Atlanta Hawks at Bobcats: No. 82
Charlotte–The regular season ends anticlimactically for the Hawks tonight. They didn’t practice yesterday and I didn’t make this morning’s shootaround in Charlotte so no word on who will play and for how long. I will update pregame, in case anyone cares. . . .
PREGAME UPDATE: Hawks-Magic Game 1 is Saturday at 7 p.m. The rest of the schedule comes out later tonight.
Twin is out but his status is still a go for Saturday. “I think he will be fine,” L.D. said. “He got some work in yesterday. He came over today early and got some work in. He should be ready to go.”
Starters are Hinrich, Joe, Josh, Al and Zaza. Armstrong, Rolle and Twin are inactive.
Drew said he plans to play the starters “a few minutes.”
“I won’t have anybody in the 30s,” he said. “I will try to keep them in the low 20s.”
L.D. wasn’t talking as much about trying to use this game to gather momentum: “Just looking at what happened to the Lakers last night, Chicago had a couple of guys hurt–that’s always a fear in this particular situation. Hopefully we can get out of this game as injury-free as we can and move onto the playoffs.”
- The signing of Magnum Rolle is unrelated to Twin’s injury, which L.D. still say says is a “minor” sprain. Twin was walking around without a noticeable limp before the game on Monday. The Hawks, like a handful of teams, signed Rolle with an eye to the (possibly lockout-disrupted) summer.
- I predict that if Zaza helps the Hawks beat the Magic while leaving a trail of carnage in his wake he will become a beloved folk hero. I also predict that if the Zaza helps the Hawks forge a competitive series against the Bulls, and this in turn inspires the team to start talking about “continuing to grow the core,” then the feelings about Zaza would become bittersweet.
- Smoove, asked why opponents become so irritated by Zaza, said: “Have you seen that head?”
Now for some linkage . . .
- Sebastian Pruiti at NBA Playbook breaks down Hawks-Magic in a series of posts.
- Tom Ziller at SB Nation wonders if the Hawks can take advantage of Orlando’s high turnover rate.
- Bret LaGree at Hoopinion (accurately and depressingly) describes the futility of trying to drawn any analytical conclusions from these last four games, particularly since the task was not much easier over the first 78 games.
- HawkStr8Talk, true to form, predicts the Hawks “are not winning a playoff game, much less a playoff series” in a post at Peachtree Hoops. However, he did express a bit of joy following the reserves’ rally against the Heat and even managed some begrudging admiration for L.D.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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384 comments Add your comment
terrell
April 13th, 2011
4:48 pm
Game not on TV?
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
4:50 pm
Atlanta’s been waiting nearly half a Century(43 yrs.) for the Hawks to win something?????
Will we have to wait another 50 years?????
brigadierjerry
April 13th, 2011
4:55 pm
slimjr,
what part of bronx did you grow up?My parents worked at Con Ed and calvary hospital and I lived in the bronx till 7 years old. Still have some family there. I heard here a trade proposal for Hawks to trade JJ to the Knicks for Billups. Knicks are relieved they didnt trade for JJ and the media are glad that he didnt got to NY
Seriosuly
April 13th, 2011
4:58 pm
Chicago has been without Jordan for what. 7+ years. They have built an awesome team in Chicago that will possibly challenge the like of Miami to play in the finals. Altanta cant get past the second round in 5 years. Can we please find somone who cares about ATL sports to manage a team to win a championship?
Fundamentals
April 13th, 2011
4:59 pm
Been there since the early 80’s #1 hawks fan. My frustration comes from the obvious dripping talent never caring enough to try to reach their potential. I’d take the losing seasons where we jumped up and surprised someone over getting blown out by Washington. They just don’t care, so why should we? All I ask is a solid professional effort. Lose by 20 giving it your all…and I can definitely respect you. Lose by 20 with no passion and you’re just drawing a paycheck. Our team has settled for the paycheck since that first Boston Series. They play for the money, for the contract, not for the fans. Winning fans takes charisma. We have it dripping from our team…they just don’t care enough to use it.
Postseason begins Saturday. Do your part, I’ll do mine. It’s a TEAM experience. Sometimes they need tough love, not crutches for their lackluster effort.
Fundamentals
April 13th, 2011
5:03 pm
Decent article on Rolle here:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/585361-rolle-call-why-magnum-rolle-deserves-to-be-playing-in-the-nba
KevinM
April 13th, 2011
5:04 pm
The lea
northcyde
April 13th, 2011
5:07 pm
@ slimjr . . . we also have “yards” here. Big yards. Even within the “city”.
LOL @ 60,000 people living within 1 square mile. That means no privacy, no yards, and everyone knows what you’re doing. LOL .. you couldn’t even fire up the grill, without 10,000 people knowing that you’re about to cook a steak.
No way I could live in an area like that.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
5:07 pm
“Are there any true hawks fans left? ”
If you ask me, those of us who care enough about this zero-championships-in-43-years team to attend their inevitable playoff beatdowns in person and post on this blog about them every day are about as true as fans can get.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
5:08 pm
“I am a firm believer in the idea that a team plays well after having to sit around for days and hear about how they are going to get killed. ”
I think this is true for most teams. I’m not so sure it applies to these Hawks. They have been getting disrespected by the local and national media all year and they have responded only by getting worse.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
5:11 pm
That Heat-Hawks fight in that video northcyde posted puts any NBA fight in this millennium to shame, except the Malice at the Palace maybe.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
5:14 pm
As far as tonight, I would hope that the entire starting lineup plus Collins gets the night off, and the Hawks roll with something resembling Teague/Jamal/Damien/Powell/Zaza as the starters with Pape Sy, Etan, Hilton, and Magnum Rolle getting plenty of minutes. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, to see LD play at least some of the starters for the first half.
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
5:18 pm
@MC -
“we had a story on draft and Dream trade in print. not sure if it’s online. we don’t have a beat writer dedicated to the Dream, will use freelancers.”
Such a shame that ATL in fact does have a basketball team that plays with heart and could go all the way to a championship (in fact, almost did last season) and the most the AJC can spare is “freelancers.”
@northcyde -
ETSU Buccaneers = “Let’s get Buc’d” (Goes a long way in explaining why they no longer have a football team…)
My all time favorite is still from Norfolk HS tho’: “We don’t smoke, we don’t drink, NORFOLK, NORFOLK!” Such good, wholesome HS kids!
KevinM
April 13th, 2011
5:19 pm
This series vs the Magic is the least anticipated series while he Nuggets and OKC will get strong ratings.
Is there a team less respected in the playoffs than the one run by the ASG? The depleted Hornets are the only team at our level heading forward.
If you are hoping for success from this group, you are secretly chanting “More core years”!
Getting our arse handed to us is the only chance we have to send LD and hopefully 31 year vet Sund packing.
This season has been one of predictability a lot of times and one of shock watching the Hawks getting blown out with regularity.
For the guy who said to rest the starters, I say “unbelieveable”. Yes, let’s take a 6 game losing streak into Orlando making us ready to start clicking on the Amway court.
The true talent of this team will come out this series and I’m committed to be there for Game 3 even if we decide to promote Lester in between flights.
Vegas Odds Will probably tell you how this thing will go…….I see the Dwight-out as an epic failure and we force the Magic to a Game 5…….with 2 DNPs for Teague.
I hate to see it end like this, but to prove the ASG wrong, I can accept it.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
5:22 pm
From the NBA Playbook link:
When the Atlanta Hawks get the players moving off of the ball (an indicator whether or not they are running sets on the offensive end), they are actually a pretty tough offense to stop. The main problem with the Hawks is that they simply don’t do it enough. A pretty good indication of this is the Hawks’ success when using off ball screens. The Hawks are the 5th best team in the NBA in terms of PPP, scoring 0.963 points per possession on 47% shooting. The problem is that off ball screens that result in a shot only take place 3.9% of the Hawks’ total possessions.
If the Hawks actually ran the offense LD pictures in his head, I think they would actually be pretty good.
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
5:31 pm
“If the Hawks actually ran the offense LD pictures in his head, I think they would actually be pretty good.”
AKA the Inception Offense
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
5:32 pm
LD = Leo DiCaprio
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
5:34 pm
A lot of good stuff in that NBA Playbook link actually. Great breakdowns of the Hawks’ strengths and weaknesses on both ends (and for that matter the Magic’s strengths and weaknesses on both ends).
Grandad
April 13th, 2011
5:34 pm
Slimjr -&- northcyde:
Before I go any further;
I’m Born -&- Raised in Georgia.
When I matriculated at Austin Peay.
[That sounds funny as heck to me]
nc;
*There was 19,000 people listed on the sign-post in C-ville.
Slimjr:
where I’m from in N.Ga.
a place called the “Back Valley”
the four of us lived on 162 acres.
7 miles on a dirt road to the nearest metro area [*500 people*]
my daddy dug a well so we could have running water;
[plus an indoor toilet]
we raised cattle, hawgs, chickens [eggs],
we hunted quail, fished, caught [turtle],
trapped rabbits, and we raised a garden.
We had pecan & walnut, apple & peach trees,
and muscadine vines. [for canning]
(that’s what we ate)
Man, It don’t get no better than that !
“There are three kinds of men.
The one that learns by reading.
The few who learn by observation.
The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”
-Will Rogers-
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
5:34 pm
“AKA the Inception Offense”
Haha… well, a championship for this team appears to be a dream within a dream within a dream at this point, and the DASG is stuck in limbo.
Grandad
April 13th, 2011
5:37 pm
I forgot to add I once peed on an electric fence;
at or around five or six years old.
I reckon I’m an electric fence learner !
gcs
April 13th, 2011
5:47 pm
Five more games and the season is over.
Come ON lockout!
.
JeJe
April 13th, 2011
6:04 pm
If Joe and Jamal combine for 48 or so each game, we can beat anyone in the Playoffs
Too bad that Joe has regressed so badly (he only showed up in January to make the All Star team) that if he scores 18 points, people in here are amazed. I have not seen Joe score 30 in a meaningful game against a good team in ages. He will be shut down by Keith F’ing Bogans in rd 2 if we get there.
Heartless loser. He said he felt the pressure early this year to live up to his contract. No !@#$ you should you money-stealing joke
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
6:12 pm
Guilty!
Barry Bonds GUILTY on one count of perjury!
Possible 5 years? OK, lady justice who’s next?
Bud Selig
Roger Clemmons
Rafael Palmero
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
6:16 pm
Northcyde, Grandad, Slimjr,
In the town where I work (South GA), the population is 3,00 people, but they are spread out over a whole bunch of miles…
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
6:18 pm
MC,
the “when motivated” part with Zaza means “when he’s getting consistent minutes.” this is pretty obvious to me, which is why i was surprised L.D. (and Woody to a lesser extent) didn’t see it, too. you have to play Zaza to keep him into it. You’d hope a guy would be ready anyway but you have to know the psyche of your players.
This was pretty obvious to most of us fans too.
The same could be said of Teague earlier in the season. LD would bring him in for 3-5 minutes, and he would play with Jamal, and Teague would look lost. But LD never thought about trying him with the starters until after Bibby got traded and he was forced to.
And what do you know, teague played much better with the starters, and even brought something different to the table.
A good HC will find the matchup that works and will maximize the use of his players. I give credit to LD for trying Twin to play Dwight, but that’s the only thing I give him credit for.
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
6:19 pm
“OK, lady justice who’s next?”
Kobe undergoing media indictment even as I type…
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
6:21 pm
True Blue!
“If you ask me, those of us who care enough about this zero-championships-in-43-years team to attend their inevitable playoff beatdowns in person and post on this blog about them every day are about as true as fans can get.”
________________
I think Najeh is describing me to a T. (smh & smile)
BILLY KNIGHT
April 13th, 2011
6:25 pm
Im back yall, i been on vacation for the week and enjoyed the lights of the ocean, i just wish my homeboy good luck and the success so far as a nba coach, 82 games great job DREW.
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
6:39 pm
@drmaryb & Najeh -
I care so much I’m leaving paradise and coming back to the traffic and pollen-laden city of my misspent youth so I can join the 10 of you who watch the beatdowns in person (well, okay, I’m being transferred, but still, traffic, pollen, beatdowns over silky Pacific sunsets…how does that even compare when you’re a true blue fan???).
JeJe
April 13th, 2011
6:49 pm
IF IT DOESN’T FIT, YOU MUST ACQUIT
FIRE LD
ag
April 13th, 2011
6:51 pm
is the game on tv? it is saying it should be sportsouth, but it is not listed
ag
April 13th, 2011
6:56 pm
Paradise Lost.. I came back home after 7 years and went from a 1.5 mile commute to work, never having to get on a expressway, to a 45 mile commute from Conyers up to GA 400! I actually went to a couple of Hawk games, although most of the fans were not cheering for the home team… Hey, the commute is even more enjoyable since gas prices have increased!
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
7:02 pm
My Grand-Daddy!
… Is a nasty, dirty old man who is freaky thug:
And, these are just a few of my favorite things that I love about my
Grand – Daddy!
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
7:12 pm
From ESPN.com;
Which star will have his legacy harmed most by the 2011 postseason?
James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Joe Johnson. Does he have a legacy? I’m not sure, but he just got paid and I don’t see any way the Hawks are around to see Round 2. Atlanta still has a lot of talent (more than 44-win talent) and the leader of a disappointing team always takes the hit..
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
7:16 pm
Andre Bynum!
Medical Update: Bruised Bone (knee).
I’m so glad that he is not Oden-ized. Get Well Soon Andrew!
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
7:23 pm
Actually, a bone bruise (sub-periosteal bleeding) is quite painful.
With the already chronic knee issues that thing will very, very tender and painful. It looks like a bruised apple on MRI and will make the bone weak and susceptible to further injury.
If, Andrew has a very high threshold for pain? He should be a go for the first round, but I would save him for the later rounds 2 and 3.
OKC has The Lakers fearful and attentive these days.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
7:32 pm
Pardise Lost!
Welcome Home! LOL! Where are you, in Hawaii – getting layed?
Oh! Kobe is being indicted in the media? For real or “Do You Got Jokes”?
Is he really in trouble of not “winning” (in Charlie Sheen’s voice), the real MVP? The MVP of a 3rd, consecutive Championship Trophy.
Michael Cunningham
April 13th, 2011
7:34 pm
Blog updates with pregame notes.
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
7:38 pm
@ag –
Cry me a river…is gas in ATL still $3.69/gal or did you hit the $3.70 mark? You will never beat me in a war of who has the most expensive gas in the U.S. I, too, did the 17 mile, 1.5 hour commute in the ATL for over 15 years and now that my sense of a reasonable cost of living is totally skewed, I will be living less than 5 miles from the office and biking in whenever I have a chance. And given the lack of professional sports in paradise, we will be sweating out the GA humidity on Sunday afternoons this summer watching Jason Heywood work his magic and sitting in the Lowlight Factory (barring a lockout) this fall grousing about how much worse the Hawks seem to have gotten over the summer. You just don’t know what you have until you have to pay for League Pass to get it back.
Michael Cunningham
April 13th, 2011
7:40 pm
“@MC -“we had a story on draft and Dream trade in print. not sure if it’s online. we don’t have a beat writer dedicated to the Dream, will use freelancers.”
Such a shame that ATL in fact does have a basketball team that plays with heart and could go all the way to a championship (in fact, almost did last season) and the most the AJC can spare is “freelancers.””
i will pass on your sentiments to the higher-ups. i will say it’s a challenge to cover everything in the market due to a limited staff size. sign o’ the times.
Michael Cunningham
April 13th, 2011
7:41 pm
@westurd: “@MC, yo dude, I think I found a typo in your blog. Your wrote, “…Zaza helps the Hawks forge a competitive series against the Bulls…” That made me laugh.
The Hawks arenn’t going to see Chicago in the playoffs unless the Hawks can slip into the playoffs next year as an 8 seed.”
would you believe i was being optimistic?
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
7:46 pm
drmaryb –
I will have to change my blog name to Paradise Found! Leaving the land of the leis…the prodigal child returns!! Chick-Fil-A and cheap gas, here we come!!
Kobe needs a new disparaging moniker for refs who piss him off; f*****g f***t costs you $100K and your media image in today’s world. #GLAADNOTGLAD@KB
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
7:49 pm
Oh yes, and the Dream this summer. Highlight Factory after all!!
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
7:52 pm
@MC -
i will pass on your sentiments to the higher-ups. i will say it’s a challenge to cover everything in the market due to a limited staff size. sign o’ the times.
Thanks. And tell them to look at the other major city newspapers that are moving to online subscription charges using the theory that “news is free, but people will pay for good journalism.”
Mac-Town #maconchevyrider
April 13th, 2011
7:52 pm
Hawks Live Pre-Game talkin alot of BS right now
Michael Cunningham
April 13th, 2011
7:52 pm
@ag: “is the game on tv? it is saying it should be sportsouth, but it is not listed”
it is on sportsouth. this is the game they picked up when ESPN dropped it so i guess they never updated the guide.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
7:53 pm
* correction: Barry Bonds GUILTY of one count of:
Obstruction of Justice (max penalty 10 years), more likely 5 years serving 15 to 18 months in Federal Prision. I guess it is too late for a plea bargain, hugh? Seems like the other 9 indictments were un-proven.
What a shame to harass these guys, when the real culprits are:
MLB and Bud Selig. They chose not to test for steroids even though it was an illegal substance. I guess these charges were made by the DEA of San Francisco. Weird stuff all the way around.
northcyde
April 13th, 2011
8:02 pm
Looks like this game won’t be shown in TN. World Poker Tour is on SportSouth right now.
- Braves are on Fox South
- Grizzlies usually override the Hawks, and they play on the West coast later tonight
- And what is listed on SportSouth later on, is actually the Nashville Predators vs Anaheim Ducks hockey playoff game, so even they’ll override the Grizzlies.
Go Preds. I wouldn’t mind hitting my first hockey game this weekend, if I’m up to it.
Oh well . . thank God for the internet. Guess it’s Charlotte announcers tonight.
northcyde
April 13th, 2011
8:03 pm
LOL . . or maybe not. No link for it yet, unless someone else knows the link.