Hinrich to start, Smith out for Hawks
After coming off the bench for his first two games, new Hawks guard Kirk Hinrich will make his first start Wednesday night at Philips Arena. He’ll do it against his old team, the Chicago Bulls.
Hinrich won’t have the benefit of having forward Josh Smith in the lineup, however. Smith, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee against Denver Monday, tried to practice at the Wednesday morning shootaround but was in too much pain.
Since acquiring Hinrich in a trade that sent Mike Bibby to Washington last Wednesday, coach Larry Drew had been starting Jeff Teague to give Hinrich time to acclimate. Drew said he felt Hinrich had learned enough of the team’s plays and defensive schemes to start.
“I want him to get acclimated as fast as he can,” Drew said. “He’s going to be my starting point, so I kind of want to throw him not the fire and get him into a role that he’s going to be in for the remainder of the season.”
Hinrich missed the Denver game with a sore right calf, but practiced Wednesday and said he will play against the Bulls, for whom he played his first seven seasons in the NBA before getting traded to Washington last summer.
“We’ve got a tough schedule coming up this month but we have a lot of home games,” Hinrich said. “Hopefully we can take care of business. If we hang our hat on our defense like we did there the last three games of the trip, we should be O.K.”
Drew did not have a timeline for Smith’s return. He is considered day-to-day. Drew said he actually thought Smith would be able to play Wednesday prior to the shootaround.
“He said some of the swelling has gone down from [Tuesday], but he went out there and shot a little bit and it didn’t feel right,” Drew said.
Not having Smith in the lineup complicates matters against Chicago, which has a formidable front line with center Joakim Noah and forwards Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng. The Hawks will start Jason Collins at center, Al Horford and Marvin Williams at forward and Joe Johnson and Hinrich at guard.
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218 comments Add your comment
Wabe
March 2nd, 2011
7:19 pm
It’ll be over before we even get half way through the 1st.
Wabe
March 2nd, 2011
7:20 pm
Wow…
Fans in Phillips still standing…
By the time they sit down…game will already be over.
Wabe
March 2nd, 2011
7:22 pm
Shut up with the excuses Rathbun…
Fundamentals
March 2nd, 2011
7:41 pm
Granddad,
I can’t find the article on Hilton that referenced he had small hands for a big. From all accounts it seems the kid is a good kid who just doesn’t believe in himself. He lacks the pride and arrogance that makes any hate the NBA, but he makes it up with being a genuinely nice guy.
All the reports I can find seem to show he’s got great potential as a defender, decent as a shot blocker and rebounder. What he seems to lack is the ability to catch and finish down low. Personally I don’t care about offense. Dude just needs a chance to bring energy, to plug the middle and show the speed that ZaZa and Collins can’t.
He’s young, athletic and his back is against the wall. I’d like to see him get 10-15 a night over the next few weeks just to see what he’s got over Collins, Powell or ZaZa. We know what they bring. We know they take us nowhere. If Hilton doesn’t measure up to his detractors, how much worse can it be than an others on the bench. Give him a shot. That’s all I ask.
Fundamentals
March 2nd, 2011
7:44 pm
Who besides Hilton has the speed to keep up with Noah, Gibson and Boozer. Maybe Powell? Give Elan something to smile about tonight. Get Hilton in the game!
superiorblogman
March 2nd, 2011
7:45 pm
Jeff Teague makes 1 mistake he gets pulled. Damien can’t even get the ball inbounds and he gets to stay in. Hinrich the great white hype gets the team off to a worse start than Teague did in any of his starts and watch he plays almost 40 minutes. I can assure you Teague will not get back into the game tonight until the Bulls are up 20. Please trade Teague so he can learn
STRETCH
March 2nd, 2011
7:48 pm
Free agent swingman Aleksandar Pavlovic is headed to the Celtics, according to ESPN.com … The Dallas Mavericks are close to signing Corey Brewer to a multi-year deal, according to ESPN.com … Eddy Curry is telling people he will eventually join the Heat .
Read more: http://hoopshype.com/#ixzz1FUdARaKL\
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE C’S (and other teams) ARE DOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ALL THESE MOVES??
Hawks Fan in Jax
March 2nd, 2011
7:59 pm
These next stretch of games will show that the Hawks are many moves away from even being thought about being considered a contender or any kind of threat.
superiorblogman
March 2nd, 2011
7:59 pm
Hinrich sucks
Marvin Williams
March 2nd, 2011
8:00 pm
JR smith shuld go to jail for what he did
Marvin Williams
March 2nd, 2011
8:00 pm
lol im talking during the game
jason
March 2nd, 2011
8:00 pm
come on hawks i kno u dont suk this badly!
drmaryb (*_*)
March 2nd, 2011
9:07 pm
“Mary B, if “starting is overrated” as you say, then why does it matter who starts and who comes off the bench?”
_________________________
Read between the lines. Think about it.
Hawks Fan in Jax
March 2nd, 2011
9:23 pm
WE WIN WE WIN WE WIN WE WIN!!!!!!!!!
MustangSalley
March 4th, 2011
12:25 pm
I laughed when I read yesterday where Bibby said the Hawks “Disrespected Me”. Bibby is like a lot of aging stars who continue to hang on to their careers despite the fact that their skills have eroded and left them. Bibby no longer has any basketball skills left. When Bibby was here, Bibby refused to mentor Teague and help him along the same way Brett Farve refused to mentor Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. Its sad when aging athletes hang on instead of retiring with grace and dignity. I dont know whats worse to see a great star leave too early (as in the case of Barry Sanders) or a star like Brett Farve hanging on too long and tarnishing and ruining his legacy. Mike Bibby was once great and should have gotten a championship ring in 2002 with the Sacramento Kings. Unfortunately it didnt happen and Bibby will be remembered as an athlete who couldnt get the coveted ring. He wont get a ring with Miami because LaBron will never get a ring either.
Dr. Phil
March 4th, 2011
4:41 pm
Its a shame that the Hawks “GAVE UP ON TEAGUE” by inserting Hinrich into the starting lineup. The person who is to blame for Teagues lack of development is MIKE BIBBY. Bibby is a polished professional “has been” who is about 9 years past his prime. Bibby was once one of the best point guards in the league but his game has regressed to the point that he should be in retirement now collecting his social security checks. As I pointed out earlier, BIBBY REFUSED TO MENTOR TEAGUE and has allowed Teague to basically regress and now instead of giving Teague the promotion into the starting lineup, Hinrich gets the nod, deservedly so. The Hawks think they can go far in the playoffs which is why they gave up so much to get Hinrich. The Hawks gave up enough in their trade to land either Chris Paul or Deron Williams. Instead they land Hinrich which is not that good to start with.
ScoopJackson
March 4th, 2011
4:50 pm
The Hawks gave up far too much firepower for Hinrich. Mo Evans and Mike Bibby were capable of scoring 60 points a night. By giving up Crawford, who will be the next Karl Malone, the Hawks made a senseless trade and really ruined the quality of their team. Since the Hawks were going to give up so much talent to get Hinrich they should have thrown Teague in the trade and made it with the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas would have sent the Hawks Dirk Norwisnki. Oh well, hinsight is always 20/20.
BusterDouglas
March 5th, 2011
1:43 pm
Teague DOES NOT deserve to start. I noticed it the other night against Oklahoma when the Hawks had the ball and were trailing late in the game by only 2 points and had a chance to tie the game and steal it. Teague ALLOWED the ball to get stolen from him by completely falling asleep on the play and Durant races down the floor to stuff an uncontested basket. That play by Durant mentally deflated the Hawks and they were finished and done for the evening. The mental lapse of that lackadaisical play by Teague is what cost the Hawks the ballgame. The Hawks made a ferocious comeback and were in position to either tie the game and send it into overtime or win it outright with a 3-point basket. Before we could even get to that point, Teague blew the game for us and subsequently wasted the 48-minute effort by the Hawks. Teague should be packaged along with Marvin Williams and traded to the Caviliers for Baron Davis. That would be a great move for the Hawks and would give them the firepower to contend for an NBA title.