Atlanta Hawks: Lakers 104, Hawks 80
This was just one of several mismatches for the Hawks. (AP Photo)
Los Angeles–If I know my blog people, I figure you’d rather hear about trade chatter (some hope for the future) than a recounting of this debacle (a depressing reminder of the team’s stasis).
- So, OK . . . Yes, Kirk Hinrich is a possibility and Ramon Sessions remains in play. No to Devin Harris (who is probably headed elsewhere) and Raymond Felton (whom the Nuggets apparently aren’t looking to move).
- Basically, it seems like the Hawks have called about every decent-to-good point guard who might be available. Of course it will take more than a new point guard to fix what ailed the Hawks tonight.
- The Lakers were smarter, faster and tougher than the Hawks.
- “I can go down competing, but we are not competing at our highest level it’s frustrating,” Al said.
- These beatdowns are becoming more commonplace. That’s four Ls in five, with three of them by at least 15 points. It’s also Atlanta’s fifth loss by at least 20 points this season.
- The Hawks are back to their habit of getting down big and staying there. “We didn’t play with an edge; we gave them too much respect,” J.J. said. “We didn’t have that fire, that competitive nature that we need. It’s frustrating, man. I don’t know what to do.”
- They could start by not continuing to jack up jump shots when they a) are challenged and/or b) aren’t making them. Both things happened against the Lakers, yet the Hawks kept firing away.
- Certainly it’s no easy task to score inside against all that Lakers size but it’s not as if the Hawks ever made a focused effort to try it.
- “I don’t think we went to the rim enough,” L.D. said. “I just thought we settled, which is starting to be a pattern with us. When you fall into that type of pattern when you are not making shots you’re going to struggle. We went 1-for-15 from the three, yet we settled for the three. We have to have more basketball savvy than that.”
- The Hawks got handled 54-32 on the boards. Los Angeles collected an astounding 42 of Atlanta’s 62 misses (not counting “team” rebounds) with Gasol and Bynum combining for 21 of those.
- “We didn’t play with physicality,” Drew said. “I thought they really banged us in the half court. I don’t think we responded very well to it.”
- This game showed the limitations of the big lineup. Twin is a good position defender but he can’t hang on the boards against the better big men. The Hawks actually had more success (relatively, at least) going small with Al working outside against Gasol and Bynum.
- The Lakers made 24 of 48 shots before emptying the bench in the fourth quarter. Kobe (20 points on 11 shots) didn’t even have to do anything special in his 26 minutes. Heck Shannon Brown took it to the Hawks and Joe Smith had three blocked shots.
- “They dominated on both ends,” Al said. “We really have some soul-searching to do as a team. It’s discouraging. We had a great practice yesterday, and to come out like that, it’s frustrating.”
- The Hawks botched five fast break chances by my count. Smoove threw a couple passes that smashed the backboard.
- Here was one inept fast break sequence: Mo fumbled the ball away while standing under the rim and missed a layup; Josh Powell tried to put it back only to get his shot pinned by Joe Smith, leading to an alley-oop dunk by Devin Ebanks.
- The Lakers presented Powell with his Lakers championship ring before the game.
- “I actually want to see it,” Al said. “I kind of saw it from far away. I know what it’s like to win. I did it on the college level. We are hungry for that. We are hungry to be in that position and we are not there yet.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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720 comments Add your comment
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
5:45 pm
“slimjr, your predictions are just killing me…are you going to ruin my night again? I hate it when ur right!”
@KevinM
Hey Kevin just take a peak at Miss Monique Minor!!!!! Trust me you’ll feel a whole lot better……LOL!
Booo!
February 23rd, 2011
5:47 pm
Amare welcomes Carmelo and Billups to NY. http://mypict.me/i1usn
Rick u need to do ur job!
EmirS.
February 23rd, 2011
5:48 pm
Wait…wait…
I read that Washington post blog and some of their comments. They WANT Marvin Williams. Are you kidding me…they WANT Marvin…
What’s taking so long! We get rid of his contract!!
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
5:51 pm
#1 Hawks fan??? Is that Sunds brother or cousin?…………..BLAH BLAH BLAH……………………
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
“Josh for Granger
Marvin & Zaza for Kaman
Bibby & Mo + picks for Felton
This makes sense for each team, lets get it done!!”
Make it so Scottie!!!! Yes Captain……………..
Puzzled
February 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
The Hawks are going to break out tonight, and take the Suns out behind the woodshed! With beating they took last night, and all of the negative vibes floating around, I expect that their collective blood is boiling to prove all the nay-sayers wrong!
Let’s Go Hawks!!!
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
5:55 pm
‘I read that Washington post blog and some of their comments. They WANT Marvin Williams. Are you kidding me…they WANT Marvin…
What’s taking so long! We get rid of his contract!!”
Hey, I’ll even drop his azz off at the Greyhound bus depot! “it was a terrible pick”! Bye,Seeya!!!! LOL
W.R.Terrell
February 23rd, 2011
6:00 pm
Well the Phoenix Suns will be playing the Atlanta SOFT’S tonight and how depressing will this game be. I’m gonna live and die with the SOFT’S but for the amount of monies these guys are making it’s like a slap in the face. A night of watching the “smoove” shoot brick after brick, doing dumb point guard play and killing rallies because he wants to be a superstar is getting kinda old. An ALLSTAR player he will never, ever be, the boy has no baketball IQ. Now ISO Joe could come up with 25 – 30 points tonight, he’s a talent but not the kind of talent that can carry a team and he never will be. Go in low Marvin is surprise, surprise, surprise….lolol jus pitiful. They need to purge this team and build around Al. He is our true star and brings it every night, the only thing the other starters bring is lunch.
Shake Something
February 23rd, 2011
6:02 pm
Less than 21 hour!! lets go Gent!!
honest_abe
February 23rd, 2011
6:09 pm
lol why all this animosity to rick sund? he’s just a puppet for the broke asg. stop blaming that poor old man and start pointing that finger at michael gearon jr and co. the worst owner(s) EVER! the bottom line is they were too poor to ever own a professional sport franchise and losing their richest owner didnt’ help matters. they signed jj to a max to keep the team’s value at a certain level so they could hopefully sell. they have no intention of bringing a championship to the atl.. screw em.. they aren’t getting another dime from me.
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
6:17 pm
“Left-Overs is what we get here. So, tonight, I’ll be out on the A-Town doing me. Bump This Noise! Wake me when they’re done?”
Be careful out in them streets drmaryb……
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
6:20 pm
will anybody take JJ????? I know he makes roughly 500k a night!!!!! 17k per minute?? Freaking brutal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really????
Josh will never get it……Just sad………………..
Marvin, Greyhound is waiting for you yesterday………………………..
Bibby just start walking………..anywhere but to Phillips………………………………………..LOL!
Najeh Davenpoop
February 23rd, 2011
6:21 pm
Kirk Hinrich to Hawks is almost done according to Marc Spears of Yahoo.
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
6:23 pm
Well I guess Kirk is better than a Ham Sandwich…………Nice try Sund…Man you just stinking it up dude………………
Billy Knight better than Sund???? Are you kidding me???????????? Really???
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
6:26 pm
hey josh lets see a couple of passes up against the backboard to nobody tonight?? That was incredible!!!!
lewis
February 23rd, 2011
6:29 pm
Multi player trade…interesting…..
Thanks for the news Najeh, knew i’d hear it from you first even though i’ve literally checked the hoopshype twitter media section once every 10 minutes all day
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:30 pm
Puzzled, share your drugs. The Hawks may very well win tonight, but so what? It will be just a matter of time before their next no show performance. Loser team. Loser organization.
Tired of how long it takes this f’ing joke organization to make a move, too. Should have had a trade put togther weeks ago.
Shake Something
February 23rd, 2011
6:30 pm
well looks like we got Kirk Hinrich,at least we are better defensively and want let 2nd string pg go off on us
JoJo the Godfather
February 23rd, 2011
6:32 pm
Hope we get that Seraphin kid from Washington too.
lewis
February 23rd, 2011
6:32 pm
least we have a token white guy who plays defense every night – now
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:32 pm
I really hope this trade for Hinrich brings an end to the Mo Evans/Jeff Teague days. One is a piece of sh#t player, who whines about being “under valued” making $2.5-million (Evans). The other is just a crappy player (Teague).
EmirS.
February 23rd, 2011
6:33 pm
“Tired of how long it takes this f’ing joke organization to make a move, too. Should have had a trade put togther weeks ago.”
Co-Sign.
Our needs are to obvious by now. To the fans, the players, NBA experts, etc. Why has’nt it hit Sund and the owners until what…the last few days?
mykhalc
February 23rd, 2011
6:34 pm
to be honest…i feel for ANY player comin’ to this abyss of an organization!!! i feel for the fans and any player NOT on this team that MIGHT be headed here!!!
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:38 pm
We all sit here frustraded and banging our collective heads against the wall over the direction of this team. I highly doubt that Sund and the ASG care as much as we do. H#ll…I highly doubt some of the players care as much as we do.
P#sses me off, actually. Never any urgency from the Hawks or their loser management.
Trojan
February 23rd, 2011
6:40 pm
Teague is not the problem with this team. He is a victim of being chosen by the worst organization in the NBA.
I hope Teague is not part of the trade.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 23rd, 2011
6:41 pm
Hinrich isn’t going to put this team over the top by any means, but I will admit it will be nice to see a Hawks point guard play good defense for the first time since Mookie Blaylock.
Ken Strickland
February 23rd, 2011
6:42 pm
In our recent losses, we’ve heard repeated comments from HC LDrew about:
1-the team relying too much on shooting jump shots
2-the team not penetrating
3-the team not playing DEF
4-the team not playing with any energy
Now, if we didn’t know any differently, wouldn’t these complaints sound just like a perfect description of our starting PG? And wouldn’t it also suggest that the team as a whole has fallen prey to the same shortcomings that’s plaguing its starting PG?
It also appears that LDrew won’t give a hint about what his suggested changes will be because he never intended to make any. With both of his designated PG’s playing basically NO DEF, and struggling offensively, what’s so difficult about making that change?
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:42 pm
Trojan, were you also singing the value of AC Law and Salim Stoudamire? Teague is not good. That’s why he doesn’t play.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 23rd, 2011
6:42 pm
I’m guessing it’s probably Bibby/Mo/Teague and a first rounder for Hinrich and some scrub off the Wizards’ bench like Cartier Martin or something. I don’t have any source for that, just my own speculation. Apparently it’s not a done deal yet and Boston is still in the running, but the Hawks have the inside track.
Shake Something
February 23rd, 2011
6:43 pm
Teague hasn’t even proved himself of being a problem…kid just never got any burn
EmirS.
February 23rd, 2011
6:43 pm
If Bibby is’nt included in the trade, then how high are the chances that Hinrich gets the starting gig?
Najeh Davenpoop
February 23rd, 2011
6:44 pm
Never mind; apparently it would be Hinrich for Jamal.
JoJo the Godfather
February 23rd, 2011
6:44 pm
Ken Berger saying its Jamal for Hinrich. Close, but not yet done.
I’m not as happy.
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:44 pm
I’m watching the Knicks press conference, announcing the arrival of Anthony/Billups/3-stiffs. I’ve been no fan of the Knicks lately, but it must be nice to be a fan of an organization that is not afraid to make a move. Yeah, they’ve lived through the Isiah Thomas GM debacle, but look at them now.
The Knicks are better than the Hawks right now. I have no doubt in my mind.
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:47 pm
Jamal for Hinrich….I don’t know how I feel about that.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 23rd, 2011
6:47 pm
I kinda wish the Hawks could cash in that Jamal expiring contract for more than just a quick fix at point guard though. Wouldn’t be that hard to pull off.
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=4zmtpzg
Najeh Davenpoop
February 23rd, 2011
6:48 pm
Or even this, which would keep the Hawks out of the luxury tax this year.
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=49hpvjr
slimjr
February 23rd, 2011
6:49 pm
Wow Woopie. Kirk is at least better than a Ham Sandwich………….LOL
Maybe Sund can package Kirk and Bibby to get CP3???? Really????
JoJo the Godfather
February 23rd, 2011
6:49 pm
If Hawks have this trade lined up of Crawford for Hinrich, then they’ve got a salary dump coming somewhere (Marvin, Bibby, Pachulia, …).
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:49 pm
Najeh, the people running the Hawks are just not as creative/smart as you. Seriously, you would get my nod as GM.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 23rd, 2011
6:51 pm
“Najeh, the people running the Hawks are just not as creative/smart as you. Seriously, you would get my nod as GM.”
Thanks, but I have one major advantage over Rick Sund: I know how to use a computer. That kind of tips the playing field in my favor a little bit.
lewis
February 23rd, 2011
6:51 pm
Kirk is better than Jamal if you count everything other than scoring.
Which, based on Jamal’s horrific performances lately, means we’re not missing much.
Kirk = Josh + al + joe work a lot less.
vava74
February 23rd, 2011
6:52 pm
Get real ditching Jamal is a plus on it’s own!
Embarrassed Hawk Fan
February 23rd, 2011
6:53 pm
I watched most of the game… I couldn’t take all of it. Wow… really nice down court passes (2) against the bankboard by Smith. WTF? Lots of wimpy 3 pt attempts. No D anywhere. If it wasn’t for Horford, it would have been waaaaaaaaaaay worse (if that is possible). I’ve watched all or parts of all the televised games…. not anymore
JoJo the Godfather
February 23rd, 2011
6:54 pm
now ditch marvin, bibby, evans & pachulia. i don’t care if we get 4 d-league shooting guards in their place.
bigdave
February 23rd, 2011
6:54 pm
smh.
needed a facilitator and someone who penetrates and gets to the line.
Session has been playing better basketball, would’ve preferred him over Hinrich, isnt he hurt anyway?
bigdave
February 23rd, 2011
6:56 pm
Hinrich worth Jamal.. ? thats all we could do.. ?
lewis
February 23rd, 2011
6:56 pm
Kirk Hinrich = on court bball IQ for the hawks go way up.
Josh sees another guy husting like Kirk on D, it makes him feel not so alone.
Ken Stricklind said it pretty well,
Hawks are sick and tired of covering for Bibby and Jamal
Lol, now Bibby might be forced to bring his “offense” off the bench
Michael Gearon JR
February 23rd, 2011
6:57 pm
I GOT YOU ALL WHAT YOU WANTED OK STOP WHINING. I JUST TRADED FOR A TOP 5 PG IF WE DONT WIN IT ALL THIS YEAR ITS ALL OF YOUR FAULT NOT MINE
Section 303
February 23rd, 2011
6:57 pm
bigdave, Hinrich has to wear glasses when he plays. He has a detached retina. One more hard hit on one of his eyes (not sure right or left?) and he could lose vision in the eye.
You know we will have a one-eyed PG running the Hawks. Doubt that none. It will happen.