Hornets at Atlanta Hawks: ‘Good to have options’
L.D. wanted to go big against the Hornets so Twin can deal with Okafor. But now Al’s not playing and L.D. is . . . going with Twin to deal with Okafor.
(Drew said the Hawks would decide after the game whether Al or Marvin will travel to Charlotte but it’s likely both guys will stay in Atlanta.)
Mo is at shooting guard, Josh, Joe is at small forward and Josh is at power forward–except for when Josh plays the three and Mo or Joe checks Chris Paul
The point is, with Twin now a regular contributor and so many guys who can play multiple positions, L.D. has multiple combinations he can use.
“It’s good to have options,” Drew said, smiling.
Trevor Ariza is out for the New Orleans after suffering an ankle injury at shooataround. Rookie Quincy Pondexter starts and J.J. will start off on him while Mo gets Paul.
“The first couple of trips up and down the floor may end up seeing Joe on Chris Paul,” L.D. said. “They will flip-flop all night long.”
Powell, Damien, and Zaza all figure to play more minutes.
“It really depends,” Drew said. “We will use different lineups and what’s working we will stay with. I am sure we will be in situations where we have to adjust to them, and they will adjust to us.”
Speaking of options . . .
Paul is decent on pick-and-rolls. The Hawks are bad at defending them. L.D. has mostly stuck with his “accountability” approach and stayed away from the switches. Is he ever tempted to switch more or is he adamant on playing straight up?
“I’m not that adamant,” he said, laughing. “If it starts hurting us and we find ourselves in a switchable situation, we go ahead [and do it]. As much as you don’t want to do it, some teams put you in that situation by the pace of how they run things.”
He cited that play at the end of the Miami game when Bibby ended up guarding LeBron on a switch. L.D. saw the ESPN segment where analysts pointed out that LeBron should have went baseline on Bibby.
“But actually Mike was up on him far enough, [LeBron] had the ball in his left hand and he could not crossover in front of Mike,” L.D. said. “He played that switch the right way and funneled it right to the help [Smoove] was.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
269 comments Add your comment
drmaryb (*_*)
January 21st, 2011
10:29 pm
A Do Right Woman!
“Did the hawks do anything right tonight?”
_______________________
Yes, they left the building.
__________
“Why can’t Drew see that and develop Teague accordingly?”
____________
If your d!ck is shooting blanks? You can’t develop a baby.
Mark451
January 21st, 2011
10:33 pm
What’s so fustrating is that they lend themselves to too many blowout losses. They simply quit when the going gets tough too often. Foul someone get kicked out of the game but have some heart. Don’t let a team blow you out w/out a good fight. I don’t remember seeing Boston, Orlando, Miami, or Lakers getting blown out. Lose but don’t give up until the final buzzer.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 21st, 2011
10:33 pm
This blog said: Good to have options!
_______________
How’s them options working for you – Drew?
Jared
January 21st, 2011
10:33 pm
“If your d!ck is shooting blanks? You can’t develop a baby.”
LMAO. You always know how to keep it real, don’t you? You just keep putting things into perspective.
Mark451
January 21st, 2011
10:39 pm
Correction…I do not see the good teams getting blown out at the rate of the Hawks. In fact I cannot remember the last time I watched the ticker and found one of the better teams getting blown out by 40 or more points. That’s simply unacceptable. I would’ve truly been p.o’d if I would have paid my hard earned cash to see the Hawks tonight. To them its just another game (which tells you more than you need to know) but to some of us we cannot take days off of work. If I coasted at my job like they tend to coast I wouldve been fired a long time ago. That’s the problem w/the Hawks. Other teams are more than willing to blow up the team to try a different set of players if production isnt acceptable. Not the Hawks. They continue to give us the same ish and expect us to accept it.
WOLLEY STEKCAJ
January 21st, 2011
10:42 pm
Hawks season ticket holders: Do not go to the next game. Time to show who is in charge. Can you do that, if not don’t complain about the sorry performance they give you!!!
Randy
January 21st, 2011
10:44 pm
Mark451,
Your post about Josh and his jumpers is spot on. I agree completely with most of it, and I’ve been wondering the same things for a long time. I was very happy last year when Woodson finally accomplished something with Josh and got him to stop taking long jumpers, but now Josh is back at it again. Sometimes, it seems like this guy will never learn. He’s closer to being Ben Wallace or Marcus Camby than he is to being Ray Allen. Someone needs to tell him that. If he keeps shooting these jumpers, I think we should start calling him J-Brick instead of J-Smoove.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 21st, 2011
10:45 pm
The Realist!
Jared, Teague had an oppty of a lifetime and he did absolutely NOTHING. What happened to being ready when your number is called? These bloggers need to stop crying for this guy to get any PT. What has Teague done to earn any?
These are precious minutes to be famous on TV. Where is his fundamental skills that should be learned in college. He shoulda stayed his dumb ass in school, he had a scholarship to play and learn Full Time for 3 more years!
Aye Teague! Stay on the Bus!
Najeh Davenpoop
January 21st, 2011
10:54 pm
“And who told Josh he has a jumper? He has to have the ugliest jump shot in the league but he keeps tossing that ish up every night.”
Smoove was the only one hitting jumpers in the first half, while Bibby and Joe were tossing up brick after brick. If it hadn’t been for him the Hawks would have gotten blown out before halftime.
Antawn
January 21st, 2011
11:00 pm
“Smoove was the only one hitting jumpers in the first half, while Bibby and Joe were tossing up brick after brick. If it hadn’t been for him the Hawks would have gotten blown out before halftime.”
That’s not an excuse for a guy who is shooting 39% to continue to settle for long jumpshots when that’s clearly not his strength. Collins made a 3 at one point in the season, but that didn’t motivate him to start jacking up jumpers because he thinks he can hit them. Josh was more effective last season, when he did most of his work in the paint. His efficiency is starting to drop, mainly because of his insistence on taking jump shots that he doesn’t make at a high rate.
terrell
January 21st, 2011
11:02 pm
No comment.
Publix
January 21st, 2011
11:02 pm
Way to go Hawks!!!!
You go and beat Miami, then you get whooped by NO! HOW??????? It’s all about coaching and having the right mentality.
We need a new coach! We need a new GM! We need a new LEADER!
Keep Smith, Horford, Wilkins, Crawford and Collins!
Trade Johnson to New York for Gallinari!
Trade Bibby and Williams to Charlotte for Livingston and Tyrus Thomas.
Trade Zaza, Teague and Evans to Minnesota for Brewer.
Starting Lineup:
PG-Livingston/JC2
SG-Crawford/Wilkins
SF-Gallinari/Brewer
PF-Smith/Thomas
C-Horford/Collins
Now you have a hungry young core who are willing to die for each other an NO pretty boys who are inconsistant.
Come on now, make it happen!
JamALIEN
January 21st, 2011
11:02 pm
I told ya’ll about Osh Smith lol
He thinks he’s reggie miller lmao
JamALIEN
January 21st, 2011
11:05 pm
Osh just doesn’t get it.
Blake Griffin>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Osh Smith
Clyde
January 21st, 2011
11:14 pm
When all else fails just blame Jeff Teague.
FIRE SUND
Loserville USA
January 21st, 2011
11:28 pm
None of the Hawks except Horford would pass a Wunderlich test.
Horrible FRAUD.
slimjr
January 22nd, 2011
12:22 am
HAWKS ARE GARBAGE…………………….Sund=About to become the worst GM in Hawks History!!!!
ptc
January 22nd, 2011
12:39 am
Fair weather fans.
Sautee
January 22nd, 2011
9:32 am
It’s funny that it seems like over half the posters on this blog NEVER show up unless we have a poor outing. True fans?
Maybe it just takes poor play for them to comment, but where were they when we beat Miami last game?