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
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
384 comments Add your comment
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
9:22 pm
Hawks cut the lead from 18 to 15, and Nique says they have a done a good job of getting themselves back in the game. Huh?
Melvin
April 13th, 2011
9:22 pm
Did Nique even see Damien shot that air ball just now???
bigdave
April 13th, 2011
9:23 pm
c’mon Nique now you know.. thats where the ball has to swing from one side to the other..
no mention of nephew air ball?
stay aggressive Damien..
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
9:23 pm
Good to see Kirk make a shot. Now would be a good time to bust out of his recent shooting slump.
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
9:23 pm
It’s hard to imagine someone being worse than Drew.
If I combed through last year’s blog comments, I’d be willing to bet this exact comment was posted about Woody.
Murphy’s Law: no matter how bad things look, they could always be worse.
Anderson Black
April 13th, 2011
9:25 pm
“So LD plays his starters limited minutes…only to watch some of them struggle. How can that help them get ready for the playoffs?
JJ: 10 mins, 2 pts, 1-6 FG, 2 turnovers
Al: 14 mins, 2 pts, 1-4 FG, 3 rebs, 2 turnovers
Kirk: 9 mins, 1-3 FG, 2 pts, 2 turnovers”
This proves what most of us were saying before the game even started. It’s entirely pointless to play the starters at all in this game. It’s clear they are not into the game, and who would even expect them to be? Al, Joe, and Josh should have been in street clothes tonight. There was absolutely nothing to be accomplished by playing them minor minutes in a losing effort. It might make a tiny bit of sense if the team was playing well right now, and Drew played the starters regular minutes and they focused on blowing Charlotte out so that they could rest for the final quarter. A win in this game might make Drew feel like he accomplished something, but playing the starters just for the sake of having them enter the game in a blowout loss is just pointless and stupid. It’s almost like Drew is just praying for an injury to occur so that he’ll have an excuse for why the team gets annihilated in the playoffs. What a pathetic excuse for a head coach. Any intelligent head coach would have just played the bench in this game, knowing the Hawks current situation.
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
9:26 pm
ARE WE PLAYING WASHINGTON AGAIN???
Samuel
April 13th, 2011
9:27 pm
Why was I the only man on this blog to see this coming?
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
9:27 pm
“It’s hard to imagine someone being worse than Drew.”
“It always gets worse before it gets worse.”
“It gets worse faster than better quicker.”
Yogi Berra
terrell
April 13th, 2011
9:27 pm
lmao @ Marvin.
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
9:27 pm
#2 LOTTERY PICK HAVIN A BRUTAL TIME AGAINST THESE D-LEAGUERS?????
terrell
April 13th, 2011
9:28 pm
Zaza still playin. Why?
bigdave
April 13th, 2011
9:28 pm
he’s looked good tonight, but jump shooting isnt his game either Nique..
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
9:29 pm
NIQUE IN THE OFF SEASON PLEASE LISTEN TO A TAPE OF WALT FRAZIER CALLING A GAME. HE’S THE BEST!!!!!
Melvin
April 13th, 2011
9:30 pm
Did the refs take a play off on when ZaZa got knock to the floor…
cp
April 13th, 2011
9:30 pm
good to see Kirk hit some shots
terrell
April 13th, 2011
9:30 pm
LD has seriously lost his mind. Jamal back in.
bigdave
April 13th, 2011
9:31 pm
i want to see the Frenchie…
Melvin
April 13th, 2011
9:31 pm
Maybe the Hawks should have sign Kwame last offseason..
Wellington
April 13th, 2011
9:31 pm
“How many people on this blog would rejoice if Larry “I love jump shots, hate Teague, and can’t afford a custom suit” Drew were fired following the playoffs?”
I would be absolutely devastated if Larry Drew wasn’t fired after the playoffs. Most true fans have suffered enough having to watch the team regress and collapse under L.D.’s “leadership”. It would be a truly disgraceful move to make the fans suffer more by having to watch Drew ruin the team for another season following this one.
Melvin
April 13th, 2011
9:31 pm
Let Sy play the whole 4th qtr….
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
9:33 pm
7 minutes into the quarter, still no Teague.
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
9:33 pm
HAWKS ARE IN HUGE TROUBLE…………………….
Melvin
April 13th, 2011
9:34 pm
Nice to see Kirk playing better this half….
Paradise Lost
April 13th, 2011
9:34 pm
Powell/Wilkins = +11
JJohnson = -11
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
9:34 pm
LD RETURNS= LOTTERY PICK 2013
terrell
April 13th, 2011
9:35 pm
That should be your bench LD. Kirk/Jamal/Damien/Marvin/Zaza
terrell
April 13th, 2011
9:35 pm
Guess he’s savin Teague for the Playoffs.
superiorblogman
April 13th, 2011
9:35 pm
Hinrich looks good when making shots but if that is the only time he is going to look good it is disappointing because it is further proof that he is right along with Bibby and Jamal and gives us nothing new
Anderson Black
April 13th, 2011
9:35 pm
““It always gets worse before it gets worse.”
“It gets worse faster than better quicker.”
Yogi Berra”
“A pessimist is one who feels bad when he feels good for fear he’ll feel worse when he feels better.” -Anonymous
terrell
April 13th, 2011
9:35 pm
Yeah right.
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
9:37 pm
HAWKS DEFENSE=OLE’
drmaryb (*_-)
April 13th, 2011
9:37 pm
Suit – A – Rama!
” and can’t afford a custom suit”
______________
Word on the street is, that Rashan fella has a steal of a deal on custom suits! “Reverse Lay-A-Way” (that’s where you wear the suits up front and pay when you damn well please). No COD required.
It’s like that “Reverse Mortgage” thing.
Perhaps Coach Drew can get in on that sweet heart deal, just in time for Easter?
Joke Johnson
April 13th, 2011
9:37 pm
I can see why Woody never listened to LD!
I’m ready to go home now.
J J J Joke Johnson – out!
cp
April 13th, 2011
9:38 pm
LD is trying to add to that win total
Melvin
April 13th, 2011
9:40 pm
I would definitely sign Kwame to replace Ethan next season… And make a choice between bringing back Damien or Nique? We cant have both working doing games next season. Hearing Nique cheerleading for his nephew is sickening…
J from the A
April 13th, 2011
9:41 pm
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31751_162-20053546-10391697.html
no Hawks made the list? [That was a rhetorical question -- just in case it wasn't obvious]
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
9:42 pm
Josh Powell has looked good in this game, for a change.
O'Brien
April 13th, 2011
9:42 pm
I think LD is playiing Kirk extended minutes because he wants to get his confidence up, and hopefully get him in rhythm for the playoffs.
Teague will probably play most of the 4th.
Anderson Black
April 13th, 2011
9:42 pm
“LD is trying to add to that win total”
In the process, he’s also adding to his wealth of stupidity and increasing the growing hatred that most Hawks’ “fans” have for him.
J from the A
April 13th, 2011
9:43 pm
I would definitely sign DeAndre Jordan to replace Etan next year!
(Does anyone think this is a real possibility? DeAndre might be had for MLE-type money.)
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
9:43 pm
To be completely honest, I don’t care who the coach is next year — if they don’t play Teague or make a commitment to develop some other long term solution at the point guard position, I’m just about done with this franchise.
Booo!
April 13th, 2011
9:43 pm
J from the A,
Agreed, the last few weeks have been horrible for Kirk. At the time of that bulls game though, I want really upset with kirk, just LD (I beleive that Teague was starting the game before that one). As soon as JT went to the bench, that renewed sence of vigor the hawks had after the trade was gone.
It’s the end of the 3rd and Teague hasn’t even played yet. SMH!!
Melvin
April 13th, 2011
9:44 pm
Hawks cut the Bobcats lead by 10pts but only scoring 21pts in the 3rd qtr… SMH… This game should at least be tied…
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2011
9:44 pm
“(Does anyone think this is a real possibility? DeAndre might be had for MLE-type money.)”
It’s possible, but centers tend to get paid more than their net impact on the game would lead you to believe they are worth. I could see a below-the-cap team paying him something approaching what Kendrick Perkins got.
Slimjr
April 13th, 2011
9:44 pm
DeAndre Jordan= Beast!!!! Next NBA Dunk Champion 2012!!!
Orlando
April 13th, 2011
9:46 pm
“Hearing Nique cheerleading for his nephew is sickening…”
You can’t really blame him. It is his nephew, after all. What is sickening is when he unfairly criticizes others (e.g. Teague), while making Damien look like a superstar. It’s fine to be a cheerleader for your team, but if you want to cheer for one guy who is mediocre, then you should be cheering for the mediocre teammates as well. Be consistent.
terrell
April 13th, 2011
9:48 pm
Get the clucker out of there LD. Lets see what we can do playin 5 on 5.
cp
April 13th, 2011
9:48 pm
Jamal is taking some tough shots
bigdave
April 13th, 2011
9:48 pm
if thats anyone other than Etan its an uncontested dunk..