Atlanta Hawks: Practice report
Notes from practice today . . .
- L.D. said he could use the Teague-Hinrich back court more often: “I certainly can see it. I have said it from day one with Jeff’s speed and quickness, we don’t have anybody on this team that comes close. When he’s playing at a high level it makes us better. Kirk has played some two a great majority of his career. When he was in Chicago, he played alongside Rose. He played some up in Washington alongside Wall. He’s used to it. It’s something we are looking at. It moves him to the two, it moves Joe to the three. We will probably look at it even more as we wind down the stretch of the season.”
- Al practiced today and said he plans to play against the Bucks. L.D. was hopeful but wasn’t ready to declare Al ready: “He gives me the same thing every time I ask him: ‘I’m OK.’ He said that right before the Blazers game. We will just have to wait and see. I know Al if he can play, he will.”
- Josh Powell declined comment on his arrest in a traffic incident near Philips on Saturday. He said he planned to release a statement later. As for his state of mind, Powell said: “It’s good, man. I’ve done a lot of praying. I’m trying to maintain a positive mind. I appreciate all the people that have been supportive in this situation.”
- The Hawks seemed rejuvenated after snapping the winning streak and getting Sunday off: “They seemed to have a little bit more juice. Heck, I seemed to have a little bit more juice. It’s good to break the streak. You are almost 70 games into the season. It’s been a long grind, and you just welcome those kind of moments.
“I told the players at start of the season we would experience some rough waters and it would be a matter of how we respond to it. The thing is to not get discouraged, lose our confidence, start playing the blame game. Of the 30 teams, I guarantee you 25 or more will go through tough times. I think only two teams who haven’t are San Antonio or Boston. It comes with the territory. I’m glad we responded positively in the last game.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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199 comments Add your comment
rusty
March 14th, 2011
10:10 pm
It’s time for the hawks tp play fast with energy if not we have to break up this team
LastDon
March 14th, 2011
10:11 pm
Starting Hinrich at the 2 is a joke..there is nothing he can give the team offensively or defensively against opposing 2 guards..and Larry Drew Kirk playin along side Wall is prolly the reason for Washington bein in the cellar..
northcyde
March 14th, 2011
10:11 pm
@ SB75
If there were 5 seconds left on the game clock, would you draw up a play to have the ball in Josh’s hands for him to shoot the ball?
If you were down 10 points to start the 4th quarter, would you expect Josh to have a big scoring quarter to get us back into the game?
Can Josh create his own shot off the dribble and score from multiple places on the court?
If you can’t answer YES to all 3 questions, then Josh Smith is NOT a scorer.
Monta Ellis is a scorer. Jason Terry is a scorer. Jamal Crawford is a scorer.
Josh isn’t a scorer. He’s a very good utility player. Or a better description . . he’s a “5-Tool Player”"
That is a guy that fills the stat sheet by putting up numbers in the 5 major statistical categories:
- points
- rebounds
- assists
- blocks
- steals
Scorers can explode and get you 25 points in a game by literally taking over the game offensively.
Josh Smith is not that type of player..
When Smith “explodes” on the stat sheet, it usually looks like this:
16 points
9 rebounds
7 assists
5 blocks
3 steals
He dominates a game not by scoring, but by doing some of everything. That’s what makes him a 5-Tool Player and not a “scorer”.
Jae Evolution
March 14th, 2011
10:12 pm
Well with the Knicks and Sixers finally cooling off, it’s time for the Hawks to get out of the Danger Zone.
Celtics also lost tonight which shocks me, and the Heat are looking to pull the W.
I’m hoping Orlando lose tonight so we can gain some ground on them tomorrow with a probable win against the Bucks.
SteveW
March 14th, 2011
10:23 pm
Josh Smith is nowhere near what I call a scorer. No handles. Shoots 29.4 % from 10-15 feet. He’s come in 2nd for defensive player of the year. No accolades for offensive.
He is a classic tweener, and he just may end up as a 3 before all is said and done
LastDon
March 14th, 2011
10:27 pm
@Northcyde
I agree Josh Smith lacks the ball handling skills and consistent shooting stroke to be even remotely considered a scorer..The team has suffered tremendously from He and Al Horford thinking they are scorers instead of bringin their hard hat how they did earlier in their careers..
darrell starks
March 14th, 2011
10:28 pm
THE HAWKS HAVE 2 PLAY TO THERE STRENGHT.
1.Horford is the best powerford on the team.
2.Josh is the best smallforward on the team.
3.Marvin plays with more confindence of the bench.
4.Teague and josh out on the wing would be crazy.
5.Hawks have three center that can be good role player, ZAZA, HILTON, COLLINS, just defend the paint and rebound thats it.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LastDon
March 14th, 2011
10:32 pm
@Steve W
Josh Smith used to be a good defensive player and shouldn’t even be in the voting for defensive player of the year..He defensive mentality was ruined when Larry Drew experimented with him as a small forward..
darrell starks
March 14th, 2011
10:34 pm
STARTER TEAGUE, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, COLLINS OR HILTON DEPEND ON THE MATCHUP QUICKER TEAM HILTON, BIG BODY CENTER COLLINS
BENCH HINRICH, JAMAL, DAMIEN, MARVIN, ZAZA.
RESERVE POWELL,
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ron
March 14th, 2011
10:51 pm
Even though Teague has a lot to learn, I would be perfectly fine with him being our starting point guard, as long as he can give us at least decent production and allow us to play at an uptempo style.
However, I don’t like the idea of playing a 3 guard lineup with Teague, Kirk, and Joe as our starting PG, SG, and SF, respectively. My main reasoning for this is that I feel this lineup partially takes away the strengths of our players. For example, playing Kirk Hinrich at the 2 basically takes away his play-making ability. I realize that Hinrich has played at the SG position for a large part of his career, yet I feel like his best position is the PG position and he had his most productive years when playing at the PG position. For that reason, I’d like to play Kirk at the point, rather than the 2, as much as possible when he’s on the floor. This team needs play-making (Kirk at the 1) more than it needs jump shooting (Kirk at the 2).
Similarly, I’d rather play Joe at the 2 than the 3. If you look at Joe’s game the last couple of years, he plays a lot slower than he did early in his career, and he’s never been very explosive with ATL. In my opinion, Joe’s main advantages are his size and ability to create offense off-the-dribble and make tough shots. If you put Joe at the 3, his size advantage is no longer a great factor. He’ll still have a size advantage over a lot of defenders, but he’ll also have a size disadvantage when he has to guard players like Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony. Without his size advantage, I feel like Joe would play much more perimeter-oriented, where he is less effective. If Joe regained the sharp-shooting prowess that he had earlier in his career, I don’t think it would matter much switching him to the 3, but with the way he is playing lately, I feel like there would be a negative dip in his production if he played the majority of his minutes at the SF position.
Another large reason why I wouldn’t want the 3 guard lineup for a starting lineup is due to the fact that it leaves us no pure point guards to come off of the bench. Personally, I hate (with a strong passion) when L.D. plays Jamal at the PG position and asks him to run the offense. Jamal is a scorer, that’s what he does. His best skill is scoring and he should not be asked to be a play-maker when he has developed his entire career as a high-volume scorer. You take away a lot his effectiveness when you expect him to initiate the offense and focus on passing rather than focusing on his own game. If Teague and Hinrich both start, then Jamal is left to play PG coming off of the bench at some point, unless either Teague or Hinrich plays major minutes.
With that being said, although I feel like Hinrich should really be a starter on this team, it may be best if he came off the bench as our backup PG. That would certainly make our bench more potent and give us an actual playmaker coming off of the bench. With Kirk playing alongside Jamal, Jamal could focus on scoring while Hinrich initiates the offense for the second unit. It’s no surprise that our second unit lacks a lot of offensive firepower and I feel like Hinrich would help that. L.D. could use Hinrich a lot more offensive if he were playing with the second unit. A second unit that includes Hinrich, Jamal, Damien, Zaza, and either Horford or Smith (assuming Josh Powell continues to ride the pine) would have solid offensive output and sufficient defensive potency.
The only thing I don’t really like about using these lineups is the fact that it involves starting Marvin and bringing Hinrich off of the bench, when Hinrich is clearly more deserving of a starting role. Marvin is a true SF (the only 1 we have on the team) though, with great size, and having him out there with the starters allows guys to play closer to their natural positions (e.g. Joe at the 2), and it gives us the ability to switch on screens when it’s advantageous, while still having a very athletic lineup that is built to run. All of this assumes that Marvin can give decent production, which he hasn’t done often this season. If Marvin can just play solid defense, the way he has in the past, and hit open shots, that’s all we really need from him, along with help on the glass (that’s a plus it happens).
Basically, this suggests that our starting lineup should be Teague, JJ, Marvin, Josh, and Al, while the bench lineup would be Hinrich, Jamal, Damien, Zaza and (Horford or Smith), unless L.D. actually plays Powell regular minutes. While there are advantages and disadvantages to using these lineups, I feel like they may be the best lineups to use based upon the arguments that I’ve stated above.
Ron
March 14th, 2011
10:57 pm
Correction on my last post: At the end of the second to last paragraph, I meant to say “that’s a plus *when* it happens”, not “that’s a plus it happens”.
SteveW
March 14th, 2011
11:18 pm
I just hope we get it all together before playoff time. It would be so nice doing some damage in the post season.
And I hope Kirk starts at PG. JT should be in the rotation in a big way however. I wonder if Sund/Gearon had “the talk” with LD after Chicago?
Teague goes from out od the rotation at Chicago, to starting the next night. Something sure smells fishy to me
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2011
11:28 pm
Heat 110, Spurs 80. Hawks better come correct this Friday.
Two winnable games before that though. The Bucks struggle big time offensively, and the Hawks are not going to get torched by Earl Boykins again now that Bibby is gone. Denver is a tough team to beat but the Hawks have the horses to do it if they focus defensively. I think both are ideal matchups for Teague to get the start.
SB75
March 14th, 2011
11:34 pm
O’Brien
March 14th, 2011
7:34 pm
I think Josh is a very good player (border-line all star at times). but the reason (imo) why fans get mad at him is becuase his faults are easily corrected.
Marvin has his faults, but there is no way to correct them – he just isnt very good.
Bibby has his faults – but its mostly because he is old and slow
But Josh’s faults are easy to fix.
1) Give up the ball to the PG on the break
2) Make a concerted effort to get in the post, and shoot less 3’s
3) Stay focused, even if calls dont go your way
But the HCs (Woody and LD) have let Josh get away with it for various reasons.
What’s up man. I love it when fans make your 1rst and 2nd comment. Truth is for number 1 to happen we actually have to have a pg that will do something with it instead of just wait to pass it to Joe. We finnaly have that, That’s why I said I would like to see him give it up to the pg. And #2, the coach has to actually call post plays if he wants Josh in the post. #3, I think you are spot on on that one.
Grandad
March 14th, 2011
11:41 pm
Just put the best five ” basketball players ” on the court
and let them play.
Enough of Joe’s a [2 or a 3] just get Marvin off the floor.
Who cares if Teague and Hinrich are both lead guards.
*[they have a different skill set]
Still they are ” basketball players ” or “ballers”
in the modern day patois.
Then whomever comes off the bench,
should be your best ”ballers” as well.
*editors note:
Defense & Rebounding should be at least half
of the equation for defining a ”baller”. re [basketball player]
Rod from College Park
March 14th, 2011
11:48 pm
I totally agree Grandad. Our best players should be on the floor, and Marvin is not one of them.
SB75
March 14th, 2011
11:51 pm
northcyde
March 14th, 2011
10:11 pm
@ SB75
If there were 5 seconds left on the game clock, would you draw up a play to have the ball in Josh’s hands for him to shoot the ball?
If you were down 10 points to start the 4th quarter, would you expect Josh to have a big scoring quarter to get us back into the game?
Can Josh create his own shot off the dribble and score from multiple places on the court?
If you can’t answer YES to all 3 questions, then Josh Smith is NOT a scorer.
Monta Ellis is a scorer. Jason Terry is a scorer. Jamal Crawford is a scorer.
Josh isn’t a scorer. He’s a very good utility player. Or a better description . . he’s a “5-Tool Player””
That is a guy that fills the stat sheet by putting up numbers in the 5 major statistical categories:
- points
- rebounds
- assists
- blocks
- steals
Scorers can explode and get you 25 points in a game by literally taking over the game offensively.
Josh Smith is not that type of player..
When Smith “explodes” on the stat sheet, it usually looks like this:
16 points
9 rebounds
7 assists
5 blocks
3 steals
He dominates a game not by scoring, but by doing some of everything. That’s what makes him a 5-Tool Player and not a “scorer”.
Dude, you are making up ficticitious reasoning to say he’s not a scorer. While Josh does have game winners to his credit, I wouldn’t want the ball in anyone but joes hands with 5 seconds left on the clock. That doesn’t mean he’s not a scorer, just means Joe has more versitile ways to score. And we have seen Josh have huge qtr’s, so what are you talking about. If you are down 10, you expect the team to pick it up, not one player.
Josh can and has created his own shots, that’s one of his pluses. Clyde you have been here for a while, I can’t believe you said that one.
Like I said fictiious reasoning.
Here is what you should be aksing your self….
1) Has he shown multiple ways to score? Yes
2) Does he get to the line? Yes ( best on the Hawks team)
3) Can he be counted on to keep attacking? Yes
All those answers are yes, By you reasoning the Hawks don’t have a scorer on the roster. You do know Josh is averaging more points, shooting a better fg% and getting to the line more often than Jamal don’t you?
Man the back handed slaps at Josh need to stop. Everyday man, come on your opinion has been noted. It doesn’t need to revert back to the same player or subject everyday….. Fire Billy & Woody…….
Rev in Tampa
March 14th, 2011
11:54 pm
Grandad,
How are you? You have introduced a new word to me: “patois”. What does that mean?
doc
March 15th, 2011
12:03 am
najeh, i dont think the nuggets are a good match up for us right now. they just went 17/29 at the three stripe against the hornets and have felton and ty both playing long stretches together running hard at the defense. it will be a good test for our revamped defense without bibby but it could get nasty if we cant score because they will be hard to stop.
i think karl was pleased with how things turned out for his team after melo left and billups was gone. he is now playing his team the way he wants to fast with multiple bullets, like he said, it is going to be hard to stop because even he doesnt know how they are going to score, but they will.
James
March 15th, 2011
12:04 am
It’s not always about having all of your best players on the floor at the same time. Their styles and skill sets have to complement eachother in order for things to work well. What’s it’s really about is maximizing the strengths of your players and developing a system in which players are able to play to the best of their ability and utilize their best talents to help the team. It’s also about balance, that’s the reason why there have been a lot of occurrences where very good players have come off of the bench in favor of inferior players. The Spurs used to bring Manu Ginobili off of the bench and had success with it, the Nuggets bring J.R. Smith off of the bench (whom is arguably the best SG on their roster), the Blazers bring Gerald Wallace off of their being and he probably their second best player. Sometimes, you need to bring one of your better players off of the bench to make your second unit more potent, or to help fully utilize the talents of your team.
For example, imagine you have a team with 4 great offensive players whom all play different positions, yet some of them score in similar ways. If you start all 4 of them, you will have trouble fully utilizing those players since you cannot call plays for each of them consistently,and they will have to give up a lot of shots for eachother. However, if you bring one of those players off of the bench, then it gives you more flexibility as a coach to diversify your attack and it enables you to more fully utilize the scoring ability of these players by giving each player more play calls and more opportunities to score. It also gives you the advantage of having a spark coming off of your bench that can dominate against second units.
Reasons such as what I have just described are why it’s not always the best solution to simply put your five best players on the floor. Certainly, that may be the case in crunch time or winning time, but that’s not always the best solution, overall, if you want to be a great team.
Grandad
March 15th, 2011
12:08 am
Rev, my good friend;
french for jargon
I was only showin’ off.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 15th, 2011
12:16 am
Co-sign James.
SteveW
March 15th, 2011
12:20 am
I say let Kirk and Jeff handle the PG for the remainder of the season. No more Jamal at the Point unless there’s an injury or something.
Gotta remember JT was out of the rotation against Derrick Rose! That was just 1 game ago. LD’s modus operandii with JT has been: JT plays good game out of neccessity playing. Next game JT plays well, but less minutes. Next game looks good, but still less minutes. Then DNP-Coaches Decision for fill in the reason; DRose getting in the lane and destroying us is not as big a problem as physicality, I’ve not given up on JT, etc. etc.
LD’s wife just got their son thrown of his High School team in LA for meddling BTW. That whole family is having a rough basketball year. You can google that story. My computer is acting crazy.
Grandad
March 15th, 2011
12:27 am
James
Well stated and valid point.
” It’s not your five best players but your best five that play together ”
— John Wooden —
However my point was not as contradictory to your point
as it may have sounded.
My greater point was not worrying about putting labels on players.
Such as:
Josh; is he a [3, a 4, or a 5] ?
who cares, he’s one of your best players as is Al.
Both are labeled as a [4] and folks worry about that constantly.
A greater worry to me is;
we don’t have enough size regardless what you call Josh & Al.
But, and again, but we need Josh and Al on the floor.
I have been very critical of Joe;
but if he plays the [3] and it gets Marvin off the floor,
then it helps the team in multiple ways.
Back in ‘86 [greatest "team" ever]
Ainge and Johnson both played guard.
*[just guard] -&- (both were starters)
Hopefully what I’m saying makes sense
and doesn’t contradict your post so much.
When I coached;
I played 10 players every qtr.
(ran them in and out)
played man to man + ran motion offense.
When I subbed I didn’t pay much attn to positions…
I just put in a basketball player.
*(one who was going to defend & rebound)
*[and play balls to the wall]
SteveW
March 15th, 2011
12:28 am
Teague sure looked a little better Ty in Denver. And Ty’s been beastin’ it since. Sure recipe for LD to lock Jamal on Ty and Felton, and give Teague 3 – 4 minutes on PT, while most fans scream and scratch their heads, and a few defend LD and talk about why he is right in not playing Teague, and making this 53 win team a pariah with record, multiple losses.
Hello! We’ve been playing like a lottery team over the past 25 games. Anybody listening?
Grandad
March 15th, 2011
12:30 am
* ‘86 Celtics
SteveW
March 15th, 2011
12:32 am
Grandad – We coached alot alike. I ran a variation of Nolan Richardson’s 94 feet of hades on D, and Woodens double high post on O. Yes, I am an aggressor on the basketball court. Lot’s of fresh bodies on the floor also, wear down the other team. It works most of the time.
Grandad
March 15th, 2011
12:33 am
SteveW
Coach Karl has been complaining about T.Lawson being “lazy”.
[his words]
Rev in Tampa
March 15th, 2011
12:35 am
I get all the Magic games on tv in Tampa so I am watching them play the Lakers. The Magic announcers are the most condescending jack-asses (Grandad, I could use a little of my own french lingo, but I am showing restraint).
They were sounding so snooty midway through the 2nd quarter when Kobe couldn’t buy a basket, but now that the Lakers have opened up a lead they are not acting so arrogant but are still just as annoying.
Grandad
March 15th, 2011
12:37 am
SteveW
Amazing how it helps the esprit de corps.
Rev in Tampa
March 15th, 2011
12:41 am
Lakers up by 16 and are making the Magic look D-league. Hawks gain a half-game tonight. Hope they take care of business against the Bucks.
Ra'mon
March 15th, 2011
12:42 am
Steve, double high posts can wear an opposing back court out quickly, because it frees the guards to slash towards the basket, and find holes on the baseline.
doc
March 15th, 2011
12:51 am
grandad:
Josh; is he a [3, a 4, or a 5] ?
who cares, he’s one of your best players as is Al.
Both are labeled as a [4] and folks worry about that constantly.
A greater worry to me is;
we don’t have enough size regardless what you call Josh & Al.
But, and again, but we need Josh and Al on the floor.
I have been very critical of Joe;
but if he plays the [3] and it gets Marvin off the floor,
then it helps the team in multiple ways.
sorry rev but say it again preacher gd.
only problem is if jj is 3 josh 4 and al at 5 we still dont have much bulk but certainly more talent. i like good bulk in the nba but in lieu of it, i take talent. i also hope jt will force us to play him alongside of kirk then have marvin, d wilkins, zaza and jamal come of the bench as appropriate. for bulk, wish hilton was a better baller, too much kinetic energy flailing away without purpose at least, the little i have seen of him. as far as collins? too little kinetic energy period to take him seriously.
sorry steve w, hear ya, feel ya, only since feb 5th, about a 15 game stretch like a lottery team. we were 11-4 to start the new year.
Rev in Tampa
March 15th, 2011
12:54 am
Ha, the Magic announcers are offended that the Lakers took Kobe out of the game with 3:30 to go in the game and the Lakers up by 16. They are saying that the Magic could easily come back with their 3 point shooters.
cp
March 15th, 2011
12:55 am
smdh@LD. Forever saying one thing but doing the exact opposite. I’ll just wait for the game to see what he actually does.
doc
March 15th, 2011
12:58 am
felton and lawson 22 dimes tonght between them with felton ringing up 12 and felton 10. could be textbook basketball to watch on wednesday and the phil.
doc
March 15th, 2011
12:59 am
rev, they dont want any of you south floridians turning off the tv until it is over at 1 am.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 15th, 2011
1:00 am
“i dont think the nuggets are a good match up for us right now. they just went 17/29 at the three stripe against the hornets and have felton and ty both playing long stretches together running hard at the defense. it will be a good test for our revamped defense without bibby but it could get nasty if we cant score because they will be hard to stop. ”
All good points. One big advantage the Hawks have over most other teams is that they really never need to double team anyone. Sometimes some of them forget this (mainly Jamal) but the Hawks now have the defensive players at every position to be able to play straight up defense all the time. The good thing about not being reliant on the double team is that a team like Denver that can get hot from 3 is much less likely to get open looks from out there. If the big men can put a body on Nene all game and Hinrich/Teague can do a pretty good job keeping Felton/Lawson out of the lane (easier said than done of course) I like the Hawks’ chances.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 15th, 2011
1:01 am
Miami wins, but Orlando and Philly lose. If the Hawks can win the next two games, it gets them back into having a realistic shot at catching Orlando.
That Miami game on Friday looks a lot tougher than it did a week ago, though.
Grandad
March 15th, 2011
1:02 am
doc
We are one talented Big away from really competing.
*[a true Big (a real 7 ftr) who happens to also be a real player]*(starter)
**[not a stiff]
Plus a long, rim defending side-kick for Josh and Al. (off the bench)
The kind of players I propose bringing in should be;
first and foremost *Rebounders !
Grandad
March 15th, 2011
1:08 am
For SteveW, I ran double High sets often times myself.
Ra’mon,
notice the Hawks run alot of double high sets.
Big Ray
March 15th, 2011
1:09 am
northcyde
March 14th, 2011
10:11 pm
@ SB75
If there were 5 seconds left on the game clock, would you draw up a play to have the ball in Josh’s hands for him to shoot the ball?
If you were down 10 points to start the 4th quarter, would you expect Josh to have a big scoring quarter to get us back into the game?
Can Josh create his own shot off the dribble and score from multiple places on the court?
If you can’t answer YES to all 3 questions, then Josh Smith is NOT a scorer.
Monta Ellis is a scorer. Jason Terry is a scorer. Jamal Crawford is a scorer.
Josh isn’t a scorer. He’s a very good utility player. Or a better description . . he’s a “5-Tool Player””
That is a guy that fills the stat sheet by putting up numbers in the 5 major statistical categories:
- points
- rebounds
- assists
- blocks
- steals
Scorers can explode and get you 25 points in a game by literally taking over the game offensively.
Josh Smith is not that type of player..
When Smith “explodes” on the stat sheet, it usually looks like this:
16 points
9 rebounds
7 assists
5 blocks
3 steals
He dominates a game not by scoring, but by doing some of everything. That’s what makes him a 5-Tool Player and not a “scorer”.
COOOOOOOO-SIIIIIIIIIIIIIGN !!!
doc
March 15th, 2011
1:21 am
big ray, you saw i brought it over to the blog you host i guess and was a point i was making this past weekend. i like what josh brings but he is not even our third go to guy but fourth if the clock is to expire in crunch time. not yet have we seen a play run for him and only twice for al.
the difference makers are still jj and jamal. as they go, we go, as al and josh have been pretty steady this year giving as much if not more than we expected on most scales by all they do. look at the 15 games they were blowing up in january followed by our swoon in february into march and their numbers paled in comparison. yes, competition went up, just the same their play should have come up to meet it, certainly not go down by a third or more. this is the sixth man winner and an all star we are talking about where games should get better against the best.
doc
March 15th, 2011
1:36 am
najeh, denver has been winning since the trade. i look forward to being there hoping the hawks can do what you say. i wont be surprised if they cant because this team might be a sleeper in the playoffs.
HawkEye
March 15th, 2011
2:21 am
Like many have said, I believe the reason to start Teague from now on is not only because he brings speed and athleticism and takes the ball inside, but also because it takes the ball out of JJ’s hands more, makes our transition game a heck of a lot better, makes our defense better, and it stregthens our bench if hinrich doesnt start. Teague by far is one of our best man to man defenders and also is very crafty with getting in the passing lanes.
However, due in large part to our recent and current coaches, he does not have the exprience to be as consistent as we need him to be due to lack of PT. Therefore, he is going to make mistakes.
Live with the mistakes. I would rather him make mistakes with the starters then to make them with the scrubs, minus Jamal and Damien.
As far as I am concerned, if i see marvin start another game over Teague, it is time for LD to go.
Smoove
March 15th, 2011
4:14 am
Josh Smith is a very good player who can create his own shot, is electric , can go coast to coast, is exciting to watch, plays with an attitude and is a leader on this squad. Hes better than Horford who is a very weak defender and only average a scorer and doesnt excite anybody.
Extendez Woodson!!!
Duh
Hawks suck!
Teague is a Bust! and a Scrubb.
truhawkfan
March 15th, 2011
4:16 am
Why do alot of people hate on J-smoove he can be a little out of control sometimes but alot of the time he does great things on the floor on defense and offense. Some say that he is inmature why cause he talks to the refs when he thinks he is fouled? but no one says that about D-Wade and LeBron when they cry to the refs. Josh Smith is a beast and his FG% is at a good number. Also I hope that LD sticks with this line up with JT at the point cause he played a great game on Saturday. I’m also hoping that they get this win against the Bucks that will be a good match up JT against BJ. Hopefully JJ has found his stroke again and JC still has his going and Marvin has a good game they should get the win.
Smoove
March 15th, 2011
4:18 am
Josh smith has had eight games or more over 20 points this year and is almost always in triple double category.. a sign of a complete player.
Go J Smoove!!
rk
March 15th, 2011
7:19 am
Every player will have a couple of good games a year. The game JT had against the blazers is not his coming out party. Marvin Williams over his career has had two or three good games a year. Josh fills the stat sheet alright, but what does not show up are the bad shots or turnovers in key situations.
Smoove
March 15th, 2011
7:23 am
that doesnt happen for any player, rk. All players take bad shots and good ones.
Teague has a low BB IQ
Josh is a triple double candidate every night. Complete package on offense and the best powerforward in the game defensively. Which makes him a very valuable asset to any team. and In particular the hawks