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
Jae Evolution
April 9th, 2011
11:10 pm
Teague is a good player that needs PT to develop, but you look at what Ty Lawson is doing right now (1 pick before Teague) 37 Pts. 7 Boards, 6 Assists 10-11 for three, was 10-10 at one point before he threw up a half court heave.
Booo!
April 9th, 2011
11:11 pm
I would Start Teague, Pape, JJ, Smoove, and Horf
JJ needs to go back to his pheonix days as a spot-up shooter. Sy and Teague are good defenders who slash and draw fouls. It’s aout balance. All that (Jumpshooting)offense isnt needed in the starting lineup.
Nique can shut up! That was a good pass by Teague. Teage made the EXACT same play the next trip down and Pape went to the line! Didn’t hear a peep out of nique after that one though!
Fire LD!
Free The Teague!
Freee Pape Sy!
Wabe
April 9th, 2011
11:11 pm
The momentum vs. rest issue should pretty much be put to rest.
There’s no point risking further injuries for games the guys aren’t even trying to win. Just log them minimal minutes if you must and just keep guys that need the rest (JJ) resting.
Wabe
April 9th, 2011
11:16 pm
Jae Evolution
April 9th, 2011
11:10 pm
“Teague is a good player that needs PT to develop, but you look at what Ty Lawson is doing right now (1 pick before Teague) 37 Pts. 7 Boards, 6 Assists 10-11 for three, was 10-10 at one point before he threw up a half court heave.”
Ok, but you look at how many minutes Lawson logged last year compared to Teague, and you’ll see he’s had more time to develop and acclimate himself to the pro game. You also look at Lawson’s minutes this season compared to Teague’s, and its the same deal.
Fact is, if Lawson was here, he’d be getting the same type of treatment Teague’s been receiving from the coaches. It has little to do with the player at this point, because Teague has shown more than enough flashes to earn more minutes. IMO, he’s shown more since the Hinrich deal than Hinrich has, but he’s not gonna get the nod over Kirk.
Also, look at the confidence Karl has shown in Lawson and compare that to the lack of confidence Woody/LD have shown in Teague. Teague’s had good games this season, but that still doesn’t lead to more minutes whereas Karl has Lawson starting since Billups left. Both teams traded away their starting PG’s, both teams received an adequate stop-gap PG, but the difference is, Denver’s letting Lawson loose while Teague’s still plugged in behind every guard on our roster.
Worldwide Clyde
April 9th, 2011
11:17 pm
Blame it on the Fans
Worldwide Clyde
April 9th, 2011
11:18 pm
Blame it on Teague
Worldwide Clyde
April 9th, 2011
11:19 pm
Blame it on Jeje
Worldwide Clyde
April 9th, 2011
11:20 pm
Blame it on Nique’s vocabulary
Wabe
April 9th, 2011
11:21 pm
Point blank, the Hawks from ownership to management to coaching are a joke.
The ownership can’t get their act together.
Management has absolutely no plan.
And the coach always seems to be coaching to save his job.
Thus, you have no real developmental process in place to get these rookies/youngsters up to par. This team has always been frustrating, but I have the feeling that for most Hawks fans, this season’s the season where we’re seeing right before our eyes that this team may have very well hit the ceiling. That’s why you have so many disgruntled fans who are disgusted with this operation in general. We talked back and forth about the JC2 deal for weeks, and even had some backlash from others on this blog. Some suggested that fans needed to ‘move on’. But, I say to them, move on to what? Where’s this team ‘moving on’ to? We’re in the same boat we were in last year, but it seems we’re sinking much quicker this time around. The way management continues to operate this club paired with the abysmal coaching job make this franchise as frustrating as can be.
Jae Evolution
April 9th, 2011
11:22 pm
Wabe I’m not in anyway saying that Teague won’t be or is better than Lawson, Ty was drafted into a perfect situation. He had a heady veteran willing to teach him all aspects of the game, and a coach that was willing to give him the ropes for extended minutes every game.
Teague has shown flashes of brilliance when given the chance, but until he consistently gets set minutes and we hire a coach that isn’t a clone of the previous Teague is stuck in basketball purgatory.
Worldwide Clyde
April 9th, 2011
11:25 pm
Everytime the Hawks get blown out they wanna blame it on everything but themselves.
FIRE LD
FIRE SUND
Worldwide Clyde
April 9th, 2011
11:27 pm
I hope Magic fans come out and support their team when they play at Philips Arena. I have a feeling there will be plenty of seats available.
UGA
April 9th, 2011
11:28 pm
This is Drew’s fault in some ways, if we have injuries………let them heal up. These games have no meaning. They should have sat this weekend, played vs Miami, then sat vs Charlotte.
Worldwide Clyde
April 9th, 2011
11:30 pm
I told yall Woody is calling the shots from his living room.
FIRE LD
FIRE SUND
Wabe
April 9th, 2011
11:31 pm
I was at a point earlier in the season where after the countless lopsided defeats, I’d be mentioning how the Hawks just needed to blow this ish up, lose 50+ games, and try to land a stud through the lottery. Because truth is, management isn’t gonna get the players needed to take this core over the top. Jamal Crawford and Kirk Hinrich are guys you can add to the mix, but neither is gonna get this team over the top.
When management needed to act over the summer, when they needed to make moves to bolster the level of talent, when they saw everybody else in the East upgrading, we sat idle.
Then we things aren’t going so well, Sund pulls off a desperate move to get Hinrich in here. Truth is, Hinrich doesn’t bring anything that’s leaps and bounds better than what Jeff Teague brings to this team. The fans know it, and even the players feel it. You wouldn’t have Horford coming out in support of Teague and suggesting lineup experimentation if they didn’t feel that way.
The problem is, you have a knucklehead for a coach who didn’t experiment with Teague when it was clear we needed better PG play when Bibby was here. He’s the one who said we needed a defensive prescence at PG, but he didn’t even bother giving Teague some go. They were set on getting a PG in here, option A (Harris) + B (Sessions) failed, and they settled on option C (Hinrich) which really isn’t too much better than what Teague offers.
Bottom line, I went into this season in hopes that LD would actually give Teague the go. He didn’t get the go from the start, he played the “he’s gonna have to earn it” bullstuff. Fine. But then it became obvious that LD didn’t plan on utilizing Teague any differently than Woodson did, he pretty much lost me. Teague had to earn it, but Bibby who you let go because he wasn’t cutting it got the nod game after game.
Bum.
Wabe
April 9th, 2011
11:31 pm
Co-sign Jae.
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:32 pm
Miami by fifty!
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:33 pm
The Fat Lady just got out of her chair and stood up!!!
drmondo
April 9th, 2011
11:34 pm
This is why most of the fans have given up any real hope in this team. The management’s one of the worst in sports. The bargain-basement coaching staff can’t get talented players to win consistently. They beat a good team then get blown out by a bad one. I’ll be suprised if every playoff game at home’s a sellout. Who can really get behind this team?
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:35 pm
The Heimlich had 3 pts????? Great trade…….
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:37 pm
Lottery team next year…Maybe?
moboman
April 9th, 2011
11:37 pm
Teague will never be Ty Lawson. No upper body, no jumper. We shoulda traded him and kept JC2. Speed only takes you so far. This team lost its soul when Bibby left. They dont look like they have a clue now. What our record since he was traded. Defensive liability perhaps, but offensive floor leader. And someone who could shoot.
Shoulda given them Teague, taken hinrich, kept JC2. We got the steal of the draft in JC2 and then gave him away for NOTHING.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 9th, 2011
11:39 pm
I posted this on the previous blog, but I’ll ask here again:
If you woke up from a long, Rip Van Winkle-like nap today and learned about the existence of the NBA for the first time, and you could either be a fan of the Hawks or Wizards, which one would you choose? The team that is currently a playoff team but is probably stuck in 45 wins/first round blowout mode for the foreseeable future, or the team with a budding superstar in John Wall, another high lottery pick coming this summer, and plenty of other young talent to build around?
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
11:42 pm
I was watching ESPN Coast to Coast, and when they showed a few minutes of the Spurs game, their announcers wondered what a re-seeded NBA playoffs would look like? They wondered if some of the lower seeded West teams could come out of the East and challenge those teams, even win it. One of the guys even mentioned something about going to a 1 – 16 seed format.
So how would that look?
1) San Antonio
16) Indiana
9) Denver
4) LA Lakers
13) Atlanta
5) Miami
12) Memphis
*************************
3) Boston
14) New York
6) Dallas
11) New Orleans
7) Oklahoma City
10) Portland
2) Chicago
15) Philadelphia
*******************
Would this be a better playoff format, than the one we have now? Houston, Phoenix, and Utah would be the equivalent of “bubble teams” that didn’t make it. All 3 would miss out because they didn’t finish in the top 8 in the West.
Both Phoenix and Utah have better records than Indianapolis, but wouldn’t make it under the current system.
Philly, in a true “16 best teams make the playoffs” format, would be #16, while Houston would be #15. But under this system, Houston wouldn’t make it at all.
LOL @ the LA vs ATL matchup in Round 1. That would be the nightmare scenario for us . . but a series that could really electrify Atlanta, if we were really competitive.
I tell you what. In the 1 – 16 format that I laid out, I would really like the Thunder’s chances to make it out of that bottom bracket and get to the NBA Finals. And the Lakers could easily come out of that top bracket.
If it was anything that came out of the “new NBA”, I would definitely like to see the 1 – 16 seeded matchup, just to make the playoffs less predictable. But the reason why they won’t, is because of the travel. Either that, or every playoff series would have to go 2 – 3 – 2,
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:42 pm
Looks like the Wizard are a much tougher match up for Orlando???? The Hawks certainly arent….The brooms are leaning against the walls of Phillips….
mykhalc
April 9th, 2011
11:47 pm
tick…tick…tick…KA BOOM!!! in fact, self-combustion is already occurrin’ with this bunch of ‘ain’t got it…don’t want it…and ain’t tryin’ to find it’ non-professionals!!! from the top down…blow ‘em up PLEASE!!!
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:49 pm
Man those Denver Fans are Lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:50 pm
Destroyed by a bunch of D-leaguers?????????????
Wabe
April 9th, 2011
11:51 pm
Najeh Davenpoop
April 9th, 2011
11:39 pm
“I posted this on the previous blog, but I’ll ask here again:
If you woke up from a long, Rip Van Winkle-like nap today and learned about the existence of the NBA for the first time, and you could either be a fan of the Hawks or Wizards, which one would you choose? The team that is currently a playoff team but is probably stuck in 45 wins/first round blowout mode for the foreseeable future, or the team with a budding superstar in John Wall, another high lottery pick coming this summer, and plenty of other young talent to build around?”
Interesting. Truthfully, I see your scenario no differently from what I’m envisioning the Hawks doing if they get whopped in these upcoming playoffs. Blow it up, lose 50+ games, and rebuild through lottery picks. Truth is, nobody wants to see the same act over and over again. At least with a young team, you have a level of excitement and uncertainty. With the Hawks, all seems certain but how much they’ll get whopped by. That’s why, I’d be much more intrigued with the thought of building around a young core, which is why I get so upset we don’t let our young guns get on the court.
But to answer your question, if I had to choose right here right now based on my feelings of the Hawks, Washington without a doubt. You have your PG of the future, the catalyst. You have a young bigs in Blatche and McGee. Now just sprinkle in a wingman and some depth and give them time to grow and I think down the road you’re looking at a solid squad.
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:52 pm
The six year experiment has run its course..
Shop the whole team???????????????
Jae Evolution
April 9th, 2011
11:52 pm
Najeh, if the Wizards somehow get Derrick Williams in the draft, I’ll jump on that bandwagon this offseason.
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:53 pm
Al for McGee..Shot blocking /Rim Protector!!!! Lots of up growth!!!
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:56 pm
Hawks defense=ole
moboman
April 9th, 2011
11:56 pm
josh for mcgee.
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:57 pm
Marvin for JCII
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:58 pm
Josh for Rudy Gay
Slimjr
April 9th, 2011
11:59 pm
iso for Dwill
northcyde
April 9th, 2011
11:59 pm
Washington is in the same position we were in 4 years ago. Many Hawks fans thought that Josh Smith was a budding superstar, let them tell it . . and still tell it. JJ was an All-Star. Horford was the high lottery pick.
The Hawks, with competent management, could’ve at least be at the level we were at last year, with a better playoff showing. Meanwhile, it may take Washington 3 – 4 years to even get to the 50 win level.
LOL . . even the Trio of Arenas – Jamison – Hughes/Butler never won more than 45 games in a season. And Gilbert was considered to be a top 10 – 15 player in the league at one point.
The Hawks could very easily be a “core trade” away from getting to that next level, whether the player traded is JJ, Smith, or Horford.
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
12:04 am
Just keep in mind what Washington had to endure, in order to get to this point.
- the total destruction of their “core” receiving basically nothing in return but capspace, overpaid players
- 3 consecutive sub 30-win seasons
- 2 coaching changes
This isn’t a “voila” type situation in which the situation changes overnight. Washington had to go through hell and back, and still may have 2 more season of non-playoff basketball, even before they reach our 45 win level of mediocrity.
And there’s no guarantee that any of those guys will turn out to be superstars. All-Star maybe. But Superstars? Nah. Wall is not Isaiah Thomas.
Give me the mediocre playoff team any day of the week. At least then you can hope you can get it done in the playoffs, than to hope you even make it to the playoffs.
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
12:04 am
Maybe the Wizards will be on the path that the Hawks were on a few years ago. Young team, maybe sign one established FA, and let the team grow together.
The Hawks did it, but it took 4 years to get over .500. OKC did it in less time (but they got their draft pick right), and the Wizards might get it in less time if they can get one big name FA.
Freshmaker
April 10th, 2011
12:05 am
Slim do you ever shut up? lol…
Worst poster on here by far.
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
12:06 am
I seriously doubt that Memphis fans would trade their team for the “hope” of Steph Curry and Monta Ellis.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
12:06 am
“Najeh, if the Wizards somehow get Derrick Williams in the draft, I’ll jump on that bandwagon this offseason.”
That’s the scenario I’m thinking about. If they get Derrick Williams, they have Wall, Williams, and McGee anchoring that team, with Jordan Crawford playing a role and Blatche as either possible trade bait or as the starting PF. To me, Wall and Williams have a higher ceiling than anyone on the Hawks.
“Washington is in the same position we were in 4 years ago. Many Hawks fans thought that Josh Smith was a budding superstar, let them tell it . . and still tell it. JJ was an All-Star. Horford was the high lottery pick.”
Wall (the Wizards’ future star) has a much higher ceiling than Joe, Smoove, or Al ever did, and plays point guard, which is a much harder to fill position than shooting guard. Considering how important stars are in the NBA, that alone makes their future a lot brighter than the Hawks’ future ever was after the ‘05 and ‘06 draft misfires.
Freshmaker
April 10th, 2011
12:07 am
Yeah North, that’s a great point. The Hawks already went that route several years ago and got the #2 pick. Just took Marvin with it. SMH
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
12:07 am
As for the game tonight, the inmates are running the asylum. LD has preached accountability all year, and he couldnt get the players to buy in when the games were meaningful (and he did nothing about it), so what makes him think he can get them to buy in when the games are meaningless?
LD has no control over the players. And unless we win our first round matchup, I think he should be fired.
I havent looked at the numbers, but during the years when we won 13, 26, 30, and 37 games, did we have any 30 point losses? Maybe someone knows that answer (I’m too tired to look it up now).
But 4 in one season is unacceptable. Clyde, you might need some extra T-Shirts…
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
12:09 am
And by the way, I am a fan of Hinrich. But with each passing game, more doubts start creeping in….it will be interesting to see what he does in the playoffs..
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
12:09 am
“- the total destruction of their “core” receiving basically nothing in return but capspace, overpaid players
- 3 consecutive sub 30-win seasons
- 2 coaching changes”
We went through that too. The difference is, when our team had a chance to draft their franchise-altering star, they picked Marvin Williams instead.
Buddy Grizzard
April 10th, 2011
12:15 am
Continued from previous…
“Benching (Bibby) but retaining him would NOT have solved that problem.” – Sautee
I fail to see your logic here. If Bibby is not playing significant minutes, does that not quell the rebellion? Seems like you are agreeing with me… the only way to keep Bibby off the floor was to take LD’s option to play him away.
If LD just starts Teague, we still have JC2 and our pick for this year. All he had to do was be honest and admit that Bibby was done. But he has a personal problem with Teague. Thus we lose two first round picks and take on KH who hasn’t been “much” of an upgrade over Bibby.
“if they decide to get rid of JJ, and trade him to a team thats under the cap like NJ or Minny, I think it will be tough to get good players in return.” – O’Brien
Not looking at anything on their roster. Looking at an unprotected lottery pick in 2012.
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
12:17 am
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.
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..
I think JJ and Al are very confused, and dont know what to expect from players or coaches on a game to game basis. And I think it all starts with the coach.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
12:18 am
The Wizards acquired the Bulls’ first round pick in last year’s draft in exchange for agreeing to take on Kirk Hinrich’s salary. They then traded Kirk to the Hawks this year for the Hawks’ 2010 and 2011 first round picks. That’s three first round picks they acquired in exchange for having Kirk’s salary on the books for a half a season. In the meantime, they used their own first overall pick to select a guy who will probably play point guard for them for the next 10 years and will be at worst the poor man’s Derrick Rose.
The Hawks, on the other hand, over the last few seasons, have traded a) a second round pick for Anthony Johnson, b) a first round pick for Mike Bibby, and c) two first round picks for Kirk Hinrich. That’s three first round picks and a second round pick used up on acquiring stopgaps, not long term solutions, at the point guard position. And the guy who might actually be the long term answer at point guard sits on the bench, neglected by coaches who refuse to give him the playing time needed to develop him.
Pretty sad when a lottery team can show your playoff team how it’s done when it comes to managing assets.
tjhook
April 10th, 2011
12:18 am
Larry Drew, You sir, are the winningest loser I have witnessed. Thank you for your service but please step away from the sideline.
Get Real
April 10th, 2011
12:22 am
On LD’s “new offense”……….
Q. Does LD actually believe that this team will suddenly “get-it” — with several games left in the season?
If the answer to #1 is NO —- then is he totally incapable of putting together something (anything) else ?
If the answer to #1 is YES — I just really cannot find the words to comment at this monent.
LD just needs to go and he needs to go NOW! No later than NOW! Yesterday would have been better. Not at the end of the season. NOW!
I mean, come on! If either of the above statements are true — LD had to go and he has to go NOW!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
12:24 am
“I havent looked at the numbers, but during the years when we won 13, 26, 30, and 37 games, did we have any 30 point losses? Maybe someone knows that answer (I’m too tired to look it up now). ”
I’m pretty sure I saw at least 2 or 3 30-point losses in person during that time. Those were a lot more enjoyable than these, though, since all 10 people in attendance knew that they might actually become good some day, and since the DASG back then had a promotion where the first few people to enter the arena an hour and a half before game time could trade their upper level seats for lower level seats for free.
Wabe
April 10th, 2011
12:38 am
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
12:18 am
“The Wizards acquired the Bulls’ first round pick in last year’s draft in exchange for agreeing to take on Kirk Hinrich’s salary. They then traded Kirk to the Hawks this year for the Hawks’ 2010 and 2011 first round picks. That’s three first round picks they acquired in exchange for having Kirk’s salary on the books for a half a season. In the meantime, they used their own first overall pick to select a guy who will probably play point guard for them for the next 10 years and will be at worst the poor man’s Derrick Rose.
The Hawks, on the other hand, over the last few seasons, have traded a) a second round pick for Anthony Johnson, b) a first round pick for Mike Bibby, and c) two first round picks for Kirk Hinrich. That’s three first round picks and a second round pick used up on acquiring stopgaps, not long term solutions, at the point guard position. And the guy who might actually be the long term answer at point guard sits on the bench, neglected by coaches who refuse to give him the playing time needed to develop him.
Pretty sad when a lottery team can show your playoff team how it’s done when it comes to managing assets.”
Best post I’ve read in a while. Co-sign.
hawks_4_life
April 10th, 2011
12:48 am
LD you cant get them to play hard? What kind of coach are you. How bout we bench ur @$$.
doc
April 10th, 2011
1:01 am
najeh when you have a young core you dont need draft picks and certainly dont want to pay them the rookie rate when you can get an over the hill vet to come in and have the league refund you one half the salary. geez man first rounders cost money to not be developed and sit in this organization. there is no respect for the rooks therefore we dont need them or see the value in them.
Buddy Grizzard
April 10th, 2011
1:04 am
They settled on option C (Hinrich) which really isn’t too much better than what Teague offers.” Wabe
Isn’t even close to what Teague offers. Hinrich can stay in front of less than half the starting PGs in the league. He’s a suitable backup PG/SG.
“You could either be a fan of the Hawks or Wizards, which one would you choose?” Najeh
Hawks. The Wizards’ back court of the future features two guys who cant guard anybody. Wall/JC2 reminds me of Golden State’s back court. We’ve got JT and JJ who are competent defenders, and Hinrich who shows good effort but is consistently asked by LD to guard players he can’t stay in front of.
“Wall (the Wizards’ future star) has a much higher ceiling than Joe, Smoove, or Al ever did, and plays point guard, which is a much harder to fill position than shooting guard.”
Al two time all star at center? Wall is going to make the all start team when? Center much harder position to fill than PG. Smoove contender for defensive player of the year? Wall gonna make 2nd team all NBA defensive team when? Paper arguments Najeh.
James on Pharr Rd
April 10th, 2011
1:06 am
I missed the game, but I am in the minority that actually wanted to see the guys.
If we blow up the whole thing-which is the smartest thing to do, we cannot try and rebuild it with Al Horford. To me, he’s worth is in the picks we can get in the draft.
Josh provides flexibilty as well in a trade because a few teams could use a “potential Lamar Odom/Shawn Marion type player” just not the Hawks. I say 1st round pick and expiring contract.
This may be crazy to a lot of guys, but on several fronts-what if we surrounded JJ with completelly diffrent cast of players, would we fair better?
But then again, whats the point of keeping anyone on the cast besides Marvin Williams. Hold your horses, my reasoning is we do not want to win more than 35 games and we really have to keep bad talent to do that.
All changes would have to start with a new GM. I am actually in favor of keeping LD for the year to guarantee we lose more games.
dacheesecakeman
April 10th, 2011
1:09 am
Just came from work and seeing the score. Are you effing kidding me? I know the Hawks are resting, but damn.
TheAntiMe
April 10th, 2011
1:10 am
Thanks, Hawks! By no means, don’t go to any trouble on our account.
Grandad
April 10th, 2011
1:15 am
The Hawks do not have:
“A Winning Culture”.
Those who talk about 40 years w/o a chmpionshp
are ‘`so`’ right.
Only 7 teams since 1980 have won a chmpionshp.
[as I've stated before] There is a reason !
Trading players, playing Teague, firing LD; won’t change a thing.
Since I’ve been a Hawks fan; we’ve let these players go:
Joe Caldwell [didn't want to pay him], Dr.J [bungled signing]
Pistol Pete [trade], David Thompson [drafted,did not sign],
Marvin Webster [same], Nique [trade],
Before I was a fan…..most folks do not realize:
The Hawks organization traded (draft rights) for Bill Russell to;
*[the Celtics]. *(yes, we drafted him # 1 in 1956)
**Then repeated the process with Pau Gasol. *(2001)
We have drafted:
Skip Harlicka…(who ?)…1st pick ever for the Atl !
Dallas Comegys, Adam Keefe, Gaylon Nickerson, Priest Lauderdale,
Alain Digbeu [whom I swear never ever showed up]
*(my all-time favorite) Cal Bowdler, Marvin & Shelden Williams,
then poor ol’ Pape Sy.
Now about that winning culture.
It Must Start At The Top !
(1) Ownership
(2) GM
(3) Coach
Everything else will fall into place.
***[[[~see:::Falcons~]]]***
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
1:24 am
“The Wizards’ back court of the future features two guys who cant guard anybody. Wall/JC2 reminds me of Golden State’s back court. ”
Derrick Rose “couldn’t guard anybody” as a rookie either, but now he’s a starter on the league’s best defense. Team defense isn’t something a lot of rookies understand fully. Also, Golden State’s back court features two players who not only don’t play defense but are not built to be good defenders even if they tried. I think Wall and JC2 are a lot stronger and have longer arms than either Curry or Ellis and are much less likely to get pushed around.
Anyway, with all that said, I raised the point as a question because it’s impossible to know for sure how the Wizards’ players project in the future. It’s entirely possible that Wall and McGee are lazy and never improve and the Wizards pick some scrub with their high lottery pick this summer, in which case their rebuilding effort will fall by the wayside. I do think if Wall reaches his potential he will be as good as Derrick Rose, and even if he doesn’t become that good he’s going to be a better point guard than anyone on the Hawks is at their position. That is in large part the reason why I think the 2013 Wizards are going to be better than the 2013 Hawks if the Hawks continue to roll with the current core.
Buddy Grizzard
April 10th, 2011
1:29 am
I disagree Najeh because I think the Hawks will be much improved next year with JC1 gone from the roster. The Hawks will become more of a team by simple virtue of not resigning a player who is shoot first/no defense. True, the Wizards have made some brilliant moves. But I don’t think it’s going to happen that fast for them.
I see John Wall as a high character guy and I think he will one day make the all star team, but Derrick Rose has MJ/Kobe style drive. Maybe Wall will one day obtain that himself, but few players ever do.
Grandad
April 10th, 2011
1:32 am
We had best trade Josh while he still has his legs.
*[I have said this previously]
Josh will age quickly, much like a MLB pitcher who relies on his fastball,
however, has not developed as a pitcher. (command and control of other pitches)
Josh has not developed much of a fundamental, cerebral, go to game.
So, the answer is trade him while he’s hot and before he becomes Shawn Marion.
Note:: Understand, I like Josh !
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 10th, 2011
1:38 am
thanks for that info into futility grandad. Bill Russell? I rememver drafting and trading Pau Gasol but Bill? smh
doc
April 10th, 2011
1:41 am
grandad go back and count there have been 8 teams. astro brought in the sixers of the eighties that i forgot about and maybe others have too
Grandad
April 10th, 2011
1:53 am
doc
Yessir, I missed the Sixers.
Upon lookin’ ….. my point became even stronger,
as only *6 teams have won more than one since 1980.
*[Sixers & Heat were one time winners] *(other 6 multiple X’s)
Grandad
April 10th, 2011
1:56 am
doc;
The other six:
Boston
LAL
SA Spurs
Houston
Detroit
Chicago
In no particular order.
TheAntiMe
April 10th, 2011
2:08 am
Atlanta Hawks 2011 :Over and out!
Strike one: They are injured (Josh Smith).
Strike two: Their Head Coach just doesn’t have what it takes (not a nasty-gram, just a fact of life).
Strike three: These current Hawks appear that they could not give less of a rat’s rectum whether they do well or not in the regular season. So much so for the post-season where even at their best they have barely ever made it out of round one.
Blake
April 10th, 2011
2:20 am
These guys just really don’t care do they?
The Truth
April 10th, 2011
2:53 am
“Hilton Armstrong has awful hands.”
That is “The Truth”
Here’s a question for the fact checkers:
How many games this season have the Hawks won with Zaza starting at center? Maybe this provides clues to the Hawks struggles in the paint.Scoring points is one thing, but stopping your opponents and defending the lane, well that’s something else.
No Coach
April 10th, 2011
3:45 am
” Larry Drew” nuff said !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Worldwide Clyde
April 10th, 2011
4:55 am
Bob Weiss > Larry Drew
Worldwide Clyde
April 10th, 2011
4:55 am
We need to hire Sam Cassell
Worldwide Clyde
April 10th, 2011
5:22 am
FIRE LD
FIRE SUFIRE GEARON
Big Daddy
April 10th, 2011
6:13 am
Grandad, my all time favorite in dumb drafts was Doug Edwards. Lenny Wilkins swore this first round pick was going to come in and have an impact on the team for years to come. It was 3 years of impact because he never even got in the rotation and when his contract was up, he was gone.
The starters played 30 minutes and this was the best they could do. How can anyone be optimistic about the playoffs. You look at Chicago with Boozer and even Noah out or even the Sixers with Brand missng and they were competitive and their losses were respectable. Getting beaten like this reflects the coaching staff. Once is mistake, twice is concerning and 5 times or more is unacceptable. I want to remain optimistic about the growth and development of the team but they have got to do better than where they are now. All over the sports pages, the Atlanta Hawks are a team on the decline, with a flawed roster and even worse payroll.
richbrave
April 10th, 2011
7:04 am
Dang! Gotta’ ask, “What’s happening to the up and coming team I’ve grown to know and love over the past four seasons?
richbrave
April 10th, 2011
7:16 am
The Truth
April 10th, 2011
2:53 am
“Hilton Armstrong has awful hands.”
I could have told you that before the trade if you had only asked. Of course, neither of us could see that one coming.
richbrave
April 10th, 2011
7:22 am
“…..he’s [WALL] going to be a better point guard than anyone on the Hawks is at their position. That is in large part the reason why I think the 2013 Wizards are going to be better than the 2013 Hawks if the Hawks continue to roll with the current core…..” NAJEH DAVENPOOP
My fear also. PG point well taken.
fan
April 10th, 2011
7:29 am
Three Things need to happen for the hawks
New Ownership
Fire Sund
Fire Drew
The Game Has Changed
April 10th, 2011
7:38 am
@Fan-Give the coach a playoff series or two before you decide to kick him out. If thats the case Jerry Sloan should have been fired his second year. Go Hawks
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
7:40 am
Thanks for you 1cent freshmaker…You cant handle the truth!! He he
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
7:45 am
Thank you Billy Knight for screwing this franchise for years to come with extremely lousy lottery picks in 04,05 and 06!!!!!!!!!!! This team still has Billy’s core and Sund just compounded the problems……
Jettison the core Scottie..Yes Captain…………
LD will be back….. This is a lottery team by 2013……
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
7:50 am
@Grandad, I totally agree with you with the Josh Smith senario…The window of opportunity to trade him while he is of max value is going to close rapidly…Some guys lose it over night!! One day he will not have that 45″ vertical, then what??? Shop his azz this summer…Yep!
RMikel58
April 10th, 2011
7:50 am
Guess the Hawks already decided to let down because they’ll be playing Orlando in the playoffs. I suppose they remember getting beat by 30 pt. avg. a game last year in the playoffs and have already given up. I think they’re scared of Orlando and are very depressed in knowing thats who they’ll be playing.
I dont know basketball like some of the others here do but i can tell when a team isnt trying anymore and theres no true leader on the team to push them forward. Quite frankly i think players should be paid by performance on a year to year contract.
I never thought Atlanta should have got rid of the had coach last year because i felt Joe Johnson was the problem in the locker room. Hawks Management has continued making foolish decisions and will continue doing so in the future.
Larry Drew doesnt like Kirk Hinrich and isnt gonna play him just like Norm Van Brocklin did with Pat Sullivan (Heisman Trophy Winner) and the Falcons.
It all started with Management then the coach then the players. Theyre all confused and dont know what direction theyre going to. Same with the Thrashers. Look at the Braves Organization atleast they have good management and a coach that has a proven record.
Look at the Falcons which starts with the owner then trickles down to Management then the players.
Now look at the Hawks…………….. Who are the owners up there? What are their beliefs and do they just want a tax write off?
How important is the role of Management? Are they making sound decisions like the Falcons? Do you see a future for the Hawks? I think Management has dropped the ball yet again and again and again.
Why they ever hired Larry Drew was beyond me. They listened to the fans disgust and listened to the fans wishes. Now was that a bright decision to make? If the Hawks were to fire management and hire someone with the Celtics/Lakers/Miami/Orlando/San Antonio or a person thats been with a winning organization then that would be a huge start.
Why the Hawks never offered Doc Rivers a huge offer is beyond me. Why they re-signed Joe Johnson to a 20 mil. a year contract when their were so many others that were way beyond him is confusing.
We keep looking at the coaches then the players when all along its been management to begin with. Those knuckle heads are clueless up in the front office.
Get used to this folks…………the Hawks are mediocre at best, the Coaches are atrocious and Management is laughable.
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
7:56 am
Najeh, you should list the 8 owners by name and call them out!!!
They are the problem not the solution……
ltdbrave
April 10th, 2011
7:57 am
Great game Hawks!!! Tired of hearing excuses Johnson. Why don’t you earn your salary. Hinrich? Yes I was in favor of getting rid of Bibby, but looks like I was wrong, what a dud. Playoffs? Put your money on 3 and out for the Hawks.
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
8:00 am
The brooms. The brooms.Were art thou brooms???
lewis
April 10th, 2011
8:03 am
Who will learn to play defense first, Jordan Crawford, or 6′7 efficient 17 ppg scorer Nick Young who shoots 38% from 3 and 44% from 2 over 300 games?
Saint Richt
April 10th, 2011
8:20 am
Garbage team….would like to publicly apologize to Mike Woodson….it wasn’t his fault, was his cry baby, no heart, lazy, gutless and immature team…….
STRETCH
April 10th, 2011
8:31 am
•“I am not very confident at all,” L.D. said. And this is they guy they thought was better than Woody?
The Truth
April 10th, 2011
2:53 am
“Hilton Armstrong has awful hands.”
What about Zaza’s wooden hands?!!!
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
8:34 am
“ORLANDO–The Hawks opened the East semis by suffering a historic beat down. it was their largest playoffs defeat since the team moved to Atlanta. The Atlanta Hawks lost 111-76 at Philly in ‘82 and the St. Louis Hawks lost 133-75 at Minneapolis in ‘58.
– The Magic’s 43-point victory margin was their second largest in postseason franchise history. Their largest lead of the game was 46; their largest lead during the regular season was 38 in that Jan. 9 game vs. the Hawks. They’ve won their last four home games against the Hawks by an average margin of nearly 32 points.”
Hawks have new weapon this year!! He’s called Larry,Larry,Larry….LOL
New weapon
STRETCH
April 10th, 2011
8:34 am
Saint Richt
I co-sign!!!
STRETCH
April 10th, 2011
8:38 am
This organization has been a complete mess. They were on to something good the last few seasons, but did NOTHING after everyone else got better. Took a step back with coaching, overpaid an overrated player, kept a crybaby, didnt get Al Horford any help after he publicly begged for it, traded JC2 for what?
Im just so ready for the season to be over!
JustAThought
April 10th, 2011
8:51 am
Just let me know when you need help packing Hawks…………..
JustAThought
April 10th, 2011
8:51 am
And no need to try to sneak out of town…cause no one really cares!
Roundfield on Roundball
April 10th, 2011
8:59 am
I don’t care what excuse or explanation you offer for a 32 point stinkbomb. The losers were the fools in DC who spent their money to watch it. The NBA has a problem with teams “resting” players for the playoffs, tanking games for seeding purposes, etc. But of course the Wizard of Stern does nothing. Lock them all out.
Roundfield on Roundball
April 10th, 2011
9:16 am
The Larry Drew era is over in two weeks max.
darrell starks
April 10th, 2011
9:41 am
You guys on here talking trading josh, in the last 2 games he didn’t play and there defense was the worst i seen all year, so how is josh the problem when the hawks played PACERS, WIZARDS, AND STUNK IT UP, the problem HORFORD, HINRICH, JOE, MARVIN, the four starter whom LD LOVE SO MUCH, with defense and will 2 fight, especially HORFORD who is getting softer every game.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
glw
April 10th, 2011
9:45 am
The temptation is definitely to blow things up, but I dont want another 3 or 4 years of 25-57 records. But who are you kidding…..somebody is going to take Joe Johnson BIG contract? Horford is not really tradeable either, he is a BYC player anyway because of the big increase in pay next season, so you wont get equal value back for him. Marvin is close to garbage and the only way you could trade him is if you were willing to take back someone else’s trash. The only tradeable players the Hawks have are Hinrich who would have an expiring contract and Josh Smith. But what would you get back in return? So chances are, the Hawks will look pretty much the same for the next couple of years.
darrell starks
April 10th, 2011
9:48 am
Hinrich is getteing destroyed at the point guard, so why don’t LD make a change because he is woody jr, that should be gone at the end of the season.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
April 10th, 2011
9:54 am
No player on this team is safe in my opinion including HORFORD, who said he needed help, LD move him 2 powerford and he still get destroyed on the boards, so that tell me the hawks have make some tough decision in the of season.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hawks_4_life
April 10th, 2011
9:57 am
LD makes Woody look like Riley. How many huge blowouts has it been this season already? I have very little faith about this team right now going into the playoffs.
glw
April 10th, 2011
9:57 am
I agree with you darrel starks, teague should be the pg, hinrich tries, but he just cant stay in front of the really fast pgs of the league.
Even Nique was all over Teague’s case. I am sure a lot goes on in practice which might discourage coaches from playing a guy.
I did pick up on a bad vibe with Teague last night, it seems like he wasnt into it last night. He played selfish a bit and seemed lackadasical and not going full effort last night. Maybe Drew has worn on him a bit.
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
9:58 am
Allstar AL has lost a step or two??? Just asking??
Peter
April 10th, 2011
10:02 am
When we see a team play as poorly as it has getting ready for a playoff run….All can tell this is a one series and done for the summer.
The Hawks ownership group is the issue. The Thraher’s have bankrupted them, the fans really don’t care, and they will continue to loose money until they sell the team.
I have seen 5 games at the “High Light Factory” in the last month, and really watch some bad basketball….boring basketball.
JJ is way over paid for his contributions, the ball as usual stops with him, there is not intensity at all or sense of urgency. To see this team blown out back to back, says it all.
Atlanta will not get a winner until the Spirit sells, and JJ is jettisoned from Atlanta. He is a nice complimentary player, but not a leader with heart.
Someday Atlanta will get an Owner that understands what the “Team Concept ” is all about, and has a GM that is capable of judging NBA talent.
In the mean time, we have the Braves, and the Falcon’s to watch.
Slimjr
April 10th, 2011
10:03 am
“HORFORD, who said he needed help, LD move him 2 powerforward and he still got destroyed on the boards,”
Sing it @darrell starks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL
niremetal
April 10th, 2011
10:15 am
“The mindset for some players in this situation is the games have no meaning.”
I wonder why that is. Perhaps it’s because THE GAMES HAVE NO MEANING.
NorcalHawk
April 10th, 2011
10:46 am
This team has been floundering the entire 2nd half of season, so what’s the big deal about another
30-point loss? Perfect tune-up to get to the offseason as quickly as possible.
Mz. Hawkdafied
April 10th, 2011
10:51 am
The season of riddles has definitely not been a good look.
Mz. Hawkdafied
April 10th, 2011
10:54 am
Shid these last few games “have no meaning” for the Wizards and anybody else not going to the playoffs. But they are still playing their hearts out. These last few games have meaning to those people paying to go see the games. WTF. If these games are so insignificant then why sell the tickets. Heck why even play.
This season has been so confusing. The coach is sending so many mixed messages. This is why the team is so messed up. All these head games being played. Yep. What the heck.
“We can play relaxed at home but have to stay focused on the road”.-(Coach LD) And no doubt the team struggled at home. Yeah blowouts on your home court. And then wonder why they hear MVP chants for the other team or why the other team’s fans take over the arena.
The message to the team should have been we gotta stay focused and play hard no matter where the freak they are. Too many mixed messages this season. Confused team. Confused coach. Confused fans. Confused Highlight Factory. Too many riddles.
niremetal
April 10th, 2011
11:07 am
If these games are so insignificant then why sell the tickets. Heck why even play.
I actually wonder the same thing. The answer is “money.” But really, these games are like dead rubbers in Davis Cup tennis matches – glorified exhibition games. And like dead rubbers, I don’t think the stats from games where both teams’ playoff status is fully determined should be counted toward season averages. I know that’ll never happen, but it should.
Mac-Town #maconchevyrider
April 10th, 2011
11:13 am
Booo!
April 9th, 2011
11:11 pm
I would Start Teague, Pape, JJ, Smoove, and Horf
JJ needs to go back to his pheonix days as a spot-up shooter. Sy and Teague are good defenders who slash and draw fouls. It’s aout balance. All that (Jumpshooting)offense isnt needed in the starting lineup.
Nique can shut up! That was a good pass by Teague. Teage made the EXACT same play the next trip down and Pape went to the line! Didn’t hear a peep out of nique after that one though!
Fire LD!
Free The Teague!
Freee Pape Sy!
……………………..
Pepsi, FTW!
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
11:13 am
Plug & Patch!
“That’s three first round picks and a second round pick used up on acquiring stopgaps, not long term solutions, at the point guard position.”
- Najeh -
_____________________
Perhaps, this is the plan? Put a band-aid on a gun shot wound.
These guys are sticking their collective azzes out of that penthouse window, with a FOR SALE sign stuck on it. They don’t give a dam about winning anything, anywhere, anytime soon!
The only court game they get up for is court of law down on Peachtree Street.
I’ve moved on, there is nothing to see here!
Josh Smith appears to be the smartest one of all – he got his rest, on his terms. All the while, proving a man’s worth. Aye Josh! Get Well Soon.
That’s what’s up!
Mac-Town #maconchevyrider
April 10th, 2011
11:14 am
I just hope we show some fight in the playoffs. If not, move the whole team.
Mac-Town #maconchevyrider
April 10th, 2011
11:19 am
JJ, Hinrich, and Crawford – 81 combined mins = 2 FT attempts
Pape Sy – 9 mins = 3 FT attempts
SALVADOR
April 10th, 2011
11:25 am
I CAN’T IMAGINE ANY OTHER NBA TEAM THAT WOULD HAVE HIRED LARRY DREW AFTER WINNING 53 GAMES IN A SEASON!!!!! IF WOODY WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE HAWKS(I AGREE 100% WITH THAT) LARRY DREW IS 300% WORST!!!
hawks_4_life
April 10th, 2011
11:28 am
ATLEAST WOODY HAD BALLS. NO HOMO.
Eman
April 10th, 2011
11:49 am
The hawks don t care>…………They get beat by 30 points and there in the club the same night. This team needs to be broken up. They was @ the compound the same night.
Mz. Hawkdafied
April 10th, 2011
12:09 pm
We gotta build momentum, but remember the games do not mean anything, so if we lose that’s because the game is not important but if we win that because we are trying to build momentum. Oh yeah, also if we lose that because we are missing Josh Smith and Jason Collins and if we win without Jason Collins and Josh Smith that’s because we don’t really need those guys anyway so we should trade them for a pg or center or both a pg or center.
Yep we got a chance to break a road record this season but since the games don’t mean anything we just gonna get blown out by the Wizards and Pacers cause it’s important for them to win those games cause who needs or wants to win anyway. But wait we are supposed to be building momentum for the playoffs so we’ll just hype up that game against the Heat because that game is definitely important especially since they are the number one team in the league. On second thought we are already in the playoffs and locked into the 5th seed so if we lose the Heat game it’s all good cuz winning at this point of the season is for teams like the Wizards.
Talk about mixed signals.
Mz. Hawkdafied
April 10th, 2011
12:24 pm
The Hawks are confused and don’t know what the fudge they wanna do or should be doing. Bottom line either the games don’t mean any thing and you rest your key guys and rely on your reserves minus J Mal and Collins. Or you build momentum and guys play like it’s already the playoffs. It’s confusing to do both. It’s better than watching your key guys build up a four game losing streak with the reserves compounding the issue. What the heck are you doing? Do you even know what you are trying to accomplish? Guess what NOW NO ONE KNOWS shid!
Wink
April 10th, 2011
12:35 pm
Really, these games don’t mean anything…then as stated why charge fans for tickets. I really believe this is just a tune up for the Hawks and a precursor for the fans.
Guys its almost playoff time… our Hawks are practicing their blowout games. We are playing the Orlando Magic in a couple of weeks. Is’t the customary margin of victory for Orlando about 32 points during the playoffs. We should not be surprised at a 32 point blowout just prior to the playoffs, the Hawks are just being the Hawks.
Working on our excuses for such a loss…you know the ones: Couple of players are banged up; we did not come out with a sense of urgency; our defense was a step slow and my favorite we just need to work on our chemistry and we just need to move the ball & help each other.
Bottomline, it time for them to sell this team to an owner that will make the right personnel decisions. Hire a GM, coach & bring in players…basically blow it up!!
Mz. Hawkdafied
April 10th, 2011
12:37 pm
This has been the season of WTH, HAWKS! It’s all good if you are winning, flaws and all. But it aint’ all good losing (blowouts), flaws and all. One year later and you still have no identity. Who are you? Do you even know?
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
12:41 pm
Yawn.
(c) Clyde
Mz. Hawkdafied
April 10th, 2011
12:46 pm
Najeh fudge you. You have been on this blog constantly spewing your thoughts. What can’t believe all you gotta say is yawn. LOL!
Hawksville=Comedyville
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
12:57 pm
Hoopshype Rumor Mill!
“First, the obvious knock against the first-year Hawks coach: His team has 44 wins with three games to go after former coach Mike Woodson won 47 games and 53 in the last two seasons, respectively. And then there is the not-so-obvious sensitive spot: the Josh Smith factor. Drew has been unable to stop the veteran from being a season-long disruption and undermining his position with his other players in the process. Add to that the relative affordability of cutting him loose (he’s owed $1.5 million for next season, lockout notwithstanding), and Drew is looking very vulnerable unless he can lead a deep postseason run. SI.com
Atlanta Hawks, Mike Woodson, Coaching, Larry Drew | share
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
1:14 pm
Najeh
What’s going on Bruh? Did something new happen to Dwight? Did he get suspended again or is the first suspension related to 18 Technicals.
I’m confused, because it seems like he was already suspended like a week and a half ago.
How, does this affects his availability against The Hawks in our series, if at all? I’m just looking for an angle to help these Hawks.
NUNNA!!
April 10th, 2011
1:15 pm
Hilton has awful hands??
Awful,but active..I have been seeing him knock passes out of bounds,putting hands of the face of defenders to block shots(he does need to improve his positioning on defense to make such shots,because errbody is not smoove like J-Smoove)..Thats more than what i get out of Al(and i love Al) or Marvin..
Its not too late for this team to advance deeper into the playoffs than 99% of the world thinks..
Drew has not played the team to really let them gel nor let the bench players interact with others away from the practice burn they get..They needed real gametime burn..
Having said that,we can make some noise and beat both Orlando and Miami if LD implement the road to success that i have for him..
1st:Don’t be afraid to juggle your starters if you see you have more success with certain players than others,and that goes for starters and the bench and the leaders in DNP CP’s as well…Then mix it up and let them play..Im tired of being so freaking predictable..Kinda like a Gregg Knapp style of coaching we have with the hawks..
2nd,Don’t go with the norm on rotations..Most likely Orlando will go 7 maybe 8-9 deep..We should go 10 or more deep every game.You have big men with very little minutes played this year and this will be a fine time for once,for a team to try and match up against us than we try to match up against them, wouldn’t u say?? Lets run these guys and play fast up tempo for 4 games straight..We should take them out..
3rd,we should crash the boards on the defensive end of the floor..We are undersized with our starters for one but we get outrebounded almost every game..I don’t care if all 5 guys are down for the rebound on the defensive end,if thats what it takes for us to limit this team to one shot “so be it”.(quote from john boehner-aka boner)..
and 4th,The only players playing for entire or most of the 4th qtr.are the ones who are playing the best..I don’t wanna see joe in there if he is 4-22 or jamaal either if he is worst and he is giving up lay up after lay up..Lets go with the hottest on offense,defense,and those who are both..The only definent subs should be the best pg of the night and a true 6-11 to 7ft Center(not Al) for rebounds,junk points off rebounds,and some shot blocking..
steve brown
April 10th, 2011
1:21 pm
The Hawk’s players (Millionaires) are an embarrassing group of slackers. Someone please teach Teague how to shoot a jump shoot. However said JC2 can’t see the floor is an idiot. The people who never gave JC2 a chance to play here are idiots. This franchise lowers the value of living in Atlanta.
JeJe
April 10th, 2011
1:40 pm
THE FIRST ROUND IS BEST OF 7.
WHERE HAVE SOME OF YOU GENIUSES BEEN THAT YOU STILL THINK IT’S BEST OF 5? THEY CHANGED THE RULE AT LEAST 4 YEARS AGO
FIRE SUND
JeJe
April 10th, 2011
1:40 pm
THE ONLY RESPECTABLE THING GEARON EVER SAID IS THAT SMOOVE IS THE CLOSEST THING IN THE LEAGUE TO LEBRON
THIS IS ACTUALLY CORRECT, PROVIDED SMOOVE GIVES 100% EFFORT EVERY NIGHT, WHICH HE DOESN’T DO
FIRE LD
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
1:51 pm
* or, is this the first suspension related …
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
1:56 pm
@ drmaryb
All of those suspensions are reset to ZERO once the playoffs start. I believe at that point, you get suspended after your 7th technical during the playoffs.
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
2:00 pm
Yeah I’m right. Here you go. This is a good article explaining the NBA Technical Foul Rule and how it may affect teams in the playoffs.
steve brown
April 10th, 2011
2:17 pm
JeJe – Smoove (give me a break-should be lazy ass ) is to LeBron as Gearon is to Red Auerbach as you are to someone that knows basketball. But you are hilariously funny.
JeJe
April 10th, 2011
2:19 pm
steve brown,
Go watch Smoove play when he is feeling it. The way he impacts the game is remarkable. Too bad he doesn’t try half the time.
And go post under your real name or go back to your mom’s basement
idiot
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
2:26 pm
Najeh,
Our record with draft picks is bad. With all the draft picks the Hawks have had in the last 5 years, it is sad to see how they have turned out. Josh Smith is the one bright spot (drafted out of high school, and developed).
Horford did not need much developing, Marvin is still inconsistent as ever (even if its not the Hawks fault), Chills is not here, Shelden is not here, Acie Law is not here, JC2 is not here, Teague has not developed as yet, we traded two to Phoenix for JJ, and we traded another one for Kirk.
JeJe
April 10th, 2011
2:30 pm
I bet Rick Sund goes on 680 tomorrow and talks about some lame statistic of how we have made the Playoffs 4 years in a row, and how only x % of the current teams in the NBA have done that.
He’ll also say how we’ve beaten every team in the Eastern Conference
mykhalc
April 10th, 2011
2:30 pm
the beat-down is gettin’ closer!!! ORL looks like they are preparin’ for ’something’. whereas our dearly beloved Hawks look as if they’re vacation-ready…PERIOD!!! you know as much as i disliked Woodson as HC, i did not have the kinda despise for his teams like i do this one!!! blow it up already!!!
JeJe
April 10th, 2011
2:34 pm
Tomorrow night will be good, because the Heat will blow us out, but LeBron won’t have to play the entire game so he can rest for the playoffs. Therefore, rather than scoring 40 on us in 3 quarters, maybe he’ll settle for 25 at the half and call it quits
drmaryb (*_-)
April 10th, 2011
2:35 pm
Northcyde!
Thanks for that explanation and link. Great read!
Enough about that! How are you feeling baby? I bet your wife was scared, having what sounds like an emergency surgery, unexpectedly.
You said, it feels like what a gun shot may be like. I know back in the 70’s the surgeons butchered people to get that gall bladder out. There is a portal vein that connects the Liver to the Gall Bladder and that is some serious stuff. There are some recurrent nerves (nerves that loop back/feed back to the vital organ) to account for too.
So, there is no such thing as minor surgery. The second worst thing that can happen is a staph-infection (being cut, breeds viral infections) from dirty instruments and airborne germs). The sooner you gop home the safer you are! I hope you have enough strength to yell, scream and cheer for the Hawks next week. We will need everyone at full strength!
This team has me scratching my head? We were always optimistic in round 1 when Woodson was here. At least we knew who were gonna’ play or not and what spots they would be in on the floor.
Josh and Al down low (too small to battle bigs) and Joe and Jamal shooting the jumpers. On defense? SWITCH! As bad as that sounded, we always projected to get to the 2nd round with home court advantage in the first. Never finished below #4 and #3 in the conference standings.
But, hey, we fans complained our way to a 5th seed!
I hope everyone is happy now! ISO-Worked for this team: love it or hate it … That was our strength!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 10th, 2011
2:49 pm
“Our record with draft picks is bad. With all the draft picks the Hawks have had in the last 5 years, it is sad to see how they have turned out. Josh Smith is the one bright spot”
The sad thing is Rick Sund’s draft record is arguably worse. As long as he’s here we’re likely stuck with the same ish.
Mikemc
April 10th, 2011
3:03 pm
I feel sorry for Hawks fans that put their good money down to pay for tickets to see these guys. They have zero pride in their team, or themselves. They go no where in the playoffs. The ownership should clean house, starting at the top, GM, coach on down. Keep Al Horford (if he’ll stay) and start over.
The Hawks could have hired Doug collins to coach this team. He’s turned the Sixers around. don’t know if he could do it with this bunch, but at least he might have sent a few packing.
NUNNA!!
April 10th, 2011
3:06 pm
One more thing..
Im not one who’s too quick to say fire rick sund yet..
He brought in Jamaal,Gave us Teague,Gave us JC2,and brought in Sy who does look like a player..
Lets give his young guys some playing time and lets see what he can do in the draft with the big men as well..
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
3:07 pm
Let me be a little cynical.
Because while we do look like garbage, 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.
Some of you even said that you could tolerate a 45 win season, if the team played better ( which I thought was a contradiction in itself ). If you win less games, you’re probably going to be a worse team than what you were.
Last year’s team was taken for granted. And because we looked horrible in the playoffs, the wrong things were addressed ( namely the change in coaches, rather than upgrading the personnel ).
Right now, only great player performances can save us during these playoffs. My confidence in Drew, while I don’t blame him for everything, has waned. I’ve always said that Drew shouldn’t take the brunt of the blame for our possible failures, because it was ownership that decided to basically keep the team intact.
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
But we also have the 4th worst bench in the league. It’s a discrepency that has always existed here . . for years actually.
The organization tried to hoodwink the fans into believing that a minor coaching change, coupled with minor tweaks to the roster, would take us to elite status. LOL @ that.
It’s amazing when you watch the Chicago – Orlando game, how different both of these teams look from last year. How they made major changes to their teams, whether it be via personnel or via an upgrade in coaching, to make themselves better.
So when the playoffs come, the only thing that will save us, are outstanding individual player performances. And they WILL have to be outstanding.
- JJ may have to go for 35 one night.
- Jamal may have to have a 17 point quarter in which he’s unstoppable.
- Smith may have to get a triple double.
- Horford may have to have a high quality double-double, approaching 20 points and 20 rebounds.
NO matter how many people scoff that these things can happen, they’ll NEED to happen, in order for us to advance in the playoffs. That’s the hand that we’ve been dealt.
Drew needs to pull the plug after the 1st half of the Miami game ( we’ll need to play our main people, just because we will have a sellout in the building, and to keep from losing by 50 ). But after maybe midway in the 3rd, pull the plug and rest up the main guys.
At that point, I want our core guys to put themselves in the mindset that they have to play at the highest level possible. If that means doing things outside of your comfort zone, so be it.
Rusty
April 10th, 2011
3:14 pm
We still play a lot of iso,only thing is that jj & jc1 aren’t getting it done.
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
3:15 pm
How many times will Orlando try (and fail) to draw an offensive foul on Rose…
I am looking forward to the Boston-Miami game next…
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
3:15 pm
NUNNA . . . Sund has been an epic failure just about everywhere he’s gone.
We got Jamal because the Warriors couldn’t give him away to us fast enough.
We got Teague, but we needed rebounding help more than the 7th PG in the draft . . so the pick should’ve been Dejuan Blair, who was a potential lottery pick, but fell because of concerns about his knees and his height.
We got JC2 ONLY because we were afraid that JJ wouldn’t come back. Once he did, why not use JC2 THEN as a trade chip, and get us a decent player. And don’t forget that in the JC2 trade, we also obtained another pick, which we promptly sold for 3 million in cash.
Sund gets NO CREDIT as far as I’m concerned. The core of this team is still built by Billy Knight. And the fringe pieces that Sund has brought in hasn’t gotten us over the hump. Unless he can trade Hinrich during the summer for a better player, he’s been an epic failure.
LOL @ Derrick Rose. There you go dude. Kill yourself before the playoffs even start. Why is this dude even in the game, when the Bulls have the home court wrapped up?
northcyde
April 10th, 2011
3:21 pm
@ drmaryb
I seem to be doing OK. The one thing that they did do, was mess my throat up. My uvula is stretched to the point that it hangs down my throat a little. And my troat is still sore from where that tube was down my throat. I’ll definitely be watching to see if that gets better in the coming days.
Everything else seems to be going well so far. Just trying to stay as hydrated as I can. I’m not in as much pain as I thought I’d be in, so I’m trying not to rely on the pain medicine, so that my bowels will move a little quicker.
O'Brien
April 10th, 2011
3:21 pm
northcyde,
Rick Sund was one of the few who believed changing the coach would solve all the issues. Most fans thought Woody had to go, but we also believed that the core needed to be shaken up.
This offseason, (IMO), Rick and LD both need to go. And the new GM needs to shake up the roster.
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!
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..
Najeh Davenpoop
April 11th, 2011
3:07 pm
“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?”
This is irrelevant. The conference is stronger by virtue of the top teams having improved. Yes, your stat holds true because the bottom teams have gotten correspondingly worse, but from the point of view of a playoff team, those bottom teams going from bad to worse is irrelevant since they were easy wins anyway.
Put it this way — a playoff team is going to beat this year’s 21 win Wizards team just as easily as they beat last year’s 26 win Wizards team. It’s going to show up the same way in the standings. Are they going to beat this year’s 60 win Chicago team as easily as they beat last year’s 41 win Chicago team? No way. Are the Magic and Hawks, who each play the Heat four times, as likely to do as well against them this year as they did last year? No way.
Comparing last year’s standings to this year, the Cavs, Hawks, Bucks, Raptors, and Bobcats have won significantly fewer games. The other 10 teams in the conference are either improved or at roughly the same level.
And anyway, there is a qualitative aspect to this that goes beyond simply looking at records. I think it’s fair to say, for example, that this year’s Knicks team — on pace for about 43 wins — is a much more dangerous playoff opponent than last year’s Bobcats team, which won 44 games.
CrumbSnatcher
April 11th, 2011
3:37 pm
The Magic are bragging about how great they are and how they will destroy the Hawks. That may be true, but the Magic will certainly not get past Chicago, Boston or Miami and advance to the finals. The Magic have ruined their team by trading away possibly the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history (Rashad Lewis). WITH LEWIS, the magic made it to the finals. WITHOUT LEWIS, the magic are just an ordinary team who can be beaten with good effort. Lewis made them an EXTRA-ORDINARY TEAM that made it all the way to the finals. Good luck magic but until you find someone to fill in the void for Lewis, you will not advance anywhere. Gilbert Arenas wont be the guy because Arenas is still sort of a “head case” and has yet to find his game.
Rev in Tampa
April 11th, 2011
3:46 pm
new blog up.
WreckingBall
April 11th, 2011
4:32 pm
JUST SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHATS COMING UP IN THE PLAYOFFS, I THINK THE ORLANDO MAGIC WILL BEAT THE HAWKS BY 50 POINTS IN EACH OF THEIR CONTESTS. THIS SHOULD SET A NEW RECORD FOR MARGIN OF DEFEAT THAT THE HAWKS SET LAST SEASON. THE HAWKS WILL BE SWEPT IN FOUR GAMES BY LOSING BY OVER 200 POINTS. THIS IS A BOLD BUT ACCURATE PREDICTION. HATS OFF TO JAMIEER NELSON FOR LETTING US KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
GoldenRetriever
April 12th, 2011
11:54 am
The Hawks do have a winning culture. The ONLY problem I see with the Hawks team right now is that THERE IS NO MOTIVATION TO DO ANYTHING but collect your paycheck at the pay window and go home. The Hawks are not inspired and motivated to compete at all. Whats more, they dont have the appropriate coaching staff to extract the talents out of their stars (particularly teague and j. smoove). With bad coaching, players decline and slide backwards rather than go forward. THE HAWKS THIS SEASON HAVE THE TALENT AND ABILITY TO WIN THE NBA TITLE. BUT UNTIL THEY START BELIEVING IT THEMSELVES, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY CLULESS, UNINSPIRED, PATHETIC, LOSING BASKETBALL. The very minute or second when Jerry Sloan announced he was stepping down with the Jazz, the Hawks front office should have been on the phone contacting him trying to get him in atlanta as their head coach to replace the pathetic drew. We could have had and still could have jerry sloan (a surefire hall of fame) coach, coaching our team. This would enable sloan to get the championship ring with the hawks that he couldnt get with the Jazz. BRING IN JERRY SLOAN IMMEDIATELY AND WATCH THE HAWKS SOAR ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS!!!!