Atlanta Hawks: Drew still says sitting Horford was right move
L.D. slept on it and came to the same conclusion as he did after he game: Sitting his best all-around best player for the final 21:50 of the first half in an attempt to avoid foul trouble was the right move.
Asked today after practice if he had any second thoughts on the decision, Drew provided a similar explanation as last night:
“When he picked up the early two fouls it put it us in a bit of a bind. You don’t anticipate your starters picking up two early fouls like that. When he went to the bench, had we hit a bad stretch at the start of the second quarter to the middle of the second quarter, I would have put him back in. We actually had a really good stretch in the middle of second quarter. With three minutes left we hit a bump in the road and I didn’t want to jeopardize him picking up his third when we were going good.”
By the middle of the second quarter, Atlanta’s 32-22 lead was down to 34-33 because Marvin, Jamal, Hinrich and Joe all missed jumpers; Hinrich lost the ball on a careless turnover; and Dwight went to work against Powell and then Armstrong.
After Al went to the bench, the Hawks gave up 15 offensive rebounds in the rest of the first half. They missed 26 of 41 shots and scored just 38 points on 49 possessions. If L.D. thought the Hawks were having a really good stretch then playing Horford, their best rebounder and most efficient scorer, might have made for an even better stretch.
Also note that Al averaged just 2.6 fouls per 36 minutes this season, the lowest rate of his career. I guess that number would be perhaps three if he were allowed to play regularly with two first-half fouls. Al has fouled out of four of his 335 career games, including playoffs. Among centers who played at least 1,000 minutes this season, Al has the fewest fouls per 36 minutes.
So it’s not like Al is prone to picking up fouls or has to check any Magic players who are particularly good at drawing them. Al doesn’t play a physical defensive style, instead relying on his quick feet to get good position. In other words, he’s not like Zaza, whom L.D. also left on the bench with two fouls. That made more sense because Zaza fouls a lot and is the last decent line of defense against Dwight.
Speaking of which . . .
The Magic were -21.3 points per 48 minutes with Twin on the court during the regular season. After two playoff games, they are . . . . -21.3 per 48 minutes with Twin on the court.
With Zaza on the court, the Magic were +9.8 per 48 minutes during the regular season and are +8.6 in the playoffs. The numbers vs. Etan are +31.1 and +27.4, vs. Powell -4.4 and +9.0. Armstrong didn’t play against Orlando during the regular season with the Hawks; the Magic were +61.7 per 48 vs. him in Game 2.
(All numbers are from NBA.com’s dope new StatsCube feature.)
The Hawks don’t really have anyone other than Twin who can provide much resistance against Dwight but the numbers suggest Zaza should be first in line (though he wasn’t last night). After those two the Hawks are simply hoping that any of the other bigs can somehow hang on.
“It’s always been like that,” L.D. said. “That’s nothing different. We go with Twin and Zaza and then we start using other big bodies and their jobs are to try to make him earn everything. They are battling him; there is a lot of banging going on. We are getting what we want out of those guys in those cases. We have to buy Twin and Zaza time.
“I’m not discouraged by that not one bit. In putting together this team one thing we knew we had to do was get big bodies in here in the event of playing Orlando in the playoffs. Hilton, Etan, Josh Powell–they are big bodies and their jobs are to force Dwight to work for everything. They are going to create fouls and force the issue. I am not discouraged by that.”
Notes
- Al said he has a bone bruise on his right knee. “It’s swollen but it’s good. I plan on playing.”
- Smoove reported no problems with the elbow.
- L.D., Al and J.J. all were in agreement that J.J. needs to pass the ball quicker if the Magic send aggressive double teams at him again in Game 2. Dwight chased Joe out to the perimeter at times, which (theoretically) should leave space on the weak side if the ball swings around quickly and the Hawks attack before Dwight can get back to the rim.
- “Move the ball,” Drew said. “I thought we got a little stagnant. We reverted back to a little too much one-on-one. But looking at the video, we gave up 20 offensive rebounds, they were plus-18 free-throw wise, yet with two minutes to go it was a two-point ballgame. We need to clean up a couple areas. The guys watched guys and saw some things we could have done differently.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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222 comments Add your comment
Geemack
April 21st, 2011
11:10 am
Hawks fan
Remember 2009 playoffs the Heat got a split in Atlanta, but still lost the series.
I think the real Hawks team will show up in the Highlight factory, and lose at least 1 of those games at home.
Section 303
April 21st, 2011
11:11 am
The Hollinger article has officially driven me insane. I hate the Larry Drew hire so much……Game 2 was such a missed opportunity. I just hope it does not come back to haunt the Hawks (though, I know it will). They should be up 2-0 in this series. There was no reason to lose that game on Tuesday. Although…part of me thinks the officials would have stepped in and prevented the Hawks from winning anyways.
Larry Drew is completely over his head.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 21st, 2011
11:14 am
Larry Lame Duck Drew is idiotic for constantly making that asinine move. Not only did it cost us game 2. It arguably costed us several games in the regular season. He is arrogant in a similar vein of Woody – cut from the same cloth of stubbornness.We need a new voice/coach/motivator because he ain’t got it Hawks will win in spite of him and lose because of his folly!
Alderman, Van Gundy, Dominique – I don’t care – anybody but Lame Duck LD!
JeJe
April 21st, 2011
11:14 am
“That’s all you can ask for,” Hawks forward Josh Smith said after the Hawks’ 88-82 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday.
That is probably why we lost. NO MUST-WIN MENTALITY
No one calling out refs for bogus calls. NO ONE WILLING TO TAKE THAT FINE
2 YEARS AGO PHIL JACKSON TOOK A FINE AND THAT HELPED LAL BEAT A DENVER TEAM THAT PROBABLY COULD HAVE WON THE SERIES
FIRE LD
FIRE ASG
FIRE SUND
FIRE WOODY
FIRE KRUGER
FIRE STOTTS
FIRE WEISS
FIRE FRATELLO
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 21st, 2011
11:24 am
Teague must be liberated – We should start a Teague Liberation Army and demand that LD play him at least 20 minutes a game – his job is on the line or so I hope!
He is not a coach he is an observer!
Rusty
April 21st, 2011
12:00 pm
I sincerely feel that anyone on the blog & that includes drmaryb & nortcyde could coach the hawks better than that moron LD. How about using JT idiot.
Rusty
April 21st, 2011
12:02 pm
Drew, right move my ass
drmaryb (*_-)
April 21st, 2011
12:04 pm
Rusty!
Thank You! And, include yourself in that list of better options at coach, than Larry Drew , because you, Najeh, O,Brien, Grand-Daddy, SlimJr … And a ton of others have made spectacular observations and fine points to help fix this team as well.
Astro Joe
April 21st, 2011
12:12 pm
OB, I totally get how LD hand-cuffed his team in Game 2. But this blog is specifically discussing the notion that he may do it again, which I personally doubt. I think he is simply saying what he needs to say in lieu of publicizing strategy changes.
Slimjr
April 21st, 2011
12:32 pm
Larry is a: “Company Man”!! quote from Tim Donaghy ex. 13 year NBA veteran ref……..who spilled the beans on Stern and his minions…….
He makes the godfather proud…superman must advance at all cost………………
The Truth
April 21st, 2011
12:34 pm
Regardless Hawksville, LD is a very special coach. He’s special in redefining the “word” insanity. Not just his questionable resource management but offensively, he does the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Projecting himself as an X’s and O’s man, I often wonder how much film does he actually study. Assuming it’s plenty, apparently it’s not translating to his players, why is that? How many times have we seen JJ trapped in corners pinned-down with 2 or more defenders on him with no passing outlets? His teammates are just watching him like spectators. SVG called up defenses from pass Hawks defeats that worked brilliantly. Trap by crowding JJ in corners to frustrate him preventing him from finding his rhythms; it’s so simple a caveman can do it. Many teams have deployed this strategy successfully against the Hawks. Where is the much hyped about movement LD talked about? Like Lebron, why can’t JJ initiate his attack from the middle of the court? What exactly is his love fest with the corners anyway? JJ is easy prey to traps because he loves holding the ball way too long. When he’s off his game, often it’s because he’s indecisive about what he wants to do offensively. As defenders, the mission is to just confuse and frustrate JJ automatically taking (at least) 10 points off his scoring average. With great regularity, that is often the difference in the game.
I hate being so negative given we’re in the postseason as a privileged team after splitting a victory on the road. But “The Truth” has to be told. Identifying problems and making proper adjustments should be fundamental to the coach. Not just between games, but also in real time between and within quarters as game 2 was a very winnable game if suitable adjustments had been made. In addition to a lack of resource management (points already made), X’s and O’s came up short as well.
Youalreadyknow
April 21st, 2011
1:13 pm
I just hope he has nothin to do with them White Out crap. I mean come on, seriously, really? Well I should really stand out tomorrow night because I will be wearing black, because it is going to sound like a funeral in there once the Magic realize these are the Hawks and kill them.
Astro Joe
April 21st, 2011
2:27 pm
The following teams will be hosting Game 3, their first home playoff game of the season: Atlanta, Denver, Memphis, Philly, NYC, NOLA, Indiana/Indianapolis & Portland. My guess? Atlanta has the least “frenzied” fans of the 8. I’m not saying that a tepid repsonse isn’t warranted, I’m just sayin’…
Oh and I think Memphis and NYC will compete for the most fanatical group of fans (I’d put my money on Bloomberg’s rowdy crowd).
phil
April 21st, 2011
2:37 pm
Him saying it doesn’t mean it was right. He’s an idiot to have done that. An idiot. Get rid of the bum and let’s get someone with some passion for the game….please!
And send JJ and Smith with him….lazy, worthless defenders.
phil
April 21st, 2011
2:40 pm
Smoove has got to be one of the stupidest nicknames I’ve ever heard of in my life. Right up there with Matty Ice…
There’s not one thing smooth about anything this guy does, other than not play defense.
Can’t even spell smooth apparently….
mykhalc
April 21st, 2011
2:41 pm
AAU basketball at its’ best!!!
Seattle Native
April 21st, 2011
3:03 pm
Silly, simple southerners. If only you could stop talking about your Bible fairy tales, maybe you would take the time to stop your Bible thumping and go research and educate yourselves on the much older Sumerian and Egyptian stories your “Nephilim” Biblical stories were stolen from.
Dont you guys have a holiday dedicated to the Pagan Goddess of Fertility (Eggs), named Eostre (Easter) soon???
Geemack
April 21st, 2011
3:05 pm
In the last 20 years there have only been 6 NBA team to win the championship.
The 6 teams that have won the title, 5 of those team had 1 thing in common.
They all had an NBA superstar on the roster.
The 04 Pistons are the only team that didn’t have a superstar on the roster.
The teams that drafted, or traded for a superstar player (Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Bulls, & Heat), all obtained the complimentary pieces within 3 years after the arrival of that superstar player.
The Hawks had the opportunity to duplicate this same formula in 06. That draft would have set this franchise up to compete as an elite team in NBA as we know it today.
Seattle Native
April 21st, 2011
3:07 pm
Enter your comments here
JoJo the Godfather
April 21st, 2011
3:23 pm
Geemack…All too true. The other piece of information that would be helpful in identifying “how to build a championship team” is where the team salaries ranked within the league. In other words, we know that the recent Lakers & Celtics teams have been near the top, but how many teams have won it all with a team payroll outside of the top 5 highest in the league? San Antonio comes to mind, but how many others.
lewis
April 21st, 2011
3:39 pm
at least stan van has the wherewithal to bench gilbert arenas
hopefully drew will learn to play teague
The Game Has Changed
April 21st, 2011
3:44 pm
I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW AND SO SHOULD YOU
The Game Has Changed
April 21st, 2011
3:49 pm
Let us all stop been so hard on the Hawks. Lets wait until the season is over. Most series are 2-0. We are 1-1 with a shot to go back to Orlando up 3-1.
D
April 21st, 2011
4:25 pm
I am not saying that Hawks would have won the game had Horford not been benched, but I, but I am saying this is the playoffs and we could have possibly taken a commanding 2-0 lead; therefore, I would have reminded him of his two fouls and informed him that we would not win this game or series without him (be smart). Personally, I think his basketball IQ is one of the highest on the team, if not the highest.
The Game Has Changed
April 21st, 2011
4:53 pm
But know one is asking Phil Jackson why he didnt put Kobe on CP in game one. They could have won that one
JuliusCesaer
April 21st, 2011
4:55 pm
Sitting Al Horford was the right move because like i said in an earlier blog, AL HORFORD PLAYED THE WORST GAME OF HIS LIFE IN GAME 2. Not just because he got 2 quick fouls, but in the third and fourth quarter when he was playing, his teammates got him the ball at least 20 times and just about every single time he tried to pass the ball to an open teammate, when he was open himself. Al kept giving the ball up to someone with a worse shot than what he had. AL SHOULD HAVE BEEN SELFISH AND JUST TRIED TO SHOOT EVERY TIME HE TOUCHED THE ROCK. HAD AL DONE THAT, THE HAWKS WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME BY 20 POINTS. DONT BLAME AL FOR SITTING IN THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS, BUT BLAME AL IN THE THIRD AND FOURTH QUARTERS FOR SIMPLY ‘PLAYING SCARED’. I could tell in Al’s body language, AL WAS AFRAID TO MAKE A MISTAKE, TAKE A BAD SHOT AND LOOK FOOLISH. Al must remember that his name is not Marvin Williams. AL SHOOTS THE ROCK FROM THE PERIMETER AT ABOUT A 64% CLIP. AL NEEDS TO BE TOLD WHEN HE IS INSIDE 15 FEET JUST SHOOT THE ROCK AND WORRY ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES LATER. AL WOULD HAVE SCORED AT LEAST 12 POINTS AND THE HAWKS WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME BY 6 POINTS and would have gone up 2-0.
Double Zero Eight
April 21st, 2011
5:18 pm
I respectfully disagree. Drew made a mistake. This is the playoffs.
If Horford ended up with 5 fouls, I might be inclined to agree with
his philosophy.
Slimjr
April 21st, 2011
5:44 pm
But ALLSTAR is an Allstar and they dont play scared or have to be told when or how to score the ball.
Al was not voted in for a reason…………..
Maybe Allstar Al and Marvin are Best friends now…LOL
Slimjr
April 21st, 2011
5:45 pm
Somebody called Drew a simpleton????? WOW……………..
Slimjr
April 21st, 2011
5:46 pm
ALLSTAR AL^^^^
Slimjr
April 21st, 2011
5:50 pm
“I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW I SUPPORT DREW AND SO SHOULD YOU”
HOPE YOU GOT A LIFE VEST CAUSE THIS ISH BE SINKIN………..WITH LARRY AS YOUR CAPTAIN…
CAPTAIN: SCOTTIE WE NEED MORE WARP DRIVE!!!
SCOTTIE: THIS IS ALL SHE’S GOT CAPTAIN!!
Slimjr
April 21st, 2011
6:06 pm
Hey didn’t Rick Sund run that Suppersonics team the heck outta Seattle????????
Slimjr
April 21st, 2011
6:06 pm
supersonic^^^^
ag
April 21st, 2011
6:25 pm
JuliusCesaer
April 21st, 2011
4:55 pm
According to the play by play, AH scored 8 points in 4th on 4-7 fg’d. i think he has had worse games.
I did question when Josh picked up the t, he sub JJ – giving JJ a 1 minute break…
PLAY JEFF TEAGUE
FIRE LD
I
O'Brien
April 21st, 2011
6:47 pm
The Game Has Changed
But know one is asking Phil Jackson why he didnt put Kobe on CP in game one. They could have won that one.
Maybe its because Phil has 11 championship rings? Maybe its because Phil’s teams have a history of rising to the occasion? Maybe its because with Kobe on the team, a one game deficit can be easily overcome?
Those are just some of my guesses though.
KevinM
April 21st, 2011
7:02 pm
Off topic, but wouldn’t Brandon Knight look good on this team?
We would have to give up one of our PFs for him, but I’m game.
We need to get a leader on the court. No way we get down that far in the draft though.
I would prefer for him to go back to UK with the strike uncertainty, but you gotta take a shot at getting him.
There are plenty of good PGs in place, so to swap a team who really doesn’t clamour for a PG this year could pay off in our growth the next few years.
We would probably need to be in the Top 5 to get him….perhaps Sacaramento would need a PF to line up with Cousins. We could take a bad contract off their hands in the process.
Josh for Sac #1 and Beno Udrih?
KevinM
April 21st, 2011
7:03 pm
Would Francisco Garcia look good off the bench behind Joe? Slot him in place of Udrih.
KevinM
April 21st, 2011
7:05 pm
For Al to have a bad game in Game 2, he played only 1/2 a game and still got 10/10.
Wonder why Marvin can’t do that? Is it that he and Josh don’t mesh well on the court together?
superiorblogman
April 21st, 2011
7:46 pm
Zaza and Marvin for Josh Childress and Gortac: We would have to wait until after the CBA get’s done, but either way this saves them $14 million. Gortac does not put people in the seats and unless they think they will be making more next year because of them making playoffs they should make this trade.
PG Teague/Hinrich/Earl Watson
SG Joe/Jamal/Pape/
SF Josh Smith/J Chillz/Damien
PF Horford/Chris Wilcox/Reggie Evans
C Gortac/Collins/Alexis Ajinca
Feasible Draft Board:
1 Klay Thompson
2 Darius Miller
3 Tyler Honeycutt
4 Tobias Harris
5 Chris Singelton
6 Jordan Williams
7 Jimmy Butler
8 Shelvin Mack
9 Keith Benson
10 Demetri McCamey
11 Marshon Brooks
12 Giorgi Shermadini
13 Isaiah Thomas
Draft the highest rated player left.
ag
April 21st, 2011
7:55 pm
drmaryb (*_-)
April 20th, 2011
11:51 pm
..U ARE SICK..ROFLOL….can’t concentrate on work lol!!!!!!
mykhalc
April 21st, 2011
8:00 pm
LD…”The Hawks settled for lots of jump shots, but said they planned to focus on swinging the ball and driving to the basket in Game 3 on Friday night.”
F’n amazin’!!!! 85th game of the year and they get a clue!!! blow it up PLEASE!!! or better yet, they get this clue again. lack of blood-flow to the brain has gotta be the answer…gotta be!!!
ag
April 21st, 2011
8:21 pm
Why publish what he is going to say, he says the same thing after EVERY LOSS.
O'Brien
April 21st, 2011
8:52 pm
From Jeff Schultz blog;
“At home at times [this season] it didn’t feel like we had that confidence of the crowd, but I feel like our crowd feeds off what we do,” Al Horford said. “So if we have some highlight plays and really get it going, the crowd buys into that. Or we play hard. That’s all the fans ask for. It’s really disappointing at times we don’t do that as a team.”
Bingo.
This sports market has always supported two things: 1) Georgia football; 2) Something else. No. 2 always changes, either because of fluctuating success, the perceived level of commitment of ownership and management or, as Horford said, just flat out effort.
In short, fans want to be given a reason to believe..
Hawks have a golden opportunity to build some momentum. Win game 3, and the fans will come (imo).
dummynique
April 21st, 2011
9:40 pm
i hate the 2-2-1-1-1 series format. bring back the 2-3-2. if we had THREE home games against the magic, up 1-1, you could stick a fork in this series.
JeJe
April 21st, 2011
10:44 pm
LD IS GOING TO COST US THIS SERIES IF WE LOSE
JeJe
April 21st, 2011
10:47 pm
THE ONLY TIME THE HAWKS EVER HAD A GOOD CROWD WAS AGAINST BOSTON 3 YEARS AGO
BOSTON, UTAH, AND PORTLAND PUT OUR “FANBASE” TO REST
Mike is back
April 21st, 2011
11:06 pm
AJ, thanks for putting things in the right context when it comes to keeping it real on the blog.
I want say much…because I have been on the side line…but your right with regards to LD…I will admit my dissatisfaction with LD…however, no way can I lambast LD, after the way the Hawks have fought in the first two game of the series.
Did I miss something…Yeah, it was a bad decision…Yeah it may have cost the Hawks series…BUT the Hawks came home with a split.
Heck Yeah, we needed to get game two…but we didn’t come home empty handed. Hey, I hate to loose…however, I’m a straight shooter…I love the game of basketball…especially because of the playoff.
Right know LD is batting .500…dang…let’s see what happens in game three…that’s where I disagree with these ESPN boys…Heck, they could give a rats ass about what happens to the Hawks…alert alert …please read all their blogs about the Hawks…not just game 2.
It just so happen that Hawks/Orlando are the most intriguing matchup in the first round…don’t forget people…we talking ESPN…I’m more likely believe the guys on this blog…when it comes to the Hawks.
So I guess…it kind of alright to focus on game two…and forget we took game one in Orlando…well sorry…I can’t do that.
The Hawks have shown some fight thus far in this series…the 64 million question…is will it continue…that’s what will determine the out come of the series…not a couple of opportunist from ESPN…again consider the source.
Two guys I respect…Steve Smith and that other Barry…the one that won the Slam Dunk contest…now the other Barry has implied we let one slip away…well I have my upmost respect for that Barry…he actually have a ring.
Hey, he call LD out for his decisions to leave AL on the bench…I can respect that…but please…don’t come with this ESPN BS.
LD, you have an golden opportunity here…don’t let it slip away…that’s what’s up…A wise man…would leave Al in despite his two fouls…and play Teague and Damein more.
Just saying…I may not be blogging…but I will never cheer against the Hawks…no matter what…sorry Grand Dad…you are a coach…you of all people should know better.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JeJe
April 21st, 2011
11:07 pm
The Portland crowd actually gets excited when players get the ball.
The Atlanta crowd sends messages on their Blackberries
Grandad
April 21st, 2011
11:27 pm
Superior has a good idea with ” Marcin Gortat “.
He’s more than just a servicible Big.
He is a Rugged Defensive minded Rebounder.
Childress has a worse contrct than Marv.
However, if he could be pried away w/o giving up:
JJ Max, Al or Josh, I’m all for it.
*On your – Feasible Draft Board:
If *Honeycut comes out he’s a 1st rounder for sure.
*Singleton = ditto.
Grandad
April 21st, 2011
11:28 pm
* serviceable