Atlanta Hawks: Pick-and-roll . . . and ‘Pop’
San Antonio–I’m trying to remember off the top of my head all the times this season L.D. has said the team’s pick-and-roll coverages broke down late in games.
The last time was at Miami, when LeBron turned the corner and found that no Hawks player seemed to be responsible for cutting him off as he went barreling down the lane. It happened against the Knicks, too, once Smoove wasn’t in the back to discourage such excursions. Of course Phoenix and Utah gave the Hawks trouble with screen-rolls.
So now here comes the Spurs, with the Tony Parker and Tim Duncan capable of scrambling Atlanta’s defense.
“They are one of the better pick-and-roll teams in our league,” Drew said. “Parker, he is just really good at it. He is one of the best in the league because of the speed, the quickness. He reads the defenses really well coming off the pick-and-roll. That is one of the primary focuses tonight going into this game. We know there is a chance we will probably have to make some adjustments with out coverages. We may start one way and two or three minutes into it may have to make a change.”
The Parker/Duncan vs. Bibby/Twin pick-and-roll showdown looks like a mismatch on paper.
“It will be a big test for [Collins],” Drew said. “But I don’t care who is involved in the pick-and-roll, whether it is Twin or whether it is Josh or whether it is Al–you are talking about three guys that are all a little bit different from a footspeed standpoint but Parker has the ability to still get in the paint off of it. We are going to have to do a good job on it with not just the guys involved in it but the guys off the ball as well.”
Pop gets with it
Here are San Antonio’s league ranking in pace factor starting from the 2002-03 season until last year: 19th, 19th, 24th, 27th, 28th, 27th, 20th.
So far this season the Spurs rank 10th in pace. It’s a change in approach for their old-school coach, Gregg Popovich, but L.D. said he’s not surprised.
“He recognizes that he has a guy, Tony Parker, who has been in the league a long time who still has the wheels,” Drew said. “If I have a guy that has that ability that can put that kind of pressure, I have got to utilize it. Certainly it looks like everybody has made the commitment to get involved in the break It is nice when you have a guy like that who can get into the interior of the defense before the defense is set.”
Pain but no pads
It seems the severity of Marvin’s limp depends on which day you check in on him. I’d put it at about a five on the scale before the game tonight.
“I am doing all right,” he said. “I get treatment when I need it. It is painful at times, other times it manageable. It is pretty much the same. Just kind of plugging away.”
He said he took a shot to the knee from Brandon Bass at Orlando Monday in about the same place where he originally hurt it. But Marvin said he dislikes wearing kneepads.
“I can’t operate in them,” he said. “It just feels too weird. I tried one time in practice and they kept falling down. I tried another set, and I just didn’t like the way they felt. I will be OK. If it starts to hurt too much Coach Drew has been cool about letting me chill in practice.”
MC
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360 comments Add your comment
Najeh Davenpoop
December 10th, 2010
10:46 pm
I wonder if there is some website that keeps track of 3 point percentage from different places on the floor. I would be willing to bet the Spurs are over 40% on 3s from the corner every year.
Those last two possessions just about did it. Good effort Hawks, but at some point effort has to translate to wins against these good teams.
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
10:47 pm
What happened to that #4 in the league 3 pt. D?
Hawks vs Spurs
December 10th, 2010
10:47 pm
Can’t keep turnin the ball over in the 4th and still expect to beat San Antonio
Ree Roe
December 10th, 2010
10:47 pm
Too many turnovers AGAIN…SMH. You can’t be sloppy with the ball on the road in the 4th Q against great teams. When will the Hawks learn?
-REEd eyed Roe!
lewis
December 10th, 2010
10:47 pm
could use jj right about now
Wabe
December 10th, 2010
10:47 pm
true…
but the rotation’s there right up until they make the extra pass to the corner.
the hawks were very poor with their defensive rotations in this final quarter.
the spurs just made the extra pass and the hawks failed to rotate to the wings.
Bailey
December 10th, 2010
10:47 pm
It’s not over yet, but the Hawks desperately need to take better care of the ball. They have been their own worst enemy in this quarter by turning the ball over again and again. The refs aren’t helping either, since each time the spurs miss, they seem to be bailed out with some sort of foul.
Melvin
December 10th, 2010
10:48 pm
Duncan haven’t touch the court in the 4th qtr…
bigdave
December 10th, 2010
10:48 pm
big shot..
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
10:48 pm
Too many empty possessions in the 4th quarter. Hawks should take a page from Mike Smith and put a special emphasis on 4th quarter possessions and lack of unforced errors.
cp
December 10th, 2010
10:48 pm
I would love to have Kyle Lowery as a backup pg. We really need a defensive pg. Teague doesn’t play anymore and Bibby cant stay in front of anybody.
bigdave
December 10th, 2010
10:49 pm
really Al?
Wabe
December 10th, 2010
10:49 pm
rotate horford!!!!!
pinoy hawk
December 10th, 2010
10:49 pm
the hawks can matchup man to man with the spurs.. the latter’s just better coached
Melvin
December 10th, 2010
10:50 pm
LOL. Jamal block his own layup against the backboard.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 10th, 2010
10:51 pm
this is horrible…the final score is gonna look way worse….this could even be a 20 pt lost smh
Wabe
December 10th, 2010
10:52 pm
our inability to stay in front of parker and our poor rotations coupled with the fact that we turned the ball over time and time again killed our chances of snagging a huge win.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 10th, 2010
10:52 pm
Spurs already have the game won and still out hustlin the Hawks
bigdave
December 10th, 2010
10:53 pm
if Richard Jefferson can hit shots.. spurs will be an issue out west… can play different styles, defend, reb, smh.
lewis
December 10th, 2010
10:53 pm
hawks played a decent game and gave up
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 10th, 2010
10:54 pm
inability to stay in front of guards and poor defensive rotation have been burning the Hawks for a long time……
guys always right at the rim for point blank shots, getting fouled, or shooters left wide open.
Bailey
December 10th, 2010
10:55 pm
That was a monumental collapse at the end. I can’t even believe how quickly they allowed the spurs to amass that lead.
Jae Evolution
December 10th, 2010
10:55 pm
We need a trade with the Rockets for Lowry or the Sixers for Williams one of the two.
O'Brien
December 10th, 2010
10:56 pm
4 turnovers by Al, 4 turnovers by Josh.
I give northcyde credit. From last year, he has been saying the Hawks should have taken Blair at 19th instead of Teague. He also blasted some of the other teams who passed on Blair because of their injury concerns.
Imagine if we had drafted Blair last year, and signed a backup PG in free agency…
Ron
December 10th, 2010
10:57 pm
The foul trouble to Al really did hurt us in that one. Both in the second quarter and in the fourth quarter when he went out the Spurs made some big runs. Ultimately though, I think it was the turnovers that sealed the game. Just way too many turnovers.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 10th, 2010
10:59 pm
Acie Law is sitting next to Steph Curry on the GSW bench.
Rod from College Park
December 10th, 2010
10:59 pm
Jefferson and Bonner hit that corner 3 like Marvin should do for us.
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
10:59 pm
O’B,
Must you remind us? Ugh, I feel sick.
And we STILL need a backup PG if Teague can’t even see the floor.
Wabe
December 10th, 2010
10:59 pm
Truthfully, after they hit the pair of 3’s from the corner…
The Hawks pretty much gave up.
I could care less about the final score. Who gives a damn if the final score was more lop-sided than what the game actually played out to be. This club needs to get past the notion of moral victories at this point.
With or without JJ, play to win.
It’s good to see them playing as well as they are without JJ, no question about that. But, when it’s evident throughout the game that you’re good enough to win a game like this – then a loss should be disappointing, period. They shouldn’t fall back on the thought that they came close minus JJ. No use in sugar-coating losses.
cp
December 10th, 2010
10:59 pm
LD has to find a way to give Teague minutes and just live with his mistakes. We really need a guard with the ability to stay in front of their man. Teague isn’t a great defender but he has shown the ability to be solid defensively. Teague has gotten the Woodson treatment the last few times he has played, pulled after making a mistake. We either have to develop the kid or get a pg in here who can do the job
northcyde
December 10th, 2010
11:00 pm
(( Looking at Dejuan Blair’s stat line . . . then looking over at Teague rotting on the Hawks bench ))
** sigh **
Bailey
December 10th, 2010
11:00 pm
Hopefully, Orlando will lose tonight so that we are still in the thick of things for the southeast division lead. We absolutely have to finish the season ahead of at least one of the other two top teams in our division (Orlando and Miami), as well as finish with a top 4 record to get homecourt in the playoffs. A top-4 record by itself just won’t cut it this season.
Sautee
December 10th, 2010
11:01 pm
Spurs 10-21 from 3. End of story.
Wabe
December 10th, 2010
11:02 pm
Minnesota just sent Johnny Flynn to the D-League.
He was one of the top 2-3 PG’s taken in that draft class that Teague came out of.
I’m wondering, if coach isn’t gonna play Teague, why not just send the kid down to the D-League.
No use in letting him and Jordan just sit there on the bench clocking absolutely no minutes.
I’m also wondering, if coach can’t find any minutes for JC2 with JJ out, then when will this kid ever get minutes?
I’m sick of seeing Mo Evans buma$$ out there. If you can get Crawford 2.0 into the mix, he could be a useful tool off the bench later in the season.
O'Brien
December 10th, 2010
11:02 pm
Bibby had 12, but the Spurs PG (Parker and Hill) combined for 33.
Hopefully Josh will be ready to go tomorrow
N.D.T.K.A.
December 10th, 2010
11:04 pm
For all the good play M.Bibby has had all season, tonight showed that he is a “team defense killer”. He cannot cover his man and leaves the wings in no man’s land trying to defend his man and their man. Mark my words he will be the Hawks undoing if they make the playoffs this season. Please develop and play Teague, Drew.
northcyde
December 10th, 2010
11:08 pm
O’Brien . . . New Jersey was the team that should’ve taken him. I believe they had the #11 pick that year. All they needed was a PF to pair with Lopez . . but they took Terrance Williams instead.
These GMs are just stupid.
Yeah, dude had questionable knees, but he was easily a top 10 talent. Any team that needed frontcourt help ( cough ) Hawks ( cough ), should’ve taken that dude.
It’s just flat out amazing that he falls all the way into the 2nd round, and San Antonio, of all teams, picks the dude up.
The rich get richer.
As for the game . . good game by the team, for the most part. That final score will look like we got the hell beat out of us, but we all know that it was tight until that last 4 minute sequence.
Marvin is probably mad, but flashing the middle finger to the blog nonetheless.
Ramon
December 10th, 2010
11:09 pm
Can anyone tell me why LD benches Josh for bad shot attempts, but he doesn’t bench anyone else on the team for bad shot attempts? I mean am I the only one who think Mo and Josh Powell both take at least 2 bad shots a game, yet I never see LD go to JC2 or Etan in their place. Actually for Mo, anything but a baseline drive or a wide open jumper is a bad attempt. Mo should never take a contested shot, unless the shot clock has 2 seconds. And Josh Powell plays more like a guard than he does a forward. It seems Powell takes more jumpers than he get rebounds every single game. Did the Hawks sign a power forward or a poor man’s Al Harrington? Smoove, JJ, and JC all are probably on the bench thinking how can LD say anything about our shot selection, when the bench takes even more difficult, awkward looking shots.
Also, LD’s demeanor on the sideline is frustrating sometimes. I never really see him yell at the referee at all. There’s a difference between a nagging coach and a passionate coach. I don’t remember the last coach to win a title who didn’t constantly work the referees before, during, and after the game. Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, Larry Brown, Pat Riley, and Pop all work the referees every chance they get. LD just sit on the side line with his arms cross, and his hand on his chin like he’s posing for a statue. Or like he has the great evil plan that no one in the arena knows but him. Maybe he shows more in practice or the locker room, but I would love to see more passion out of him. Is he trying to be the M. Richt of the NBA?
Randolph
December 10th, 2010
11:10 pm
I would love it if Miami lost tonight, but against golden state, that seems extremely unlikely. They’ll probably be the division leader by the time the night is over. How depressing.
lukas
December 10th, 2010
11:10 pm
Teague is in the dog house people. The fact that LD is not playing him probably has to do with his attitude than a rookie treatment. Maybe Teague doesn’t bring it on practice, or doesn’t do what coach wants, or coach simply lost confidence in him.
Ramon
December 10th, 2010
11:14 pm
Randolph, I understand what you’re saying about Miami. However, I really don’t want them to lose to another West team. I’m tired of hearing how much better the West is than the East. I know Miami is a division rival, but I’d rather see the Hawks win the division because they won games. Don’t want the Hawks to be able to win the division with only 56 wins.
Bailey
December 10th, 2010
11:16 pm
Ramon,
I agree that we have players other than Josh that seem to get away with some bad shot attempts, but there’s never been equal accountability on this team so far this season. Jamal and Joe essentially have free reign to do whatever their hearts desire on the court, without having to worry about the consequences from L.D., but that’s just the way it is, unfortunately. I don’t support Josh’s bad attempts at all, but I didn’t support a lot of the old JJ isolations either, nor do I support Jamal trying to break down the defense by himself down the stretch, but perhaps L.D. has a deeper beef with Josh that we don’t know about. This may be a recurring problem that he has spoken with him about, and one that simply doesn’t change. At any rate, I’d like to see some equal accountability, and no favoritism. Equal accountability applies to everyone, coaches included.
Randolph
December 10th, 2010
11:19 pm
Ramon, yeah, I see what you’re saying. I don’t like hearing about how the East is weak either, and I certainly hate it when team seeding has to be determined by the performance of other teams and how many losses they have, rather than how many wins your team has. It’s better to make your own fate than have to depend on what others are doing. I just hate to see Miami win and be forced to listen to the media go on and on about how great they are.
Al Horford
December 10th, 2010
11:19 pm
bigdave
December 10th, 2010
10:49 pm
really Al?
Wabe
December 10th, 2010
10:49 pm
rotate horford!!!!!
Let some one else play defense, my job is to score, and look good. The rest of the guys need to play defense. I dont want to get hurt.
SteveW
December 10th, 2010
11:22 pm
@Al Horford
Is T.S. back again to say hello?
cp
December 10th, 2010
11:25 pm
LD is looking like Woodson with some of the moves he makes
I still don’t know why Mo plays. Dude is terrible. Give JC2 the minutes or send him down to the D league..
Teague is not a great defender but the kid is solid. We could have used his speed tonight. I dont know whats up with him and LD. If he isn’t going to play then send him down to the d league . The Hawks said they were going to utilize the dleague this season and still nothing. We have 2 young guards just sitting on the bench. As much as I have been disappointed with Teague this year he has still been better than Mo Evans. Let the 2 young guys go down there and work on their game.
Section 303
December 10th, 2010
11:26 pm
Guys, I think Teague being in the dog house comes from the Boston game, Thanksgiving week. At a timeout, Teague stormed in the middle of the coaches huddle and Coach Drew got on him pretty good to get back to the bench. I think Teague opened the door to the dog house at that moment.
Teague sucks anyways, so who cares. I’m glad he is not playing.
Realizing more and more that I like Josh Smith. He drives me nuts sometimes. But, when I saw he was hurt, I turned to my wife and said “I’d rather lose Joe Johnson for the season rather than lose Josh for any extended period of time.” The guy does dumb stuff on the floor and acted like an infant during the Philly game, but he is the best player on the team.
O'Brien
December 10th, 2010
11:32 pm
northcyde,
some GM’s are afraid of the backlash too. Imagine if NJ took Blair at #11, and then during his rookie season, he has season ending surgery because of his knees? That GM would get a lot of heat.
As for the game, the Hawks need a solid backup PG. We can’t keep playing with Jamal as our backup PG, because some games he will be cold, and some games his shot selection will be off, and some games his defense will be horrible
Najeh Davenpoop
December 10th, 2010
11:36 pm
DeJuan Blair was undervalued because of his height too.
drmaryb (*_*)
December 10th, 2010
11:39 pm
Sat & Pepper!
Hawks just need some seasoning!
They need that old vet swagg … To learn how to close out games and win!
That’s what San Antone’ has and Boston and L.A. Have that all the rest don’t.
Barrel Aged – Fine Wine teams play smart and within their abilities.
Role Players who know that if you’re not a PG? Run the floor!