9:30 am April 25, 2011, by Michael Cunningham
I joined Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel to talk about Atlanta’s 88-85 victory over the Magic in Game 4.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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61 comments Add your comment
honest_abe
April 25th, 2011
9:42 am
first!
Jeff
April 25th, 2011
9:44 am
2st !!!
Double Zero Eight
April 25th, 2011
9:48 am
I guess all of the doubters, including me, are getting
ready to jump on the “bandwagon”!
Geemack
April 25th, 2011
9:51 am
Double Zero Eight
You never got off the bandwagon. The Hawks never gave you a reason to believe in them.
This they first time they have showed they can play with a better team home or way.
Geemack
April 25th, 2011
9:53 am
“This is the first time”
dapluva!
April 25th, 2011
9:57 am
Go Hawks!!!!! but also remember josh you can’t shoot dude stay on the post and we should beat orlando.
Geemack
April 25th, 2011
10:01 am
The Hawks have the advantage at every position except center.
This should not be a surprise.
It’s a surprise because of the effort the Hawks put forth during the regular season.
I have been pleased with the Hawks effort in this series.
However please keep this in perspective it’s still the 1st ROUND. Winning the 1st ROUND has never been an issue with the Hawks….getting to the conference finals have
We are playing good ball keep it up.
Nate ArchiBALL
April 25th, 2011
10:23 am
How did the Hawks win?
Magic shot 39.2% from the field (31 of 79)……..drum roll please – translates into lots of rebounds.
Al – 12 boards / Josh – 10 boards / JJ – 9 boards
Why didn’t the Hawks blowout the Magic?
Al – 6 of 15 from the field / JJ – 6 of 15 from the field / Josh 4 of 10 from the field
Total 16 – 40 = 40%
doc
April 25th, 2011
10:30 am
way to go honest you earned every bit of it.
honest_abe
April 25th, 2011
10:41 am
heh. thanks doc. first time for everything!
JeJe
April 25th, 2011
10:42 am
ATTACK THE BASKET
doc
April 25th, 2011
10:45 am
hope you are still basking in the moment there HA. heh heh
go hawks, eh!
JeJe
April 25th, 2011
10:45 am
DRIVE THE DAMN BALL TO THE HOOP
WHY DOES JOE DISAPPEAR ALL GAME, THEN HE TURNS IT ON WITH THAT DEADLY FLOATER?
WHY CAN JOE NOT ISO EARLY IN THE GAME AND GET THAT FLOATER GOING?
WHY DOES JOSH NOT TRY TO TAKE HIS MAN OFF THE DRIBBLE AND TRY THAT RUNNING HOOK?
THOSE ARE OUR 2 MOST EFFECTIVE PLAYS -THEY ARE HIGH PERCENTAGE PLAYS, RATHER THAN WILD JAMAL SHOTS.
DRIVE THE BALL TO THE DAMN BASKET. JAMAL QUIT TRYING TO BE HERO AND DRIVE THE DAMN BALL TO THE HOOP.
IF JOE AND JAMAL COMBINE FOR 45, WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE (THAT’S WHAT THEY’VE PRETTY MUCH BEEN DOING)
DRIVE THE BALL TO THE BASKE
JeJe
April 25th, 2011
10:52 am
Kenny Smith’s halftime comments pretty much sum up this team. As the shooting goes, so do we.
KJezzy
April 25th, 2011
10:58 am
Great game plan, JeJe! Drive the ball to the basket so Howard can smack it to the parking deck…. SMH.
As I watched the game the Hawks did go into the lane a lot more when DH12 was on the bench with foul trouble. I predict they will go inside more in the next series. DH12/Bass >>>>>> Boozer/Noah
honest_abe
April 25th, 2011
10:58 am
no doubt. as they say its the little things in life…..llllll
KJezzy
April 25th, 2011
11:00 am
Damn Kenny smith hatin ass! how does a team be up 9 points at the half and get 3 fouls again DH12 and they can’t say one positive thing about them. The only reason everyone is Hawk hating is because they lost their money betting on Orlando!
JeJe
April 25th, 2011
11:25 am
KJezzy, GTFOH
If Horford was at the 5, Howard would have to stay close on Al, meaning Joe could work his man and get in the lane. Did you WATCH THE END OF THE GAME, WHERE JOE WAS EASILY GETTING THOSE FLOATERS IN THE LANE OFF?
WHY CAN HE NOT TRY THAT THROUGHOUT THE GAME RATHER THAN THESE BS AWKWARD JUMPERS?
northcyde
April 25th, 2011
11:42 am
JeJe . . . Joe Johnson is actually doing the exact opposite of what you’re talking about. The dude has actually been brilliant in the 1st half, but kind of bad offensively in the 2nd half.
According to NBA’s StatCube, JJ is shooting 68% on the shots he gets in the paint ( the floater ). JJ is starting these games great, which is why we’re extending these leads. Then when the 3rd quarter comes, he’s not shooting the ball well at all. And that bad shooting continues into the 4th quarter.
Jamal is shooting out of his mind, especially from 3 point range. Yeah, we can do without the wild shots, but he’s also making the tough shots. The key with Jamal is to keep going to him when he’s hot. But when he’s cold, he’ll shoot you out of a game. When he goes cold, that’s when you get him out of the game. But you almost have to ride the dude when he’s hot like this. He’s an elite level scorer when he has it going.
So the guards, despite all of the bad/questionable shots and ISOS that people hate, are doing their jobs.
Both guys have been effective scorers out of ISO situations this series, with Jamal being especially excellent. So you can’t take that away from them, no matter how ugly the offense looks at times. You just have to hope that they don’t settle for long, off balance shots, and rather try to at least take a closer jumper that they’re more likely to make. If they go cold, you just have to hope that they stay willing to pass the ball. Both guys are also averaging 4 assists in this series.
With the frontline, if Horford starts making the midrange jumper again, and Smith drives the ball, we may win Game 5 by double digits ( if the Magic keep bricking up shots from 3 ). Horford is shooting 37% from midrange. That’s close to the league average, but far below the ridicuous 51% that he shot from that range during the regular season. So if he has a good game in which he hits multiple midrange shots, it’ll help us tremendously.
With Josh Smith, he’s a dismal 4 – 22 on ( 18% ) jumpers outside of the paint. Meanwhile, he’s a whopping 20 – 27 ( 74% ) on shots in the paint and at the rim. So it’s pretty obvious where he needs to take his shots. It’s just with Dwight in the middle, he has to pick and choose when to go to the hole. But he should ALWAYS try to score in the paint.
I MUS WRITE
April 25th, 2011
11:48 am
Good win last night but like Steve kerr said ” this is not championship basketball” if we beat the Magic and get our socks blown off next round how is that improvement? its not,the Magic or clearly not as good as they were with Gortat,Carter,Peitrus,and Lewis.
Playing dwight 1 on 1 and covering the 3 pt. line has exposed that team. dealing with Mr fast dont lie and company will present a new bag of problems.
CP3,man …..Standing Ovation that guy has the heart of a lion. Ive moved on from the 05 draft but if he were in a hawks uni this team is 100% better due to the fact he is a real leader and would jump all over smoove for making dumb plays. this guy has okafor and landry looking all world. I hope they beat LA.
I MUS WRITE
April 25th, 2011
11:56 am
When was the last time a team went deep into the playoffs shooting jumpers and very little post offense. hawks = fools gold. Our bigs are jumpshooters and so is everybody else. Steve Kerr: “This is not championship basketball”
Sleepy
April 25th, 2011
11:56 am
Who cares is Kerr said its not championship basketball ….newflash we are not in the finals we are in the first rd . They are basically hatin on the hawks
Astro Joe
April 25th, 2011
12:01 pm
The TNT analysts pretty much dismissed both teams during the broadcast last night (Kerr and the studio analysts). Still, it was good to be the slightly less ugly team last night. At the same time, it is sad that being “slightly less ugly” is somehow satisfying.
Rev in Tampa
April 25th, 2011
12:01 pm
northcyde,
I wanted to continue giving you complements for pegging the 45 point threshold for JJ and Jamal in order for the Hawks to get the win.
northcyde = prescient
honest_abe
April 25th, 2011
12:11 pm
so sick of this word “hatin” . expand your vocabulary. most here were hawks fans before you even knew what basketball was.
Daniel
April 25th, 2011
12:45 pm
GeeMack- I am with you 100%, as usual. I, too, have felt like a bandwagon jumper, although y’all know I am in it for the long haul. But, you are right the Hawks have not until now given us a reason to believe.
IMUS- I totally hear you, but I will say that Rose walking around in a boot and Horford’s complete domination of Noah does give me an inkingly of hope for the next round.
But, as all of us know too well, let’s don’t get ahead of ourselves.
I do think MC that it is time to point out the fan response. We often get looked down on here in ATL, but the truth is we are loyal, but we are not going to cheer a team that quits. So far this series, the Hawks are not quittting, which honestly, I did not see happening at all given the way the regular season played out.
Daniel
April 25th, 2011
12:49 pm
northcyde: If you are able to convince Josh Smith to always go inside I am sure the Larry Drew has a coaching spot available to you right now. Does any player in the league have a wider range from good to bad than Josh Smith?
Geemack
April 25th, 2011
1:03 pm
Daniel in the building!
Daniel
April 25th, 2011
1:13 pm
word!
Fundamentals
April 25th, 2011
1:21 pm
Welcome back Daniel. Anyone who claims you are a bandwagon jumper jumped on too late to recognize you’ve been here for years. I too have slipped away from the bog due to work and other committments, but I’ve caught every game.
Proof positive my comments before are true. They don’t always give their best, they don’t play to their potential. Drew talking about turning the switch means they now care and know it matters. Regardless this team has potential to shake things up in the EC if they keep their heads and hearts in it. It’d be an epic failure to lose to ORL now…I just hope they play with the same fire against Chicago. That one is going to be interesting and even more physical. Should be right down ZaZa’s alley.
My thoughts for coming on today are in regards to Van Gundy’s whining? Does he not see the hooks, the elbows, the screens, the overpowering nature of Dwight. If anyone but Dwight delt out that kind of punishment they’d be ejected from every game. We might “flop” but it ain’t like we aren’t getting our share of “overlooked” or “wrong” calls. How about the two elbows to ZaZa before the headbut fest? If ZaZa had thrown those kind of blows, he’d be out for more than a game. Instead Dwight and Stan whine about how bad they’ve got it.
Stan better start worrying about where Dwight’s headed. I think dude’s done in ORL for sure if we win the series.
Mr. Phil
April 25th, 2011
1:40 pm
If we get to the conference finals, I will have to seriously consider taking my website down. number 2 still sucks. Just a slight bit less so now.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 25th, 2011
1:59 pm
IMHO Joe goes to the paint all game, but more aggressively in the 4TH because:
1. The Game is on the line.
2. Dwight with 5 Fouls is less formidable than with 1.
It’s called a game plan, strategy and adjustments, based on game
time situations. A gambler never shows his hot hand early.
Besides, Joe in the 4th is unstoppable.
Mr. Phil
April 25th, 2011
2:11 pm
@drmaryb (*_-)
I can buy that. But if you keep missing long two’s and threes early people are going to stop falling for that. The lane will get clogged and he will be very stoppable.
JeJe
April 25th, 2011
2:16 pm
I see Joe settling for jumpshots throughout the game, but he focuses primarily on getting in the lane late in the game. If he attacked every time he got the ball, he’d be dropping 28 or so.
You cannot forget the play in the 1st half he caught a pass in the corner and took a contested 3 instead of faking and getting an easier shot in the lane (TNT pointed that out).
And if Powell had damn jumped into Dwight to draw #3 in the 2nd qtr, we would’ve won by more IMHO
JeJe
April 25th, 2011
2:20 pm
Bottom line is this team takes WAY too many jumpshots. Hinrich, Craw, etc.
Northcyde said Jamal has hot and cold streaks. Well he was our damn “hero” early in the 4th and took some f’ing awful shots. We don’t need any damn heros on this team. We need to play team basketball AND TRY SCORE EASY BASKETS
I don’t care if I’m the only person in the city disenchanted with this wild basketball this team plays. Larry Drew’s “motion” offense has been nonexistent at crucial times [and in general] if you ask me
Leffty
April 25th, 2011
2:22 pm
Obviously the Magic screwed up too, but you can’t force a playoff team to shoot 2-23 from downtown without playing superb perimeter defense. Every shot was contested (sometimes by multiple Hawks), and they used their length to their advantage. That was the worst shooting performance in a playoff game ever, and the Hawks get the credit: specifically Johnson and Hinrich. Check out the stats:
http://sportstatistics.blogspot.com/2011/04/nba-playoffs-weekend-recap.html
Leffty
April 25th, 2011
2:24 pm
Johnson and Hinrich shut down Orlando’s shooters all night. Turkoglu and Nelson (both 40%+ from three in the regular season) went a combined 0-10 from downtown in Game Four. That’s the key to victory, as the the Magic shot only 2-23 in the game. That’s the worst shooting performance from three-point territory by any playoff team ever. Check it out:
http://sportstatistics.blogspot.com/2011/04/nba-playoffs-weekend-recap.html
The Truth
April 25th, 2011
2:29 pm
Either the Hawks will make fools out of these TNT analysts or the TNT analysts will make fools out of these Hawks.
We Shall See
I remember when Barkley said last year that CP3 was on the decline and not the best PG anymore right to CP3’s face during an interview. While he glorifies CP3 now, somebody needs to call him out and remind him of that BS statement he made. At least C. Webber had the balls to apologize for earlier negative CP3 comments today as he often follows and drinks Barkley/Kenny’s bias Kool-Aid. Barkley needs to follow-up also with an apology to CP3. All Barkley and Kenny do is sit on their fat azzs and talk positive about the fan favorite teams, Lakers and Boston. Why aren’t these clowns bashing the lowly Knicks for getting swept? Oh I forgot; New Yorker Kenny wouldn’t dare do that to his hometown team. And what about their beloved Bulls who’s struggling mightily with the Pacer, where is the disapproval? If the Hawks were in the bulls shoes now, these clowns would be dogging them out badly.
It’s amazing that TNT would pay these guys to play odds and favorites and blow hot air about they seem to know little about. These so-called “experts” are more network cheerleaders and should get booed every time they leave the TNT studio here in ATL
Melvin
April 25th, 2011
2:30 pm
Daniel,
Welcome back. Where you been?
The Truth
April 25th, 2011
2:33 pm
*about things they seem to know little about
Section 303
April 25th, 2011
2:58 pm
;As was at the game last night, so I did not hear the TNT take on the Hawks/Magic. But, from what I read on here, they just say the Hawks are totally dependant on their shooting. Maybe. But, to me, it’s more ball movement.
Late in the game, LD called 4 straight isolation plays, on 4 straight possessions. None of which resulted in points, only a smaller lead. During those 4 possessions, the players without the ball stood and watched. No one other than the ball handler was a threat.
When the Hawks are rolling, they’re swinging the ball around and players are moving without the ball. I think we have some guys on this team that more than 75% of the time will shoot well when they get good looks. Most often, the good looks come when the ball is moving. The offense almost totally stalls when the ball stays in one player’s hands too long.
Section 303
April 25th, 2011
3:02 pm
The thing that kills me about the national talking heads is that they have ignored the Hawks most of the year. Suddenly, they are experts on how the Hawks play.
I hate the way sports are covered these days. If you’re not from NY, Boston, Chicago, LA, or have 3 d-bag superstars you get no press.
On top of that, the national talking heads see their opinion change based on the last game. If the Magic blow out the Hawks tomorrow, they will suddenly say the Magic are back! They’re killing the Magic now.
Really, the talking heads are no different than the manic Hawks fans (like myself) that we have on our blog.
I MUS WRITE
April 25th, 2011
3:19 pm
Sleepy kerr has 3 rings, so i think his opinion is worth a little something. We are in the first round and to see any real improvement we will have to be playing in the ECF which i dont see. HATE”N C’mon man -were u even watching the game-our offense is maily iso’s and jumpers -we get very little offense in the paint.
Sleepy was asleep during last nights game. Go back to sleep i’ll wake you when the bulls blow the doors of this team. …….legitimate Star,great defense and players that compliment each other…
I MUS WRITE
April 25th, 2011
3:23 pm
Daniel the ansewr to your question would be NO….The guy is ultra talented but often times leaves u pulling out your hair.
northcyde
April 25th, 2011
3:24 pm
JeJe . . this is playoff basketball. Teams gameplan to take away the easy shots. In the paint, there is nothing easy with Dwight looming down there. That’s part of the reason why Orlando was a top 5 defensive team this season, despite them having mostly garbage defensive players. But when you have to face Dwight in the paint, it turns teams into jumpshooting teams.
Honestly, as much as I despise Jamal Crawford’s game at times, I do understand that he has the ability to score 30 – 45 points, when he has it going like this. And the great scorers in the NBA can take and make horrible shots when they have it going. Carmelo did that in Game 3 vs the Knicks.
I think people get too caught up in playing “perfect basketball”. It sounds great to move the ball on every possession and get the easiest shot. But at the end of the day, you have to have people on your team who can take and make difficult shots.
This is not college basketball, in which you can work the ball around for 20 – 25 seconds, and try to get a good shot on every possession. Sometimes, you simply need to give it toyour best scorer, and let him work. Heck, even UCONN did this, and they won a National Championship.
Here are the facts about the NBA:
- Derrick Rose is nearly unstoppable in isolation if you don’t keep him out of the lane. No fancy offense ran by the Bulls concerning him. It’s simply him going for his own shot, then setting up other people when he’s doubled.
- Chris Paul is the same way. He has the ball constantly in his hands and is setting up other people for shots. No elaborate ball movement when it comes to them. It’s all on him to make plays for himself, and for others.
- While Memphis does move the ball more, when they need points, they almost always throw it to Zach Randolph, and simply let him create down on the blocks. Like Barkley says, his offensive game isn’t pretty, because it looks at times he’s literally just throwing up junk at the rim. But that “junk” goes in, because he can shoot from just about any angle.
When you talk about ball movement and offense, the only teams that really do it are Dallas, Boston, San Antonio, and sometimes the Lakers. And that’s because they have multiple talented offensive players, not necessarily because of the system. And all of those teams, with maybe the exception of the Spurs, have a great go-to guy that they can just give the ball to and let him go ( Dirk, Pierce, Kobe, etc ).
With the Hawks, it is what it is. Our post players are more comfortable shooting jumpers, than banging on the inside. Our guards like to shoot jumpers. We don’t have a slasher that consistently gets to the rim, nor a good low post scorer. So we simply have to do what we have to do in order to score the basketball.
If Jamal has it going, you let him go, and tell everyone else to rebound his bricks. The same goes for JJ.
In this league, you win by any means necessary. And it really doesn’t matter how pretty you look when you win either. The bottom line is that you win . . period.
northcyde
April 25th, 2011
3:26 pm
Carmelo did that in game 3 vs the Celtics . . not Knicks . . before someone corrects my mistake.
Rev in Tampa
April 25th, 2011
3:52 pm
northcyde,
I agree with your post about the minimizing of ball movement in the playoffs. Your reasoning is sound. What has so many of us upset today, however, is that the Hawks went away from ball and player movement in the 2nd quarter because they were lazy. They got out to a comfortable lead because they were working the game plan. But Orlando started missing their shots so Atlanta stopped playing the lockdown defense, stopped making crisp passes on offense, and started settling for jumpshots early in the shot-clock. It was ugly and it was UNNECESSARY.
I completely agree with the iso-Joe to close out the game. There was no sense in trying to move the ball around the perimeter or feed the post with Dwight in the paint. Ball movement only gave the Hawks more of a chance to turn it over.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 25th, 2011
3:57 pm
Brillant!
That’s what Mr. Northcyde is! He is untouchable with argument and logic and leaves very little room to debate. Northcyde is as good without his gall-bladder as he was with it. I really can’t tell the difference.
Also, I want to give a huge shout-out to those Grizzly Bears in Memphis!
Let’s Go Memphis! You make me proud to hail all my family from TN.
_________________
Again, I was about to log off from reading all the
Nitty-Nitty Nit-Pickers who’ve inundated the 3 – 1 series wins.
I just couldn’t listen to any more of all the complaining today.
Thanks NC!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 25th, 2011
4:00 pm
From the previous blog…
“Again, I really couldn’t care less about the Hawks, but lighten up. I’ll never forget when I came down there for the Packers/ Falcons game and you guys left early in the 3rd qtr. Instead of congratulating an upstart team for going 13-3, you all left whining and complaining.
Atlanta fans suck.”
We have seen enough teams in this city that do enough to get in the playoffs but do nothing once they get there. That bores us now. We want championships, or at least serious championship contenders. Having high expectations doesn’t make a fan base bad. If this was Philly all those fans would have stuck around in the Dome and booed and thrown batteries the entire second half. Would that have been any better?
Rev in Tampa
April 25th, 2011
4:02 pm
The Magic Blog has a poll up asking if the Magic can overcome a 3-1 deficit. Would it be too evil for us to visit their site and skew their results and demoralize their fans?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2011/04/what-are-the-chances-orlando-magic-come-back-from-3-1-deficit.html#comments
mykhalc
April 25th, 2011
4:02 pm
as a Hawks fan i’m always glad for a W. as a bball fan i hate the AAU play of the Hawks and their lack of discipline. Kerr summed it up perfectly…it is NOT championship caliber ball…from either team…PERIOD!!! but i don’t give a $hit about the other team. i hate the Hawks offensive sets 90% of the time and i would hate these sets EVEN if they won 2 rounds. the FOOL’S GOLD will be exposed against CHI or IND if the Hawks advance where the match-ups at ALL postions will be tougher and more team-ball schemes are used. CHI goes hard to the rim on every play…ok NOT every play…but you know what i sayin’. smarter, team ball is all i ask for!!! other than new ownership, KA BOOM, and a new HC!!! not askin’ much at all!!!LOL
@Wabe…good posts in the previous blog.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 25th, 2011
4:06 pm
Also from the previous blog…
“Josh Smith’s defense has made it nationally, as many in the national media today are saying ‘where is Hedo?’ The answer- he’s where ever Josh tells him to go.”
You know I am one of the bigger Smoove supporters on this blog, but I think Turkoglu’s own passive mentality has contributed a lot more to his disappearance than Smoove’s D, which to me hasn’t been all that great. Smoove’s strength on D is not chasing players around screens on the perimeter, which is what he has been asked to do in this series since he’s playing out of position, and to me it shows. I don’t have nearly as big a problem with the shot selection, which is a team wide issue largely resulting from the offensive scheme and LD’s inability to consistently get his players to do what he wants, as I do with the not so great man to man D on Turkoglu. I think Smoove can do better in that department.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 25th, 2011
4:11 pm
“Great game plan, JeJe! Drive the ball to the basket so Howard can smack it to the parking deck…. SMH.”
JeJe is right. Even when Dwight is in the game, more often than not he is getting sealed in the lane by Collins or stretched out of the paint by Al, so he’s not always in position for the block. And both Smoove’s hook and Joe’s floater, although they are pretty close shots, are shot from far enough away that it’s not a given that Dwight can get there in time for the block anyway. Those, along with Al’s mid range jumper, are the Hawks’ most consistently high percentage looks. I have no problem riding Jamal while he has it going, but they have to recognize when he doesn’t and accordingly go to what is most likely to work.
Grandad
April 25th, 2011
4:14 pm
Daniel
Answering your thought about motivating Josh:
[to go into the paint]
I could do it, guaranteed !
“Put their hind on the pine”
–C.M. Newton– HC Vanderbilt *(at the time of the quote)
*[on motivating his players to do what he wanted]
A * “Master Coach” would have the b@lls to sit Josh down,
[every] time, (not just every now and again) but [every] time
he did opposite what you, the coach want.
A real coach *(Master Coach) does not ever worry about his job,
(getting fired) he does the right thing, for the team. (got b@lls)
Trust me, a good / real coach can’t give a crap about anything
except what’s best for his team. period.
Good to hear from you Daniel;
the more we hear from you the less we hear from northcyde !
Only kiddin’ -nc- anyone could easily crack the same joke about me.
Slimjr
April 25th, 2011
4:14 pm
“Chris Paul is the same way. He has the ball constantly in his hands and is setting up other people for shots. No elaborate ball movement when it comes to them. It’s all on him to make plays for himself, and for others.”
@NC,
CP3 is special he’s like Magic, with the xray vision, see stuff developing before it happens or probing the very small openings and crevices and kicking down doors with his cat like gifts delivering pin point/crisp passes that even Collins could handle in the paint for an easy 2!!!!!!!!!!!! The black mamba could not deny him!!! 15 dimes last night against the Champs…Shoot…
he can dribble as much as he wants too because he has purpose and will not be denied!
CP3 is a 1st ballot Hall of Fame type player, and we coulda had him!!!!! SHOOT
Najeh Davenpoop
April 25th, 2011
4:18 pm
Co-sign both of Section 303’s posts.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
And with all due respect to Derrick Rose, nobody runs a team like CP3. CP3 may not be super quick or super athletic anymore but that game he played last night was one of the best all around games I have ever seen from a point guard. He looked like Kidd in his prime but with a jumpshot.
Grandad
April 25th, 2011
4:24 pm
* honest_abe – @ [12:11 pm]
“so sick of this word “hatin” .
expand your vocabulary.
most here were hawks fans before you even knew what basketball was”
** Co-Sign / AARP / Ditto / Check-mate / Touche / Love thy Neighbor / Amen
Grandad
April 25th, 2011
5:04 pm
northcyde
Before I begin, I respect your acuity with statistics.
But you confound me with some of your statements:
“It sounds great to move the ball on every possession
and get the easiest shot”
No – it doesn’t only sound great, it’s;
(1) fundamental
(2) the correct way to attack
(3) necessary
Two essentials: (in any offense)
* ball must change sides of the floor
* player movement of some sort (even if you run pick & roll)
You need to be aware that Paul & Rose many times are running
pick and roll, then go into Iso only after a set play breaks down.
They are not going 1 on 5 every play.
nc on Rose:
“No fancy offense ran by the Bulls concerning him.
It’s simply him going for his own shot,
then setting up other people when he’s doubled.”
*[are you serious] You really don’t believe that.
“Chris Paul is the same way.
He has the ball constantly in his hands
and is setting up other people for shots.
No elaborate ball movement when it comes to them.
It’s all on him to make plays for himself, and for others”
*[not many CP3's out there]
+[he does not have a great supporting cast]
northcyde:
I’m actually supporting your overall argument, I think,
in that, I’m all for Jamal having a free hand to shoot & make plays.
Ditto Joe if he makes quicker decisions.
Plus Joe needs to realize the 3-ball is not there for him this yr.
*[lingering elbow trouble]
I just disagree with your viewpoints on offensive basketball
on a fundamental level.
Sorry, my friend, have a nice rest of the day.
Nate ArchiBALL
April 25th, 2011
6:50 pm
Interesting numbers: Josh and All Star Al — Playoffs vs regular season
Josh Smith
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_smith/index.html
Al Horford
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/al_horford/index.html
Big drop off in FG% from Al during the playoffs…55% to 42%.
I wonder what Hollinger has to say about these numbers
Sleepy
April 26th, 2011
12:12 am
Northcyde – well said this playoff basketball some of these people get way too caught it with what the tv pundits are talking to understand that they are all walking contradictions .
We dont have some imposing physical presence in the paint nor some otherworldly pg so why do they think there is some offense out there that in the playoffs generates easy baskets ?
By game 4 your opponent has now seen your plays dozens of time and have prepared for it .It doesnt get easier it gets harder but in no way do you go away from whats working until you are forced too.
We take too many jumpshots we should throw it into the 1995 version of Shaq we have on the block .
Last year the magic realized they were getting a bunch of threes from our doubling Dwight they didnt say oh we will stop shooting those even though we are making them and do something else .
If we can close it out tomorrow well then next series we might have to find something else to exploit against the Bulls but you make that decision when the time comes and then if we make it out of the second there might be even a another matchup to exploit .
Playoffs basketball is all about exploiting the matchups and right now we have forced orlandos hands and they cant adjust why let them off the hook ?