Atlanta Hawks: Nuggets 100, Hawks 90
J.J.'s 15 points after halftime couldn't save Hawks.
Denver– I wasn’t thrilled with my seat for the game, which was over a tunnel in a corner opposite the Hawks’ bench. But it turned out to be the perfect vantage point to see the Hawks bumble with transition defense.
- The Nuggets couldn’t wait to get out and run once they collected Atlanta’s errant long jumpers. From my seat I could see why. The Hawks were a jumbled mess as they tried to get back, stop dribble penetration, find shooters and defend the rim. They were lucky if they managed to do one of the four.
- “We had bad floor balance, which is unlikely for us knowing we are playing a team that likes to get up and down the court,” J.J. said. “Knowing that if you didn’t shoot the ball, you have to get back. I messed up a few times on that and it costs us. Just boneheaded plays.”
- L.D.’s message before the game was to control the tempo with good shot selection.
- “Didn’t do it,” he said. “Didn’t even come close to it. We got into a jump-shooting contest early. We ended up 2 for 19 on threes, you are not going to win on the road taking that many threes especially with the other things we gave up. That’s way, way too many to give up on the road. The things we were concerned about coming into this game they completely took advantage of it.”
- To be fair, Hinrich and Smoove could have made a difference for the Hawks in the second half. Hinrich because he’s likely to help the Hawks work for better shots, Smith because when all else fails he can protect the rim.
- “When I went out after the first half, and then Kirk not being able to go I think it hurt us a lot,” Smoove said.
- “I think it helped a little bit by Josh not being in the second half,” George Karl said. “Still a solid win.”
- Josh said he sprained his right medial collateral ligament when J.R. Smith fell on his leg. He’s likely to get an MRI. It’s the same knee he banged earlier this season.
- “For the past two games it was feeling like I was getting back to 100 percent and then this happens,” he said. “It’s kind of frustrating but I can’t control injuries.”
- Al (21 points, 10 of 15 shots) was the most efficient scorer for the Hawks but got just two shots in the fourth quarter (and made both). Marvin was 0 for 4, Joe was 3 for 8, and Jamal was 1 for 3.
- The game got away from the Hawks when they went more than three minutes without a field goal while down 89-85.
- “This was a very winnable game,” Marvin said. “Obviously when Smoove went down the other guys had to step up. We had great looks at it we just couldn’t make shots tonight and couldn’t get stops when we needed it.”
- “We missed looks we normally make,” Joe said. “I don’t know it was dead legs or what.”
- “When they started double-teaming Joe we tried to space the floor,” Drew said. “This was one of those games where we could have used Kirk, could have used Josh Smith. Because one thing those guys can do is space the floor. We turned down some shots out of the double team which we can’t do. If they double team and you get an open look you’ve got to take the shot. We had some guys that were a little bit reluctant.”
- Teague did his part to slow Denver’s dribble penetration in the halfcourt (and got six needed rebounds) but was 1 for 6 on field goals. By my (unofficial) count four of those misses were long jumpers, which still isn’t his thing.
- Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith helped Denver’s bench enjoy a 44-17 scoring advantage. Only Jamal can match that firepower on Atlanta’s bench but the reserves didn’t help matter with poor shot selection during Denver’s rally in the second quarter.
- So the Hawks finished their trip 3-4 with Ws against Detroit, Golden State and Portland and Ls to the Knicks, Lakers, Suns and Nuggets.
- “You know, when you look at the thing as a whole, it’s OK,” Al said. “It could have been worse. This is a game I don’t like to lose but the fact that we came out and competed even though we were shorthanded I liked that fact. We were down one going into the fourth and we had a chance.”
- “It could have been better,” Josh said. “I think we could have won that Phoenix game. We played well in Golden State and Portland.”
- “Not all was bad but you look back at games we could have got,” Marvin said. “The LA game was going to be tough, I think everybody knew that. Phoenix, they got up on us and we fought our way back and could have snuck that one.”
- “Obviously we would have liked to have done better but I think it’s acceptable to finish off 3-4,” L.D. said. “It could have been a lot worse. Now we are still in a position where we can control our own destiny. We have a boatload of games at home and if we have to go home and handle our business.”
- “After the trade as you can see we had a lot of positive things happen,” Joe said. “Those two games were close. We have got to look forward to getting back everybody healthy. Hopefully Smoove’s injury is not serious.”
- It’s Bulls, Thunder, Knicks, and the Lakers at Philips over the next eight days.
- “The good thing about the good teams is there is going to be a crowd there, no matter if they are favoring the visiting team or ours,” Josh said. “I think that gets us going more than anything and trying to play in kind of a playoff environment.”
- “I think we’ve shown that we’ve gotten it together the last few games,” Al said. “Even this game I think we played well aside from the transition aspect. We have to come out with energy and intensity and be ready to go because we have got some real good teams coming.”
- I’m headed home after 15 nights on the road. Ken S. is on deck for the next couple days. Thanks for reading, blog people.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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281 comments Add your comment
SteveW
March 1st, 2011
4:11 pm
Etan must stink in practice, because I would sure give him some burn. I think he’s better than JP
terrell
March 1st, 2011
4:11 pm
Then we’d have a 6 inch sub, and a sloppy Joe. lol!
The Truth
March 1st, 2011
4:20 pm
“6 inch sub, and a sloppy Joe”
LOL ROF!!!!
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
4:25 pm
what
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
4:26 pm
looks like the Hawks may have some interest….
http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm
Ra'mon
March 1st, 2011
4:34 pm
If the Hawks signed C Brewer, he could very well be looked at as next years first round draft pick. I doubt very seriously we would’ve drafted someone better than Brewer that late in the draft.
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
4:36 pm
true Ra’mon, but is Brewer needed. does he give us anything that we don’t already have?
KevinM
March 1st, 2011
4:36 pm
Marvin IMO isn’t changing anything…he will continue to head back to Chapel Hill in the offseason and compete with his college buddies Sean May and the younger guys. He will always be BMOC in Chapel Hill.
Marvin had a great chance to pick us up with Josh down last night, and he decided not to step up. This is the Marvin we know all too well.
It has never been the coach; it has always been Marvin.
I would like to see him get a DNP and see how much we missed him like Teague has been hit with all too many times this year.
OB, I agree with you on Jamal not needing to be in there, but there are 12 minutes to work with…why not segments of defense to keep the opponent at bay, and bring in offense only when needed? I don’t believe there are substitution limitations.
And why has Collins gotten DNPs last night? A perfect chance for Al to run the 4 and Collins and Zaza to share the 5.
That game was simply winnable last night.
Roster moves….we’re done, Sund isn’t that creative. We swapped 2 for 2 and have one less pawn for the offseason. One roster spot left, and I would like to see a guy who could come in and press Marvin for more minutes….perhaps Marvin’s limits are at 20-25 min.
Get me Brewer or Ewing Jr. or even a Scottie Reynolds who has a lot of energy.
There’s always room for improvement, ask Boston and Miami, even though I think Miami has no idea what they’re looking for….Bibby did not give it his all with us…if he had, he wouldn’t have made so many of us consider him washed up. And I don’t see Nash or Bibby or Billups in Bibby.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 1st, 2011
4:39 pm
If Leon Powe is 100%, give me him over Brewer any day of the week. Powe was a beast before he tore up his knee, and I still don’t see what makes Brewer any different from Damien. Considering the, uh, questionable state of the Hawks’ backup big men, a tenacious rebounder and scrappy defender like Powe would help a lot. Hopefully it would at least mean the Hawks could say goodbye to the idea of Powell receiving any more meaningful minutes.
Trojan
March 1st, 2011
4:46 pm
It don’t matter what King James wants or says, Bibby is very limited.
Grandad
March 1st, 2011
5:00 pm
myrak43 4:26 pm
“looks like the Hawks may have some interest….”
In whom? / I scanned hh & saw nothing?
ag
March 1st, 2011
5:03 pm
I agree with ND, we should try to sign Powe. One thing, we cannot continue to allow other teams get better, so go out and get Powe, Brewer,etc.
As far as the game, I say continue to start Teague. He will get better. He is taking good shots at the rim, and they will fall. He just has to be more aggressive, and that will come. He could have easily had 10 assists last night, but Marvin and Josh Powell could not convert. Even Al messed up a couple of possible assists.
The reason why you want to start Teague is to have a strong bench. Jamal will have nobody to can score with him if he is with Teague.
Ra'mon
March 1st, 2011
5:04 pm
Najeh, Thomas was a beast before his injury. I haven’t seen the same Powe since he was injured. This entire season he’s only played in 14 games for a team that set the record most consecutive losses, and that’s after Varejao went down with injury. Brewer was averaging 8 pts, 2 reb, and 1.6 steals per game. The acquisition of Brewer is more about the health issues of Marvin than it is about Wilkins. Marvin is always an awkward fall away from being out for 3 weeks. We lost two wing players, and have replaced neither of them. A player like Brewer would also help keep the pressure on offenses when Joe isn’t in the game. Right now we only have one defensive wing on the bench, and that’s Wilkins. In the east this year you need 2 defensive wings at least on the bench.
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
5:08 pm
Grandad @ 5:00 the Rasual Butler
KevinM
March 1st, 2011
5:09 pm
2 games behind Orlando….will it really matter if we have 1 more home game as a 4? I think we will be able to hold off the Knicks if Hindrich is productive quickly.
Magic/Knicks tonight…I say keep the Knicks down if possible.
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
5:13 pm
Marc J. Spears: Potential suitors for @Rasual Butler once he clears waivers includes BOS, ATL, NJ, NY and OKC, source tells Y! Sports. Twitter
Rumors tagsAtlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Free Agency, Rasual Butler | share Share on FacebookShare on twitterComment on HoopsHype forums
Grandad
March 1st, 2011
5:16 pm
myrak43
Thanks
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
5:18 pm
so do you think he would be a good pick up?
Grandad
March 1st, 2011
5:20 pm
* Rah-sue-uhl * Butler [in case anyone is interested]
drmaryb (*_*)
March 1st, 2011
5:26 pm
I told yall we were gonna’ get Rasual Butler. What does he do well?
STRETCH
March 1st, 2011
5:28 pm
ag,
In reference to Powe; His agent, Andy Miller, emailed USA Today on Monday to say: “We are in the process of evaluating our options. I fully anticipate us signing with a high profile playoff team, with championship aspirations by no later than Thursday.” Chicago Tribune
Notice he said “Championship Aspirations” Dont think they are gonna look at Sund and company.
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
5:31 pm
he can handle the ball well for a SF and he can hit the outside jumper. unlike Marvin or even Josh Smith( who has been making his shots as of late) but Butler is a pure shooter who will hit his in clutch times i.e. game winning situations, buzzer beaters and such
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
5:34 pm
Stretch Powe would not make us championship contenders anyway, all though he would (if Healthy) help out big time. what we need is more bench scoring, that is really not Powe’s game.
drmaryb (*_*)
March 1st, 2011
5:37 pm
“Notice he said “Championship Aspirations” Dont think they are gonna look at Sund and company.”
____________________
STRETCH! Just Stop it! (I am “sore throat” laughing)
STRETCH
March 1st, 2011
5:38 pm
I agree with you on that 100%. But does Sund know that? Man they really need some scoring off the bench. Lets hope they make one more move this season.
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
5:48 pm
yes I think Brewer, Butler, and/or Kapono would help us out. Brewer could be long term solution and a replacement for Marvin Williams, Butler would be better for this years playoff run as a running mate with Crawford coming off the bench, and Kapono could make a nice spot up shooter in certain situations
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
5:50 pm
would be nice if we could get all three, but I think Ideally Kapono and Brewer both would be the best move, but if we only can get one of the three I would pick up Butler.
The Truth
March 1st, 2011
5:51 pm
“He just tweeted this. I asked him about do he really think the Hawks will go over the cap for Rasual Butler. He never replied back.”
Quote:
@Chris_Broussard: In addition to Chicago, San Antonio, Dallas and ATL interested in Rasual Butler.
http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index.php/topic/356678-hawks-interested-in-rasual-butler/
drmaryb (*_*)
March 1st, 2011
5:59 pm
Dang myrak4. A SF that can do all that? The owners must be sick of Marvin too.
Coach Drew probably told Sund, “I need some horses! Not pony tails!”. Marvin is useless to me out there. Get me Rasual Butler in here and we’ll just “shake, bake, rattle and roll” with that. Yep, your Daddy is gonna’ take these knuckle head, crotch sniffing soft azzes to the promised land.”
_______________________
Drew isn’t as dumb or smart as he looks. But, he does seem to have some say in personnel decisions. He wants Jamal back, so, there it is.
terrell
March 1st, 2011
6:01 pm
Who yall rooting for tonight? Orlando or NY? Ny bidding for the 5th spot. Orlando’s 2 games up. Tough call. lol!
The Truth
March 1st, 2011
6:03 pm
The Hawks will not get a better opportunity to acquire a bargain discount player than now. Once these FA players hit the open market during the off-season, the Hawks will find a reason to pass on any quality player unless he’s vet min. You would think without a meaningful draft pick, the Hawks would get more aggressive right now.
myrak43
March 1st, 2011
6:03 pm
I am rooting for NY
terrell
March 1st, 2011
6:08 pm
myrak43, if NY catches us, we got Chicago, or perhaps Miami(and the refs) ,or Boston, in the 1st rd.
darrell starks
March 1st, 2011
6:13 pm
We need no scrub player on this team, and RAUSAL, KAPONO are scrub player with no defense, now COREY BREWER is and avg player with good defense.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
Melvin
March 1st, 2011
6:17 pm
Wizards and Al Thronton agreed to a buyout. Get on the MFing phone Sund…
Melvin
March 1st, 2011
6:19 pm
Alex Kennedy: The Washington Wizards have waived Al Thornton, according to press release. Plenty of teams will show interest in the former lottery pick. Twitter
The Truth
March 1st, 2011
6:20 pm
Al Thornton is the guy the Hawks should target. BTW why didn’t the Hawks asked for instead of Hilton?
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2011-03-01-656201331_x.htm
Melvin
March 1st, 2011
6:21 pm
Corey Brewer, Rasual Butler or Al Thronton. Sund need to sign one of these guys…
STRETCH
March 1st, 2011
6:22 pm
Dr Mary,
You are probably not the only one laughing. But seriously i really do think this team could make a couple of moves and get Teague and Hinrich going and probably make some noise in the East.
But right now, its up to management to show that they are serious!
Melvin
March 1st, 2011
6:26 pm
Oh my gosh, Sund is getting praise….. SMH
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=18947
darrell starks
March 1st, 2011
6:27 pm
I keep wondering why do LD keep playing this dam smallish lineup is beyond my belief.
Last night in the second half he went with JAMAL, JOE, DAMIEN, MARVIN, HORFORD, LD continue to properly miss direct this team in a suitable way 2 where they can compete on a championship level, now he have 3 bigs on this team and armstrong who is a good defender in the paint plus with good skills haven’t play in 1 game yet, what in the H is LD thinking is beyond my mind, we can’t blame RICK SUND because he have gotten the player but LD MISS UTILIZED THEM, if rick sund would have never traded bibby, teague would still be on the bench GO FIGURE.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!
Rod from College Park
March 1st, 2011
6:32 pm
We need a NBA level small forward, who can score when Joe is doubled. My vote is for Al Thornton, or Corey Brewer. Both are slashers who attack the rim, something this team really lacks. Don’t pay attention to their scoring averages, or FG% because if they get some of the wide open looks Marvin gets, they might end up being one of the better small forwards in the league on our team. I think Thorton would be the best choice because he is from GA, he is a scorer, and can defend.
J from the A
March 1st, 2011
6:33 pm
I don’t think other team’s scrubs are really the answer … the Hawks already have plenty of ‘em to go around.
darrell starks
March 1st, 2011
6:33 pm
ROD FROM CP I COSIGN.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
March 1st, 2011
6:35 pm
AL THORTON IS 10TIME BETTER THAN MARVIN, my vote is 100percent al thorton plus he is a georgia boy.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
niremetal
March 1st, 2011
6:35 pm
Najeh,
Ok. What are the excuses for the Braves and Falcons? Attendance for those teams has always lagged significantly behind their record in the standings too.
I actually am not dissing the people who are actually Atlanta sports fans. The problem is that most people who live in Atlanta today were neither born nor raised in Atlanta. Atlanta is the biggest transplant city in the United States – actually it’s the biggest in the entire developed (or “Western”) world. When most of the people living in your market grew up rooting for other teams, it’s tough to get them to cheer for the “home team.”
I’m actually an example of that. I’ve lived in the Philadelphia area for the better part of the past decade. It doesn’t matter how much money the Sixers, Phillies, and Eagles spend on advertising, marketing, etc. It doesn’t matter how many pennants the Phillies win. I will always be a Hawks, Braves, and Falcons fan, and won’t be buying tickets to see the Philly teams play unless I’m interested in seeing the opposing team.
drmaryb (*_*)
March 1st, 2011
6:37 pm
This team is not good enough to be hand picking play off opponents, just yet. Woa! Nellie.
Let’s see what’s up with Josh’s knee first. Get Captn. Kirk adjusted and play some Defense. If we are not gonna play “pants on fire” defense?
Then who we play, is a moot point anyways.
darrell starks
March 1st, 2011
6:38 pm
BRING AL THORTON HOME RICK SUND, but the Q will LD play him, LD is just like woody.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
March 1st, 2011
6:46 pm
STARTER TEAGUE, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, ARMSTRONG
BENCH HINRICH, JAMAL, THORNTON, POWELL, ZAZA
RESERVE DAMIEN, COLLINS
MARVIN IN STREET CLOTHES BEHIND THE BENCH
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Truth
March 1st, 2011
6:48 pm
Warriors expected to sign forward Al Thornton only for the remainder of the season.
5 minutes ago via TweetDeck .Warriors believe forward Al Thornton can add a versatile inside-outside presence offensively. Thornton expected to clear waivers Thursday.
http://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo
Sund is too dam slow