Bulls at Atlanta Hawks: Is it really about the intangibles?
When the Hawks started the season hot, J.J. was the one guy who always said he wasn’t impressed because they were beating up on lesser teams.
Now that they are taking regular beat downs from better teams, does he think the Hawks still believe they can get on a roll?
“Definitely,” he said. “We know we can beat any team in the league. It’s just a matter of us bringing our ‘A’ game every night. We can’t play down to our opponents [and] when we play teams on our level or that people think are above us, we have got to take it up two more notches.”
Soon after Hinrich joined the team, he said: “Since I’ve been here we’ve talked about defending and bringing the energy. And when we do that we can be a tough team because of the talent we have and athletes and the shooters. If we can lock down on the defensive end, it will make the game a lot easier for us.”
Now the Hawks are defending better (for the most part) but things haven’t been at all easy because they struggle to score despite the talent and athleticism and shooting hasn’ that Hinrich talked about.
Does he think the Hawks still believe they can be a “tough” team like he said back then?
“I believe that way and I feel like everyone in this room does,” Hinrich said. “We’ve had some bumps, we haven’t played well at times but I think everyone believes if we put our minds to it [we can do it]. That’s kind of what we are trying to focus on these last 12 games: every game going out there and gearing up for the playoffs and play playoff basketball and hopefully be ready for the playoffs.”
J.J. and Hinrich aren’t talking about intangibles, not talent. Ken S. had a nice story the other day on the leadership void in the locker room. It was an issue last season, too, and it’s an issue again with the same mix of guys (now notably minus Bibby’s silly influence since the deadline).
But I still think it’s too simple to blame Atlanta’s struggles on intangible things like a lack of leadership. There are so many tangible, quantifiable and observable issues with this team that it’s no great mystery why they are struggling now that the competition has gotten tougher at the same time the calendar says it’s time for the real teams get serious.
For instance, do the Hawks take too many jump shots because they lack leadership? Or, is it like J.J. says, do they not work the post and drive to the basket for scores or fouls because they just aren’t built that way? Remember, the Hawks have been a jump-shooting team all season but L.D. didn’t really start harping on that until the jump shots stopped falling (and, in fact, he’s pretty much encouraged them in Smoove’s case).
Similarly, does the lack of leadership prevent the Hawks from getting back to defend in transition? Or is it just that they aren’t good at it because all those missed shots from a jump-shooting team, combined with no consistent rebounding outside of Smoove and Al, leading to easy chances on the break for their opponents?
All of this is not to say the Hawks don’t sometimes give in too easily when things get tough. But I think they give in because they realize they aren’t good enough to do what’s necessary to win when Plan A doesn’t work. The Hawks are a pretty good team. They could try harder, be tougher, show more heart or whatever and I still don’t think they can overcome their shortcomings to become a very good or great team.
But that’s somewhat speculative on my part, and I understand the frustration of fans who believe the Hawks could be much better if they had more leadership, heart, toughness, etc. And it would be a nice change of pace to see the Hawks at least try to consistently minimize their weaknesses, exploit their strengths, use all of their bona fide rotation players in roles suited for them and see what happens.
Time is running our for the Hawks to figure it out but they insist they still can do it.
“I still think there’s a belief in that,” L.D. said. “Everybody is aware we haven’t had a great March but we are still in position with 12 games left. It’s just a matter of getting on a roll. There are some teams that have struggled in the East and some still struggling. Chicago is the one team that has been the most consistent. Everyone else has had ups and downs.
“I still think it’s wide open. I really hope that our guys still believe they can get on a roll and anything can happen.”
The Hawks can start against the Bulls.
“I think we are still a confident group,” Al said. “Tonight is a big game.”
Damien has an interesting perspective on all of this. I asked him if he’s ever played on a team that struggled and then got it together in the final month and made a run. Soon after the question was out of my mouth I realized he hasn’t been on a good team since he was a rookie in Seattle.
Now he’s on a team that’s struggling but that he still thinks has a shot.
“That’s why, to me, it was never really a big panic or as big of a deal as it seemed,” he said. “Because, I’m like, everyone is panicking around here and I know we lost a couple games we should have won and didn’t play as well as we should have but at the end of the day we are still the fifth seed. So to me I am still excited.
“I think our effort against Miami, it was almost as if we packed in the season it looked like. Looking back, I can understand why the panic has set in for everybody, or it seemed like it. They know we are a better team than this. But at the end of day I am still excited because I have a chance to get in the playoffs and once you get there the seeds and the records go out the window. It’s about execution and adjustments. We will see what happens when we get there.”
Game notes
- L.D. is using the Hinrich, J.J., Marvin, Smoove, Al lineup tonight: “I like the size that it gives us. It gives us another shooter in Marvin at the three spot, particularly when teams are double-teaming us. It’s our regular lineup with an upgrade at the point position. It gives us a little more flexibility to go with our regular rotations.”
- L.D on the tough closing slate: “The schedule is what it is. We take them one at a time. We are in a position where we can control our own destiny. We are playing at home against good teams. We should feel good about that.”
- Hinrich on the same topic: “Since I’ve been here our schedule has been brutal. It is what it is. It’s the NBA; there are no nights off. We just need to focus on ourselves and bring a tough mindset every night and hang together as a group and we will be all right.”
- After the Hawks held down Rose in the first meeting, he went off in the second half in Chicago (aided by Hinrich’s foul trouble). Rose was 8 of 8 on free throws after halftime, 14 of 15 for the game. “We have to keep Rose off the free-throw line as much as we can,” Drew said.
- The Bulls are a middling offensive team but they crushed Sacto last night. Deng was the only starter to play more than 28 minutes. The Bulls are 13-5 in the second night of back-to-back.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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845 comments Add your comment
cp
March 22nd, 2011
10:41 pm
The Hawks starters couldn’t do anything against those same scrubs. Teague can insert himself into the game. Thats on the coach. When guys were not getting it done he should have made adjustments but he waited until the game was over to do anything.
yoursporthouse.com
March 22nd, 2011
10:44 pm
DUDES LAUGHING LIKE SOMETHING IS SO FUNNY…WHAT’S SO FUNNY JOE? WHAT’S FUNNY IS YOU AND THE REST OF THE TEAM WILL STILL GET PAYCHECKS AFTER THIS GAME. THAT’S WHAT’S FUNNY. IF I PERFORM LIKE THIS IN MY BUSINESS, I WOULD BE HOMELESS. THESE GUYS SUCK IN EVERY MEANING. IF YOU PLAYED OVERSEAS AND LOST LIKE THIS, YOU WON’T GET PAID. THIS NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE NBA. I BET MONEY GUYS WOULD PLAY A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. WORTHLESS TEAM, WORTHLESS FRANCHISE, AND THEY WANT FANS TO COME TO THE GAME. “KICK CAM”!!
SteveW
March 22nd, 2011
10:44 pm
Let’s see, Teague 20 pts. in 17 minutes. Yes, in mostly garbage time, but anything after the 6 minute mark of the 2nd quarter was garbage time.
Not Sund
March 22nd, 2011
10:44 pm
Yo Mr. Cunningham, it’s time for the local media to take this team to task. Bury their a@@e@. We poor bloggers have no voice really!
This kind of garbage can’t go unchallenged.
James
March 22nd, 2011
10:44 pm
“Rebounding is about effort. We are getting waxed on the boards again. No effort”
This is true, but tonight there are actually some excuses for this. The Bulls were unconscious shooting the ball tonight and hit almost every shot in the first half, while the Hawks shot 50% in the first half. You have to miss shots to get rebounds, and there were almost no defensive rebounds available for the Hawks in the first half. With that being said, there’s no reason why we couldn’t crash the offensive boards, but since Larry Drew puts a great emphasis on transition defense than offensive rebounding, we don’t do that. I would give up transition defense for offensive rebounding, personally, but that’s just me.
At any rate, in the second half, there wasn’t much of an excuse for still being beaten up on the glass. I’ve been incredibly disappointed in Al and Josh for their lack of rebounding lately. Against Detroit, Al looked like he was back to attacking the glass, but then tonight he has another pitiful 3 rebound game, and Josh is struggling to get double-figure rebound games these days as well.
Also, I was very disgusted on one of the possessions we had in the third quarter where our players let a rebound just roll across the lane right into the hands of Luol Deng. That type of thing is just unacceptable. Our guards didn’t even attempt to chase those long rebounds. Al was trying hard to box out and get boards, but other than him and Zaza, I was very disgusted with the overall rebounding effort. Unfortunately, even those who gave effort didn’t come up with many rebounds. It was just very disappointing.
Charlie Sheen
March 22nd, 2011
10:44 pm
#Losing! Sizzle! Bye!
rusty
March 22nd, 2011
10:45 pm
Nortcyde your great 123m man got 13 points, what a achiever while jt gets 20 points oh I forgot that was in scrub time.
SteveW
March 22nd, 2011
10:47 pm
O’Brien – If I’m Jamal, I walk up to Teague and say, “It’s an embaressment for me to be on the Court during this beat down. I should be on the bench next to the starters. Even Marvin is on the bench. Make me invisible, and I’ll be happy”.
That’s what I would guess Jamal would do.
Ron
March 22nd, 2011
10:47 pm
“LD is an idiot, and will still misuse Jeff and Damien – and Jamal and Hinrich for that matter. And Josh.
Unless he’s fired. Worst Coach I’ve ever seen the last 40 games or so.”
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve lost all respect for Drew as a coach at this point. With each passing day, I despise Drew more. It’s unfortunate that the ASG decided to operate on the cheap and made such a terrible coaching choice.
Melvin
March 22nd, 2011
10:47 pm
Teague 20pts in 19mins… LOL… yep, he’s a offensive liability…. Maybe the offense itself is a liability…
Astro Joe
March 22nd, 2011
10:47 pm
I remember when LD gave himself credit for making sure that the players were ready for road games. But I have never heard him take accountability for performances like this one. Instead, he will say something like “they weren’t ready to play and that is disappointing”. This guy is a snake oil salesmen. The offense was prettier to look at but less effective. Scoring is down, home record is down, and the ASG will likely have to discount playoff tickets (beyond anything they’ve done previously) to get folk to spend their money on this product. Sure, the roster is flawed (and has been for more than just this season), but LD has played this hand more poorly than the previous head coach.
harry the hawk
March 22nd, 2011
10:47 pm
A plain ole’ arse-whupping.
Please….someone put the Hawks out of their misery. Blow this team up.
They have no pride.
Get some players who know what it means to be professional (other than Horford). Larry Drew seems like a nice guy but he’s in over his head.
While you’re at it, send the Schmucks (I mean Spirit) packin’ too, for it was they who made this entire mess possible.
An utter disgrace on national TV.
yoursporthouse.com
March 22nd, 2011
10:48 pm
“KICK ROCKS CAM”
rusty
March 22nd, 2011
10:48 pm
Why the hell did js & ah get so many minutes they only got 5 rebounds between them. Sit there asses down,idiot
SteveW
March 22nd, 2011
10:49 pm
Guess it’s time to hit the clubs if your the Hawks.
If LD was a coach, it would be practice time tonight.
Carlos
March 22nd, 2011
10:49 pm
Following this team has me going crazy and delusional. I’m even actually starting to believe Michael Cunningham might be heterosexual.
yoursporthouse.com
March 22nd, 2011
10:50 pm
“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”
rusty
March 22nd, 2011
10:51 pm
Drmaryb. Do you really believe that kh was worth jc2 & our first round pick next year. Hell Im not even counting mb & mo
Hawks Owner
March 22nd, 2011
10:51 pm
I don’t care about this team. That’s why I hired Larry Drew. It saved money. Mahahahahaha!!!!!!! Suckers!!!!!
BILLY KNIGHT
March 22nd, 2011
10:53 pm
LD IT’S OKAY KEEP YOUR HEAD UP BROTHER
BILLY KNIGHT
March 22nd, 2011
10:54 pm
LD call me tonight when you get home i have something 2 tell you
Disgusted
March 22nd, 2011
10:55 pm
Looks like this team has quit on LD and lost its heart. Out rebounded by 14. Al and smoove combine for 5 rebounds. This team is done.
O'Brien
March 22nd, 2011
10:55 pm
Even in a blowout, it would have been nice to see LD show some fire on the sidelines. But the team lacks fire, and the HC lacks fire. Therefore, the coach AND the core should be fired.
Kaboom!
AJ,
LD is starting to look and sound like the used car salesman. He tells you everything you want to hear, and he makes the car sound so great.
But upon closer inspection…its really a lemon. And he has accepted the fact that its a lemon. So he wont even argue with you. but he wont give you your money back either…
harry the hawk
March 22nd, 2011
10:55 pm
@Astro Joe:
Sund is a bigger snake oil salesman than Drew….remember, it was he who was the ‘basketball mind’ behind this abomination. He sold the Spirit on every piece—including Drew—hook, line and sinker.
His bag should be packed too…..unless the Hawks win the NBA title this year. Tonight was a good start, eh?
yoursporthouse.com
March 22nd, 2011
10:55 pm
HEARTLESS..GUTLESS..NO FUNDAMENTALS AND NO PRIDE WHATSOEVER. YOUR ATLANTA HAWKS!!
rusty
March 22nd, 2011
10:56 pm
I would not play our so called first team including jc1 at all in the next game.
JeJe
March 22nd, 2011
10:56 pm
POSTGAME COMMENTS WILL BE: “WE DIDN’T COME READY TO PLAY”
JESUS
THIS TEAM STINKS
I AM DONE
JeJe
March 22nd, 2011
10:57 pm
STUDYING FOR THE NIGHT
O'Brien
March 22nd, 2011
10:57 pm
•RT @gwashburn14: Somewhere Mike Woodson is shaking his head and saying, “Wow, they fire me for this?” #hawks 50 mins ago
BBoy
March 22nd, 2011
10:57 pm
Wow. LD is terrible – he can’t make adjustments just like Woody. First thing I would do is sit Smoove. I’m sorry, but when you aren’t playing with energy and you’re an energy guy, you need to sit. He obviously didn’t have his head in the game. And don’t get me started on shooting jumpers. Dude should attack the rim. Why is Cheeseburger Collins playing? Zaza has been playing decently recently, he just needs to find a rhythm. Also, we should’ve shipped Jamal last year when he had a high trade value. Take Smoove with him too. We still have a solid foundation, but we need a Center so that we can move Horford to PF. PLAY Teague!!! I know he stood out tonight during garbage time, but dude just needs some confidence and just to be let loose; a-la JC2 up in Washington. So many obvious things wrong with this team, why can’t LD figure it out?
JeJe
March 22nd, 2011
10:57 pm
STUDYING FOR THE NIGHT.
Uh Oh
March 22nd, 2011
10:58 pm
Josh Smith=Andruw Jones. Tons of natural talent that will never be fully realized because he’s lazy and undisciplined.
W.R.Terrell
March 22nd, 2011
10:58 pm
Tonight was the truth about the Atlanta SOFT’S. Josh Smith commented to Cheryl Miller that “The team does not help each other defensively”. He’s such a joke. Jeff Teague gave em 20 points in 19 minutes but LD is blind to that fact like he was blind to Jordon crawford. If it was not for Teague we would have lost by 50 points. LD needs to sit Josh Smith down and maybe ISO Joe too. Those 2 guys look more like losers every game and they are definitely a disease to the whole team and it’s spreading. The only good thing now is that the season is almost over and they should be blown out early in the playoffs. Stupidity, lack of hustle, lack of simple basketball knowledge, laziness and oh yeh, they are jumnp shooters is killing us. Watch what happens when we play Philly. The same scenario, if we win it’s because Philly lost it themselves, not because we will actually beat them. I don’t know how Woody got them this far but LD has takened them back 3 years. He gave Josh Smith the ok to launch and everybody else followed. Everyone is getting a true look at the “smoove” and ISO Joe. Here’s a lineup change. Hilton Armstrong starts at center, Al at PF, Marvin at SF Heinrich at shooting Guard and Teague at point. Believe me, they would play with more heart. This team is shameful and disgusting and as fans we do not deserve this at all.
BILLY KNIGHT
March 22nd, 2011
10:59 pm
I want apologize to this organzation for drafting all 6′9 players, MY BAD
SWAT Native
March 22nd, 2011
10:59 pm
Blown out at home, on national TV, with the ATL jerseys on…I’m done.
Shake Something
March 22nd, 2011
10:59 pm
Give me more Teague and Armstrong.Teague was obviously the better fit to play against Rose and Armstrong is more athletic to play Noah. DREW,Sund, and ASG should seriously get their moronic selves out of GEORGIA. Teague kills Chicago in the 2nd half and Drew never even looked his way in the first.
A shake up trade should happen. something like Horford for Bogut or Josh to Indy,Granger& ATL future pick to GS for Ellis&Wright to Hawks. I prefer moving Horford first but if Josh trade comes up first then do it. Then trade for Mayo and Robin Lopez or Oden some how and let Crawford walk. Sign McRobers and McGrady and go out compete for something with a new head coach.
1-Ellis(Best non PG distributor)/ Teague
2-Joe/ Mayo/ McGrady
3-Wright/ McGrady(Sign)/ Wilkins(Re-sign)
4-Horford/ McRoberts(Sign)/ Armstrong
5-Lopez or Oden/ Armstrong(Re-sign)/ Keith Benson(Draft)
hawks_4_life
March 22nd, 2011
10:59 pm
I ALWAYS SUPPORTED LD, HOWEVER AS OF NOW ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS SCREW YOU……ILL ALWAYS BE A HAWK FAN BUT I KNOW RIGHT NOW THE SKY HAS JUST ABOUT FALLEN.
O'Brien
March 22nd, 2011
11:00 pm
Hinrich gift that keeps on giving. ATL is about to be 6-8 since trade. Draft pick getting better for #Wizards
Twitter is funny..
SteveW
March 22nd, 2011
11:00 pm
“Sund is a bigger snake oil salesman than Drew….remember, it was he who was the ‘basketball mind’ behind this abomination. He sold the Spirit on every piece—including Drew—hook, line and sinker.”
Not true. Sund was hiring somebody else, only to be overruled by ASG.
LD only gets half his salary during a lockout also. It’s all about being cheap. But ASG may have went to far on cheap with this one.
Actually, i know they did. This product is awful
Lower lottery team record and point differential the last 20+ games.
harry the hawk
March 22nd, 2011
11:00 pm
The Hawks couldn’t make it out of the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen this week….
Duke, Ohio State and Kansas would eat their lunch just on effort and heart.
ML
March 22nd, 2011
11:00 pm
We need Jim Mora for a postgame interview. In the words of Jim:
We got our @$$ totally kicked. We couldn’t do diddley pooh offensively. We couldn’t get a foul called. We couldn’t run the ball. We didn’t try to run the ball. We couldn’t complete a pass. We sucked. We couldn’t stop the run. Every time they got the ball, they went down and got points. We got our @$$ totally kicked. That’s what it boils down to. It was a horsesh!! performance. Horsesh!!. I’m totally embarrassed and totally ashamed. Our coaching did a horrible job. Our players did a horrible job. We stunk. We sucked.
Leo
March 22nd, 2011
11:02 pm
I guess I should just throw in the towel. The Atlanta Hawks just did. I have no words. I have been begging for Teague to get minutes. Now I am just begging for a new coach.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 22nd, 2011
11:03 pm
People are responding to my fake Rick Sund tweets as if I’m being serious. This is even funnier than the Hawks trying to act like they are contenders.
O'Brien
March 22nd, 2011
11:03 pm
Billy Knight,
Why didnt you take Deng over Chills? Or Iguadala over Chills?
JeJe
March 22nd, 2011
11:03 pm
THE ONUS IS ON THE PLAYERS ACCORDING TO SUND
SteveW
March 22nd, 2011
11:03 pm
As I’ve said before, LD is single handidly destroying this team. He cost us Jordan and the 1st pick. And he has turned us into a lottery team. If he is back next season, we will be a lottery team, no doubt. We may go winless for about 50 straight or so if LD is at the helm.
Jae Evolution
March 22nd, 2011
11:03 pm
I’m embarrassed to be a Hawks fan, another 30+ point loss at home.
You know bad teams can lose by this much, but when you look at us and see we’re a 5th seed in the East, man it just makes this loss that much more sad.
After this, all hope is lost for post-season success, 3 weeks before playoffs and we get destroyed? Chris Webber said it best “This team has no home court advantage”. I’d say it’s sad I was at no point mad about this loss, but it isn’t because in a way I was expecting this team to crumble.
This offseason players need to go, this team needs to be re modeled and finally, LD NEEDS TO BE FU*KING FIRED!!
drmaryb (*_-)
March 22nd, 2011
11:04 pm
“725 comments
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yoursporthouse.com
“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”“KICK ROCKS CAM”
March 22nd, 2011
10:50 pm
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rusty
Drmaryb. Do you really believe that kh was worth jc2 & our first round pick next year. Hell Im not even counting mb & mo
March 22nd, 2011
10:51 pm”
__________________
I have never expressed an opinion about the trade.
But, to answer your qoestion?
____________________
No.
harry the hawk
March 22nd, 2011
11:05 pm
SteveW:
My bad…that’s right…Sund wanted to hire the assistant coach from the ‘Wolves.
Nuff said…
O'Brien
March 22nd, 2011
11:06 pm
Twitter people are funny. Some posts;
1) TheBillWalton That is just @CoachLarryDrew ’s Poker Face to make sure the other team doesn’t pick up on his revolutionary offense
2) Don’t forget, Chicago just beat Orlando and Miami. We are elite just like them.