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
Grandad
April 11th, 2011
1:32 am
If the offense the Hawks have run this yr (?)
Is what LD calls motion then it is an affront to:
Hank Iba, Bob Douglas, Franklin Cappon,
Red Sarachek, Bob Knight, & Pete Caril.
*[all forefathers, patriarchs & stewards of Motion off]
LD currently is running a mish mash of;
Iso, stand around, chinese fire drill,
*[my apologies to the chinese people]
bump & run, push & shove, run out the shot clock,
look lost [Marvin] fall down [Marvin again]
yell @ one another [Kirk & Josh]
jump shot, jump shot, jump shot, jump shot,
miss, miss, make, miss, make, miss, miss, TO.
Turnover not timeout.
And…Yes…When I was a Little Boy;
I saw my daddy chop off a chicken’s head,
therefore, I’ve actually seen a chicken with
his head cut off !
He run around the yard runnin’ into trees, fences,
bouncing off and startin’ over runnin’ in circles
until finally he dropped over dead.
It was right comical.
However, I never seen five headless chickens until………
LD & the Headless Fowl !
Kaye
April 11th, 2011
2:13 am
everyone check out Hawks Madness!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTY074F6Oio
Worldwide Clyde
April 11th, 2011
2:15 am
Blame it on Cheetah, Magic City, Onyx, Pink Pony, Kamals 21, Oasis and Blue Flame.
Roy
April 11th, 2011
6:13 am
“…I projected a lower win total for this team based on the fact that the rest of the conference improved…”
I am so sick of hearing this naive argument. Do some of you people just not understand the NBA? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, for every team that gets stronger, another one gets weaker. The Bulls made a huge leap this season and have really improved, but at the same time, the Cavaliers (last season’s Eastern conference powerhouse) have dramatically collapsed into an NBA doormat. Similarly, the Heat have improved significantly, and the Celtics have experienced temporary rejuvenation; however, at the same time, teams which were formerly on the rise (e.g. Milawaukee, Charlotte) have significantly regressed. In fact, those teams have regressed so much that they are no longer in the playoff picture. Also, formerly elite teams in the conference such as the Magic have weakened, while other teams such as the Knicks have made modest improvements. Yes, some teams are better, but some teams are worse. It’s just the way things work in the NBA. There losses and gains are always going to balance out somehow. For those of you who continue to insist that the East is “stronger” this season, take a look at the conference playoff standings right now, as opposing to the playoff standings at the end of last season:
Conference Playoff Standings (2009-2010)
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (61-21)
2. Orlando Magic (59-23)
3. Atlanta Hawks (53-29)
4. Boston Celtics (50-32)
5. Miami Heat (47-35)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (46-36)
7. Charlotte Bobcats (44-38)
8. Chicago Bulls (41-41)
Conference Playoff Standings (2010-2011)
1. Chicago Bulls (60-20)
2. Miami Heat (56-24)
3. Boston Celtics (55-25)
4. Orlando Magic (50-30)
5. Atlanta Hawks (44-36)
6. New York Knicks (42-38)
7. Philadelphia 76ers (41-39)
8. Indiana Pacers (37-44)
This season is not even quite over yet, and there are already more combined losses by playoff teams in the east this season (256) than there were amongst playoff teams in the east at the end of last season (255). Also, no team with a sub-.500 record made the post season in the east last year, yet this year, Indiana has the 8th seed locked up with a record well below .500. If you want to argue that the Hawks have an inferior record due to injuries, poor coaching, team adjustments, etc., go ahead. Those arguments may have merit, but don’t throw around the excuse that the team’s record is worse this season due to the conference being stronger, because it is not stronger, overall.
Roy
April 11th, 2011
6:27 am
Here’s another interesting stat: The combined number of losses for Eastern Conference teams at the end of last year’s regular season was 636. This season, the combined losses for teams in the East is 637, and the season isn’t quite over yet. Does anyone still want to argue that the conference is stronger this year?
Roy
April 11th, 2011
6:29 am
It should be inescapably clear at this point that the Eastern conference, as a whole, is not tougher or better than it was last season. Certain team are, without a doubt, better, but other teams are worse, and the conference, overall, is no better than it was a season ago.
Hawks down under fan
April 11th, 2011
6:35 am
Josh Smith should be traded. Guys with poor body language never win titles. His lack of effort infects the rest of the team. He could be a great player but never gives 100%…ever. Its sad really because he is so good to watch. But he must go. Unless he has a major attitude makeover we’ll never win anything with him on the roster.
And I agree with most of the sentiments on this blog about LD and Teague and the Hinrich trade. Living on the other side of the planet I dont really know much about Sund or the owners but they sound terrible.
terrell
April 11th, 2011
6:48 am
Dont worry guys, CP3 or Dwight will be in a Hawks uniform soon. Bank on it.
phil
April 11th, 2011
7:54 am
lol at any of you that think this “team” is going anywhere but home….and that quickly….
sam'l
April 11th, 2011
8:20 am
by 20 to the Wizards? Fellow bloggers aren’t the only ones asking what is going on……
The Hawks are being looked at by national media, and the question is……as always….what is wrong with this team that most people judge as being talented?
Trojan
April 11th, 2011
8:36 am
The Hawks are hopeless.
If they blow the team up, the management is too inept to rebuild. If they try to patch up this mess, they management and coaching is too inept.
Sund is horrible, LD is the WORST, our team is so poorly constructed.
How is Ken Stickland? I hope he is ok.
B-Ballah
April 11th, 2011
9:17 am
Consistency is a word that is not in none of the Hawks players vocabulary…
B-Ballah
April 11th, 2011
9:19 am
When you lose to the Wizards & Pacers by a bunch you ain’t playoff worthy at all…
JeJe
April 11th, 2011
9:32 am
This will be the same series as last year.
We probably lose game one
Game 2 we keep close then get assaulted by their 3 pt shooters
Once we are down 2-0, this pathetic bunch of losers with no leadership or heart will fold again.
Joe will talk about how “we” need to step it up while he continues missing EVERY 3 he takes and scoring 12 points
*yawn*
JeJe
April 11th, 2011
9:38 am
LD is the worst coach in the NBA
Worse than Erik Jokestra
JeJe
April 11th, 2011
9:39 am
This team wouldn’t even make the playoffs in the West
We have a WORSE record than the Memphis F’ing Grizzlies
We got swept by the Texas teams, OKC, Denver, NOH, and Phoenix
Yeah we’d get assaulted out West
FIRE LD
JeJe
April 11th, 2011
9:43 am
We have been swept in the season series by a team with a record UNDER .500
Phoenix
Double Zero Eight
April 11th, 2011
10:05 am
Very few tears would be shed if the Hawks moved.
The metro area has 5 million people. We need a
new owner and a new team. This is a prime market,
and with the right resources the fans will support
a new team. We need a good GM and a proven
veteran coach. Too many of the Hawks experiments
have failed.
Let’s start from scratch and build a winner. With 43
years and no title, this might be our best option.
Freshfromatl
April 11th, 2011
10:33 am
Question for everyone. If Teague was actually given a chance and played 30+ mins a night. Do you think he would be better that Rajon Rondo (who has been looking VERY average lately)?
Bob Pritchett
April 11th, 2011
10:37 am
When you are not a championship caliber team, you should at least give A CHAMPIONSHIP EFFORT. I am sure the Hawks are giving away these tickets. What idiot would pay to see this group.
ragman
April 11th, 2011
10:39 am
ditto BP
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
10:59 am
The Hawks would have to pay me to watch that ish live….
The Fat Lady just stood up.. Tonight she takes her first step towards the stairs that lead to the stage….
She clearing her voice now….LOL
up next, tonight South Beach by 35!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
drmaryb (*_-)
April 11th, 2011
11:06 am
1 – 2 – 3 OKC!
Who will deny Durantala, Westbrook and this team that O’Brien Trophy?
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
11:19 am
drmaryb, the Thunder Cats are for REAL!!!!!!!!!!! Won 8 of last 9 and beat down the Lakers on the rd????Are you kidding me…WOW…Their starting 5 are huge………..PG is 6′6″ and he the shortest….
See if the so called basketball expert Billy Knight had done his homework the Hawks would be that team..Hawks have been swept by the Thunder Cats 3 years in a row now…That gives you and idea how weak the Hawks really are…..I am rooting for those Cats…………..
WreckingBall
April 11th, 2011
11:28 am
As any noticed lately, the NY Knicks are closing in on the Hawks for positioning in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are now only TWO games behind the Hawks. Fortunately for the Hawks the regular season will run out before the Knicks can catch the Hawks. INCIDENTALLY, THE KNICKS WERE ONCE OVER 20 GAMES BEHIND THE HAWKS. This is just an indicator of just how many games the Hawks have been losing since January. Its unbelievable, but the Hawks need to fire Larry Drew soon before they make fools of themselves in the playoffs.
doc
April 11th, 2011
11:33 am
durn northcyde, i said that weeks ago but didnt have the numbers except the clear decrease in production in points and % between january when both guys were lights out and feb to now. no sophisticated numbers are necessary to see as they go, we go, since they control the ball in our offense with the rest being scraps.
the decline is dramatic and the season falls on those two guys for not delivering as josh and al have increased their numbers even though they have been pushed further away from the basket in this offense. we dont have a post presence nor players with the game to do it nor an offense designed for it. i also think jj has a chronic problem with his elbow that will possibly plague him going forward and decrease his efficiency even more if he doesnt change his game. maybe rest will help but the wear and tear over a season will take its toll once again.
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
11:34 am
Durant is no longer 6′9′. He a legit 6′11.5″ now since being drafted and got that old school scoring ability like George Gervin that you cant teach.He’s just gifted that way…Its too bad the Hawks were one pick behind him in 07 as the 3rd pick.Oh well Billy would have screwed that one up too and picked Al over Durant anyway….
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
11:35 am
I believe the Knicks have quietly won 8 in a row??????????????? check me on that?
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
11:41 am
not rocket science, the schedule caught the Hawks in February till now..we all knew the competition would increase big time and the Hawks weaknesses would be exposed for who they really are..Man were they exposed and it aint over yet..
doc
April 11th, 2011
11:48 am
northcyde btw great numbers on the team so folks can get real on some of their criticisms.
those are offensive numbers it seems where our guys need to concentrate harder on the defensive side. that requires effort and guts and no stats for that except wins, losses and point differentials along with points given up. team totals where we are sucking right now.
JeJe
April 11th, 2011
12:15 pm
Russell Westbrook is not 6″6…Sorry….
And no one is getting through the Lakers
JeJe
April 11th, 2011
12:18 pm
The Knicks are probably going to finish with the same record as us.
The tiebreaker favors us. Lucky for us since we have no shot vs that team.
The Hawks don’t deserve the 5 seed.
The ownership acts like this core can win a title and will probably get a new coach next year and keep this team together
FIRE SUND
FIRE LD
FIRE JOE
FIRE JOSH
doc
April 11th, 2011
12:20 pm
i have liked okc to the point when they made the trade i felt that they would be the team to challenge the lakers forgetting completely the seasons both the mavs and spurs were having. now with the way those guys are faltering i rest my case. i also think it is sad dnever and okc have to play early as they both could make it further or tougher for the rest if they were seeded differently. i really like denver though not the way i like okc.
northcyde
April 11th, 2011
12:26 pm
WreckingBall
April 11th, 2011
11:28 am
As any noticed lately, the NY Knicks are closing in on the Hawks for positioning in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are now only TWO games behind the Hawks. Fortunately for the Hawks the regular season will run out before the Knicks can catch the Hawks. INCIDENTALLY, THE KNICKS WERE ONCE OVER 20 GAMES BEHIND THE HAWKS. This is just an indicator of just how many games the Hawks have been losing since January. Its unbelievable, but the Hawks need to fire Larry Drew soon before they make fools of themselves in the playoffs.
**********************
The Knicks at no point in this season were 20 games behind the Hawks. They’ve been slightly above or below .500 all year. Heck, the most games we’ve been over .500, were 15 games.
The difference is that we’ve lost 4 straight, while the Knicks have won 7 straight. If Smith were healthy, maybe we’d have 1 or 2 more wins. If we still had seeding to play for, maybe some of the guys would be playing a little harder as well.
I’m just glad that this season is almost over, and the playoffs will be here by this weekend. I want to see how this team responds in the playoffs.
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
12:27 pm
Denver is rolling too!! That 1st round series between OKC and Denver is going to be awesome!!
Now that is what NBA playoffs are all about!!!!!
Orlando/Atlanta………………………………………..Yawn, Wake me up when the Lady is singing….
doc
April 11th, 2011
12:31 pm
slim do you think the lakers losing 5 straight is a problem?
not impressed with the knicks though hope they muster a lot of confidence and can shake the heat. that would be too cool for words.
cudos to amar’e for a great year and a guy who played to his contract and audience well. i would not have bet on it and admit he has surprised me in his approach to leading and being the man. truly herculean.
JeJe
April 11th, 2011
12:32 pm
*If we had to play the Knicks for some reason to determine tiebreaker, we’d lose
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
12:33 pm
I would ban the Hawks from attending any shoe model establishments…Too many dam distractions for 43 freaking years now and counting……………………………………………………………………………………
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
12:38 pm
Not really, the Lakers are vets and they are very big and talented…Plus their coaching staff is second to none..And of course they have that killer, “THE BLACK MAMBA”! THEY WILL BE READY TOO KICK SUM AZZ…………
NOW THE HAWKS THATS ANOTHER BOOK!!!
THEY ARE IN HUGE TROUBLE.. I AM VERY CONCERNED FOR THEM…..GOING INTO THE PLAYOFF LOSING 6 IN A ROW…LARRY AND SUND ARE VERY CONCERNED…..
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
12:41 pm
SHOOT THE GRIZZLIES WOULD SMOKE THE HAWKS AT THIS POINT WITHOUT RUDY GAY PLAYING…..lol
KevinM
April 11th, 2011
1:00 pm
I can be convinced that OKC can give the Lakers fits now….with the addition of bully Perkins, that is a good team now.
The Hawks will be lucky to win 1 against the Magic. I don’t see the Hawks with any chance…give me today’s Vegas odds.
O'Brien
April 11th, 2011
1:00 pm
From MC’s writeup;
The Hawks have a new offensive identity under Drew but but it has led to poorer results so far. Crawford, like Johnson, said the Hawks might eventually benefit from the duo looking to score one-on-one.
“We have taken a step back offensively, hopefully for the betterment of the team,” Crawford said. “But we will see. I think we will continue to need our scoring, especially in the playoffs. Things slow down and you have to be able to create.”.
Once the playoffs start, I think the Hawks will do what they have done all year. Shoot jumpers. If we make them, we win the series (imo). But if we start missing, it could be over in 5 games…
O'Brien
April 11th, 2011
1:02 pm
doc,
I was hoping OKC would have passed Dallas for third. That way, Mavs and Nuggets meet in the first round, and OKC and Lakers meet in the second round. But it looks like OKC and Denver will have to meet in the first round.
Speaking of Denver, I saw on ESPN that since the trade, they have 8 different guys who are averaging over 10 ppg. Talk about spreading the wealth.
WreckingBall
April 11th, 2011
1:09 pm
northcyde: you havent been tracking the hawks closely enough or you would know the truth about the Hawks. Earlier when the Knicks picked up amare stoudemire during the offseason, the Knicks were WAY, WAY BELOW .500. Then when the Carmello Anthyony trade went down, the knicks slowly climbed their way back to .500 and are currently 4 games over. Meanwhile the hawks were once 20 games over .500 earlier this season. That means that the Hawks have lost 20 games to the knicks since the start of the year. If you dont believe it, look up the records and track the discrepancies in the winning percentages for yourself. At any rate the hawks stink and the magic will double their margin of victory over the hawks for their playoff series coming up. In other words, Jamier Nelson is right that the hawks will lose and this year the margin of victory lost to the magic will be over a whopping 200 points for the series instead of 100 points (the record from last year).
northcyde
April 11th, 2011
1:25 pm
LOL @ Wrecking Ball
I dubbed myself “The King of Research” around here last year. If I tell you something, I can damn well prove it. So I guess I have to prove it.
Atlanta Hawks
New York Knicks
The worst the Knicks were this season, was 5 games below .500 . . . back in November, when they were 3 – 8.
The best the Hawks have been, is when they were 15 games above .500 . . when they were 33 – 18 in early February.
LOL . . when the Knicks were 3 – 8, the Hawks were 8 – 4 . . but in the middle of losing 7 out of 9 games.
When the Hawks were 33 – 18 . . the Knicks were struggling to play .500 basketball . . but they had a 25 – 24 record.
So how does that correlate to the Hawks losing 20 games to the Knicks this year?
I mean, if you’re counting LAST SEASON, when the Knicks were horrible, I have to ask why are you even doing that? Last year was last year.
The Knicks are 13 wins better than they were last year, due to their additions of Amare, Felton, the emergence of Gallanari . . and then have surged lately because of Melo.
The Hawks are 9 wins worse than they were last year, because of the lack of upgrade to this roster, coupled with the firing of Woody, the change in the offense, and the offensive decline of JJ and Jamal.
I mean . . if that’s the argument you’re trying to make, then so be it. But the Hawks were never 20 games better than the Knicks at ANY TIME this year.
Now you look at those two links and tell me when were the Hawks 20 games above .500 . . . and when were the Knicks so terrible, that we were
doc
April 11th, 2011
1:35 pm
yeah me too slim, just saying that winning records and losing records during silly season in the nab means about as much as the silly season in golf. no pressure at this junction, games are meaningless, so what is the point?
hawks are breed of their own. i believe they could come out and win the series just as easily as get trashed in five or less. problem is if you took a poll that is what the players would say as well is my best guess.
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
1:47 pm
Doc, baseball is even worse with at least 81 more games played then they should.I usually dont pay much attention till late August September, The games are too long and the season should be cut in half! And allow more than 8 teams to enter post season play…..Yawn….Sorry I digressed…LOL
fyi Braves in last place two weeks in already……………………………….WOW
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
1:58 pm
doc if I am right, I believe the Hawks have only one, one road win the past 3 playoffs seasons..
(game 6,1st rd last year against Milwaukee )…Check me on that Northcyde? Thanks…………the rest have been 20 point per game blowouts….
WreckingBall
April 11th, 2011
2:22 pm
Northcyde: I remember when the Hawks were 40-22 this year, approximately EIGHTEEN GAMES OVER .500 (18). I dont know what the knicks record was, but I know the knicks were at least 13 games under .500 at some point in this season. Recently the Knicks have won 8 games in a row. During that time period the hawks have lost about 7 games to the knicks (for just that 8 game winning streak). If you count the knicks record before the winning streak and since they picked up Carmello, the hawks were 18 games over, you’ll see that for the Hakws to go from 18 over to only 6 over means that youve lost 12 games in the standings. Then add 12 PLUS 7 AND YOU GET 19. ok I STAND corrected. Its wasnt 20, it was 19. thats still a lot of games to lose in the standings, but I still maintain the Hawks stink to high heaven and wont get past the first round. I think we both agree on that.
Slimjr
April 11th, 2011
3:07 pm
New blog up.Marvin hurt his little ankle..