Atlanta Hawks: Video: Sticking to the plan

YAO MING GREGG ODEN

That idea has always seemed worth the pursuit. As a fan of Shaun Livingstone who broke his leg with the Clippers, I am happy to watch him revive his career in Charlotte after being written off. I am not saying Oden or Yao will be physically fit to play at a high level, but at the subsidized price you would get them, it is at least worth pursuing. Also, it doesn’t count against your cap if they get hurt again and cannot suite up. That is if they all walk without contracts from their teams. This league has been filled with stars who hurt their way out of action, but potential that was ignored often too fast.

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“Rev, stop it. Howard’s not going to Atlanta. LA, Miami, New York, Brooklyn(if D-Will resigns). Not Atlanta. That team will never be a Title contender with or without Howard.

And to the clown who posted above Rev, shut your mouth. Don’t come on here and preach about what it means to be a real fan. Get lost, troll.”

THAT IS ONE PISSED OFF FAN DOWN IN ORLANDO!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

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Toronto fans should stick to hockey. or the Blue Jays.

Sorry but that’s stupid if they’re thinking that. They lost Bosh. Now they want to lose Bargnani? It’s no wonder many teams dont have a go to guy. See Raptors.

Hell tho, if they really want to…then by all means. We’ll send you Marvin. We’ll even send you 25 crates of our delicious Georgia peaches. We’ll throw in a signed Spud Webb jersey to.

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“It would be politically incorrect for Van Gundy to admit he misses Vince Carter.” – The Truth

Vince Carter was fading badly and Otis Smith knows he needs to get back to the NBA finals to get DH to re-sign. Signing Vince in the first place and letting Turk go was an obvious mistake, and how does Otis Smith make up for it? By trading away the most valuable asset Orlando had outside of DH… Marcin Gortat.

The hardest position to staff on an NBA roster is Center. There are less than half as may true centers of NBA quality than there are NBA teams. Orlando once had two of them. But they traded Gortat away for what? Jrich? Turk who is fading just as bad as VC? And now your second best interior defender is Brandon Bass?

FIRE OTIS SMITH

“SVG WAS THE SAME COACH WHOSE TEAM IN THE 08 FINALS LITERALLY THREW AWAY GAME 1 AND 2 LATE IN THE 4TH QUARTERS AND LOST THE FINALS THEY SHOULD HAVE WON?” – Slimjr

Speak truth Slim. I will never forget that game where Orlando had a foul to give and let Kobe come down and hit that three untouched. I think everybody in the building except SVG and the 5 Orlando Magic on the floor knew they had a foul to give and could make the Lakers take it out of bounds with the clock drained.

That was when Turk was playing out of his mind in a contract year. Also true is whoever commented about how fast the window closes on championship-contending teams. You think Arenas is going to get them to the NBA finals?

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Rim Shot!

Defender of the Castle. That is what we need from Josh this post season. The closer Josh plays to the perimeter – The smaller he appears.
If he would stay home inside like he was coached to do last year, he would have been 2nd in DPOY voting again this year.

Josh will never take that trophy from Dwight, but that doesn’t mean he should not try like hell! At least keep his name in the pot.
I hope the snub will put that proverbial chip back on his shoulder.
Like northcyde said, the sprained elbow on his shooting arm should also help him to bring his game back to the inside as the ultimate help defender. It’s all comes down to will and desire.

Give Rev some credit for blowing up that Orlando Basketblog this morning: just brilliant – Rev! I loved that.

I hope Dwight does come out mad/angry/emotional Tuesday night. That is when he is at his worst. The key is to bother/harass/frustrate him.
He will have a nuclear melt down. Ignore his pts/rebounds and delete his helpers. We are a match up nightmare for them now and I don’t see that dynamic in jeopardy any time soon, certainly not over the next 10 days.

Let’s Go Hawks!
Can the Hawks handle such success? That Buck series last year should prove we can handle adversity with that game 7 win to advance to the beat down in round 2. Advantage: Hawks Mettle/Chemistry.
Orlando doe not have that with this diluted trade group of:
Arenas, JRich, Hedo, et.al. (and others), thank you very much Otis Smith
for all the help. We’ll take it!

Like SG said in his presser: we could not stop their perimeter scoring/pull ups and iso-players. Our strength when the shots don’t fall is to iso-late the play makers, drive into the paint and get to the FT line as a collective unit. We did a lethal dose of all those phases, all game long.
Don’t get it twisted, we did a lot more that jump shoot. Even our jump shots were 10 feet inside and very little from the 3 Line.
We played the perimeter in no man’s land all night long. That was a new wrinkle from all year behind the arc. We good!

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Ride or Die!

“According to NBA.com’s StatsCube, Johnson’s points, shooting percentage and plus-minus increase with Richardson on the floor. When Richardson leaves the floor, Johnson gets worse.

And on the other side of the ball, Richardson is scoring just 11.5 points per 36 minutes against Johnson while scoring 16.6 points per 36 minutes overall.

Clearly, Johnson is winning the matchup. And, clearly, that’s a problem, because it’s not like the Magic can make an adjustment. They’re riding or dying with Richardson at shooting guard.

“He’s a tough cover since he is 6-8, he can dribble, he can shoot – you just have to make it tough on him,” said Richardson, adding that he’ll try to crowd Johnson more in Game 2.

But Van Gundy continues to reiterate that he doesn’t want these playoff games to turn into one-on-one matchups.

“I think we have to do a better job of getting to him a little bit quicker with our help, and we have to try to take away his strengths and his comfort zone a little bit better,” Van Gundy said. “But we’re not going to get much taller by tomorrow, I don’t think. So he’ll still have some advantage over the top.”

Earlier this season, Van Gundy called Richardson his best individual defender.

The Magic need Richardson to play like it for four games this series.
___________________

Insomnia: gee, I woke up @ 2am and can’t go back to sleep.
Back to sleep now. I’m so excited, can’t wait til 7pm.

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Drmaryb, what does DPOY has to do with what Josh does on the offensive end? The main reasons Josh didn’t get as many votes this season as last are, he spent much more time playing SF, so naturally that’s more time away from the basket on defense. Also no switching on defense leads to less opportunities against opposing wings/pgs driving off of the pick. And the most important reason, IMHO, is that he’s played the last half of the season basically on one leg. So the explosiveness that he would normally have is nonexistent, now.

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Bargnani for Marvin was nothing more than fans like us;
“wishful thinking”.
Bargnani is not a SS but I would take him over Marv.
he’s a 7 ftr with skill who has achieved more than Marv,
yet has not lived up to some people’s expectations.
[still only 25] still 7 ft. (extremely high B-ball IQ)
Were it to be reality, I’m still in + Marv needs a fresh start

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so the DEV IN TAMPA is back and so close to the ascension day? too funny, rev the rabble rouser.

man, hawks hold the knife close to the heart of the magic organization tonight. yeah, it probably is that important a game to them.

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guys…we don’t need injured players….for the same reason we didn’t sign S. O’Neal we ain’t gonna sign Yao Ming.

Perhaps Mary B would agree Woodson didn’t exactly earn his pay last Orlando series but that’s a year late.

Blah, blah, blah……..oh that a superior blogman would come down from a childish metaphysically constructed heavenly universe to straighten out these heathens….but of course such a creature would never show himself fully.

Go Hawks….

By the way, I don’t think this serie is quite over yet……

You’ve see some confusion and screens mixing up Dwight and the little people today and a zone against our beloved Hawks……

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“I’ve said it over and over, with Jamal gone next year, Marvin will get the shots he needs to become a consistent performer. Mark my words, this time next year you will all think Marvin is worth his contract.”

I think Teague is going to take advantage of Jamal’s minutes better than Marvin, but the broader point is a good one, that the Hawks have players who can step in to Jamal’s minutes and provide the same level of overall impact.

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Ra’mon asks:

Drmaryb, what does DPOY has to do with what Josh does on the offensive end.
______________________

Basketball has two aspects, but they are parlayed into one another.
You have heard the statement,”Our defense creates offense. Or, when he stand around on offense our defense suffers.”

See the Orlando Basketblog comments pound this sentiment home on page one of this blog. But, to answer your question from my own perspective:

When Josh is in the paint full time, good things happen on offense and defense, exponentially. It all comes down to positioning and roaming around the basket. Al should do more of this too.

To me it keeps Josh hungry, and this has noting to do with his sprained knee. If you suit up, there are no excuses. It hasn’t stopped the the thunder dunks – has it?

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SMH at Slimjr. You have me totally confused. I followed a link to an article in the Orlando paper and there you were, trashing the Magic team. Saying how the Hawks are going to beat the Magic but you consisently trash the Hawks on their blogs. I don’t understand you dude… LOL

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“I’ve said it over and over, with Jamal gone next year, Marvin will get the shots he needs to become a consistent performer. Mark my words, this time next year you will all think Marvin is worth his contract.”

Larry Drew has made it clear he wants Jamal back next season. He has this narrow view that the Hawks must be a “jumpshooting first” team. I would rather see the Hawks rid themselves of Jamal and become team that attacks the paint with Teague distributing the ball. That’s why it saddens me that the Hawks got rid of JC2. He attacks the paint and makes great passes out to the wings when the defense collapses.

Neither Teague or Marvin will benefit from Jamal’s minutes because he will be using them… plus a lot of salary cap room as well.

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As for Josh and his lack of votes for defense, I think there are a few reasons as others have mentioned.

Last year, 130 blocks in 81 games. This year, 99 blocks in 77 games.
Last year, 705 rebs in 81 games. This year, 657 in 77 games.

With no switching, I think that cuts down on his “block” opportunities. Also, he has guarded some SF’s this year, so that keeps him on the perimeter more, which again, takes away from his “block’ opportunities.

Also, our offensive rebounding is bad, because we are hurrying to get back. Therefore, we dont have Josh crashing the offensive board, and then having to chase somebody down for the block.

And also, maybe he is not putting forth as much effort to get the blocks like he did last year (a big reason being his injury…imo). And his man to man defense is not “NBA defensive team” worthy (imo). His strength is help/weak side defense.

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O’Brien, those are good stats. Another thing to add in there is the eye test. Ray Charles could have seen that Josh spent a good portion of this season coasting. His effort has been weak most of the year.

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303

I think you are right about Jamal. Be simply fits this team and is a huge piece here. We would miss his presence sorely.

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SlimJr

Cosign all the way around. Great comments.

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680 ESPN RADIO

Brian Heard interviewing Pat Williams (DX: Multiple Myeloma) is the VP of The Orlando Magic discussing Hawks – Magic tonight.

Pat said, “Feeling better with illness due to R&D of this disease. He is not in remission yet, fighting for his life. Pat said, the goal is to keep Dwight and are considering the new CBA as well. Magic are optimistic that Dwight will want to be a ONE Franchise player with deep roots in the community. He is our future, but he has to like his situation with coaches and teammates to want to stay here. This play offs, everybody is good!
Nobody wants to play Memphis, New York could have beat Boston and
New Orleans shocked The Lakers. I’ve been in the league 43 years, but this is the most competitive 1st Round and the BBall experts have to re-write their stories now.”

Pretty vanilla comments here.

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FIRE SUND

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Buddy Grizzard

“Last year Smoove stayed closer to the basket under Woody and was recognized for doing what was asked and playing his position. This year Smoove has been feuding with LD all year, and the coaches notice that when they select All-Star reserves. The DPOY voters also notice when you abandon your strengths and decide to be a soft, contact-avoiding, jump shooter.”

Totally untrue statement. There were fueds with Woodson. I have heard of no fueds with LD, on the level that he had with Woodson. He actually is doing what LD asks of him which is standing on the perimeter waiting on the pass from ball movement. Blame LD not Josh. Him being a contact avoiding jump shooter has nothing to do with the DPOY voting. Him having to play the three, and being further away from the rim, and us not switching as much has everything to do with it.

“Grandad, I’m out. Marvin, for all his failures, is a legitimate defender at the three position. He’s also a legit outside shooter. Bargnani has a high scoring average on a 20-win team and can’t guard anybody.
I’ve said it over and over, with Jamal gone next year, Marvin will get the shots he needs to become a consistent performer. Mark my words, this time next year you will all think Marvin is worth his contract.”

It is always funny to me to see someone try to discredit or “hate” on Josh Smith, but then try to make a million excuses for Marvin. If we keep waiting on Marvin to step up, he will be ready to retire. First it was Flip taking his shots, now its Jamal, next year it will be any decent free agent (Rip Hamilton type) player who the Hawks bring in. A legitimate defender? Against who? Josh has drawn more charges, has more steals, more blocks, more rebounds and shot a higher 3 point percentage than Marvin, but Marvin is legitimate defender and a legit outside shooter. LOL

Section 303

“O’Brien, those are good stats. Another thing to add in there is the eye test. Ray Charles could have seen that Josh spent a good portion of this season coasting. His effort has been weak most of the year.”

Coasting? His numbers are probably some of the best he has put up in his career. His defensive numbers have decreased in terms of blocks, and steals, but his rebounds are about the same, and his ppg are up, FT% is way up, and 3p% was better than Joe and Marvin’s. Do you think that maybe his steals and blocks are down because of him being on the perimeter, and him playing almost the whole second half of the season on a bum knee? If you are going to “hate”, I don’t think acusing Josh Smith of coasting would be fair. If josh Smith coast, then what does Marvin, Bibby, Joe,and Horford do? Acussing him of taking bad shots, and not being mentally stronger would be fair.

O’Brien

“Last year, 130 blocks in 81 games. This year, 99 blocks in 77 games.
Last year, 705 rebs in 81 games. This year, 657 in 77 games.”

The point is understood, but the blocks were actually his steals, Blocks were 172 last year, and 120 this year.

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Thanks drmary! You on a roll!!! What a mind you have….You and JEJE were ballin….Now that was entertaining to say the least…. LOL

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Rod from college park i cosign, the way people keep down playing josh, and talking about marvin like he is the next cumming of somebody it’s crazy, marvin is horrible and will always be LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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If LD don’t wake up soon and realize the flawless of the hawks, they will not succeed in the playoffs.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Josh in the post at smallforward the hole game i guarantee he score 30point, but why can’t LD see that hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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