Atlanta Hawks: Videos: Wild finish, fight fallout and press conference
Sorry for the lack of the usual post-game writeup last night, blog people. Technical issues threw a wrench in those plans.
Here is my post-game report with CineSport’s Noah Coslov and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Game highlights and press conference also are posted below.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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113 comments Add your comment
Section 303
April 23rd, 2011
12:12 pm
Rev in Tampa, wasn’t trying to correct you.
And, I hate the negative tones of my above posts. Not feeling negative about the team at all today. I/we spend so much time complaining. Need to enjoy the good moments. Right now is a good moment for Hawks fans.
Can’t wait for tomorrow night!
O'Brien
April 23rd, 2011
12:12 pm
I’m thrilled for the win. And hope we can take the commanding 3-1 lead tomorrow.
However, if Jamal misses that shot and Orlando scores, we would be crucifying the hawks today, specifically Jamal. He dribbled out the shot clock, and then threw up a contested 26 footer. Horrible possession.
Sports is such a fickle thing. If he misses, he might be the goat. But the shot went in, so he is a hero.
Rusty
April 23rd, 2011
12:15 pm
I can’t believe how everybody now talks like ld is doing a good job, he still sucks & is the worse coach in the NBA.
moboman
April 23rd, 2011
12:16 pm
drmary is right on in her assesment of Teague. In his limited minutes last night he was a liablilty on defense, and on offense. LD is right to keep him on the pines in this series. Im tired of seeing the opposing PG blow by him, and Im tired of seeing him lose the ball in traffic in the lane. We cant play 4 against 5 on offense if they are gonna dare him to shoot the ball and back off of him. He came in last night and our level of play dropped off immediately. Cant let that happen again. He looks like a kid in a MAN’s game.
prison mike
April 23rd, 2011
12:16 pm
I believe the key the rest of the way is defending the pick and roll/pop. The hawks seem to be one of the worst at defending it. I would rather nelson shoot long threes than driving off it and causing havoc in the paint.
darrell starks
April 23rd, 2011
12:17 pm
I believe josh is hurt because the guy played scared last night with no fire, standing around the three point line all night long, LD have to force josh 2 play in the post period, josh at the 3 can avg atleast 20point a game at smallforward if he play in the post, LD MUST RECONIZE THAT.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sleepy
April 23rd, 2011
12:24 pm
II would also like to say that I dont think Josh camping out is actually by design . I think thats Josh calling the play and deciding hes gonna feed the post and since everyone knows the playcall they simply just properly space the floor because what are they gonna do run over and snatch the ball form him ? LD made this guy a captain lol. Normally thats Kirk or jamal in Joshs spot but when Josh decides to do whatever he wants we see the result .
It goes back to a question I put out there in a previous blog post last week
Does Josh understand what he needs to do in order for the hawks to win ? Does he try and do those things with all the passion and energy that you would expect from a player of his caliber ?
IMO at this pace Josh is playing himself right out of town .
Grandad
April 23rd, 2011
12:28 pm
The Truth
Just corresponding not debating:
If we were running true motion offense
Josh would be moving from
strong to weak, weak to strong, etc.
*[@ - Brent Berry]
That’s the whole problem;
Josh is “camped out” period.
I suppose we are now running “camping out” offense.
However, I do like Josh defending the [3].
Buddy Grizzard
April 23rd, 2011
12:28 pm
Key to tomorrow’s game is going to be JJ vs. Dwight. With J-Rich suspended, JJ has got to have a huge game. Dwight won’t have to worry about Zaza and Collins might be hurt. He’s going to have a huge game so JJ has got to take advantage against Reddick. I wouldn’t expect to see Arenas much even with J-Rich out… everybody but Otis Smith knows he’s done as an NBA player.
The Truth
April 23rd, 2011
12:35 pm
To be fair, if Josh is playing the SF position, shooting jumpers from the perimeter is within his jurisdiction. A bumper-sticker mentality of telling Josh to stay away from the perimeter shooting jumpers doesn’t apply once LD labeled him a SF. Also, players toggling from PF to SF and then back again, will be challenging and will come with some bumps and bruises. With LD revolving lineup, his player’s performance often emulates his inconsistent coaching strategy.
Rusty
April 23rd, 2011
12:35 pm
Section 303 first ld don’t play jt, then he plays him for 2 min.,then he has him in with jc1 who is playing pg,then he knows that ld will pull him as soon as he makes mistakes. I see Nelson getting around jc1,kh & jj as if they weren’t there. Jt has the speed & talent but isn’t ever going to get a real chance with stupid coaches like woody & woody lite. Hell rondo or cp3 would be in the same position with those idiots.
doc
April 23rd, 2011
12:35 pm
teague was on his heels deer in the headlight. i said it was a terrible time for him to get some play time as he entered and he didnt prove wrong. maybe next time jitters wont be as strong as he now has baptism by fire.
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
12:36 pm
OBSERVATIONS
1) Good Job Atlanta. Way to come out to support the Hawks. By the end of the 1st quarter, every seat in that building was filled. And 98% of the crowd were Hawk fans, something you rarely see. Last night was a foggy, drizzily, cool night that people could’ve used as an excuse to stay home. But ya’ll came out. Good job.
2) Joe Johnson was absolutely brilliant in the 1st half. And plays were actually being called for him coming off screens. As great as he was in the 1st half, he was awful shooting in the 2nd half. But that was mainly due to a major adjustment by Orlando. I’ll get to that later.
3) Jamal Crawford possibly had the most exciting 7 – 19 FG game in the history of basketball. Dude was taking horrific shots. But when we needed points the most, he got those shots to fall. Even on the 4 point play, Marvin should’ve taken that 3, because he was wide open. But he quickly passed to Jamal, who calmly knocked down the 3 + the foul, right after the Magic had taken the lead. And from Section 201, I didn’t even realize that Jamal BANKED that shot in, until I saw it on the replay. LOL . . that was arguably his worst shot of the night, because he should’ve tried to at least get to the FT line. But that’s what Jamal does . . make improbably shots. JJ owned the 1st half. And despite shooting 3 – 9 FG in the quarter, Jamal owned the 4th quarter.
4) Other than a few wild passes, Josh Smith played a steady and consistent game last night. He saved us in that 3rd quarter when JJ couldn’t buy a shot, and everyone else was throwing up bricks. And most of all, he consistently rebounded the ball. That’s what we need from him, more than anything else. Double-digit rebounding.
5) Zaza . . can’t say enough about that dude. He took punishment from Dwight all night, most of which didn’t get called against him. But Zaza hung in there and dished out some punishment of his own. “Fake Toughguy” or not, he’s the toughest we have right now. He is definitely needed in this series.
6) Drew gets a B- last night. He at least tried to play Teague. He rewarded Zaza with extended minutes. And he picked and chose the right times to play Jamal. Even took him out in the 4th to put a more defensive lineup on the floor. Then when the team couldn’t score, he put him back in. But he gets a B- because some of his moves could’ve been catastrophic. JJ playng 44 minutes, plus having to guard Nelson at times, took a lot out of him coming down the stretch of that game. Subbing Josh out of the game in the 4th was a bad decision, seeing that Smith was one of the few people rebounding. I wonder if Smith would’ve finished the game on the bench, had Zaza not gotten ejected. Constantly posting Horford vs Bass isn’t going to work. Al just isn’t efficient down on the blocks like that. Honestly, we may be better off posting Smith, simply because Smith passes better out of the low block.
Sleepy
April 23rd, 2011
12:40 pm
Obrien Jamal has ten years of history of taking and taking shots exactly like the one he made last night. A quick youtube look and you would see all sorts of crazy three point makes so when people say stuff like he threw it up it really is baffling .
When you are the best at history at shooting a three pointer while being fouled and top 25 all time in three pointers made I dont think hes just throwing it up there .
The guy scan simply shoot the heck out of the ball with a hand in his face at some point you have to respect his skills . Just like Reggie Miller or Robert Horry after youve done it so many times how can it be considered luck ?
Now if I was the Magic I wouldnt have never allowed him to size up jameer the way he did . We saw jamal catch and SHOOT from further out to end the quarter just last game so no way especially after the 4 pt play would I have allowed him to get a clean look anywhere . I wouldve sent Kirks man hard at him at the 8 second mark and forced Kirk to beat us .
At a certain point you have to respect what types of shots a players taken and made throughout his career and jamal who even in his press conference talked about his sweet spot and everyone thought from 26 ft out ??????? but you know what go watch youtube and check out what he does in the halfcourt with the ball in his hands at the top of the circle .
So I would say thats a bad shot for me or Marvin but for Jamal he routinely makes those shots .
The Truth
April 23rd, 2011
12:46 pm
Grandad
“I suppose we are now running “camping out” offense.”
LOL, I have always admired your “Andy Griffith” style approach to solving problems. Must be an age/wisdom huh?
The Truth
April 23rd, 2011
12:54 pm
*Must be an age/wisdom thing huh?
moboman
April 23rd, 2011
12:57 pm
I thought LD had the right guys on the court most of the game last night. The game was mano e mano, and he went with the hosses that were getting the job done. Kudos to him.
Nate ArchiBALL
April 23rd, 2011
1:13 pm
Turkoglu – 3 of 11 from the field / 1 of 6 from the three point line / 9 pts / 2 boards / 4 assists, Someone is doing a pretty job on “Ding him up”.
Not a big Marvin fan – but the 2 boards he had were very big
ditto on the box out of Dwight and board by Josh prior to the big three by JC1.
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
1:15 pm
6) One of the major issues that we’re going to have to adjust to, is that Dwight Howard is coming out more and more to help double JJ out on the perimeter. Orlando is absolutely not worried about our centers scoring. When he passes that ball out of the double team, others have to make plays to make the Magic pay for what they’re doing. In essence, it’s the opposite of doubling Dwight in the post. When teams double Dwight in the post, the Magic shooters are looked upon to knock down 3s. In our case, when people double JJ, the person catching JJ’s initial pass should attack the defense, seeing that Howard may be out of position. To really nullify this, we could play Horford more at center, instead at PF. Let Horford draw Howard out to him, or have that pass go to an open Horford, and have him knock down the jumper.
7) These two teams do not like each other . .at all. I never noticed this on TV, but at the arena, you saw it right from the start of this game. I knew some type of altercation was going to break out at some point in that game. Dwight is dishing out some MAJOR punishment out there. And our guys, even outside of Zaza, are getting tired of it. The next altercation may be between J-Rich and JJ . . or Horford and Bass.
8 ) I think Marvin becomes the x-factor in Game 4. You may see the “JJ Rules” being applied to Jamal as well, forcing other Hawks to beat them. A guy like Marvin, and Kirk Hinrich, for that matter, have to make the Magic pay for doubling our perimeter people by knocking down open shots, or driving to the hole. If we can get a breakout game from him in Game 4, we may take them down and have complete control of this series.
9) It’ll be interesting to see if the league suspends both Zaza and J-Rich. I’m hopeful neither guy gets suspended. The “one punch and you’re suspended” rule in the NBA has always been extreme to me. Throwing one punch isn’t a “fight’. THIS is a fight. And to be honest, it’s the fights that created some of the most bitter rivalries back then. What Zaza and J-Rich did to each other last night wouldn’t have even gotten them ejected 25 years ago.
10) Say what you want about the Hawks, but they’re showing extreme mental toughness in this series. We could easily be up 3 – 0 right now, had Drew not had that brain malfunction in sitting Horford an entire half. This team is NOT scared of Orlando . . at all. And for the most part, they’re not wilting when the going gets tough. They’re grinding it out. That’s what they have to do in the playoffs. Unfortunately though, this series may get even more physical. So even if we do move on to the 2nd round, the Bulls will probably be fully rested to play us, while we’ll be coming out of a 12-round fight. But we’ll address that once ( if ) we get to the 2nd round.
Great game last night. It wasn’t better than the Boston wins in 2008, but I’ll definitely put that #4 on the list of recent playoff wins.
Nate ArchiBALL
April 23rd, 2011
1:18 pm
Enter your comments here
The Game Has Changed
April 23rd, 2011
1:25 pm
@Sleepy-Jamal is one of the best one on one players in the league. What player on Boston, Heat, or the Bulls can check him one on one? None. Not R. Allen, not Rose, not Wade not Deng, not Pierce so I dont know what you are talking about.
The Game Has Changed
April 23rd, 2011
1:26 pm
Can yall imagine how far we could go in the playoffs if we got great play out of Marvin. SCARY
Mike is back
April 23rd, 2011
1:29 pm
Section 303, dude why are people so surprised Teague and Damein showed some rust…give me a freaking break.
LD, has to keep giving them opportunities…they will respond.
JeJe
April 23rd, 2011
1:37 pm
Suspend ZaZa, J-Rich, AND Dwight
The Game Has Changed
April 23rd, 2011
1:37 pm
@Mike is back-I dont think we have time to groom Teague right now. Just like Orlando lost in the championship series to the lakers when they tried to incorperate Nelson into the rotation. It took the entire team out of sync. He will be aight riding the pine for now. Damien wouldnt hurt us as much since he is a different caliber player. He doesnt need the ball in his hands to make a difference.
JeJe
April 23rd, 2011
1:39 pm
Did ZaZa’s headbutts even hit j-Rich that hard? no homo
JeJe
April 23rd, 2011
1:42 pm
If Dwight gets suspended for this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lz0-HvMNyM
He should be suspended for last night. What he did last night was very similar to Kobe’s elbows a few years ago on Manu and some other guy (don’t remember who)
JeJe
April 23rd, 2011
1:49 pm
J-Rich hit the ref too
Mike is back
April 23rd, 2011
2:01 pm
The Game Has Changed, I agree, the time to groom Teague was in the regular season. Notice I said opportunities…that’s a lot different than saying starting. There will be situations where these guys will be needed.
I didn’t mention the Z word on defense…because thus far…when haven’t seen it…but when it happen…you see my point.
Secondly, Jameer is an All Star…did anyone think Teague…with his limited experience would come in and shut Jameer down…I certainly didn’t…not even Captain Kirk can do that…he looked bad…but don’t give up him.
O'Brien
April 23rd, 2011
2:04 pm
northcyde,
I liked Josh’ effort on the boards. But when JJ gets doubled, Josh needs to be going to the basket. He is 2-9 from 3 in the series. Why does he keep shooting them?
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
2:05 pm
As for Teague, I’m not going to kill the kid for his poor play last night. But you can’t blame it on “rust” either, especially on the defensive end. Either you can guard a man, or you can’t. Offense is a different story, but how can you be rusty defensively?
Fact is, Nelson made Teague look bad on 2 consecutive possessions. The kid has to be able to make an immediate impact in games. He almost has to play a few minutes though, because we need to be able to give JJ at least 8 minutes of rest a game. If JJ is going to be asked to guard Nelson part of the game, he needs some rest in between doing that, plus being a main scorer in the offense.
But I’m not going to rag Teague now. He just has to understand that he almost has to make something happen as soon as he comes into the game, in order to get extended minutes. The playoffs are no time for experiments. We saw that firsthand with Drew giving Powell and Hilton Armstrong extended minutes in Game 2.
O'Brien
April 23rd, 2011
2:06 pm
From he previous blog;
Rev,
I don’t understand daps on MADE FTs.
And given the Hawks performance so far in this series, you can count on LD coming back next season.
I didn’t see most of the game, but Marvin had 2 rebs in 13 minutes. Were they really that big?
mykhalc
April 23rd, 2011
2:06 pm
AAU basketball at its’ best!!! yeah man!!!
RA
April 23rd, 2011
2:09 pm
Dwight Howard is a thug, bottomline. I think it’s sickening how he laughed and went on at that press conference. If he doesn’t throw an elbow at Za Za at the end of that play, the fight doesn’t happen, and he’s in a position to reap the benefits because Za Za is providing a lot more for us than whatever his name is is doing for the Magic.
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
2:10 pm
@ O’Brien . . because he’s wide open.
And yes, I know that’s part of the defensive gameplan . . to give Josh those shots. But he is wide open.
And I’d wish that he’d drive the ball when he gets it too, or cut to the basket and get something in the lane. But like someone earlier said, as long as he’s playing SF, he’s going to be out on the perimeter more. And that means he’ll be more tempted to take the jumper.
What I would also like to see when Josh does take those jumpers, is for the player on the opposite side to go crash the boards to help Horford and Zaza. It could be JJ, or Marvin, or whomever. If Josh is taking the shot, he’ll more than likely be already back on defense if he misses.
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
2:15 pm
Marvin’s 2 rebounds came in the 4th quarter, when the Magic were threatening to take the lead. I don’t know if they were “big” or not. But on one of those rebounds, he snatched it off the rim forcefully, like that was HIS REBOUND.
LOL @ us talking about Marvin grabbing 2 rebounds. Damn.
I want a 11 point – 7 rebound game out of Marvin in Game 4. We need something other than Jamal off the bench.
Female Basketball Fan
April 23rd, 2011
2:30 pm
Marvin & Joe Johnson needs to step up. Joe is not worth the money at all. Josh needs to stop taking shots outside the 3 point line, he needs to focus on the post and scoring down low. That was a lucky shot by Jamal, but I actually like Jamal and he has skills, but they will probably lose him, because they’re paying Joe all the money for nothing. Let’s not be so hard on Dwight, he is a hometown boy, who is a franchise player for his team. How many other hometownn players do we have representing the A? He is Georgia grown & I am proud of his accomplishments.
Mike is back
April 23rd, 2011
2:33 pm
That previous post…should have finish by saying…he looked bad…but don’t give up on him in the playoff…That’s all I was saying.
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
2:34 pm
Tidbits:
- Jamal leads us in scoring ( 23.7 ppg ) and is shooting 44% FG and 59% 3FG
- JJ is averaging 20 pts – 5.7 rebs – 5 assists. That’s pretty much what we need from him at the very least the rest of the series. He’s also shooting 44% FG and 50% from three.
- For us to be getting almost 45 ppg out of JJ and Jamal is huge.
- Horford is only shooting 44% FG for the series so far and ranks #9 amongst the Hawks in Win Score per 48 minutes. He was easily the leader in this category during the season.
- Smith has been solid. Almost 16 ppg and 8 rebounds, while shooting 51% FG
- Despite Howard destroying us, only one other Magic player is shooting above 40% FG ( Quentin Richardson, shooting 75% FG . . 3 – 4 FG ). And Jameer Nelson is the only one averaging double figures outside of Howard.
Booo!
April 23rd, 2011
2:38 pm
This kid has been Yanked around ALL season while dropping 20pt games and he gets 1 minutes and 43 seconds of “playing time” and now he’s a bust!? Freaking bandwagoners man Smh… one minute you’re singing his praises and the next you’re calling for his head. Grow up.
Meanwhile scrubs like Marvins sorry azz gets plenty of playing time for NO reason! absolutely none! I’m pretty sure Teage has at least as many 20 point games as marvin this season. LD set him up for failure by only giving him a short stint.
I also only saw him get blown by nelson ONCE. the second time, he stayed with nelson who was penetrating and whoever was guarding the peremeter player (probably jamal) sucked in to help (why, I have no idea) Teague recognized this and ran to contest the kickout of the man left open. Not his fault at all.
Smoove is still making boneheaded playes and Jamal still can’t play D but it’s OK for them to get a pass I guess Smh….
You will be crying for JT to get playing time in the next round when Rose steals Kirk and Jamals lunch money.
Booo!
April 23rd, 2011
2:39 pm
“You can’t get better if you don’t play” – Jordan Crawford
I guess he was a bust as well right?
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
2:40 pm
Female Basketball Fan. Don’t get it twisted. As poor as JJ shot the ball last night, we do NOT win that game without JJ last night. His hot shooting in the 1st half was the big reason why we were able to build a lead in the first place.
JJ averaging 20 – 6 and 5 in this series has been huge, despite the hot and cold shooting stretches. While he may need to do even more, the guy isn’t disappearing so far in the playoffs. He’s doing his job on offense and defense. If we can keep getting that kind of production out of him, while having a few others step up more ( Horford and Marvin ), we may can put a stranglehold on the Magic.
newkid
April 23rd, 2011
2:44 pm
Can’t help but wonder how good these cats could be if they’d allow themselves to be coached.
northcyde
April 23rd, 2011
2:45 pm
Well Boo . . maybe next round is when he should play.
In fact, in the next round, Jason Collins shouldn’t see the floor at all. That’s a different matchup that may call for different personnel to step to the forefront. Against the Bulls, I would re-insert Marvin back into the starting lineup, and keep Collins on the bench.
The Bulls aren’t going to run their offense through Noah, like the Magic do with Howard. So Collins’ defensive services won’t be needed in that series. What will be needed in that series, is someone who can keep Noah off the boards.
In that series, Horford moves back to center, Josh to PF, and Marvin back to SF as a starter. And instead of using multiple big men to deal with a big center like Howard, maybe we use multiple guards to help defend against Rose.
So Teague’s time may very well come against the Bulls, rather than the Magic. Let’s hope we get to see that happen against the Bulls.
The Game Has Changed
April 23rd, 2011
2:50 pm
@Mike-I like Teague but its just a bad match up right now. Maybe next round he can guard Rose backup which I think is Duhon
Sleepy
April 23rd, 2011
2:52 pm
Northcyde I would keep the lineup the same . I would use twin to faceguard Noah and keep him off the boards and this would allow us to get Al on Boozer and Josh on Deng .
The assignment for Josh against the Bulls would be to remove Deng from the series with his defense .
This allows us to start the game with decent size to help clog that lane .
Starting Marvin over Twin doesnt help us unless you think Marvin will somehow match the play of Deng .
One thing to remember is Noah is not a real threat offensively so I would rather have twin using those fouls early on Rose instead of Al or Josh .
J from the A
April 23rd, 2011
2:52 pm
It’s official: Pachulia and J-Rick are suspended for game 4.
Any word on Collins condition for game 4?
J from the A
April 23rd, 2011
2:54 pm
*J-Rich
tremaine
April 23rd, 2011
2:55 pm
I’m happy the hawks won last night but let’s not get carried away folks. The big picture is for them to get out the second round. And as far as the Zaza play goes if you look at it closely Zaza slaps Howard across the arms with one hand then throw an elbow to the ribs with the other.
Booo!
April 23rd, 2011
2:55 pm
northcyde,
I agree. I even said before this series started that with D12 in the middle, this wouldn’t be a good series for the Teager. We will definetly need him against Chicago.
My thing is, it’s just unfair for people to label JT a failure and start piling on him when he only played ONE minute of playoff basketball…..literally. Looking at a larger sample size like his season #’s when getting 20 minutes or more is just more rational.
I do think Jason could help boxing out Noah from those rebounds though. Asik and Kurt Thomas can also be pests if left unchecked so I would like to see jason in some small capacity. Like you said, hopefully we will maki it there. We gotta keep homecourt by taking game four.