Nuggets 102, Hawks 87
Greetings, all-
Perhaps the craziest thing about this game is that the Hawks were up 12 at one point. It’s almost unbelievable given the way the second half played out. Which, as you know, probably even better than me, is how a lot of second halves seem to play out.
Al Horford: “We’ve just got to share the ball. I think at times we do it, at times we don’t.”
Jamal Crawford: “I think we have to learn to handle adversity. I think that’s our final step in becoming a great team. … We have to learn to take a team’s best shot and bounce back and withstand whatever run they have and come back and win.”
Josh Smith: “Sometimes we fight back, sometimes we lay down. I think it’s too late in the year to be inconsistent. We’ve got to know what we’re going to get from each other. We’ve got to play hard every night.”
- Team Jump Shot collapsed against Denver, which kind of plays like you’d hope the Hawks would play – moving the ball, transition game, putting pressure on opponents defensively, several players who can score (maybe this is where the Hawks are not so much like the Nuggets).
The Hawks didn’t make jumpers and failed to re-direct their focus on getting better shots. This might explain it. The Hawks took 19 shots in the paint before halftime. They were down four points and Larry Drew felt they were fortunate to do so.
“It’s plain and simple, which I told them at halftime,” Drew said. “We can’t come down and take a bunch of long shots. We have to establish an inside game.”
With that message ringing in their ears, the Hawks took 21 shots in the third quarter. Two of them were closer than 10 feet. It bears mention that they actually shot really well in this quarter – nine for 18, including three of seven from 3-point range.
It’s kind of the trap with this team. Periods or games like that serve to reinforce the notion that they can thrive as an outside-in team.
- Smith missed seven of his first eight and was pulled. I don’t know that I’ve seen that happen this season that quickly.
Drew: “Their game plan, obviously, was to give us the perimeter shot, but we have to establish ourselves more in the low post.”
I asked Smith if he was surprised when Drew took him out in the first quarter. He said no.
“When somebody comes and gets me (to take him out of the game), as a teammate, I just sit down and understand what I’m doing wrong and try to correct it when I get back in the game.”
Smith’s shot selection (4-for-16) was the most obvious thing about his game. I think it should be pointed out that he also got to the line more than any of his teammates, had nine rebounds and three blocks. And I think his knee is limiting him. All that to say, he is more than his shot selection, but his shot selection certainly is a considerable part of his game.
- Zaza Pachulia continued to earn extended minutes. He got 33 minutes and finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, both team highs. It’s the first time he has led the team in scoring all season.
“Zaza played a [heck] of game,” Smith said.
- The team made little effort to push the ball. The Hawks had 21 fast-break points against Milwaukee and 13 against Denver. In the Lakers game, the last one I covered, it seemed like the team was intentional about pushing the pace – running hard up the court – with every miss or turnover. I saw little of that effort against Denver.
Offensively, the ball just didn’t move well. When it did, getting out of double teams into rotations, the shots missed.
“We became pretty easy to defend,” Drew said.
Horford: “I think that when we play the right way, like yesterday, everything was great. Today, we get away from things we’re successful with and we struggle.”
- Defensively the Hawks gave the game away in the fourth. Shortly after getting to within three points, the Hawks allowed Denver to score on 11 of 12 possessions, a lot of them on secondary-break situations. A lot of open looks on 3-pointers. Drew called it “poor.” I imagine you all might have other words, but poor is a good start.
- Three players scored in double figures off the bench – Pachulia (19 – he was a ridiculous eight for nine), Crawford (6-for-13 for 13) and Marvin Williams (four for 10 for 10). Hawks only used nine players – Hilton Armstrong, Jason Collins and Josh Powell all received DNP-CD’s.
Regardless of how the Hawks played, the Nuggets are quite a team. They’ve got scoring options all over the floor and are on a remarkable hot streak.
“This is a team that’s playing rejuvenated,” Smith said. “You really don’t know where the offense is coming from because they have eight guys scoring in double figures and they look like they’re in sync right now and they’re definitely playing defense and helping each other out.”
Asked what would happen if the Hawks played like the Nuggets, Horford replied, “then I feel like we would be a better team and we would be playing like that.”
Miami comes to town Friday. I suppose if you are a glass half-full sort of person, then perhaps you think the best thing about the Hawks’ inconsistency is that they can win after stinking up the joint. The Hawks have beaten Orlando (twice), Chicago, New York and Portland after losses.
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259 comments Add your comment
mykhalc
March 17th, 2011
1:42 pm
substitute Jerry Sloan into THIS situation!!!
Grandad
March 17th, 2011
1:47 pm
mykhalc: Co-Sign (I reckon this makes me your follower)
XavierDaniels
March 17th, 2011
1:55 pm
I believe that the reason why josh continues to #1:turn the ball over; #2:begin the fast break dribbling downcourt like a guard and #3:hoist up an unlimited ton of 3-pointers is because JOSH HAS NOT BEEN DISCIPLINED BY HIS HEAD COACH LARRY DREW. The way to fix josh permanently is to FINE HIM $1000.00 for every three pointer he launches since that is obviously out of his range. You cant fine him for the turnovers, but for every time the ball is passed in to him in which he doesnt give it up to a guard to dribble the ball downcourt (in other words if josh dribbles the ball himself down the timeline across midcourt, fine him $1000.00 every time he does that in a game. Hopefully these fines will get the message across to him that he MUST change his habits for the Hawks to consistently win.
I MUS WRITE
March 17th, 2011
2:00 pm
Random thopughts: Andre nobody cares how much you bench or squat get a life and stop waste’n ours.
When JJ is stinking up the place LD doesnt pull him or jamal, but everyone wants Josh pulled- last night wasa bad gam for Smoove but to his credit he’s been hitting his shots all year long and has played better this year than any other. Yeah yeah yeah-he will piss u off sumtimez and he will do sumthing stupid from time to time but atleast he plays hard and gives his all unlike some of the overpaid guys on our team. cough cough -Marvin JJ
I MUS WRITE
March 17th, 2011
2:01 pm
game
Section 303
March 17th, 2011
2:06 pm
Ken,
That’s a fair point about Drew. He is a rookie coach and he could lose Josh Smith if he is always on him.
That’s why, and I’ve said this a million times on here, Mike Woodson was such a good coach for Josh Smith. Woodson would not take Smith’s bullsh#t. Just look at the Josh Smith from last year and the Josh Smith this year.
Last year, Josh took no threes. This year, he has taken about 40 too many. Last year, no blow ups on the bench. This year, there’s been two that I could see from my seats in Section 303.
But, as a long time season ticket holder, I want Josh Smith gone. I’m so tired of watching him play. He has his moments. I get that. But, he has more moments of lazy play, complaining to refs, and blowing up at coaches. The guy just needs to leave here.
Besides finding a solution to the labor issue, my biggest hope of this offseason is that Josh Smith gets traded and the Hawks get decent value in return. I would enjoy watching the Hawks play so, so, so much more.
Section 303
March 17th, 2011
2:08 pm
andre, shut the f*** up. You’re not enlighting anyone on here. People on here care about the Hawks and want them to do well. They feel the need to vent when they don’t. Go take your “holier-than-thou” attitude and go f*** yourself with it.
mykhalc
March 17th, 2011
2:12 pm
@Grandad…LOL
drmaryb (*_-)
March 17th, 2011
2:17 pm
rusty
I never question the coaches because I respect their authority. I figure if you are a head coach, then you should know more than me. Heck, I can’t even play basketball myself.
I’m a tennis star with pro skills and an avid golfer. At the gym I’m a pool runner. I tried basketball and was awful, it is a lot harder than it looks on TV. So, yes I assumed Woodson and Drew knew best..
Now, I’m beginning to question Drew.
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2011
2:26 pm
When Al Horford says “something has to be done” and “we need to share the ball” after watching Josh take 8 shots (and miss 7) in the first 6 minutes of the game, I don’t see how LD would lose the team by taking a stronger stand. It is pretty clear that he has conceded any position of leadership to Josh. And sadly, he has announced it to the world. He has conceded that he will live with long distance shots, passes in the stands and quick-triggered shots that undermine a 5-man attack. The scary thing is that generally speaking, once a leader concedes his ground to a subordinate, it is really, really hard to reclaim it. Because even if you manage to do so, there will remain an expectation that eventually, you will lose ground again. It may be a bumpy ride for the next ~97 regular season games. And remember, the ASG has not fired ANYONE associated with the Hawks during their ownership tenure. Not BK. Not Woody. No one. Those guys left when their contracts expired. LD’s contract expires in ~97 regular season games.
mykhalc
March 17th, 2011
2:34 pm
and his ‘captain-naming’ tactic was ill-fated and WEAK to begin with. even that confirms what Joe just posted…LD started off from a place of weakness!!!!
SteveW
March 17th, 2011
2:39 pm
OB – I was talking to Sautee, not you about Marvin’s contract. But since you asked, I’ve posted on previous posts the demand for Marvin in that off -season, and how most of the NBA world thought we got a good job by Sund low balling Marvin. We could have done like Josh, and waited for some team to come and overpay for Marvin and then match it, but I think we probably saved about 5 mill. by signing Marvin the way we did.
And yes, we have posted before all of the stupid contracts players signed that off season, like Hedo for 5 years at 55 mill, being like 34 or 35 at the end of the contract, Charlie V.’s contract etc. Again, we could have waited, or we could have negotiated. We negotiated. And unless Marvin becomes a good player – he has looked good off the bench recently – we negotiated and lost.
But if, and probably when based on what was happening that off season, another team would have come and offered Marvin, front loaded contracts etc. that means we may not have been able to match w/o luxury tax etc, we would have been in a predicament. I still say Sund did the best he could with the cards in front of him, no matter how bad we can’t stand Marvin, he’s a failure etc.
And trust me, if I felt based on the available evidence that Sund had done badly, I would let everybody know.
And the Jamal deal, just who did you mention that we could have gotten for Jamal?
SteveW
March 17th, 2011
2:43 pm
Josh for Marc Gasol in a sign and trade anyone? Doubt the Griz’s will take it, the have a 4 and a 3 unless Zach leaves them.
Josh for Biedrins? Not in this lifetime
Josh for Nene? And who would the Nuggets put a C?
Josh for ????
Now Marvin and some second picks for Sessions and Manny Harris I can see all day long in the off season.
terrell
March 17th, 2011
2:51 pm
What’s scary is, Woody was the Coach, and LD was his lead assistant. YIKES!
lewis
March 17th, 2011
2:53 pm
that article makes a ton of sense. LD’s coaching has thus far been all about politics.
Blue
March 17th, 2011
2:54 pm
Jordan Crawford is averaging 19.5 points in his last three games for the Wizards. And we traded this kid with tremendous potential for basically a bag of chips. Was this ASG’s or Rick Sund’s bright idea?
Blue
March 17th, 2011
2:55 pm
Hell, he scored 27 points Tuesday against the Bulls.
Wabe
March 17th, 2011
2:59 pm
Najeh Davenpoop
March 17th, 2011
1:27 am
“I realize LD’s a rookie coach and is going to make rookie mistakes, just like a rookie player would. But when he refuses to learn from his rookie mistakes, that is when he becomes infuriating. It hasn’t even been a week since the Hawks lost to the Bulls due in large part to LD playing Jamal at point guard against a quick opponent who seized on the opportunity to take over the game. So what does LD do? He benches his defensively solid back court and rolls with Jamal at the point for the majority of the second half, and predictably Lawson and Felton got whatever they wanted.
LD’s substitution patterns are just plain insane.”
Co-sign. Exactly what p!ssed me off last night. How can you even explain the rotations LD went with?
Section 303
March 17th, 2011
2:59 pm
On second thought….shouldn’t the ASG step in and help Coach Drew if he is getting sh#t from players? That way it would not just be Coach Drew getting on Josh, it would be everyone….Sund, too, for that matter…
Weak leadership on this team. Starts at the top and just filters its way on down through the organization.
lewis
March 17th, 2011
3:02 pm
Yes, he got lucky and scored 21 in the first half and then sucked awfully in the second half. Dude has a ton of potential but, so do a lot of people. His bodytype won’t allow him to defend the position that well, and this league has plenty of Jamal Crawford’s, Jason Terry’s, Lou Williams, J.R. Smith type combo guards. I don’t care if he’s the next Monta Ellis, guys like that don’t win championships. Kirk Hinrich is recieving the LD treatment by being forced to play SG with Jamal at the point.
lewis
March 17th, 2011
3:05 pm
^^ n i specifically turned on the second half of that game to watch him play
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2011
3:11 pm
IMO, when LD starts Hinrich at SG he is sub-optimizing Captain Kirk’s ability to provide leadership to the team. I thought we were trading for a starting PG capable of playing 30 effective minutes on both sides of the court (and settle down the team in half-court sets).
At the same time, starting Teague allows LD to maintain his choke hold on the offense. Teague isn’t out there calling any sets… LD is doing that. Hinrich needs the keys to this team, preferably sooner than later.
mykhalc
March 17th, 2011
3:15 pm
@Joe..CO-SIGNED!!! i wanna see Kirk/JJ/Josh/Al/Hilton. i’ve seen enough of everybody else…PERIOD!!!
mykhalc
March 17th, 2011
3:18 pm
actually i’ve seen ENOUGH of EVERYBODY!!! KA BOOM…PLEASE!!!
Melvin
March 17th, 2011
3:35 pm
Ken,
Could you ask Josh where does he feel he’s most effective, on the perimeter or in the paint? Could you phrase the question where he has to choose an answer and not say both?
Thanks in advance.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 17th, 2011
3:43 pm
vava, your 9:57 post made me laugh out loud. The sad thing is you’re probably right about most if not all of that.
atlgent
March 17th, 2011
3:46 pm
HMMMMM..Just a question to the masses!
First, I did not see the game last night. I notice that many on here are being hard on J Smith for missing like 7 or 8 shots and being benched in the first quarter.
Ok. I get that.
But I also read that the Hawks were down by 4 at the half and were within 3 at some point late in the third or early fourth. May I ask if J Smith did anything beyond that point which caused the Hawks to lose that game last night?
It’s just a question because I have heard no one make reference to his impact from that point forward. Did HE do anything to cause us to lose the game in the fourth?
Najeh Davenpoop
March 17th, 2011
3:51 pm
“1) They traded away our 2001 draft pick to Vancouver to bring Shareef Abdur-Rahim(another forward) to Atlanta when we needed a center. Pau Gasol could of been our future center if we had the right people making the decisions for this team .”
In fairness, neither the DASG nor Billy Knight was in charge when this went down. In fact BK was the Grizzlies GM then and as such was on the winning end of that deal.
doc
March 17th, 2011
4:09 pm
atigent, he didnt do anything really to help us win and maybe shot us out of a significant lead. i was there and it was sad to see him sooooo self-absorbed. yes, more so than usual. it is what keeps josh off all star teams and easily targets him as a lightening rod. best player last night? zaza and says how bad everyone else was.
since you asked, does that answer?
drmaryb (*_-)
March 17th, 2011
4:12 pm
Water Hole!
“substitute Jerry Sloan into situation!!! what cha got then??? A LEADER…PERIOD!!!”
____________
You can lead a horse to the water hole, but you can’t make him drink.
Did Sloan make Deron Williams run his plays! Heck no.
Sloan called a T.O., drew up a play and Deron went out there and called an audible, (Q.B. changes play @ line of scrimmage) -wink-
Well, that didn’t sit to well with Sloan, so he blew up on the side line, which spilled over to the locker room. The players had to separate the player and coach who were having a fisticuffs conversation.
A few days later, Sloan signs a one year extension. 24 hrs later he quits the team in mid-season. Now, what sane person believes that’s how Sloan planned to hang ‘em up after 25+ years of coaching the same team? Deron Williams is a b!tch azz “coach killer”! Period.
Utah had to get his grumpy little b!tch azz outa’ there. If you can’t play for Sloan, how are you gonna play for Avery Johnson. Answer, you’re not for very long! His voice alone will drive you nutz.
Here’s my point: Ken Sigura said it best! “These millionaires are difficult to manage.”. -paraphrased-
I’ve said it several times. Josh is a hand full. He and Woodson also mixed it up and Woodson had to call his Dad. The three of them had to meet over a steak dinner and iron some things out. But, credit Woodson, he didn’t back down to Josh and ultimately he’s gone. When the players stop killing the coach, then the disciplinarians may return to coach the million dollare babies:
Larry Brown
Hubie Brown
Pat Riley (he battled Shaq who refused to practice)
Jerry Sloan
Lenny Wilkens
ETC.
These players are horrible. See Tyreke Evans and Derrick Cousins (uggh) that’s another whole talk show, those two!
Good Luck Drew, he is too nice of a guy.
These cats need The General Patton!
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2011
4:13 pm
atlgent, to be clear, LD’s decision not to use Hinrich in the 4th quarter is what kept the Hawks from making a comeback. Josh’s decision to take more shots than the rest of the team (combined) to start the game was eventually overcome (an unnecessary uphill climb). Josh continued to take some ill-advised shots but so did Joe and Jamal. Again, there was a stretch when the Nuggets ran the same play and the Hawks failed to stop them… and Hinrich was glued to the bench (along with Wilkins and Marvin) while Jamal continued to play (and Josh was forced to try and guard JR Smith… unsuccessfully).
Rufus1
March 17th, 2011
4:14 pm
atigent
LD didn’t help either with his defensive strategy…Jamal gaurding Ty Lawson.
SteveW
March 17th, 2011
4:24 pm
There was some type of irony with Josh guarding J. R. Smith in the 4th quarter.
I think Dr. Phil was the ref.
There were probably about 6 different conversations going on between the 2 of them simultaneously.
If Cousins would have been there, it would have just been a group therapy session time on the Court.
LeeWestwood
March 17th, 2011
4:28 pm
JERRY SLOAN SHOULD BE CONTACTED IMMEDIATELY FOR THE HAWKS COACHING VACANCY. I BELIEVE IF THE HAWKS CONTINUE TO LOSE 9 OUT OF EVERY 10 GAMES, COACH LARRY DREW WILL GET FIRED SOONER THAN LATER AND WE WILL NEED A REPLACEMENT. COACH SLOAN DESERVES A CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER COACHING UTAH FOR 30+ YEARS WITHOUT A RING. THE HAWKS POSSESS CHAMPIONSHIP QUALITY CALIBRE TALENT ON THEIR ROSTER BUT THEY HAVE A BOZO COACHING THEM.
SteveW
March 17th, 2011
4:31 pm
I like Teague starting. He brings energy and good defense.
That being said, I still wish LD would start Hinrich at PG, and bring Teague off the bench. Or even vise versa. I know Teague plays better with the regs.
The point is LD seems to think he either starts Teague and Hinrich in the same backcourt, or Teague is out of the rotation. I say have Hinrich/Teague as your Point regardless, and just relegate Jamal to SG.
Jamal vs. Ty and Felton? Give me a break.
Remember, it was just Friday night Teague didn’t play a minute against DRose. Not in the rotation. The next night he starts. I wonder if Gearon Jr/Sund had a little talk with LD to make that happen?
Rod from College Park
March 17th, 2011
4:34 pm
“IMO, when LD starts Hinrich at SG he is sub-optimizing Captain Kirk’s ability to provide leadership to the team. I thought we were trading for a starting PG capable of playing 30 effective minutes on both sides of the court (and settle down the team in half-court sets).”
Why on earth would you think that. Before he came to Atlanta, the guy has only started 86 games in the past 3 years, and a large percentage, more than half of those starts, were at the SG. We traded for a backup point guard.
SteveW
March 17th, 2011
4:35 pm
We have won 6 of our last 17. That has got to be one of the worst records in the League over that time frame.
I wonder if Sund will be re-signed and be the one who blows the core up over the summer? And unless there is some kind of vast improvement, I’ll say it again, I think LD is gone. I can see scenarios where he is gone before the end of this season actually. I know ASG is cheap, but a new Coach may mean more playoff games. Which means more money in the coffers.
NorcalHawk
March 17th, 2011
4:38 pm
Hawk post-game comments as predictable as their on-court play. Here’s a question: what’s it going to take for you guys to actually starting looking for each other and sharing the ball?
SteveW
March 17th, 2011
4:38 pm
Well in other news, Morehead St. beat Louisville and Kentucky is losing to Princeton about halfway thru the 2nd half.
SteveW
March 17th, 2011
4:40 pm
We basically have 2 backup PG’s in Teague and Hinrich. And that’s not all bad. At least one of them should be fresh.
LD thinks we have another PG in Jamal.
Grandad
March 17th, 2011
5:02 pm
Watch Cap’n Kirk’s body language.
You can tell the Hawks are not running the plays that are called.
He gets so frustrated.
I think he already knows the offense better than Joe + others.
[also Joe is stubborn]
But you can tell the Hawks break off from their assignments.
otherwise, what does it mean, * “we need to trust our teammates”.
*[a popular refrain]
It is so very obvious our Hawks refuse to be a team.
Grandad
March 17th, 2011
5:04 pm
* capital “O”, yawl figure out where it goes.
Samuel
March 17th, 2011
5:16 pm
LD’s new excuse: “We just ran into a good team tonight”. But I thought we were a good team.
drmaryb (*_-)
March 17th, 2011
5:18 pm
Back-Stabbers!
Allededly, word on the street is: Sloan said, Deron went upstairs and colluded with team owner about Sloan’s lame, boring and predictable offense. Deron didn’t buy into it and refused to run it anymore. Deron looked at it and said, how many titles has Sloan won running them plays into the ground?
Sloan, felt the owners was taking Deron’s side and views over his. That was the straw that broke his back, along with the heated name calling and physical altercation in the locker room that week.
Sloan, just walked away at that point. Sloan is a very stubborn man in his own right. Deron had to be shipped out, he told them basically that he wasn’t resigning there – allegedly.
I got this from rumors on hoopshype website. IDK how New Jersey snuck in there and got Deron. He was not shopped by the org. Everyone was surprised. I guess Deron’s Agent has an inside track with that owner/GM.
No team saw that trade coming. No one, I guess it developed lightning quick. I guess some Agents have rapport with certain teams and some don’t? Hey fellas, it’s all about building relationships in the NBA. In football, some teams refuse to deal with certain Agents and vice-versa. I have heard of Agents steering their clients away from certain teams due to lack of good faith in dealing negotiations, low balling tactics, etc. I wonder is ASKG is on that black-balled list too. I know the Clippers are.
O'Brien
March 17th, 2011
5:26 pm
Rod from CP,
Before he came to Atlanta, the guy has only started 86 games in the past 3 years, and a large percentage, more than half of those starts, were at the SG..
The main reason why Hinrich has not started many games (at PG) the past 3 seasons is because he was on the Bulls when they drafted Rose #1. Would you start Hinrich at PG and bring Rose off the bench? I dont think so.
And then this season, he was with Washington, who drafted John Wall #1. Would you start Hinrich at PG and bring John Wall off the bench? I dont think so.
(IMO) Hinrich is a legit starting PG in this league, but he is not good enough to start over Rose or Wall. And the fact that he started some games at SG shows his versatility.
drmaryb (*_-)
March 17th, 2011
5:27 pm
Grand-Daddy, don’t you think it seems Jamal’s agenda is to audition for HIS next team, in case ASKG want to low ball him this Summer.
He may be a passive aggressive personality type who is seething
underneath? I think so. Playing selfish this year, prolly thought he was gonna’ be traded this Feb. I don’t think Sund communicates well with player’s agents. Refusal to discuss a deal at all?
That will also destroy a team’s cohesiveness.
Run
March 17th, 2011
5:28 pm
it’s simple. the hawks beat bad teams most of the time and fold when they play good teams. yes, they do luckup and beat a good team 2 to 3 times a season, but they are what they are. an average team that’s not getting better. do we really want to see this team in the playoffs?
bigdave
March 17th, 2011
5:31 pm
MC you aight bruh..?
there’s always…. next year.
1st rd. is always crazy, but did you see that one coming?
Z hicks
March 17th, 2011
5:33 pm
The hawks need to step it up. you cant just rely on Joe all the time. I’m not just talkin bout Al and Marvin I mean the whole bench to. Its like we loss a player and we fall apart Come on!!!!!
Sleepy
March 17th, 2011
5:37 pm
Did I read someone call teague and Hinrich a defensively sound backcourt ? roflmao
Did you even see the game ? Felton and Lawson did whatever the hell they wanted to at the start of the first and 3rd quarters.
The past 3 games everytime jamal has come in without Teague or Kirk weve gone on runs and closed deficits or taken the lead . Hes not a natural pg but he commands way more respect than either Teague or Kirk at this point
At this point in time our best lineup may actually be Jamal,JJ,Marvin ,Al,Zaza
Teague and Kick are rotation players but you are not going to have them in during the 4th quarter if you actually are trying to win the game. They simply dont garner the same respect nor can they handle ball pressure well.
But I digress point guard had nothing to do with the outcome of the game .This seems like a lot of fans are in denial.
teams in the nba simply dont win a ton of games if your top 3 players cant consistently bring there A games and so how many times this season have JJ,Al,and Josh all played well at the same time ?
Think about the top 8 other teams best 3 players and how many times youve seen them all cooking in the same game and then look at ours .
2 of our big 3 are not showing up nearly every game people are blaming the bench players or the role playing starters .
We didnt build our team as a balanced “team” like the Nuggets are trying to do so why would you expect them to play like that ?
We built our team around this “core ” concept and so now that core has to deliver and it hasnt been until they do how much can you expect out of everyone else when your best players routinely dont play like it .
The Bulls are where they are because there best player Rose bring his A game every night and when he has the occasional bad game like against us the entire league is shocked simply because of how high of level he has been playing at . His high level of play allows Deng to be a 3rd scorer Noah to focus on rebounding and defending and Boozer to be a second scorer and rebounder . It allows guys like Bogans ,Brewer,Korver to focus on all out hustle and the strengths of there games .
Our big three should be peaking instead theyve all gotten paid and they are regressing
The excuses for this debacle needs to simply stop. Either they play better or we dont its that simple