Atlanta Hawks: Pick your lineup
L.D. says he hasn’t decided on a lineup. Knowing what we know about his ever-shifting rotations, I believe him.
I also believe that if Jamal starts ahead of Teague my blog people will crash the AJC.com servers registering their outrage.
My guess is Drew will go with Teague, J.J., Marvin, Smoove and Al. I figure the only reason he’s still contemplating starting Jamal because of his fondness for shotmakers, which seemed to trump defensive concerns for much of the season. But then L.D saw that the best way to beat the Magic was the Dwight Defense. Now that D-Rose is the big problem, I think L.D. again chooses D over points and sends in Teague.
Loading ...Yesterday I was going back and forth on whether it’s in the Hawks’ best interest to focus on scoring or grinding. They have more offensive talent than the Bulls, after all. The problem is the Hawks still haven’t figured to play a style that takes advantage of all that talent while the Bulls have mastered Thibodeau’s defensive system.
So eventually I settled on grinding as Atlanta’s best hope for an upset that finally gets them to the East finals. The clincher came today when us media types kept asking Josh questions about scoring and he kept talking about D.
“Defense wins championships. Bottom line,” he said. “You can put the ball in the hole but that part is not [consistent]. It’s a game of imperfections. Sometimes there are going to be nights where you can’t throw it in the ocean.
“It’s how stingy you make your defense and how ugly you make the game. That’s what we’ve got to get. I think we’ve really got that identity and we are OK with it.”
I’m OK with it, too. That’s why I think is the best lineup for Game 1: Teague, J.J., Smoove, Al and . . . Zaza!
The Bulls dominated the Hawks on the boards in all three games and now my lineup has three rebounders. Teague, Zaza and Al are a pretty good pick-and-roll group, too. You get Zaza’s energy and toughness against Noah from the start. After watching Josh work against Turkoglu, I think he has the desire and focus to check Deng as part of another spirited team effort on D.
The bench still has Jamal. He, Damien and Marvin can sub first for Teague, Smoove and Zaza. That’s still a workable defensive alignment, with Damien, Marvin and Al covering for Jamal and Joe. When Zaza, Smoove and Teague return, Al, Joe and Damien come out.
There are weaknesses to my lineup, of course. Basically it includes just three scorers–unless you think Zaza has a chance to get to the rim and finish against Noah or Teague can shake free and convert floaters against an elite D.
Jamal and Joe will do their thing, for better and worse. My lineup probably means Boozer has to spend a lot of time guarding Al and that’s a plus for the Hawks. The hope would be that Smoove takes Deng in the post instead of hanging out at the 3-point line. Better odds on that than Jamal staying engaged on D, right?
But that’s neither here nor there. My lineup is about defense. The Hawks may struggle to score but they need to put pressure on Chicago’s mediocre offense, too.
“It really doesn’t matter about what’s going on at the offensive end,” Josh said. “I think we are doing so good defensively. Offense is going to come. We are making it stingy for the other team to score. As long as we keep that attitude and that mentality I think we will be OK.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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176 comments Add your comment
Slimjr
May 2nd, 2011
11:07 am
Trap Rose Trap Rose Trap Rose
Rebound the ball Rebound the ball Rebound the ball Rebound Rebound Rebound Rebound
He who controls the boards will win this series..Chicago destroyed the Hawks on the Boards………………..And dominated the series in the regular season….
phil
May 2nd, 2011
11:07 am
You’re right Sleep!! You’re obviously the only one that anyone should listen to since you have all the answers.
I didn’t realize Orlando was as BAD as it is. They couldn’t hit the side of a barn. That’s why we won. Not because we’re that good….get real. 3 of our wins were by the skin of our teeth and we tried to give those 3 away….
phil
May 2nd, 2011
11:08 am
Slimjr
May 2nd, 2011
11:07 am
Trap Rose Trap Rose Trap Rose
Rebound the ball Rebound the ball Rebound the ball Rebound Rebound Rebound Rebound
He who controls the boards will win this series..Chicago destroyed the Hawks on the Boards………………..And dominated the series in the regular season….
And there you have it…if we don’t rebound, they’ll kill us…so get ready to have our backsides handed to us because Marvin, Smith and JJ won’t be rebounding anything.
Ray
May 2nd, 2011
11:13 am
If the Hawks had a bold, innovative coach, like Don Nelson, they would go with this starting lineup:
JJ, Damien, Marv, Smoove and Al
JJ and Damien would take turns playing the point, on both offense and defense. That way, defensively, there is always a big guard on D-Rose, forcing him, hopefully, to stay outside more rather than penetrating.
Off the bench, bring in Teague to battle C.J. Watson, a much better matchup than Teague vs. Rose.
SteveW
May 2nd, 2011
11:17 am
I was a player as well as a coach. I’ve had a couple of coaches who tried to play the psychological mind games that LD seems to be using with Teague. Always stupid.
That aside, LD is starting his best possible lineup against Chicago:
Teague
JJ
Marvin
Josh
Al
That lineup gives us the best chance to win. Kudos to LD on that.
But I don’t trust his substitution patterns for a moment.
And all of this blather about Teague seizing his moment etc.
And Teague has seized about 5 moments during the season where it was his time etc., but with LD coaching, it was never going to be good enough.
If Teague survives and thrives in the NBA it will be because of players like JJ etc helping him out. Or it will be because he is traded to a team which will utilize him. It won’t be because of LD, unless LD changes an awful lot.
Booo!
May 2nd, 2011
11:21 am
Skip Bayless on ESPN First Take has us getting swept. If u have a twitter accout, feel free to bash him with a bunch of inflammatory remarks and tell him to get ready for the Teague Effect.
That is all.
Winston
May 2nd, 2011
11:22 am
Is there any way we could start Marvin in a Bulls jersey?
SteveW
May 2nd, 2011
11:23 am
I would hate to be in Teague’s shoes. If you play well, you help the idiot who has tried everything in their power to destroy you.
But if you don’t play well, you prove the idiot “right”.
I’d go out and play great, and trust people have enough sense to see that LD’s an incompetent coach.
The shame is this may be our year to get to the ECF and beyond, LD will get credit, but then it’s 6-8 seed next season because of his lack of Head Coaching ability.
The players in a sense are basically running this team now. LD wanted them to compete the last 6 games of the regular season, the players said “no way”, and took the last 6 games of the regular season off.
But we’ve been together long enough and have the chemistry to make it work.
And as a side note, we’ve got alot more playoff experience than most of these guys – Noah, Rose, Deng. I think that may help us.
JeJe
May 2nd, 2011
11:24 am
In our 2 losses to Chicago this year, Horford had 14 & 3, and 6 & 7.
3 FREAKING REBOUNDS
Yeah, sure stepped up in those games.
JeJe
May 2nd, 2011
11:27 am
NEED MARVIN TO SCORE SOME POINTS IN THIS SERIES
hawkville
May 2nd, 2011
11:30 am
Do not be afraid to pass to the open man.. Hawks should be fine.
Worldwide Clyde
May 2nd, 2011
11:31 am
SteveW I like your lineup minus one player. People have to realize that Marvin is a weak link. All he does is runs up the floor and stand by the 3 point line. Deng is just waiting on the opportunity for Marvin to guard him.
That’s why we need Jsmoove playing Deng and Collins at center. In my opinion the key to beating the Bulls is to control Deng. In the Magic series the key was containing Turkoglu and now its Deng. I think Jsmoove can handle the job but I don’t have faith in Marvin.
bldvl89
May 2nd, 2011
11:32 am
I think the Hawks have to keep the Bulls in the 80s to win. Bulls are much better at defending the perimeter than Orlando, and the Hawks output in the 3 games v. Chicago (all since March) were 85, 76 and 81 pts (in games that got progressively more lopsided – the Bulls were missing Boozer in that middle game too, a 94-76 win for them).
Bulls have some long arms on the perimeter (Deng, Rose, Brewer, Rasaul Butler) which makes them tough on jump shooting teams, and are physical and hard nosed inside (w/ Kurt Thomas and Taj Gibson backing up Noah and Boozer), and they bring one of the best 3 pt shooters in the NBA – Kyle Korver – off the bench.
Killer not to have Heinrich and JJ might have to guard Rose – although he’s not as quick as Rose, he’s the only guy who can physically wear him down. The one game Atlanta won, Rose couldn’t hit squat, the Hawks played lockdown D on the Bulls – held them to like 30 points in the 2nd half – after trailing by 17, and Horford went off (and Josh didn’t even play). Based on that one half, I think it’s apparent that the Hawks have to be more physical than the Bulls, drag them into a standstill, meatgrinder half-court game, and wear them out.
Fireld!
May 2nd, 2011
11:35 am
Fire Larry Drew II and SteveW,
I thought I was the only one who realized how stupid the handling of Teague has been. I don’t care what level of ball you are playing, if you know you are coming out for the slightest mistake it is darn near impossible to settle into the game. Vasquez from Memphis gets support from his coach, he shot an air ball in the Spurs series and did not even flinch but more importatly neither did Lionel Hollins. Teague’s inconsistency has nothing to do with him but that coach who allows everyone but him to make a mistake.
Worldwide Clyde
May 2nd, 2011
11:36 am
Them fools said the Hawks would get swept against the Magic and look what happened. They also said San Antonio would win but look what happened. These commentators may know a lot about the sport but on the floor you never know what’s going to happen.
Hawks in 7
ESPN needs to hire Worldwide Clyde
bigdave
May 2nd, 2011
11:36 am
Watson killed Jamal the last game in Atlanta.. remember the Chicago bench came in and did work. i can remember a reverse layup from Watson, Jamal shouldnt guard any of their pg’s b/c both are aggressive on the offensive end.
i think Teague will be successful.. Kirk was giving Rose too much breathing room, afraid of the blow by. Rose kindly obliged by making jumpers and having easy passing lanes to hit wings curling off screens. Jeff came in and pressured the ball instantly. when Rose tried to blow by Teague he ended up forcing a contested layup.. of course we didnt secure the defensive reb.
our bigs, hell our guards, cant be afraid to hammer Rose.. no uncontested points @ the rim people.
JeJe
May 2nd, 2011
11:39 am
FIRE LD
HIRE CLYDE
Booo!
May 2nd, 2011
11:44 am
Marvin and Zaza for Rudy Gay
JeJe
May 2nd, 2011
11:46 am
CAN LD PLEASE START ACTING MORE LIKE THIS:
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2011/05/doc-rivers-thinks-miami-threw-cheap-shots-in-game-1/
Fireld!
May 2nd, 2011
11:48 am
Last time we played Bulls-
D. Rose 30pts 10ast 6 for 8 from three (28min)
K. Hinrich 0pts 5ast 0 for 3 fgs (27min)
J. Teague 20pts 2ast 4-4 from three 2blks 6 for 8 fgs(19min)
Now tell me again why JT is so awful. I know you might say that was garbage time, but whose fault was that? You got it, LD and by the way teague got a dnp the next game. Gret coaching genius.
drmaryb (*_-)
May 2nd, 2011
11:52 am
Hunch – Punch!
SlimJr! What’s up baby?
My fellow bloggers have thrown so much junk and unnecessary ingredients into the punch bowl until all the “s h i a t”
is floating with over-beaten opinions and innuendos!
And I’m not talking just lemons and limes.
It looks more like the aftermath of a Tsunami: tree trunks with roots, branches, limbs, mattresses, furniture, over turned cars, live bodies, dead bodies and live pets.
_________________
Here’s my point: it’s just basketball people. Like Josh replied to Mike Bianch’s article over at The Orlando Sentinel, after game 5,
“How can you measure a man’s intelligence from a basketball game. It is uncalled for to call players Bird-Brains and idiots!” It’s just a basketball game.
The only necessary ingredients to a great bowl of Kool-Aide is sugar and water. In a play offs basketball series? All you need is:
Rebounds (Box-Out!)
Great Defense
Made FT’s
Limit Turnovers
Player movement
Ball Movement
Great Shot Selection
And, did I mention – DE FENSE?
________________
K.I.S.S.
Rod from College Park
May 2nd, 2011
11:54 am
JeJe,
You ain’t the only one. Horford is an All Star and needs to play like one. He was played woorse than anybody who played major minutes for us in the Orlando series. He needs to step up, and prove his value. Passing the ball to Josh behind the 3 point line, when you are the supposed best midrange shooter on the team, ain’t gone get it.
Anybody making a statement starting with ‘If Marvin”, should have their head examined. If we are depending on Marvin in this series, we don’t have a chance. Marvin plays well about once every 10 to 15 games.
JeJe
May 2nd, 2011
11:56 am
Rod, I agree
I have 0 confidence in Marvin’s ability to dribble the basketball and finish. The only way he finishes around the hoop is on a fast break dunk (HIGHLY unlikely that will happen vs. Chicago). he is good for uncontested jumpshots [which he usually doesn't make]
PLAYING 4 ON 5 AGAIN. OR 4 ON 8
SMDH
vava74
May 2nd, 2011
11:57 am
drmaryb,
better loosen that tiger thong a bit and cut some slack on Teague.
when he came out of college is looked ready and primed during the pre-season.
I’m not saying that he came out in the same level of Rose by the Woody treatment made him look like a shell shock victim.
The “IT” factor is still there, as the few games in which he was given the opportunity to feel comfortable allowed him to show.
Those games were no fluke: @ Boston, vs Portland, vs Milwaukee (shot poorly but had a Rondoesque statline with rebounds and assists).
Every single time he got the opportunity to play more than token minutes he contributed.
His shot is not that bad, he finished the season at .435 from the field and .375 from 3 point land.
Also, HE GETS TO THE LINE. With Teague on the floor we get to the penalty earlier in the quarters.
He is one of the few – if not the only – that is an aggressive penetrator and he was FINALLY starting to get a modicum of respect from the refs who were starting to whistle when he gets hammered.
Also, his blocks from the PG slot are out of this world and every bit as momentum changing as Smoove’s.
Rod from College Park
May 2nd, 2011
12:00 pm
Lets also not forget the Kurt Thomas owns Al Horford also. Bigs that are real physical seem to give Al major problems.
Rod from College Park
May 2nd, 2011
12:01 pm
For this Bulls series, there is one thing that has to happen for us to be successful. Somebody in the paint, has to play the villian besides Zaza. Somebody in the paint, has too stop being soft and being a nice guy, and knock Rose on his butt everytime he tries to come in the paint. Bottom line. Hard fouls, nothing easy. Horford and Noah might be good friends, but Noah is a bordeline dirty player, and someone else on this team besides Zaza, because he does not play enough minutes, will have to send a message early in this series. I really think this series and the Orlando series are the exact same, except we dont have to focus on the center, we have to focus on the point guard. Keep Boozer and Deng from having big games, and make Rose score 30 to 40 every game to beat you.
drmaryb (*_-)
May 2nd, 2011
12:02 pm
“You can NOT win without the ball!” -Barkley-
_________________
SlimJr and I – we concur.
bigdave
May 2nd, 2011
12:07 pm
“Somebody in the paint, has too stop being soft and being a nice guy, and knock Rose on his butt everytime he tries to come in the paint. Bottom line. Hard fouls, nothing easy.”
Preach.
Sleepy
May 2nd, 2011
12:11 pm
Too many “Ifs” plus going back to the lackadaisical frontline means we are gonna get swept
forwardmo
May 2nd, 2011
12:12 pm
this is teague’s moment. we’ll see. sounds like rose is a little slow due to injury.
Ask D Howard if a monster game (40 pts, 15 rebs) = victory.
if atlanta can take one of two in Chicago “GAME ON”.
RalphWatson
May 2nd, 2011
12:21 pm
I agree with some of the bloggers. We are catching Chicago at the perfect time. The Bulls are beat up from the Indiana series and we should be able to steal at least one game in Chicago, which will give us the home court advantage. MARVIN WILLIAMS REALLY ANSWERED THE BELL IN OUR CLOSE OUT GAME AGAINST ORLANDO! For the only one night in his illustrious career, THE GREAT MARVIN WILLIAMS LOOKED LIKE PISTOL PETE MARAVICH out there raining 3s, draining jumpers and playing steller defense LIKE THE HALL-OF-FAME CALIBRE potential player that he is. MARVIN WILLIAMS LAST NIGHT SIMPLY PLAYED OUT OF HIS MIND, AND PLAYED SIMPLY UP TO HIS ENORMOUS, MAMMOTH POTENTIAL. MARVIN CAN POTENTIALLY PLAY LIKE THIS EVERY NIGHT BECAUSE HE WAS DRAFTED SECOND IN THE ENTIRE DRAFT. MARVIN has allways played as if he were the last player picked in the draft and Marvin is capable of so much more. UNFORTUNATELY FOR ORLANDO, AND FOR THE ONLY TIME IN HIS ENTIRE CAREER, MARVIN PLAYED UP TO HIS INCREDIBLE, UNLIMITED POTENTIAL AND IT WAS EXTREMELY EXCITING TO SEE, INDEED. YES, THE PISTOL WAS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS AND HE WAS DISGUISED AS MARVIN WILLIAMS.
lewis
May 2nd, 2011
12:23 pm
Skip Bayless on ESPN First Take has us getting swept. If u have a twitter accout, feel free to bash him with a bunch of inflammatory remarks and tell him to get ready for the Teague Effect.
That is all.
He said Magic would sweep us too. I like him, but i don’t know about that.
drmaryb (*_-)
May 2nd, 2011
12:24 pm
Razor Sharp Cheetah Thong!
Ok Vava74, for you? I will loosen that thong. Besides, it gives me considerable relief when I do. LOL!
About Teague, you make phenomenal and great points about his
“IT” factor. That he does have and I still maintain – No One can take that away from him. He has “IT”, IT is a gift from God and is unstoppable by mere humans. So, if you believe yopur argument, and I do as well:
Teague will be just fine. His job has been to practice hard, not sulk and stay ready. He has done two of those things, so now HE has to be ready!
No excuses! He doesn’t have to play perfect … Just hard and smart.
And, not put his head down. Kirk’s injury may be a blessing in disguise to all of us and the team. Do we want Kirk injured? Of course not, but, unfortunately – IT is part of the game.
Don’t forget, Rose sprained his ankle last series and will be running on pain and cortisone injections, (a numb joint that he can not feel), not only may this cause further irreversible danger), but also, Boozer is hurt badly as well. I have never had a Turf-Toe, but Matt Ryan did and he sat 5 games two seasons ago, when the Falcons finished 9 – 7, with no play offs. Yes, Turf-Toe IS a huge problem for Chicago. This should even things up a little and hopefully, Teague’s play will put us over the top in games 1 and 3. The pivotal and statistical games we MUST win to be a contender.
Great points in your comments, VaVa74 – I am encouraged by that.
QuiksdrawMcGraw
May 2nd, 2011
12:33 pm
I’m expecting a HAWKS BROOM EXHIBITION! PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SERIES, THE HAWKS WILL GO INTO THE CLOSETS, AND PULL OUT THE BROOMS. THEN IN THE ENSUING GAMES, THE BROOMS WILL BE ON DISPLAY AS THE HAWKS SWEEP WILL BE COMPLETED OVER THE NEXT FOUR GAMES. I GUARANTEE A HAWKS SWEEP OVER THE BULLS OR MY NAME ISNT QUICKSDRAW MCGRAW.
Jack P
May 2nd, 2011
12:40 pm
The Bulls in 4 as the Hawks unravel.
hawksfancents95
May 2nd, 2011
12:50 pm
0 2 24 5 15
with our reg season lineup we can spread the floor and hopefully wear booz and noah out, teague has to start and i think we give marv this chance and see what his fate with the hawks will be, we need jam and zaz off the bench, damien should get some pt and joshp too, if we spread the bulls out their d has to cover more ground and thats good for us with our athleticism, im gona go bold and say hawks in 6 again, mayb kirk can come back for our next series vs mia, ld=htc quietly brilliant
KevinM
May 2nd, 2011
1:09 pm
Jamal should only be assigned to guard Korver….he can’t help otherwise. The key to the Bulls is their backcourt, just like us.
We will see plenty of Kurt Thomas.and officially the Kiss of death…all of us thinking Teague will get a DP instead of DNP…….LD is telling himself he can’t risk it. Reminds me of Woody’s logic.
Marvin…he has had his 1 good game this month…..don’t expect much and you won’t be disappointed.
O'Brien
May 2nd, 2011
1:10 pm
Sleepy,
Check the numbers from this season to see what Jamal did when Rose was on the court, and then see what Rose did when Jamal was on the court. How about that game in Chicago when Hinrich was in foul trouble, and LD put Jamal on him. Rose went off on Jamal, and Jamal did not hold his own offensively.
And the reason fot not playing Teague with the bench is because he is a liability on offense. So with JJ, Al, Josh and Marvin on the court, they can make up for his shortcomings on offense.
Daniel
May 2nd, 2011
1:12 pm
I agree with your line-up take MC, in fact I was suggesting the same, but with Twin instead of Za to start. I think Collins has earned some “respect” from the refs with the last series and as a starter. This will allow him to be more physical guarding BOOZER on the defensive end. Let Al work with Noah. Boozer will get into early foul trouble in that scenario.
I also would like to keep Jamaal, Za, and Marvin on the bench to provide a second/third quarter advantage. I would run Damien at Dereck for spells of the game to give Rose a more physical prescence, keep Joe fresh for the fourth quarter. Teague should start, but we can’t count on him guarding Rose for more than 20minutes or so a game.
I do love the fact that the team is publicly acknowledging that we have been embarrassed the last two seasons in this round. They should have been talking like this since last summer.
CrumbSnatcher
May 2nd, 2011
1:14 pm
I know a lot of fans are worry about whether the Hawks can beat Chicago without Kirk Hinrich. I think Teague will play well and this will be Teagues chance to grab the spotlight and perform on the big stage. Lets not forget, earlier in the year, Jeff played a steller, lights out game against the Portland Trailblazers (this was Jeff Teagues career highest scoring contest) where Teague LED THE HAWKS IN SCORING THAT NIGHT WITH 24 POINTS on an incredible shooting night. Teague hit almost every shot that night, he had a bunch of assists, steals and he filled up the box score. In fact, Teague was the difference-maker that night. If Teague plays like that for the entire series against the Bulls, THE HAWKS WILL WIN THE SERIES IN AN ABSOLUTE CAKE WALK.
O'Brien
May 2nd, 2011
1:16 pm
I like LD’s starting lineup.
However, the Bulls are a good rebounding team, so both Josh and Al will have to step up. And Al needs to play better. And if Kurt Thomas comes in, Al needs to respond better than he did in last year’s playoffs.
And Teague needs to pick Rose up full court, and give it all he has on defense. I would like to see JJ and Jamal combine for their 45 pts, but I think it will be difficult.
phil
May 2nd, 2011
1:20 pm
Ralphwatson – Did you take your prescription this morning? Marvin scored 10 in that last game….he did nothing to help us other than manage a few baskets….wow.
phil
May 2nd, 2011
1:23 pm
Teague isn’t going to stop Rose any more than I’m going to stop Rose. Honestly people….are you this delusional?
northcyde
May 2nd, 2011
1:29 pm
Scoop Jackson picked us to win Game 1. He also states that the Bulls can’t play 4 on 5, like they did vs Indiana. He was referring to the ineffectiveness of Carlos Boozer. If Boozer still plays poorly, Scoop says that we can even win the series. But he stayed on the “safe side”, and predicted that the Hawks will lose in 5 or 6 games.
I’ll say this. If we win tonight, the Bulls are in DEEP TROUBLE. You don’t want to give the Hawks extreme confidence right off the bat by giving them home court advantage. For the most part, that is still a young Bulls team that has accomplished NOTHING as a group So who knows how they’ll react by losing Game 1. If the Hawks can immediately expose that team in some way, and take advantage of that, the Bulls may just get rattled.
The experienced playoff teams like the Lakers, Celtics, and maybe even the Mavs and Heat may be able to overcome a Game 1 loss and win a series. I don’t think the Bulls can. And honestly, the same thing goes for the Thunder. That’s why they’re in deep trouble now too. The only thing the Thunder have in their favor, is that they’re playing a relatively inexperienced playoff team as well. The Hawks, while not being able to crack the 2nd round, have been in the playoffs for 4 consecutive years. We know what to expect, even if we haven’t been able to get it done.
The Bulls better crush all of our hopes tonight. If not, expect the Hawks to play inspired basketball for most of the series. Although they may have one WTF type game, simply because that’s who we are.
northcyde
May 2nd, 2011
1:43 pm
O’Brien . . in this series . . the number you may want to look at is 21
We need 21 combined rebounds between Horford and Josh Smith in order to win these games. It’ll be nice if JJ and Jamal can reach that 45 point mark, but rebounding the basketball will be paramount in this series. We either need to limit the Bulls 2nd chances, or create numerous 2nd chances of our own.
If Horford and Smith are getting 20+ rebounds, it’s an indication that we’re playing good defensively. So if Horford and Smith can clean up the defensive boards, then work on the other in on the offensive boards, we’ll be in every game.
I’m tempted to throw Zaza into the mix, and say that we need 25+ rebounds between Horford, Smith, and Zaza . . but our starters on the frontline are the ones who need to be in complete control of the paint. I would love it if both Horford and Smith could average a double-double in this series.
Sleepy
May 2nd, 2011
1:48 pm
O’Brien – last time we played the Bulls jamal took 4 shots .
the fact of the matter is the Bulls have been aggressors this year but since jamal has been with the hawks when hes been the aggressor weve won regardless of what Rose does but suddenly everyone is so consumed by what Rose does .
In the game we won this year it was Jamal with the ball in his hands against Rose and he penetrates and finds Marvin for the three and Al for the monster dunk on the pick and roll.
With the way jamals played so far in the playoffs he is our best weapon against Rose because he allows us to take away the Bulls ability to hide Rose at times . We can run him off screens ,picks and have someone who can and will score on him. Over 7 games that can and will wear him down
Rose is a great guard and he deserves the league MVP but hes no GP and JJ and jamal are no Collinson and George and I for one dont feel they should be backing down from anyone in the league.
kgbsfinst
May 2nd, 2011
1:48 pm
TEAGUE
JJ
MARVIN
JOSH
AL
Marvin is a pretty good man on man defender, he is our best match-up against Deng. Marvin struggles with the help defense, he seems to be about a second too slow recognizing when to double team.
I also think Josh against Boozer is to our advantage, especially if Booze isnt 100%.
Slimjr
May 2nd, 2011
1:51 pm
Hey drmaryb! Thank God for a beautiful day….
Game 1 is a must win!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL-STAR AL, IT IS ABOUT TIME TO PLAY LIKE AN ALL-STAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NO MORE EXCUSES FROM YOU,YOUR GUARDS ARE GOING TO HAVE A TOUGH TIME ON THE PERIMETER AS ANOTHER BLOGGER STATED CHICAGO HAS VERY LONG PERIMETER GUYS WHO WILL BE HARASSING OUT THERE…YOUR JOB IS TO ATTACK THE SOFT MIDDLE AND TAKE THE POUNDING THATS COMING..TIME TO MAN UP,YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE A BEATING. DON’T COMPLAIN BECAUSE YOUR MAKING MILLIONS OF STACKS!!!!!!!! WE NEED AT LEAST 15-20 REBOUNDS AND 20 TO 25 PTS!!! EVERY NIGHT….
YOUR SUPPOSEDLY AN ALL-STAR AL??????????????? NO MORE MISTER SOFTIE!!!!!!!!!!!! PUT THE FREAKING CAPE ON AND START PLAYING LIKE HIM………………………..HUGH????????????????
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR MISSION SIR……………….
nique
May 2nd, 2011
1:54 pm
MC – I like your lineup!
tremaine
May 2nd, 2011
1:54 pm
Why do I have a sick feeling that LD is going to start Jamal?