Atlanta Hawks: Heat 98, Hawks 90
- A lineup of Teague, Jamal, Damien, Josh Powell and Zaza played the entire fourth quarter and nearly beat a Heat crew that included LeBron for 12 minutes, D-Wade for 10 and Bosh for 6.
- That’s an aberration but it also was the kind of spirited play that’s been missing since the Hawks beat Boston. The Hawks had been searching for something good in these meaningless games and finally got it.
- Still, is the play of the bench in this game going to mean more for Atlanta’s series vs. Orlando than the play of the starters over the last three games? The guys that play the most minutes got drilled by the Heat two nights after they couldn’t put down Washington’s D-Leaguers.
- At least nobody got hurt. “The main thing is to be healthy because that’s been our Achilles’ heel the last two years,” Smoove said.
- Marvin played 19 (productive and efficient minutes) and Josh logged 24 (pretty good, especially on the offensive boards, but for a couple untimely turnovers) minutes.
- Josh said the knee came out OK. “It feels all right,” he said. “It might be a little sore tomorrow. There was a little bumping and it was physical. I will ice it and take my time with it. For the most part I felt comfortable. I had to get my timing down in that first half but when I finally got it in the second half it felt good.”
- L.D. said he never considered sending his starters back in and can’t say I blame him. The bench guys were simply better tonight.
- The fourth-quarter crew was 8 of 14 in the paint. The Hawks were 13 of 25 from that range in the other three quarters.
- Sometimes it’s better to be good than deep. The Heat’s All-Star trio outscored the Hawks 49-46 in the first half and tallied 70 for the game. That nullified Atlanta’s a 44-14 advantage in bench scoring.
- Bibby came in clearly motivated and outplayed Hinrich. It’s one thing for Hinrich to struggle to stay with Lowry and Parker, something else to let Bibby get to the rim more times in one game than he did in the previous 17 with the Heat.
- That’s not an exaggeration.
- Hinrich was no better offensively, either. By my recollection, all but one of his six missed shots were clean looks. He just doesn’t look comfortable out there and his body language was bad tonight.
- L.D. mentioned the other day that he would have liked to give Hinrich a break and he sure looks like he’s aged a lot in like three weeks. If that’s the case, then it’s just another reason for Teague to get more burn (and, yes, it’s a problem that the Hawks are still trying to figure things like this out in Game 81).
- I thought the Hawks moved the ball well in the second quarter (8 for 16 field goals, 5 assists) but the Heat turned up the D and didn’t allow anything easy. At the same time the Heat made 4 of their 5 long 2-point jumpers and scored nine points off five Hawks turnovers.
- The Heat were just 1 for 4 on long jumpers in the third quarter and 0 for 5. They scored 17 points in the third and 19 in the fourth. “Their reserves came in with a lot of energy and they went to the zone and that confused us at first,” LeBron said.
- Powell was a team-high plus-5 in 23 minutes and scored on a tip dunk and another dunk on a pass from Zaza to pull the Hawks within 86-85. He also set up a Damien basket with an offensive rebound.
- “I thought J.P. came in and gave us some muscle down low, some energy down low,” Drew said. “I thought he played with a physicality.”
- But before that good sequence Powell wiped out a Teague layup with a goaltend. Down the stretch he missed a 20-footer, had his shot blocked by D-Wade, fouled James Jones for a 4-point play on a late closeout in the zone defense and was called for charging with the Hawks down 96-90.
- The Heat’s stars got some suspect calls but the Hawks can’t complain too much when they got Miami’s bigs in foul trouble, earned 21 free-throw attempts and made just 12. Josh, Al and Zaza were 4 of 11 combined.
- Zaza ticked off yet another opponent. This time it was Big Z, whom he considers a good friend. “I am definitely going to call him,” Zaza said. “Or maybe text him, because he might not answer.”
- It didn’t appear that Zaza did anything dirty on the play that preceded Big Z chucking the ball at him but Big Z said Zaza hit him the face on an earlier possession. “That was a lot of contact between that particular player and our guys all night but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Erik Spoelstra said.
- The flip side of the Hawks competing better with their bench guys is that the Heat had to go all out to win against that group. Is this really a team that can take the Celtics in a series?
- Joel Anthony surely must be tired of getting dunked on by Smoove.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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281 comments Add your comment
Buddy Grizzard
April 13th, 2011
2:20 am
Grandad I wonder if that trade can be completed before NY would have to exercise their team option. In that scenario, we could trade JJ’s contract, then not pick up Chauncey’s option and just erase the whole thing from our books.
superiorblogman
April 13th, 2011
5:03 am
With all due respect to Barkley who is a hall of famer what has he ever done to make someone think he is not soft? He never contributed defensively other than rebounding and is no tougher than Al or Josh in that matter. Defense is supposedly the hardest thing to do on a basketball court because it is the thing mostly about will. You can add Nique to that list, I never really heard anyone say that Nique used that great athletic ability to affect the defensive end. The truth is if you look back at old tape or film since there were no DVD’s defense was a afterthought. Teams today play much better defense and they are better athletes than back in the day. Seriously, the game would be better without guys like Barkley and Nique around to criticize players when they were both as soft as it comes considering they never excelled at the dirty work aka defense.
Buddy Grizzard
April 13th, 2011
7:14 am
You might have missed where Barkley, 6-5, posterized Hakeem, 7-0, by going so high to block his shot that he pinned the ball behind his head. Barkley was a beast of a rebounder, which takes hustle. Not saying he was the greatest defender but it took effort and physicality to overcome the limitations imposed by his height. I’m with you on Nique though… no effort on defense whatsoever.
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
7:18 am
Slimjr,
The Bulls have wrapped up home court in the East, but they have the same record as the Spurs, with each team having 1 game left. If both teams end up with the same record, there will be a drawing to determine the tie breaker and home-court if they both get to the NBA finals.
Grandad,
According to MC, he thinks the players genuinely like each other OFF the court, but something happens on the court that changes them. That is why I think 1) we need a HC with no connection to these players (Uncle Larry cannot change them) and 2) The GM needs to shake up the roster.
As for JJ to NY, I think the Knicks would like that deal. That gives them 3 legit All-Stars with Amare, Carmelo and JJ. But if you’re the Hawks, you need more than an aging Chauncey who might have only 1 good year left. Knicks would have to throw in Landry Fields.
If Hawks make that deal, who would be your starters at PG and SG?
Buddy Grizzard
April 13th, 2011
7:25 am
That’s why I’m saying you cut Chauncey and don’t take the team option on the final year of his contract. By letting JJ go to the Knicks and not resigning Jamal, you get huge payroll savings. Would love to get Landry but the Knicks aren’t going to let him go. Starters next year: Teague, KH, Marvin, Smoove, Horford.
honest_abe
April 13th, 2011
7:38 am
barkley was a monster shot blocker in his early days. couldn’t have said it any better grizzard.
teague or hinrich? hinrich or teague? most of you like to think this will make some kind of difference in the hawks playoff chances. WAKE UP! this team is so discombobulated. none of the pieces fit. when the main star hasn’t bought into the coach’s system or the coach has set up a system that doesn’t seem to maximize production from his star the outcome is never pretty. jj doesnt’ fit in this super innovative, creative mastermind offense drawn up by LD. al is a way too passive. josh smith is just a knucklehead (anybody see that rebound and outlet pass in one motion against the heat?) hinrich needs a new pair of prescription goggles. or better yet learn how to shoot. marvin still hasn’t recovered from the pressure of being a 2nd overall pick… wobble wobble young fella
having said all that hawks still have a 50% shot of beating the magic in the 2nd round. the hawks have gotten worse since last year. while the magic have fallen on their face.
JoJo the Godfather
April 13th, 2011
9:17 am
NY won’t go for Joe unless they think there’s no way to get Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. If that becomes apparent, then a Billups (team option) & Turiaf (player option) for Joe might work. Billups vs. Joe in 2011/2012 salary is $4M+, but Turiaf can make up that difference.
The Game Has Changed
April 13th, 2011
10:23 am
OBrien-Why in the world would we trade Joe for Landry. How many games do you think Teague and Hinrich would win. Defintley not more than Bibby and Joe.
The Game Has Changed
April 13th, 2011
10:30 am
Well said Honest Abe- Dig this everyone. If we would have kept the same team and added a center, how many games would we have won? 60, easily. We could have the #1 overall seed in the playoffs. But noooo, everyone wanted to get rid of Woody. Im gonna start a campaign call “BRING WOODY BACK”
Booo!
April 13th, 2011
10:30 am
As you can see from this Vid (Teague Vs. Eric Gordon)
Teague (with the braids) relentlessly attacks the basket. We hve to put the ball in his hands and let him go to work. Let Al and Smoove clean up his misses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSKyfcjJUUI
Booo!
April 13th, 2011
10:33 am
DeAndre Jordan (LAC) is a UFA this summer. We need to go after him HARD. The potential lockout may help us accomplish this as well….somehow
brigadierjerry
April 13th, 2011
10:46 am
Since the eastern conference is set does anyone have their predictions for the first round?
I have Celtics over Knicks in 6 games
Bulls over Pacers in 5
Heat over Sixers in 5
and Orlando over Hawks in 6 games
J from the A
April 13th, 2011
10:49 am
@Booo!
DeAndre Jordan might be able to be had for the Mid-Level Exception, too, which makes obtaining him (without giving up other resources) a real possibility.
But if you were DeAndre and if you were being offered the maximum MLE contract from your current team, the Hawks, and several other elite or near-elite teams, would you chose the Hawks over, say, Boston or Orlando?
JuliusCesaer
April 13th, 2011
10:52 am
Trade Hinrich for Mike Bibby. Then trade Marvin Williams to the Washington Wizzards for Jordan Crawford. Lets put our team back together when they were dangerous amd one of the most feared teams in the eastern conference. Right now the hawks are soft and can easily be beaten by ANYBODY IN THE ASSOCIATION. The Hinrich trade has weakened the Hawks and made them DRAMATICALLY WORSE THAN ANYBODY IN THE NBA. We gave up Jordan Craford (21.9 points per game since the trade), Mo Evans (10.0 points per game since the trade) and Mike Bibby (14.0 points per game since the trade) for Kirk Hinrich (A WHOPPING 3.0 POINTS SINCE THE TRADE). This Hinrich trade along with making Joe Johnson the richest player in the NBA reminds you of the Jon Konckak years when the Hawks slid backwards and out of contention instead of winning titles that were available to them. Instead of the Dominique Wilkins and the Hawks winning the title, instead the Detroit Pistons went on to win them because the HAWKS MESSED UP THEIR SALARY INFRASTRUCTURE BY GIVING JOHN KONKACK SO MUCH MONEY JUST TO SCORE 2.3 POINTS A GAME. The Hawks never learned their lessons and thirty years later, now they did the same thing with Hinrich and Joe Johnson, by making those two players instant millionaires for mediocre productivity and repeated poor performances. THIS IS WHY THE HAWKS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AND WILL REMAIN AMONG THE BOTTOM-FEEDERS OF THE NBA.
Rod from College Park
April 13th, 2011
11:02 am
J from the A,
Hello my friend. I was so wrong about Hinrich huh? LOL
Booo!
April 13th, 2011
11:09 am
J from the A,
Yeah its a tough sell, If I were hawks management, I would pull a “Boston” JJ, Josh, and AL along with our HC should show up at his doorstep to pith the idea of being a starting center on a playoff squad.
Teague, JJ, Josh, Al, and Deandre….thats a nice lineup right there. If we ship Kik and Marvin outta here, we may have more $$$ to throw at him.
Booo!
April 13th, 2011
11:09 am
*Kirk
brigadierjerry
April 13th, 2011
11:54 am
Watching Rose last night and how he plays and other players like Westbrook and Tony Parker The PG position is changing. The big man, back to the basket post up game is getting faded out of the game and that could becuase of the scarcity of big man but the Playmaking-scoring guard is becoming more and more popular. See Tony Parker. I wouldn’t consider him a pure point, but he is a great driver and finisher around the hoop…not to mention he is maybe the fastest guard in the league. You have young guards like Rose and Wall who are lightning quick with the rock and are a threat in the open floor.
Assists are becoming less and less important with the ability for wing players like Melo, Durant, and LeBron who can handle the rock and can just ISO and score.
The game is changing…there is no doubt about that. Playmaking guards and wing players is what the league is turning out to be…no more back to the basket scorers.
JeJe
April 13th, 2011
12:24 pm
The only reason Smoove says we need ZaZa’s intensity is because he knows the rest of this team is soft like toilet tissue
FIRE LD
DON’T PLAY HINRICH TODAY
Mac-Town #maconchevyrider
April 13th, 2011
12:25 pm
JuliusCesaer
April 13th, 2011
10:52 am
Trade Hinrich for Mike Bibby. Then trade Marvin Williams to the Washington Wizzards for Jordan Crawford. Lets put our team back together when they were dangerous amd one of the most feared teams in the eastern conference.
………………………
When were we one of the most dangerous and feared teams in the eastern conference? When we were gettin swept in humiliating fashion in the 2nd round each of the last 2 years???
We need a fix, but reverting back to whatever we were before the trade isnt it.
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
12:27 pm
The Game has changed,
The reason JJ’s name is out there is because he is still owed 5 years, $104 mil, and we dont know if the ASG might decide to get out of his contract if they can.
Also, they will have to shake the team up (imo), so either Josh, Al, JJ or Marvin will have to be traded.
I MUS WRITE
April 13th, 2011
12:37 pm
O’brien let the shaking begin….No excuses this summer- 12 games worst and a first round exit should force Sund and the ASG to make changes. Hopefully they will start with LD -arrow suit man of the year….
Worldwide Clyde
April 13th, 2011
12:40 pm
FIRE LD
How many games will it take for the Magic to bet the Hawks?
sam'l
April 13th, 2011
12:48 pm
“How many games will it take for the Magic to be(a)t the Hawks?”
Logic says 4.
But anything can happen. Maybe Dwight Howard will get fed up and attack Stan Van Gundy.
Worldwide Clyde
April 13th, 2011
12:53 pm
I need some 5 dollars tickets for the playoffs. Time to make some phone calls.
The Game Has Changed
April 13th, 2011
1:08 pm
O’Brien-Joes contract is not the problem. Why do I keep hearing that. He is a top 5 or 6 point guard. He should be making top 5 or 6 money. He is having a down year and still averaging 18.5 a game. And thats with a mess up elbow and thumb. We have not addressed a simple problem in three years. Go after a center. We could have had Camby or Tyson. Instead of getting Woodson what he needed they fired him. The man could have won 60 games with a center. Hell, we won 53 last year without one. Instead of dismantling the team just go after a true center.
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
1:20 pm
The Game has changed,
I’m not putting all the blame on JJ. Despite a down year and probably injured, he is still a top 5 SG.
But the Hawks and the ASG will not spend the money to keep all these guys AND still get a legit center. Remember, Rick has already said we will not go over the luxury tax, unless its for the right player (like LeBron).
I would like to see us get a center too, but it will have to come via trade. So I think either JJ, Josh, Marvin or JJ will have to be traded for us to get a legit center.
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
1:23 pm
How about 6′7″ Dejuan Blair starting at center for the Spurs last night against the Lakers (Bynum and Gasol both played).
In 26 minutes, Blair had 12 pts and 11 rebounds. Thats getting it. The “co-worker” Al? I think he has clocked out and is waiting for the playoffs before he clocks back in.
newkid
April 13th, 2011
1:34 pm
MC, who there has responsibility for covering the Atlanta Dream, and what do you suppose it’ll take to have this person give at least modest attention to the Dream’s draft choices and the trade? Thanks
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
1:43 pm
Isn’t it Funny?
Isn’t it funny how we complain about Josh’s complaining re: bad calls and how we tout that he is too emotional, so let’s trade him for whatever we can get? (3 scrubs would do nicely, and we will never win with him in a Hawks uniform).
Yet, let’s go get Dwight Howard (whom I absolutely love), who plays off the charts with emotions!
Who is more emotional than MJ, KG, Barkley, Kobe – et.al (and others)?
Please stop with the nit-picking of Josh. He is our emotional warrior and and leader and plays with more heart than all his teammates combined.
Josh cares! Without him, this team has no pulse and no heart beat.
These refs ought to be ashamed of them selves.
_________________
And, BTW stop saying Nique’ didn’t pay for some home-made suits!
This whack Rashan fella, has been shipping sample suits and shirts to NBA players unsolicited and then turns around and want to get “skully” with people who don’t return to sender, or bother to pay for shipping and handling to return these unsolicited gifts. If someone sent me a gift- card in the mail with a 12K credit line? Heck, I might use it too!
SMH
JuliusCesaer
April 13th, 2011
2:49 pm
Mac-Town #maconchevyrider: I am a huge hawks fan and i basically call it the way i see it. I still think the hawks are great but now Hinrich has to be on his game and I dont think he anywhere near the player he once was. A couple of weeks ago when the Hawks were approaching their last 10 games of the year and their final chance to win 50, all it took was for them to sweep through the remaining 10 games; with Orlando, Boston, San Antonio and Miami on the schedule. Of course that would have been a neat trick. The hawks were up for the challenge in the first two contests as they defeated ORLANDO and BOSTON consecutively. Of course they could have won the remaining 8 games and went into the playoffs with the most momentum of any team, but unfortunately it didnt happen. The hawks went on to lose to Indiana, Houston, San Antonio and Miami and ruined their chances to win 50. The hawks could have won those games had they been playing solid basketball and continued being HOT. Of course they cooled off and lost four in a row to have the pathetic record that they currently have. QUIT HONESTLY, THE HAWKS DONT DESERVE TO BE IN THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR, ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE ASSEMBLED A TEAM HERE AT PHILLIPS ARENA (highlight factory) THAT CAN WIN THE NBA TITLE THIS SEASON BY PLAYING OUT OF THEIR MINDS.