Atlanta Hawks: Larry Drew’s dilemma
Washington–I honestly don’t know the right answer to this health vs. momentum dilemma faced by L.D. There is some inherent contradiction in his declaration that health is most important and his desire to finish the season with momentum but, in my view at least, both have merit.
Several Hawks players are banged up and could probably use some rest but don’t they also have to stay in tune? The team hasn’t played well since February but, at this point, aren’t the Hawks as good as they are going to get and so the “fine tuning” L.D. is looking for is too little, too late?
You can sense that players also aren’t quite sure how to feel about the situation.
J.J. says health is the main concern but in the next breath he says he wants to get his game in gear. “My main concern right now is getting into some kind of rhythm going into the playoffs,” he said.
Al says it’s important for the Hawks to “get better as a team and keep up our shape” but then comes out of the equation favoring time off.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to that, just being honest,” he said. “But I think [L.D.] would rather have us play.”
Drew said he still doesn’t plan to sit any of his regulars. Instead, he’d like for the Hawks’ reserves to play well enough that the starters wouldn’t be required to play extended minutes.
“If I’ve got bench guys out there and they are in a real good rhythm I will leave the starters on the bench as long as I can,” he said. “If it’s not getting anywhere and we’re not playing well or we are not in a good rhythm, I don’t want to finish the season like that. I want to finish feeling good about how we play.”
Notes
- Al on the ankle: “It’s good. It’s as good as it’s been, so that’s good news. I am pretty much back to normal.”
- Joe on the thumb: “It’s all right. It’s never going to be 100 percent until the season is over but it’s nothing that is going to stop me from doing anything. I’ve just got to play through it.”
- Joe on the elbow: “It’s good as it’s going to get.” How good is that? “It’s pretty much 100 percent. It feels a little weak every now and then but it’s good.”
- Marvin on his back: “I feel pretty good. It gets sore at times.”
- JC2 and Mo visited with Hawks players and team personnel after they got up shots prior to the game.
- “It was good seeing them again,” Jordan said. “I was real close friends with them. It became like a family in the little time I was there. I expect to spend more time with them through the years. I talk to them all the time. They always congratulate me after every game.”
- Jordan on his feelings at the time of the trade: “I knew it was a business coming in. They wanted to try to make a playoff push. Now I am getting playing time. It was good for both of us.”
- With the Wizards, JC2 is averaging 33.2 minutes, 17.2 points and 16.6 shots. “You have got to play to get better,” he said. “Hopefully next year we win more games. That’s my goal.”
- Drew on JC2: “We are going to treat him like any other scorer. We have to be with him on the catch. We have to affect the pick-and-roll but more importantly keep him contained and not let him get it going.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
318 comments Add your comment
Aaron
April 9th, 2011
8:35 pm
Finally, Al is attacking the basket, even if it’s just in transition. That’s a welcomed sight.
cp
April 9th, 2011
8:36 pm
Teague should be starting. Hinrich doesnt make much of an impact
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:36 pm
Bigdave . . I just peeped that nbaplaybook link you posted. The team is just lazy.
Nice move by Teague, even though it didn’t go down.
Lack of effort again, not recognizing that Blatche is a shooter and not closing out on him.
hawks_4_life
April 9th, 2011
8:36 pm
GREAT DEFENSE
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:36 pm
LOL . . Jordan looking like Doc Rivers
bigdave
April 9th, 2011
8:37 pm
Jordan>Kirk
Darnell
April 9th, 2011
8:38 pm
Offensive interference!
hawks_4_life
April 9th, 2011
8:38 pm
LD COULDNT EVEN KEEP HIS SON IN BBALL HOW CAN HE KEEP THESE GUYS HEAD IN THE GAME.
Jae Evolution
April 9th, 2011
8:38 pm
Washington is playing worse D than we are, get some stops we can easily comeback.
Rusty
April 9th, 2011
8:38 pm
We all need to talk better about Josh Smith, he is easily our most valuable player even tho we don’t have a coach to keep him under control.
Ole Hawks Fan
April 9th, 2011
8:39 pm
Jim Mora Sr. said it best………………”PLAYOFF! This season should end for the hawks after the Heat Game. They have already mail it in on Woody Lite!
superiorblogman
April 9th, 2011
8:40 pm
Nique is a bytch. Teague makes a floater over McGee then when he misses one over McGee Nique says your not gonna make that shot over a 7 Fter. Lastly, none of the Hawks are playing D
Sautee
April 9th, 2011
8:40 pm
On 4 different occasions we have used a big to trap a wing and they got a dunk or a layup every time. When do we adjust and stop trapping smalls?
Aaron
April 9th, 2011
8:40 pm
“On the previous post regarding basketball IQ, I think you missed the sarcasm.”
I got the sarcasm in that last one. I also know you were eluding to the comments people make about Smoove. I just thought I’d point out how bad our team defense was, since it just annoys me. We have countless breakdowns on defense in every game due to poor help.
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:42 pm
Washington is giving a lot more effort than us though.
Rusty
April 9th, 2011
8:42 pm
I’m sure giving up mike & mo was worth kh. I really don’t think he is very good ,definitely not a good penetrating pg or much of a defensive presence.
bigdave
April 9th, 2011
8:42 pm
Jordan showed a natural passing ability, the ability to make the right read and distribute w/ accuracy since summer league.
couldve given you a lot at the lead guard position. including the ability to back down smaller guards. clearly he can knock down a shot.
cp
April 9th, 2011
8:45 pm
looked like Teague got fouled but no call
superiorblogman
April 9th, 2011
8:45 pm
Nique and Bob are some incompetent bytches fire there arses too
Jae Evolution
April 9th, 2011
8:45 pm
Teague needs to let his emotion out, he always stops himself mid way when a questionable call is made on him, at the end thats a possible foul, you look at the ref and yell THAT’S A FOUL MAN, DAMN! Don’t be scared to.
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:46 pm
Going back to when JJ got hurt in December, I thought that was going to be the time in which Jordan got a chance to prove himself as a player. Instead, we sign Damien Wilkins, and he gets the majority of the minutes that Jordan may have received with JJ out.
That was an indication right there that the coach wasn’t going to give Jordan a good look. Unfortunately, Teague really didn’t get a lot of burn during that time either.
Just dysfunction all the way around from this organization this year.
Aaron
April 9th, 2011
8:46 pm
It’s interesting that despite playing very lethargic in the first half, Horford has actually turned things around into a pretty good performance so far tonight. It’s a 20-10 night for him already, through 3 quarters. Once he came out of hibernation and started attacking the basket in the third quarter, he’s actually looked pretty good. That’s a good sign. At least we know Al was only playing poorly due to physical limitations (e.g. injuries). I just hope he gives it all he’s got in the playoffs. I hope everyone does (and plays smart along with that). I hate it when anyone tries to play “hero-ball”.
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:47 pm
wow . . . WTF Hinrich?
Melvin
April 9th, 2011
8:47 pm
LD has no idea of what lineup to play. Teague,Kirk,Jamal,Marvin,Powell?
hawks_4_life
April 9th, 2011
8:47 pm
Who here is excited about the playoffs.
bigdave
April 9th, 2011
8:48 pm
but this league, as is true in most professional sports particularly football, is all about harmony between player system, coaching, and organization to maximize and harness certain talents..
Aaron
April 9th, 2011
8:49 pm
Knowing that this game really doesn’t mean much of anything, and we are down by a large margin and probably don’t have enough time to make a comeback at this point, I wonder if L.D. will play Joe or Al at all the rest of the game. I don’t think it would really serve any meaningful purpose to put them back in at this point, but you never know what is going on in the mind of Drew. He’s a strange man when it comes to making basketball-related decisions. If he put them back in, I’m just going to assume that everything he said about resting players is BS to make some of the listeners happy.
hawks_4_life
April 9th, 2011
8:49 pm
Melvin,
I accept the fact that LD is not capable of being a successful playoff coach.
Sautee
April 9th, 2011
8:49 pm
Aaron,
I’m a Horford fan, but that’s the least impact from a ga20 and10 game I’ve ever seen.
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:49 pm
Nique . . quit making excuses for Hinrich. He should’ve been able to take him. If he can’t take him, why the hell did we trade for him?
Oh I forgot . . to play defense.
Wall’s numbers
14 pts . .6 asst . . 5 rebs ( 6 – 13 FG )
Kirk’s numbers
3 pts . . 4 asst . . 0 rebs ( 1 – 5 FG )
Art Vandelay
April 9th, 2011
8:50 pm
This line up that is on the court is lol
bigdave
April 9th, 2011
8:50 pm
i admit, i was fooled.
i figured we’d actually look like a NBA team offensively.
Sautee
April 9th, 2011
8:51 pm
bigdave,
Excellent point. I’m afraid we have a chemistry problem.
Aaron
April 9th, 2011
8:51 pm
“Who here is excited about the playoffs.”
I’m excited about the playoffs, not necessarily because of the Hawks, but just because there are a lot of great matchups this season. I’m really looking forward to the nuggets-thunder matchup (if it happens). I think that could be a classic. I’d also like to see who is more overrated, Miami or New York, in that matchup (if it happens). There are a lot of interesting matchups this year, for sure. I can’t wait for the playoffs. Even if the Hawks are eliminated in the first round, there will still be plenty to watch if you are a diehard hoops fan.
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:51 pm
Wow Hinrich . . . WTF again?
HE backed all the way down into the lane, instead of going up to Wall to try to stop the ball. Stands there to draw a charge, but gets a blocking foul called on him.
Kirk may be the 6th best guard on the court tonight.
hawks_4_life
April 9th, 2011
8:52 pm
LD GO PLAY IN TRAFFIC ASAP
WOLLEY STEKCAJ
April 9th, 2011
8:52 pm
No one cares about this team or group of people pretending to be a team. Hawks are a good example of why a heart transplant is needed. No heart, no fire, no concern, no interest, and no concern for fans.. They will be gone very quickly with NO wins in the playoffs!
hawks_4_life
April 9th, 2011
8:53 pm
How can you expect Al to make a difference when he is setting pics 20ft away from the basket.
Aaron
April 9th, 2011
8:53 pm
“I’m a Horford fan, but that’s the least impact from a ga20 and10 game I’ve ever seen.”
I think he had a pretty significant impact in the third quarter. You could see it in the the way the team gained momentum through his plays and the score started to change. In terms of the first half though, he was almost invisible. Overall, though, looking at the stats, I was just surprised that he had a pretty good statistical game, even though it looked like he only really tried for one quarter.
Sautee
April 9th, 2011
8:53 pm
As I said last night, we’re working on our playoff defense.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 9th, 2011
8:55 pm
Ex-Lax!
Lester Conner has a look of constipation on his face.
That is the look of unemployment in the very near future.
2 + 4 games left this season and it’s time to pack the apartment and call:
2 Men and a Truck! (Low Rise Trucks – Fully Insured)
Darnell
April 9th, 2011
8:55 pm
“How can you expect Al to make a difference when he is setting pics 20ft away from the basket.”
You should ask Larry Drew that. I’d love to hear what garbage excuse he’d come up with for that.
Sautee
April 9th, 2011
8:55 pm
aron,
Yes, Al had a good quarter on offense, but Blatche lit him up on D in the 3rd. And they outscored us by 1.
bigdave
April 9th, 2011
8:55 pm
lateral move.
if money wasnt an object i would’ve loved to have seen this team under the leadership of Baron “Byron” Davis.
in your face style.. yell @ you when you’re not where you need to be.. get you the ball and pat you on the back when you are..
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:56 pm
Pape looks like Ty Corbin. This is my first real look at the kid.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 9th, 2011
8:56 pm
“Wrong again Najeh. JJ was one of the better ISO scorers in the league last year, and has been for some time now. The dude had one of his best seasons last year and made 3rd team All-NBA.
This year, he’s playing nowhere near that level. But JJ took and made tough shots all the time last year ( so did Jamal ). And he consistently did it against every team with the exception of Orlando in the playoffs.”
Yeah, and when he didn’t make those tough shots — everyone who gets isolated goes through those stretches — he couldn’t get to the line. His free throw rate has been bad over the past few seasons and it’s bad this year. That’s the problem with isolating Joe as opposed to isolating more explosive players. Yeah, he might go through his occasional stretches when he’s hitting those shots, but when he’s not, the team is screwed unless they can get the offensive board. And when you start nobody over 6′10″, you’re not going to get those offensive boards very easily against bigger teams, particularly in the playoffs when the pace slows and refs allow teams to get away with more physicality.
“With the change in the offense this year, the bigs are on the outside more, getting less offensive rebounds”
On this point you are right. There are three significant differences between the Hawks’ offense this year and last year statistically — their free throw rate has gone from bad to abysmal, their offensive rebound rate has gone from fantastic to abysmal, and they are shooting worse from 3. The first two are related — a lot of the Hawks’ free throw opportunities last year came as a result of those bigs inside getting offensive boards and going back up to draw fouls. The third is pretty much a direct result of Joe and Jamal’s 3 point percentage plummeting.
But there is no law that says that either your best scorer should take contested jumpers or your big men should hang out 15 feet away from the basket. Setting up Joe with easier, more makeable shots and keeping the big men in the paint are not mutually exclusive.
mykhalc
April 9th, 2011
8:56 pm
i really appreciate all you guys. you save me from watchin’ this $hit!!! NCIS marathon!!!
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:56 pm
Wow @ Pape . . da hell?
Najeh Davenpoop
April 9th, 2011
8:56 pm
Pape!
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
8:56 pm
That was a Ruben Patterson type move.