Atlanta Hawks at Rockets: Clinching seed is the carrot
There’s a juicy carrot out there for the Hawks tonight.
Beat the Rockets and they clinch the No. 5 seed in the East. Clinch the No. 5 seed and then all of their tired bodies and minds might get a break over the final five games.
“I want to clinch before I even think about doing that,” L.D. said.
That’s some pretty good incentive.
“It should be for the guys,” Drew said. “A couple of weeks ago we were talking about it but kind of looking at how we were playing, looking at the schedule, it wasn’t a sure lock. Here we are with an opportunity to clinch it.”
No one can be blamed for not trusting the Hawks. A season’s worth of questions were not suddenly answered by two good efforts that included likely outliers like J.J. getting to the line, Josh draining tough jump shots and Zaza wrecking the team he likes to wreck most.
What L.D. thinks can most be duplicated is the focus and determination that allowed the Hawks to win ugly against good opponents.
“Probably the grind-em-out presence that we played with in both games,” Drew said. “Against Orlando, I thought we did a really good job in matching their physicality. I thought we did a good job in playing physical. Those type opponents, that’s the type of effort you have to have against them. I thought it was the same thing against Boston. Both games turned into half court games, we turned them into grind-em-out games and we played with a physical toughness.”
Game notes
- “Regular” lineup for the Hawks: Hinrich, J.J., Marvin, Smoove, Al.
- The Rockets seemingly were done after they traded away Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier at the deadline. Instead they’ve surged and are desperately trying to make the playoffs. Henry Abbott at TrueHoop reported that the Rockets are motivated to stick it to fans, media, and the team’s front office, and I’m wondering if that might work for the Hawks, too.
- The Rockets are a better offensive rebounding team than the Magic and Celtics. Impressive work considering they aren’t a big team.
- “Scola bangs inside, Hayes bangs inside, Hill comes in and bangs inside, Patterson comes in and bangs inside,” Drew said. “They play extremely fast, they get up and down the floor, but yet they play with a physicality. I am hoping that the way we played the last couple games will carry over into tonight’s game.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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418 comments Add your comment
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:28 pm
Teague +2, Kirk -4.
Bird
April 3rd, 2011
9:29 pm
Can’t dare blame Teague for this.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:29 pm
“If coach would play the kid from day one, he’d be a lot smarter and wiser out there. Vets only become vets with time on the court. Everybody makes dumb mistakes, younger guys tend to make them more. Not because they’re dumb, but because they lack experience.”
Exactly. Jrue Holiday and Ty Lawson weren’t making all the right decisions from day one either, but for the most part they are now.
Brandon
April 3rd, 2011
9:29 pm
This was a terrible game for just about the entire 48 minutes. We put up points, but I really didn’t feel like we played well. Al had an awful night, Kirk had an awful night, Joe has pretty good tonight, Josh was solid, and no one else really mattered in this one for the Hawks. The execution looked bad, the team defense was horrid, and I just didn’t like the way we played at all. Very disappointing loss.
Bird
April 3rd, 2011
9:30 pm
If you’re blaming Teague, you’re the one DUMB!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:30 pm
Luis Scola has half the athleticism of Al but somehow he is able to score inside so much better.
welikebaseball2
April 3rd, 2011
9:31 pm
Sooooo….we gave up Jordan Crawford, our 1st rounder in next year’s draft, Mo Evans, & Bibby for Kirk Heinrich? Really? Wow.
superiorblogman
April 3rd, 2011
9:31 pm
If Hinrich had of fouled out early in the 4th where LD had to stay with Teague we would have won. Teague was doing the same thing Lowry was breaking down the defense. I am not too mad we lost because Teague took a step forward playing half of the fourth.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:32 pm
Looking at the replay, Houston had that defended perfectly. Even if Teague handles the ball properly, the Hawks end up with a contested Joe 3 or a contested Smoove 3. Unless the plan was to have Teague drive inside and kick it out — in which case Houston would have just given up the layup — the likelihood of a positive outcome from that play was slim.
cp
April 3rd, 2011
9:32 pm
coaching is going to hurt this team in the playoffs. LD makes some baffling moves. And the game shouldnt have come down to the Teague shot anyway. They turned the ball over on like four straight possessions and the bad shot by Jamal did this team in
Elliot
April 3rd, 2011
9:32 pm
“I wish drew owes a former ref money so he can get the ass whopped.”
LOL. You can rest assured that Drew definitely doesn’t owe anyone money for suits. His entire wardrobe could be purchased for under $50.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:33 pm
“I am not too mad we lost because Teague took a step forward playing half of the fourth”
We can only hope. I thought Teague took a step forward when he dominated the Blazers, but that didn’t quite work as expected.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:33 pm
^^took a step forward towards more playing time, that is.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 3rd, 2011
9:35 pm
11.4 seconds and Teague mishandles the ball and chucks a desperation 3! That miss-dribble was as good as a T.O.
Like The Stinger said, the Tempo was too fast, like I said in the 3rd.
Al Horford has really disappointed this season with his pretty jumper.
His big, stank, skank AZZ should live in the paint for the tough physical banging, And-1’s, stick backs and offensive rebounds!
I’ve been saying those exact words since game 13 this year!
I’m done repeating myself! Done! Josh had a great game!
James
April 3rd, 2011
9:36 pm
I can’t say that I didn’t see this coming. In the Boston game that we won on Friday, the strategy used by drew was absolutely terrible, outside of his decision to go with Zaza over Josh. We won that game due to effort and hustle by Al and Zaza, along with some temporary hot shooting by Jamal. We didn’t win because we executed a sound strategy. Drew is not even capable of developing a sound strategy, unless force feeding joe the ball or running high pick-and-roll for Joe or Jamal or curls for Joe, continuously, are considered sound strategies.
Brutal B!!
April 3rd, 2011
9:37 pm
Pink Slip,i see you never played the game ever in your life before unless it was a video game.
1st of all,Josh can’t say “ish”with all the dumb shots he has taken.
2nd,There was no apparent set play for them to run on a full court play.
Rewinding and looking back over it,Jamaal was on the left of Teague but behind him when Jeff looked over,Jamaals man jumped in the passing lane.
If he passed it,then it was sure to be a turn over and yo butt would be on here talking about how he should have shot the ball.
3rd,If he would have shot it instead of faking it and going under tha shot would have been blocked.
In conclusion,A play should have been drawn up to bring the ball up and its simple as that.Teague is faster than anyone and should have brought it up but you had both Jamaal and Josh standing next to each other instead of someone on the far left wing,then you had Joe and Horford near Teague and they were nowhere near getting a good shot either.
The appropriate shot was taken.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 3rd, 2011
9:38 pm
Them clinching a playoff SPOT was more of a carrot than us clinching a 5th seed. Hinrich should have rode the pine all night long – Teague was productive off the bench and he should have been given more minutes. Kevin Martin school Joe on what to do when the jumpers ain’t falling – finish strong at the rack and get to the line.
bigdave
April 3rd, 2011
9:40 pm
lol!
co-sing DrMaryB
meanwhile…
everyone’s favorite GOON Reggie “EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND” EVANS had 17 rebs. against Dwight and dem..
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 3rd, 2011
9:40 pm
I am already sick of young quick pgs leaving Hinrich in the dust, with him giving us nothing offensively only then turn around and see Jordan Crawford___I started to flinch as I tried not to type his name, lol – score 23 pts in a Wizards victory.
lewis
April 3rd, 2011
9:41 pm
we probably would have lost every game of the rest of the season bibby
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:42 pm
“Drew is not even capable of developing a sound strategy, unless force feeding joe the ball or running high pick-and-roll for Joe or Jamal or curls for Joe, continuously, are considered sound strategies.”
In fairness, Smoove setting up Joe coming off the curl worked pretty well in the 4th quarter until Houston adjusted. Unfortunately, the Hawks didn’t switch to something else that worked — specifically, Smoove posting up Scola — until it was too late.
This game was lost on the defensive end more so than the offensive end. And that was primarily due to the inability of anyone to check Kevin Martin, the inability of Kirk to stay in front of Kyle Lowry, and the inability of Al to do anything on defense or on the boards.
MJC
April 3rd, 2011
9:43 pm
@Hawks fan in NOLA
Are Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo not young, quick PGs?
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 3rd, 2011
9:43 pm
yes drmaryb, Horford – is soft and its ticking me off – he only bangs inside on his college roommate Noah.
Prison Mike
April 3rd, 2011
9:43 pm
I wouldn’t hesitate giving the hayes the full mle, he would be an animal backing up horford.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 3rd, 2011
9:45 pm
@MJC – yes they are and while he did alright against Rondo the other night – Rose was toastin’ him.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 3rd, 2011
9:45 pm
“Luis Scola has half the athleticism of Al but somehow he is able to score inside so much better.”
____________
That’s because he lives in the post area and loves the contact for the flops and flips! Al does not like contact. Should sit him and play ZaZa in the 4th we win this game. Where the hell is Damien?
Start Teague!!!
MJC
April 3rd, 2011
9:46 pm
@Hawks fan in NOLA
And the time we played the Bulls before that?
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:47 pm
On a brighter note, the Hawks flashed some of what I was talking about the other day when I mentioned that Joe should be aggressive and look for his offense within the flow of the offense as a whole. Joe got 19 shots and 25 points, but only maybe 3 or 4 of those shots came on isolation, and the Hawks managed to get several looks for Smoove inside and Al in the mid range area. Unfortunately they didn’t do this enough in the last 3 or 4 minutes, and this offensive execution wasn’t coupled with a good defensive effort, but the Hawks are a lot more likely to score on good defensive teams playing like this.
cp
April 3rd, 2011
9:47 pm
it made no sense to replace a guy who had been playing well with one who ddnt do anything other than get beat defensively. LD’s coaching is going to look even uglier during the playoffs
Rusty
April 3rd, 2011
9:49 pm
Drmaryb what the heck are you babbling about on this blog ?
.
MJC
April 3rd, 2011
9:49 pm
drmaryb (*_-)
April 3rd, 2011
9:35 pm
11.4 seconds and Teague mishandles the ball and chucks a desperation 3! That miss-dribble was as good as a T.O.
Like The Stinger said, the Tempo was too fast, like I said in the 3rd.
Al Horford has really disappointed this season with his pretty jumper.
His big, stank, skank AZZ should live in the paint for the tough physical banging, And-1’s, stick backs and offensive rebounds!
—————————————————
Horsesh-t. I don’t know after this game, but Horford was leading the league in FG% from 16-23 feet! This is just another case of the dumbasses on here overreacting to a single Hawks game instead of analyzing and comparing to the full season.
doc
April 3rd, 2011
9:51 pm
O’Brien
April 3rd, 2011
9:18 pm
Score is 109-107, and Nique said both teams have played really tough defense…SMH
yeah i laughed too,
superiorblogman
April 3rd, 2011
9:51 pm
Teague 10 pts 4 ast 0 TO’s 20 minutes
Hinrich 5pts 2 ast 2 TO’s 26 minutes 40 seconds
I would take that minute distribution every night. On the other hand, Kirk Hinrich must be dumber than Teague IQ wise considering he turns the ball over just as much as Teague since the trade, and he has been in the league for damn near 10 years. I am watching 360 and its funny that even that DumbSundofaGM admits that Hinrich is a combo guard.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 3rd, 2011
9:52 pm
Does our scout team scout anybody? Do they even scout their own players? Ever wonder why Al is ALWAYS open for his 15 footer?
Answer: teams scout him out there and they give him those 4 shots per game! They would rather give him 11 pts per night than to see him in the post doing damage. We will NEVER win with him playing
Dirk “No-Paint” Nowitzski!
Dumb game plans for every spot on this team!
Junk that Princeton Noffense and go back to Woody-Ball!
At least you win 53 games and get to the 2nd round!
Woody put these players in the best spot for them to win!
We needed a personnel change moreso than a coaching change!
Maybe both, but definitely a roster UPGRADE!
cp
April 3rd, 2011
9:53 pm
are we really comparing a guy who gets a bunch of inconsistent minutes and gets pulled after a mistake to one who starts, gets a ton of minutes, any shot he wants, and gets to make a bunch of mistakes with no threat of being benched? smdh just stop
Roy G.
April 3rd, 2011
9:53 pm
“Al Horford has really disappointed this season with his pretty jumper.
His big, stank, skank AZZ should live in the paint for the tough physical banging, And-1’s, stick backs and offensive rebounds!”
It’s funny that your description of what Al should do is pretty much what he did against the Celtics in our win on Friday, but of course, you forgot about that already. Always ready to harass, but never ready to give credit when credit is due. By the way, while it wouldn’t hurt for Al to play more in the paint, it would be utter stupidity for him not to take advantage with the jumper as well. It’s about the all-around game these days, and you do what you can to help the team. Clearly, the coaching staff wants Al to help space the floor, along with Josh, that’s why they’re outside the paint so often. Whether or not that is what they want to do, we don’t know, but it is definitely what the staff is preaching, that we do know. I find it tough to criticize players for doing what they are being asked to do.At any rate, if you just want a garbage man to play center, maybe you should start lobbying to get someone like Marcus Camby or Ben Wallace before they retire.
Also, if you feel like responding to me with some insults and negativity, like you usually do when someone attempts to argue with you. Go for it. Give it your best shot, but know that I don’t give a damn what you have to say to me, personally. You can post as many shots at me as you want, but I probably won’t even read any of it, so if you disagree with what I have to say, you might just want to keep that to yourself. At any rate, do your worst, and have fun. I just had to get that off of my chest. I get a little bit fed up with people who don’t understand and haven’t played the game at anything close to the pro level trying to throw in their two cents.
MJC
April 3rd, 2011
9:54 pm
drmaryb (*_-)
April 3rd, 2011
9:52 pm
Does our scout team scout anybody? Do they even scout their own players? Ever wonder why Al is ALWAYS open for his 15 footer?
—————————————–
Because someone correctly set up the screen for him to get open? You are insinuating that Al gets the ball when he isn’t open; he isn’t great at creating his own shots.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
9:54 pm
Al shooting jumpers is not the problem nearly as much as Al getting his ass kicked on the other end of the floor by Chuck Hayes and Patrick Patterson.
O'Brien
April 3rd, 2011
9:55 pm
Horford: 6′10″, with 4 rebs in 40 minutes.
Hayes: 6′6″ with 12 rebs in 40 minutes.
Way to step it up tonight Al.
And I dont think LD should have had Teague in the game on the final offensive possession. i would have put marvin or Kirk in.
MJC
April 3rd, 2011
9:57 pm
@O’Brien:
Kirk fouled out; that’s why he wasn’t on the floor.
superiorblogman
April 3rd, 2011
10:03 pm
LD made many mistakes in this game and they were all apparent to anyone watching this game and that have a basketball mind. LD insists on playing Jamal big minutes no matter what and that hurt the Hawks again. Marvin had 11 pts and I don’t even have to look at the boxscore to tell you he was plenty effective and efficient in his minutes but was not rewarded with playing time. The same thing goes for Teague he was plenty effective and efficient but was not rewarded with playing time. Essentially, what I am stating is LD lost this game by going small when he did not need to. Our size was our advantage. The dominant lineup receiving most of the minutes should have been
PG Teague
SG Joe
SF Marvin
PF Josh
C Al
LD lost this one by failing to play his most effective unit together enough.
rocknblues81
April 3rd, 2011
10:08 pm
Kirk Hinrich stinks.
Am I the only one tired of slow footed white guy at PG?
Btw, Crawford is tearing it up for Washington.
BILLY KNIGHT
April 3rd, 2011
10:10 pm
I DON’T UNDERSTAND MY HOMEBOY SOMETIME, why he continue with the small line up, the hawks are better on defense when collins starte.
superiorblogman
April 3rd, 2011
10:11 pm
A. New Owners: Solution anyone that is willing to go over tax to build a championship team.
B. New GM and Coach: Solution offer both positions to Doc Rivers.
C. Trade Kirk Hinrich’s contract which will be expiring at the end of next season because he is just a stopgap and a lateral move. The guy is so bad I am starting to see more of the positives of Marvin Williams.
D. Do not resign Jamal
James
April 3rd, 2011
10:16 pm
“Al shooting jumpers is not the problem nearly as much as Al getting his ass kicked on the other end of the floor by Chuck Hayes and Patrick Patterson.”
While Patrick Patterson did some damage with the jumper just about every time Al helped off of him on one of the perimeter players, Chuck Hayes didn’t really do his damage against Al. In fact, Al was never really matched up with Chuck Hayes on the defensive end. That was Josh’s assignment. Also, while Chuck owned Josh in 1 vs. 1 on the offensive end in just about every situation, Chuck also did a lot of his damage while moving without the ball, so I can’t say it was just one guy that caused Chuck to go off. It was a team problem. The Hawks didn’t respect Hayes’ ability, and he made them pay.
BILLY KNIGHT
April 3rd, 2011
10:17 pm
1.Teague is a better player when starte
2.Marvin is better player coming of the bench plus he make the bench deeper
3.Collins, Hilton, Zaza all should rotate at center
4.Horford should never play center, he need a big beside him
5.Josh starte at 3 give hawks post advantage all day long in the paint
WAKE UP LD BEFORE TO LATE
Eric
April 3rd, 2011
10:19 pm
I’m curious, does anyone on this blog still like Drew as a head coach? The general feeling that I get when I ask around is that most people want Drew gone. A lot of people seem to want a new head coach. I’d like to know what you bloggers think.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 3rd, 2011
10:28 pm
MJC
“Horsesh-t. I don’t know after this game, but Horford was leading the league in FG% from 16-23 feet! This is just another case of the dumbasses on here overreacting to a single Hawks game instead of analyzing and comparing to the full season”
________________
Bullsh!t – I’ve been singing this song since Nov. 2010 and have been banging this drum all season long! I’m nothing if not consistent.
I have a huge problem with my only big playing small 15 feet away from the basket!
Last season we tied the Lakers for 13th in scoring.
Lead the league in FT% and fewest TO’s.
We were 13Th in defense.
___________
This season we are in the bottom of the league in all these categorioes.
You can’t see? Then have someone read the Conference Standings to you. We were 3rd, now we fight for 5th and may end up 6th!
___________
Get a Clue! Al has disappeared since signing that BIG contract to play as a BIG, not a SMALL! He is too big tp be shooting soft jumpers, at leats Laimbeer banged and decapitated little guards before he stepped outside for his deadly jumper. Al doesn’t even consider moving towards the paint anymore. Next year he said he’s gonna’ add the 3pt shot, is that what you want too see. Joe said, “we are ALL jump shooters. It is what it is, man.” That was not a compliment – it is a damned shame.
How would you like it if your big dck shrunk? Ask your lady?
northcyde
April 3rd, 2011
10:32 pm
O’Brien
April 3rd, 2011
9:55 pm
Horford: 6′10″, with 4 rebs in 40 minutes.
Hayes: 6′6″ with 12 rebs in 40 minutes.
Way to step it up tonight Al.
***********************
I’ve always loved Chuck Hayes as a player. Maybe one of the smartest players in the league, and tough enough to at least hold his own at PF/C.
But it’s inexcusable for a guy averaging 8 points and 8 rebounds , , at 6 – 6, to post a 19 point – 12 rebound game on us. Inexcusable. That was his best game of the season. Possibly the best game of his career.
But it’s the 4 rebounds from Horford that is most disappointing. It didn’t help that Houston shot over 55%, but he HAS to get more than 4 rebounds in a game. Especially when his man got as many offensive rebounds as he got total rebounds.
1 more tidbit:
#1 – JJ takes 19 shots . . Hawks lose.
Just saying.
On a night in which he was at least shooting 50%, get him the damn ball, and he needed to be looking for his shot more. Especially in that 3rd quarter in which our PF and C started abandoning the inside, and started taking too many jumpers.
See if he can put up a big number to match Martin’s output.
Having said that, the offense was fine. The defense lost the game.
superiorblogman
April 3rd, 2011
10:34 pm
As soon as the season is over Hawks should fire LD and Sund. Trade Marvin and Kirk for Chris Kaman and Randy Foye. Randy Foye replaces Jamal as the new combo guard in town. Kaman is far from great in many ways, he gets hurt too much and he really isn’t a defensive stopper but he is someone that I think we can get because like Memphis, Clippers are not going to pay two C’s that much. Memphis traded Thabeet because they know that Gasol will want 10-12 million a year and Thabeet was going to make about 5. Jordan will make 5-6 a year and Kaman already makes $10 million plus. Marvin and Kirk or Kirk and Zaza will get us Kaman and Foye or Kaman and Aminu.