Atlanta Hawks: Playoff preview bonanza
Finally, it’s almost time to end the talking and start the games. Here is my take on the match ups and below are some series previews from around the Inter Webs for your pleasure:
Jason Walker (aka THHB), Peachtree Hoops
My serious summary is this: The Hawks have proven, on the court, that they match up very well with the Magic, even when the Hawks don’t bring their “A” game. If the team is able to defend Howard one-on-one and maintain the defensive blueprint for closing out their shooters, as they have consistently this season, then they can win 4 out of 7 games against this team and move on.
I believe they can and will do just that.
Final Prediction: Hawks in 7
Now, back to my padded white room.
Evan Dunlap, Orlando Pinstriped Post
“[Team X] will only go so far in the postseason as [Player Y] takes them” is an axiom in professional sports, and almost invariably [Player Y] is indisputably the team’s best player. As it applies to the Orlando Magic in this year’s playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks–or against anyone–Dwight Howard is [Player Y]. And it’s equally popular to say, in life at large, that axioms become popular because they are true.
That axiom does not apply in this case.
What Howard does for the Magic–end opponent possessions, score inside, space the floor for his teammates–will be there every night, no matter the opponent, based solely on the consistency and reliability his reputation and skill afford him. No, for the Magic to do anything of note this postseason, the task falls to Jameer Nelson.
More than any other player, even Howard, Orlando’s diminutive point guard makes the team go offensively. Nelson’s skill in running the pick-and-roll, as either a driver or shooter, fits perfectly in coach Stan Van Gundy’s pick-and-roll-heavy approach, while his ability to hit jumpers off the catch helps space the floor and enables him to play off the ball if necessary. It’s true against all teams.
There will be elbows, there will be bruises, there will be complaints about the refereeing, there will be technical fouls. This series will be tucked away among the least-attractive television time slots, but it could be the tightest matchup of the first round in the East. Atlanta will make things ugly, but it can’t hold Howard down in every game, and Orlando has enough outside shooting to make the Hawks pay for giving Howard too much attention. Magic in six.
Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk
Jamal Crawford: Put simply, Atlanta need scoring off the bench so they need Crawford. They really need last-season’s Crawford, who operated out of isolation sets and simple pin-downs to get him free. This season Larry Drew made the Hawks offense more complex and Crawford has been one of the guys struggling to adjust. They need him now.
The Magic aren’t much different from this Hawks team. The same Hawks team that’s two months away from auctioning off Josh Smith and conceding that the current roster just isn’t good enough to compete in the East. Orlando’s got Dwight instead of Joe Johnson, so things don’t appear quite as dire, but the pieces around Dwight are even worse than Atlanta’s supporting cast. So, split the difference, I guess? The Pick: Orlando in 6.
David Thorpe and Anthony Macri, ESPN.com/NBA Scouts Inc.
The Hawks barely limped into the postseason, playing under .500 basketball for a stretch coming in, and having lost six games in a row. While the Magic have not exactly been on a tear themselves, their recent results were significantly better than those in Atlanta. However, the way these two teams have matched up throughout the season would suggest an entirely different result. How these competing bits of conventional wisdom interact will yield the winner in this series, one that should be competitive and hotly contested.
Prediction: Magic in six
Video previews:
Trey Kerby, The Basketball Jones
Josh Robbins and Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel
Dwight Howard and various media types, NBA.com
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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191 comments Add your comment
James on Pharr Rd
April 15th, 2011
10:33 pm
See, I have a major problem with your approach again. Everyone on these Hawks boards loves to shoot down people saying trade Marvin, Zaza, and now Hinrich….
You’re righ!!t We cant please every one even with a trade-we are stuck. My vote goes for GM change and then we can work out a plan, until then we are are all going to lose our minds over this team with seeming talent, but not quite it to get us where we want to be.
I hope we can invest in a combo Coach-GM next year. In the interest of saving money, I would keep LD on a tight leash as we restructure next year-The GM can always pull a Riley or Larry Brown and come down and coach anyway. But, I understand that this is a whole CAN OF WORMS
MsEvey
April 15th, 2011
10:37 pm
Thank you drmaryb,I cosign with everything you just said in your10:10 blog.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 15th, 2011
10:37 pm
And, the only way a blogger would know if someone is a great team mate? Is to ask his team mates. You would need team access to make that bold, unsubstantiated statement. Or, you can askl MC to take a team poll.
Get Real
April 15th, 2011
10:42 pm
OK. Let’s get the formality of another lopsided playoff series loss over so that the Hawks can do the folowing things!
1. Sell the damn team — so that a simple, quick and concise decision can be made my ONE person. The “buck” needs to have a freakin’ place to stop!
2. Fire LD. (How much of a no-brainer is this one?) If there is a contradicting opinion on this one – that opinion is just plain wrong!
3. Trade cancer Josh Smith along with Marvin Williams.
4. Sign and trade Jamal Crawford.
5. Find Al Horford a set of testicles (in the form of aquiring some big, tough guy — which will allow Al to play his BELOVED NATURAL POSITION of POWER FORWARD — God, I’m so tired the hearing the constant pathetic whinning over this !
Nuff said. Let’s get it over with.
superiorblogman
April 15th, 2011
10:43 pm
James on Pharr Road:
Now we are back on the same page. I have been saying it for about a month now. Let’s offer Doc the GM and Coach position. Tell him that we understand if he does not want to coach right now but the job is his when he wants it until then he can just be GM and that we he is allowed to travel and watch his son if that’s what he wants. He can hire the coach for the time being also.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 15th, 2011
10:51 pm
Superior!
I agree 100 with the GM-Coach post. If Doc still says no.
I’m down for JV_Gundy and I started banging that drum for 2 months now.
I think (rusty) personally asked me who would I like to see as HC back then. What’s up rusty baby? Who do you want for HC rusty?
______________
Ms Evy
Thanks for the props on the 10:10pm post. If I do nothing else on here, I will keep it real. I rarely complain, ever. But after about 1,000 non-sense posts, I will pop off every now and then. Hey we are all legitimate on here! We are all fans and we all want the same thing:
A Winner!
Slimjr
April 15th, 2011
10:51 pm
Gearon: Kick rocks….along with your boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then new ownership can get on with bringing a Championship to Atlanta!!
James on Pharr Rd
April 15th, 2011
10:56 pm
Now we are back on the same page. I have been saying it for about a month now. Let’s offer Doc the GM and Coach position. Tell him that we understand if he does not want to coach right now but the job is his when he wants it until then he can just be GM and that we he is allowed to travel and watch his son if that’s what he wants. He can hire the coach for the time being also.
100% Sold.
Imagine if we had that type of a coach or GM-players could take pay cuts to be a part of his system, ATL could become a marquee destination for players allowing for us to get into great trading opportunities.
I am looking to forward to the off season, I wonder what the future holds in the coaching realm: does ORL end up with Jerry Sloan to keep Dwight or do they get Doc? Do the Hawks fire Suund? Where does Larry Brown end up? (good teacher) What happens with Dwight? If he moves conferences, then The Hawks are back in business…. So many questions, and yet a playoff game has not been been played.
James on Pharr Rd
April 15th, 2011
11:02 pm
drmaryb (*_-)
I don’t know about Jeff- I think he would be good on the bench, but not so much as GM. What about the provincial journey man Larry Brown?
northcyde
April 15th, 2011
11:08 pm
Superior . . the problem is the ASG and Sund though. You can’t trust them to make the right decisions
James on Pharr Rd
April 15th, 2011
11:17 pm
northcyde
That is the problem. If we fix the GM, maybe we get set for some good changes here
superiorblogman
April 15th, 2011
11:25 pm
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-forbes-most_and_least_cost_efficient_teams_041511
Above is a post of what they are calling the NBA most cost effective teams. Meaning, they spend money wisely, AKA they get better than expected results for what they spend, AKA all under luxury and have superstars. Let’s contrast to what we see with the Hawks.
1. Chicago: Let’s be honest. Chicago would not be on this list if they had not drafted a guy that would win the MVP within 3 years of being in the league. Deng’s contract was thought to be bad until Rose made him better, they were also not thrilled with what Hinrich was giving them for his price so they traded him. We are not capable of doing either. We can not draft a guy that is a MVP candidate when we are in position to do so (See Marvin, Al to some extint, J Chills, Acie, Sheldon, and every other failed lottery pick). Just think if we could have gotten one superstar out of all those lotteries pick. So, now we just give away picks in bad trades. Do you see the difference?
2. OKC- Up until the Perkins trade they were totally built on good lottery picks of Durant, Westbrook and Harden. They turned Jeff Green a lotto pick into Perkins. You see the difference again?
3. New Orleans- They are very close to the luxury but further away from it than we are and they have a bonafide superstar (ticket seller). They drafted Chris Paul (superstar) and David West who is a borderline all-star most years. They traded for Okafor. I think there efficiency is being overblown because they are really no better than us, until you let at the fact that they will be $20,000,000 under luxury going into next year to us being $6,000,000 under. See the difference?
4.Spurs- Spend less money than we do this year and have less on books going into next year with the best record in league to show for it. Drafted Duncan (superstar) Parker (Borderline Superstar), Manu (all-star) and traded for the correct piece in Jefferson, while getting useful FA’s such as McDyess while we get guys that are simply there to fill out the roster. See the difference?
5. Denver Nuggets: Traded a ALL NBA 1st team talent in Carmelo and still have a better team and future than us. Spend less money this year and on the books for less going into next year. They drafted Carmelo (superstar) turn him into Felton, Chandler, Gallinari, Mozgov and picks, which means when they made a trade in which you are suppose to lose, they still may have won. Drafted Felton and played him in front of a guy that you can argue is better, giving him needed confidence for the future. Drafted Nene, more of a true C than we have. You see the difference?
Conclusion: The Hawks problems obviously start in the front office. We can not make a lottery pick that ends up being a superstar to save our lives, when we do, we trade that guy, Pau Gasol was probably the closets we came of the current NBA players and we traded him. We can not make a trade in which we get exactly what we need, but JJ is close, the guy gave what was needed when he came. These are not things that can be blamed on players. Kirk Hinrich, Marvin Williams, and Zaza show up 25% of the time and really are hampering this team by being on the books for $20,000,000 combined next year and plenty more going forward. That’s not the players fault. You see the difference?
drmaryb (*_-)
April 15th, 2011
11:29 pm
Get Your Education!
“Drmaryb – I’ve told you before not to skip your meds….it induces crazed lists of things you hallucinate that JJ hasn’t done….
now go pop a few and settle on down…”. -phil-
________________
When you:
1. Graduate med school
2. Obtain a license to practice medicine in the State of GA
3. When I seek your medical opinion
4. Accept your treatment plan
Then I will take those meds, pop a few and go settle down.
Ole Hawks Fan
April 15th, 2011
11:31 pm
After watching Captain Kirk get PUNKED by MIKE BIBBY when Miami was in town, there is No Way he can guard/stay with Jameer Nelson. Start Teague ………………………..FREE JEFF TEAGUE! Fire LD!
Ole Hawks Fan
April 15th, 2011
11:37 pm
Go Gurl(drMaryb(*_-)…………………….Loved your reply to phil.
O'Brien
April 15th, 2011
11:43 pm
SteveW,
The same summer Bibby was a FA, there were other options available. Jarrett Jack and Ramon Sessions were both restricted FA, and Andre Miller was also available.
Jack signed for 4 years, $20 mil. Sessions signed for 4 years, $16 mil, and Andre Miller signed for 2 years, $14 mil (with a 3rd year team option). Bibby signed for 3 years, $18 mil, with all 3 years guaranteed.
I did not think Bibby should have been resigned. And if he was resigned, the third year should have not been guaranteed.
And what do you know? It came back to bite us, because we gave up 2 first round picks to get rid of Bibby. I’m not saying those guys would have been the long term solution, but they would have been easier to move than Bibby (imo).
Slimjr
April 15th, 2011
11:56 pm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I see superiorblogman! Great post above!!!
Worldwide Clyde
April 16th, 2011
12:02 am
FIRE GEARON
FIRE NIQUE
FIRE SUND
FIRE LD
SteveW
April 16th, 2011
12:03 am
OB – Like I said, I was screamin’ not to re-sign Bibby either. But I think Sund was just going with his Coach so the Coach couldn’t say he would have done better if Bibby would have stayed etc.
And there is no guarantee we would have gotten either of those 3 – and remember that Woody and LD hate young PG’s, so rule Sessions and Jack out. We could have signed them, and Woody wouldn’t have played them possibly.
And that goes back to Sund’s role as GM. I don’t think it’s as traditional as most GM jobs. I think he was brought in as a caretaker to keep things on the cheap. See the Boston Globe article I posted earlier among others.
So OB I hear you. I knew it was a bad move. But Sund didn’t have much other choice all factors considered.
Worldwide Clyde
April 16th, 2011
12:09 am
I remember when the Hawks tried to sign Kenny Anderson and Tony Delk.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 16th, 2011
12:12 am
ESPN
The microphone just asked Carmelo, “How are you going to guard Paul Pierce?” Melo replied, “WE! Are going to guard Paul Pierce.”
On the last blog, Mr. Johnson pretty much expressed the exact same sentiment and we attack him for a lack of leadership, because he didn’t say: I and ME … He likewise, said, “WE!”
________________
Yet, the bloggers are claim Carmelo is a Super-Star all by himself.
If that were true, why would he leave Denver, whine his way over
to New York in search of HELP from Amare and drag Billups in tow?
Simple, even a Super-Star can’t win a title by himself. Conversely,
the blogger fan opines that Mr. Johnson is Robin and NOT Batman – Yet, our All-Star gets no mercy for not carrying his dysfunctional mates to a title? Where is his help? And, why should he lead us anywhere by himself? Where is his 3 HOF’ers and why are the expectations so unreasonable where Joe is concerned:
DWade has LeBron and Bosh
Kobe has Pau Gasol and Odom and Bynum
Amare has Carmelo and Billups
KG has Allen and Pierce and Rondo and Shaq
Duncan has Parker and Ginobli
We can do this all night.
Mr. Johnson is not Batman and he has no Robin, hell he doesn’t even have Peter Pan, a PG, nor a Center, Nam’ Coach nor GM, nor an Owner.
_______________
Get Real! We do not have the necessary ingredients to win anything close to an O’Brien.
Realistically, just beat the Magic – for the love of basketball!
superiorblogman
April 16th, 2011
12:15 am
Worldwide Clyde
April 16th, 2011
12:02 am
FIRE GEARON
FIRE NIQUE
FIRE SUND
FIRE LD
How is Gearon supposed to get fired? LMAO.
darrell starks
April 16th, 2011
12:28 am
For every game hinrich and marvin starte in playoffs they will loose.
For every game teague and collins starte in playoffs they will win.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
superiorblogman
April 16th, 2011
12:30 am
Coach Larry Drew’s rotation has fluctuated for much of the season, but he said three reserves would play regular minutes: guard Jamal Crawford, forward Marvin Williams and center Zaza Pachulia. He said Wilkins and guard Jeff Teague also could play roles.
I am so ready for this season to be over. Teague could play a role means this stupid little ugle MF’er still has not figured out that a rotation of Jamal and Hinrich at the PG position is not a upgrade over Jamal and Bibby. This just crashed any false hope I had. Magic in 4.
A-Ville Ranger
April 16th, 2011
12:39 am
If The Hawks win a game I’ll be surprised.
darrell starks
April 16th, 2011
12:41 am
If HINRICH STARTE GAME 1, look for and early 15points deficient in first quarter.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
drmaryb (*_-)
April 16th, 2011
12:55 am
Theoretically!
Little Johnny, 6 years comes home from school. He says, “Dad, I have an assignment and I need your help!” Dad says, “Son, what is it?”
Little Johnny says, “I need to know the difference between theoretically and realistically.”
_________________
Dad says, “OK, go in the kitchen and ask your Mom if she will sleep with the guy next door for 5K dollars?” Little Johnny goes to the kitchen and asks, “Mom, would you sleep with the guy next door for 5K dollars?”
She says, “5K dollars! … Of course I would.”
Little Johnny goes back to his Dad and says, “Mom said, of course she would! But, I still don’t know the difference between theoretically and realistically?”
Dad says, “OK, go upstairs and ask your sister if she will sleep with the guy next door for 5K dollars?” Little Johnny goes upstairs and asks, “Sissy, would you sleep with the guy next door for 5K dollars?”
She says, “Duh … Uugh yeah?”
Little Johnny goes back to his Dad and says, “Sissy said, Duh … Uggh Yeah?”
But, I still don’t know the difference between theoretically and realistically?”
____________________
Dad says, “Son, Theoretically, we got 10K dollars – Realistically, we broke and got two Hoes in the house!”
_____________________
Fellas! Theoretically we might could win a Championship –
Realistically, ASKG broke and ain’t got a HOF’er in sight!
-drmaryeb- Entertainment Reporter | G-Nite
superiorblogman
April 16th, 2011
12:58 am
Good news:Kirk Hinrich averages 11 pts against Orlando this year.
Bad news:His teams are 1-4 vs Orlando this year
The one win was with the Hawks when scored 5 pts and had 5 assists in 31 minutes of play. Another stat that points you to factors indicating Hinrich will not help you win against Orlando.
Mike Bibby’s Hawk’s team is 2-1 vs Orlando this year. 2 of the 3 Hawks wins against the Magic came with Bibby as PG. He averaged 12 pts and 4 assists in 35 minutes.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 16th, 2011
1:07 am
Superstars step up their games in the playoffs. Good coaches find a way to make adjustments in the playoffs to put their teams in the best position to win. The Magic have a superstar and a good coach; the Hawks have neither. I trust Dwight and SVG to solve the Jason Collins riddle a lot more than I trust the Hawks to bounce back mentally when things inevitably get tough during the series. I hope the Hawks win, obviously, but if I had to put money on it, Magic in 6.
Not Sund
April 16th, 2011
1:07 am
I’m willing to forget everything bad that happened this season if the play well in the playoffs.
I think I know what to expect, I hope I’m wrong.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 16th, 2011
1:08 am
Of course, the last time I made a playoff prediction related to an Atlanta sports team, I picked the Falcons to beat the Packers. Hopefully I’m as wrong this time as I was that time.
hawkfan
April 16th, 2011
1:28 am
wow this one was TOO FUNNY i had to post it here: Hawks in 7
joe johnson plays with all heart after the beating he took by the atl media last year
this is the series where joe johnson becomes a hawks legend, whatever he is on must be that feel god stuff that numbs one’s brain cells
Grandad
April 16th, 2011
1:34 am
northcyde
*[From our earlier dicussion]:
I was never in disagreement with your original premise.
On your contention that Joe is an “A-list” defender;
then I choose to disagree.
I’m quite certain you could gather some sort of stats
to bolster your claim, and my contention is not supported
by stats but by observation.
The stat I would most like to see:
the shooting % of whomever he is guarding.
[game in and game out]
However that stat is skewed by improper
team defense, just as someone else’s
stat’s would be skewed if their man hit shots
because [hypothetically] Joe may not have
been there to help.
Confusing I know. Defensive stats are tough to gauge.
From observation:
Joe; takes plays off, is a poor help defender,
is a poor off the ball defender, does not box out,
never blocks a shot, lazy on close outs,
doesn’t fight through screens, doesn’t maintain proper stance,
turns his head and gets beat backdoor…..
These are not characteristics of a 1st class defender.
I’m sorry. I wish he was. He used to be.
MsDee
April 16th, 2011
3:10 am
For some strange reason, I think the Hawks are a little more confident now since the regular season is over b/c LD and the team has something under there sleeves…since they KNEW they were good enough to make the playoffs again, and in pretty good seatings, they needed to work on a playoff strategy to get them thru the 1st & 2nd round..what I’m saying is, THEY MAY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON SOMETHING NEW THAT NO TEAM HAS SEEN YET TO CONFUSE THE OPPOSING TEAM!! Maybe there is a new OFFENSE/DEFENSE we may notice in the playoffs..Maybe there is a NEW STARTING LINE-UP we may notice in the playoffs,(example: Teague/JJ/Josh/AL/Collins..bench:Kirk/Jamal/JJ for a little while than Marvin/AL or Josh/Zaza. What I have notice in LD is that he is crafty!! Maybe he has been switching up the lineup all these games to see what truly works for the playoffs W/O allowing others teams to know what his plans were. Maybe is knew what Teague could do all along, just didnt want to, again, give his strategy away. Maybe these last 6 games were meant to be ignored just so they could be looking forward to this NEW AND IMPROVED LINE-UP/OFFENSIVE STRATEGY!!! I hope I’m right, at least!!
northcyde
April 16th, 2011
3:26 am
You ask . ., and you shall receive Grandad:
Joe Johnson – “Opponent Counterpart 48 Minute Production”
What the opposing SG does against JJ
15.5 FGA . . . 45.8% eFG . . . 17.1 ppg . . . 5.4 rebs . . . 4.2 asst . . . 11.6 PER ( this year )
16.8 FGA . . . 48.8% eFG . . . 19.3 ppg . . . 5.1 rebs . . . 4.5 asst . . . 15.3 PER ( last year )
What the opposing SF does against JJ
15.0 FGA . . . 46.0% eFG . . . 17.8 ppg . . . 7.8 rebs . . . 2.7 asst . . . 12.9 PER
17.6 FGA . . . 47.4% eFG . . . 20.3 ppg . . . 6.6 rebs . . . 2.4 asst . . . 14.4 PER
************
No matter how you slice those numbers, both numbers would put JJ amongst the ELITE in defense at both SG and SF this year. What JJ doesn’t do, is get the “visible” defensive plays that you like, such as steals and blocks. And he doesn’t draw those charges that you like to see in a help defender.
All he does though, is hold his man in check and makes it difficult to even get shots up over him at times. And a lot of people in this league can’t even begin to do that.
Just for comparison sake, this is what Kobe did vs SGs
18.3 FGA . . . 46.4% eFG . . . 20 ppg . . . 4.7 rebs . . . 4.1 asst . . . 11.8 PER
As a defender, I’ll still take Kobe over JJ, because he can play at a very high defensive level at times . . but the numbers are what they are. JJ is nowhere near the slouch on defense that you describe. As a man defender, he’s a lot closer to Kobe and Wade, than he is to the mediocre defender that you’re trying to make him out to be. Now people can talk about the dude’s offense all they want. But that dude’s defense has been pretty good this year.
It’s just like I did with Teague vs Hinrich on defense, using the same numbers. The numbers are what they are when people compare those two. People can either find ways to try to discount it, or you can say “hmmmm . . that’s interesting.”
northcyde
April 16th, 2011
3:29 am
I hope you’re right MsDee. But I have a feeling that you’re wrong. I just hope Drew makes the correct adjustments that Woody didn’t/couldn’t make last year. Van Gundy is no doubt going to come up with some sort of wrinkle to make Dwight Howard more effective offensively. When that happens, I hope Drew will be ready for it and can adjust back.
Booo!
April 16th, 2011
4:32 am
Looking at matchups, If we make it to the second round, I would definetly start Jeff(If LD even plays him at all) then, but with Dwight in the paint, it might be best for Teague to come off the bench….and it pains me to say that. If his lfoater was more consistent….but even JJ struggles getting his floater to connect over Dwight at times.
But I could be completely wrong. I think Our best overall linup for the playoffs would be to start Teague and Collins along with the captains. PPL will say that Collins is ineffective etc. but the man has started on two NBA finals teams. There are tons of articles that talk about how he’s not a flashy or effective Big in the traditional sense but if you check NJ’s +/- numbers with collins on or off the court you will see a different story.
Booo!
April 16th, 2011
4:36 am
On second thought….just throw Teague in to the fire and watch him HEAT UP!!!
FREE THE TEAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Booo!
April 16th, 2011
4:38 am
This is a funny video from a Hawks fan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBkpa9hqoh4
Najeh Davenpoop
April 16th, 2011
4:47 am
Grandad has a point though, that Joe’s off the ball defense is not good. But on the ball, he is and has always been a good defender.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 16th, 2011
4:53 am
“Van Gundy is no doubt going to come up with some sort of wrinkle to make Dwight Howard more effective offensively. ”
I actually anticipate the wrinkle being on the other end. I think he’s going to find a way to force Collins to beat them when the Hawks have the ball, and when Collins predictably fails, SVG will bank on LD going offense over defense by removing Collins. And based on what LD has done all season, it wouldn’t surprise me at all for LD to fall into that trap. Even in the March 31 win over Orlando, LD held Collins out of the game for most of the 4th for whatever reason, and only with 2 minutes left in the game did he reinsert Collins just in time for the Hawks to avoid blowing the lead.
Either that, or SVG will try to get other players — Jason Richardson in particular comes to mind — driving at Collins to get him in early foul trouble. I could even see them using a combination of both strategies.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 16th, 2011
5:10 am
“people don’t believe stats unless it supports their argument.”
Depends on your approach. If you are the type of person, like Grandad apparently or like me, who forms his opinions based on observation and uses stats to supplement that, you’re naturally going to believe the stats that agree with you and question the ones that don’t. If you are the type of person who forms your opinions based on what the stats say, obviously you are not going to disagree with the stats, but you will probably come to some conclusions that don’t pass the eye test.
In my case, there have been some times where stats that disagreed with me caused me to watch the game differently and come to the conclusion that my opinion was wrong and the stats were right, like when I started paying closer attention to Jamal’s overall impact on the game after seeing vava74’s daily updates about him. There have been other times where the stats disagreed with me because the stats were either flawed or looked at something from a limited perspective that didn’t take into account all the factors at play.
What I’m trying to get at is that stats are useful but limited. Using the stats about Joe’s defense as an example, they pass the eye test for me so I am not questioning them, but at the same time, positions are so fluid in basketball and teams cross match and switch on defense so frequently that the stats there can’t be used to make totally definitive statements, in my opinion.
James on Pharr Rd
April 16th, 2011
5:35 am
There are Lies damned lies, and then there’s statistics
James on Pharr Rd
April 16th, 2011
5:48 am
My bet is with the Magic in 5.Hawks might get one in ORL, if we stay close throughout the game.
Since I spend too much time pontificating on this team, I at least owe myself and my fellow bloggers my thoughts on how we can theoretically win the series. My gut feeling is the Hawks are leaning towards running the floor for easy scores, unfortunately that suits a 3point team like ORL. And, in the playoffs things do slow down which actually favors our offense (scrappy) style. If we pound the glass at a competitive level, ORL isn’t that great at half court offense. A 70-79 score favors our style, but that would mean we have to manufacture about 15-22 points with Jamal (Defense liability) on the bench. I would consider getting JC quickly off the bench, but with limitations, and play big when it matters-possibly KH JS JJ AH TWIN/ZAZA alternating Marvin with JS.
But,thats me.
James on Pharr Rd
April 16th, 2011
5:59 am
But, like most guys, I am very keen on watching LD’s offensive schemes and play calling unfold tomorrow. I literally cannot sleep.
On a side note, in support of JJ, I was wondering if the Hawks had D Wade or Dirk over JJ, if that would theoretically get us over the hill. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that our problems are often dumped on JJ considering how incomplete of a squad we have. I hope the Bulls do not make the same mistakes we did.
Gamer
April 16th, 2011
7:47 am
IN ORDER FOR THE HAWKS TO HAVE A REAL CHANCE OF OUSTING TEAMS IN ROUTE TO NBA FINALS, THESE QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWER RESOUNDINGLY THROUGHOUT FOUR QUARTERS OF EACH GAME.!!!!!!
CAN THE HAWKS BIG MEN(AL, JOSH, COLLINS, ZAZA AND ETHAN) SHOW SOLID PLAY INSIDE THE PAINT?
CAN THE HAWKS BIG THREE(J.J., AL AND JOSH) SHOW UNITY IN THOUGHT AND PLAY DURING GAME PLAYED DEFENSIVELY AND OFFENSIVELY FOR FOUR QUARTERS?
CAN LD COACH COHESIVENESS AMONG HIS BEST PLAYERS? AND WILL LD INSTALL CONFIDENCE IN TEAGUE DURING POSTSEASON?
WILL TEAGUE BE THE GAME-CHANGER WITH HIS SPEED AND BALL HANDLING ABILITY BREAKING DOWN OPPONENTS DEFENSE? OR WILL HE DEFER TO HIS VETERAN TEAM-MATES TO PUSH THE BALL UPCOURT?
AND WILL TEAGUE DECISIVELY TAKE THE BALL TO THE BASKET ONCE HE CROSSES MID-COURT OR GET INTO THE LANE FOR TEARDROP SHOTS?
COME ON TEAGUE, UTILIZE YOUR GOD-GIVEN SPEED TO CREATE SHOTS FOR YOUR TEAMMATES OR FOR YOURSELF!!!
WILL JOE JOHNSON PLAY WITH AN ATTITUDE TO WIN FOR FOUR QUARTERS IN EVERY GAME?
J.J. SHOW UP WITH AN AUDACIOUS TENACITY NOT TO LOSE A GAME, ESPECIALLY IN CRUNCH-TIME!!!! DO LIKE ALL OTHERS ALLSTAR ON HIS TEAM, DEMAND THE BALL AND TAKE OVER THE GAME WHEN NEEDED..DON’T HIDE!!!!!
CAN LD INSTALL OFFENSIVE SETS THAT DOESN’T PUT THE BALL IN JOSH SMITH HANDS WITH LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS ON SHOT-CLOCK AT 3′POINT LINE?
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT JOSH WILL LAUNCH BRICKS FROM THERE. WHEN HE IS MORE EFFECTIVE GOING TO THE BASKET!!! JOSH STAY WITHIN TEAM’S OFFENSIVE FLOW.
WILL HAWKS FAN-BASE CHEER FOR HAWKS AT HOME OR FOR OPPOSING TEAM? HAWKS NEED ALL THE SUPPORT THEIR FAN BASE CAN GIVE..
MY FINAL ANALYSIS, I DON’T SEE ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS ANSWERED STRONG ENOUGH BY THE HAWKS TO GO TO EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS. OTHER TEAMS LIKE THE HEAT, CELTICS, BULLS AND MAGIC’S HAVE TOO MUCH DEVELOPED TALENT, WHEREWITHAL AND HUNGER TO REACH EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS!!!!
PROVE MY FINAL ANALYSIS WRONG, ATLANTA HAWKS!!!!!
Geemack
April 16th, 2011
8:18 am
As excited as I am about the playoff, I don’t think the Hawks will put up much effort in this series.
As in the past the 1st sign of touble they will fold as usual.
go hawks!
Geemack
April 16th, 2011
8:19 am
Do teams really need to rest their starter when they have no legit shoot to win a title?
O'Brien
April 16th, 2011
9:35 am
SteveW,
Sund was the perfect puppet for the ASG.
Najeh,
If I’m not mistaken, Collins has shot a high % on his jumpers this year (although limited numbers).
I think plan A for SVG is to get Collins in foul trouble, or take away some effectiveness by pushing the tempo. The key is what will LD do if Collins isn’t effective, or if Dwight gets most of the calls.
mountain_jim
April 16th, 2011
9:43 am
Unless the Hawks shockingly win 2 series, I see this season’s results as confirming that Sund needs to go. Followed by his choice for coach. Followed by the owners, dreaming on….
Sund’s mismanagement of coach hires, contracts, JC1’s trade value and the wasting of JC2 and this years’s pick. Unless JJ and JC1 completely turn there season around in these playoffs, Sund’s decisions have killed this team’s future. Again.
At least a half-dozen of these blog regulars could have done better and built a better team.