Atlanta Hawks at Heat: Begging for bench boost
Miami–The Hawks survived to beat the hapless Kings but to do it needed big minutes from Al, Bibby, J.J and Smoove.
Now they face the Heat, who are without Bosh tonight but get back LeBron. The Hawks have been suspect defending in transition lately anyway and now I’m imagining D-Wade and LeBron galloping in the open court against their tired legs.
About 90 minutes before tip, L.D. said he wasn’t sure which starting lineup he would use. He was waiting on Erik Spoelstra to reveal his starters.
“There’s going to be a wait-out,” Drew joked.
Atlanta’s pregame board had Bibby matched on Arroyo, J.J. on Wade, Smoove on LeBron, Al on Juwan Howard and Twin on Ilgauskas.
Whichever way he goes, the Hawks will be looking for a bench boost. Jamal is a pretty good bet to give them something but the other guys are a mystery.
“I wasn’t anticipating playing my starters the amount of minutes I played [them] last night,” L.D. said. “I’m going to need production from my bench tonight. Coming in on a back-to-back, playing a team like Miami it’s going to take a total team effort.”
Still here
Damien Wilkins is glad to still be with the Hawks on another 10-day. He knows his time could be limited and admits it’s hard not to think about that because he so badly wants to stay with Uncle ‘Nique’s franchise.
“If this was a team where I wasn’t happy here, it wouldn’t be on my mind as much and not bother me,” he said. “It’s tough because this is where I want to be.”
Last time Atlanta was here Wilkins did a good job harassing LeBron. He plans to use the same strategy this time: Get physical and cut off his space. And he wants redemption.
“I felt so bad about letting Tyreke get that layup last night,” Wilkins said. “I couldn’t even sleep. I was pissed about that. Luckily, we got that win. But tonight is a totally different animal. I am up for the challenge. He is a great player. I love watching him play and IU love playing against him.”
Etc.
“Limit” was the theme for the Hawks’ pregame board. On defense the Hawks want to limit transition scores, offensive rebounds, 3-pointers foul shots and the crowd. On offense they want to limit turnovers, bad shots, missed screens and standing. . . .
The Heat has been slipping defensively, too. Spoelstra: “We have to get back to our identity and do it consistently. It has been a long time since we’ve held a team to under 90 points and under 40 percent [shooting]. We were doing that semi-regularly in the month of December.”
MC
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635 comments Add your comment
Sleepy
January 18th, 2011
8:16 pm
with Lebron off the floor just trap wade or go zone why let him put us in the bonus ?
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:17 pm
jamal was like the only decent scorer on the court
ATL FAN
January 18th, 2011
8:17 pm
maybe we’ll be better when marvin comes back… he can come off the bench and be another scorer other than jamal
Sautee
January 18th, 2011
8:17 pm
Why don’t the refs just let Wade line up for FT every time down. Save a lot of subterfuge, eh?
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:19 pm
Five bench players were on the floor together during that stretch, and no Teague.
Not that this game really dictates that Teague should be in, since Miami’s PGs are not exactly going to abuse the Hawks defensively, but still a little surprising.
DrSteam
January 18th, 2011
8:20 pm
Youre surprised Najeh? Its been going on for a while now…
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:21 pm
Hawks are still playing very well, but at some point some of those shots are going to start falling for Miami and they will make a run. How the Hawks withstand that run will be important.
Melvin
January 18th, 2011
8:22 pm
Now Josh has 2 fouls b/c he took that silly foul at the end of the 1st qtr.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:22 pm
Hawks missing a lot of rhythm 3’s in this game.
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:22 pm
omgggg mo evans
ATL FAN
January 18th, 2011
8:23 pm
mo evans= marvin in 3 years
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:23 pm
“Youre surprised Najeh? Its been going on for a while now…”
It’s a little more surprising in a game where LD empties the bench, as opposed to a game like yesterday’s game where he only used six players for more than 10 minutes.
Freshfromatl
January 18th, 2011
8:24 pm
Sac-Town Mike!!
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:24 pm
Miami is shooting 20%. That is unheard of. It’s not going to be like that all game, but still, to hold them at 20% for 18 minutes when they have two of the best players in the league is really impressive.
Sautee
January 18th, 2011
8:26 pm
Big Two are 3-15. That will not keep going.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:27 pm
Heat have picked up the defensive intensity.
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:27 pm
wtf joe
O'Brien
January 18th, 2011
8:28 pm
I like the way the Hawks are playing so far. Especially on the second of a back to back on the road against Miami
ATL FAN
January 18th, 2011
8:29 pm
???
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:29 pm
Momentum is shifting.
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:29 pm
please take joe out the game
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:29 pm
Two straight possessions on which Joe hasn’t attacked like he did earlier in the game.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:30 pm
Good hard fouls by Zaza. That’s what he does best.
Melvin
January 18th, 2011
8:30 pm
ZaZa is terrible…
O'Brien
January 18th, 2011
8:30 pm
Come on Hawks. I try to give you a compliment, and this is how you repay me?
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:31 pm
hawks “they are who we thought they were”
Melvin
January 18th, 2011
8:31 pm
Dunk the ball Josh..
ATL FAN
January 18th, 2011
8:31 pm
wtf r they doing
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:32 pm
MAJOR CHOKING
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:32 pm
2 fouls on Al, 2 fouls on Josh. Hawks can’t buy a bucket. Bibby needs to knock those down when he is wide open.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
January 18th, 2011
8:32 pm
Embarrassing to see how ATL teams operate against elite competition. It’s as if the Hawks are helpless right now out there.
Melvin
January 18th, 2011
8:33 pm
I guess its ok for Bibby to stand along the perimeter and just launch jumpshots…
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:33 pm
Joe had that blocked, but I’d still like to see that aggressiveness more often from him.
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:34 pm
lol hawks are just garbage
ATL FAN
January 18th, 2011
8:34 pm
joe is playing agressive again
Rod from College Park
January 18th, 2011
8:34 pm
The Hawks are mystifying sometimes. We miss point black layups because no one goes up strong. Joe starts holding the ball. Unbelievable.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:35 pm
Iso-f-cking-Joe.
ATL FAN
January 18th, 2011
8:35 pm
wtf iso joe
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:35 pm
How many open 3’s are the Hawks going to miss in this game?
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
January 18th, 2011
8:35 pm
back against the wall…revert to ISO Joe…..choke
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:35 pm
how do you miss that many open 3s
Melvin
January 18th, 2011
8:35 pm
4 on 2 fastbreak and we took a 3pt shot…
Ben G.
January 18th, 2011
8:36 pm
Joe Johnson is killing us right now. Come on, Joe. Pass the damn ball!
Najeh Davenpoop
January 18th, 2011
8:36 pm
Hawks need some energy and some stops right now. I want to see Damien.
Rod from College Park
January 18th, 2011
8:36 pm
Josh going to the hole uncontested, and Bibby passes to Joe for 3?
Freshfromatl
January 18th, 2011
8:36 pm
Lol….Damn!!!!!! This is an intense 2nd quarter LMAO! I kinda like LD decision to let his stars play through this.
Blast
January 18th, 2011
8:36 pm
Hawks are gonna give me a heart attack the way they play hot and cold!
Freshfromatl
January 18th, 2011
8:37 pm
Why Jamal get hit wit the 2 foul rule though?!?
J.J.M
January 18th, 2011
8:38 pm
funny thing is some reason im not surprise on whats happening
Wabe
January 18th, 2011
8:38 pm
Are the Hawks looking for a bench boost?
How bout playing the GD rookies???????????????????????????????
But, I guess that’s too much to ask for. I mean really, when dude on a 10-day contract can see as much PT he does and JT0 and JC2 can’t see the court at all, it tells me everything I need to know.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Damien. Mo Evans, not so much. They’re both the same damn players and Damien’s a better defender.
By the way, what’s with all the ISO-JJ’s right now? We just blew a 10+ point lead because JJ can’t make his move.