Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 103, Bulls 95
Chicago–It’s not hard to figure out why lots of people don’t like the Hawks.
- The numbers guys disdain them because they don’t compute on some things they hold sacred, like victory margins and inefficient shot selection. Old school fans don’t like the Hawks because of the way they’ve dogged it at times. Those who like their offense fluid scoff at Iso-Joe.
- I’ve been as hard on the Hawks as anyone. They deserved the scrutiny with so many home beatdowns. They don’t play to their strengths often enough. Some of L.D.’s ’s tics are hard to figure, like the two-foul rule and the banishment of Teague and Zaza to the end of the bench.
- But, at some point, don’t the Hawks deserve some credit? If one of the knocks against them was that they too often lie down, then why don’t they seem to be getting any Ps now that they keep rising up?
- “People talk about Boston, Miami, Orlando and Chicago in the East and nobody talks about the Hawks,” Jamal said. ” We kind of like it that way. We don’t get the glory. We just come out and try to win.”
- Truth is, the Hawks didn’t give anyone much good to talk about until they flipped that switch in Game 1 at Orlando. They’ve won 5 of 7 playoff games since then, though, and yet it seems people still don’t know what to make of the Hawks.
- “If you looked at us in the regular season, we are a roller coaster,” Al said. “We come out and play great, the other game we get blown out by 50, and so people are saying, ‘Same Hawks again.’ And I can understand that. But I think the guys have come to realize we have an opportunity to do something special. We are just embracing our chance to still be in the playoffs.”
- After the game, the questions for the Hawks from Chicago media types were along the lines of: “Now that you’ve got the Bulls’ attention, how do you expect them to react?”
- I would have thought the Hawks beating the Magic in six would get Chicago’s attention even with Hinrich out. And if it didn’t what does that say about the Bulls, who had an excellent regular season but have proven even less than the Hawks in the playoffs?
- The Hawks scored 103 points on 89 possessions against the best defensive team in the league. That’s with Al scoring just seven points on seven shots and Josh skewing the numbers with an assortment of poor shots (but making a key jumper and getting a key block late).
- The Hawks shot just below their average on long 2-point jump shots but got more baskets from 15 feet and closer.
- “We did a much better job in our shot selections,” L.D. said. “We had some moments where we started playing too much isolation basketball and it gets us in a bit of trouble but we played out of it.”
- Teague was thrust into what looked like an impossible situation and flourished. He’s almost as quick as D-Rose, might be even more athletic and showed no fear.
- “Jeff was absolutely phenomenal,” L.D. said. “He played like a seasoned vet. His aggression, his attack state, his ability get into the paint–he played like a kid who has been playing a lot of minutes for me. He really stepped up big with the assignment he had and having to deal with the pressure of being in the playoffs.”
- Teague’s speed makes Atlanta’s half-court sets more dynamic. He turns the corner so fast he demands a hedge from the big and tonight he was good at threading the traps with his passes.
- Teague also looked for his own shot and was much more assertive with the floaters and runners. “I think that’s how I play,” he said. “L.D. came to me and told me to play my game and don’t just focus on guarding him. Make him guard, too.”
- “On the offensive end, not being shy, not being timid and just playing the way I know he is capable of playing,” L.D. said. “I told him, ‘I want you to play like Jeff Teague.’ I don’t want you to bow down to anyone you are playing with, I don’t want you to bow down to your teammates. You are just as important.”
- D-Rose was strangely passive at times. Perhaps he was trying to get his teammates involved but have you seen some of those teammates try to score?
- Rose was 4 for 9 at the basket, 7 for 18 from 3 feet and out and didn’t attempt a free throw.
- “The game plan was to just try to contain him,” Drew said. “We didn’t want to trap him off the bat to open things up. I think my big guys did a really good job at showing out on the screens. Our guards were good as well at corralling.”
- Al and Josh were strong on the boards and with protecting the rim and combined for eight assists against just one turnover. That’s a testament to Atlanta’s sharp ball movement through its big men.
- Zaza, Damien and Twin didn’t play much but made their minutes count.
- Damien was energetic and had a couple steals and baskets. Twin helped the Hawks get through foul trouble with five rebounds and two made jumpers.
- Zaza had some garbage buckets around the basket to keep the Hawks afloat in the second half and finished with five rebounds.
- “We were kind of dead in the water,” L.D. said. “He got his hands on a couple balls around the basket. They were a couple busted plays but the ball was in his hands and he laid them in. Zaza is my energy guy. I need his physicality. He’s a banger and when he plays like that it just makes us a better ball club.”
- I know what you are thinking: The Hawks tried to trade Zaza and Teague was buried on the bench behind Bibby. Better late then never, I guess.
- The same thing can be said for all of the Hawks.
- “We came together before the Charlotte game,” Smoove said. “We had a team dinner and we was talking amongst ourselves about how talented this ball club is and what we are capable of doing. We understood and knew the focus that we had to have to go into the postseason. Guys are playing all out for each other. We are playing with nothing to lose.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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317 comments Add your comment
JeJe
May 3rd, 2011
11:34 am
Marvin said on 790 this morning that he is very close with Teague off the court and he and the players have known all along he can play like this. Teague also was “frustrated” he didn’t play Rd 1 vs. Orlando.
No idea what we do next year if Teague plays like this and Hinrich returns.
Also, Colin Cowherd said Dwight should’ve been MVP – how Orlando’s defense is garbage without him and that D. Rose is more like Allen Iverson in that he is a scorer first and is too fast for his teammates to keep up
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
11:34 am
The Bulls are good, lets be clear. Great ball movement, and contests every shot.
I hope we come out and take Game 2 also. We can.
And by the way, Rose’s ankle is being X-Rayed later today. It’s really bad.
But CJ Watson is good also. We can’t let down.
I’m guessing Rose will get a shot and still play. Or maybe take Game 2 off and tell TT that he’ll come back healthy in game 3 and win the series for them. We’ll see.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
11:35 am
JeJe – What we do is watch Teague rot on the bench while hearing how much LD believes in him, that’s what we do.
Slimjr
May 3rd, 2011
11:35 am
Josh is not wired to be an offensive scoring machine like ZEBO! Get over it…Until Josh realize that, he will continue to struggle….He’s not gifted that way…..Round peg,square hole…………sigh………….
joey
May 3rd, 2011
11:37 am
jj the man
Slimjr
May 3rd, 2011
11:39 am
Josh is not smoove at all when he releases the ball from his hand, most of his shost are off balance and rushed.He’s anti smoove on offense..That’s why he misses a ton of shots..This could have been fixed 10 years ago when he was 15-16 years of age..Its too late now..He’s wired up now..It would take a brain transplant to fix his offensive woe’s…….
Slimjr
May 3rd, 2011
11:39 am
shots^^^^
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
11:40 am
Last time we went to 3 consecutive Eastern Conference Semi’s was ‘86-88. 23 years.
Teague wasn’t even born yet.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
11:42 am
This summer, if the Hawks keep Marvin, he’s need to find “his” game.
He needs to be the best mid range jump shooter in the game.
He needs to learn to drive
He needs to set his mind to playing elite, all NBA defense. He has the tools.
He needs to commit himself to basketball, or he’s the eternal Kwame Brown.
The Real Mandingo
May 3rd, 2011
11:42 am
Who got mo’ swag than the Hawks…(sing it y’all)nobody!
northcyde
May 3rd, 2011
11:42 am
vava74
May 3rd, 2011
3:37 am
northcyde,
AND WHAT ABOUT JJ’s D on Deng in the second half?
24 minutes: 4 points on 2/3
JJ played “DENY DEFENSE” hardly letting him get any looks nor the rock in his sweet spots.
*******************************
vava . . I’ve talked about that too. JJ isn’t going to make the flashy defensive plays. All he’s going to do is limit the amount of shots you get up in the first place. Deng was killing us in that 1st half, so for him to only get 3 shots in the 2nd half, with the Teague – Jamal – JJ lineup playing the vast majority of the 2nd half, was huge.
JJ was just great all around last night. To me, this was better than the home playoff performance vs Boston, because he did this on the road.
Slimjr
May 3rd, 2011
11:44 am
Rose ankle will keep him from playing like an MVP the rest of this series…Those ankle sprains are a bear and are easily re-aggravated..They take awhile to heal up..Stay sore for weeks on end..He wont be close to 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good for the Hawks..Get out DA BROOMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
northcyde
May 3rd, 2011
11:48 am
Felix
May 3rd, 2011
7:40 am
@Northcyde/Vava
A player shouldn’t be given an improved grade or considered to be “ballin’” simply because their horrible shots just happen to fall on a given night or in a given instance.
Hitting horrible shots is the equivalent of a guy walking into a mall a opening fire on it’s occupants — and just not happening to kill anybody.
****************************
Name a star in this league that doesn’t take horrible shots?
The difference between stars and regular players, is that star players can take and make horrible shots. That’s why Jamal is so dangerous at times. He’s very good at making difficult shots.
The downplaying of what JJ did is expected though out of some people though. Had Horford gone for 34 points on 12 – 18 shooting, people would be anointing him the leader of the Hawks.
It is what it is. LOL . . and that’s why JJ doesn’t care what people think about him or the team.
Rod from College Park
May 3rd, 2011
11:50 am
http://www.790thezone.com/instantreplay/Episodes.aspx?PID=1773
Marvin is by far the best interview on the team. Very well spoken and knowlegable. If he would only play like he interviews we would make it to the finals.
Has anyone seen All Star Al? Iv’e been looking for him for two weeks now? Can’t seem to find him.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
11:50 am
Slimjr – I was just referring to Josh’s low post game – he should take lessons from ZBo.
I agree – I like Josh the offensive beast – getting to 1,000 blocks quicker than anyone in League history, including Dwight – that’s the Josh I like to see.
But I do think he could develop a very nice low post game along the way.
JeJe
May 3rd, 2011
11:50 am
I hope if Rose somehow is hurt and doesn’t play (won’t happen) that doesn’t cause some BS PG matchup for us
hawksfancents95
May 3rd, 2011
11:54 am
if we keep jamal and marvin this team will be doomed, look jamal is great right now that he is in his final year and is great offensively but on defense he cant do nothing. when a pick comes he either falls down or does a mike bibby and jumps to one side and doesnt recover. People need to get off marvin on here like he is going to be good, he is quality no doubt but he is not a starter for an NBA finals team. with teague getting confidence it will be easy for us to let go of kirk as well. i love kirk and think he has been a great fit for us this year with his defense and IQ but teague is our pg. next year starting lineup teague joe josh al and with all our money saved we need a legiteC, tyson chandler type center to own the paint downlow get boards and 2nd chance points. no more being small, look at dallas and LA to 7′0s starters, size matters…
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
11:56 am
“And with each game like this, Jamal is pricing himself out of the Hawks range. Of all the FA SGs out there (Richardson, Carter, JR Smith etc), Jamal has to be top of the list. This is a contract year (and he didn’t play particularly well in the regular season), and there are lots of players who have great years during their contract year. But Jamal has definitely exceeded expectations.”
If Teague continues to emerge in this series, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go into next season as the starter with Kirk more or less sliding into Jamal’s bench role. Kirk is a combo guard after all. Obviously the future is cloudy since there will be a new CBA, but it’s hard for me to imagine a scenario where Jamal and Kirk are both Hawks next year if Teague continues to play well. Then again, not everything this team does makes much sense…
JeJe
May 3rd, 2011
11:56 am
Seemed like we built our lead last night with Josh on the bench in the 2nd half, then when he came back in, it was down to 6.
Where was Damien in the 2nd half? ZaZa? Collins?
Ken Strickland
May 3rd, 2011
11:56 am
Could it be that with the trade of Jordan Crawford, and the preformance of Jamal Crawford, the future of Jamal Crawford as an Atlanta Hawk will finally be established?
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
11:59 am
You know All Star Al averaging a double double – 11.6 PPG and 10.6 RPG is not bad for 7 playoff games.
Nor is his Team leading 3.7 assists per game, or his 1.14 blocks per game.
Couple that with only 1.1 turnover per game, in 39.6 minutes a night, I’d say that’s pretty good.
Marvin is averaging 1.3 turnovers per game in only 18.4 mpg in the playoffs.
I just can’t complain to much when a guy averages a double double, plays really solid D, and makes almost no mistakes, while leading the team in assists from the PF/C position. That’s Al right now. And he’ll only get better it seems, he really works on his game.
JeJe
May 3rd, 2011
12:01 pm
Horford only had 9 points last night, but he had 13 boards
doc
May 3rd, 2011
12:02 pm
you know najeh, hollinger missed the point on the pacers coming so close. it wasnt that they were that good but the bulls might have to work harder to win than originally thoiught based on their regular season run. ultimately, he undersold the hawks thinking they might not be as good as the pacers. fool stuff as the hawks are certainly that good and he missed the idea that the bulls might be stoppable by a hawks team playing at heir best if the bulls werent. rather than say that he wanted to trash the hawks. i guess he would rather have copy than be smart.
Double Zero Eight
May 3rd, 2011
12:02 pm
Based on Game 1, I owe LD and JJ an apology.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
12:06 pm
“MIKE WOODSON WILL NEVER BE A HEAD COACH AGAIN IN THE LEAGUE.”
Haha… I don’t think a good team will hire him, but I could easily see a bad team bring him in to lift them to playoff contender level. Woody is not a good coach but that doesn’t mean he is worse than every NBA head coach. I’d take him any day over people like Jim O’Brien or John Kuester for example.
doc
May 3rd, 2011
12:07 pm
at rod … amen brother.
even you cant say you expected him to decline as much as he has is my guess. i know you trashed him for awhile but he was better then than now. heh heh. i though he would continue to rise but he hasnt and i think it may mean he doesnt care enough yet to do some off season work to strengthen his game and himself. maybe if he would become more a power forward it would help his game. i would rather see jj at sf in the future anyway, like he played last night and how paul pierce plays.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:08 pm
I mean Al’s last 4 stat lines, I just can’t complain about:
Last two games against Orlando:
10 pts, 12 boards, and 6 assists in the clincher
9 pts, 14 boards, and 6 assists in the game before that
14 pts, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists before that
And last night:
9 Pts, 13 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks – Solid D, Those are All Star Center numbers right now. Not alot of good C;s in the League right now.
And did I mention he also had a block in those previous games as well.
Al is quietly having a solid playoffs.
4 straight games of at least 12 rebounds.
Averaging 39+ minutes per night.
I’m not sure what else your wanting.
J-bone
May 3rd, 2011
12:10 pm
let joe be joe.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:12 pm
I think Pokohrov comes in and offers Jamal a 5 year, 45 mill. deal and he’s gone. But I also don’t think it’s the end of the world for us.
But let’s just win these playoffs and worry about that stuff later maybe. There may be a lockout, and nobody plays next season – we don’t know.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
12:13 pm
“ultimately, he undersold the hawks thinking they might not be as good as the pacers. fool stuff as the hawks are certainly that good and he missed the idea that the bulls might be stoppable by a hawks team playing at heir best if the bulls werent. rather than say that he wanted to trash the hawks. i guess he would rather have copy than be smart”
You are probably right. Here’s my biggest problem with him though. All year he has dissed the Hawks on Twitter (he lives in ATL and goes to a ton of Hawks games) but in the same breath he disses Hawks fans for not showing up. Well, if the Hawks suck so bad, why should the fans be expected to show up? The lack of logic in his ATL-hating tells me that he is motivated by more than just a journalistic duty to report what he sees, and this is what spurs me to suggest that he attend a phallus feast.
As for him ranking the Hawks below the Pacers, this is explained by the fact that he relies on his admittedly imperfect stats to an illogical degree. The Hawks finished 22nd in his automated power rankings for the season, below every other playoff team. Seeing as how he has made his entire name developing stats for basketball, it makes him look awfully foolish if the 22nd best team in the league can make it to the conference semis (and hopefully beyond). Picking against the Hawks vindicates his stats, so it makes sense that he would do that.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:15 pm
It is hilarious. Some dude on Peachtree Hoops has said that if the Hawks beat the Bulls (he said this before the playoffs) in a series, he would no longer write blog or write articles about the Hawks again.
He’s a regular featured contributor there
I feel sorry for the guy, because I think he just committed himself out of a hobby…..
northcyde
May 3rd, 2011
12:15 pm
JeJe
May 3rd, 2011
11:27 am
Northcyde,
What are your thoughts on our rebounding last night?
Collins had 3 in 7 minutes.
Man I wish we saw more Damien in the 2nd half. one of my fave players
**********************
We were kind of schizophrenic on the boards. But all of the reserves rebounded the ball well when they got in. We need Josh Smith to rebound the ball better. I don’t know if Al can get us 11 – 15 rebounds a game, so he’s going to need help on the boards.
We did end up outrebounding them though, so in the end, I can’t complain too much about the team rebounding. I’ll give them a B last night in that department.
LukeMerriman
May 3rd, 2011
12:17 pm
THE HAWKS MAY END UP WITH AN EASY CHAMPIONSHIP BY THE WAY THE UNDERDOGS ARE PERFORMING THIS SEASON IN THE PLAYOFFS. IF THE HAWKS FACE THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES IN THE FINALS, I THINK OUR CHANCES ARE FABULOUS TO BRING HOME THE GOLD TROPHY.
drmaryb (*_-)
May 3rd, 2011
12:19 pm
Boot Straps!
“And by the way, Rose’s ankle is being X-Rayed later today. It’s really bad.”
__________________
SteveW, more than likely he had an X-Ray last night in the locker room just to rule out a fracture/dislocation. What he really needed and will more than likely have today is a MRI.
For that, he would have to go to a diagnostic facility and be diagnosed by a radiologist. They need to assess his soft tissue and connective tissue damage. You can’t see those tissues on a X-ray.
He may have torn his deltoid ligament or stretched it really bad.
That is awfully, awfully painful to moderately or severely sprain an ankle, as I’m sure you have experienced. The pain is unbearable and takes a while to heal. Especially, because it is a weight bearing, pivotal joint. I mentioned last night he seemed slowed, hampered and was favoring that ankle. Luckily for us, he re-injured the same one as in the last series. Even without the ankle, and the way Teague played?
Hawks win. I guess Teague is our next sensation:
The Rose Stopper! The Chicago Tribune blog is in the same denial the the Magic were in after game 1. Hawks are peaking at the right time and Josh is doing fine too. A few bad shots here and there, but hey!
Al and Joe passed that ball for him to shoot it. Maybe, Josh have driven on two of those with time on the clock, but we don’t win without Josh last night either. Great team win. I would rather see them trust each other and share the ball than not.
_________________
PX: my prognosis for Rose is good. (full recovery)
Problem is, he will need about 3-5 weeks at a minimum to feel 100 without playing on it. I am positive he will not play Wed. and will try to be the hero and return way too soon with pain injections.
That’s why re re-injured it, pain shots and no time to heal.
Stick a fork in Rose – he’s done. Jeff is licking his chops.
_______________
Aye Kirk! Get Well Soon baby, wee need you in round 3 and possibly round 4. The magic number is now at 11!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
12:20 pm
Here are Hollinger’s power rankings for the regular season (I linked the second page, teams 16-30). Dude has like 6 lottery teams ahead of the Hawks. This is my problem with stat nerds — at some point, they stop trying to improve the accuracy of their stats and instead start acting like their stats give them some hidden insight into reality that is not readily observable. Stats are useful tools, but their purpose is to describe reality. If stats are not accurately describing reality, the problem is with the stats, not with what can readily be observed as reality.
MistaGamer
May 3rd, 2011
12:22 pm
Bob Stevens,
I agree that Josh’s offensive game has to pick it up a little bit, but what are all these TURNOVERS that you’re referencing? Josh only had 1.
SlickWatts
May 3rd, 2011
12:22 pm
Someone brought up a good point. When do you want LD fired. After we win the Eastern Conference Finals or after we win the NBA Finals. Great point. The guy is doing a great job and should have been COACH OF THE YEAR. Give Larry Drew a 10-year extension.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:23 pm
By the Way
All Star Al was the only Hawks starter with no turnovers against the Leagues best defensive team last night.
And he had the highest +/- of any Hawks player at +13
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
12:24 pm
“We were kind of schizophrenic on the boards. But all of the reserves rebounded the ball well when they got in. We need Josh Smith to rebound the ball better. I don’t know if Al can get us 11 – 15 rebounds a game, so he’s going to need help on the boards”
I noticed Smoove/Al/Zaza fell just one short of your suggested 25 rebound mark. You are right about Smoove though — 6 boards is not enough for him. His D was terrific but the rest of his game has to improve going forward.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:26 pm
Just this in – Rose X-Ray negative
He will not have an MRI
Listed as day to day
CJ is a good player, but I hope they decide to rest Rose’s ankle a few weeks….
drmaryb (*_-)
May 3rd, 2011
12:27 pm
He Got Dreams!
“This summer, if the Hawks keep Marvin, he’s need to find “his” game.”
_________________
SteveW, that’s cute.
Marvin couldn’t find his game with a “Game – Finder”.
Hell, I got a “View – Finder” and I can’t find it either.
Wake Up Stevew, baby you’re dreaming. LOL!
________________
Seriously, Marvin did deserve the game ball in game 6 and he did get us going last night to bury the Bulls early on. He is who we thought he is.
He’s just Marvin. I done waiting on this guy to make my day.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:27 pm
Only fair, we lose our starting PG, the Bulls lose theirs
drmaryb (*_-)
May 3rd, 2011
12:30 pm
Got Links?
Anybody got any good links to share. I went to Chicago Tribune, didn’t see a live game blog or anything.
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:32 pm
It was on ESPN’s website about Rose
SteveW
May 3rd, 2011
12:34 pm
Great but lengthy article MC linked on his twitter about our defense last night. They said props to Josh and Al on D:
“But the praise of Teague overlooks a knockout defensive performance by Josh Smith and Al Horford, two mobile big men long used to covering for Mike Bibby on pick-and-roll plays. These two guys, more than Teague, flummoxed Rose in half-court sets, and they did so with an entirely different strategy than Indiana used in holding Rose to 37 percent shooting in the first round. While the Pacers often trapped Rose hard on pick-and-rolls, sending him scurrying back toward midcourt, the Hawks’ big men lingered around the foul line, shadowing Rose laterally across the court until Teague could recover from the pick.
A great example comes at the 5:22 mark of the second quarter, when Rose and Joakim Noah run a pick-and-roll on the left side of the floor. Teague goes under Noah’s screen and Smith leaves Noah to take over on Rose as the MVP dribbles to his left, toward the top of the arc. Smith doesn’t jump above Rose, in a way that would make it difficult for him to turn the corner. He just stays in front of Rose, facing him straight up and hanging out near the foul line until Teague can recover. Once Teague gets back in front of Rose, Smith looks for Noah again.
Of course, this means Noah is briefly open. If you freeze the image when Rose picks up his dribble, you’ll see Horford standing in the middle of the paint, near the restricted area, responsible for guarding both Noah and Carlos Boozer. This is the moment where Rose has to kill Atlanta. Noah is on the right edge of the paint, and Boozer is on the left edge. They are exactly parallel to each other — close enough that Horford can nearly touch both of them if he stretches out his arms. Still, with only slightly better spacing, Rose has a chance to set off a series of quick-hitting passes that could lead to an easy layup for one of his big men.
Also of note: Johnson, guarding Keith Bogans in the left (far) corner, is helping out Horford. Johnson has crept over to the left edge of the paint, just below Boozer, ready to pounce if Rose decides to pass there. This was a recurring theme: Johnson, when he’s guarding Bogans, is going to rove into the paint.
There is no perfect way to defend a guy as good as Rose. The Hawks are banking on two things here:
1) They are willing to let Rose shoot long jumpers — even three-pointers. Again, this was a theme all night, and it’s typical of the way a lot of teams defend Rose. On at least three of Rose’s three-point attempts, including one off a pick-and-roll with Luol Deng late in the game, the Hawks barely bothered to get within 10 feet of him. (Rose finished 2-of-7 from deep.)
2) Atlanta is betting that the Bulls, and Rose in particular, will not be able to take advantage of the openings that briefly present themselves on these pick-and-rolls. You can bet the Bulls’ coaching staff will hammer this theme in the next film session. The Bulls need to space the floor just a bit better, and Rose, if he’s going to pick up his dribble, has to pass the ball quickly, before the big man shadowing him can recover back into the paint.
There’s another option, though, and Rose demonstrates it on Chicago’s last possession of the third quarter: He can keep his dribble alive, wait for the big man to rush back into the paint and start the whole process over again — often in isolation, without a screener to muck things up.
On this possession, the Bulls run a Kurt Thomas/Rose pick-and-roll, and Thomas’ man (Horford) hangs out at the foul line until Teague can recover from the Thomas screen and find Rose. Once that happens, Horford runs back into the paint to find his man.
But unlike on that first possession, Rose has kept his dribble, which means he can lick his chops and attack Teague in isolation. Rose is one of the best isolation players in the league, and he blows by Teague with a nasty right-to-left crossover dribble. Once in the paint, Rose spins back to his right for what he surely thinks will be an easy floater. But Horford is there again, helping off Thomas, and he forces the point guard into a brutal one-handed shot in which Rose is moving backward in the air as he releases the ball. He makes it, because he’s Derrick Rose, and he’s awesome.
Of note here: In that brief window when Horford guards Rose early in this possession, it once again means that one Atlanta big man (Zaza Pachulia) is guarding two Chicago bigs (Thomas and Boozer). And once again, those two bigs help the Hawks by spacing themselves poorly. Thomas rolls down the right edge of the paint and ends up next to Boozer, who is on the right baseline. Pachulia can guard them both without any issues.
Chicago actually played a decent offensive game; it lost this game mostly on the other end, where Atlanta hit an unsustainable number of tough jumpers. But the Bulls also lost in part because Atlanta held Rose to manageable numbers. The Hawks did so using a defensive strategy that has some holes in it, and I’d expect Rose and the Bulls to be better prepared in Game 2 to exploit those holes. If they do, it will be interesting to see how Drew adjusts.
Published On 10:42am, May 03, 2011
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
12:35 pm
“LDrew and the Hawks are giving Sund and the ASG the playoff presence and performance they were hoping to get under Woodson, but he just wouldn’t/couldn’t. I guess when all is said and done, LDrew didn’t lose the respect or ear of his team, like some of us were suggesting.”
True, but at the same time, I think this team did have problems with mental toughness, motivation, and buying into the system in the regular season that can’t be explained by LD easing up on the gas pedal. I think LD has had good schemes all year but did a generally poor job of motivating his players (and other things most notably substitution patterns). That leads me to believe that the motivation and toughness with which this now-playoff-experienced group is playing is at least as much a result of simply realizing the magnitude of the playoffs as it is a result of anything LD is doing.
JeJe
May 3rd, 2011
12:36 pm
I hope D.Rose’s MVP announcement doesn’t transform him into Michael Jordan or something.
Hopefully Josh Powell has some stuff to say to our team about how to approach game 2 (Lakers 2x champion)
Also, why would Nene opt out? I’d get that $12M and play hard this year. Leaving a lot of money on the table
bfred
May 3rd, 2011
12:37 pm
LD is working with essentially the same team Woodson had last year. It took 7 games to beat a much lesser opponent (without its best player) and we don’t need to rehash what happened in the second round. If the Hawks drop the next 4 he may be in trouble but otherwise I expect he’s our guy for next year.
As for Josh, LD should simply say “if you take a shot from more than 15 feet, you’re coming out” and stick to it. I couldn’t believe my eyes with some of the open drives he passed up last night in favor of long-range jumpers. He is as strong as anyone out there – go to the basket, and if it’s not in he’s at least shooting free throws instead of 3’s. I always wondered the same thing with Bobby Cox and Franceour – take a first strike or your benched. Never happened.
northcyde
May 3rd, 2011
12:38 pm
Chicago is in the same position as the Thunder. Despite them having arguably the best player in the series, both teams may be in trouble, because they have absolutely no one who can stop the opposing teams scorers.
The Bulls don’t want to double team anybody. But if they don’t, they’re going to lose this series. So when they start to double, it’s up to our other guys to make plays. What I want to see in Game 2 is this. If the Bulls come hard at JJ with the double teams, I want Teague to shade close enough to JJ to make himself available to receive the pass. And when JJ passes him the ball, Teague should immediately attack and go to the hole. Put that Bulls defense in complete scramble mode, if they’re going to double JJ.
Unlike guys like Jamal or Kirk, when Teague receives the pass, he’s probably not taking the jumper. He’s attacking the paint.
As for Josh Smith . . I wish he would play like Bizzaro Zebo. That is . . play like Zebo, but on the defensive end. His value to us has always been that of a defensive force, than as an offensive star. If he would just embrace that, and be the consistent defensive game changer, we’ll be all right. He had 4 blocks last night, so maybe he’s getting back into that mindset.
bfred
May 3rd, 2011
12:39 pm
Also, Rose will not be 100% the rest of this series and maybe not 75%. Without the league MVP the Bulls are a dramatically different team and eminently beatable.