Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks: Teague’s time? It depends
Remember back when Teague was going to challenge Bibby for the starting point guard position? I don’t, either, because it never really materialized.
And now it seems Teague isn’t assured of regular minutes and will split time with JC2 based on matchups. So when the Hawks played Washington, which used a lot of zone defenses Thursday, L.D. gave JC2 the nod over Teague: “I just really wanted to go with another shooter.”
It could be different today against the Knicks and going forward.
“[Toney] Douglas has got speed, he has got quickness, he looks to score,” L.D. said. “So there is a chance [Teague] may be the first guy coming off. But if I get in an instance where I need some more offense, if we get off to a slow start, which I’m hoping we won’t, then I could go with bringing in another scorer in like Jordan.”
L.D. acknowledged that less minutes for his best on-ball defender would put more pressure on the other perimeter guys.
“It puts more onus on every individual guy, especially when we have to defend the pick-and-rolls,” he said. “When Jeff is in the game, I expect him to be up the floor up and picking the ball up and harassing the ball. He is probably the one guy on our team who is better than anybody. If I choose to go a different direction it is going to put more onus on the other guys to be better in the halfcourt. But our defense is not going to be predicated on what one guy does. It is going to have to be a total team effort.”
No Joe, Maybe Jamal
J.J. was back in New York, so that meant answering questions about why he re-signed with the Hawks instead of joining the Knicks.
“Staying in Atlanta was the best fit,” he said. “We’ve improved and gotten better every year. It’s a situation where I was already established, comfortable, and our style of play fits me.”
J.J. said Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, his former coach in Phoenix, was a draw. It also was “enticing” when the Knicks signed Amar’e Stoudemire, Johnson said.
Left unmentioned: The $30 million extra he’s earning with the Hawks.
Jamal is still popular in New York, so he also drew a media crowd. He said if he doesn’t receive an extension from the Hawks (which he said he doesn’t consider a dead issue), then he would be open to signing as a free agent with the Knicks next summer.
“Why not?” he said. “I like where I’m at. I really do. But if things don’t work out with Atlanta, then it’s not the end of the world.”
Jamal said he thinks about his contract situation “at times” but stopped short of saying it’s a distraction.
“There’s nothing I can do about it,” he said.
MC
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158 comments Add your comment
Melvin
November 27th, 2010
2:52 pm
Get ZaZa out of there…
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
2:52 pm
Some more bad Defense from Zaza
bigdave
November 27th, 2010
2:52 pm
Josh p. for Za Za..
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
2:52 pm
Id rather have Mugsy Bouges be my center b4 Zaza
cp
November 27th, 2010
2:54 pm
Al going to work
ignition
November 27th, 2010
2:54 pm
Soon as Josh comes in … 7-0 swing.. (and he didn’t even really do anything)
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
2:55 pm
Man I hope LD learns from this game.
DON NOT PLAY ZAZA EVER AGAIN
Bailey
November 27th, 2010
2:55 pm
Nice aggressive move by Al. Him and Jamal are doing a good job of keeping the Knicks at bay.
cp
November 27th, 2010
2:57 pm
where the hell was the foul? terrible cal smh wtf
ignition
November 27th, 2010
2:58 pm
OK the refs are seriously on the take on this one….
Bailey
November 27th, 2010
2:58 pm
Five fouls on Josh now. I hope L.D. doesn’t put Zaza back in. If he has to sub out Josh, he should go with Collins instead of Zaza.
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
2:59 pm
Joe is just as bad as Zaza
cp
November 27th, 2010
3:03 pm
Bibby is looking like the Sacramento version
Melvin
November 27th, 2010
3:04 pm
Hold off on all Jamal trades…LOL
ignition
November 27th, 2010
3:04 pm
Jamal went off..
terrell
November 27th, 2010
3:04 pm
We cant beat the GOOD teams with Joe playing like this. He need to step his game up.
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
3:04 pm
Joe Johnson- Being paid 120 milli
3-13 7 pts
Good Job Joe
cp
November 27th, 2010
3:05 pm
Looks like Jamal is out of that slump now
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
3:08 pm
Joke Johnson- Being paid 120 milli
3-13 7 pts
Good Job Joe
ATL FAN
November 27th, 2010
3:08 pm
AL HORFORD!!
Melvin
November 27th, 2010
3:08 pm
LOL at Josh yelling from the bench trying to make Fields miss that 3pt attempt….
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
3:09 pm
Joke Johnson- Being paid 120 milli
3-14 7 pts
Good Job Joe
northcyde
November 27th, 2010
3:09 pm
Jamal is like . . THIS IS MY HOUSE!!
ATL FAN
November 27th, 2010
3:12 pm
Bibby 4-5 from downtown!!
northcyde
November 27th, 2010
3:12 pm
Good thing that JJ is more than a scorer Steel. Don’t think for one minute that his 7 rebs and 6 assists weren’t big in this game, despite the pitiful shooting.
When you’re shooting bad, you must contribute in other ways, and he did just that.
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
3:13 pm
This isn’t a one game thing northcyde. Joke Johnson has been horrible for awhile now
Najeh Davenpoop
November 27th, 2010
3:13 pm
I didn’t get a chance to see this one, but the minutes distribution in this one looks Woody-esque.
terrell
November 27th, 2010
3:13 pm
lol @ Dominique calling JJ a superstar.
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
3:14 pm
Joke Johnson- Being paid 120 milli
3-15 7 pts
Good Job Joe
ATL FAN
November 27th, 2010
3:14 pm
northcyde that’s not his point… sure he made some consistent contributions this game, one that a sixth man off the bench would make, but he’s not playing at 120 MILL caliber…
ignition
November 27th, 2010
3:15 pm
We played against the refs today..
cp
November 27th, 2010
3:16 pm
I dont know whats going on with Joe but he really needs to get it together
bigdave
November 27th, 2010
3:16 pm
lol @ Josh working on a “T” even after the game..
ATL FAN
November 27th, 2010
3:17 pm
cp, its easy. he got his money, so he lacks effort in every game now
cp
November 27th, 2010
3:17 pm
Najeh. LD is looking like Woodrow in many ways.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 27th, 2010
3:18 pm
“When you’re shooting bad, you must contribute in other ways, and he did just that.”
It would be nice, though, if one of those “other ways” was getting to the free throw line. Elite scorers try to get fouled when their shot is not falling, instead of just jacking up more jumpers hoping they will go in. Against a soft defensive team like the Knicks you would hope that Joe would take it strong inside to get some points at the free throw line. More than anything, the fact that he never does this is what keeps him out of the ranks of the elite scorers.
Also, I didn’t see most of the game, but i would guess there were more iso’s going on in this one based on the low free throw number. Joe was getting more trips to the line earlier in the season when they were committed to the motion offense.
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
3:19 pm
Last 5 games from JOKE JOHNSON:
12 pts
5 ast
4 rebs
shooting 33%
Being paid 120 milli
bigdave
November 27th, 2010
3:20 pm
6 3’s from Joe..
missed all 6…
dictated the knick defense then found the open man to the tune of 7 boards.. he could’ve easily had 10 dimes if it werent for misses.. couple that w/ 10 rebs. ill take that w/ the win.. im not worried about Joe. he played w/ in the offense, couldnt buy a bucket with that 120 mill..
Najeh Davenpoop
November 27th, 2010
3:22 pm
10-1 avainst bad teams, 0-6 against good teams. Nice to see the Hawks outrebound another opponent, even if just barely, and even if that opponent has one of the softest front lines in the league.
I will say, though, that going 10 for 24 from 3 and just 11 for 14 from the line is a completely unsustainable way of winning.
bigdave
November 27th, 2010
3:24 pm
Joe is a shooter who facilitates well..
people will confuse him w/ being a scorer b/c of his size, mismatches, he creates, and awesome handle.. lacks speed and explosiveness to hang his jersey in that elite scorer category..
i’d say he’s an elite basketball player..
bigdave
November 27th, 2010
3:27 pm
* 7 assist
northcyde
November 27th, 2010
3:29 pm
The blog monster ate my post . . but I co-sign with bigdave. He did everything right, except knock down those wide open 3s.
If he goes 3 – 15 FG. . but only has 3 rebs and 2 assists, then that’s one thing. But when he shoots that bad, but also has a big rebounding and assist game, and we cruise to a win, I’m not going to be up in arms about the missed 3s.
Like Najeh said, it would be nice if he can get to the line more when he struggles like that. But he set up guys all game for easy shots and 3s.
Good team win for the Hawks. Bibby and Jamal were excellent today, especially late.
STEEL
November 27th, 2010
3:32 pm
Last 5 games from JOKE JOHNSON:
12 pts
5 ast
4 rebs
shooting 33%
Being paid 120 milli
I REPEAT HE IS BEING PAYED 120 MILLI
Freshmaker
November 27th, 2010
3:51 pm
Last 10 posts from STEEL: Nothing but crap
moboman
November 27th, 2010
3:55 pm
I like the message from LD. Let the vets play like today. Minutes are earned. Teague has yet to show that he deserves any more than he’s getting. A PG has to knock down shots in the offense, or you’re playing 4 against 5. Great sub pattern today. Much better than a second platoon coming in.
northcyde
November 27th, 2010
3:56 pm
And I forgot Marvin. Marvin was excellent today too. He really stepped up today, especially in that 1st half.
Another matinee game vs Toronto tomorrow. That should be an interesting game, considering the time of the game.
ignition
November 27th, 2010
4:14 pm
No Marvin was not excellent… He actually showed up, well in the first half, only to disappear again in the second.. He contributed no more…
Big Ray
November 27th, 2010
4:22 pm
Funny to hear people still judging Larry Drew on Mike Woodson issues. It ain’t the same guy, folks. But the team issues are the same. It doesn’t take a an all out investigation to understand why some things are happening the same.
Big Ray
November 27th, 2010
4:27 pm
Glad to see us get a win against a more potent Knicks team than we’re used to seeing. Marvin actually showed up, how about that. Now if we can get him to do this more than once every five games or so…
Jamal was excellent off the bench. Mo Evans was fairly good as well.
Bibby’s play this year has been pretty dang good.
Teague and JC2 both had DNPs. Hmmmm. In spite of this, a situation I imagined before the season is already in play. I believe a certain Hawks fan in Tennessee touched on this as well. I wonder…
JerryWest
November 27th, 2010
4:33 pm
Long term plan
Hawks need to do the following immediately.
1 Let JJ rest,
2 artificially boost JC1, Marvin PPG,
3 trade JC1, Marvin.
4 get JJ back healthy,
5 trade JJ