Atlanta Hawks: Rockets 112, Hawks 106
Scola and Rockets pushed Hawks around. (AP Photo)
- A tough matchup and a tougher team undid the Hawks. The former wasn’t a surprise unless you thought Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry would have trouble getting past Atlanta’s guards. But it was a bit jarring to see a lack of support on Atlanta’s backline.
- “We thought we could outscore this team,” L.D. said. “Defensively, I thought we were soft.”
- Luis Scola, Jordan Hill and Chuck Hayes combined to make 24 of 37 shots.
- “We just didn’t play with any kind of physicality and we didn’t take anything away,” Drew said. “We allowed them to back us into the paint and score easily. We forgot kind of who we are. We have not been a team starting games thinking we can outscore people. Our mindset has always been that it starts with our defense.”
- Not sure about that, but the Hawks couldn’t even manage to put together their usual stretch of energetic defense to build a cushion and pull away. They led by nine points early because the Rockets were sloppy with the ball. Once they took care of it, the Hawks never really stopped them.
- The Rockets made jump shots but they got quality looks. “They do have some scorers,” Al said, “but I think the biggest thing was we were not fully committed on the defensive end like we’ve been playing lately. That was a little discouraging but we have to regroup and get ready for Monday.”
- Though the Hawks shot 49 percent from the field, the shot selection wasn’t very good after halftime. Josh was 2 for 8 and Jamal was 0 for 4.
- “It was just a matter of our offense was our worst defense,” Mo said. “Our shot selection kind of led to their easy transition points and that was a recipe for disaster.”
- Hill has been a disappointment since the Knicks drafted him No. 8 overall in the 2009 Draft. Tonight he posted a season high in points (16) and also had eight rebounds.
- “That’s what we need out of him,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “He rebounded tonight, he made shots around the basket. It just makes all the world of difference when we get that production.”
- Smoove finally got on track offensively, only to give ground to Scola on defense. Scola slipped into open space or took Josh inside while scoring 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting in the first half to keep Houston close.
- Then Lowry and Brooks finished the Hawks off in the second half with penetration, crisp ball movement and clutch shotmaking.
- “With Brooks’ speed and Lowry’s speed, it is going to be hard to keep those guys in front of you,” L.D. said. “But we have faced guards like that before and we have done a good job collectively in corralling those kind of guys and contesting shots. Tonight we didn’t do a good job collectively.”
- Teague got his chance against Brooks and wasn’t up to the task. L.D. showed restraint by not yanking him when he jacked up a 3 early in the shot clock.
- Jamal seemed to grow frustrated as the game went on and he wasn’t getting his shots. He was 3 for 11 (two of those attempts were heaves at the buzzer) with three turnovers and an assist.
- Smoove and Al combined for 22 rebounds. Joe had four. Everyone else totaled six. By contrast, Houston’s 45 rebounds were spread among 10 players. Hayes and Hill had eight and four other Rockets had at least four boards.
- Atlanta’s rebounding 45-32 rebounding deficit might have been worse if Rockets rookie banger Patrick Patterson hadn’t left the game with chest pain after playing four minutes. Patterson, whom a Rockets spokesman said was experiencing flu-like symptoms before the game, was taken to Piedmont Hospital for tests.
- This wasn’t a professional effort for the Hawks. J.J. had warned that it wouldn’t be an easy game but Atlanta seemed pretty nonchalant at times.
- “More so than anything just the energy and effort that it takes to put into a game like this against a hard-fighting Rockets team, we didn’t have that,” Joe said. “Even when we got the lead in the second half, we relaxed and they got back in it.”
- “Tonight we didn’t take them with enough seriousness,” L.D. said.
- “I wish we could win every game but it’s not going to happen,” Bibby said. “They kept fighting. Their shots went down, and ours weren’t. It happens like that sometimes. You aren’t going to win every game.”
- “We’re going to have nights like that, where teams are going to be able to shoot the ball extremely well like that,” Smoove said. “You just have to live with those games.”
MC
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380 comments Add your comment
Melvin
January 17th, 2011
4:15 pm
4 straight jumpshots to start the game for the Hawks… They are down 0-7
terrell
January 17th, 2011
4:17 pm
Ok put in Jamal so we can score a freakin point.
Melvin
January 17th, 2011
4:17 pm
Terrell,
Marvin is on the bench in his Sunday best suit..
ATL FAN
January 17th, 2011
4:18 pm
j smooooooooooooveee
ATL FAN
January 17th, 2011
4:19 pm
evans traveled?
terrell
January 17th, 2011
4:21 pm
Lawd have mercy!
terrell
January 17th, 2011
4:22 pm
Hawks just arent very good. Im sorry. No killer instinct on this team besides Jamal maybe.
terrell
January 17th, 2011
4:24 pm
And why cant we find a pg? They’re everywhere. lol!
Melvin
January 17th, 2011
4:24 pm
No defense to start the game by the Hawks.
Flippy
January 17th, 2011
4:26 pm
cmon terrell are you serious, joe johnson is playing at his prime again, jamal healthy as well, j smoove has his nights, and al horford is beast when he gets involved. The hawks are one of the best teams in the nba when healthy, as they are just now getting used to the motion offense
Yes, it WAS a BAD PICK
January 17th, 2011
4:33 pm
Six years later, Hawks still searching for their point guard
Posted Jan 14 2011 9:36AM
Most nights, he sits on the bench in big moments, chin resting on palm, waiting and wondering for his time to come. If it ever does.
He is Jeff Teague, backup point guard for the Hawks, and the latest attempt by the Hawks to erase their greatest sin.
You heard the old saying how a bad Draft decision can set you back a number of years? Well, for the Hawks, it’s up to six.
Six years.
That’s how long the Hawks have tried to find a quality point guard, ever since they studied the Draft board in 2005 and determined it wasn’t worth wasting their first-round pick on Chris Paul, Deron Williams or even Raymond Felton.
Six years.
That’s how long the Hawks have tried to make up for that terrible oversight, and unless Teague takes the next step, it will remain a curse.
Let’s be fair: It’s not like the Hawks have been sweeping the basement in the East. They’ve improved record-wise every season since that 2005 Draft and made the playoffs the last three. Once again they’re on pace for 45-50 wins, and another postseason seems like a given. This is a good team.
Just the same, they’re not a great team. They’re not in the class of the Celtics, Heat, Magic and Bulls, and they possibly missed out on greatness because of that Draft. Their haste to turn a wrong into a right has been costly.
Check out the falling dominoes on this trail:
They used the No. 2 pick in 2005 on Marvin Williams, a workout wizard in the weeks leading up to the Draft, because Billy Knight, then the general manager, thought Paul was too small. And evidently, Marvin was a better Williams than Deron.
Don’t forget that the Hawks, at the time, badly needed a point guard. That’s why this decision, even then, was whack. They suffered through Kenny Anderson, Tyronn Lue, Royal Ivey and Tony Delk in 2004-05. To rationalize the Paul and Deron snub, they spent a high 2005 second-rounder on Salim Stoudamire.
He lasted three years as a bench player and is now out of the league. A bust.
In the summer of 2006, they gave a big free-agent contract to Speedy Claxton. He started 31 games in his entire Hawks’ tenure. A bust, too.
In the 2007 Draft, still looking for a point guard, they used the 11th pick on Acie Law, passing on Nick Young, Jared Dudley and Wilson Chandler, among others. He stayed two years. Also, a bust.
Then the summer of 2008, they traded a handful of players, including 2006 Draft bust Shelden Williams (the No. 5 pick; Rajon Rondo went 21st) for Mike Bibby, who came with 11 years of tread and was beyond his prime, though still productive.
The Hawks figured Bibby would hold the position for only a few years, but were forced to give him a three-year, $18 million extension the next summer because Law didn’t last and there was no heir apparent.
Finally, in 2009, they drafted Teague with the No. 19 pick. And for the second straight year, Teague is backing up Bibby, now the NBA’s fourth-oldest starting point guard.
So here’s the tally: two No. 1 picks and a high No. 2 spent on point guards, plus a pricey free agent in Claxton, plus Bibby, all were brought in to make up for 2005. Also, the Hawks gave Marvin Williams, the guy taken instead of Deron Williams and Paul, a five-year, $40 million contract extension two summers ago. And Marvin Williams, an underachiever, hasn’t nearly approached the All-Star level of those point guards.
All told, the Hawks have burned through roughly $90 million on rookie point guard contracts, Bibby, Marvin Williams (his rookie contract plus the extension) and Claxton, all because they didn’t take Paul or Deron Williams. That’s a steep financial price for a franchise that must keep costs reasonable.
And guess what? They still lack a strong presence at point guard. Their search continues.
There is a small bright side.
In a bit of irony, Hawks GM Rick Sund dumped both Claxton and Law on the Warriors in the summer of 2009 to get Jamal Crawford, last year’s Sixth Man of the Year winner.
But the point guard mistake of 2005 continues to ripple for a team that uses Joe Johnson for much of the ballhandling chores. Too often, Johnson chews up the shot clock trying to isolate, something that wouldn’t be necessary with a playmaking point guard.
Passing on two franchise point guards isn’t exactly the same as Portland skipping Michael Jordan for Sam Bowie in 1984. But when spring arrives and if the Hawks are a No. 5-seed, as expected, it will look like something you could see coming. Six years ago.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
January 17th, 2011
4:35 pm
The Hawks are certainly in the upper half of NBA teams, but I don’t know about just making a bold statement like “one of the best teams in the NBA when healthy” when the gap between the Tier 1-A and Tier 1-B teams seems so large.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 17th, 2011
4:37 pm
Bigs shooting outside is cute, but no And-1’s. No toughness, No power game.
Rev in Tampa
January 17th, 2011
4:38 pm
Al Horford is money when he is open on that mid-range jumpshot.
Glad Zaza got his second foul and was taken out of the game.
Rev in Tampa
January 17th, 2011
4:39 pm
A rare Etan Thomas sighting. What is different about this game that he would get some minutes so early?
Melvin
January 17th, 2011
4:39 pm
Getting embarrass by the Kings on your homecourt on National TV, priceless…
Flippy
January 17th, 2011
4:41 pm
Mac Town, how many teams can you list that are truly “better” (not equal) than the hawks and their lineup with Smith, Horford, Johnson, and Jamal? 2-3 in the east and 3-4 in the west id say, they are a top 6 top 7 team, definitely one of the best
ATL FAN
January 17th, 2011
4:43 pm
Etan Thomas needs to calm down lol
Double Zero Eight
January 17th, 2011
4:43 pm
Tonight we didn’t take them with enough seriousness,” L.D. said
This is a quote from the coach!!!! These words should never be
publicly spoken by a coach in any professional sport. A coach’s
job is to ensure each and every team and game is taken seriously.
J.J.M
January 17th, 2011
4:44 pm
wow the hawks suck
ATL FAN
January 17th, 2011
4:45 pm
What’s up with all these Bench Warmers in at the same time? Is this just so Drew doesn’t get critized at the end of the game for not play certain players more? Well Drew, you can’t just put them all in at once!!
Rev in Tampa
January 17th, 2011
4:46 pm
if the Kings were hitting their free throws this game would start getting out of reach
Sautee
January 17th, 2011
4:46 pm
Flippy,
So why haven’t we won like the 7th best team? Right now we are 10th and if you look at the other teams in the standings, that’s just about right.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
January 17th, 2011
4:48 pm
Flippy, you said 2-3 in the east and 3-4 in the west. I can live with those numbers, but that’s saying that there are atleast 5-7 teams in the NBA better than the Hawks. That gap between those first 1-4 or so and the Hawks is so large and apparent, I just cant call the Hawks “one of the best” until we show we can compete with them on a consistent basis, or atleast play .500 ball against .500 and above teams, which we havent.
leedsatlanta
January 17th, 2011
4:49 pm
Pull bibby for that pass, he woulda pulled teague for it!
ATL FAN
January 17th, 2011
4:49 pm
lol Drew has taken out the bench warmers and won’t put them in for the rest of the game. He plays them for 1 minute and says after the game “They were letting the game get out of hand.” He needs to play around with different lineups more
Rev in Tampa
January 17th, 2011
4:53 pm
Maybe that will help the Hawks find some energy
drmaryb (*_*)
January 17th, 2011
4:53 pm
Please stop posting that same PG article, it has already been posted here 5 times. There’s too much talent on this blog to let anything slip by for 3 days or so.
____________________________
Those bench guys came out and did nothing. Wouldn’t mind seeing. Teague and JC2 on a day like today. I know O’Brien is thinking the same thing. KenS too.
Flippy
January 17th, 2011
4:54 pm
Apart from certain teams like the Spurs, no team plays consistently. Look at the Mavs and Lakers, both top tier teams with recent struggles. Support your hometown team!! Stop criticizing them and believe! Sometimes I think we had better fans when we were a 37-45 team against the Celtics. We felt like we could beat anyone, and we’ve come a far way since then. Believe Hawks fans!!
bigdave
January 17th, 2011
4:56 pm
foul.
bigdave
January 17th, 2011
4:59 pm
gotta go up and yam those.. then you wont have to worry about them rimming out.
Ramon
January 17th, 2011
5:00 pm
Mac, there really aren’t 5-7 teams better than the Hawks four best players. It may only be 1-2. The Hawks top four players are great. Its just the fact that the next 8-9 players are in the bottom of the league. In Joe, Josh, and Al you have three All Star caliber players. And in Jamal you have a 6th man of the year. I wouldn’t even say Boston top four players are better than that, because I would take Joe over Pierce, Al over Garnett, Josh over Ray, and Rondo would obviously go before Jamal. In LAL, Odum is more inconsistent than Josh. You should see what the fans in LAL say about him and Bynum.. The top players in Atlanta aren’t the problems. Its truly the depth in Atlanta that is the problem.
Melvin
January 17th, 2011
5:01 pm
bigdave,
maybe Al didnt want to bang his hand on the rim by dunking…
Sautee
January 17th, 2011
5:03 pm
“Stop criticizing them and believe!”
Flippy,
Stop thinking that criticism is unwarranted. Fanhood is not blind obedience. Some of us have the ability to LOVE the hawks and hate some of the ways they play.
We who do are no less a fan than you.
Rev in Tampa
January 17th, 2011
5:09 pm
62 points is entirely too much for the Hawks to give up in one half of basketball
Melvin
January 17th, 2011
5:09 pm
It would be nice to have someone able to attack the rim off the dribble on this team… Gee, why not play Teague…
cp
January 17th, 2011
5:10 pm
Terrible perimeter defense, terrible interior defense, terrible insight form Nique. Just flat out ugly
Sautee
January 17th, 2011
5:11 pm
Rev,
agreed. No defense at all. Evans looks like he’s playing with his nephews in the driveway.
Sautee
January 17th, 2011
5:13 pm
16 rebounds in a half? Horford has 5, Josh 2 and no one else more than one. That looks way too much like the Houston game for me.
Ramon
January 17th, 2011
5:14 pm
Sund will make a trade this week watch. If Sund is worth anything, he’ll get on the phone and add some new intense blood to the team. As I said, pass the top four players, no one else (perhaps Teague) would be in the top 7 players of any conference finals team. So may as well trade them for some younger players, or disgruntled veterans on losing teams.
By the way, whatever happened to R. Alston? He’s a PG I wouldn’t mind having come off of the bench.
bigdave
January 17th, 2011
5:14 pm
Sautee..
u saw the Houston game?
bigdave
January 17th, 2011
5:14 pm
u must have 2 sets of eyes..
Flippy
January 17th, 2011
5:16 pm
Sure you have a right to criticize, but it definetley seems as though that’s all you look for, the negatives in the Hawks game. Praise them once in a while and stop always looking for the negative
Sautee
January 17th, 2011
5:18 pm
bigdave,
No, I actually didn’t, but I was on the phone with Big Ray and he had lost his feed to the Falcons game, so he was giving me the play-by-play for the Hawks and I was doing the same for the Falcons game for him.
Big Ray was NOT happy to lose his Falcons feed. As it turned out it probably saved him some heartburn.
Sautee
January 17th, 2011
5:20 pm
Flippy
Believe me, I praise them when they deserve praise. That would NOT be when they have just given up 62 in a half, and been out-rebounded 29 to 16.
When do YOU think it’s ok to criticize them?
Flippy
January 17th, 2011
5:24 pm
Once again, I never said you can’t criticize them. It just seems like that’s all you guys do on here
Rev in Tampa
January 17th, 2011
5:26 pm
It appears that the Hawks are still in the “We can outscore them” mode. I am disappointed in Drew’s commitment to his word. He said that defense would be their priority, yet he leaves Bibby on the floor while point guards continually attacked the basket.
doc
January 17th, 2011
5:26 pm
maybe they can make the adjustments at half thy werent able to make between houston and now.
man this only makes me reconsider thinking positive about these guys, when i do they then go out and throw up on themselves. just like jaws, just when you thought you could get back in the water safely ….. dooo duh dooo duh.
rusty
January 17th, 2011
5:28 pm
This guy ld has to be the lousiest coach in the NBA . His substitution patterns are horrible. He refuses to play Jeff t,what is his problem. He never gives Jeff a chance,gosh darn it, give him some minutes.& don’t pull him for every little think he does wrong. Mb & jc1 just aren’t cutting it,mb doesn’t play defense,doesn’t penetrate & is every inconsistent. Jc1 is just not a point guard. This team plays horrible defense. Al & Josh just seem hopeless under the boards. Why is ld not playing a very talented jc2 at all. I didn’t like woody but like ld even less.
Double Zero Eight
January 17th, 2011
5:28 pm
I agree with Sautee’s 5:03 blog.
The Hawks, Falcons and Braves have been
in Atlanta a combined 131 years and we have
only one championship, the Braves in 95.
The Hawks have been here 42 years without
a championship. We have heard quite a few
“wait till next year” and we are “rebuilding”
or “almost there”. I would love to be wrong,
but I see no way that the current roster can
bring us a championship. A championship
is the goal vs. being almost there…..right?