Atlanta Hawks: Zaza is out sick; Hawks to stay big
News and notes . . .
Zaza is sick and won’t make the trip to San Antonio. I refuse to be blamed for this. My theory is he caught something from the Magic players because they banged with Zaza in the post, not me.
Anyway, L.D. said he plans to stick with the Bibby, Marvin, Smoove, Al, Twin lineup. So far the results of the big lineup have been good, particularly on defense.
Not sure how the look would do long term but right now L.D. is deploying Collins in situations where his bulk is a plus and his relative lack of mobility and rebounding are masked. The Hawks benefit because they don’t have to scramble all the time.
“We are able to play straight up and not have to run around trying to get to shooters,” Drew said.
But now the Hawks run into the Parker-Ginobili-Duncan pick-and-roll-a-rama. They caught a break when Jameer was out for the Magic and defending the screen-rolls wasn’t much of an issue against the Nets since the Hawks were scoring whenever they felt like it.
So this is the first big test for the big lineup against an opponent that can carve the Hawks up.
“If one of my big guys get into trouble I will look to the bench,” L.D. said.
– Collins has already played more minutes this season than he did all of last year. The possibility of more playing time was motivation for him to get in shape over the summer.
“Either way, I’m ready,” Collins said. “I’m a professional. Whenever my name and number is called, I am ready to go out there and help my team win. It doesn’t make a difference to me. As a professional, you have to always be ready.
“I really worked hard this offseason to put myself in a position to help my team. Whenever my name and number is called, I am ready to go out there and play.”
That’s a true vet answer. There’s a reason he’s stuck around this long.
– The theme for the Hawks before they left for San Antonio was transition D. That’s always a point of emphasis for L.D., especially on the road, but Parker is a menace in the open court and the Spurs rank 10th in pace factor and fourth in fastbreak points per game.
They are also seventh in defensive efficiency and second in offensive efficiency. That’s why they are 18-3 with Ws against OKC, Utah, Chicago, Orlando, and New Orleans (twice).
“A typical Spurs team,” L.D. said. “Just solid in every aspect of the game.”
That’s how it figures to be as long as Duncan and Gregg Popovich are around. Pop was a coach for the the 2003 U.S. National Team, which Bibby helped to a 10-0 finish at the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico.
Bibby said his experience with Pop is why he’s not surprised by San Antonio’s amazing consistency
“Good guy, but he makes you work,” Bibby said. “I can see it. Ever since I’ve been playing they’ve had the best defensive teams in the league. I remember first coming in they were the hardest team for me to play against because of their help defense. They are just great defensively.”
– After slumping a bit amid his very public marital problems Parker has found his groove again. From Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News:
Parker has endured the public scrutiny associated with the breakup of his marriage to actress Eva Longoria. Both have filed divorce petitions, with the accompanying tabloid publicity.
The effect on Parker’s game was most pronounced in Los Angeles, where he scored only two points in a loss to the Clippers after reportedly meeting with Longoria at the team hotel before the game.
After scoring 19 points and handing out six assists in just 26 minutes and 46 seconds of the Spurs’ 109-84 victory over the New Orleans Hornets at the AT&T Center on Sunday, Parker said he believes he has returned to the productive level of play that characterized the first weeks of the season.
MC
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133 comments Add your comment
Jamilliondadon
December 10th, 2010
4:04 pm
You janet jackson what have you done for me lately people on this blog. If you don’t like atlanta move. The only elite team in the east is boston. After that it’s all about winning match ups. Our problem is we don’t have a super star who demands calls
Jamilliondadon
December 10th, 2010
4:09 pm
And on the roy trade you are giving up two first rounders marvin and the sixth man jamal plus two more players hell yeah they’ll do it. Cause joel is trash wasn’t nothing when he was here the first time. Why not go for rudy now that a be a deal, that a put us over the top. Or jj, plus a first for roy and rudy that a be a deal that a get done also. Or maybe you can throw marvin in there to
drmaryb (*_*)
December 10th, 2010
4:30 pm
We Got Needs!
Let’s say our big three is apparently:
Joe
Josh
Al
We got a SG and two PF’s – Right? Three All-Stars in most people books.
Can a real GM take that and build a balanced and talented basketball team?
Needs:
PG 1/2 (a penetrator who initiates off & avg 10 dimes per)
SG 2 (a back up to Joe, like Jamal or a defensive stalwart – either)
SF 1/2 (we have none)
PF (we already got two)
C (we need two)
We got needs people! We ain’t scaring nobody and have earned no respect.
The last thing this need to be worried about is respect. Play some defense – Geez!
Hawkeye
December 10th, 2010
4:51 pm
I wonder if charlotte will accept this trade?
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yadqlpm
Marvin and Mo for Wallace.
ant banks
December 10th, 2010
4:55 pm
please go to ESPN-nba-standings-conference:
why does espn keep puttin’ the bulls above the hawks and new york? their win % is .600 and new york is .609. the hawks should be 4th, new york 5th and chicago 6th
ant banks
December 10th, 2010
5:13 pm
HAWKEYE,
please explain….”WHY IN THE H–E-L-L WOULD CHARLOTTE ACCEPT THAT TRADE?” 2 minimal productive players for a very productive player.
drmaryb (*_*)
December 10th, 2010
5:19 pm
Ant Banks – THANK YOU SIR! Geez!
Rod from College Park
December 10th, 2010
5:40 pm
Booo,
“Asroo Joe has a good point though from the Fan Nest Blog:
Astro Joe
December 10th, 2010
1:26 pm
Marvin averages the 6th most FGAs on the Hawks. I wonder how many guys who average the 6th most FGAs on their team still produce close to 10 PPG? Someone has to shoot the ball the 6th most times on their team, right? On the Mavs, it is Jose Barea who averages less than 8 PPG. Same for Nate Robinson with the Celtics (less than 8). On the Thunder, it is Harden who averages 9 PPG and shoots less than 36% from the field (Marvin is at 46%). On tonight’s opponent, Dajuan Blair is 6th in FGAs and averages less than 7 PPG.
My point? Someone on every team ranks 6th on FGAs and our guy likely has one of the highest scoring averages, a very respectable FG%, plays above average defense and never whines, sulks, plays selfishly, hogs the ball or makes statements about playing out of position (even now when he clearly isn’t playing his “natural” position in LD’s big line-up).”
None of the players named start, except for Blair (I think). None play the amount of minutes Marvin does. None have been starting for 5 years. None make 8 mil per year over 5 years. None are left wide open or guarded by much smaller players all the time. None were drafted with the #2 pick in the draft. None are as inconsistent as Marvin is. None were drafted ahead of Chris Paul and Derron Williams and Danny Granger.
Boooo!
December 10th, 2010
5:57 pm
Rod, Beleive me when I tell you I was trying to find a flashlight in the dark when speaking optimistically about marvin. Somtimes I just like to play both sides of an arguement.
I would much rather have Dante Cunningham and Jonas Jerebko Right now than Marvin and Mo. I pray we get eithr one of those two and Tayshaun prince next season to replace the uselessnes on this roster.
People say marvin has all of the tools but thats just not true. He has no heart, no ambition to get better, He HAS fear, Hesitencey, and a lack of agression. He is un-coordinated and his inability to take advantage of smaller players speaks to his sub par basketball IQ. He is called a “good defender” by some but I barely see this. Childress was twice as good. Lebron had Marvin on skates last week. The truth is, Marvins foot speed isn’t that great which is why LEBron et. al. burn him for jumpers on the peremeter by creating seperation off the dribble.
He is not an enigma….Lamar Odum is an Enigma. Marvin is just another avereage player picked by Billy knight (Along with Shelden, Acie Law, Royal Ivey etc.).
Marvin is scared to shoot the ball. He has oppurtinites to have way more that SIX attempts but he consistantly passes them up for fear of sucking. I can understand that from Jeff Teage, but as a starter Marvin has absolutely no excuse for this foolishness. All he has to do is look at his bank account to see how foolish his play on the court is.
If you look at my posts from earlier, Marvin was on my list of player that the Hawks need to rid themselves of. He peaked in the 08′-09′ season. He has played horrribly sub-par since then.
It’s just the truth.
Boooo!
December 10th, 2010
6:04 pm
BTW Acie Law was waived by the Grizz a few days ago and has been picked up by the warriors again smh. To say that he is playing horrible wouldnt do the situation justice. He is shooticng 16% from the field. Ewww.
Boooo!
December 10th, 2010
6:06 pm
*Shooting
Boooo!
December 10th, 2010
6:15 pm
Trade Machine…Check it out:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=26wepaz
Boooo!
December 10th, 2010
6:29 pm
Jerebko is out with an Achilles injury So I took him out of the deal:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=25qs644
drmaryb (*_*)
December 10th, 2010
6:53 pm
Rod from CP!
Thanks man for posting Astro Joe’s comments and stats! That was awesome information re: The 6th scoring options around the league.
Boooo!
Excellent rebuttal on that post. I enjoyed those passionate and true comments!
I’m tired of all the Marvin excuses. He is what we thought he was.
A complimentary back-up for 35M.
Najeh has been saying all Summer that The ASKG aren’t just cheap, but they don’t spend wisely for the talent level we have here. Al is underpaid, so is Josh and everyone else is grossly over compensated to boot.
Oh well! This is what we have. So now, Marvin is playing out of position too?
Who isn’t?
lewis
December 10th, 2010
7:01 pm
http://www.poundingtherock.com/2010/12/10/1866797/game-22-preview-hawks-spurs
drmaryb (*_*)
December 10th, 2010
7:21 pm
Link Master!
Lewis, Thank You for posting that Spurs scouting link! You always give us something worthwhile to read. Finally, something besides the stupid trade machine crap, which I never bother to waste my time looking at.
It is so nice to get an opponents perspective on The Hawks! That was pretty spot on! The Pundits and National Media may not respect our team, but the opponents sure do. We should too. It was nice to hear that someone appreciates Marvin’s value, I wonder if we are too hard on Marvin, because we see him every game and blame him for everything at SF.
We are a very tall and athletic team. I hope we show BIG in the post and keep those long arms up! Not tied to the waist, and play all their passing lanes relentlessly. We could win this game tonight. We may miss Za though.
Again, Thanks Lewis!
Rev in Tampa
December 10th, 2010
7:37 pm
Check out this paragraph from the Spurs preview that lewis posted…
“SG: No Joe Johnson tonight, which means that Manu’s advantage is ever greater at the position, but likely also means that the Hawks’ offense will become more free-flowing and less predictable. Marvin Williams is a guy that I’ve secretly (or not-so-secretly) wanted on the Spurs for a while, but after Childress left, the Hawks decided they couldn’t afford to let him go. Smart move. He’s playing out of postion, but he’s young and athletic, which should minimize the risk.”
LOL
Najeh Davenpoop
December 10th, 2010
7:44 pm
LMAO @ Booo’s posts. Ron Artest is the man.
ATL FAN
December 10th, 2010
7:55 pm
Spurs are a very fundamentally sound team, playing at home on top of the Western Conference… it’s going to be a blowout for Atlanta…
Azeez
December 10th, 2010
7:56 pm
@ ant banks
According to Marc @ STATS LLC, the first four spots are reserved for the three division leaders and the remaining team with the best record. No division leader can be seeded lower than fourth. Since the Heat have beaten the Hawks, they are number three ahead of the number four Bulls.
oldtimer
December 10th, 2010
8:05 pm
Backcourt of Spurs will make life tough for Hawks tonight. We should play Teague more so he can stay with Parker. That is the most difficult matchup for Hawks. Playing Bibby and Jamal will be a recipe for disaster with the aggressiveness and speed of Spurs backup. Lets try Teague in this game and hope he can help.
ag
December 10th, 2010
8:08 pm
Last season I watched Marvin have a career day vs. the Spurs. Maybe he is due again??
frank
December 10th, 2010
8:13 pm
This run by the hawks w/out Joe J. is absolutly NO suprise at all. Ive seen 99% of Hawks games over the past 25 yrs. and Joe Johnson is the most overrated player,maybe EVER!!!!!! He has below averge handles, below average decision making, average shooter ( his shooting has steadily declined the past 2 yrs.)and his defense is averge at best.He’s not a leader what so ever.This will go down as the worst signing in nba history!We should have gotten Rudy Gay for 45-50 million less and had money for another decent plyer. I’m sick over the turn this team took by signing tis bum. MARK MY WORDS, WE WILL HAVE OUR BEST STRETCH OF BASKETBALL IN 10 YEARS WITHOUT jOE, AND WHEN HE RETURNS,WATCH US FALL BACK INTO MEDIOCROCE UNLESS THE TEAM AND COACH DREW RELIZE HOW SPECIAL THE TEAM IS,AND IF HE CAN’T CONFORM TO THE NEW-LOOK, BALLS-OUT ,PASSION FILLED HAWKS HOPEFULLY MANAGMENT HASS THE ONIONS TO MAKE A MOVE,LIKE JOE FOR ANYTHING,KEEP JAMAL AND BEGIN OUR ASCENT TO THE NBA ELITE, IT’S ABOUT TIME!
P.S HAWKS -107 SPURS -102 START BELEIVING, THIS IS THE YEAR, THE YEAR WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DROP DOWN TO THE 6TH,7TH,8TH OR OUT OF PLAYOFFS, I GUARANTEE THIS WILL BE OUR BREAKOUT IN THE PLAYOFFS,IF JOE CONFORMS OR IS GONE( TRADE OR INJURY)WE WILL HAVE A FUN APRIL,MAY AND JUNE!
GO HAWKS
Rufus1
December 10th, 2010
8:20 pm
When did this happen?….4th in the league in defending the 3-ball…..WOW, GO LD
Ball and player movement – Atlanta is the 4th best team in the league at defending the 3-ball, forcing their opponents to shoot 32% from beyond the arc on the season. Combine that with their freakishly tall starting lineup, and you start to see why the Spurs’ offense(dependent on 3-point shooting and penetration) might struggle a bit. However, their bigs tend to struggle with the pick-and-roll(Splitter, anyone?), and if the ball keeps zipping around to players in motion, we should be able to confuse, and ultimately beat them. This obviously starts with Tony and Manu, but is not limited to them
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
8:31 pm
Rufus,
I appreciate your cheerleading, but they have THREE guards (I’m counting Hill) that can break either Bibby or Crawford down and get to the lane. With Josh outside guarding Jefferson, this will be a huge matchup problem for the Hawks.
I HOPE you are right, but my head says no way. My heart, however still thinks we are better than most believe. But I think we’ll do well to keep it under double digits.
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
8:33 pm
By the way, AJC, this font is MUCH harder to read. It was better when it was bolder.
MsDee
December 10th, 2010
8:35 pm
@frank,
I BELIEVE TOO!! For some strange reason, I believe the Hawks will pull this out because of NO JJ!!
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
8:36 pm
I hope Etan is ready for lots of minutes. Twin will likely get two fouls quickly with their penetration.
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
8:39 pm
This will be Josh’s biggest test yet for guarding a mobile 3 with a lot of different moves.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 10th, 2010
9:17 pm
…made mo look silly
Atlanta Hawks: Zaza is out sick; Hawks to stay big – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) (Professional Golf) - www.ProGolfPortal.com - The Professional GOLF Tour Report
December 11th, 2010
10:10 am
[...] Zaza is sick and won’t make the trip to San Antonio. I refuse to be blamed for this. My theory is he caught something from the Magic players because they banged with Zaza in the post, not me. Not sure how the look would do long term but right now L.D. is For more Golf info click here [...]
Melvin
December 11th, 2010
9:07 pm
Why did LD take Teague out the game…
Just Dumb
December 13th, 2010
10:12 am
Seriously Folks lets let go of the Marvin Williams being drafted before Chris Paul or he is a bust because he was drafted seconded and hasnt lived up to number 2. LET IT GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys saying everyday is not going to change the facts. PLEASE I am begging STOP…… Lets move on.