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Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 107, Clippers 98

8:56 pm January 2, 2011, by Michael Cunningham

Los Angeles–I’ll leave it to L.D. to sum this one up: “Our defense stiffened up the second half, we started making shots, Joe got into a rhythm, Jamal was Jamal and then Josh Smith made a couple 3s down the stretch.”

  • It’s not a winning strategy in the big picture, or even in one-offs against teams better than the Clippers, but it worked today. Perhaps the Hawks can learn a lesson in victory.
  • “It was a 12:30 game,” Josh said. “People still had to wake up. I still was in my bed a little bit until I got it going. Everybody got it going. Jamal was a big lift off the bench. He was able to keep the game close with his scoring.”
  • Jamal was efficient and explosive for the second game in a row. “People don’t understand,” he said. “I saw Melo’s quote, he missed five games and he said his legs felt like bricks. It just takes time to get your timing and stuff back. You are in such a rhythm of what’s going on, if anything breaks that it just takes time to get it back.”
  • J.J. had his highest-scoring game since he had 34 points against the Suns on Nov. 7. He did it mostly by physically abusing the Clippers’ smallish guards and making 14 of 17 free throws. “We wanted to take advantage of the mismatch and either make them double team, score or get fouled,” he said.
  • Joe still managed to get up 20 shots, missing 13. Jamal got 13 attempts, Al eight and Bibby got six. All made at least half their attempts.
  • There was some vintage Iso-Joe in the fourth quarter, when he made 3 of 6 shots. “Just as soon as that elbow heals at 100 percent, he will be back into form,” L.D. said.
  • The Hawks were a mess defensively in the first half. I don’t have to tell you the problem. “In the first half we were hurt by our pick-and-roll coverages,” Drew said. “We made some adjustments with that.”
  • I’m trying to remember a time when the Hawks weren’t hurt by their pick-and-roll coverages and exactly what adjustments can be made given their personnel. It’s not something that figures to get much better, particularly against faster teams like the Clippers.
  • It’s repetitive to watch the Hawks get beat off the dribble, leading to open jumpers, drive-and-dishes for high-percentage shots, or putbacks because Atlanta’s bigs are constantly helping. There’s just no way for the Hawks to consistently stop good teams that way in the kind of possession-by-possession games that come in the playoffs.
  • It’s also tough for the Hawks to beat good teams when they have little post presence offensively. Josh jacking up jumpers doesn’t help with that, but he made two timely 3-pointers in this game. “I was open, my teammates got me the ball,” he said. “I stepped into my shots. In the first half, I was fading away.”
  • Al was limited 17 minutes in the first half because of the two-foul rule. He had a tough time finding space inside against DeAndre Jordan but two shot attempts in 20 second-half minutes isn’t enough.
  • Teague played nine minutes. He put up three shots in four first-half minutes and made them all. Passing didn’t seem to be much of a thought.
  • Baron Davis got past Teague a couple times. Eric Gordon also got around him to feed Blake Griffin for a layup. Teague tends to give too much ground even as he stays in front of his man, but he gives the Hawks a fighting chance since they don’t have to scramble to help him on every possession.
  • Zaza gave the Hawks a lift defensively. They needed that with all of the Clippers’ long bodies and quick guards looking to score at the basket.
  • Damien Wilkins was solid in four minutes. He’s usually a net positive as long as his shot attempts are near the basket.
  • Griffin had a couple big dunks early. His final stat line looked good (31 points, 15 rebounds, 11 of 22 field goals) but he was quiet at winning time. “He probably has to be the most exciting player in the game right now,” Smoove said. “He’s that impressive.”
  • Smoove began the game with an extra headband to hold in place a bandage for the cut he suffered Friday at Oklahoma City. He shed the second headband after halftime because it put too much pressure on his head.
    “I just rolled the first one up and hoped I didn’t get hit in the head,” he said.

Michael Cunningham

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258 comments Add your comment

Jamillion

January 3rd, 2011
7:39 am

Steve w it isn’t about being a smoove supporter i just like guys who can ball. Like u said our bigs r shooting js. So y don’t nobody get on al for his disappearing acts? N no scoring?

dap01

January 3rd, 2011
7:59 am

Bibby is playing defense. That is the reason for the Hawks always getting beat off the dribble. Teague plays more defense in 9 minutes that Bibby in 30.

Larry Drew says one thing but coaches another way.

O'Brien

January 3rd, 2011
8:38 am

I’m with Najeh. I am ok with Josh taking jumpers if he is open and in rhythym when they pass it to him.

But when he pump fakes twice, and then shoots, or takes a jumper with 15 seconds left on the shot clock, those are the bad shots.

I do wish he wouldnt throw his hands up at his teamates like that when they mess up though. He had 7 turnovers against OKC. Imagine if his teamates did the same thing to him?

I’m happy for the road win, but 36 games into the season, this Hawks team is still up and down…

ILL-Logical

January 3rd, 2011
8:39 am

Congratulations to the Falcons for winning the NFC South! The hard work that the entire organization from the owners,stasff and players has yielded a result that the entire city of Atlanta can be proud of. Let’s all salute them for that effort and wish them even greater success in the Playoffs.

And here’s hoping that the Falcon’s success is contagious.

i_am_soulstar

January 3rd, 2011
8:46 am

Joe’s game was actually pretty efficent. You can’t just look at his 7-20 FGs when a guy has that many free throws. Outside of the technical free throw, you have 8 more attempts where the guy got to the line for 16 free point opportunities and made 13 of them. The guy had a +/- of +18.

sam'l

January 3rd, 2011
8:56 am

Like it or not, this is so much better to win than to lose. I sense a change in the air. Maybe the Hawks will fall into a rhythm now which will make all the little problems go away.

Bibby should be used in isolated offensive situations, like out of bounds 1 point down with 10 seconds to play……and then he better make that 3 when it comes to him. Unfortunately, all the players need to play defense. Perhaps Bibby (and Pachulia) could both give an energet 7 minutes a game, , make a few things happen and sit down…….

Only raw desire to win will smooth out the distracting egotistical errors.

sam'l

January 3rd, 2011
8:57 am

typo…energetic

J from the A

January 3rd, 2011
9:04 am

“Baron Davis got past Teague a couple times. Eric Gordon also got around him to feed Blake Griffin for a layup. Teague tends to give too much ground even as he stays in front of his man, but he gives the Hawks a fighting chance since they don’t have to scramble to help him on every possession.”

This is an interesting quote. Off and on, since the beginning of the season, I, along with a few other bloggers, have been claiming that Teague’s defense is in fact not much (any?) better than Bibby’s.

Bibby gets beat off the dribble because he is a step too slow. Teague get beat off the dribble because he lacks the fundamentals. [But keep in mind: It's much easier to learn fundamentals then it is to learn how to get a step back. And, as Teague has a lot of the necessary "tools" to be a good defender I look for him to continue to improve.]

However, even when people are willing to admit that Teague’s defense isn’t quite there yet (i.e., by simply being willing to recognize that he often gets beat off the dribble), somehow his getting beat off the dribble gives the Hawks more of a fighting chance. Getting beat off the dribble [Bibby] ≈ getting beat off the dribble [Teague]. So, Teague has a better chance to recover than Bibby; however, often enough when Teague gets beat off the dribble, he is too far out of position to recover. Furthermore, the opposing player still gets in the lane, often causing the help defense to have to rotate, which in turn leads to open men, higher percentage shots, fouls, missed rebound opportunities, etc.

If Teague wants more playing time, he has to learn to defend with consistency! [Becoming a little more consistent on the offensive end would be nice, too.]

Clyde

January 3rd, 2011
9:36 am

This is the NBA. Everyone gets beat off the dribble sometime.

J from the A

January 3rd, 2011
9:44 am

Yes, Clyde, that is _very_ true.

However, one of the main complaints about Bibby is that he gets beat off the dribble way too often. My point is that Teague hasn’t proved that he in fact fares better than Bibby in this regard.

JeJe

January 3rd, 2011
9:47 am

If Caron stays down, any chance we could trade Marvin for Haywood? We could then see if ZaZa+Mo could get us a serviceable SF

JeJe

January 3rd, 2011
9:48 am

Damien needs to get more minutes. If he looked so good in those 4 minutes, then why did Mo get way more minutes? I’d like to see Mo traded so we can see Damien get regular rotational minutes.

If Marvin has dirt on ASG, then Mo has dirt on LD. That’s the only reason he can possibly be infatuated with playing this guy so much

Jamillion

January 3rd, 2011
9:50 am

Good post about that cushion. The hawks should give no cushion like wilkins does on defense

JeJe

January 3rd, 2011
10:02 am

It’s ready to be consistent and for us to go on a winning streak. If we can get past @Utah, we can easily win the next 7 games. Jan 18-29 looks brutal though

JeJe

January 3rd, 2011
10:03 am

People talk about Bibby scoring more than he gives up. Does Damien not give up less than he scores? No one gets points off him

J from the A

January 3rd, 2011
10:14 am

This is just an unsubstantiated conjecture, but perhaps with Damien on the floor, the Hawks are not able to achieve good enough spacing, especially if he is playing with other backups. Mo, on the other hand, can hit the open corner 3 [at least better than Damien can]. So, either the other team guards Mo, spreading the other team’s defense, or Mo is wide open for a spot up 3. So, it’s not always about an individuals production, but how well the team produces while that individual is on the floor.

Over the next few games I’ll try to keep an eye on the spacing on the offensive end when Mo is in the game versus when Damien is in the game. [If it is not spacing issues, I am not sure why Mo is getting significantly more time than Damien.]

O'Brien

January 3rd, 2011
10:43 am

J from the A,

I agree that Teague needs to play better, and he does get beat. But with experience, he will improve. Bibby will continue to wear down and will only get worse defensively as the season progresses.

And in the playoffs, look for teams to pick and roll us constantly.

Can you imagine Bibby matched up against Jameer? Or Bibby matched up against D. Rose? Or Bibby matched up against Felton and the Knicks? Then what? We play Jamal at PG?

I know it’s a fine line between letting Teague take his lumps and not sacrificing games. But I dont think LD is doing a good job of walking the fine line.

steve brown

January 3rd, 2011
10:48 am

I get the distinct feeling this is a much weaker team without Jamal Crawford. If I am wrong Sund needs to trade him if I am right he needs to be signed now. Mo Evans must have something on the coach, I just don’t get his game at all. Josh Smith went to Atlanta Public Schools, need we say more.

bigdave

January 3rd, 2011
11:00 am

wrong.

Cobb County school system. cracks on APS but doesnt have his facts straight.

Mike is back

January 3rd, 2011
11:01 am

MC, Good Stuff…I like the fact that these guys didn’t wilt under pressure…and came back and secured a victory on the road.

JC1, was the difference in the game…Dude carried these guys until they were ready to play.

Jamillion, I agree with your earlier comment about Josh…because dude is a lightning rod…people tend to single him out…and while he does not make the most astute post game comments…he has made major strides this season.

I’m just glad the Hawks kept fighting and didn’t give up…I thought we was for sure looking at an 0-4 road trip if we lost that game…despite the fact it was the Clips…this win could be a confidence builder for the rest of the trip…A WIN IS A WIN…IS A WIN…especially if you are the Hawks.

Considering all that this team has ENDURED this season…we should cherish THESE wins…IF we go back and look at the blog prior to the start of the season…I WOULD SAY…LD has this team about where everyone thought or a little better…UNTIL LD GETS COMPLETE BUY-IN ON DEFENSE…these guys are going to look the same.

Mike is back

January 3rd, 2011
11:01 am

MC, Good Stuff…I like the fact that these guys didn’t wilt under pressure…and came back and secured a victory on the road.

JC1, was the difference in the game…Dude carried these guys until they were ready to play.

Jamillion, I agree with your earlier comment about Josh…because dude is a lightning rod…people tend to single him out…and while he does not make the most astute post game comments…he has made major strides this season.

I’m just glad the Hawks kept fighting and didn’t give up…I thought we was for sure looking at an 0-4 road trip if we lost that game…despite the fact it was the Clips…this win could be a confidence builder for the rest of the trip…A WIN IS A WIN…IS A WIN…especially if you are the Hawks.

Considering all that this team has ENDURED this season…we should cherish THESE wins…IF we go back and look at the blog prior to the start of the season…I WOULD SAY…LD has this team about where everyone thought or a little better…UNTIL LD GETS COMPLETE BUY-IN ON DEFENSE…these guys are going to look the same.

Mike is back

January 3rd, 2011
11:08 am

my bad on the double post…all I did was refresh the page.

J from the A

January 3rd, 2011
11:08 am

@O’Brien (10:43am): I (almost) completely agree. I think Teague has the tools, and that he has a chance to evolve into a good point guard in this league. I am even hopeful that he will be more or less ready for decent playing time by the end of the season. (I am optimistically hopeful that he will especially be ready for quality playing time come the playoffs for the reasons that you point out.)

I, too, wish Teague got at least a little more playing time, but I am not ready to fault LD for this. After all, LD (and the rest of the coaching staff) sees a lot more of Teague than we do (e.g., practice, etc.). They are in a much better position than we are to gauge how to appropriately walk that fine line. [This isn't meant to say that I think LD is doing it right. This is meant to say that I am a bit skeptical that we truly know better than LD.]

J from the A

January 3rd, 2011
11:12 am

Hawks, let’s see an 8 game winning streak! With a win against the Jazz, an 8 game winning streak is achievable. And given the strength of the Hawks’ schedule after this 8 game stretch, the Hawks will need to get the wins while they can.

Rod from College Park

January 3rd, 2011
11:28 am

To all of you Jamal Crawford haters, the only way we should trade Jamal is if we get a proven scorer back. Without Jamal, the Hawks will struggle to score in the playoffs. Jamal is our only true scorer. Joe can score, but he has to work to hard to get his shot. Jamal is the only guy who can take people off the dribble on this team and score consistently. When you complain about how much he shoots, and his percentages, sometimes I wonder if you realize that he is just doing his job. His job is to come in off the bench and score period. His defense is not great, but the effort is always there. This has truly been the only great move that Sund has made in his time in Atlanta. All these trade proposals involving Jamal, that would net us a defensive center would be terrible. First, LD is not a defensive coach, second we would not be able to get out of the 70’s in the playoffs without Jamal’s scoring. If you trade him, it better be for a wing scorer to replace Marvin, or a scoring center (like Kaman). Other than that, you need to keep him.

slimjr

January 3rd, 2011
11:30 am

‘the Clippers bigs made the Hawks bigs look slow and unathletic’. MC

Sund did you read that?? Your team’s front line was out rebounded big time by the Clippers plus they had 11 offensive boards.. Prediction, Chicago Bulls in 5 against the Hawks first round match up.The beat down is comin…. Keep hoisting those 3’s in the 4th quarter Josh!! You will guarantee an early exit in playoff’s…
Josh for Rudy Gay yesterday…Jettison the core Scottie.Make it so!
Sund=Billy Knight

doc

January 3rd, 2011
11:42 am

mike, got to agree with the lightening rod as i have used it more than once about his relationship to blogger fans. man they dog him mercilessly. yes he does say some of the stupidest things and acts petulant at times but there have been revered players doing the same. cant say he is doing it right but isnt a vocal leader one of the things we have said is missing and have asked that of jj? when josh exerts some of this it is josh being josh.

yeah, you are right about the comeback which is what the better teams do, exert their will. it would have been a huge hole to not have won that game with two more to play on this trip one winnable another probably not.

j from a, yes we need a winning streak to keep from falling further behind as the guys ahead of us a very capable of continuing their runs.

man lakers are struggling. one of the surprises of the young season moving to the halfway point.

Mike is back

January 3rd, 2011
11:43 am

OB, I agree on your 10:43am post…LD’s dilemma is…he wants to shore up his perimeter defense…but he needs Bibby to run his offense…at some point…we are going to have make a trade or develop the personnel we have for that position…those are the only options available…we might as well go through the growing pains and get Teague ready go…He don’t have to start…just make sure he is getting enough PT to continue to develop…give him THE GREEN LIGHT AND TELL HIM…GO GET IT…GO GET IT!!

slimjr

January 3rd, 2011
11:53 am

Teague has no jumpshot at the 1! We have weak scoring at the critical 3 to help out Allstar Joe..That’s why Bibby has to play more minutes at least he can shoot the rock..
Sund believes his team has improved if you believe that bull…The next 8 weeks will prove him wrong..Sund has been a GM for a long time but unfortunately for the Hawks hes never won a championship in 31 years.. So we should not expect him to make it happen here…Hawks are a write off..
Sund= same ole bull

S

Mike is back

January 3rd, 2011
12:01 pm

Doc, I agree…I think we look at the BIRDS and want to see the same gritty determination in the Hawks…however there is a big gap in talent and philosophy between the two teams…I will give LD credit for getting more out of his personnel than his predecessor…however, I still thinking he is struggling coming with the right rotations…but that is to be expected from a first year coach…ALL AND ALL DUDE IS HOLDING IT DOWN AT THE HC POSITION.

O'Brien

January 3rd, 2011
12:38 pm

@ slimjr,

Prior to his back injury, Marvin was averaging 15 pts and 6 rebounds the previous 5 games, so he was showing signs of providing scoring from the 3 position.

Mike, J from the A,

Rick and LD need to make a decision. If they think Teague is good enough to be our backup PG, then they need to give him more PT and deal with the lumps.

If they don’t think Teague is good enough to provide consistent minutes as a backup PG, then they need to bring in somebody who can. Sign a PG from the D-League to a 10 day contract (when possible), trade Mo Evans and his expiring contract for a PG, but either way, we will need better PG play to advance in the playoffs.

KevinM

January 3rd, 2011
12:40 pm

Bibby plays more for one simple fact: he hits the jumper more often than Teague. Teague has to get his confidence on his jumper.

The Hawks will not be a 4 seed; I see them going up against Chicago or New York to get to Round 2.

And who thinks Jamal is more valuable to us than Joe? I for one do, as we need a bench scorer…aside from a couple of baskets from Zaza and Powell, we have no bench scoring….Marvin is a good fit there, but its not about team obviously with Marvin.

I just like Jamal and the way he gets his points. No knock against Joe re: getting points, but we are better with them than without them. Sund has to find a way to keep Crawford. I felt the same way about Flip Murray who would come in and provide a boost. Crawford trumps Flip as we all see now, but I was really concerned we couldn’t get anyone to take on that role.

But this is a team that is a bad jump shot night away from being sent home in the playoffs. If we don’t hit our jumpers, we don’t have another option. This team works outside in, not inside out.

oldtimer

January 3rd, 2011
12:43 pm

Jamal is a valued member of Hawks. But he is redundant. Hawks need PG help, and a big to help much more desperately than another scorer in SG position.

Yes we give up scoring with trade of Jamal, but have to give up something of value to get something of value. Otherwise no team trades for Zaza and Mo

Sleepy

January 3rd, 2011
12:58 pm

yeah oldtimer trade jamal away and we will see just how redundant he is ? lol

This team doesnt need a pg with this person ell does anyone think that Joe or josh will ever let another player control the ball that much ? Do you watch any of the games ?

Unless you are trading Josh or Joe a pg is unnecessary a true size defensive center is more needed and a backup pg with defense .

As for Teague Jamal and Bibby are not the ones keeping Teague on the bench its the play of the 4 other starters that is keeping Teague on the bench .

Josh,Al,Marvin,Joe either dont show up ,dont run the offense or have various drastic swings in there play that you simply cant insert a young player into that lineup and hope for them to do anything.

The reason is our “core” simply is not consistent enough that they can help develop a young player …heck they are still using the young player excuse themselves so you have to go with Bibby and Crawford because there games have already developed and they dont need to lean on the other 4

Ken Strickland

January 3rd, 2011
1:06 pm

MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM-that was an excellent writeup, except for one aspect, and it’s an issue we saw with Woodson, as well as some of our fans, and now you. You went into detail explaining the DEF issues JTeague had during his 9min stint, which is just fine. But, in your excellent critique of the hawks defensive woes, can you guess what you omitted?

You said, “I’M TRYING TO REMEMBER A TIME WHEN THE HAWKS WEREN’T HURT BY THEIR PICK AND ROLL COVERAGES, AND EXACTLY WHAT ADJUSTMENTS CAN BE MADE GIVEN THEIR PERSONNEL. IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT FIGURES TO GET MUCH BETTER, ESPECIALLY AGAINST FASTER TEAMS LIKE THE CLIPPERS.”

You also said, “IT’S REPETITIVE TO WATCH THE HAWKS GET BEAT OFF THE DRIBBLE, LEADING TO OPEN JUMPERS, DRIVE-AND-DISHES, FOR HIGH-PERCENTAGE SHOTS, OR PUT BACKS BECAUSE ATLANTA’S BIGS ARE CONSTANTLY HELPING. THERE’S JUST NO WAY FOR THE HAWKS TO CONSISTENTLY STOP GOOD TEAMS THAT WAY IN THE KIND OF POSSESSION BY POSSESSION GAMES THAT COME IN THE PLAYOFFS.”

Now, here’s what you didn’t say, which is strange, since you detailed JTeagues’ contribution to the problem. You conveniently omitting any mention of MBibby, or his involvement in our problems. MBibby is our biggest DEF liability, averages almost 30MPG, yet you saw fit to make an issue of JTeague’s defensive laps during his 9min stint.

While you mentioned the effect our weak perimeter DEF has on our Bigs, you failed to mention the effect it has on anyone playing next to Bibby. His extremely poor DEF forces his teammates to focus on compensating and/or covering for Bibby, while trying to maintain focus on their assignment.

As long as Bibby is our starting PG, and continues to get major mins, the Hawks, and every player on the court with him, will continue to have the same DEF problems we’ve had since his arrival. And teams will continue to successfully take full advantage of him, and the Hawks.

MC, please give us an account of what you saw Bibby do defensively in last nights gm. While Jamal is also a DEF liability, he more than makes up for it with his one on one skills, ability to penetrate and attack the basket, and high scoring ability. LDrew has to find another roll that will allow Bibby to be effective, while reducing the negative impact of his diminished offensive skills, and extremely limited defensive ability.

And, we need to stop focusing exclusively what Bibby does well, while ignoring the numerous things he does badly, and the overall effects it has on the team and his teammates. We also need to stop focusing exclusively on what we perceive JTeague can’t do well, while ignoring what he does do well.

If you’re baking something, and it isn’t done within the expected amount of time, do you:
A-throw it out and start over, or
B-put it back in the oven until it’s done?

It’s stupid to deliberately limit the talent and potential of a player like JTeague, because someone ASSUMES he’s not ready. It’s just as stupid to think we can improve by relying heavily on Bibby, who’s limitations and rapid decline puts a tremendous burden on his team and teammates on both ends of the court. BURYING OUR COLLECTIVE HEADS IN THE SAND ON THIS MATTER WON’T DO ANYTHING TO HELP BIBBY, TEAGUE, OR THE HAWKS, GET ANY BETTER.

slimjr

January 3rd, 2011
1:10 pm

Jamal plays even less “D” than Bibby, that’s why he will be traded for who? That’s for Sund to try and figure out if he has the capacity??

Marvin has not been consistent enough at the 3 . 5 decent games does not make a winner especially after 6 non descriptive seasons..Marvin is too soft and will get slap around and crawl into his crib in the playoffs. He does not have it. He came off the bench in college for a reason. Sorry to bust your bubble but he is a pretender not a contender..The Hawks will be dismantled for the 3rd straight playoff run……

Rod from College Park

January 3rd, 2011
1:11 pm

O’Brien,

“Prior to his back injury, Marvin was averaging 15 pts and 6 rebounds the previous 5 games, so he was showing signs of providing scoring from the 3 position.”

Wow!!! A five game average. Come on O’Brien, I would expect better from you. How about 11pts and 5 rebounds for the year, as opposed to 10ppg and 5 rebounds per game last year. Dramatic increase huh. LOL

Sherewshevsky

January 3rd, 2011
1:18 pm

Most astute comment yet by Cunningham: Smoove began the game with an extra headband to hold in place a bandage for the cut he suffered Friday at Oklahoma City. He shed the second headband after halftime because it put too much pressure on his head.

Ken Strickland

January 3rd, 2011
1:43 pm

Smoove stated during the off season he was working on his midrange jumpshot, and he obviously worked very hard on it. Unless a player works equally as hard on his confidence in that jumpshot, he wasted his time. When you consider the DEF, shot blocking, rebounding, assists and energy Josh consistently gives this team, especially on DEF, he’s certainly earned the right to shoot jumpers as anyone else.

And whether anyone is willing to admit it or not, he’s doing a pretty good job of hitting them, especially in the clutch. Here we are complaining about our energetic, rebounding, shot blocking, high assists PF shooting jumpshots, when we should be complaining that our slow, DEF liability of a PG seldom does anything but launch jumpshots.

We got rid of Woodson and MOST of his issues. Now we have to start depending less on one of the biggest reasons he was replaced, and that was his over reliance on Bibby as a starter, and an unwillingness to deal with the negative impact his limitations are having on the team and his teammates.

SteveW

January 3rd, 2011
1:56 pm

I was a jumpshooter in high school. Josh is not catching a shooting in rhythm if he’s falling backwards when he shoots which he says that’s what he’s doing according to the above article.

LD says Josh needs to be careful hoisting up jumpers and shot selection.

MC a vet BB writer sees it.

Phillips Arena sees it when they groan collectively when he hoists up an ill timed jumper.

He cost us a shot in OKC by doing it.
Just blind loyalty to a very good, whiny, immature player, who i like very much. It’s ok to have blind loyalty, just admit it.

And Teague has a very good jumper. Did you see him play in college?

drmaryb (*_*)

January 3rd, 2011
1:59 pm

Between The Lines!

The Game is won, between the lines: if the line stats says:
7-20 with 18 FT’s and 13 made? Doesn’t that equate to: 15-20 (8+1 F’s)?

If you are fouled 8 times and it’s not an “And-1″? Doesn’t that tell you the man was fouled? Where is the Logic for ignoring the facts?

LeBron and Durant goto the lines 10 times per/game and because of that they average 27-30 pts per game, some teams will not allow lay-ups and implement the “Hack-Rule”! The Joe Haters have been complaining that Joe never gets to the FT Line, but this year Joe is doing that at an alarming rate and, Now they complain he shot 7-20 with 17 FT’s attempted and 29 pts? That’s not even adding the assists and rebounds and lock-down perimeter defense!
—————————————

Go Figure That?
________________

“I’m happy for the road win, but 36 games into the season, this Hawks team is still up and down…..”

Do we even consider 55 games missed by starters due to injuries and last season The Hawks missed 50 Games total by starters. I have not even added the 2 Games Marvin has missed and counting … Could that simple fact explain the up and down along with all the New Offense and Defense and New Players gelling allowances that every other team subscribes to?

I’m just wondering? Where is the Logic?

SteveW

January 3rd, 2011
2:01 pm

And i still say start ZaZa and Teague for 3 games and see what happens. You may like the results.

We have Bibby facing off with Tyreke, Udrih, and DeRon the next 2 games. I say start Teague. If he fails, you can still bring Bibby off the bench 5 minutes into the game. Teague is part of the future of this franchise. Start him.

SteveW

January 3rd, 2011
2:07 pm

DrmaryB – Co-sign and we have a new coach and offensive system. And the East is improved. I agree.

I thought we would start slow learning the new system, not factoring in the injuries.

drmaryb (*_*)

January 3rd, 2011
2:14 pm

Developmental League!

“If they don’t think Teague is good enough to provide consistent minutes as a backup PG, then they need to bring in somebody who can.”
_________________________

In all fairness to Coach Drew:
Can he really experiment and develop below NBA talent, while nursing what is now 57 Games not played by starters due to injury to date, while implementing a new overall system and new players, who are proven NBA talents like:

Maurice and ZaZa? I mean, IMHO we haven’t seen all the starters play together without ANY injuries. Jamal and Maurice started the season inactive due to injury and the developmental players are NOT trustworthy!

What would you do to win a game?

northcyde

January 3rd, 2011
2:16 pm

LOL @ “we got rid of Woodson and most of his issues. What issues do we not have this year, that we didn’t have last year?

- perimeter defense is worse
- rebounding is still bad
- bench is still highly inconsistent
- we still have 4th quarter droughts ( with last night being an exception )
- rotations are still highly suspect

Seriously . . . what are we doing better this season, that is helping us win games, other than taking full advantage of the weak schedule we’ve played so far?

SteveW

January 3rd, 2011
2:20 pm

The Hawks aren’t doing that badly. Consider:

Last year we played our 36th game on Jan.9th, losing at Orlando by 32.

This year we played our 36th game on Jan. 2nd, which means we’ve been playing our schedule this year on much less rest.

Last year our record after 36 games was 23-13.

This year it’s 22-14, 1 game back of last year.

So with less rest, more injuries, including JJ and Jamal, and a new coach and totally new offensive syste, we’re 1 game behind last year. Not bad.

Ken Strickland

January 3rd, 2011
2:23 pm

DOC-Just like opponents have discovered and successfully exploited our biggest weakness over the past 2+ seasons, it seems opponents have discovered some exploitable weaknesses with the Lakers. Their problem just isn’t about the losses, but the fact they’re getting blown out in many of those losses.

When you consider they’re losing, and losing big, with their roster in tact, it makes you wonder if they’ll bea able to turn it around by playoff time.

SteveW

January 3rd, 2011
2:25 pm

Northcyde – The only thing I can think of is LD’s playing big when the opposing teams lineup calls for it. I think that has won us 3-4 games. But on everything else, you are right. Still have the same issues, maybe worse.

Bibby’s a year older

Josh is now shooting long J’s at will

We have less post presence on O and D except for Collins ability to body up.

SteveW

January 3rd, 2011
2:30 pm

According to Hollinger (who I distrust) we have played the 28th (out of 30) weakest schedule in the NBA. The Bucks have played the toughest according to him.

SteveW

January 3rd, 2011
2:35 pm

The biggest party team in the NBA? Evidently the Hawks who won their 1st game in the New Year for the first time in 9 years.

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