Atlanta Hawks: Wizards 115, Hawks 83
WASHINGTON–You kinda get the feeling the Hawks really aren’t buying into this momentum for the playoffs thing.
- “Kinda get the feeling?” L.D. said. “That’s one of the biggest challenges of a coach when you get in these situations with a spot sealed up. The mindset for some players in this situation is the games have no meaning.”
- “Guys were really just going through the motions out there,” Al said.
- Since the Hawks have made it clear they really don’t care about these games, the question is whether they can suddenly turn it on for the playoffs.
- “I honestly don’t know because you have to have some type of momentum going into the playoffs,” Al said. “Even if you are not winning you have to be playing well. I think we were doing that about a week ago and these last two games we just kind of laid down.”
- “I hope so,” J.J. said. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s been pretty much unacceptable the last two games. I can’t really just pinpoint one thing. We just haven’t been playing hard. We have got to try to get back on track on Monday.”
- “We are going to have to at the end of the day,” Marvin said. “Starters and subs, we are going to have to put it together defensively. We’ve been to the playoffs before. We’ve won first rounds before. Obviously are goal is bigger than that this year but we know what it takes. I think when it is time to go people will really be focused in.”
- “I am not very confident at all,” L.D. said. “I have been in this situation before, having been in the league a long time. You can’t just flip the switch. It just doesn’t work like that. You want to carry momentum as you finish the regular season as you move into the playoffs. I’ve been around this thing long enough to see that you just can’t turn it on and turn it off. You want to be playing well, you want to be clicking.”
- The Hawks are locked into the five seed. They were without Smoove and Twin.The starters didn’t play their usual minutes again.
- I will see those excuses and raise you the Wizards playing five rooks among their 10 players, with there D-League refugees among them. Also note that the Hawks took their fourth 30-point L of the season and are now -48 in point differential despite their 44 Ws.
- Believe it or not, the Hawks say they actually planned to do something tonight. “We wanted to come out and try to get some kind of rhythm, chemistry,” J.J. said. “These last few games it doesn’t seem like we’ve got it.”
- Not much worth mentioning about the Hawks in this game.
- Teague was aggressive. Jamal had a decent scoring run. Pape Sy scored his first NBA points. Al got some rebounds (though a Wiz guard named Othyus Jeffers got more). Joe was going hard to the hole again. Hilton Armstrong has awful hands.
- JC2 got into early foul trouble trying to check Joe. When he came back he was in playmaking mode instead of his usual shoot-at-every-chance posture. Mo was 5 for 5 with three dunks, a tip-in and a layup.
- “Every time somebody gets traded, you always want to try to help them go at that team,” Andray Blatche. “That’s pretty much what we did. We tried to let them go out and have fun and tried to beat [Atlanta] as bad as we could.”
- Add Andray Blatche talking mess to the list of indignities for the Hawks.
- “In our league no matter how good or bad you are, there is a point in the game where you might say ‘tonight is not the night,’ and I think that is what happened for them,” Flip Saunders said.
- It’s happened a lot to these Hawks even when the games matter, so even though this one didn’t it’s still not a good look.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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255 comments Add your comment
Nate ArchiBALL
April 10th, 2011
3:22 pm
@ Mac-Town – on your 11:19 post –The entire starting five only attempted 3 free throws (Marvin 2, Al 1)
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
3:24 pm
northcyde,
Bulls have homecourt in the East wrapped up, but they are still in the hunt for the best record in the league (homecourt in the NBA finals if they get there).
Give credit to Orlando. No Dwight Howard, nothing to play for, and they are toe to toe with the Bulls.
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
3:28 pm
Hubie Brown with the shout out to Jamal. Orlando is down 4 with 10 secs left.
Hubie said “A 4 point play is possible, just ask jamal Crawford”.
UGASlobberknocker
April 10th, 2011
3:30 pm
a pathetic performance. Larry Drew has got to go..he has lost the team..if he ever had them to start with. Orlando will whip us just as bad as they did last year.
This team needs to be blown up..starting with the coach..and I also have come to believe Josh Smith will never reach his potential here..trade him for somebody , anybody. Joe Johnson is the worst player per dollar in the league.Talk about poor return on your investment..Belkin was right,
I just cant believe how bad this team is .Other than Horford, nobody cares, nobody is putting out effort..they all look like they would rather be somewhere else..kinda like the Hawks fans at this point.
mykhalc
April 10th, 2011
3:36 pm
the ASG has been a JOKE since the beginnin’…PERIOD!!! gotta get rid of these clowns if anythin’ is to change for the better around here. the ONLY thing the ASG has been good for is lawsuits/lawyers…startin’ with the cat from Dallas who was entitled to purchased the team from jump…then the Belkin soap. these cats had didsaster written all over them from the start…PERIOD!!!
The Game Has Changed
April 10th, 2011
3:41 pm
@MikeMC-Why do you say we go nowhere in the playoffs. Maybe the 2nd rd isnt anything to you. But why dont you ask those other 24 teams that are sitting at home.
lukas
April 10th, 2011
3:42 pm
Jameer to DRose after the game: “I’ll catch you in the second round.”
Even that the Hawks won the particular series ORL still does not respect the Hawks as a competition. Can’t blame them for that since the headless Hawks do not respect themselves as team.
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
3:44 pm
The Game has changed,
if the Hawks lose in the first round, what will your “season in review” look like?
Gainesville#1
April 10th, 2011
3:45 pm
Lukas
I thought i was the only one that caught that bra. No respect for ATL. We’ll see how they respond
The Game Has Changed
April 10th, 2011
3:46 pm
@O’Brien-So many of yall try to make so many changes. We should have just kept Woody and gave him the player he needed. “A CENTER” How many fires a coach after he improves every year. Our standards were raised too far too soon. Now lets give LD this year and the rest of next year to get it together. He is a first year coach. You can be vice president for 20 yrs but being the President is a whole different ball game.
Gainesville#1
April 10th, 2011
3:47 pm
I like the hawks chances if they are healthy though.
lukas
April 10th, 2011
3:50 pm
Gainesville#1,
Don’t hold expectations. This team lacks pride.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
3:51 pm
“it is kind of funny how some of the same people complaining now, were talking about how the regular season doesn’t matter. How despite the Hawks posting their 5th best record in franchise history, that it didn’t matter if they couldn’t progress in the playoffs.”
I can’t speak for others, but I still stand by that. If the Hawks do better in the playoffs this year, this season should be considered an improvement. The thing is, though, I projected a lower win total for this team based on the fact that the rest of the conference improved, not based on the Hawks regularly laying down and folding like an origami artist against every superior team they faced. Again, I can’t speak for others, but I’m complaining about the regular season because it gives me little hope that their playoff performance will be any kind of improvement over the last two seasons.
mykhalc
April 10th, 2011
3:56 pm
the Hawks will fold at the 1st sign of imminent beat-down!!!
mykhalc
April 10th, 2011
3:59 pm
FWIW…i think a lot of us would not be complainin’ as much if the was ANY sign of cohesion, team ball, leadership, and HC skills. with ALL this missin’ how can anyone fool themselves?? seriously…
Gainesville#1
April 10th, 2011
3:59 pm
Sometimes watching the hawks play, I wonder how can the coach accept the kind of effort that the hawks give. I was watching the game jj through an ugly pass and turned the ball over and the only one trying to get back was Al. If I was the coach I would be cussing breaking clipboards. kicking over gatorade jugs or something. All L.D does is make that ugly ass face with his lips. Sad
mykhalc
April 10th, 2011
3:59 pm
there not the…
tom
April 10th, 2011
4:10 pm
what would be considered a successful postseason for these hawks? Eastern Conference Finals? 2 wins in the second round? These hawks have shown me nothing and a first round exit would not be surprising.
JeJe
April 10th, 2011
4:25 pm
This team is going to finish the season with a record which pretty much indicates that for every win it had, it lost a game. Good job, LD
FIRE SUND
JC
April 10th, 2011
4:55 pm
WAY TO GO HAWKS!! WAY TO LOSE YOUR 4TH GAME BY 40 TO YET ANOTHER TEAM WITH HALF YOUR TALENT!!! UNACCEPTABLE!! WAY TO GET READY TO GET SWEPT BY THE MAGIC NEXT WEEK…THIS TEAM IS A JOKE!! ALWAYS HAS BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE!!!! THE FANS DESERVE BETTER!! FIRE THE COACH AND TALK A “REAL” COACH OUT OF RETIREMENT NEXT SEASON…PHIL JACKSON
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
5:16 pm
Yeah, they damaged my uvula too, when I had spinal surgery. After that I began to snore, before that I never did. They get rough, when they put you under! Hopefully, your uvula will reduce/shrink, once the swelling goes down. Hang in there, baby boy!
Thanks for blogging, even tho you feel bad. (*_*)
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
5:30 pm
Paint-itis!
The Hawks fear The Paint, it’s not the opponent.
It’s their game plan NOT to play inside: See Drew!
steve brown
April 10th, 2011
5:33 pm
JeJe-I use my real name-what do you use-a blind eye to the truth-Josh Smith is BS.
JQP
April 10th, 2011
5:34 pm
Bottom line, if we lose in the first round, entire team and coach except for Horford should be up on the block. Rebuild from scratch around a dependable quality player. Amass draft picks for failed players and bundle them together to move those picks up. Accept a couple of lottery seasons and accept the JC2 trade was a complete disaster, move on.
At least we still have a franchise, unlike the Sacramento debacle.
This Drew thing was a cheap roll of the dice. With a first round exit, it will have proven to be an utter failure.
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
5:40 pm
Ld was Jumpshooter with kings as a pg, he played very little defense..Enough said…Wow………..
The Game Has Changed
April 10th, 2011
5:41 pm
@O’Brien-If we lose in the first round I would see this season as an insult to us Hawks faithful who have stuck by this team for 30 yrs. But on the other hand, we are not the favorite in this series. Remember that. So I would give this season a D not an F. Not making the playoffs is an F. To be under one coaches system for five years and then switch to an offense that the players dont trust is the problem.
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
5:42 pm
J smooth for player/coach? LOL
The Game Has Changed
April 10th, 2011
5:47 pm
@Najeh-You are right. A lot of people were saying that the reagular season doesnt matter. But they are ready to FIRE Drew before the playoffs start. And some people didnt even think we were going to make the playoffs. They put us behind the Bobcats, Bucks and the Wizards. I dont know how they figured Wall was gonna be that great of a leader. Well here we are as the 5 seed. Lets Go Hawks
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
6:01 pm
Tiger Blood!
Tiger just wrapped up his day at -10 under. Tied with 5 players at -10 down the stretch. The Leader is -11 @ the 14th hole.
Now, we just wait for the field to see who wins The Green Jacket!
__________________
Too bad, we don’t play the Celtics in Round 1.
Melvin
April 10th, 2011
6:14 pm
Can we get this Josh back for the playoffs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–iCGQJMZeM&feature=youtu.be
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
6:22 pm
Braves lost again!!! Now 4-6….This town is__________________?
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
6:34 pm
“The obvious problem, to me, is that we just don’t have efficient talent across the board. That’s why these blowouts happen on occasion. We still have a top 10 starting lineup, according to hoopsstats.com”
If Sund comes on 680 the fan this week and tells folk he has assembled a top 10 starting lineup, he will get crucified on these blogs…There is a moment in time where certain stats dont matter..Throw that one out with the bath water at this time…… Time, TIME……Its comin, hang in there….
B-Balla-Val-Halla
April 10th, 2011
6:40 pm
Al : “Guys were just going thru the motions out there.”
What exactly are you Al, a girl ? You were out there laying down too !
B-Balla-Val-Halla
April 10th, 2011
6:42 pm
Did anyone ever see that ‘New motion offense & defense” LD claimed to have ? This looks like the very same team from last year except Bibby has been replaced by Hinrich which is a wash.
B-Balla-Val-Halla
April 10th, 2011
6:44 pm
If the starters are gonna mail it in then play the reserves.
The Game Has Changed
April 10th, 2011
6:45 pm
Slimjr-Wow. The Braves have 154 games left. We started out on the road and now are home facing the team most predicted to win it all. Get real
TheAntiMe
April 10th, 2011
6:46 pm
I think that most of us understand that playoff bound teams, in any sport, at this time of year are a bit more conservative to avoid injuries and to try to make sure that their key players have plenty in the tank come time for the playoffs.
The thing that discourages me is that these Hawks aren’t losing in such an ugly way because they are trying to keep something in their collective tanks. They are just collectively tanking because – not only do they not have a micro-gram of pride between them – they just really could not care less what their Head Coach, their fans, or anybody else thinks, for that matter.
James on Pharr Rd
April 10th, 2011
7:02 pm
“on judging this season as a success or failure.”
In my opinion the Hawks lost a lot going into the season based on the upgrades by their confrence peers. However, we deteriorated on a couple of major fronts:
1. On the court all of our star players did not improve individually or collectively.
2. Financially we didn’t get better and the worst is arguably yet to come-not trading JC a prime ex.
3. Poor draft score:by trading JC,benching JT all year, and winning too many games.
4. Again, we failed to establish a “direction for this franchise: on style of play, Management/PR performance and Financial goals.
Personally, the issues are GM issues, and not so much ownership. Even with the “terrible ASG” we had a chance 2 years ago to be where Chicago is or OKL. But now, expect us to be in the same shoes the current Detroit Pistons team is minus the drama next year because we dont even have what it takes to bring in a big name coach to hold us together.
Rick Suund has to go period.
Henry
April 10th, 2011
7:11 pm
I had a long comment all penned out for here but the more I thought about I decided it just wasn’t worth the bother. Maybe next season will be better but wait, isn’t that what we said last year?
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
8:10 pm
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
6:34 pm
If Sund comes on 680 the fan this week and tells folk he has assembled a top 10 starting lineup, he will get crucified on these blogs…There is a moment in time where certain stats dont matter..Throw that one out with the bath water at this time…… Time, TIME……Its comin, hang in there….
******
LOL . . point taken.
But I’ve been following that all year. And the truth of the matter is that we hovered around having a top 5 starting lineup, until Bibby went into his slump. Even then, I think we were 7th best in the league at the time of the trade.
Now we’re 10th.
I think our bench was as high as 17th in the league at one time, especially in November when Drew was trying to play the bench ( at the expense of having Horford only playing 30 minutes a game ).
Now the bench is 27th.
Rev in Tampa
April 10th, 2011
8:22 pm
“what would be considered a successful postseason for these hawks? Eastern Conference Finals? 2 wins in the second round? These hawks have shown me nothing and a first round exit would not be surprising.”
At this point I will consider it a successful season if Drew and Sund are fired.
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
8:39 pm
LOL . . damn . . here you go Slimjr.
I forgot they have a feature on that site that will let you see how the team performed at different times. I can adjust it to show the pre all-star and post all-star production of players and the team.
STARTERS
Pre All-Star: 10th ( +7.7 efficiency differential )
Post All-Star: 17th ( -1.0 efficiency differential )
BENCH
Pre All-Star: 24th ( -4.5 )
Post All-Star: 27th ( -8.6 )
***********************
JOE JOHNSON
Pre All-Star: 7th amongst SGs . . 18.3 efficiency
Post All-Star: 15th amongst SGs . . 13.4 efficiency
JOSH SMITH
Pre All-Star: 10th amongst PFs . . 20.8 efficiency
Post All-Star: 13th amongst PFs . . 20.4 efficiency
AL HORFORD
Pre All-Star: 3rd amongst centers . . 24.3 efficiency
Post All-Star: 8th amongst centers . . 20.6 efficiency
JAMAL CRAWFORD
Pre All-Star: 21st amongst SGs . . . 12.4 efficiency
Post All-Star: 38th amongst SGs . . 8.6 efficiency
MARVIN WILLIAMS
Pre All-Star: 18th amongst SFs . . 12.3 efficiency
Post All-Star: 25th amongst SFs . . 11.0 efficiency
JEFF TEAGUE
Pre All-Star: 47th amongst PGs . . 4.3 efficiency . . 52nd in minutes
Post All-Star: 44th amongst PGs . . 7.6 efficiency . . 53rd in minutes
KIRK HINRICH – Post All-Star: 40th amongst PGs . . 9.5 efficiency . . 28th in minutes
MIKE BIBBY – Post All-Star: 42nd amongst PGs . . 8.3 efficiency . . 33rd in minutes
( note – Pre All-Star numbers are not shown, because they changed teams. Just thought I would compare the two )
ZAZA PACHULIA
Pre All-Star: 50th amongst Cs . . 5.9 efficiency
Post All-Star: 44th amongst Cs . . 9.0 efficiency
**************************
When you look at all of this, it’s not hard to see who we need to get going. Then you have to ask yourself, why has this taken place?
And the only people on the team playing better than they were before the All-Star break, are Teague and Zaza.
Grandad
April 10th, 2011
8:42 pm
Excerpt from Bill Simmons article:
“A few weeks ago, Kendrick Perkins said something interesting:
he believed you need two quality big guys if you really want a good defensive team.
His reasoning was that one guy alone couldn’t protect the rim,
defend the low-post and jump out on high screens.
With two big guys, everything falls into place.”
I jumped on that immediately;
as I’ve been screaming on this blog since I’ve been here:
” we need a Big.”
*A long defensive minded rim defender !
[then I began to say we needed two]
Because, in addition to what Perkins was saying;
we (the Hawks) can’t / don’t rebound.
So, therefore, the 2nd Big needs + must be a *rebounder.
*[definition + rebounder = Rodman-like characteristics]
I will repeat this post ad nauseam for it is an absolute !
Make Doc Rivers General Mgr / Coach combo.
Combine salaries.
Give him a % of the team ownership.
Now then…let Doc establish…”A Winning Culture” !
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
8:43 pm
My mistake.
Joe Johnson is 9th amongst SGs after the All-Star Break, not 15th
And Jamal is 14th amongst SGs after the All-Star Break, not 38th
LOL . . I don’t know what the hell I clicked on, to bring up those other numbers
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
8:50 pm
LOL . . scratch that 8:43 post. I was right the first time.
JJ is 9th in minutes after the All-Star Break. Jamal is 14th. Yet, their production is way below what they were performing at before the break.
After the break JJ is 15th amongst SGs in efficiency, and Jamal is 38th
I see what I did now. When I was looking up the minutes played for the PGs, I forgot to change it back to the efficiency column.
So having said that . . . Zaza was 52nd in efficiency before the break, not 50th . . and 40th after the break, not 44th.
So the demise of the Hawks directly correlates with the decline of production from our two main scorers from last year. Get those 2 going, and we have a shot to turn things around.
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
8:54 pm
Grandad . . and the closest thing we have to that . . is Zaza . . and that’s a HUGE PROBLEM, because he doesn’t play that way every night, nor defend very well.
It’s also the reason why playing Collins every night is a problem. While he defends well, he rebounds like crap. So if his man isn’t having offense ran through him, he may end up being a liability due to his lack of grabbing rebounds.
jgsbrids
April 10th, 2011
9:34 pm
face it folks–we’re a beat team before the playoffs even start. we’ve played an entire season now and don’t know how to do the basics. we don’t box out, we don’t attack the offensive glass, we don’t have any heart (if we go down by more than 10 it’s over) and we can’t rely on the coach to have a great game plan.
so basically if we shoot 75-80 percent from the field in four games agains orlando than we might win a couple of games–if we shoot our customary 35-40 percent than we get blown out of the gym every game. there is no in between for this club–i hate it but i can’t believe that this team has played 80 games now and we still don’t know what we’re doing on offense or defense. i’m serious when i stay this too–i really don’t see a team in the nba right now that i would put my house against in a series with the hawks. i really don’t–since the bibby trade this bunch has been a disgrace.
i hope win the series vs orlando–but it takes more to win a series than hope–at some point you have to hit the practice floor and get better and other than zsa zsa and teague–no one on this team has improved since the start of the year.
Mike is back
April 10th, 2011
10:35 pm
MC, basically we endured a year of LD to complete the sell of the franchise…please complete the sell already…I’m ready to move on from LD and JJ…until we bring in a different regime and get rid of JJ…and please let Jamal come off the book after this season…these guys are going to look the same.
MC, your comments on Armstrong hands are legit…however as a coach you basically let these guys rot on bench…so this is cost you pay…if nothing else…it tells you…you needs a coach with experience…or these guys will turn a deft ear.
That’s what happen to LD…it’s time move on after this season…please don’t let Damein and Teague get away…like u did JC2…Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez.
Rondo
April 10th, 2011
10:53 pm
Whats up everybody
Ole Hawks Fan
April 11th, 2011
1:21 am
Close down the shake a booty clubs and the team will play better………………..LMAO!