Atlanta Hawks: Would they be hopeless without Hinrich? (Update: Hinrich doubtful for series)
7:30 p.m. UPDATE: Hawks say Kirk Hinrich is doubtful to play in series vs. Bulls because of “significant strain” to hamstring.
Kirk Hinrich had an MRI this afternoon. The Hawks haven’t released the results yet but say they expect to announce something today. I’m told it didn’t look good for Hinrich last night but there was more optimism today because he was moving better.
If Hinrich can’t play or is very limited, the Hawks are in serious trouble against the Bulls. I’m assuming they can’t suddenly change their offensive habits to the point where they can score efficiently against the league’s best D. They need Hinrich for scoring, too, because if you are going to be a jump-shooting team it’s best to send out as many jump shooters as possible, especially one capable of getting his own.
So it seems Atlanta’s best chance in this series is to play rugged defense and pull out some grinding games. They did that against the Magic but the Dwight Defense is null against Chicago, which plays through D-Rose instead of the post. Among Atlanta’s guards, Hinrich is their best chance to slow D-Rose–if not by staying in front of him, then by going under screens and then recovering to challenge his (so-so) jump shot. As Hinrich showed during the Orlando series, he’s pretty good at that.
Hinrich’s availability is so crucial, in fact, that L.D. and his staff couldn’t really make a lot of decisions on their game plans today because they didn’t know if they’d have Hinrich.
“It certainly changes things,” Drew said. “Hopefully he will be able to go but if he’s not we will have to make an adjustment. Not knowing what we will do at that point, we will talk about it as a staff and then make a decision. We are looking at matchups to see what will work best for us and not really knowing if Kirk can go, can’t go, play some or can’t play at all—a lot of that will change things.”
If Hinrich can’t play or is ineffective, the other options to defend Rose are Teague, J.J., Jamal, and Damien.
L.D. hasn’t put much trust in Teague all season and now would be asking him to guard the best offensive point guard in the league.
“We’ve been talking to Teague already, getting his mind prepared,” Jamal said. “He understands the challenge at hand. I think he’s prepared himself for the opportunity. I think he got a little down when he was not paying as much. Sometimes things work out in strange ways. Now he gets his change to play.”
J.J. doesn’t like checking points and has proven to be effective at it only in small stretches. Plus the Hawks are going to need all the points they can get and tasking J.J. with chasing Rose through screens and also carrying his usual offensive burden is a lot to ask.
“I am sure through course of the series he will spend time on [Rose],” Drew said. “There is a high probability a few guys will see time on him. [The Bulls] put you in a situation where they do force you to switch. Joe has guarded point guards before; he’s comfortable defending point guards. Hopefully it won’t be much. I’d like to keep him off of him.”
Damien generally has fared better against opponents he can body up rather than those who require quick feet. Jamal had his moments playing acceptable team defense against the Magic but clearly this is not an assignment for him.
The pick-and-roll alignment the Hawks used against Jameer and the Magic probably doesn’t make sense. Noah isn’t a big threat on the roll–he’s scored 1.09 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports Technology, but only had 61 attempts. Rose is generally less concerned with kicking out to 3-point shooters than with getting to the basket for scores (he was third among point guards in field-goals per game at the rim with 3.8 and averaged five against the Hawks) or drawing fouls (.35 free-throw rate overall, .32 against the Hawks).
And, anyway, Rose has been much more efficient scoring in isolation (1.09 points per possession, ranked No. 4 in the league) than on screen-rolls (.87 ppp, ranked 45th). It could get ugly for the Hawks if the Bulls clear out for Rose and an Atlanta guard is forced to defend him in space.
There’s some sentiment in the Hawks’ locker room to play a zone against the Bulls. Good luck keeping the Bulls off the glass with that strategy. They were the fourth-best offensive rebounding team this season and they hammered the Hawks on the board in all three meetings this season.
“We have to come up with a game plan to try to slow down the potential MVP,” L.D. said. “It won’t be an easy job; it’s going to be tough. He’s seen probably every conceivable defense there is. One guy won’t do it. It will take a total team effort.”
True, but that effort would appear to be doomed without Hinrich.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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425 comments Add your comment
Justin
April 30th, 2011
9:45 am
Here are a few Player Efficiency Ratings to compare:
Mike Conley-15.9
Jameer Nelson- 15.47
Jeff Teague- 14.62
Jamal Crawford- 14.29
Marvin Williams- 13.51
Mike Bibby- 10.93
PER doesn’t reflect defense as much as offense.
Jeff Teague ranks 18th in the NBA in steals per minute and 53rd in the NBA in blocks per minute. He has the highest steal rate and the 3rd highest block rate on the Hawks (behind Al and Josh).
And remember the last time that Kirk started against Chicago, they scored like 85 points in the first quarter. He has not shown that he can slow down Rose, so why is everyone acting like the series was riding on him?
Having said that, if Drew plays Jamal and JJ on Rose instead of giving Teague a shot, we’re looking at a 4 game series. So if we’re factoring in Drew’s stubborn refusal to play Teague, then yeah Kirk’s injury is probably a season ending one for him and the Hawks.
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
9:56 am
ASG is happy right now:
We went to game 6 vs. Orlando. That’s extra revenue for them.
With Hinrich hurt, they will pull the injury excuse if [we most likely] lose, and then they will bring back THE SAME ROSTER next year
*yawn*
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
10:10 am
And you can hate all you want on this statement, but it is true. They always mention injuries. Go back to the Cleveland series 2 years ago, and the FIRST THING they say will be we had players hurt
J from the A
April 30th, 2011
10:16 am
northcyde
April 29th, 2011
11:31 pm
“And WOW . . Zebo is a KILLER. If only Horford or Smith had a low post/midrange game like Zach, we’d be set to take the East.”
That is EXACTLY what I was thinking when I was watching the game (on my TV of course!). I haven’t had a chance to watch Zach that much this year and didn’t realize he was that good. (I knew he was good, but if last night’s performance is any indication of how he consistently performs, then Zach > J-Smoove.) Also I saw Arthur really show some athleticism around the rim, too and was impressed.
“Damn . . looks like I may have to do a Saturday in Memphis, and a Sunday in Atlanta next weekend.”
Sounds like a nice problem to have. After the Memphis game last night, I was talking to my wife, and I think if we had the financial means, we would be doing the same. (Unfortunately for us, it looks like I am not going to have work for at least two months this summer, so I probably won’t be able to catch another Hawks’ game live. This makes me sad.)
Gamer
April 30th, 2011
10:31 am
LIKE THE BOSTON TEA PARTY REVOLUTIONIZED WORLD HISTORY; IT IS TEAGUE TIME/TEA TIME TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE HAWKS’ BACK-COURT WITH HIS BLAZING SPEED….
TEAGUE, IT IS TIME FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE TO SOAR, UTILIZE YOUR GOD-GIVEN TALENT…..
YOUR TEAM-MATES AND THE HAWKS FAN-BASE NEED YOU TO STEP IN FOR HINRICH AND STEP UP FOR THE HAWKS AGAINST D. ROSE..
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY D. ROSE GAME BECAUSE HE PRACTICE HARD ENOUGH TO BE A GREAT PLAYER…..
GREATNESS IS NOT ACCIDENTAL HAPPENINGS…IT IS GOD-GIVEN TALENT MET WITH THE RECIPIENT’S PREPARATIONS…YOU MUST PREPARE FOR GREATNESS…FILM-STUDY, TEAM’S PRACTICES BY BEING A STUDENT OF THE GAME WHO’S CORRIGIBLE…
TEAGUE YOU’RE ABOUT TO BE THROWN INTO THE FIRE(NBA POSTSEASON)…2ND ROUND WITH NATIONAL COVERAGE AGAINST D. ROSE….WHO IS PROBABLY NBA’S BEST POINT GUARD SINCE WHO??
I CAN’T THINK OF A POINT GUARD IN NBA’S HISTORY BETTER THAN D. ROSE…PLENTY OF NAMES SURFACE BUT SIZZLE-OUT WHEN COMPARED TO D. ROSE….NAMES LIKE GUS WILLIAMS, TINY NATE ARCHIBALD, ISAIAH THOMAS, MARK PRICE, KEVIN JOHNSON, WALT FRAZIER, EARL THE PEARL MONROE, CALVIN MURPHY, PHIL FORD,,PISTOL PETE MARAVICH AND THE BIG ‘O’ OSCAR ROBERTSON…AS GREAT AS THESE PLAYERS WERE NONE CAN HOLD A CANDLE NEXT TO D. ROSE WITHOUT PREPAREDNESS…
GAME PREPARATIONS WITH ELITE CONFIDENCE IS WHAT SEPARATE YOU FROM D. ROSE ELITENESS…..
YOU GOT THE WHEREWITHAL TO GET THE JOB DONE!!!!!!
MAN-UP, STEP UP TO THE TASK…..PUSH ROSE TO HIS LIMITS AND BEYOND BY BECOMING A FULL PLEDGE STUDENT OF THE GAME UTILIZING YOUR BLAZING SPEED TO MAKE PLAYS FOR YOUR TEAM-MATES!!!
2011 NBA POST-SEASON, IT’S NBA BIG STAGE FOR NBA PLAYERS TO SHOWCASE THEIR GAME….MAKE YOUR NAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME WITH NBA WATCHERS…..
TEA-GUE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Steve
April 30th, 2011
10:38 am
I say put Eton Thomas on him. Rose will start laughing so hysterically he won’t be able to drive.
NUNNA!!
April 30th, 2011
10:39 am
Tyger,i to clicked onto the virus from the post under the name of Najeh but to be honest i don’t believe he would do anything like that.U know u can put whatever name u want under here..I bet u or i would be blamed for the next one because they could put our name on here next after they read our comments lol..
Ra’mon,I have been preaching that since he got here..Some of these unknown names who come on this blog are talking like Kirk(who i do agree is an upgrade over bibby)is a freaking shutdown PG..Plus,to his defense i have not seen him as a floor general because he always defers the ball to Crawford and Al,Smoove,Joe,Marvin almost always start the fast break themselves and never harldy let the guy set up the play on the other end..Floor General???? Give me a break..
And Tech Guy,
U don’t know what u are talking about. What u and others are missing is that this guy is better than u think he is..
1st,he is a team ball player.The hawks are a “and 1″ team that plays unorganized basketball. All LD did was give them the orders of playing the 3 point shooters tough on defense and let howard do his thing but foul him hard to make him earn it at the free throw line..THATS IT!!
Taking all these outside shots and not attacking the rim as soon as Howard went out and having a power forward jacking up 3’s and never getting the ball to your supposed floor general kirk hinrich is what nba scouts and coaches see..
This team got by Orlando because in spite of the coaching and should have won it in a sweep…
Teague made a comment that he played alongside Kirk better than he did with anyone else on the team when he is on the floor.He stated they both attacked and had each others back with help defense and they knew where the other one was at all time..And wasn’t the issue of “help defense” the main thing that Josh brought up to Cheryl MIller on TNT in a game earlier this year?
So,its not an issue to me if he can play or not. He has been a turnover machine this year..He scores,he gets the ball to open players..And if Jamaal and Joe can get in position and get open instead of trying to play the point when Teague is in the game they will score a lot more
Gamer
April 30th, 2011
10:43 am
OH BY THE WAY, HAWKS’ BRASS NEED TO WOO DWIGHT HOWARD TO FINISH HIS CAREER WITH THE ATLANTA HAWKS…
IMAGINE, SUPERMAN PLAYING ALONG SIDE JJ, JAMAL, AL, J-SMOOVE, TEAGUE AND HINRICH…. THE HAWKS WILL BE A JUGGERNAUT TEAM….CHAMPIONSHIP PICKS EVERY YEAR….
IF MR. BLANK OWN THE HAWKS, HE WOULD FIND A WAY TO GET DWIGHT HOWARD TO RETURN HOME…..MR. BLANK IS A WINNER…..
The Game Has Changed
April 30th, 2011
10:46 am
@Wordlwide Clyde- I think we need to change the whole entire game plan and go on the attack. I say start PG-Joe SG-Marvin SF-Smoove PF-Horford C-Collins. We need to keep Rose occupied on the other end of the court. Make him play some D on Joe or Marvin. They can both shoot over him or either post him up. Posting would be better. That way he would only be able to start the break underneath our basket on a rebound. This would also put him in foul trouble.
The Game Has Changed
April 30th, 2011
10:57 am
@Gamer-You ever heard of a guy by the name of Ervin “Magic” Johnson. 6-8 230 lbs. 5 nba rings. Walking Triple Double,Showtime, Laker Breakers. Any of those names ring a bell?
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
11:07 am
Great job NOT developing Teague and NOT preparing him for the Playoffs. Woody was let go partially because he didn’t play Teague
SMDH
FIRE LD
Kapoonka
April 30th, 2011
11:15 am
I predict the Bulls will win in 5 games, and I also see at least one 40 point blowout for the Bulls of course. You just never know what you get with the Hawks. The Bulls represent the true definition of a “team”. The starters are too skilled, and the bench is too deep for the Hawks. Perhaps the Hawks can view this year as a stepping stone for next season. i’m glad they beat Orlando, but they are not quite ready for a team the caliber of the Bullys.
The Game Has Changed
April 30th, 2011
11:26 am
@KIapoonka-You gonna eat those words bro. Thats the same thing they said before the start of the first round. Its not too late to get on the bandwagon.
Sleepy
April 30th, 2011
11:34 am
Some of of these comments are just plain crazy.
Rose scores on everyone thats why he is going to be the league MVP
The people claiming Jeff teague is the answer to anything are the same fools who claimed we get swept if we didnt play him in the first round .
The only way we stand a chance in this series is if our 4 best players (Joe ,Jamal,Al,Josh) actually play like they are our 4 best players .teague is so far down the list of essentials just as Hinrich wouldve been .
OMG I cant believe that some of you have convinced yourselves that Hinrich was gonna shut down Rose. Seriously thats just as stupid as the writers saying how we will only win one game.
No one is gonna stop Rose and the quicker we accept that the better off we will be however we play them like we used to play the old heat when they just had D-Wade .
ZONE when Korver is not in the game
traps
double teams
LATE IN THE CLOCK DOUBLE TEAMS .when the clock gets to ten seconds and Rose is at the top of the key you send a double from whoever is guarding Bogans,Brewer .
START ZAZA because its important that we take a hard foul early and often and neither Al nor Josh is gonna do it
Youve got to make Rose work defensively hes not the greatest defensive player and while he will have fresh legs in game one after 3-4 games of taking a pounding on the offensive end while having to chase people around screens for 40+ minute a night it will take its toll.
Teague pretty much ensures that the Bulls can double team anytime they want now.
Kirk was shooting the ball so well against the magic that they couldnt leave him and they basically cheated off Josh because he was standing at the three point line most of the time and dared Josh to beat him with the three .
Now with Teague in they dont have to worry about Josh or Teague from the perimeter .
.
cp
April 30th, 2011
11:56 am
I dont see anyone saying Teague is the answer to anything. I see people saying his speed might give him a chance to stay in front of Rose. Everytime Teague is brought up you seem to go the extreme of what people are actually saying.
jhan
April 30th, 2011
12:08 pm
Can’t say the Hawks won despite of their coach. If you listened to the time-out huddles with LD he was saying exactly the right things – swing the ball & attack the rim. The Hawks continued to play ISO with JJ/Jamal & Josh continued to take 3’s. Maybe LD doesn’t have a commanding personality or maybe the players today know they can do what they want. When you make 10X more money than your boss I guess you don’t really have to listen.
Sleepy
April 30th, 2011
12:11 pm
Rose is strong and fast and speed means nothing if it disrupts everything else.
Ole Hawks Fan
April 30th, 2011
12:40 pm
Rose is the “Best PG to play in the nba”? Has he won any rings in nba and college. Didn’t he choke in the NCAA while playing at Memphis? Missing free throws that would move Memphis on?
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
12:46 pm
Well, if Teague gets serious burn in this series (great job LD for NOT developing him at all), he should have some fresh legs. Dude never plays.
LOL @ The Game Has Changed claiming we can tire out Rose by making him play D on Marvin.
An injured Helen Keller could shut down Marvin defensively. What makes you think Derrick Rose would have to “try” defending him?
This is the same guy who got stripped by Jameer on the 2 postups he had on Nelson in the Orlando series
Michael Cunningham
April 30th, 2011
12:48 pm
@Booo!: “MC, I disagree Jeff Teague is the best defensive PG on our roster. It’s not even debateable. Maybe Kirk has more intagibles because of experience, but He can’t hang with Rose like Jeff can.”
i could debate this point with facts and observations but since it’s not debatable, what’s the use?
Michael Cunningham
April 30th, 2011
12:51 pm
@ Mike is back: “MC, Captain Kurt will be sorely missed…it is a huge lost…I wish Kurt a speedy recovery. As long as LD can get over his self…and understand that Teague is going look really bad at times…than all is not lost. I have yet to understand why LD sets the bar so high for Teague…and not the entire team.”
the explanations have not always been clear or consistent, leading to various conspiracy theories among my blog people.
NUNNA!!
April 30th, 2011
1:14 pm
MC,tell us something,school us..
Not by past blogs that had LD’s qoutes about Teague,but from your own..
From what u seen in practice,and from being at games because i have been at neither:
1.What are Teagues Pro’s and Cons versus the Bulls?
2.What is it u see in him in practice that we(on this blog) don’t know?
I asked the 2nd question because most of the time(when a player is released or traded from a team) the coaches,sports writers who cover the team,play by play and color commentators from the team all chide in about the persons attitude,why he seemed to be in a dog house,why he was not playing,and what the team mates thought of him after the player is gone..
Don’t wait,just tell us now..He is this,he is that,he is never focused,he is always late for practice,players don’t like him,or something..Just tell us now…What is it that u know that we don’t..
NUNNA!!
April 30th, 2011
1:15 pm
My bad grammer,i meant to end that with a question mark.Sorry
northcyde
April 30th, 2011
1:17 pm
The people that keep advocating that Jason Collins should start, forget that Noah KILLED that dude on the boards in the time he was in the game in the 1st Chicago game. He offered absolutely no resistance to Noah and didn’t slow him down one bit. We immediately fell behind double-digits in that first game, due to everybody, including Collins, playing like crap.
It was Al Horford, and his work on the offensive boards that saved us in that 1st game, along with his great shotmaking in the 2nd half.
In the 2nd game vs the Bulls, we actually had the lead at halftime, before coming out extremely flat to start the 3rd, thus, leading to the blowout.
In game 3, we started the downward slide as soon as the bench started to come in, and the starters could never regain control of the game. Then it got completely out of control as the game progressed.
Jason Collins was NOT a factor in the Game 1 win. And if he’s not guarding a center that looks for his offense, he becomes a detriment in a game, due to his inability to defensively rebound the basketball, and his inability to challenge shots in the paint, and his inability to score offensively.
Just like this may be the series for Teague and Damien, this is NOT the series for Jason Collins. The Bulls are a fast, athletic, defensively aggressive team. The last thing we need on the court is a slow, inactive big man on the floor.
Honestly, Hilton Armstrong should play before Jason Collins in this series.
Worldwide Clyde
April 30th, 2011
1:26 pm
@The Game Has Changed that’s the way I probably think LD is going to go. If Marvin or JJ can draw some fouls on Rose and get him out of the game we will be alright. Can’t settle for jump shots though.
Worldwide Clyde
April 30th, 2011
1:28 pm
JJ – pg
Marvin – sg
Smoove – sf
Horford – pf
Collins – c
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
1:34 pm
Some hope for the Hawks:
1) Boozer is hurt, and has been playing terrible except for one game vs. the Pacers.
You talk about a bad long term contract.
2) The series is set up play one, off one, play one, off one. The Hawks seemed to do stellar with schedule during the season.
And I don’t won’t to hear anything about injures. DRose had his ankle in a walking boot the day before game 5 with the Pacers. It the Hawks use the ol’ injury excuse, shame on them!
Remember JJ, your the one that said “No Excuses”!
NUNNA!!
April 30th, 2011
1:42 pm
Booyah Northcyde!!
On the collins reference and especially the Hilton Armstrong reference as well.
Armstrong and Magnum,and Etan can fit well into the run and gun game against the Bulls.
But with Joe and Jamaal playing the point against that team is a joke.All they need to worry about doing is getting open for a true PG to give them the ball..
One more thing.
I hope josh works on his ball handling skills and his inside game as well because for a big lineup,i’d love to see him at the point..Yes I Said It!! Point Guard!!
Great vision..Finds open players..Slow wind up on jump shots..If we were in a blow out or in the final 2 minutes of a qtr i’d try it out..
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
1:43 pm
If LD just hates Teague, and refuses to play him, I would probably tinker with this lineup:
PG – JJ
SG – Wilkens
SF – Marvin
PF – Josh
C – Al
You’ve still got Jamal and ZaZa as your 2 primary backups.
The rest of the bench: Teague, Collins, Hilton, Etan, and Powell. Use as needed.
Vava74 – LD pathologically hates Teague. He will not set him up to succeed, only to fail.
And if Teague came out in game 1 and went toe to toe with DRose, it wouldn’t matter. Teague would be back on the bench in no time flat. It’s irrational from our perspective, so we need to quit being rational about the situation. LD hates Teague, end of story.
And maybe LD2 is part of the equation, IDK.
I don’t think we need to go big versus the Bulls.
vava74
April 30th, 2011
1:49 pm
jhan
April 30th, 2011
12:08 pm
To have a commanding voice you need to really instill accountability.
LD does the opposite: when players disobeyed him – for instance Smoove – instead of benching him and make him accountable for not doing what he is supposed to do, he didn’t and said PUBLICLY that he had to “live with it”.
So, with that example, what “command” can you expect from him? Nothing.
This team almost doesn’t have an HC. They have a guy who more or less checks who’s tired and who has fouls and makes substitutions in accordance to that.
Not in accordance to production.
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
1:57 pm
This whole series is about RAPID adjustments
If Deng destroys Marvin, immediately put Damien in. Same for if Vice Versa happens
I maybe would start ZaZa. The guy needs to play at least 25 minutes a game in this series.
I maintain my belief that Chicago has severely overachieved this year.
We gotta play physical ball AND NOT LET ANY LAYUPS. WTF was with Jameer at the end of that game 6?
ejh
April 30th, 2011
2:00 pm
I also said on the last blog that Joe should get minutes at the point. If he and marvin can trap rose and obscure his sight line for passes because of their size you can beat this team, because he is their only ball handler and facilitaor, it is like cutting off the head of the snake the rest of the body just flails around. The other thing is the Hawks are not going to stop him from scoring, but if they can hold him to 22 points or less with 6 assists or less, you are going to beat this team. Because it means the rest of the team is going to have to score at least 65 points to win, thats if the hawks can average about 90 points/game. Against Noah we are going to need Zsa Zsa, Hilton, and Etan Thomas, and maybe josh powell, those guys are quicker than collins, and would be able tor run the floor to keep up with noah.
On the teague issue, I think he starts, because I do not think LD wants to disrupt his bench rotation. So Teague probabley plays 15 to 20 minutes per game. His job is going to be to pick DRose up full court and make him work, to try and tire him a little, and to try and deny him the ball, the hawks will cause the bulls some matchup problems, it going to be whether they take advantage of them; Hawks in (6). They will split the first two in chicago, split at home, when game 5 in chicago, and game 6 at home.
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
2:15 pm
Collins and Teague’s statlines don’t reflect their value because of their defense.
Josh’s statline over inflates his contributions, because I don’t know how taking minutes off to sulk and complain (more than Kobe etc.) shows up in stats. And he also can be the biggest momentum shifter in the league, with a bad pass or an ill advised jumpshot.
Stats mean something, but they don’t mean everything.
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
2:19 pm
Not to say that Josh doesn’t have outstanding talent, but man he frustrates me sometimes. More than Al, JJ, or Jamal. They all frustrate me by their play sometimes. Josh just more so. I don’t see another player quite like Josh on a consistent basis on any other team in the League.
If we could just get Josh to focus on his positives, the guy would really be a very good player.
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
2:23 pm
But we can beat Chicago, with or without Hinrich. All depends on LD.
We got 8 who can run with the Bulls in:
JJ
Jamal
Al
Josh
ZaZa
Wilkens
Teague
Marvin
We just have to use the pieces correctly.
An eight man rotation means that everybody plays 30 minutes Or 4 guys play 35 and 4 guys play 25. But an 8 man rotation is very doable in this League. And we have the 8 to do with it.
Just gotta be smart.
superiorblogman
April 30th, 2011
2:25 pm
Larry Drew hates Jeff Teague for no reason and the facts are that Teague’s single best game is better than Hinrich’s. Teague is a very explosive young player, with flaws, which is no different than Josh Smith if you are able to put things into context. The two most memorable individual performances for me this year were Horford against the Bulls and Teague against the Trailblazers. I still remember JJ in game 1 against Memphis getting to the line double digit times also. Anybody dissing Teague is a hateful fool IMO. The young guy has been in the league 2 years and is still a rookie because ASG keeps giving coaches short contracts and all the coachings can think about is doing enough to keep there jobs, it has been said several times that potential and talent gets coaches fired. I blame the ASG, Woody, and LD for Teague not being developed this is one thing that I am not putting on Sund and especially not on Teague. Go check Steve Nash’s career stats. Even Nash could not do anything with the type of minutes Teague has gotten so-far in his career.
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
2:29 pm
And I don’t know what Teague the Teague haters have been watching.
At Wake, when he was at Point, Wake was dominate, and Teague was one of the best players in the game. He could take over against most anybody in college.
Then when Ish Smith came back, Wake crashed and burned.
Teague fell to #19 in a very PG heavy draft. Steve Lavin said he may be the best PG from that draft after 5 years.
Hollinger said he could be that years Rondo.
He’s had two clowns as HC’s in the NBA, but the guy can ball. He can play D with the best of them. And his athleticism fits with our small lineup. They guys a gymnast also, backflips, handsprings etc. He’s an elite level athlete.
Just turn him loose and let him play. Of course he’s going to make mistakes. LD has trained him for that. But turn the guy loose. He beasted after the Bibby trade. He’s got the talent, just turn him loose.
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
2:30 pm
Also, he has no set shot, but he can create his own jumpshot off the dribble.
Buddy Grizzard
April 30th, 2011
2:30 pm
Las Vegas Larry is just jealous that in the next 2-3 year there will be two siblings named Teague both starting for NBA teams. No siblings named Drew will EVER start at point guard in the NBA.
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
2:32 pm
Teague a TO machine? He’s only had 3 TO’s in a game twice since the Boston game on Dec. 16th. And that’s starting against Miller and Jennings, and playing alot against Lawson and Felton. Where do people get this stuff from?
And his turnover ratio is much lower than the League MVP DRose!
SteveW
April 30th, 2011
2:34 pm
If LD has other agendas other than the Hawks being champions, or being the best they can be, then LD needs to leave quickly.
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
2:44 pm
The odds are against us in this series.
LD has 2 choices:
1) He can be rigid like Woody and use THE SAME LINEUP EVERY GAME AND GET THE SAME RESULTS (LOSSES)
2) He can do something different and START A DIFFERENT LINEUP THAT WORKS TO OUR ADVANTAGES’
Let Teague play. Last series he did not need to play, or was he supposed to, but we need him now.
Too bad LD set him up to fail
I THOUGHT WHEN WOODY WAS FIRED, IT WAS BECAUSE HE DIDN’T PLAY COLLINS AND TEAGUE ENOUGH. WHY HAS TEAGUE HARDLY PLAYED THIS YEAR? WTF HAPPENED IN THE PORTLAND GAME LAST MONTH?
True Hawks Fan
April 30th, 2011
2:48 pm
KH is not so good we that we should fold our tent and go home. In fact he wasn’t even barely adequate against Rose (and others I could mention) previously. The problem I see is we are down a guard because we traded 2 and got one back. Some of you act like he is an all-star or MVP. If our savior against the Bulls is KH then we have bigger problems than anyone imagined. I was right about round 1; and the Hawks (LD) need to man up and play Jeff. You drafted him, kept him, and now you need to play him. Go Hawks! I’m still going to root for all the Hawks, including KH.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 30th, 2011
2:52 pm
Buddy Grizzard – I have scoured youtube for the clip of LDII rapping but he must have taken it down. I can’t find it. Let’s just hope that’s not the case and Teague is given a fighter’s chance – IMO he hasn’t been afforded that. He may not be the pg of the future but give the guy a shot.
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
2:55 pm
All we hear about is how much Horford loves playing Chicago. He and Joe really need to be on their games in this series. I want Joe relentlessly attacking whoever is guarding him.
Horford needs to not back down from their frontline. I will never forget that article about how much he loves playing CHI and then he choked miserably.
The only thing that impresses me about Chicago is Derrick Rose and their head coach. We have a better more athletic frontline, a far better shooting guard, and Jamal + ZaZa are better than their best bench players.
LD better have a good gameplan.
Grandad
April 30th, 2011
3:08 pm
Think about it.
How muh thought we put into stopping rose?
Do you reckon, other teams;
put that much [if any] thought into stopping Joe?
Grandad
April 30th, 2011
3:09 pm
* muh
* mu*c*h
JeJe
April 30th, 2011
3:30 pm
LD is the reason we lost game 2 (left Horford on bench even though he finished with 2 PF). Consequently, we went 6 games and Hinrich got hurt.
Teague HAS NOT been developed against 1st string players at all.
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
FIRE LD
Booo!
April 30th, 2011
3:35 pm
Mc, I didn’t meant that literally ha! I think you took the easy way out(by not debating) lol. I honestly beleive Teague is our best bet at slowing Rose….the only problem is that Teague likes to gamble and may pick up cheap fouls which will really put us in a bad spot. I think we should activate Pape Sy like some have mentioned rotate Teague, Damien, and Pape on Rose. Any chance LD activates pape?
I think we just need to stay in fron of rose, let him go off (no more that 50) and contain everyone else.
Booo!
April 30th, 2011
3:36 pm
Ooh, Look what I found!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXvjQuO1seI
Free The Teague!