Atlanta Hawks: Magic 101, Hawks 76
Orlando–During a radio interview yesterday, the host tried to get me to predict how this series would turn out.
- “I’m done trying to predict the Hawks,” I said. “They can make you look stupid. When I’ve praised them, they go and get blown out. When I criticize them, they do something like go up 3-1 on the Magic. But one thing I think I can say for sure after these four games is you know they are going to give a good effort tomorrow.”
- Man, I’m about as smart as Charlie Brown when he’s always trying to kick that damn football when he knows Lucy’s going to pull it away again.
- “They came out and hit us early; it just seemed like we didn’t have a response for it,” Hinrich said. “We are going to regroup. We still have the series lead going home. We’re confident we will play better in Game 6.”
- It’s hard to trust the Hawks. They said all of the right things after this, just like they said the right things before. Obviously they are back in the “show me” category after this one.
- Game 6 is Thursday at 7:30 on NBA TV, Home of the Hawks.
- “We are good,” Jamal said. “We are still in the driver’s seat. This is just one game. We have to come out and act like we are in desperation.”
- No act should be necessary. The Hawks shouldn’t want any part of a Game 7 back in this building.
- “There are going to be nights like this,” Smoove said. “We just have to wash it out of our heads. We did want to get the win tonight but we have another shot at it Thursday. We have to play with a little bit more desperation and know that we can’t play Game 7.”
- When Dwight went to the bench with two fouls in the first quarter, it almost seemed like the Hawks relaxed. Maybe L.D. did, too, because he took out Kirk and Al as Orlando’s lead grew to 10. He got Al back in but the Magic’s lead was up to 42-21 by the time Hinrich returned.
- Not that it would have mattered much in this game since his players weren’t ready, anyway, but for a guy who talks about subbing depending on feel and flow L.D. sure does have some weird patterns sometimes.
- With Dwight on the bench the Hawks still didn’t go to the rim. The Magic, meanwhile, played faster and crisper. The Dwight Defense was nullified and the Hawks were a step behind.
- “Jameer and Gilbert were coming off screens aggressivelty all night long,” Josh said. “We had to help a little bit and [still] get out on the shooters. They were shooting with rhythm tonight. I think that pick-and-roll kind of hurst us tonight.”
- “When [Dwight] went out of the game, they went to a little bit more movement sets,” Jamal said. “That is when everyone got involved.”
- And they made shots. Man, did they ever make shots.
- “It seemed like once they made one, they started making them all over the place,” Marvin said.
- “Guys were contesting J.J. Redick and he was making fade-away jump shots,” Josh said.
- “We’re a good-shooting team,” Stan Van Gundy said “This is more us than the first four games. This is not some aberration, ‘Oh, the Magic made threes.’ We’ve been doing this for four years. The aberration was the first four games.”
- The Magic eventually cooled off from the floor. They took care of the ball, though, so there were few extra possessions for the Hawks.
- Not that it would have mattered. Once the Hawks got down, they never showed any sign of putting together a coherent plan to get back in it. They just kept taking and missing jump shots, allowing dribble penetration and generally sucking all around.
- “Obviously we laid an egg tonight,” Hinrich said. “It’s disappointing but at the same time we are looking forward to Game 6. Right now our attention is on that.”
- The Magic turned up the pressure on J.J. and Jamal. They didn’t handle it well.
- “They gave me different looks,” Jamal said. “But I will watch a lot of film and adjust to it.”
- Josh and Al weren’t much better. Smoove strayed outside even before things got out of hand, though at least he did play with more energy than anyone else. Al doesn’t have much else to go to if he’s not popping free for Js.
- At least the Hawks got to the free-throw line. Too bad for them they only made 22 of 32.
- Dwight had eight points and the Magic won by 25. He had eight rebounds and the Magic had an 48-43 edge on the boards. He shot just 10 free throws and the Magic had 29.
- The Hawks lead 3-2 but the Magic have to feel good about a) finding a way to attack the Hawks that works b) discovering that they can in fact take Atlanta’s guards out of it and c) seeing that they in fact can still shoot the ball.
- “The biggest thing was we played with tremendous focus and intensity from start to finish,” Van Gundy said. “And that’s what it’s going to take [in Game 6]. It will be much, much harder on Thursday and we’ll need to play better than we did tonight to get a win there.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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313 comments Add your comment
atlantaSuckdeek
April 27th, 2011
1:26 pm
Atlanta please win the next one so Bulls can beat you 4-0 muhahahahahaha
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
1:27 pm
Northcyde is the MAN!! Thanks for pointing out JOSH aka Magic Jr SUCKED in the 1st Quarter..Game lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ISO ,AL sucked too for the record…………………………..
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
1:30 pm
Hawks you are banned from attending any strip clubs or any clubs for the rest of the playoffs. go act a fool on your vacation….it will be here soon enough! BUSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
City of Futility
April 27th, 2011
1:33 pm
We just don’t play as a team enough to actually get anything substantial done. That’s why we as Hawks fans talk like this.. because while on the surface we’re all frustrated, deep down we could tell this was coming. All part of being a conditioned Atlanta fan. :/
City of Futility
April 27th, 2011
1:34 pm
Haha seriously Slim, it drives me crazy when professional (and even college) athletes go partying like crazy and then wonder why they lost. Partying completely destroys any focus you might have.
Anne
April 27th, 2011
1:39 pm
Y’all need some comedy relief. Here’s it is from none other than (via Twitter): KingJames LeBron James
This is hilarious, the interviewer’s face is priceless http://bit.ly/hDB0l8 shout out to @takeasheet.
Leffty
April 27th, 2011
1:40 pm
The only statistical category the Hawks won last night? Personal fouls. That was an utterly pathetic game on both ends of the floor, as Jamal didn’t step up, the defense was half-hearted, the rebounding was just ignored, and nobody shot well at all. The 3-1 lead was nice, but performances like lat night will mean a one-way ticket home. Check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/3c3b7oe
tony ORLANDO
April 27th, 2011
1:42 pm
the hawks fans are like the team
THEY SUCK.
you went up 3-1, came to town and
GOT STUCK
lookin’ around and sayin’
WTF?
WE GOT THIS SERIES SO
STFU!!
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
1:43 pm
Najeh . . I tell you why the perception is though. You don’t go to the lengths to defend other people, like you do Josh Smith. When people criticize JJ, you rarely come to his defense. Same goes with Horford. But let people criticize Smith, and it’s always some sort of counter statement to try to make it seem like he’s not playing as bad as he really is.
Or it’s a “well everybody else is playing bad too, so why single him out?”
All of what you say may be true. But I think everyone on the blog sees that you do this much more often with Smith, than with any other player on the squad.
Like I said . . I tend to do the same thing with JJ. But unlike yourself, I don’t claim to not have some sort of bias toward JJ. LOL . . everybody knows I’ll try to give JJ the benefit of the doubt, unless he’s just flat out sucking ( like he did last night ).
Just admit that Josh Smith is your favorite player, and I don’t think people will call you out on your statements. But as long as you try to say that you’re an objective observer, but continue to defend to downplay Smith’s transgressions and not other players, they’ll continue to call you out.
LOL . . I don’t know man. I think you almost unconsciously do it, without even realizing it.
Section 303
April 27th, 2011
1:48 pm
JeJe, all Schultz and Bradley will do is write an article about how the Orlando artical exists. They may provide a bit of commentary on it, but they won’t retaliate.
It’s not wise to retaliate when the Hawks are what you’re counting on to back you up. Not wise at all.
JOEY1
April 27th, 2011
1:53 pm
come on guys,
i know we just got beat up but did we expect to win in a do or die situation against orlando on their home floor???
the difference was they hit shots and we did not …..it simple they hit 7 more 3 pointes than us thats enough to put us in a very close game.
hawks will win at home thursday in a tough game bc they know if they lose they will not win in game 7 in orlando.
i think with howard on the floor that slows down their offense, if hes in the game they dont shoot as many 3 pointers we cover them better bc of ono on one coverage of howard.
i said before the series hawks win in 6 and they will close it out in front of a spectacular crowd..
so guys lets show up to phillips arena a cheer on our hawks to win, bc we are the sixth man
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northcyde
April 27th, 2011
2:05 pm
The “Atlanta Birdbrains” huh?
You can tell that everyone associated with Orlando feels that they are “entitled” to something. You can hear it in their players. You can hear it in Van Gundy. You can hear it in their TV commentators. And you definitely hear it in this idiot sports columnist. They really feel like they deserve something, or are a much better team than what they really are.
When in reality, the only reason why they made it to the Conference Finals last year, was because they played a Charlotte team that was nowhere near ready to really push them, and they faced us . . who had no idea of how to stop Dwight. But as soon as they faced Boston, they quickly found themselves down 3 – 0, and lost the series in 6 games.
A Game 6 in which the Magic were in the same situation they are in now . . win, and you get Game 7 at home.
So what did they do? They go to Boston and they lose by 12 . . with the game being out of reach by the end of the 3rd quarter.
The ATL crowd needs to be jacked up for Game 6, and see if they can energize the Hawks from the jump. Orlando is nowhere near as good as they think they are.
While Stan wants to talk up how the team just weren’t making shots, they were ranked #15 this year in offensive rating. So it’s not like this is some sort of juggernaut offensive team. And in essence, they’ve had only ONE good 3-point shooting game against us in the 9 games we’ve played them this year.
ONE.
In 8 of the 9 games, that team has shot under 40% from three, with last night being the only game in which they’ve “made shots”.
So F— that team. The only thing great about them is the big man in the middle. The Hawks simply need to come out to try to KILL this team right from the start. Put them out of their misery early, and let everyone know that the “fluke” was the Magic actually MAKING their 3 point shots against us . . not the other way around.
F— everything about Orlando . . including that damn cartoon mouse.
The other trend in all of our closeout games in the past two 1st round games, is that we have beaten the HELL out of the opponent. We destroyed Miami in Game 7 and we destroyed Milwaukee in Game 7. I would love for this trend to continue, and see us destroy Orlando.
tyger
April 27th, 2011
2:15 pm
Who are these guys?
What happened to that young, hungry, veteran group that closed ranks and dug-in for the playoffs?
Instead of taking care of their business like professionals, they resort back to their alter-ego – the Atlanta Quitters. I doubt there’s another NBA playoff team that could hold D.Howard to 8pts. and lose by 30!
Rather than seizing upon an opportunity to regain their swagger and impose their will upon a quality playoff opponent, they resort to coonery. Our All-star backcourt: Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Kurt Hinrich are dominated by 40yr. old’s Gilbert Arenas and Quinton Richardson and NBDL JJ Reddick.
Oh! And don’t think it’s going to get better just b/c your coming back to ATL. Opportunity lost is opportunity lost. The Atlanta Quitters have resurfaced – prepare yourselves for a calamity of collossal proportions.
Down 3-1, the Atlanta Quitters lose three straight to Orlando!
superiorblogman
April 27th, 2011
2:25 pm
Hawks will lose this series. As I said a couple days ago all the Magic needed to do was blow the Hawks out once and the Hawks minds will cave in. I am happy they are going to lose this series though, because this team needs a major overhaul. Hinrich is not the PG of the future and will not get you to the ECF in the present so once again you spent too much on him in that trade. Lastly, Josh Smith is more Lamar Odom than anything, Odom is actually better but the great Phil Jackson long realized that Odom was more valuable as a do it all guy off the bench. Josh will be at his best when he is in that role.
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
2:28 pm
Tyger . . that’s the reason why you play for homecourt.
And let me get on some of you “fans” for a minute. As soon as we went up 3 – 1, some of you were talking like we were a lock to face the Bulls. But as soon as the blowout happens, you doubt the team again.
In essence, some of the fans are just as mentally fragile and unstable as the team seems to be. So how about some of YOU get some mental toughness as well . . and believe in this team. Believe that they can get it done against a team in which they’ve held down most of the year.
You know what I say to Orlando? DO IT AGAIN.
Prove that what you did last night was the REAL Orlando, and not the bricklaying team that we’ve seen the entire year, before last night.
As for you fans, stop expecting the absolute worst from this team, as soon as they hit a bump in the road. And if you haven’t been to a playoff game yet, and you don’t have any other things to do, GO TO THE DAMN GAME!!
Memphis’ playoff slogan is “Believe Memphis”. It’s a great marketing campaign that is plastered all over that city.
I guess Atlanta’s playoff slogan is “Panic Atlanta”.
Get behind the damn team for once, and believe that they can get it done.
Jazzy
April 27th, 2011
2:34 pm
For the record, that ill-advised comment from the Orlando sports writer reflects about 2% of the fanbase in Orlando. We are much too polished for that bird-brained idiot to represent our city to the world. Atlanta and Orlando are two nice cities, I’ve lived in both. Enough of these sportswriters, he degraded us in the same way the days before. Whoever wins, great, I will praise God for waking up in the morning.
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
2:39 pm
@Tony Orlando
Hey buster go jump in the Atlantic Ocean and try to out swim a great white..I hear they like food on a stick like you….LOL
tom
April 27th, 2011
2:40 pm
“In essence, some of the fans are just as mentally fragile and unstable as the team seems to be. So how about some of YOU get some mental toughness as well . . and believe in this team. Believe that they can get it done against a team in which they’ve held down most of the year.”
WELL SAID!!
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
2:44 pm
Josh for Rudy Gay
Josh and Marvin and Kirk for CP3 and a 1st round pick…
NCBravesFan
April 27th, 2011
2:45 pm
Wow, that Bianchi column may be good bulletin board material or perhaps a good liner for Harry the Hawk’s cage but that’s about it.
b
April 27th, 2011
2:46 pm
Please quit calling Smith “Smoove”.
Where the heck did that name come from?
mykhalc
April 27th, 2011
2:55 pm
us believin’ don’t have $hit to do with THEIR play…PERIOD!!!
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
2:55 pm
Well Jazzy . . . I hope someone in the Hawks organization is savvy enough to bring the writer’s comments to the attention of the team, much like Jameer’s comments was made to Derrick Rose about seeing him in the 2nd round, before the playoffs even started yet. In fact, if I were part of the ATL promotions team, I would skip the glitzy pre-game video, and just have someone come on the big screen and read excerpts of that article. See if that will fire the Hawks up a bit.
At the end of the night tomorrow, we may be thanking your idiot sportswriter for encouraging the Hawks to play harder and “smarter”.
If we’re the “Atlanta Birdbrains” . . you guys are the “Orlando Illusion” . . because your team isn’t nearly as good as you think you are. Both of these teams are hella flawed.
mykhalc
April 27th, 2011
2:57 pm
but THEIR play has a helluva lot to do with what we see and believe…
melvin23
April 27th, 2011
2:58 pm
Here is what the Orlando press is sayin…..win on thursday or start over once again……
“Magic will now find a way to beat the Atlanta Birdbrains”
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-bianchi-magic-0427-20110426,0,7657264.column
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
2:58 pm
mykhalc . . . tell that to the Memphis crowd. I guarantee you if they get blown out in Game 5 tonight, that they’ll not going to crawl under a rock and doubt their team.
“Believing” means that you may actually go to the game, and be as loud as ever from the start of that game, to the finish. This team has endured bad losses all year, only to surprise people with a good effort against an opponent that fans thought would blow us out.
F— the Magic. Get behind your Hawks. Don’t run away from them now at the first sign of adversity.
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
3:02 pm
Just because Atlanta has no history of championships, doesn’t mean that the fans should bail on the team ( whether it be the Braves, Falcons, or Hawks ), every time they face a little trouble. Even if Game 6 is going a little bad, don’t go home at the end of the 3rd quarter, if we’re only down 9 points.
BELIEVE that your presence and energy in that arena can encourage the Hawks to play better. But damn . . that means acting like a PASSIONATE fan base. I know ATL fans aren’t accustomed to acting like that, but we have shown the ability to do it at times during the playoffs.
Just don’t mentally bail out on the team. Not right now.
BYC
April 27th, 2011
3:09 pm
$20 million / 5 points = $4 million per point. Woohoo!
BYC
April 27th, 2011
3:13 pm
I can never decide who’s game I hate the most on this team. Josh Smith is always making boneheaded plays and whining, but it seems like the guy really wants to win. Joe Johnson on the other hand is always hiding in silent apathy. I’m starting to to like Josh’s game more
Section 303
April 27th, 2011
3:15 pm
northcyde, I’ll be there. But, the Hawks have to regain the respect of the fans. I’ve sat through too many blowouts this year to just take Game 5 as an abberation. If they want the fans roudy and making noise, they better come to play. Last night (and all the hammerings they took this season) was garbage. Total garbage.
The Hawks owe all of us one tomorrow night. It’s on them.
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
3:18 pm
The Orlando Illusion . . . that’s the name I’m calling them from now on. Just like how I refuse to call Josh Smith “Smoove” anymore . . because I want him to play tougher ( or as Doc says . . play like “Smash” ) . . I’m not calling Orlando the “Magic” anymore.
They’re the “Illusion” until further notice.
mykhalc
April 27th, 2011
3:19 pm
@northcyde…first off i’m talkin’ about cats postin’ their ‘true’ feelings about this team on the blog. so we might be comin’ from 2 different angles as we post. but the MEM analogy doesn’t correlate for me. MEM has not had to deal with a team that has stayed pretty much the same for the last 4 years. MEM has made changes and their fans are enjoyin’ seein’ those changes in full effect right now. so i say apple and oranges in this case. and FWIW the fans will be there in Philips on thurs. and as pissed as i am on how these team plays i’ll be watchin’ here in san fran…
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
3:20 pm
get Gearon’s 300 million dollar man attention, dont show up tomorrow night…………
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
3:21 pm
bonehead-smoove=josh
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
3:23 pm
RESPECT?
This is what I’m talking about 303.
You were in that dang arena over the weekend, and saw the Hawks handle that team twice. But because they had their WTF type game on the road, they have to “earn” your respect now?
F— that man. Get behind your team REGARDLESS of how they played.
That’s why people constantly rip ATL as a sports town. If a bad loss like that is going to cause you to lose respect for them, despite the Hawks beating the Magic 5 out of 9 times this year, then I don’t know what to say.
That team doesn’t need to gain your respect . . . you need to believe in the damn team more. And I know once the game tips off, you’ll be right there because you always are.
ATL fans just need to stop being so damn fragile. The playoffs are on a year to year basis. Things can change at the drop of a hat. The Illusion have only shot the ball well against us ONE TIME this year. So I tell them to do it again.
It’s crazy how some of the fans can go from thinking the Hawks are an ECF lock after going up 3 – 1, to totally bailing out on the team after a bad loss, despite still having the home court.
Now if they lose Game 6, that’s when you should worry. But I don’t think the Illusion are that good at all. Do it again Orlando Illusion. Prove that your shooting performance against us wasn’t a fluke, even though you’ve shot horribly in 8 of the 9 games this year.
niremetal
April 27th, 2011
3:23 pm
MC, make sure Jamal sees a copy of that Sentinel article:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-bianchi-magic-0427-20110426,0,7657264.column
JOEY1
April 27th, 2011
3:24 pm
come on guys,AGAIN
i know we just got beat up but did we expect to win in a do or die situation against orlando on their home floor???
the difference was they hit shots and we did not …..it simple they hit 7 more 3 pointes than us thats enough to put us in a very close game.
hawks will win at home thursday in a tough game bc they know if they lose they will not win in game 7 in orlando.
i think with howard on the floor that slows down their offense, if hes in the game they dont shoot as many 3 pointers we cover them better bc of ono on one coverage of howard.
i said before the series hawks win in 6 and they will close it out in front of a spectacular crowd..
so guys lets show up to phillips arena a cheer on our hawks to win, bc we are the sixth man
honest_abe
April 27th, 2011
3:25 pm
myk hitst the nail on the head on that one. the memphis analogy holds no water as this is the first year that they’ve evern won a single playoff game! they are beating an old team once thought of as a shoo in for the western finals. they’re doing all of this w/out arguably one of there best players, they plan a frantic style of defense, they have a balanced roster. whats there not to be excited about? can you say the same for the hawks? not really. but i’ll still be cheering for them tomorrow night.
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
3:28 pm
even Gearon dont believe this ish!
hawks=write off to that dude born with a golden spoon in his mouth….
mykhalc
April 27th, 2011
3:28 pm
@northcyde…you also seem to want the fans to forget the regular season…as if fans did not see this team for a full 82 games. that DOES come into play…believe it or not…
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
3:33 pm
The loss last night was not just a loss.It was a CATASTROPHIC LOSS!!!!!!!!!!
The players bailed in the 1st 8 mins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We Fans should be totally beside ourselves with the sh_t they dumped on the floor down there in Orlando..TNT was wise not to put this garbage on their station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My remote will be ready once again to tune out another pickup game…..
Melvin
April 27th, 2011
3:33 pm
When Northcyde gets on a roll, you can’t stop him. You can only hope to contain him….LOL… Keep bring that fire Northcyde..
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
3:33 pm
The Memphis core of Conley – Randolph – Gasol – Mayo – and Gay have been together for 3 years. The difference, is that the Memphis front office had sense enough to draft talented people in the 1st round that can produce, along with bringing in defensive minded reserves via free agency and trades.
But keep in mind that the Grizzlies had been to the playoffs 3 times in their history . . and were 0 – 12. They had never won a playoff game. So that’s why the playoff slogan was “Believe Memphis”. Believe that the Griz can make a little noise in the playoffs. And once Battier hit that 3 to beat San Antonio in Game 1, the belief was through the roof by the time the Griz came home in Game 3.
If they suffer the same fate that we did last night, and get blown out in Game 5, that fan base isn’t going to start doubting the Griz, seeing that they’ve also beaten the Spurs in 5 out of 8 games.
This is NOT last year’s Orlando team. They may think that one blowout solves all of their problems. But I say . . do it again. Prove that the cold shooting that we’ve seen all year out of that team when they’ve faced us, is the norm . . or a fluke.
They’ve shot the ball well one time against us. So I say . . JJ Redick . . score 15 points again. If he doesn’t . . that team may be screwed.
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
3:36 pm
mykhalc . . the playoffs is NOT about what a team has done during the regular season. It’s about what a team has done vs the team we are PLAYING. That’s why Memphis wasn’t scared to play the #1 seed in San Antonio . . because they knew they could beat them. It’s a bad matchup for the Spurs.
The Hawks have had the Illusion’s number all year, up until last night. So if you want to bail on the team now . . go right ahead. But I say that the team just got lucky to shoot that well. They’ve been an average offensive team all year. The Illusion isn’t the great squad that they had last year.
If the Hawks play their B-game, we’ll win the game going away.
SteveW
April 27th, 2011
3:37 pm
If you would have told me before the game that:
We would hold Orlando to 41% shooting last night
And Dwight would have 8 pts and 8 rbs. and be out of the game for a long stretch in the first half because of foul trouble, I would have told you we will win that game, not be blown out by 25.
northcyde
April 27th, 2011
3:37 pm
I’m about done though Melvin . . time for me to go to work. I just hate to see the “fans” bail out on the team as soon as we run into a little trouble, but they expect the team to work through those same troubles.
As a fan, you have to stick with the team through thick and thin. F— the Illusion.
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
if the Hawks are down by 25 in the 3rd, that arena should start emptying out.. That will send a msg…..You think???…Cause the players wont show up for game seven, you can lock it in and collect…
Slimjr
April 27th, 2011
3:39 pm
the players bailed……………….DUH………………………
mykhalc
April 27th, 2011
3:41 pm
see your onus is aimed at ORL, mine is aimed at the Hawks!!! i say Hawks…play like a damn pro team and not this AAU $hit you tend to bring to the court…have some damn pride in the product you bring to the court…and if you can’t do it for yourself then do it for your fans and the city. be pros damn it!!! this NO HEART $hit on some nites has to f’n end…PERIOD!!!
honest_abe
April 27th, 2011
3:42 pm
you basically reinforced my point. there are no similarities between those two teams. one has show vast improvement over the last several years. this team has peaked and it wasn’t a very high one at that.
sure reg. season means jack in the playoffs. but this team hasn’t looked any different in the wins. orlando’s just played worse. no discipline and no leadership. as awful as woody was when it came to offensive creativity, substitutions or plays coming out of a time out he was a strong leader. unfortunately he sucked too bad at the x’s and o’s the players eventually just tuned him out. we hoped, like fools gold that drew would be different. making joe johnson and josh smith your captains is a joke in it of itself.