Sixers 105, Hawks 100
Greetings, all-
Hang another L on the tree. If you’re still counting, the Hawks have lost four of five, eight of 11 and 14 of 21. I’d say it’s looking more and more like Philadelphia will catch the Hawks, which would likely put them in a first-round matchup with the Miami Heat. Yikes. The other possibility is Boston.
- I know you’re wondering, so I’ll bring you Larry Drew’s comments on why Jeff Teague got his 12th DNP-CD, particularly with a little guy like Lou Williams making hay (17 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes).
“That wasn’t the problem,” Drew said of the defense of Williams. “I thought we did a really good job on Louis. A couple times we played him a little too soft and he just jumped right up and shot it. We actually fouled him twice at the 3-point line to send him to the free-throw line. That wasn’t the problem. We had the game under control. We just let it get away.”
I’m not sure what to say. Maybe it didn’t come out quite like the way he intended.
- Another symbol of the Hawks’ status as a rising power bit the dust, a few days after the five consecutive years with an improved record. With the loss, the Hawks will not finish at or above .500 in this brutal month, ending their string of 15 consecutive months with a record of .500 or better. (If memory serves, the stat the Hawks touted was consecutive winning months, and then they went .500 in February, so it was consecutive months of .500 ball or better, and now it’s kaput.)
- Interesting quote, in some ways, from Al Horford: “I think we played well. We just kind of ran out of gas at the end.” Perhaps it was because this was a game the Hawks might have lost even when they were playing well — against a surging team in its building on the back end of a back-t0-back – but it doesn’t sound like the Horford I’m used to hearing after losses.
- Joe Johnson was pretty downcast, more than anyone in the locker room I saw. The highlights:
“Down the stretch, I just think we don’t understand who should get the ball. Throughout the game, everyone’s free-flow playing, taking shots, making plays. … (But in the last five minutes), we don’t understand or we don’t know who that person is. If you notice the last four or five minutes, (expletive), I don’t think we know who should take the (expletive) shot.
On if it’s because plays aren’t being called: “I don’t know. It’s frustrating to me. You’ve got to go with the flow.”
More Johnson: “That’s why we look a little stagnant and lost the last three or four to five minutes, because nobody knows and everybody’s out there just jacking up shots.”
Finally: “I’m just frustrated. Like I said, we do a lot of talking but at the same time, we get out there on the court and we do nothing right, even though we know what to do.”
I’ll say this. Johnson is the one who seems most bothered by the way the team’s playing.
- A very strong game by Josh Smith – 33 points and 12 rebounds. Played closer to the basket.
“I was just trying to play off the guys that were getting plays called for them. I know they were trapping Joe heavily and I was just trying to put the onus on myself not to settle.”
- Kirk Hinrich sprained his right thumb in the second quarter. He still ended up playing 38 minutes, but he only scored three points after that. He said he’d be fine.
- Drew played seven guys – off the bench, Jamal Crawford and Zaza Pachulia were the only ones who got in. Both contributed well, I thought. Crawford had some pop in the rather free-flowing first half.
Horford said the minutes, particularly on the second night of a back to back, was a factor.
“I think it was,” he said. “I thought we were solid, but they just kind of kept bringing it. We had a good effort tonight, we just couldn’t get it done.”
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230 comments Add your comment
rusty
March 24th, 2011
12:38 pm
Sleepy you need to go back to bed & catch a few more zzzzzzzzzz.
sam'
March 24th, 2011
12:38 pm
KevinM….They HAVE to fire Drew for good reasons and bad reasons. The same way they HAD to fire Woodson. Nobody who watched the Orlando playoff could stand seeing that again. No one now watching repeated 40-point losses is enjoying the games. Simply because it is exposing pathological problems of heart, desire, BRAINS and the sick feeling that the Hawks have lost touch with reality itself to the point where they can’t play a game of basketball.The shock that something is horribly wrong with their minds and their spirits. Like the team is in some kind of metaphysical Hell. And my sincere hope that watching this team and running their inept patterns and bewildered facial expressions through my mind doesn’t make me susceptible to catching the disease.
For this reason, LD is gone. Bank on it.
If they were smart, or not so desperate, ASG WOULD GET RID OF DREW TONIGHT and hire someone so strong he could get to the club. Make the last 10 or so games an experimental clinic and let everyone know that losing the first round means losing their job.
Chance this team will be sold by July 70%, chance of moving away 90%.
Whatever disease the Hawks have must be buried forever. Encasing Philips concrete would be good. Or maybe let CNN move in there next.
SteveW
March 24th, 2011
12:39 pm
Sleepy – So are you saying Al and Josh are bad also? Just curious.
It’s the head coaching and really nothing else at this point that prevents us from reaching our potential. If you get a competent guy in here, and the players still don’t listen, trade until you get guys that will. Simple
SteveW
March 24th, 2011
12:44 pm
Didn’t Teague just own Andre Miller the other night? And Miller is way better than Bibby. Think LD was going to let Teague destroy Bibby? No way.
lp
March 24th, 2011
12:51 pm
Seems like the bandwagon got a lil lighter, but I’m still down with the hawks
Sleepy
March 24th, 2011
1:02 pm
Im saying that Al and Josh in there current forms are a creation of the fans . Less rebounding and defense more touches ….run the offense through them was the wish and look where its gotten us .
Our best 3 players game dont compliment each other because now each of there games all begin and end with how many shots did I get.
Teague caught the Blazers and Millers on the second game of a back to back and the last game of a 5 game southeast road trip .
Since then he has only played well in garbage time and has been invisible in every siongle game matched up against starting quality guards .
Now does that mean I never want to see him play ? Of course not I believe Teague should get some minutes however he is a two guard in a point guards body with limited outside shooting.
STRETCH
March 24th, 2011
1:18 pm
Pachulia benching
Coach Larry Drew met with center Zaza Pachulia after Tuesday night’s loss to Chicago. Drew pulled Pachulia with 8:12 left to play and the Hawks down 45 points after what the coach said was an ill-advised shot that Pachulia took, probably because the game was already out of hand.
“The one thing I’ll never allow to happen with this team is for us to do things that are not going to benefit the team,” he said.
Oh really??? Like, Josh Smith’s chilish attitude? Or like the continuous jump shooting they show night in and night out?
MistaGamer
March 24th, 2011
1:23 pm
Sleepy
There is a very good reason why Teague as only played well in garbage time, he’s ONLY PLAYED IN GARBAGE TIME!! lol
Chris E
March 24th, 2011
1:28 pm
I like everyone else is discussed in the Hawks play recently and am pass my boiling point with them. I recently had a brief conversation with a past Hawks player and he was saying the same thing that most people have said, “Get a legitimate Big”, LD play a solid rotation, and stop Josh from shooting so many jumpers!!!!
I would add to that, “Put Teague in the rotation permanently”, define the players roles, take JC out at the end of games and run plays for JJ at the end of games.
The way I see it, although JJ has seemingly lost a step and is playing like garbage lately. He is still our best option and if players will start to cut to the basket he can find them out of the double team. I was a fan of the motion offense early in the season but now I have my doubts about it. Especially when compared to the Hawks efficiency on offense last year. As much as I hate to say it, Iso Joe is much better than this crap!!!!!!!
The Hawks are not utilizing our talent well!!!! There problem is scheme and coaching. Plain and Simple!!! There is something to what Joe said. They look lost at the end of games and don’t quite know who is doing what. Its horrible to see, because they don’t have good leadership.
A good coach can address the problems the Hawks have and with their talent they could be something special, but a coach that is unwilling to play his bench players regularly and discipline his superstars until they by into his way is doomed to fail!!!!!!!!!!!!
LD your days are numbered.
SteveW
March 24th, 2011
1:35 pm
Sleepy – most of that post just doesn’t hold water. What about Teague on Nash, Curry, Jennings etc.? Teague has held his own against most every PG he’s played against the last month.
And the sg/pg deal is so old and been rehashed around here. Just not true.
And the fans made Al an All Star? Better check how he got on the team.
STRETCH
March 24th, 2011
1:37 pm
This from NBA.com:
So the same guys play in the same places and with the same guys, that keeping the second unit together thing, and you begin to see why it is so important to Thibodeau in building the habits that teams like, say, the Hawks don’t have.
“It’s starting to get embarrassing,” said Josh Smith, who should know as he’s a primary reason. “We’re too good a team to be getting blown out of our own gym. Everything that could go wrong happened tonight. We didn’t help each other. This team is one of the hottest teams in the league. We didn’t show any resistance.”
I thought they did, especially Smith.
Resistance to playing good, smart basketball.
Smith is an athletic wonder, but he takes the league’s dumbest shots, bad, fadeaway jumpers over smaller opponents when drives would be easy. He came out after halftime in the first three minutes missing three stand still 20 footers. And the coach lets him. You’d never see that with the Bulls, who also have a rookie head coach, though you wouldn’t know it.
There were famous squabbles between Smith and former coach Mike Woodson in Atlanta, and now you can see why they were necessary and why the Hawks were better under Woodson. Drew has no hold on the team and they are way out of control to the point of indifference. It was most evident at the end of the game with the Bulls getting a last rebound with 21.9 seconds left up 36 and dribbling the ball out so as not to further embarrass the Hawks.
So their resident idiot, Hilton Armstrong, comes up behind Watson and steals the ball and shoots a three. Thibodeau was furious. Play to the last buzzer. Sure. They had barely played for 47 minutes. Though Armstrong is known for that kind of stunt as once when he was with the Kings in a career marked by being an underachiever and erratic, he went to shake hands with Earl Clark, then of the Suns, with a few seconds left in a blowout loss and when Clark reached to shake Armstrong stole the ball. He didn’t have time to score then, unfortunately. This time he made a three to get the Hawks deficit down to 33.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Drew.
As well as a loss of control.
Ah, but that’s the soon to be out in the first round of the playoffs Hawks.
northcyde
March 24th, 2011
1:38 pm
As for the Jordan Crawford debate, here’s an interesting look as to what players in NBA history he can be compared to.
I sorted this according to:
- rookie season ONLY
- position: GUARD
- height: 6-3 or 6-4
- usage: 25% or over
- PER: of 10 of over
- Games: played in 30 or more
Historically, you get 15 players who fit this criteria. When you sort this group according to PER, here are how those players rank:
1) Steve Francis
2) Dwyane Wade
3) Marcus Thorton
4) Otis Birdsong
5) Freeman Williams
6) Voshon Lenard
Russell Westbrook
7) Darrell Walker
9) Ben Gordon
10) Darrell Griffith
11) Ed Gray
12) Andrew Toney
13) Rex Chapman
14) Willie Green
15) Jordan Crawford
When you click on that link, and start sorting the different categories, it looks like Jordan Crawford right now, most compares to guys like Rex Chapman, ex-Georgia Bulldog Willie Green, or Ed Gray. Yes, Ed Gray the former Atlanta Hawk, and the guy I used to see play at the U of Tennessee back in the mid 90s as a freshman and sophomore, before he transferred to Cal.
Ed was out of the league in 2 years. Willie is still hanging around the league after 8 years. And Rex intrigued people enough with his overall skills, to stay in the league for 11 years and was a starter in about 70% of the games he played in.
Now that I think about it, that’s EXACTLY how Jordan plays like. Rex really wasn’t all that efficient, but he did have the overall skillset when it comes to handling and passing the basketball. And he had the ability to create and make his own shot as a streak shooter. Rex definitely wasn’t known for his defense.
I think Jordan may skew more toward Rex than Ed, because he’s playing alongside John Wall, a speed demon at the point. That can do nothing but help Jordan develop into a basketball player. And the fact that Jordan can make plays with the ball in his hands, will help his longevity in the NBA.
Rex’s career numbers:
14.6 ppg
2.7 asst
2.5 rebs
0.9 stls
1.5 tos
43% FG
35% 3FG
80% FT
I think that may be Jordan’s ceiling as a player. I don’t see him developing into a Dwyane Wade or Steve Francis. And he doesn’t shoot the long ball well enough to be a Ben Gordon. And he’s not explosive enough athletically to be a Russell Westbrook.
But I could see him develop into a Rex Chapman.
clancy
March 24th, 2011
1:46 pm
Some (a lot?) of people want to make PT an issue between JT and Kirk. I don’t see it that way at all. Kirk’s running the team fine as he’s starting to get acclimated and the other guys aren’t trying to play at PG as much. JT is also running the team fine when getting a shot. JT shoots more, so he scores more – then again, he hasn’t spent as much time on the court lately with JJ and Josh, who demand a higher percentage of shot attempts. And while everyone (I include myself here) believes JT can handle PT when it counts (ie, not garbage time) and against the better opponents, the fact remains that he hasn’t been put in those positions so we really can’t know how much it would have changed things.
The issue as I see it is that, between these two, they should be playing all the PG minutes. Jamal should not be the designated ball handler and set-up man. Kirk succeeds by playing hard, which typically means he’ll be more effective in fewer minutes. I’d like to see a 28-30 Kirk and 18-20 JT split of PG minutes, and wouldn’t mind seeing a few more minutes of them on the court together in a smaller but quicker lineup. Obviously that would be the general plan, but easily flexible when one or the other is having a great game or struggling.
JT deserves regular PT, both for his play and for his development. But Kirk is not the problem with the team, and I think he’s taking too much of the blame for JT not playing and for the overall team woes of late.
Johnny Q
March 24th, 2011
1:54 pm
Good thing Bibby left this sinking ship and is now on a title contender. The Hawks are mediocre at best and need to start rebuilding. The current squad will never make a run in the playoffs.
initial J
March 24th, 2011
2:05 pm
clancy I see very few people on this blog, if any, blaming Kirk for Teague’s lack of playing time. That’s clearly on Larry Drew. I’m in the camp that believes JT should be the starter. LD is the only person on this planet that thinks playing Jamal at the point is a good idea.
Chris E
March 24th, 2011
2:11 pm
Clancy, I totally agree with you. JC should get more of JJ’s minutes and rarely play pg. JJ plays too many minutes and has not been nearly as productive as in the past. JC hasn’t either. I wish LD would shake things up a bit and roll the dice with Teague playing more behind Hinrich.
The Hawks can play a 9 man rotation: 2nd unit Teague, Damien, ZaZa & Collins. This will give Al time at the 4 and less minutes for the starters so they can be fresh at the end of games.
Sautee
March 24th, 2011
2:20 pm
northcyde,
Willie Green didn’t play at UGA.
mykhalc
March 24th, 2011
2:20 pm
lesson…NEVER buy somethin’ you CANNOT afford…PERIOD!!! you’ll either lose it or have to sell it in the end. KA BOOM!!!
northcyde
March 24th, 2011
2:27 pm
LOL . . I don’t know who I’m thinking about then. I guess I was thinking about Litterial Green.
Rev in Tampa
March 24th, 2011
2:44 pm
uh oh, the Hawks are playing on national tv again Saturday night against the Nets (NBA TV). What tattered shreds of self-respect that the Hawks still have left will be ripped to pieces by the NBA TV announcers if they lose.
But hey, at least they are not the Knicks.
clancy
March 24th, 2011
2:54 pm
Rev, if the Hawks lose a home game to the Nets, they will have no self-respect left for the NBA announcers to get to.
KevinM
March 24th, 2011
3:31 pm
At least the Nets have a PG they can grow with….Avery Johnson has a little beatdown on his mind since being considered by Sund and ASG as a lesser candidate than Coach Larry.
We’re creeping closer to .500 every day.
KevinM
March 24th, 2011
3:40 pm
Holman on the Hawks on 680..on last night’s broadcast, he quoted Lloyd Bridges, “I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue”
Priceless.
His opinion on last night’s game: He said the team forgot how to win a game on the road after being up 11 heading into the 4th. “They lost their swagger”
Holman likes our chances against Orlando better than anyone else in the playoffs based on where we likely will end up.
7 guys played in Philly on the 2nd of a back-2-back. Who do we point to for this? Our whole bench was inactive.
No way Larry gets fired after one season. That would mean management was totally wrong with their decision this past summer. They don’t accept responsibility now and are dishonest at best.
KevinM
March 24th, 2011
4:46 pm
Al is on with Rome this afternoon….he says the team is struggling right now. He likes the confidence of the team but they’re always ablet to bounce back. He called a group meeting and asked them to stick together the rest of the regular season and get ready for the playoffs.
Not really a lot to tell here, but he is being real careful with his words. I will say he said playing the 5 is tough especially at this time of year when you’re tired.
Al doesn’t sound sold on the problems on this team being behind him.
The Game Has Changed
March 24th, 2011
5:24 pm
I think we would have a better shot playing the Heat than the Magic. If we go 5-5 the rest of the season, the 76ers would have to go 8-3 just to tie us. I dont think they will do it.
Buddy Grizzard
March 25th, 2011
7:39 am
Sam, the Hawks aren’t going anywhere, regardless of the ownership situation. Georgia is a well-known incubator of NBA-level talent, AND NBA TV and TNT are based here. It would look bad for the league if an NBA team could not survive here. The Hawks problems all begin with the inept ownership group and roll downhill from there. If it gets bad enough, the NBA will purchase the franchise like it did New Orleans. The difference would be that while the NBA prefers to keep the Hornets in LA, the NBA board of governors would NEVER approve of the Hawks moving to another city. They’ll buy the team and find competent ownership for it if it comes down to that.
ld this ain’t no bandwagon… I was at Randy Whittman poster night when I was in cub scouts.
bigeasy830
March 25th, 2011
10:39 am
@Najeh Davenpoop
“Atlanta fans grip and moan and wish for players like Dwight Howard and othe future free agents that they will never get but don’t raise heck about good players they had and the sorry organization lets go. Atlanta fans must demand better judgement from their teams ownership and management and giving away a talented kid like Jordan Crawford is a good example.”
You think not showing up to games and chanting MVP for opposing players isn’t a strong enough statement against Hawks management”
Evidently it’s not, they are making no effort to better the team. They are hiring cheap coaches that are not good and a cheap GM that is even worse. The people that are chanting MVP for the opposing players are that team and player fans not Hawks fan. The Hawks fans are just complianing, gripping, moaning and wishing.
bigeasy830
March 25th, 2011
10:57 am
@Section 303
“After ripping him most of the year and getting on fellow posters call for him to play more, I have now switched sides. I am firmly in the camp that says Teague should play more. He has played well enough, I think. And, he has proven to have a better shot than I thought.
Some of you talking about Jordan Crawford…….here’s what I liked about him: he was/is fearless. He does not play scared at all. Thinking about the Boston game, over Thanksgiving (the one where they beat us by 100pts). Jordan Carwford came in an hit shots, even had a dunk. His shot selection needs work, but he can hit the long range shots and is not afraid to take them. We’ve all seen so many of the other Hawks play afraid. Never Jordan.”
My point exactly, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford are what they are. They have been in the league long enough they will not get better, plain in simple. Al Horford is getting better, no doubt he is the best player on the hawks team. But Jordan Crawford and Teague can develop. Teague reminds me of Marvin he is just too timid right now, hopefully he can shake it. Jordan Crawford plays with heart and fearlessness, you can’t coach that. He has skills. You can coach him up on other aspects of the game. Like patience and letting the game come to you and not force it. But he has the skills and a killer instinct that will make him a very good player. Jordan Crawford is the sam guy that had that highlight dunk over Lebron James during a summer camp, when Jordan was till at Xavier. He was fearlessthen and he plays fearless now. I also noticed how hard he played the few times he did get in the games for the Hawks. Josh Smith plays that way at times and use to play that way more consistenly his first couple of years in the league. Al plays that way most of the time.
My point is you all complain about the team having no heart, I agree. but even worse the management traded away a player that played with the most heart when he got the opportunity.
RustyDanielson
March 25th, 2011
11:58 am
JonnyQ: I disagree with you. This current group of Hawks can WIN THE NBA TITLE THIS YEAR. All they have to do to win the title is do two things: #1:Fire Larry Drew and #2:Hire former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. Making those two moves will GUARANTEE THE HAWKS THE GOLD TROPHY THIS SEASON.
DreamWeaver
March 25th, 2011
4:27 pm
The Hawks have 10 games remaining. The season CAN STILL BE A BANNER YEAR IF THE HAWKS HAVE A QUICK TEAM MEETING AND RESOLVE TO WIN THE REMAINDING GAMES ON THEIR SCHEDULE. A 50-win season in any year is a heck of an accomplishment. Teams that win 50 games are capable of winning the NBA championship. The Hawks are so depressed right now (demonstrated by their sloppy play of late) that the Hawks could not even challenge the Cleveland Caviliers to a game of marbles. This is how bad the Hawks are playing. The Hawks right now cannot beat the Cavs and would probably lose to the Cavs by 20 to 30 points. What the Hawks need to do is get serious about the season and just decide they will play out the string of 10 games, playing as hard as they can. I AM STILL CONVINCED THAT IF THE HAWKS PLAY AS HARD AS THEY CAN, THEY WILL WIN THE NBA CROWN THIS SEASON, HANDS DOWN WITHOUT ANY RESISTANCE AT ALL. Thats how good they are and can be. The Hawks must believe they are a great team and it will start manifesting itself on the court.