Atlanta Weather

| Traffic

Search
Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks: Thunder 103, Hawks 94

12:25 am January 1, 2011, by Michael Cunningham

Jamal had it going until the fourth. (AP Photo)

Jamal had it going until the fourth. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma City–If you didn’t see this one, just think back to the Hawks’ game at Orlando (the first time), at Miami, at San Antonio, at Boston, at New Orleans. This was pretty much the same thing–hurt by turnovers, dribble penetration, poor shot selection–except for the gory sight of a cut on Smoove’s head.

  • The Hawks are 2-6 in road games against teams with winning records. They either had the lead or were close to it in all of those Ls.
  • “It’s definitely frustrating,” J.J. said. “We are so close and then we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Maybe it’s a few bad shots, or maybe a few turnovers. We’ve got to grow up in that area.”
  • “You keep plugging,” L.D. said. “Hopefully at some point it will click in. We went into the fourth quarter with a two-point game; that’s a great position to be in. It’s a little frustrating but still I am encouraged we are putting ourselves in that position.”
  • This game probably won’t do much to sway L.D. from his tendency to favor his shotmakers. He sat Bibby for the entire fourth quarter and played Damien Wilkins. The Hawks scored just 15 points while holding the Thunder to 18 (when not including Ibaka’s bush-league dunk at the end).
  • Then again, it’s not as if the Hawks had the right guys taking good shots.
  • “It’s a little frustrating,” Josh said. “We couldn’t put the ball in the bucket at the end. We have got to be able to overcome. Jamal had it going pretty much the whole game and we kind of went away from that a little bit.”
  • One reason they went away from it is because Josh started jacking jump shots in the fourth. He was poised for a triumphant return after going to the locker room in the third quarter with a nasty gash courtesy of Ibaka’s teeth.
  • But with the Hawks down 85-81 and in need of good possessions, Josh fired up a 21-footer with 12 seconds on the shot clock. After Jamal missed a 3, Smoove came down and threw up a 3 with 16 seconds on the shot clock.
  • Jamal was incredibly efficient: 26 points, 8 of 15 field goals, 7 of 9 free throws, five steals, three assists and no turnovers. “My legs are getting back under me,” he said.
  • But when he missed three of four baskets in the fourth quarter Joe (1 of 4) and Josh (1 of 4) couldn’t help out. Al might have done so but he sat early in the fourth quarter after he was forced to play the entire third quarter with Josh out (you can forget about interior D covering up the inevitable assaults at the basket if one or the other isn’t in there).
  • J.J. missed three straight open jumpers after making his first and never really got on track. “I think we put various guys on him and made it tough on him,” Durant said. “He missed some shots that he normally makes but for the most part we did a decent job on him.”
  • It’s tough to criticize Joe too much when he had 11 assists against one turnover while being hounded all night. But there comes a time when he has to stop shooting when they aren’t going in.
  • “He missed typical Joe shots but he did have 11 assists and he was chasing Westbrook for the most part,” Drew said. “The last couple of games he is guarding guys he wouldn’t be normally matched up with.”
  • That’s another byproduct of Atlanta’s lack of perimeter defenders in the rotation.
  • “It may be a little tough at times because defensively I am normally guarding their main guy,” Joe said. “Then offensively I’m coming down and fighting against two or three other guys. So it’s tough and frustrating at times. But that’s neither here nor there. We could just make the easy plays and then things wouldn’t be so difficult but we just don’t do that.”
  • After the Hawks limited Golden State’s 3-pointers on Wednesday, the Thunder made 10 of 18. Of course some of those were high degree of difficulty daggers from Durant, who made all three of his 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter.
  • “They are a really good offensive team,” L.D. said. “They made some big shots. We tried to keep [Durant] off balance but when it came down to when they had to make a shot, he was the guy who knocked them down. You have to give them credit because defensively we mixed it up but he’s a shotmaker.”
  • The Hawks tried to play at the Thunder’s pace early and nearly got buried. They could have kept it closer if J.J. was hitting but they never could get consistent stops.
  • “We made very, very carless mistakes, careless turnovers,” Drew said. “The shot selection was not good. We talked about that at the very beginning. Against a team like Oklahoma you have to conrol tempo and limit their momentum. We turned the basketball over, had some ill-advised shots.”
  • Josh ended up not getting stitches for that gash: “I thought I needed some but they said no.”
  • “When I saw it, I got a little lightheaded, to be quite honest,” Drew said. “It wasn’t pretty at all. He came back with an aggression. I was very surprised he did come back.”
  • Josh was upset about Ibaka’s dunk. The shot clock was off and the Thunder were up 101-92. “That’s a sign of disrespect,” Josh said. “Everybody in the whole league knows that you don’t do nothing like that. We remember something like that.”
  • Smoove had a conversation with Durant about the play: “He said he was going to handle it because he knew that wasn’t right.”
  • The basket gave Westbrook his 10th assist for a triple-double.”It doesn’t matter,” Drew said. “You run the clock out. The game is over. You don’t make that kind of play.”
  • While it should be noted that L.D. left Josh in a game at Toronto so he could get an assist to complete his triple-double, the difference was that it happened with 4:30 left.
  • Happy New Year, blog people.

Michael Cunningham

You keep plugging. Hopefully at some point it will click in. We went into the fourth quarter two point game, that’s a great position to be in. It’s a little frustating but still I am encouraged we are putting ourselves in that position.

You keep plugging. Hopefully at some point it will click in. We went into the fourth quarter two point game, that’s a great position to be in. It’s a little frustating but still I am encouraged we are putting ourselves in that position.

  • Print

219 comments Add your comment

I.MUS WRITE

January 1st, 2011
10:16 am

JJ is declining right in front of our eyes. He racks up assists and plays good D but at the end of the day you have to make shots. 20 plus million per season is a disgusting amount of money for a guy who’s been an average player this season.

I’ve said it before Teague is the new AC Law. No shot at all, doesnt finish at the rim well,Looks lost when running the team. I dont think playing time will help this guy. Speed is his only asset IMO-What does he do well???. Defense is maybe a little better than Bibby.

Say what u will about Bibby but until teague learns how to shott Bibby will continue to start. LD has no choice. Play the rook and watch him continually funk up or go with the proven long range shooter at the point.

Horford= Warrior

I.MUS WRITE

January 1st, 2011
10:17 am

shoot………

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
10:17 am

J from the A i beg to differ. Marvin guards the teams best player for the best players are 3s not 2s. jj might not be the third best player on the team so why are we defending him so much

It was not a bad pick

January 1st, 2011
10:17 am

Samuel

I agree, LD wants the Hawks to be a jump shot shooting team..Why dont the Hawks run more?

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
10:30 am

J from the A i beg to differ. Marvin guards the teams best player for the best players are 3s not 2s

tjhook

January 1st, 2011
10:31 am

LD doesn’t seem to realize that he was hired to help the team get into championship contention. The team clearly needs another scoring threat and it probably is easier to find at the lead guard position. The team is built to win now but Teague is not capable of this and Marvin Williams has proven that he is a replaceable part of the team. Teague and Marvin to Cleveland for Mo Williams. We need to go for it while main pieces are in prime!!!

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
10:43 am

J i like the idea but i would rather keep teague give them bibby ,mo, and a second round pick for mo williams. Contrary to popular belief i like mw skill set, just as a bench player.

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
10:50 am

Five things that sabotaged hawks franchise.Trade of Dominique,ted selling franchise,bk tricking hawks out of gasol for rahim, passing on dw or cp for mw, but signing jj to that contract tops them all.

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
10:56 am

Trade jj and a pick for brandon roy and camby, if that doesn’t work send him to nj for harris and some picks

J from the A

January 1st, 2011
10:56 am

Is a defensive-minded, play-making, able-to-score PG the Hawks number 1 need?

How much should the Hawks be willing to give up to get this type of PG?

Hypothetically:
Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, and 1st round pick FOR Chauncey Billups?
Josh Smith and 1st round pick for Chauncey Billups?
Josh Smith and Jeff Teague for Chauncey Billups?

[Yes, all involving Billups. If Denver moves Melo (or if they know they are going to lose Melo), Denver will be in rebuilding mode. Maybe, they would be willing to move Billups, but probably only at a high cost because he has a team option for next year.]

[If not Billups, who else? I have a hard time seeing how Mo Williams makes us better (shot selection complaints anyone?). Andre Miller is more than likely available at a reasonable price, but I am unsure how his playing style would fit with the Hawks. Most other good PGs probably won't be available in a trade .... unless I am missing an obvious PG or two.]

J from the A

January 1st, 2011
10:58 am

@Jamillion: U B Trollin! lol. but I’ll take the bait.

Even with JJ’s problems this year, he is much better than Brandon Roy. It’s not even close.

And do you really think NJ will move Harris for a couple of picks?!

Will

January 1st, 2011
10:59 am

This team has got to make some major trades and no player on this roster should be except.

New ownership and management is needed badly

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
11:02 am

A j from the a how do you figure we would play worse without jj when we already have done that and looked better. Now imagine if we traded him for a player to shore up a actual weakness,like center or pg? How would having a real pg hurt us over a sg who can’t shoot?

Scoop

January 1st, 2011
11:10 am

It is important to not be results oriented.

While we had some bad turnovers, mainly Smoove trying to fit passes in impossible angles, the effort was there. Jamal played the best game of the year for the Hawks-he was breaking people down offensively and getting into the paint, but I was more impressed with his defense. He and Westbrook were going at with intensity and it was fun to watch. For what it is worth, I believe Jamal won-exemplified by the play where Jamal stripped Westbrook on an attempted fast break and Westbrook jumped over Jamal’s back on his layup attempt in frustration. No matter what you think about his fit in LD’s system, you got to respect Jamal and his professionalism. It is obvious that he is not letting his contract situation affect his role with his teammates or his play based on tonight. He may take a game or two off, but he does not complain and he can still carry a team when they are struggling. I tip my hat to him.

Also worthy of respect is Smoove’s come back after that nasty gash at the top of his head. He calmly knocks down both his free throws and plays most of the fourth quarter. I believe he will take the next step when he stops settling for those jumpers and takes the ball hard to the basket(like he did on Ibaka with that fierce dunk). He may not realize that all that open space would be a great opportunity to get his momentum going to the basket and jump over someone for a poster dunk and not settling for a jump shot. Also, Smoove needs to value the basketball more. Take away his 3-4 turnovers last night and there might have been a different outcome.

If Joe was normal Joe then there might have been a different outcome as well. It is hard to knock on Joe because he always brings the effort and he did have 11 assists, including a tremendous pass to Al from the baseline, on an overall poor shooting night for the Hawks. I believe his hand is now hurt and bothering him. The rotation on his ball looks different and he may be overcompensating by using his left hand to help. If this is the case he should absolutely rest it because that kind of thing can only get worse.

Tip my hat to Damien for his great defense on Durant. He forced turnovers and tough shots consistently, but when a guy has it going like that there is nothing you can do. The thunder are a poor 3-point shooting team and I believe they got 10 on us at a 50% clip. Despite this, I actually liked our defensive schemes. We made some adjustments on the pick and roll with Westbrook and tried different lineups to matchup with Durant. Also, from my TV I could hear LD doing a really good job of keeping his team focused on their execution, whether it was slowing down the tempo, or calling an offensive set, I felt like he did a great job putting the Hawks in position to win in the fourth quarter.

The one constant issue with this team is its perimeter defense. Bibby can still play, but he gets exposed against quick and athletic guards and Joe is too big to be chasing little guards off screens and then carrying the load offensively. That is why I believe we have to either start Teague and bring Bibby off the bench or Start Mo and move Joe to the small forward spot. Bibby and JC would still get the bulk of the minutes, but I think we need some quickness at the start of the game to combat the ever increasing number of good, quick point guards. The problem is we dig ourselves a hole early through a lack of perimeter defense and then we are playing catchup with our bench on the floor. An adjustment has to be made with the starting lineup.

NO Center, NO coach, NO GM

January 1st, 2011
11:15 am

@ the very best this is a very mediocre team. Mike Woodson had them playing above their talent level. Now Woodson is gone and we’ve put his clipboard holder in as coach and the results are very predictable to everyone, except Sund, and the idiots bloggers on this site like that fool guy Ken Strickland..

This team needs to rebuild.

STRETCH

January 1st, 2011
11:34 am

•One reason they went away from it is because Josh started jacking jump shots in the fourth. He was poised for a triumphant return after going to the locker room in the third quarter with a nasty gash courtesy of Ibaka’s teeth.
•But with the Hawks down 85-81 and in need of good possessions, Josh fired up a 21-footer with 12 seconds on the shot clock. After Jamal missed a 3, Smoove came down and threw up a 3 with 16 seconds on the shot clock.

And lets not talk about the “Superstar” JJ, what a waste of money!

STRETCH

January 1st, 2011
11:41 am

OKC is younger than the Hawks and has less experience. The Hawks on the other hand should be poised and primed for these kind of games. Theyve been together for 6 or 7 years now. Smooth continues to think he is a SG and the coaching staff continues to turn their heads.

Back in tha day when someone started jacking up shots the coach would call timeout and sit his behind!

And furthermore, to be honest, the Hawks dont have HEART cause they dont have any bigs. Thats why they shoot jumpers all the time. For anybody that has played any organized basketball knows that when your fighting for a game and people start jacking up bricks….IT TAKES A LOT OUT OF YOU MENTALLY. And the Hawks are NOT tough mentally.

TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK, HOLIDAYS ARE OVER, MAKE A MOVE SUND…OR DO YOU HAVE A PULSE?!!!!

SteveW

January 1st, 2011
11:46 am

The Hawks have scored more than 100 only once in the past 12 games. That was 103 at home with Golden State.

JJ is obviously still hurt. Let him sit, take our lumps now, and get him back at full strength, we need him.

Here in Hawks land, I had pretty much chalked this up to a L before we played. OKC is acting like they won a Title or something, so the rest of the League must think pretty highly of us.

Or course Teague looks tenative, because he knows if he makes a couple of mistakes, he’s gone for games at the time. He needs to be in the rotation for 10-12 games, and he’ll settle down and play better. If not, get somebody in here before the trade deadline.

ASG and Gearon Jr. are looking for investors. This is good news. Help may be on the way.

Wish Smoove would go back to the rule from last year. Only shot 7 Three’s all of last year, and had the greatest drop one year over next in three pt. attempts for a healthy player in League history.

And Josh Powell has dropped off the face of the earth. But I am likeing ZaZa’s play with the increased minutes the last 2 games.

SteveW

January 1st, 2011
11:49 am

Sit JJ, let Wilkens, Mo’, Teague, JC2 take up the slack until JJ gets better off his injury.

And we had better be ready to play at the ‘Clips. We don’t have anybody like 18 consecutive double doubles Blake Griffin. The guys throwing down maniac dunks on everybody, and I do mean everybody. He may be the best big to enter the League since Dwight.

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
11:56 am

Da players on this team aren’t bad. Just wrong players are getting minutes. I’ll hire hubie brown

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
12:00 pm

Next move i’ll make is get from under this massive contract which is jj. And since i won’t be able to get a real star for him i’ll address two areas of need. Trade jj to memp for gasol and conly or n.o for oak jack and a pick.

SteveW

January 1st, 2011
12:03 pm

Jamillion – Now JJ for Gasol and Conley may be a deal I’d look at…

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
12:08 pm

And since i couldn’t trade jj for a real star i’ll create one from with in and start jordan at the two.Bring marvin off the bench trade bibby ,mo, za za for a solid player be it mo will, rip hamilton, prince.

newkid

January 1st, 2011
12:11 pm

Enter your comments here

drmaryb (*_*)

January 1st, 2011
12:19 pm

Apple Pie!

Sam-I-Am said this:
“We really need to get rid of the bad apples and we would have a much better team.”

Sam baby, don’t I know it: I’ve been singing that song for 10 years, since Mookie left and ain’t nobody gave me no grammy! LOL!
I guess if we are to stay positive then, we can always bake an Apple Pie – right?
_____________________________________

Fundamentals enlightened us with this comment:

“Amen to the Teague comments J from the A. Dude is not ready. If he can’t put it together by the trade deadline we definitely need a starting PG.”

Again, this has been our recurring nightmare. For the Love of Basketball?

Get a PG! Now?
_____________________________________________

Absolutely Fantastic post game comments for every single one of you intellectual, stimulating and passionate but not sicken-ly emotional cries, but sound and pragmatic reasoning. I gleamed something from all the varying opinions about this team.

I sense some reality setting in and us fans seem more resolved about the simple truth about this team. We should all get a shout-out for:

Saying the Exact same thing in a hundred thousand different ways.

Us fans, we ain’t Gold-Diggers, but we got Needs!
__________________________________

We Need a True PG.

newkid

January 1st, 2011
12:27 pm

Some cats are so talented it’s almost impossible to keep them off the court despite other shortcomings. Some of the same cats often make such dreadful decisions, they have spells where they put their teams at decided disadvantages. I call these cats Mensa-morons (i.e., they have Mensa type physical talent, but quite consistently make moronic decisions). Smoove is vying for my 2010/2011 all Mensa-Moron team; he’s the odds on favorite for the team’s MVP. Who leads the balloting for your all Mensa-Moron team this season? What about all-time?

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
12:36 pm

Depending on which jj trade we get our line up a be gasol al josh jc2 con. Bench marvin,jc,rip, collins, prince, dw, jt

Brad

January 1st, 2011
12:40 pm

It’s amazing how inconsistent everyone not named Al Horford is on this team. You don’t know what to expect from player to player on any given night

Another GM

January 1st, 2011
12:49 pm

It’s called team chemistry and the Hawks have non

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
2:05 pm

Second jj trade we get our line up a be okafur al josh jc2 mo williams.Bench marvin jc rip collins jarret jack damien wilkens prince which do you prefer?

O'Brien

January 1st, 2011
2:30 pm

I agree that our offense should start through Al and Josh. However, LD needs to get rid of the 2 foul rule for Al.

Al is not foul prone, and he hardly fouls out of games. When LD pulls him, he is out of rhythym when he comes back in the game. And in these same games where he gets pulled, he still only ends up with 4 fouls.

O'Brien

January 1st, 2011
2:32 pm

I’m surprised that Josh Powell has fallen out of the rotation the way he has. In our last 5 games, he has 4 DNPCD, and 7 minutes in the other.

ZaZa, on the other hand, has been getting minutes. For 2011, we need ZaZa to go back to being the ZaZa from the first game of the season against Memphis, where he was balling.

dap01

January 1st, 2011
3:02 pm

Larry Drew is disappointing. He is becoming WoodyII.

Tyrone

January 1st, 2011
3:04 pm

I have been on vacation out of the country for a few weeks and I am as surprised as everyone else that the trade for Steve Nash had not been made. So, I called my cousin BooBoo in Pheonix. He tells me that the Hawks are holding up the trade. So I ask why, because Pheonix WILL NOT TRADE Steve Nash to anyone without dumping Josh Childress and at least a million in cash. Let me refresh everyones memory; the Hawks reportly offered Marvin, Bibby (a state legend), MO, and the Hawks # 1 pick. Of course, there was another player involved from but I don’t remember the name. Phoenix’s response was NO. However, Phoenix countered with this offer Jamal, Mo, the # 1 pick, and a million cash as the first part of the deal. Also, a third team would have to get involved to dump Childress. BooBoo says the third team was supposed to be Portland. Childress to Portland for Pryzbilla then Atlanta trades Marvin for Childress because he cannot come back to the Hawks directly along with Pryzbilla. Phoenix ultimately clears 13 million in expiring contracts along with dumping Childress’ 30 million/5 year deal. They requested this deal before the Orlando trade, but Atlanta is scared to pull the trigger. After adding Vince Carter’s expiring deal, they would have almost have 30 million expiring contract in addition to the 6 million per season of Childress. Moreover, they would have 3 first round picks and over 35 million dollars for Free Agency next summer.
Apparently, Atlanta DOES NOT WANT to go into the luxury tax and is afraid that Marvin could still be a star.
This news should be hitting wire anyday!!!

Rufus1

January 1st, 2011
3:29 pm

Josh Smith 7 turnovers….The rest of the Team 5….

When you decide to post his highlight DUNKS, please post the GAME CHANGING BAD TURNOVERS AND DECISIONS.

Ken Strickland

January 1st, 2011
3:32 pm

SAMUEL-Your response to my post proves my point perfectly. Marvin didn’t even play and Teague played all of 3:58mins, while Bibby played 25:59mins. Yet, you chose to make an issue of what Marvin might or might not have done, and what Teague didn’t do, while totally and conveniently ignoring Bibby’s total lack of production and/or effort while playing major mins.

Some of you need to grow up and stop making personal issues out of everything and allowing it to interfer with any attempt at being rational. Are you actually dumb enough to think Teague couldn’t have done better than Bibby’s 5pts, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 0 FT attempts, and his matador DEF, if he had been allowed to play Bibby’s 25:59mins?

I like Bibby, and I want him to remain with the Hawks, but I don’t like him as the starting PG, or receiving primary mins at the position. Since last yr, Bibby has disappeared just as often, if not more so, than Marvin. At least Marvin can and does contribute in other ways, especially on DEF.

ATL FAN

January 1st, 2011
3:33 pm

reality you are an idiot, Al is the only non tradable piece of these Hawks…

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
3:37 pm

J from the A i beg to differ with u again. I’ll take roy his game is effortless, his game isn’t indecisive as jj, and head to head he out performs jj,plus a be a better fit. And anyone says keep bibby need to kill his self!

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
3:43 pm

J from the A i beg to differ with u again.Billups is a ok pickup but not for your prices.Billups is a salary dump waiting to happen, his best days are behind him bibby a second and maybe za za a get you him.But josh or jj boy,you really on that dope(in my 2pac voice)

Ms evey

January 1st, 2011
3:44 pm

Jamillion u so hate on jj where would this team have been the last 3yrs.without him,I don’t think they would have made the playoffs,don’t blame him because management offered him the max and he took it,You ask j from atlanta why he defends him,well why do u hate,

tony

January 1st, 2011
3:46 pm

J from the A, please don’t make that trade. Chauncey Billups for Josh Smith? I know Josh Smith can be very immature at times but trading him for a 13 yr veteran pg. No Way! Heck, Billups is barely averaging 5 assists a game.

The 1st thing this team needs is a quality hc who the players will respect. That’s #1. The 2nd thing this team needs is a true facilitator(pg). He need to have the ability to control the tempo of a game. The hawks have been in decline mode since Woody left especially against quality teams.

I said it before and I’m saying it now that we should hire Bill Laimbeer to coach this team. He will bring stability and professionlism. Laimbeer is a CHAMPION! In most cases coaching makes the difference.

I keep telling you people that we should draft Demetri McCamey. This young man is what I call a true facilitor(pg). If they pass on him somebody need to put those criminals(ASG/Sund) behind bars.

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
3:46 pm

No j from the a. The deal is give them jj and we get harris and a pick and some garbage player to be named.

Wally Walker

January 1st, 2011
4:06 pm

The purposes of any NBA team any season are to win championships and intertain their fans. With that said, The Hawks weaknesses are clear Paint control and PG play. All the trade blogs which focus on improvement of the 2,3, and/or 4 positions don’t make sense. Josh Smith will never be a great set up scorer which makes the need for a PG ever more important if he as a core player will never be traded. GM Sund has to bring in players which enhance the strenght of his so-called core. A facilitating PG would help the offensive balance as well as create easier scoring opportunities for a slasher like Josh. Josh reminds people of the Mike Vick issues in Altanta remember he could not throw. Now in a properly designed offensive, his accuracy improves dramically. If Josh, Al, JJ and God forbid Marvin are your core, why is there no a PG(Quarterback) to get them the ball.
The old folk say sh*t or get off the pot. Clearly, Bibby is a sharp shooter and has a place, Teague is a tweeter with speed and defensive skills, but neither is the answer. Sund simply has to do what the old folks say!

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
4:07 pm

Miss envy i don’t hate anyone or person. Hate is negative energy.That’s a waste of time. Jj game does not suffice to his position on the team, or output for the team. So i would rather shed that twenty mill for two or three players who will produce collectively

Ramon

January 1st, 2011
4:09 pm

Rufus, if you watch the game you know 3 or 4 of those turnovers were passes that Collins couldn’t handle under the basket even though it hit Collins in the hand. And 2-3 came in the first quarter when the referees were allowing OC to get a way with a lot of reach in fouls. That same attitude that caused the fouls, is the same attitude that got the team back in the game. Josh and Crawford both attacked the defense aggressively.

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
4:12 pm

Further more for any one who thinks jj is some type of basketball demi god. Look at our numbers without him. Better team ball more assists and better defense.Now imagine tradeing him for a quality point or big.We could only become better for those two positions are our weakest.Common sense people

O'Brien

January 1st, 2011
4:14 pm

One of the concerns with Bibby is that he will wear down by the playoffs come around.

And if it does, LD will play Jamal major minutes at PG. The Hawks cannot be successful in the playoffs with Jamal playing PG (its tough enough with Bibby playing major minutes).

So far, I dont think LD has done a good job balancing Bibby and Teague.

JustAThought

January 1st, 2011
4:17 pm

I watched the game, only about 3/4’s of it,and of course I knew during the whole time I was watching that the hawks was going to get beat. It was very refreshing to watch OKC (a young coming club, with a REAL superstar) play a up-tempo game. That Westbrook kid is real nice, Durant is the “straw” that stirs the OKC drink, but Westbrook is a baller as well. They jump on the hawks right out of the gate, man I like there tempo.

O'Brien

January 1st, 2011
4:18 pm

From ESPN.com;

The NBA’s first key date of 2011, when it comes to player movement, comes Wednesday.

That’s when teams are allowed to start signing free agents to 10-day contracts … and when players with contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed must be released in time to clear waivers by Jan. 7..

MC,

Any word on if the Hawks will keep Damien for the entire season? With Marvin being injured, I assume they will.

Jamillion

January 1st, 2011
4:18 pm

Another thing is you guys are so wishy washy.Teague plays bad in a few minutes and now he’s not ready but our starting point couldn’t play in the d league.Bibby can’t nor will he run our offense which is why j smith always has his hand on the ball playing point forward,nor can he stop the opposing point guard.What game do yall be analyzing?

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Next » Show All