Atlanta Hawks: Thunder 103, Hawks 94
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.
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219 comments Add your comment
Samuel
January 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
Dude,
LD tries his best to play Teague but Teague keeps putting himself on the bench. Had he left Teague in the game we would have lost by 20 or more points. What’s he supposed to do, wait til he gets it together? Not happening, we are not in a rebuilding mode. We are supposed to be going to “THE NEXT LEVEL”. At least Bibby is able to run the team, not make turnovers and hit big shots. With Teague you get nothing but an occasional dunk or blocked shot. Otherwise, he stinks up the joint. Everybody is beginning to see that except you. But of course, you don’t watch those games, only his “garbage minutes” where he looks like Rondo. LOL!!
LC
January 1st, 2011
4:24 pm
MC,
Great work as always. You need to teach ledbetter about writing a blog. Yours is very well done.
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
i am convinced that this organization does not wanna win. They are just a collection of people who say.I have the new ferrari, a mansion next to tyler perry you know the negro film maker oh and daddy owns stake in the hawks,we know they suck but it’s a good tax write off.The nash deal would a put us through.
northcyde
January 1st, 2011
4:32 pm
LOL @ some of these deals. Nobody wants our bad/inconsistent players. And nobody is going to trade away their star player(s) for an inconsistent, possibly still injured JJ who will still be owed 105+ million the next 5 years.
And co-sign O’Brien’s 1:03 am post.
We seem to be the only 2 people that see that most of JJ’s woes are coming because he continues to take that 3 pointer. And he’s taking almost 5 a game, despite shooting sub 30% from 3.
He needs to stop shooting that shot . . . PERIOD!!
When you look at his shot percentages on hoopdata.com, he’s shooting almost right where he did last year from the areas at the rim . . from less than 10 feet not at the rim . . and from 10 – 15 feet. The less than 10 feet and the 10 – 15 feet areas are the floater.
So the floater, for the most part, is fine.
From 16 – 23 feet, he’s shooting 34% . . which is bad, but not super horrible. He’s usually somewhere between 38% – 40% from that area. That’s basically his ISO jumpshot area.
But it’s the 3s that are killing his efficiency. Right now, like you said, everytime he shoots that shot, it has to be considered a bad shot. Especially if he has to modify his release just to shoot it from that distance.
That dude normally doesn’t shoot airballs or shoot everything short, so you know the elbow may still be an issue.
So why doesn’t he just take shorter range shots? Those old school cats like Alex English and Eddie Johnson ( who played for Seattle and Phoenix ) used to make a living off the 20 foot jumper.
JJ’s basketball IQ when it comes to his shot selection, has been very poor this season.
The other question that needs to be asked, is if Drew and his staff is telling him not to shoot that shot, and go more to the basket? Or is he just letting JJ shoot his way out of it.
People can say what they want about the former coach, but the one thing he ALWAYS encouraged this team to do, is take the ball to the hole.
Drew needs to talk to JJ behind the scenes ( or publically, like he does with Smith ), an
Joe D
January 1st, 2011
4:34 pm
The Hawks will end up seeded somewhere between 3 and 6. The Heat, Celtics, and at least the Magic are stronger suited to make a championship run in the East. Are the Hawks really going to sit back and not attempt to make a move concerning a point guard and/or a big? Seriously, they will not keep Jamal all year or please package something. People, I know a legitimate big man is hard to find, but at least improve the team at the point.
Somebody please review some liegitimate point guard trades!
Ramon
January 1st, 2011
4:38 pm
By now, LD should have rested Bibby for a game, and started Teague with Crawford and JC2 backing Teague up. If you lose the game, oh well. But you gain experience that can help a lot. At the end of the season no one should be confused about Teague. We should know if he is or isn’t the answer for the PG position going forward.
Also, after watching how Crawford fought on defense last night, if he can consistently do that, it will be hard to consider trading him (especially when Joe is playing how he’s playing).
Which brings me to this point, one trade I would consider is Joe to Houston Martin and Brooks. This trade you get your young back court that can play for years to go along with Josh and Al.
northcyde
January 1st, 2011
4:39 pm
Drew needs to talk to JJ behind th scenes ( or publically like he does with Smith ), and tell JJ to stop settling for 3s and long jumpers if he’s not making them.
@ MC . . does Synergy Sports track “catch and shoot” opportunities from different areas on the court? I would love to see what JJ is shooting from 16 – 23 feet and from 3 point range, via the “catch and shoot” as opposed to how he shoots unassisted from those ranges.
STOP TAKING THE DAMN 3 JJ!! If you must take a 3, and you miss your first 2 shots, you should NOT take another 3 the rest of the game.
northcyde
January 1st, 2011
4:53 pm
I don’t know if anybody saw this earlier in the week, but an interesting article was written on hoopdata.com about a proposed “NBA Superleague” that is based off of the top 12 teams in the league ( mainly based on differential ).
The Hawks barely made the cut to make the league.
They cite the record of those 12 teams vs each other. Their findings are interesting, to say the least. This article was posted on Tuesday and listed the “Superleague” games coming up this week.
Of course, Oklahoma City is a “Superleague” team, and they beat us. That would drop our NBA Superleague record to 3 – 9.
The article is very interesting, and you might be shocked at how the 12 teams ranked as of last Tuesday.
http://hoopdata.com/blogengine/post/2010/12/29/NBA-Superleague.aspx
Savant
January 1st, 2011
5:00 pm
I know that our team ownership is way too conservative to even attempt to pull something like this, but I think we should really attempt to trade Josh and Jamal for a quality PG, and if possible, another starting-quality big man so that Al can play the position he prefers (the 4).
Why Josh and Jamal? Well, there are several reasons for this. First off, Mike Bibby, who is probably the weakest link in the starting lineup and starts at the team’s weakest position is almost virtually untradeable at this point, unless he can be thrown in as an additional piece in a larger trade. Joe Johnson, who is crippling the growth of the team, is also essentially untradeable with his horrendous contract. Joe and Jamal are basically redundant pieces on the offensive end, and since we can’t get rid of Joe, we might as well get rid of Jamal. He has an expiring contract and is attractive to several teams since he brings you instant offense. Also, Josh is not quite as highly valued by other teams as he is by the Hawks, but the fact that he is still very young, and very physically-gifted, he would likely be a trade chip of high value.
Now, in the best-case scenario, the Hawks would come up with a trade that sends off Jamal and Josh for a high-quality, all-around PG and a very serviceable, defensive-minded, starting-caliber center. With those changes, the team would eliminate any weaknesses in the starting lineup and allow bigger roles for Al and Marvin in the offense, something that many people would love to see.
Now, obviously, the bench would still be an issue, and an even bigger issue than it is now, with the loss of Jamal, but those types of issues can easily be hidden by using a shorter rotation of 8 or so players. In the backcourt, the Hawks would have a quality starting point guard alongside Joe, and both Teague and Jordan Crawford could support them as they develop coming off of the bench. At SF, we would have Mo and Damien for defensive purposes, with Joe occasionally switching over to the 3 on occasion when we are looking for a more offensive-minded lineup. Bibby could become a situational spot-up shooter or off-guard and serve as a mentor as he grows old. Also, as far as the bigs go, Al can without a doubt provide the bulk of the offense for PF-C positions, and since he plays multiple posiitions and we are stockpiled with situational bigs as it is, we can use combinations of Al at the 4 with our new center or Collins, Al at the 5 with Josh Powell, Al at the 4 with Etan Thomas, or Josh Powell and one of our centers when Al is on the bench. There’s a lot of versatility with this type of lineup. The Hawks can go small and quick or go with a big physical lineup. They have perimeter defense (New PG, Teague, JJ, Marvin, Mo, Damien), interior defense (Al, New Center, Collins, Etan), rebounding (Al, New Center, Collins), shooters (Bibby, JJ, Jordan, Marvin), athleticism (Teague, Jordan, Marvin, Al, New Center), speed (Teague, Jordan, Marvin, Al), size, and more. I really like this idea, but I know there’s about a 1% chance of anything like this happening under the management of ASG and Rick Sund.
Savant
January 1st, 2011
5:06 pm
Somehow, I forgot to mention Zaza in that last post, but he helps make the case for the rebounding and defense that I was mentioning above, although he’s not a huge difference maker on either end of the floor, he is a very effective rebounder and pretty solid passing big man.
northcyde
January 1st, 2011
5:08 pm
So we have 2 “Superleague” wins vs Orlando, and 1 vs the Knicks.
Yet . . . Sund thinks “we’re elite”.
Steven
January 1st, 2011
5:14 pm
It’s amazing that we even make that “Superleague” with how badly we have played against winning teams. I know we’ve been injured but still, the team looks awful and significantly worse than it looked last season, even when we were running that horrible isolation-based offense and using pure switching on the defensive end. Wow. I’m still shocked to see that the team is worse, even when a couple of our young players are better than they were last season.
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
5:19 pm
Samuel do you know what a point guards role is? Because clearly you nor alot of our peers do. You say bibby can run the offense. How he averages less than 3 assists a game. How is that putting our players in position to score? Nice points avg seven , good pgs avg around 8 and great avg ten or better. I’ve seen teague put up 8 this year but not bibby
Mr. Blake
January 1st, 2011
5:20 pm
How is anyone surprised that the Hawks are playing badly?
This team has one of the worst coaches in the league; arguably the worst starting point guard in the league; one of the biggest ball hogs, if not the biggest ball hog, in the league (Joe Johnson); a pouty self-absorbed player who thinks he is some kind of hero and does whatever he wants (I think you all know who I am talking about); a roster filled with scoring guards that dominate the offense; horrible perimeter defense; and very likely, the worst ownership group in the history of professional sports.
What do you expect? Even if the talent is there, the team/coaches don’t know how to use that talent, and management doesn’t know how to make moves to correct problems that have been around for years.
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
5:22 pm
Why do you guys think jj has lead this team in assists since he’s been here a five a clip and josh is second at four? Because we have no point guard period! Dudes trash the young boy can’t run the offense any worse cause josh smith runs the offense with jj anyway. Prove me wrong on that dude.
Dominic
January 1st, 2011
5:30 pm
Jamillion, the answer to your last question is very simple. Joe Johnson dominates the ball more than anyone on the team, his usage percentage since he’s been here has been threw the roof. He dominates the offense, so obviously, he the play most likely to rack up assists, since the ball is almost always in his hands, and he gets the luxury of determining what the team will do on any given possession when he’s in the game. As for Josh, he’s a skilled passer, and also thinks that he is Magic Johnson and Ray Allen on any given night, so he sometimes like to imagine that he can play the point guard position in transition, which has mixed results, sometimes he makes a nice pass which results in a basket, as indicated by his 3.6 apg this season, other times, he makes a bonehead play by not giving up the ball and trying to make a hero pass, indicated by his 2.66 turnovers/game this season. Bibby is basically on the floor to tell players where to position themselves on the floor before the ball makes it way to Joe, and the motion and spacing breaks down. Bibby isn’t a true point guard on this team, he’s a spot up shooter and a decoy in the corner, at times.
northcyde
January 1st, 2011
5:30 pm
So Savant . . . you’re basically saying Smith + Jamal . . for Andre Miller and Marcus Camby.
Because honestly, those are the only 2 PG and C that we could get in a trade that would even remotely fulfill what you’re seeking.
New lineup:
PG – Miller
G – JJ
F – Marvin
PF – Horford
C – Camby
PG – Teague
G – Bibby
F – Mo
PF – Powell
C – Collins
G – Jordan
F/C – Etan
Miller and Camby are the guys I wanted all along . . . in 2009, when both were free agents.
But frankly, we might be better off keeping Smith than Horford, if we added those 2 to the Hawks. If we keep Smith, that gives us 2 bonafide shot blockers in the paint
And that bench is a defensive nightmare. Even if you replaced Jordan with Bibby, you’re looking at major problems.
As long as the Hawks refuse to go even a little into the Luxury Tax, we simply can’t add the players we want to add.
Because the issue is not this season, but the upcoming seasons. Jamal’s 10 million that could be coming off the books, is like a piece of gold to the ASG. A lot of you are expecting a trade involving Jamal, but I’d be shocked if that trade happened.
And if it did happen, it’ll be for another expiring player that they could choose not to re-sign next season.
Some of you are going to be very angry when the team that you see now, is the team that you’ll see after the trade deadline in late February.
Samuel
January 1st, 2011
5:55 pm
Jamillion,
You tell me why Teague isn’t playing? Yea, I know, LD just doesn’t like him. Sure. Yes, assists mean a lot but they are not the only indicator of running a team anymore than steals and blocks make you a great defender. Sometimes the second pass is the one who gets the assist. What about keeping the team together, giving them confidence.
If you have 8 assist and 6 turnovers, what do you really have? Plus, we all know Bibby is a “shot maker”. There have been many players who excelled in this league because they could shoot. How many PGs have survived in the NBA just because they were quick and could dunk.
Every coach in the league wants to win. If LD thought Teague gave him the best chance to win, he’d be in there, trust me. Same thing with the players. If they trusted Teague they would be pressuring LD to play him (Teague) more.
Game Recap: Oklahoma City Thunder 103, Atlanta Hawks 94 | Ultimate Team Sports News
January 1st, 2011
6:07 pm
[...] have that signature win yet that makes you think “hey this team might can compete”. Actually the Hawks are 2-6 against teams with a winning record on the road. Yet it is the fact that they were withing striking distance or [...]
STRETCH
January 1st, 2011
6:09 pm
Mr Blake,
I think you said it all!
Samuel
January 1st, 2011
6:09 pm
8 assists during garbage time means nothing.
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
6:20 pm
Rotfl dominic you are so serious jj is a nice player though but we need a good point that can penetrate so josh won’t think he magic. And let teague learn from our new pg cause all he think he has to do is give it to jj or jamal cause that’s all he been taught by bibby.
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
6:29 pm
A samuel why is jordan crawford on the bench when we’ve all seen him hit four threes back to back to bring us back in the dallas game only to be subbed back for the same lethargic players he replaced only to lose.Why does jj jack up so many bad shots and get a pass?Bad coaching.And as far as bibby he can shot and spot up shooters have a role, on the bench!
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
6:40 pm
Ps and why is al so untradeable?When alltime greats and fifty greatest like kg,ray allen, shaq,barkley, lebron,&steve nash twice. He is not kobe, magic, bird, or mike
Samuel
January 1st, 2011
6:45 pm
Jamillion,
I agree that J Crawford should play more. I really don’t understand that one myself. I even believe Teague should play more but I don’t believe he is as good as Bibby. I really wish the guy could shoot even a “little” because he has some athleticism.
I think his lack of shooting ability carries over to his overall game. If he can’t get all the way to the basket, he gets frustrated and loses confidence. Maybe he develops a shot before he’s out of the league but the Hawks don’t have time to develop PGs. That’s what the D-League is for.
Samuel
January 1st, 2011
6:55 pm
I agree that no one on this team should be untouchable. I do think Al should be last resort. I was torn on he or Josh but the more I look at it, Josh would go before Al in my book. I do believe either Josh or Al will have to be moved in order for this team to acquire the piece that possibly could put them on the next level. JJ is starting to look like damaged goods so i’m not sure what we could get for him at this point.
O'Brien
January 1st, 2011
6:57 pm
Ramon,
Exactly. Jamal and Mo are expirings, and I dont think they will be resigned. So next season, JC2 will take his lumps, and we still wont know for sure what we have in JT0.
For all the good things Bibby does, there are still issues.
Despite averaging 30 mpg in 35 games, he has attempted 34 FT. That’s because he is not breaking down defenses, he is not penetrating, and he does not handle the ball alot. Not to mention his liabilities on defense.
Rick Sund messed up when he gave Bibby a 3 year deal. Bibby made it known he was staying with the Hawks, but the Hawks bid against themselves and gave him a 3rd year guarantee.
We need an upgrade at PG (or backup PG), but with the Hawks not going into luxury tax, we dont have the money.
Our only move is to trade Jamal and Mo for an expiring big or expiring PG. And I dont know if such a move is available.
Ken Strickland
January 1st, 2011
7:18 pm
It’s amazing how Samuel and others support Bibby because of his ability to make spot up jumpers and limit turnovers. With them, those 2 things alone are enough for them to overlook his:
1-horrid DEF,
2-OFF inconsistency,
3-lack of speed, quickness and athleticism
4-Unwillingness to take charge of the OFF and control the ball
5-habit of giving JJ the ball most of the time and letting his control he OFF and ball,
6-inability to penetrate, dish and create more assist opportunities,
7-conservative, low risk approach to playing PG, which is how he limits his turnovers.
SAMUEL-can you name another slow, none athletic, none penetrating, strickly long range spot up shooting PG that can’t defend, and allows his SG and PF to run the OFF and create more scoring opportunities for others, and still starts?
KevinM
January 1st, 2011
7:34 pm
Northcyde, excellent points all around.
I have always seen us as the same level at Utah. We will never in our current makeup be a EC contender. Utah at least has seen a Finals in their history.
And as far as being mad about the core being the core after the trade deadline, I would almost bet the house on it. Sund has never made any significant changes in season and he won’t be adding long term contracts with this CBA on the front burner.
The Lakers woes? Temporary…once the season comes close to the end, they will start jelling. Their record against EC foes during the regular season? Irrevelant..they don’t need any confidence. They just have to beat the same teams they have always beaten.
Melvin
January 1st, 2011
7:36 pm
Look as if our Top Hawk may the not so good list….
http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/johnson/2011/01/01/the-top-10-disappointments-again/
KevinM
January 1st, 2011
7:46 pm
Ken S makes good points, but isn’t it strange that the Hawks’ brass continues with the same old approach with him?
I just don’t see Bibby being relegated to the bench. The only way we move him is if Teague and JC1 show they can handle the position. I for one am eager to see just this happen. I just don’t see this happening simply based on the limited trust LD has in Teague.
But as we know, small moves are made around here, and moves are not made in haste. Case in point: bringing in Damien Wilkins.
For the long haul however, I sure would like to see Josh Powell get more minutes, and the only way that happens is if we can move either Smoove or Al. Moving Al is less risky as he might even be able to bring more to this roster.
I however, have zero confidence in Rick Sund.
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
7:49 pm
We’ll get samuel right,look jeff may not a shot but his defense is nice n when jj isn’t in the game, start jto and let jc2 and jc1 be our back up backcourt
Jamillion
January 1st, 2011
7:52 pm
Look since we aren’t going to become better by trades,let’s just start teague n collins n bring jc2 n jc off the bench as our back court
Ken Strickland
January 1st, 2011
7:58 pm
OBRIEN-If we trade for a PG at the trade deadline, in addition to exchanging matching salaries, both salaries would be prorated. Therefore, we can acquire another PG without going into luxury tax territory.
Jerome
January 1st, 2011
8:11 pm
What makes any of you think that the ASG is even thinking of making a trade or that they would accept even if they were offered a great deal? ASG has made 1 good move in the last year and that was signing Horford to an extension. Outside of that, they have been awful and are known for being very passive about their decision making. We can all dream of trade scenarios, but you are leading yourself to disappointment if you actually get your hopes up and think that Sund and the ASG will actually make one of the trades that you are hoping for, or even make any trade at all.
Ken Strickland
January 1st, 2011
8:32 pm
KEVINM-Why make a big issue of whether Teague has the ability to run the OFF, when Bibby really hasn’t done anything to prove he can run the OFF. Let’s face it, letting JJ or Jamal bring the ball up, or giving it to them at the 3pt line half the time isn’t running the OFF. And the fact he has fewer assists than his PF and SG demonstrates he’s not controlling the ball or the OFF, which is what we need from our PG.
Some act like starting Teague, and/or giving him more mins, will eliminate any chance of Bibby playing and being able to hit those spot up jumpers. COMMON SENSE should tell anyone with a clue, that expecting Bibby to contain todays bigger, quicker, faster, and more athletic PG’s, or even match them offensively, is an extremely stupid and self defeating idea.
It’s actually unfair to Bibby, as well as to JJ, who’s far too often asked to cover for him. If some changes and/or adjustments aren’t made at PG soon, our playoff options will be severely limited. I doubt if we’ll suffer another embarrassing record setting 2nd rd loss, because we’ll be lucky if we make it to the 2nd rd.
Whoever we face in the 1st rd will exploit Bibby and run the Hawks right out of the playoffs. If LDrew, for whatever reason, refuses to rely on Teague during the regular season, what can he possibly expect from him during the playoffs?
Val
January 1st, 2011
8:38 pm
Playoffs?…Playoffs? You’re talkin’ about Playoffs? Come on, don’t talk about Playoffs? (Jim Mora voice)
What makes you people even think that the Hawks will be in the playoffs. With the way they are playing right now, they might fall apart down the stretch of the regular season when having to take on better competition. With the current strategy and current coach, don’t expect much to improve, and as long as Bibby is starting and Joe is dominating the ball as much as he is, don’t expect the chemistry to improve.
O'Brien
January 1st, 2011
9:18 pm
Ken S raises a good point.
In the playoffs, is there any doubt that whoever we play will pick and roll us to death?
SteveW
January 1st, 2011
9:19 pm
KenS – Can you say Baron Davis? Unless he’s not starting for the Clips’ recently. Even the owner of the Clips sits in the stands and makes fun of his rotundness.
But point well taken. I like Bibby, just not as the major PG on the team. And right now his backup is Jamal.
pinoy hawk
January 1st, 2011
9:27 pm
no one should blame LD for giving too much PT for his starters (especially bibby). with this lineup and quality of the bench, any coach will give these starters heavy mins in order to win. if someone should be blamed, it should be the management and sund for putting up this mediocre team, not to mention those stupid contract extensions!
i agree that the hawks should trade for an athletic PG (jc1+teague or teague+marvin) not to start, but to give quality mins off the bench. i know bibby is in the decline, especially in the defensive end, but his presence in the court makes the opposing team play more honest D which gives JJ, Smoove and the Boss more room to operate on offense.
SteveW
January 1st, 2011
9:28 pm
Salary Cap – Even without Jamal and Mo’, we owe over 64 mil in players salaries next season (for 9 guys: JJ, Smoove, Al, Marvin, ZaZa, Bibby, JT, JC2, Sy,). This with a new CBA coming out. We are not taking on new salaries unless Gearon Jr. finds another partner for ASG, which he is actively seeking.
This is why have 2nd picks from Phoenix and Houston, because they’re cheap. Sy is cheap, so we take a chance on him. That is why we are so intent on developing JT, JC2, and Sy from a management viewpoint. But LD is coaching for his job, so he doesn’t always work it that way.
The draft dudes are projecting a PF in the draft. I agree, it makes the most sense. Not sure we can re-sign Smoove in a couple of years, but probably. Next 3 drafts (1st picks):
PF
PG – To take Bibby’s place behind Teague
SF – To take Wilkens place, and in case we can’t/don’t want to re-sign Marvin
SteveW
January 1st, 2011
9:30 pm
My biggest problem with Sund? Not taking chances because of the teams fragile psyche. No Tracy McGrady for the Vet minimum salary. No Shaq. No Dampier. Take a chance will you!
SteveW
January 1st, 2011
9:34 pm
KenS – Cosign 8:32 post. Kinda like Brandon Jennings broke us down last year in that Buck series, even before Jameer dismantled us.
Can you imagine us facing Jameer and Arenas with Bibby as our PG defense?
How about Rondo vs. Bibby?
How about Rose vs Bibby?
Felton vs. Bibby?
I don’t even like John Wall vs. Bibby.
So Ken, you are exactly right!
honest_abe
January 1st, 2011
9:35 pm
jordan crawford simply isn’t ready play significant minutes. i’m excited about his ability to score but other than jacking up shots he looks lost on offense and defense. half of his passes end up in the stands. he needs some priming and i think the d league would be perfect for him. i will agree he needs to be playing somewhere.
if we’ve learned anything about this ownership group they don’t like to make trades. besides the jamal crawford deal they haven’t made any other significant trade… except give away players for pennies.
watching this team wallow in mediocrity. mired in their old, bad habits are making them close to unwatchable. the only way this team could possibly challenge in the east is for teague to mature and take control of this team. unfortunately that’s not going to happen this year.
kwooden1
January 1st, 2011
9:42 pm
Got a chance to watch this game again and I actually thought the HAWKS played pretty well overall. (a lot of unforced turnovers early) OKC hit a season high from the 3pt line and we missed some open 3s, which I really think was the difference in the game. We’re still a jumpshooting team, but I think we’re doing a much better job of getting the ball in the paint. Not have Marvin hurt a bit on the defensive end, because we had one less defender to use on Durant. I agreed with LD using Damien most of the 4th along with the zone to slow down OKC, but we did miss Bibby’s 3 point shooting. From what I saw I don’t think OKC is much better than the HAWKS, they’re pretty even.
GO HAWKS!!
Ron
January 1st, 2011
9:42 pm
I’m watching bits and pieces of the Utah Flash-Bakerfield Jam D-League game where Pape Sy is making his debut, and I have to say that I’m impressed with his aggressiveness so far. He’s played 7 minutes and has already been to the free throw line 4 times where he’s 4-4. I like his aggressiveness on both ends of the floor and his shooting stroke at the free throw line is very smooth and effortless. Obviously, this is small sample size for judgement, but hopefully this guy turns out to be a valuable asset to the team eventually, and not a wasted pick, like so many of our picks in the past have been.
MsDee
January 1st, 2011
9:43 pm
Not sure if any of u guys may be interested in seeing Pape Sy playing in the d-league as I am typing. You can find him on futurecast.nba.com/nbadl/console.jsp
Sautee
January 1st, 2011
9:52 pm
northcyde,
about this: “So we have 2 “Superleague” wins vs Orlando, and 1 vs the Knicks.
Yet . . . Sund thinks “we’re elite”.”
Worse than that, northcyde,…….much worse in fact, is the fact that Mike Gearon, Jr. thinks we have a great core, and I’d imagine that the “elite” stuff came directly from him. That means no trades on the horizon.
I’m very afraid that the only way things change is either for the team to tank or an ownership change.
Samuel
January 1st, 2011
10:49 pm
Funny how you guys continue to rate LD over Woody yet conveniently overlook the fact that he sees things basically the same way. Other than playing Collins a little more, what changes has he made. Please don’t give me that crap about the “motion offense”. People it’s not there. Our offense is the same as it was last year.
What other head coach has actually gone on record like LD and said he wants to hand over the job to his backup but the backup is “too sorry” to take it. Sure Bibby is slow and unathletic but obviously he does just enough to keep Teague on the bench. At this point, it’s the lesser of two evils. Do you play a guy who is your smartest player, your most consistent outside shooter and the guy the team trusts or the guy who can’t hit the blind side of a barn, turns the ball over constantly, shows no leadership ability but looks good in spurts, especially on Youtube. The choice has been made and until Teague steps the f_ck up he will continue to ride the pine. How you like them apples?
Brandon
January 1st, 2011
11:30 pm
Glad my favorite team won. Thunder Up! I know Atlanta is my hometown but I refuse to root for a team thats not fun to watch and full of selfish players.