson could even dream of being. And to think LDrew sat next to Woodson for 6yrs, and Woodson was too stupid, selfish and self centered to take advantage of his wisdom, knowledge and ability, especially on OFF.

THANK YOU SUND. AND THANK YOU ASG FOR NOT PULLING THE SAME STUPID STUNT WITH RSUND YOU PULLED ON FORMER GM BKNIGHT, WHEN YOU PREVENTED HIM FROM FIRING WOODSON AND HIRING LDREW.

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Ken S.,

I’m glad to see your positive approach to these losses. I truly feel like even though these last two games were losses, you can honestly say that they could have gone either way. That means a lot, considering that the Hawks were not only shorthanded, but they are also relatively new to L.D.’s changes. There were a lot of positives from tonight’s game. The Hawks’ motion offense continues to look better and better. It’s still very early in the season, but already the team looks like it’s getting very comfortable executing in this new system. In many cases, the Hawks are getting wide open looks and just missing shots, but the numbers don’t lie, as they indicate that the Hawks are already near the top of the league in offensive efficiency, and I think that the offense will only get better. Defensively, the players are really starting to show commitment and buy into what L.D. is saying. The defense tonight looked better than it has in a long time. People can say what they like, but the Magic didn’t have a poor shooting night just because they missed open shots, more than anything the Hawks played some great defense on the Magic’s shooters and forced a lot of tough shots, and kept them off of the 3 point line. I’m confident that the Hawks defense will only get better as well. I’ve already seen some great signs. For the first time in a long, long time, I see players taking charges, our guards attempting to fight through screens and nice trapping and pick-and-roll defense. Things might not always turn out for the better, but the team is showing a lot of maturity and growth. There have been no signs of fourth quarter meltdowns this season, and the Hawks don’t look intimidated or like they’ve given up at any points in the games. Honestly, both the Phoenix game and this one could have been wins, and we could be 8-0 right now, but even though we didn’t pick up the wins on the stat sheet, the team is making a lot of progress that will pay off big-time as the season progresses.

I agree with you that if the Hawks keep this up and continue to improve, they may not win every game, but they definitely won’t get blown out or embarrassed. They are already proving that. The team is shorthanded and had every opportunity to give in last night when they were down 18, but they kept on fighting and almost pulled out the win. Tonight, they were likely fatigued and could have hung their heads after last night’s loss or knowing that they were facing a rested Magic team who has had their number for years now. But, the Hawks played strong, inspired basketball and almost pulled off the upset, while being down 2 key rotation players. I already think that this team looks a lot better than last season’s team did, and in terms of mentality, they look like they’re making great strides. I have faith that we are going to continue to see improvement and continue to rack up the wins. Even though we are still shorthanded, Wednesday’s game looks very winnable.

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CP, doesnt your pg supposed to defer?

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GEORGE-Maintaining a positive attitude towards this yrs Hawks has been very easy for me. While most of our fans thinking the only way for the Hawks to improve was to spend money on one FA after another, I saw if differently. I, along with a few others, felt Woodson was holding the team back, and we were winning inspite of him, not because of him. I was jumped on by many for blaming Woodson for most of the teams problems, and that he should be fired.

I knew the ASG hired LDrew to minimize the adjustment and transition issues that usually comes with hiring a new HC, but he was also hired to rid the team of Woodson’s imprint and make upgrades, which he’s done. Once LDrew was hired, I knew there would be major changes in the overall approach and attitude of of the team. He took over running and saying all or the right things that made me feel confident about what the ASG had done. Unlike some of our fans, I didn’t look to take a negative approach to what he was saying.

He’s done everything he said he’d do, like:

1-Getting JJ easier shot opportunities
2-Getting improved play from Marvin and Bibby
3-Installing a very effective Motion OFF that has promoted better ball and player movement
4-held each player accountable for playing individual DEF
5-developing his bench, expanding his rotation and getting better production
6-not over playing his starters
7-playing, developing, and getting production out of Teague, particularly on DEF
7-making players focus on the gm rather than arguing with refs about calls
8-getting the most out of his players

If a fan focuses on every perceived weakness of the team, it’s an easy to do, because every team has issues, even the reighing 2time NBA champion Lakers. It’s the most successful teams have developed their positive attributes to a point where opposing teams find it hard to take advantage of their weakness without getting into trouble. A perfect example is the Orlando Magic. Teams that are obsessed with trying to stop DHoward, their OFF and DEF strength, usually get destroyed by his teammates.

Woodson double teamed him, because he felt Horford couldn’t handle him, and he couldn’t come up with a DEF scheme to give his centers any help. As a result, we’d get creamed whenever we played them. But last night, we attacked him, made him work hard offensively, and took them to the wire. We’ll beat most teams with last nights effort. The officials allowed them to be very physical when challenging shots, and allowed them to go over our backs for rebounds.

Within the last couple of months some fans were making an issue of the players not buying into LDrew and his Motion OFF. They also made an issue of the players possibly quitting on LDrew like they quit on Woodson during last yrs playoffs. To those who made that an issue, does it look like the players will quit on LDrew? It’s funny, fans expect Teague to get over an entire yr of the WOODY TREATMENT in 8gms, yet these fans have yet to adjust to the fact this is a different HC, with an entirely different approach, and different OFF/DEF systems, resulting in a different team, although it’s comprised of basically the same players. OUR PLAYERS, ESPECIALLY MARVIN AND TEAGUE, AREN’T THE ONLY ONES THAT NEED TO IMPROVE THEIR MINDSET AND/OR ATTITUDE.

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Teague is suppose to be a pro. I been around lot of athletes even though it’s a different sport. You think Woody were rough on Teague then you haven’t seen anything. I have ben around managers and coaches who have said a lot worse to their players in the clubhouse, media, and in the open. Some of these players is consider stars. But guess what they listen and shove it to the side, and go out and perform like they suppose too. In my opinion if a coach can take your manhood from you that easy, then you need to find another line of work. There no excusees. I still think Teague will get it together.
i

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